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cynthiaandsamus · 2 years

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Higurashi Sotsu: Kamishuri-hen

The Alternate Ending Fanfic for Higurashi Sotsu I’ve been working on is finally complete! Thanks to everyone that showed interest in it and I hope you can read and enjoy! Please let me know what you think if you give it a read!

Higurashi No Naku Koro Ni Sotsu: Kamishuri-hen

When The Cicadas Cry: Graduation: God-Repairing Chapter

The red gleam in Satoko’s eyes bore right through Rika as she leveled the gun at her in front of the rest of their friends while the light-hearted party quickly became a tragedy. She hesitated just a moment, as if daring to ask Rika ‘how did you know?’ repeating the question Rika had asked her about the disguised box with the bear inside, now discarded on the floor in the commotion. The truth was Rika had help, remembering Rena’s words to her from yesterday.

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“A birthday party for Satoko-chan? That’s a great idea Rika-chan, it is, it is!” Rena swooned and held her cheeks. “Maybe I should get her a party dress, she’d look so cyuuuute~ She usually wears pink or blue, maybe something different for a party? Oooh, what about some red? Satoko-chan would look super cyute in something… r-red.” Rika was ready to let Rena rant as she usually did, however she was her freeze, eyes wide with fear as if a distant memory had suddenly come back to her.

“R-Rena…?” Rika reached out to her. “Are you alright, mii?” She tried to throw in a little cute to snap Rena out of it. The look of fear plastered across Rena’s face stayed for a moment, but faded as she visibly put some effort into smiling. It was something Rena did quite a bit when things weren’t right and Rika had gotten used to it over the past century.

“M-Mhm!” Rena added sweetly, smiling like an angel but still visibly putting effort into it.

“Rena…” Rika pushed the issue tenderly, knowing from her experience she couldn’t force Rena to talk about it if she didn’t want to, but also to be persistent with her friends when it came to communication.

“It’s just a bad dream is all.” Rena rubbed the back of her head, having no idea what her memories from the prior loops creeping into her mind meant. “I just remembered a bad dream I had where Oiishi-san was a very bad man… and then… Satoko…” Rena trailed off, not wanting to spoil the birthday celebration with such morbid, and in her mind entirely fictional, thoughts.

“Satoko…?” Rika’s eyes widened, the spots where Ooishi beat her to death previously still ached with some phantom pain, so she knew Rena was absolutely telling the truth. “Satoko… did something bad, nipah?”

“I-It’s just a dream!!” Rena blushed, waving her hands in front of her. “I’ve been hanging around Keiichi-kun too much, he has weird dreams like that too. Our Satoko would never do something like that, right? Right?” She smiled sweetly.

Rika forced a smile as her face too wanted to freeze in horror. Things were making too much sense. She’d long suspected someone was controlling the nature of her loops to their desired end. Things had only corrected themselves now that she’d embraced her discarded love for Hinamizawa, something she now remember Satoko talking to her about several times over the course of several loops. Maybe she’d known before now, but she hadn’t wanted to believe it.

“Yeah, our Satoko is a good girl, Nipah~”

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Satoko pulled the trigger, shooting Rika directly through the forehead and pulling the gun on herself, both girls hitting the ground before the rest of the club around them could even comprehend what was going on. Their screams of surprise and anguish quickly faded as the life drained out of both girls before they hit the ground.

The next thing the blonde child knew she was back in her house with Rika, at the start of the loop an instant before Rika’s consciousness followed her. The brief moment of shock and surprise at being drawn into the new loop was all the clue Satoko needed, gripping Rika’s arm and grabbing a kitchen knife.

Rika flailed and threw herself away from Satoko, landing on the ground before she could kill her again. “This is going to be much harder now that you know…” Satoko growled, brandishing the large knife. “Why do you have to be so difficult? Why can’t you love Hinamizawa for the beautiful place it is!? Why can’t you stay here with me!?”

The sweet innocent look melted from Rika’s eyes, showing the side of herself that only a few ever witnessed as she got back to her knees and quickly backed up, facing Satoko head-on. “I thought I hated Hinamizawa, after spending one hundred years of tragedy here I really did think I hated it. But even then I never wanted to leave forever… I want to experience more out of life, what kind of sin is that!?” Some part of Rika really had come to appreciate Hinamizawa again after all of this, but she wasn’t budging on her dreams either.

Satoko lunged at her, slashing away with the knife angrily and blindly. “Is Hinamizawa not good enough for you!? Am I!? This “hick town” is the only place I will ever belong, if you hate this town, you hate me! And no matter how hard I try I cannot change for you Rika! So I have to change you instead, no matter what it takes!!”

Rika weaved away from the slashes, staying out of Satoko’s admittedly short reach. “You aren’t this town! I don’t hate you! More than anything in the world I wanted to share my dream with you! Nothing that happened to me here was your fault until now, but I can’t stand to stay here the rest of my life!”

“And I can’t stand to leave, but I can’t stand to be without you!” Satoko leapt forward again, moving to jump at Rika and stab her with tears in her eyes, the other girl grabbing both her wrists to keep her at arm’s length, earning a few cuts to her arms but staying safe for now. Rika winced as she tried to hold Satoko back, the blonde was a small bit stronger than her and slowly but surely the knife got closer and closer to her.

“You’re the most important person to me! How can you see everything I went through, to truly understand my suffering and want more of that for me!? How can you drag me back into my worst nightmare and claim it’s love!?” Rika shrieked, tightening her grip in vain as she tried to push Satoko away.

“It doesn’t matter! The world where you and I are happy together is the only one I’ll accept! Everything else is just like a bad dream!” She growled, forcing the knife down more.

“You know that’s not true! Those other worlds aren’t fake, they’re real! They leave a mark on your heart, people who live in loops are never unphased by the worlds they live in! Every single one of the tragedies I’ve lived through lives on in my heart, along with all the joy I shared with all of you in those hundred years! I never forgot a single one of them and I know the worlds you’ve lived through changed you too!”

Satoko’s eyes widened briefly, faltering for a second as Rika’s words festered in her mind, knowing what she was becoming the more she played with people as toys and got addicted to it. Rika took the opportunity, shoving Satoko back and kicking her in the stomach to knock her away and knock the knife out of her hand.

SCCHK!!

The shock of the clash shot through Satoko and she tried to get up, but found she couldn’t. She looked over at Rika, a look of despair and regret washing over her face. Glancing back she saw she fell back on the umbrella rack by the door, and looking down she saw the sharp point of one of the bigger umbrellas sticking out from her chest, blood spreading across her pink top.

“W-Wait, no…” Satoko tried pulling herself off, but felt the strength leaving her arms already, eyes widening in terror. “I can’t die first… no, no… after all this… not like this…” She scrambled around for anything that could make Rika die faster than she currently was but her vision was already fading. “What was this all for…? For it to end like this…” Her arms hung limply as she crashed down to the floor in a heap.

“R-Rika…”

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“Oh my, how interesting…” Satoko woke to Eua’s voice and the twinkling of thousands of prisms spinning around them in the Sea of Fragments. “I did tell you to be more careful, Vier.” She chided, sprawled across her lounge chair with an amused smile.

“Rika!!” Satoko shot up off the floor of the stone platform they were floating on, eyes wide with terror. Eua had told her if she failed to kill Rika before she died, she would no longer be able to loop into a world with Rika in it. “What happened!? Is Rika gone!?” She stared shocked at the goddess before her.

“Not exactly.” Eua smirked, lazily floating in the air now. “The Cat was the focal point for your looping, therefore because you died first this time, your “Sea of Fragments” and hers are now eternally divorced. Either world in which you exist cannot contain her, and vice versa. You are like oil and vinegar. Your attempts to remain together have resulted in you two being fated to never meet again, never even existing in the same fragment, how deliciously amusing.” She purred.

“W-What…” The realization washed over Satoko like a wave, dread covering her face, arm twitching with fury and regret and disappointment. The twitching hand quickly grasped her neck, as if half of her was trying to choke the life out of herself. “LOOK WHAT YOU DID!!!” One of her eyes had a thick stream of tears flowing down it while the other glowed a devilish red with a look of annoyance filling it.

“What I did!?” The red side growled, forcing the hand away from her neck. “It was your selfishness and greed that called me out! You were the one that wished to do things over! I am merely your wish, your curse given form! I am the strength you asked for!”

“Oh my, I thought we’d buried that side of Satoko for good.” Eua’s eyes shone with dull surprise. “It looks like that death was a shock to both of you and split you up again…” She waved her staff and yawned. “Let’s do something about that before this gets too confusing…” Out from the middle of Satoko split two girls, one with the girl’s normal rose-colored eyes and one with the bright red of a Looper: Satoko and The Witch.

“We lost Rika and it’s all your fault!” Satoko shouted at the Witch. “You made me hurt my uncle, and do all those awful things! And now we don’t even have Rika to show for it!”

“Made you!? Ohoho! Even now you’re more concerned about Rika than any regret for what you’ve done! You enjoyed the game as much as I did, don’t be upset just because it’s over.” The Witch cackled. “You started this, don’t throw a tantrum just because you lost. Your lust for pity and addiction to manipulation is the only reason I’m here at all!”

“No, you’re…” The words stung deep into Satoko, deep down she knew she couldn’t blame all of this on the Witch despite how much she wanted a scapegoat, her grief turned in on itself and became self-loathing and she backed away towards the edge of the platform. “You’re right… this is all my fault. I wanted so desperately to be with Rika that if the world told me I couldn’t, I would gladly destroy that world and find a world that would give me a more palatable answer…”

“You are a sinner, Satoko Hojo.” A grin split the Witch’s face in half. “Just like me.”

A defeated look crossed Satoko’s face as she hung her head, heels at the edge of the platform, there was nowhere else to go.

So she leapt.

Falling through the thousands of shards, into the abyss, falling and at the same time not falling, but moving away from the area with Eua and the Witch all the same

“Should we… do something about that?” The Witch looked back at Eua with a puzzled look.

“The Sea of Fragments is but a temporary stop, humans aren’t meant to exist here indefinitely, that is only for Witches like us. If she doesn’t loop again she will eventually cease to exist entirely. Let’s just see what happens. Despair is its own form of entertainment~”

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Rika awoke in her own sea of fragments some time later. Memories of what happened after she killed Satoko were fuzzy but she had a feeling she hadn’t lasted much longer than that for one reason or another. She glanced around and a feeling of deep emptiness washed over her. It had been a few loops since Hanyuu’s memory disappeared in front of her but with the drive of trying to solve the mystery kept her going for a bit. Now that she had the answer she was struck by just how quiet and empty this world was without her guardian deity and now that she had the answer.

“Every time I try to find the truth in a sea of keys, it just opens the door to something even more tragic…” She lay onto her back and closed her eyes. She couldn’t place it but for some reason she felt particularly empty, not at peace per se, but not in anguish about the revelation like she’d expected to be.

Why go on at this point? Her closest friends had either disappeared or betrayed her. If she looped again she knew she’d only be killed by Satoko again, or worse, find a world where she wasn’t there. She dug into her pocket, pulling out the shard of the Onigari-no-Ryuuou she’d retrieved earlier, noticing that it stayed with her when she looped as if it existed outside normal time. She briefly contemplated finally using it on herself, not overcome by despair as she had been the first time she thought of it, but filled with emptiness and apathy that prodded her with the possibility.

“So are you going to use it?” A voiced called to her from across the distance. It was somehow familiar despite her knowing she’d never heard it before. She sat up and saw a woman about her height, with her hair color, yet with a bored expression spun across her face.

“Who are you…?” Rika gripped the shard of the sword tighter, toying with the idea of defending herself if it came to that but quickly shelving the idea.

“Eua calls me The Cat, that’s as good as any name I suppose.” The woman murmured. “You didn’t answer my question. Are you going to do it? As long as someone’s entertained, this story won’t end. You’ll keep getting dragged into loops whether you like it or not. Stories shouldn’t be without endings. An end, even a bad end, might be worth it.”

“Are you… me?” Rika asked on a hunch, glancing down to the shard in her hand.

“Yes and no.” The Cat responded. “I am the frustration and madness and grief of a hundred years of torment. In a moment of agony you wished to be rid of that, to cast off the fatigue of those who live in loops. It’s not exactly that easy, but I am a response to that wish at least.”

“It would be a waste.” Rika finally responded, putting the shard back in her pocket. “I’ve gone through too much wanting to live to die now. To admit at all that suffering was for nothing, it would be far too cruel.”

“We are no strangers to cruelty. The curses of witches often create worlds where there are no good ends.” A sadistic smirk briefly crossed the Cat’s lips. “It’s ironic that Satoko’s desire not to lose you has now put you two out of reach forever. It would’ve been more deliciously ironic if it caused the cessation of your existence entirely, but I won’t be greedy for now.” The cat gave a cruel chuckle.

“She what!?” Rika winced, she had a feeling about what Satoko had said, she was no expert on how the fragments worked but she could feel as if Satoko had been somehow lost to her.

“Do you care? Do you care that the girl that dragged you back into hell for her own selfish means is now gone? I suppose I could go for a girl like that, but I think we have different tastes.” The Cat’s stoic face showed a slightly bemused smirk.

“I do… I’ve been hurt by all my friends at one time or another, they’ve all murdered and hurt me and I knew it wasn’t their fault. Satoko may not have been under Hinamizawa Syndrome, but she was hurting all the same. I won’t say I didn’t try to help her, but at the same time I failed to adequately see how deeply troubled she was. I was so blind that I didn’t even see that she was the one that was upset at me enough to pull me back into loops. I can’t forgive what she did so easily, but I know… in the end, she just wanted the same thing I did, for us to be together…”

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“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry.” The words croaked out of Satoko’s throat, she wasn’t sure how many times she’d said it but she’d long passed the one thousand apologies demanded of an offense to God. Eventually she just stopped talking altogether.

Satoko wasn’t sure how long she drifted, it could have been hours, years, decades, she had no idea how time worked in the sea of fragments and her mind was too blank and numb to try and make sense of it all. She kept replaying the events in her head, trying to see where she’d gone wrong. It was obvious the more she looked at it, even if her crimes didn’t last through loops, living in a world where death didn’t matter and each new life was just one of a million chances to make her ideal world deeply affected her, warped the way she saw things.

She bumped into a fragment from behind, looping into it. She was walking home with Keiichi and Rena, the house she and Rika had lived in was hers alone and the distance between her and her friends was more noticeable without Rika there to bridge the gap. This wasn’t the first loop she’d bumped into mindlessly, some the villagers had been more hostile to her without Rika there to help her. Some of them her uncle was still there, sometimes nice, sometimes cruel, some loops were relatively pleasant, though the emptiness of Rika’s absence persisted.

Just like the others she had no interest in this world. The only reason she didn’t entirely avoid fragments on her mindless drifting was in the vain hope that she’d bump into a fragment with Rika in it. Still she knew this wasn’t one of those, stopping in the middle of the street. Ren and Keiichi turned to see what was wrong, though they didn’t ask. She dug into her pencil bag, finding the sharpest pencil she could and jammed it hard into her eye. She screamed in torment but she’d gotten used to this by now and knew where to go to make sure she died quickly.

Soon enough she was back in the sea, drifting listlessly, eyes hollow and lightless. “When I was little, I broke Oyashiro-sama’s statue and Rika was blamed for it… was I cursed since that day? Or even before that… have I been cursed since the day I was born? Born into the family of outcasts that supported the dam project, broken and abused, my Nii-Nii stolen from me… it seems God’s been angry at me from the start… not this time though, this time the Curse is all on me…”

“Satoko… curses don’t break easily, but that’s not all there is to the world either…” A voice called to Satoko from the darkness. A brief flicker of light shone in the blonde’s hopeless eyes, willing herself to at least look over and acknowledge the voice.

“Your sins can’t disappear.” Hanyuu floated in front of her. “I’ve learned that myself, just like when you erase a blackboard, it’s never as clean as before you wrote on it. The Witch is real and reflects your sins, that will never change. There will always be a part of you that can’t forgive the world and curses it. My hatred of the world of men became a blight on the land that spread farther than I ever intended…” Hanyuu sighed, thinking of Hinamizawa Syndrome and Eua. “But that’s not all of you. Forgiveness is a miracle, many people prayed to Oyashiro-sama to forgive them, but a Miracle isn’t something gifted to you by divine providence. A Miracle is something you make with your own two hands, little by little. If it takes a hundred years, even if that sin never disappears, the miracle of forgiveness can be yours.”

“I don’t deserve forgiveness, I don’t know if I even want it at this point…” Satoko sat upright, glancing away from Hanyuu. She remembered her from the fragments she’d viewed through Rika and though they hadn’t spoken much she couldn’t bear to look her in the eyes now.

“Then what do you want, Satoko?” Hanyuu nodded patiently. “I may be a failure but I am still a deity, let me hear your prayers.”

The question brought Satoko to tears, after all she’d done to selfishly pursue her own goals, after all her agony and self-loathing, to be asked what she wanted, to still consider her desires as valid, to think she had a future to aspire to.

“I… I WANT TO SEE RIKA!!!” She shouted into the void, tears streaming down her face. “I want to apologize, even if I don’t deserve forgiveness, I want to see her one more time and cherish the brief moment I have with her to make up for all the worlds of time with her I threw away!!”

“I can’t grant your wish Satoko… but you can.” Hanyuu smiled sweetly, tears creeping into the corners of her eyes as well. “There’s nothing that can’t be done. Rika rolled the dice of fate thousands of times and made a miracle, and you worked towards your goals, misguided as they were, to meet them with certainty. Even if it’s just one time, you can overcome your own consequences and find the one world where you can get your wish. Seek it out with hopes and dreams instead of curses and despair and you will certainly find it.”

“RIKA!!!’ Satoko charged forward, finding no footing in the floating void but touching shard after shard, flashing through dozens, possible hundreds of worlds. Each world erupted into shards of light as she passed through them, like digging through a pool of glass, ignoring the pain each defeat found her, crawling through years and years in what seemed like instants and eternities all at once. The light from each broke shard formed a rift, lighting a crack in the void that she was finally able to step through.

And came out on the other side.

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“RIKA!!!!!” Rika turned her head, spying the chasm of light above her as Satoko reached out through it. The priestess took her hand with a gasp, pulling her through, eyes wide with shock.

“Satoko!?”

“Oh my, how interesting…” The Cat smirked, disappearing into the void while her eyes stayed glued to the two.

“Rika… I’m sorry… I don’t want to feel that far apart from you ever again… so even if it’s just right now, even if this is the last time I see you… please just know I’m sorry. You don’t have to forgive me, I don’t want you to, just please hear my apology…”

Rika was stunned, seeing the look of anguish on Satoko’s face, completely changed from the smug angry expression she’d had in the kitchen.

“I… forgive you.”

“No! Rika you dummy…” Satoko sobbed. “I don’t deserve forgivness…”

“Whether you deserve it or not, you’re getting it.” Rika patted Satoko’s head. “Poor, poor Satoko. Pain fly away, Mii~” Her voice was briefly cute and fluffy as it had been in class before returning to a more stern tone.

“Please don’t be sad, even if the world doesn’t forgive you, I will forgive you. Please don’t be sad, even if you don’t forgive the world, I will forgive you. So please tell me, what shall I do so that you’ll forgive me?” The Cat repeated the lines from the poem as she watched the scene unfold.

“No matter the error, nothing is unforgivable. There’s no such thing as a mistake that can’t be fixed. If it is something that can’t be fixed, that all the more reason to forgive you because nothing will be changed by you apologizing now.” Rika gave a tender smile as she embraced Satoko gently.

“Come on, let’s go back. Whether or not we’ll be together in the future, we’re together now. The rest we can figure out later.” Rika pulled back gently, tears streaming from her eyes as she gave a laugh of relief.

“That’s hardly any fun.” Eua grumbled from above as she and the Witch floated down to join the Cat. “I demanded to be entertained for my payment of granting your wish Satoko, and I am not satisfied just yet.”

“I have no intention of entertaining you any longer…” Satoko gave the faintest of smiles. “I plan on my life being very boring from here on out.”

“That’s dumb, you’re dumb.” The Witch blew a raspberry at Satoko.

“Well if you’re not a willing participant that doesn’t bode well… I suppose I’ll have to get my fill with one last game. I could always just revoke the power of looping from both of you and leave you stranded here forever, but that does sound boring… I will let you return to the future, for one last high-stakes game. Watching your little club play has gotten me in the mood to perform a game of my own.” The goddess’s face bent into a wicked smirk.

“Oooh, what game are we playing?” The Witch leaned in as the Cat joined her beside Eua.

“Onigokko.” Eua’s grin grew wider.

“Tag? You’re going to have them play Tag?” The Cat tilted her head, perplexed.

Eua held up her hand, a black fragment appearing in it. “Your final test to prove your resolve. During Satoko’s looping, the accumulation of memories irreversibly grew exponentially and so more and more people began to branch out with memories of dying in the tragic Hinamizawa Disaster or succumbing to Hinamizawa Syndrome. This fragment represents the buildup of those accumulated memories, it represents your foolish desire to try and infinitely loop through time as if you could do so forever without consequence. If you can enter and defeat it, you will earn your return to your original future. However if you fail or are to die, your worlds will once again be separated forever, erasing this little miracle for eternity. The rules are simple: all of the infected townspeople, driven mad by their resurfaced memories are the “Oni” make it to the Saiguden, the ritual storehouse where Satoko first met me, and you will return to your future. However if you are killed beforehand, you will return to your separate, parallel seas of fragments.”

“Oooh, I like this game!” The Witch grinned, giving a haughty laugh.

“That’s not fair! Satoko already apologized for-“ Rika protested, interrupted by a hand on her shoulder.

“It’s okay Rika… I’ll confront my mistakes. Whether it’s punishment or forgiveness that awaits me, I can’t keep running from it.” Satoko hung her head solemnly before looking up at Eua with determination. “But if we’re playing by club rules, you know we have to give it our all, and I don’t intend to lose.”

“Oh you are endlessly entertaining Vier, good luck.” Eua chuckled before tossing the fragment to Rika and Satoko, sucking them into it in a brilliant light.

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The night sky of Hinamizawa was blood red, blotched with smoke and filled with the sounds of screams and crashes overtaking the normal roar of the cicadas. Standing in the fields, Rika and Satoko could see the glow of fire working its way through the small buildings of the mountain town and the shadows of hurried figures at they ran back and forth.

“This is how people react to loops.” The Cat floated ethereally behind Rika as Hanyuu once had. “See how easily they break to all that you’ve endured?”

“The conflictions of memories and murder and death have driven everyone mad and detached them from reality, what a marvelous game to play.” The Witch gave a haughty laugh from behind Satoko. “I won’t take your body again though, it’s much more fun to watch you play in this instance.” She gave the blonde a smug smirk.

Rika looked pensive for a moment, watching the people scream in torment in the distance as the town she’d wanted to protect and be liberated from so badly burned in front of her. It wasn’t the Great Hinamizawa Disaster, but in a way this was something of their own making, the result of the fight between her and Satoko. She was torn from her thoughts by a hand grasping hers.

“Come on Rika, we have to get to the Saiguden.” Satoko reminded. “If we go to the shrine this way we can avoid going through the bulk of the village.” She led Rika along the dirt path. Running down the rural street on foot reminded her of how frail her childish body was after so long in the Sea of Fragments. Her footing wasn’t sure and her stride was short, if they were found by someone and chased it wouldn’t end well for them.

They made their way down the road and for a time it was quiet, the top of the Furude Shrine’s torii gate could be seen on the horizon, they were getting close. However the closer they got to the shrine, the slower their footsteps got, eyes widening with sudden realization.

There were people moving about the shrine: a lot of them.

“Oh my, there certainly are a lot of them. Did Eua put you back on the day of the Watanagashi Festival? Ohoho~” The Witch cackled.

“RIKA! RIKAAA~~~!!!” A familiar voice pierced the darkness. It was Mayor Kimiyoshi, leading a mob of people on the shrine. “Come out so you can die for the village!” Several of the people were holding makeshift weapons, many already had bloodstains on them.

“Damn…” Satoko cursed under her breath as they tried to get out of view, but it was too late.

“There she is!” One of the villagers shouted from the overlook of the shrine, calling down to the mob on the steps. Taking Rika’s hand, Satoko had no choice but to dash into the thick forest and up the hill, Rika taking her hand away so both could climb up the hill together through the brush.

“You’ll never get away from me in this village Rika!” Kimiyoshi’s shrill shout came from the bottom of the hill as the mob had raced down the stairs to confront Rika.

“I’ve lived in this village for over one hundred years.” Rika’s voice grew harsh, her eyes showing a faint red gleam. “No one knows every inch of it better than I do.” The girls scrambled up the hill, leading them away from the stairs had taken them towards the path where the house Satoko and Rika shared was.

“I found you!” A voice called as Keiichi appeared in front of the two girls. “I knew you’d try something sneaky… now tell me! Why am I feeling this way? Why is my mind full of blood and death and despair!? Kimiyoshi says if we sacrifice you, all this will clear up!”

Rika winced, staring at the dented bat in Keiichi’s hands. “You’re feeling it because of us, everything’s happened to you all at once and it’s too much for anyone…” The Cat’s words to her hung heavy on her. She’d lived these infinite loops many times but this all hit Hinamizawa at once and it would break anyone, whether it was the mob at her back or the friend in her way, she didn’t have much recourse.

“Keiichi-san!” Satoko moved to protect Rika as Keiichi started to swing. “You remember everything, don’t you? When death and destruction flow through your mind it’s easy for that to be the only thing you think about. But once remembering these loops gave you strength. The regret you felt in remembrance gave you the strength to apologize to Rena, it let you hear her apology through the madness.” She outstretched her hands upward, remembering the flashes of the first fragment Eua had shown her.

Keiichi froze, bat still hanging high in the air as he looked down at Satoko’s outstretched hands. He remembered Rena doing the same, remembered breaking those outstretched hands, remembered asking for her forgiveness when she could no longer remember his sins. All of the tragedy that they’d been through, the times he’d killed Rena and Mion, the ones where he’d went on a rampage at Angel Mort, but also the times he’d fought to defend Rena, the times he stood against the village to protect Satoko and Rika. Everything was so vast and the blood of it all had floated to the surface, but deep down the kindness and forgiveness stuck with him.

“Satoko… Rika…” Keiichi sighed, lowering his bat. “I don’t know how long I can keep that pain from my mind, but I have faith in my friends. You guys have a plan, right?”

“Yes!” Both girls gave determined nods.

“Alright, I’ll slow everyone down as much as I can.” He gave a confident smirk, feeling more capable than he probably was. “You guys do what you have to do.”

Rika nodded as she and Satoko ran in the opposite direction, Keiichi heading off part of the mob that was trying to cross the bridge to the shrine. “The will to fight… it’s still so awe-inspiring.” It didn’t come naturally to her, to spit in the face of adversity, but it was something she’d slowly learned over time.

As they passed by the house, the familiar glow of flames overtook their shared home, catching Satoko’s eye as the mob sought to burn out any place they could hide. Just as had happened in the future, the place where Rika and her could be together was disappearing, making her heart sink, all her efforts to prevent that only hastened the process.

“Rena…” Rika whispered, stopping in front of Satoko, causing her to bump into her from behind.

The red-head’s hands were shaking as she gripped the axe tightly in her hands until her knuckles turned white. “I don’t want to hurt my friends… why are we doing this, I wonder, I wonder?” Her mind was flooded with thoughts of trying to protect her father, of doing her best, but failing to protect him or stop her friends from resorting to murder. “Why… why is it like this…?”

Rika stepped forward this time. “Rena, you’re the most caring person I know. You’ve been hurt a lot but you keep reaching out your hands to forgive and comfort others. Even if you think our existence is a sin, I need to ask you to forgive us once more. Just one more time.”

“I’m the one that’s a sinner…” Rena gently itched her wrist, faintly as if scratching a memory. “Rika-chan… Satoko-chan… why does everyone keep getting hurt no matter what we do? We’re trying our best but… it keeps happening over and over.” The axe trembled in her hands.

“It’s not your fault Rena!” Satoko winced, remembering Rena was the first person she deliberately manipulated in her quest to torture Rika, promising her happiness she was never quite sure she could deliver. “We aren’t being punished by an angry god… we’re doing this to each other, and it’s up to us to forgive each other. Please Rena, don’t let the confusion and blood make you forget everything we shared. I’ve done you wrong, but you’ve always managed to see the best in people and kept reaching out to them even when they couldn’t hear you…”

“I don’t know what I can do… but I won’t hurt you, I won’t…” Rena nodded firmly, stepping down towards where Keiichi was to stall the mob a little longer. Her hands were shaking still but her determination to not shed more blood seemed solid.

Satoko and Rika kept moving, finally reaching the storehouse and finding two people there. To their surprise, Mion and Shion weren’t standing in their way, but confronting each other. “We have to end this!” Shion shouted, flailing against Mion as the other sister tried to hold her wrists. “This damn village, everything that runs it is a corrupt pile of shit! This has to end here, Granny, Rika, Kimiyoshi, they all have to die!!”

Mion’s face contorted in conflict and sadness, but no malice. She too now remembered all the pain and torment her family had seemingly caused throughout the village over numerous interations. She now even remembered getting her own hands dirty as well when her affection for Keiichi drove her to madness. Still that solitary sin in a century’s worth of memories filled her with regret and conviction rather than madness.

“I thought I was trying to be strong as the head of the family, but even I walked down the same path as you with a little prodding, I know where you’re coming from Shion. I wasn’t strong enough to resist that madness myself, nor was I brave enough to stop you when you had succumb to it. Our relationship’s never been easy, taking your place and that meaning I had to be stern against you, it’s no wonder you feel this way. It’s no wonder you have such a trail of blood behind you, I tried my best to be the head of the Sonozaki Family, but in being your sister I was sorely lacking. I wasn’t able to comfort you, I wans’t able to change our Granny like Keiichi did, I didn’t have the bravery he had to stand against tradition, nor the charisma to break it, and you suffered because of that.” Tears streamed down both twins face at Mion’s confession, her grip on Shion’s wrists turning to an embrace as she hugged her twin tightly, weeping between her words.

“I love you, Shion.”

Rika and Satoko rushed past the twins while they were engaged with each other, the mob hot on their trail as the glow of torches enveloped them from behind. Spotting them smaller girls, Shion’s eyes widened as she pushed them into the Saiguden and barred the door shut behind her. “That’s right… I promised I would protect Satoko…”

Mion stretched her arms out, placing herself between the angry mob and the storage warehouse. “You’re not going to sacrifice someone on a superstition! As head of the Sonozaki Family I will not stand for this!” She roared, glaring into the furious cries of the crowd. “This curse ends here!!”

--------------------------------------------------------------------

Inside the storehouse, Rika and Satoko barricaded the door, the banging of the crowd threatening to knock it down at any moment despite the rest of the club’s efforts to stop them. “Well we’re here, what do we do now?” Satoko growled in frustration, looking around the bloodstained room of torture devices and the statue of Oyashiro-sama.

“Well it’s a game of tag~” The Witch teased in Satoko’s ear. “You all haven’t been tagged yet, but apparently you haven’t found home base yet either.” She gave a smug giggle.

“Eua said this is where we first met…” Satoko looked towards the statue, poking at its midsection and opening another crack as she had before, though instead of the broken horn that came out the first time she’d been here, a light erupted in front of them, a vision of Rena, Keiichi, and Mion searching the storeroom for them as they were in the future.

“There it is!” Rika reached out to touch the portal to the future, but finding it was solid, like touching a pane of glass. “…why can’t we get in?”

“Satoko knows…” The Cat chirped boredly over Rika’s shoulder as a glow from Rika’s pocket caught both of their attention.

To the girls’ surprise, the shard of the Onigari-no-Ryuuou ripped its way out of Rika’s pocket, joining with the full sword as it appeared in Satoko’s hand. “The sword… I hid it here before… I guess it’s the only way to break through into the other world…” She gripped the hilt and raised it to swing at the portal.

“Think about this Satoko Hojo.” The Witch narrowed her eyes. “If you do this, everything you’ve done until now will be for naught. You’ll go back to that lonely world where everyone’s moved on without you and you and Rika are drifting apart.”

“Even staying here I can’t stop Rika and I from drifting apart.” Satoko closed her eyes and took a deep breath, though her hands were still shaking and she couldn’t bring herself to make the swing even with the banging on the storage room door growing louder.

“You can’t stop the future.” Rika sighed and nodded, taking Satoko’s hand. “You can delay it, you can close yourself off from it, you can try and try to do better, but you can’t stop it forever. Still, it’s something you have to choose to be a part of. I know you desperately tried to change your fate as I tried to change mine. It’s a very painful process, but as much as knowing when to reject fate is important, knowing when to accept it is just as important. If you can accept the future as it is, I can promise you we’ll face it together.”

Satoko had heard such promises before, and knew they couldn’t always be trusted, no matter how hard she tried, she and Rika ended up in different places, worlds apart. But still, she wanted to trust Rika one more time. She wanted to move forward and at least try to start to be forgiven.

“Okay… I’ll choose the future…”

Rika and Satoko’s hands gripped the Ongari-no-Ryuuou and swung down into the fragment.

-----------------------------------

The two girls tumbled into the storehouse with a whimper, rubbing their sore backsides as they were greeted by their friends, still on their break from school after picking them up at St. Lucia’s, just as they had left them. The three older kids had looks of concern on their faces at they spotted Satoko and Rika fall from seemingly nowhere.

“There you two are, geez what’s with you guys?” Keiichi huffed. “You disappeared and we looked everywhere for you! Lucky Mion had the keys to this place, how’d you know they’d be here?”

Mion rubbed the bridge of her nose. “This old man just had a hunch is all. Don’t you remember that game of hide of seek we played where we found Rika here?”

“Ah? I don’t remember that, I don’t.” Rena gave a puzzled look and tilted her head. “Are you making up stories again Mion-san?”

“Ehehe, maybe it’s kind of fuzzy…” Mion chuckled and put her hands on her hips. “At least everyone’s here, I’m glad things have changed around here, if Granny found us all in here like this a few years ago there’d be hell to pay.”

Satoko’s eyes widened as she silently looked at the statue of Oyashiro-sama, the head, chest, and even the hand were unbroken, reminding her of how much trouble Rika had gotten in when she had been blamed for Satoko breaking the statue’s arm.

“Oh, you noticed that huh?” Mion grinned, spying Satoko looking at the arm. “A few years ago I snuck in here and fixed the statue’s arm. Rika-chan got blamed for it when you guys were little, but it was you, right Satoko?”

Satoko looked like a kicked puppy as she hung her head with a small nod.

“Don’t worry, like I said things are different now. Plus there’s no harm done, you can hardly see where it was broken.” She ran a finger over the seam where she had diligently worked to repair it.

“There’s a crack… it wasn’t like that before and it’ll never be the same…” Satoko huffed, glancing to the corner of the storehouse where the Onigari-no-Ryuuou lay tucked away in a corner under some other instruments, the seam where Rika’s shard had fused into it was still clearly visible.

“That’s true I guess, once you break something it’ll never be like new again.” Mion pondered while looking over the statue. “Something perfect and unbroken is very beautiful, but something that’s been broken and repaired has something more than beauty, it has wisdom. Like a scar…” She gingerly reached to her back, where the demon tattoo was branded onto her. “They’re like an experience, a reminder of something you learned from. Breaking this statue made you empathize with how Rika felt, right? It may even have made you closer friends. Then in that case you’ve learned from that scar.” She smirked.

Satoko looked up at her and nodded slowly, looking at Rika who gave her a tender smile. “That’s right, Mii~”

“Rika, I…. I don’t want to go to St. Lucia’s anymore. I want to stay here in Hinamizawa.” Satoko finally admitted to Rika and herself.

“Oh, so that’s what this was all about…” Keiichi rubbed the back of his head, feeling a little awkward that they’d seemingly drug up this disagreement. “I thought you guys were a little cold to each other on the ride out here…”

“I know… I wanted to share St. Lucia’s with you, but I know I can’t force you into somewhere you don’t want to be…” Rika nodded softly, a faint smile tinged by sadness crossing her face.

“Heyyy, listen to me.” Keiichi growled, flicking both their foreheads.

“Ow!”

“Hey!”

“We all went to different schools right? And yet we’re here now. Just because we’re not together every day and we want different things doesn’t mean we’re not friends. That’s why Mion organized this whole thing. After everything we’ve been through, do you think we’d forget each other just because we’re not constantly together?”

“That’s true, loving someone means wanting them to be where they’ll grow best, right?” Rena smiled and giggled, watching the two rub their foreheads, swooning a bit at the cyuuute scene. “Everyone’s different and nothing’s guaranteed, so we have to cherish the time we have together and work harder to stay connected while helping each other grow.”

“Alright, this old man’s sick of all this mush, let’s get out of here and go get something to eat.” Mion cracked her knuckles and grinned. “Shion’s waiting for us down at Angel Mort, so let’s get going.”

“Yeah…” Satoko nodded, taking Rika’s hand gently as the other three led them out of the storehouse, into the light of the sunset.

“I don’t know what kind of future I’ll have with Rika, but trying to force it will only divide us more, I’m going to cherish the time I have with her now, and keep growing into who I need to be to stay connected with her, even if from a distance… if we do drift away, I’m going to love her now as best I can… I’ll remember everything I’ve had with her and the unbridled joy it’s brought me. I won’t be sad.”

“I won’t cry.”

-------------------------------------------------------------

“Awww, that was so much fun! Just one more round!” Eua pouted, watching the fragment with a frustrated growl. “I just want to torture them a little more!”

“You promised!” Hanyuu growled angrily, her eyes turning red. “Besides, the way they are now, I don’t think you’ll have the same kind of fun playing that sort of game with them again. Let Rika and Satoko live their lives.”

“That’s true, playing the same game over and over again is boring.” The Cat sighed as she floated by.

“We should find a new game to play, with brand new pawns to mess with.” The Witch cackled, shifting as she grabbed the Cat’s hands and twirled her in the air.

“Maybe my next game will be without you.” The Cat’s eyes lowered despondently.

The Witch chuckled loudly. “I’ll find you whatever game you play, and we can play together!”

The Cat huffed. “If you come after me, I’ll run away.”

“If you stop coming after me, you’ll find me.”

“If you go north, I’ll go south.”

“If you go east, I’ll go west.”

“We’ll see each other again someday.”

“Sooner than we think.”

“When they Cry, whoever they are.”

#ooc #Higurashi No Naku Koro Ni #Higurashi Sotsu #Higurashi #HNNKN #Fanfiction #Higurashi Gou #When They Cry #Satoko Hojo #Rika Furude

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doublelsatan · 3 years

Text

Coming close to ending Sotsu [pretty big read and some spoilers from games and recent episode]

So this week’s episode once again filled in missing pieces from Gou. The current arc Kagurashi-hen or God Entertaining chapter follows after Tatariakashi-hen/Curse Revealing and leads into Nekodamashi-hen/Cat-Deceiving parts.

Gonna say this now, some spoilers will be mentioned from the current episode and past games.If you wanna continue then by all means, go at your own risk.

There were two things that made this episode interesting, Hanyuu giving context to the Furude family and her past along with Eua saying a specific line. To start off, Hanyuu explaining the Furude family and her role playing into that is super important. It connects the games more to the storyline of what Gou/Sotsu is trying to tell. In Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kizuna/When the Cicadas Cry Bonds, we get an arc that focuses mainly on Hanyuu and the Furude family. The arc I’m talking about is Kotogushi-hen/Congratulating chapter. Long story short, Hanyuu loves a priest from the Furude clan, they get married, have a child, things go well up to a point where they don’t, Hanyuu goes evil, and her daughter has to kill her in order to stop her rampage. The weapon to stop her was the Onigari no ryuou/Demon-hunting willow cherry tree sword aka the looper ending sword. That was a lot of context but I feel like I need to say it so people understand that I have knowledge from the franchise. It’s interesting that this episode introduces back Hanyuu like this because it solidifies that this storyline arc might just be Higurashi based only. Too early to confirm it since the series hasn’t ended yet but it’s a good guess. And since we’re in the God-Entertaining arc right now, Hanyuu is going to square up with Eua which is going to be a dope battle.

But another thing that strikes me odd but in a good way about Hanyuu is that she destroyed different fragments to gain power from them. By doing that helped Rika be able to remember who killed her in order to move forward and find the looper later but I feel like its a bad thing. She basically took the good memory based fragments to restore herself back to a more stronger form. That itself is pretty telling which I’ll go into later. Just Hanyuu doing that is going to lean to her downfall later in the series.

Now, Eua on the other hand is for sure something super fascinating. So you guys remember in Tatariakashi-hen, we saw Satoko fight with herself and the evil version won? That witch evil baddie Satoko is now the one in control? I feel like that one episode and scene are important to piece Hanyuu and Eua together as two beings. It’s a guess though but it does make some sense. The reason for this is by Eua looking down on Hanyuu a lot and being more powerful than her too. Also, the last thing she said in the recent episode was “If it isn’t my darling failure.” That could mean two things, Hanyuu is the original good and Eua is the bad that was split from the looper sword or Eua is the God of Gods to their universe. So with the split theory, I saw that because Hanyuu’s daughter kills her since she went full rage demon mode. That could’ve split the two when it comes to Gou/Sotsu story since they hinted at the daughter using it but not actually killing Hanyuu. Which would be neat cause it would mirror the good and bad Satoko’s having their moment. But its a guess. Now as for Eua being the God of Gods could also work too. She’s powerful, arrogant, watches the events from the outside for entertainment value, and plays into the events for her own benefits. Well she doesn’t really “play the events for her own benefits” completely, she just moves the pieces accordingly to reach a certain ending. Reason I say it because her calling Hanyuu a failure is out of nowhere and odd. Like as if Eua has superiority over Hanyuu when it comes to ranks. But again, just a guess from dialogue and what we’ve seen in these past 12 episodes of Sotsu.

These are just my guesses and solutions from what was given from the series. The next episodes for sure are going to have somethings that’ll blow us away both in a good and bad way. Cause the Gods are gonna fight, the main friends are going to remember, and Rika is going to lose it same with Satoko. Like I always say it, every Thursday, I can’t wait and I’m excited.

#there are spoilers so this is a warning #higurashi sotsu #thoughts on episode 12 #hanyuu has entered the ring #eua could be evil hanyuu that was split maybe?#still hyped for how this series will end

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master-sass-blast · 3 years

Text

Period Pains.

Smut party’s over. Time for angst.

Summary: Piotr comes home and finds out you're on your period. He goes through all the usual steps to comfort and take of you --but there's something more adding to your misery this time.

Pairing(s): Piotr Rasputin x Reader.

Rating: T for angst, emotional hurt/comfort, and mentions of miscarriage(s).

Word Count: 1.2k.

Set after “It’s Truly Magical.”

Taglist: @marvel-is-perfection, @chromecutie, @girl-obsessed-with-things, @super-darkcloudstudent, @dandyqueen, @leo-writer

A warm, late summer breeze swirls around him, ruffling his hair and making his shirt billow outwards. Sunlight peeks through the overhead tree canopies, dappling the path with tiny bits of gold. Cicadas buzz in the branches, marking the gradual end of summer.

Piotr smiles. Contentment surges through his very being –at being in the warm sunlight, at the simplicity and peace of nature. So much of his life was chaos, between being an X-Men and a teacher; moments like this are far and few between and are cherished for their rarity.

The “pre-school season” review meeting for the teachers and staff at Xavier’s had gone well. There’d been the usual curriculum reviews and discussion about budgeting –and the implementation of some new curfew rules after an incident with a group of high school students, Scott’s Porsche convertible, a considerable length of rope, and a skateboard. He’d left with his head held high, confident about the coming fall.

He unlocks the front door to your home –the two of you are careful to keep things locked up, if only because being an X-Men comes with making enemies—and steps inside. He can hear the intro to the Great British Bake Off playing on the TV; he smiles when he sees you curled up on the couch in the family room. He closes and locks the door behind him, drops his keys in the dish the two of you keep by the front door, then takes off his shoes before striding to the back of the house. “Privet, myshka. How are you?”

You look up at him, lips tugged into a miserable frown. Your eyes are red and puffy, as is your nose. A pile of used Kleenex sits on the coffee table in front of you, along with an opened, partially consumed mixed bag of mini candies.

“What happened?” He rushes to your side, sitting next to you on the sofa. He presses the back of his hand against your forehead, then checks you over for obvious injuries. “Did you hurt yourself? Are you sick?”

“My period started,” you mumble. You sniff, then scrub at your nose with another tissue. “Just… got emotional.”

The anxiety in his chest eases a bit; this, at least, is something he can handle in the sense that he already knows what to expect. “I am sorry, myshka.” He kisses the top of your head, then gently cups your cheek with one hand and rubs his thumb along the swell. “Do you need anything?”

You turn your head so you can kiss the palm of his hand. “We’re out of Midol. And I want more chocolate.”

He chuckles, then kisses your forehead. “Midol and more chocolate. Can do.” He tucks a lock of hair behind your ear, then smiles lovingly at you. “I will go to store. Text me if you want anything else.”

You lean forward and wrap your arms around his neck. “Thank you, baby.”

He hugs you gently. “Of course, myshka. Anytime.”

***

Myshka: “Can you get some garlic bread while you’re at the store?”

The text comes in halfway through his trek through the store. He’s already got Midol, some extra pads (he stopped in the bathroom before going and noticed you were low), and a couple different kinds of chocolate in his basket. He smiles as he reads your text, then adjusts how his mask sits on his nose before texting back. “Will add it to basket.”

Myshka: “Thanks.”

He pockets his phone, then resumes strolling through the store. He picks up some strawberries –he wants to make chocolate covered strawberries for you, hence the multiple kinds of chocolate—then swings over the frozen goods session to get a couple loaves of garlic bread.

His phone buzzes again as he scans the shelves for the coveted garlic bread.

Myshka: “And fried mozzarella sticks.”

Myshka: “And smiley fries.”

Myhska: “And cupcakes.”

Myshka: “And hot dogs.”

Myshka: “And Ben and Jerry’s.”

Myshka: “…”

Myshka: “Okay maybe not all of those.”

He snorts and pockets his phone again.

You’re certainly right that he’s not going to get all of your requested items for you, if only because it’d be expensive, but one or two…

He’ll make it happen for you.

***

“Ya vernulsya.” He closes and locks the front door behind him, then heads straight to the kitchen with his bags. “How are you?”

“Fine.” You voice wavers and your eyes are watery, but you wave him off when he starts fussing over you like a mother hen. “Just sucks, is all.”

Piotr tuts and bends over so he can kiss your forehead. “I am sorry, moya serdtse. Give me moment to put groceries away, and then I will come sit with you, da?”

You favor him with a fleeting smile. “That sounds good.”

He tucks the garlic bread, Ben and Jerry’s, and the mozzarella sticks in the freezer, then puts the strawberries in the fridge. He grabs the Midol, leaves the rest on the counter, then rounds the couch and sits down next to you. “Here.” He waits for you to take a dose of Midol, then draws you into his arms and tucks your head under his chin. “I am sorry you are not feeling well, moya lyubov’.”

“Thanks, baby.”

He settles back against the couch. His focus drifts to the TV screen –you’re still watching The Great British Bake Off—but he makes sure to smooth his hands up and down your back and leave plenty of kisses on your forehead, cheeks, and lips.

Then, you shudder against him and let out a strangled sob.

“What’s wrong?” He angles his head back so he can see your face. He frowns, concerned, and wipes a few tears off your cheeks. “Myshka, talk to me. Please.”

“I was –I was two weeks late,” you stammer out between sobs. You sniff loudly and blow your nose into a tissue. “The stupid app that tracks my cycle said so –and then it started today, and I…”

Piotr’s eyes widen as he processes the information. His lips pull into frown, and he hugs you closer. “I am so sorry, Y/N.”

“You’re sorry? It’s my damn fault.”

“No—”

“It is, Piotr!” Your body shakes as you draw in a broken, shuddering breath. “I –I can’t fucking get pregnant, and when I do, I can’t keep it!” You laugh, dark and self-abasing. “Of course, it’s not just my brain. My whole body’s fucked up.”

“Stop.” He presses his lips against your forehead, your tear-stained cheeks, your lips, almost desperately. “Stop. Please. None of this is your fault, myshka. These things happen.”

“It’s been months, Piotr—”

“So, we will keep trying.”

“But if I can’t—”

“Then we adopt. Or foster. Or we have many dogs.” He cups your face in his hands and waits until your looking at him before he continues. “These things happen, myshka. You are not broken; is not your fault. So, please—” his voice cracks, and he has to swallow around a lump in his throat before continue “—stop blaming yourself. Please. It breaks my heart.”

Your expression crumples. “I’m sorry, Piotr—”

“Is okay.” He holds your close, rocking you gently while you both cry. “Is okay, myshka. Is okay.”

#sass writes #piotr rasputin x reader #colossus x reader #angst angst angst #hurt comfort #smut's over time for pain #deadpool fanfiction #x men fanfiction #tw: miscarriage

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shattered-mirror-fanfic · 3 years

Photo

I am so sorry I couldn’t give a warning about the dead squirrel, in all fareness Player never gave me warning.

Ao3 link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/32206135/chapters/84300925

Chapter below cut for those who don’t read on Ao3:

“OH GOD! GET THAT AWAY FROM ME!” Henry shouted at the ghost, holding out the dead rodent.

“Stop being a baby, I named it Romeo.” Player replied in their usual condescending tone as they put the squirrel back into their pocket. “There was another one I was planning on naming Juliet but a fox got to it first, so I chased the fox for ten minutes before giving up.”

“Why are you like this?!” The live man sputtered out. “Also why would that help me?”

Player shrugged. “It’s meant to represent something, but I forgot.”

“Of course, typical Player.” The human commented, crossing his arms.

“Hey now! It’s that damn foxes fault! Let’s see...Ahah! I remember! The squirrel is you, and the missing organs are your relationships and bonds, you need to get rid of them and stay with me! I can give you the ending you desire!”

“I’m happy Player, ok? This is the ending I settled on, granted things went a bit haywire but we can fix everything and have an even better ending.” Henry replied sternly.

“Tsk, Tsk, Tsk, clearly you’ve forgotten who got you here in the first place. Someone oughta teach you a lesson.”

Player lunged their translucent arm directly into Henry’s mouth, gaging him for a moment before plunging into his body. Henry bent over clutching his stomach while he coughed up some black goo. When he stood back up the red rings had gone pitch black and the ends of his hands matching the same inky color. He fell to the ground and vomited more of the goo before Player flowed out of his mouth again.

“Don’t you forget who’s the one in control.”

~~~

Back at the camp, everything had de-escalated now that Right Hand Man was fine, and everything seemed to be better. Everyone mainly just hanging out and enjoying the late afternoon atmosphere.

Right himself however, had gone back to his tent, plopping onto the bed inside face first into the pillow.

"You know you should go socialise, it’s good for you!"

Right sighed when he heard the warm voice echoing to him. “Well I’m chattin’ with ya right now, aren’t I? I didn’t want ya to feel lonely again.”

"You’re the one that’s lonely, you have done nothing but worry about me."

“Not true, I became friends with flowey boy. At least I think so until he almost made me lose you again.”

"See, you make everything about me. You need to stop thinking about me for once."

“It’s my job to worry Reg! If I didn’t I could have lost you sooner!”

"Your job is to take the role of leader in my absence, permanent or temporary. For now you need to act as a leader and not mope about me! Why am I even on your mind constantly?!"

“Oh boo fucking who, you’re pushing me away again because I care and worry!” Right shouted, jolting up into a sitting position. The dull sounds of people chatting from outside had filled the room, cicadas were even heard to be making chirps.

Reginald’s teal soul appeared and shot towards Right’s face.

"I’M pushing you away again?! Well I’m not the one avoiding everyone to wallow in my self pity because I feel bad for not immediately fixing an issue even though progress has been made!"

The soul grew closer and glowed brighter.

"I was the one that reached out! I want to be SAVED! But I don’t want you to focus only on that! I also care! I care because I’m your friend and you’ve gotten me through the worst times! I don’t want to see you cry like a baby!"

Right stared, stunned at the soul’s words.

“You don’t mean that...do you?”

"Why do you care about me so much? It’s like I’m the only thing you think about!"

“Because I love you, you idiot!”

"THEN DON’T!"

Those words left the soul fast it seemed like he didn’t process what he was responding to. The cyan glow dulled as the soul bobbed away.

“No, I can’t...wait, how are you even moving your soul?”

"I don’t know, I just felt a need to just show how mad I was at you."

“Well I’m sorry for making you my only priority. Now, no more being mad at me.” Right said, closing the conversation and pulling the floating heart to him with his hand. Said heart nuzzled against the man’s chest, regaining it’s bright glow that it had before.

"I’m sorry too."

~~~

Ellie had finally deemed her mission a success when the government camp had to abandon their gear and retreat to a camp further away. She gathered what she could carry and by sunset she was back at the main camp sharing her gatherings with everyone. It wasn't that they didn't have anything, it was just a nice thing to do. The toppat was currently caught in a very confusing debate between the skeleton brothers.

“IT IS A CRIME TO PUT KETCHUP ON SPAGHETTI!” Papyrus yelled at his brother.

“well it’s basically the same thing pap. both ketchup and tomato sauce are made from the same core ingredients and have similar consistency” Sans responded. “So you’re basically saying that putting tomato sauce on spaghetti is a crime”

“THAT IS NOT WHAT I AM SAYING AT ALL.”

“Well, I’m going to have to side with Papyrus on this one, ketchup is too sweet for any pasta.” Ellie chimed in.

“wow kid you certainly rose to the occasion to solve this problem.” The shorter skeleton joked. Ellie couldn’t help but laugh at the pun while Papyrus just sulked over how Sans was ruining their new human friend.

Something was off. Sans waived his right hand and used his magic to pull a familiar white-haired man out from a nearby bush.

“Holy shi-! Henry! What were you doing in the bushes? I’ve been looking for you since I got back!” The red-head exclaimed.

“I was out in the woods to cool off and I got a bit disoriented and lost, ok?” Henry groaned as he sat up and rubbed his head. “Also hey Ellie, where were you?”

“How’d you get-?! Y’know what, nevermind. Anyways, I was off dealing with those gov’t jerks.” Ellie spoke. “Damn Svensson wouldn’t let me use the rocket launcher.”

“What a buzzkill, we only misused it once and no one got hurt! Oh yeah, that reminds me, I wanted to ask you something.” Henry began before standing up to brush the dirt off his pants and grab his friend by the arm and drag her to where no one could see them.

“What’s going on Hen? Is something up?”

"I need you to keep an eye on player."

"Who?" The man's friend responded with a puzzled face.

"Listen, I know you've heard of soul bonds, Player is someone I’ve been soul bonded to for years. It was a pure accident. Right Hand Man got into a soul bond with the chief’s soul, which means he can see Player, and that is not good.”

“How can I even watch them if I can’t see them?”

“Elles, you're going to have to trust me, Player is going to try something, I know it. Just stay with Right Hand Man and make sure nothing goes wrong, and don’t immediately believe what you see or hear, Player is good at distractions.”

“Is that where the dance came from?”

“Well...yeah” Henry said after pausing.

“I knew you were too good to come up with that yourself!” Ellie laughed.

“Rude much? She’s lucky you took pity on her and didn’t listen when I said you could’ve been better off without her.” Spoke a familiar voice.

“Speaking off the goddamn devil…”

~~~

The sun was setting on yet another day, Frisk and Chara had been wandering around the camp, checking on each of their friends while enjoying the night air. Frisk passed the tent where the Toppats were staying when they heard a voice inside. They opened the tent flap and saw the Right Hand Man, laying in his cot, talking to the teal soul of the chief.

“Uhm, Mr. Right Hand Man? Are you doing ok?” The child asked, fully stepping into the tent and staring at the man.

“Hmm? Oh yeah, just talkin’ with Reg. How are you doing?” He asked in return.

Frisk smiled and gave a thumbs up while Chara floated over another one of the beds, examining Reginald’s soul from afar.

“That’s great kid, uh, say, who’s your ghosty friend? Haven’t seen ‘em before.” Right questioned after seeing Chara staring at the soul.

“Oh, that is Chara, I guess that solves the question of what happened earlier. I was wondering but no one told me.” the young kid explained.

“Huh, I only learned about this soul bond thing today, but it seems like that’s what you got going on.” Right responded. The teal soul bobbed over in the direction of Chara, hovering only a few inches from the ghost’s face.

“Heya...buddy? Already at a stage two? It usually doesn’t take that short of time.”

“I’m with Chara, how is that possible? Granted they got to 5 in a few days, but we did a number of resets, so it piles up to a long time.”

“Well, Reginald is just special, that’s just how it’s been since ah met him.” Right added, leaning over to scoop the soul up in his hands and bring it back to him. The soul bobbed around the man’s head before nestling itself into the messy bun he pulled his hair into.

“Oh really? Doesn’t seem all that special to me.” Chara snarkly said. Frisk hopped onto to the bed and sat next to the Right Hand Man, continuing to stare at the soul.

“Well it’s a kind of special you only understand after knowing him for a long time.” He responded, obviously too tired to properly argue.

Frisk chuckled a bit while Chara sighed before they spoke again.

“Say, what do you know about the flower?”

“Ya mean Flowey? Sort of mixed feelings on that lil bugga, granted he tried to help, but he also broke the soul container Reg was in.”

“But Mr. Reginald is fine now, so doesn’t that make up for it?” Frisk asked.

“I mean, in theory? But, still feels like it’s not enough.”

“Well, it’s a start, I just know he’s trying to be better.” Frisk said, and if they ever opened their eyes, there’d be sparks of determination glistening in them.

“I doubt it, I’ve known that flower long enough to know he’s psychotic.” Chara argued.

“Ok kids, calm down, no need to fight this late at night.” Right calmly said. “Now Chara, what is going on between you an’ that flower?” The ghost sulked a bit and crossed their arms.

“I don’t want to talk about it, but he was different, and much better.”

Right sighed and let the PATIENCE from Reginald’s soul seep into his own, and he took another deep breath.

File Saved.

“Ya don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want t’.” Right calmly said. Chara looked away and grumbled a quiet thank you. Right smiled and reached behind his head and pulled Reginald’s soul in front of him. “Anyways, you kids should head off, Reg and I are gonna get some shut eye.”

Frisk nodded and slid off the cot and walked out of the tent with their ghost sibling floating shortly behind them.

“Those kids are great, aren’t they?”

“Indeed, Frisk is going to be a great ambassador.”

~~~

Once the ambassador in question stepped out of the tent, they were spotted by their mother immediately.

“Frisk! There you are! It’s late, you should be in bed!” Toriel exclaimed while kneeling down to hug her child.

“Mom, I’m fine, I was just talking with Mr. Right Hand Man.” Her child assured.

“Oh alright, but you still need to sleep my child, you told me about how much you want to help all of us, and you can’t do that while exhausted.” She spoke again.

“I’m not tired though mom!”

“Frisk, sleep is still necessary, now do you want me to tuck you in?”

“Sure, it feels like tomorrow is going to be a big day.”

#shattered mirror #undertale #thsc #the henry stickmin collection #toppat recruits #crossover #fanfic #fanfiction #post-pacifist ending

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clown-morgue · 3 years

Note

what’s your favorite candle scent?what flower would you like to 4. what flower would you like to be given? 5. who do you feel most you around? 6. say three nice things about yourself (three physical and three non-physical).7. what color brings you peace? 8. tag someone (or multiple people) who make you feel good. 9. what calms you down? 10. what’s something you’re excited for? 11. what’s your ideal date? 12. how are you? (ily bitch)

3. what’s your favorite candle scent?

Scented candles kinda make me feel sick, just thinking about lavender scented candles makes me nauseous...

But ig like... Vanilla??? Is that even a candle scent idk

4. what flower would you like to be given?

Lilly of the valley / any kind of lily or oleander flowers

Lilly of the valley is my birth flower, it causes abdominal problems when ingested, and lilies in general are a common flower used for funerals

Oleander is also harmful if ingested and also may cause irritation to the skin

5. who do you feel most you around?

For irl friends there's this one guy who's basically my best friend and we vent to eachother abt everything so it's like mutual therapy

For online friends @synthwave-doctor and @weaselweaselweasel mostly

6. say three nice things about yourself (three physical and three non-physical).

Physical:

1. my fat ass I has tiny cute hands but I would punch anyone who said so but me

2. Um... Am flexible (does that count?)

3. People say I got nice cheekbones so...

Non-Physical:

1. My art skills really do be... do be...

2. I got good taste in music, you can fight me on that idc

3. I'm a shitpost God and you all live me for it.... Don't lie

7. what color brings you peace?

Florence green... It doesn't really brin me peace but it does irritate and enrage others and that's enough (:

8. tag someone (or multiple people) who make you feel good.

@synthwave-doctor (ily/p fam) @lumiicriesinthiscorner (Sksksk) @thevoidsystem (oli & tyler ily/p idk the others that much but ily/p too) @weaselweaselweasel (hehe yeah you ily/p bitch) @dragon1d (ngl love it when you call be babe /p) @rain-club-jam (pat pat child ily/p) @all my other mutuals I'm a bit scrambled egg brains rn so idk who else to tags... Yum eggies

9. what calms you down?

There's this one breathing exercise vid I use whenever I have a breakdown that helps a lot

Also wood turning videos, sims 4 speed builds, the forest, cemeteries, music, etc

10. what’s something you’re excited for?

It's a year for periodical cicadas in my area! Them babies been down in the dirt for 17-ish years... They're basically as old as me and I better see some or I'll cry

When they start coming up I'll go look for nymph shells and hen when they start dying I'll go looking for adult ones to collect (I don't like killing bugs for my collection I just wait till I find a dead one in good condition and with cicada it's that hard to just wait considering thy live as adult for a short time like just give them there time bitch wtf then collect them when they start dying... I'm getting off track)

11. what’s your ideal date?

Knife fight in the 711 parking lot at 6pm sharp, don't be late punk...

But for real take me to brunch and then buy me something shiny and I'm happy... And then we can fight in a parking lot /p

12. how are you? (ily bitch)

I'm the ruler of everything (ily bicth... Never gonna stop loving you... Bitch /p)

#clown morgue answers stuff #maddox #mads #ask game

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medea10 · 3 years

Text

My Review of Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni GOU

(a.k.a. When They Cry Gou)

I know what you’re thinking. Why the heck am I reviewing this anime again? I’ve already written a review in 2009 and re-polished it in 2016. (Here it is BTW) I’ve made my point on who I like, hate, what ships are worthy, and poked fun at all the deaths that happened throughout the series. I think some time has passed that I should say some thoughts on this…um, story. After all, Higurashi is one of my favorite animes.

STORY: Ah shit, here we go again!

Higurashi or When They Cry is about a boy named Keiichi Maebara who recently moved to a place called Hinamizawa. And ever since moving to this town, he’s found his days are filled with fun mischief with fellow friends Rena Ryuuguu, Satoko Hojo, Mion Sonozaki, and Rika Furude. But little does Keiichi know that there’s a little murder mystery that surrounds the town. During a town festival known as Watanagashi (or Cotton Drifting), there’s usually one or two people that go missing or turn up dead. And this year, Keiichi is next. So let’s relive the horrors that plague the town of Hinamizawa and…

One episode later.

Wait, what the…?! It’s episode 2, why are we seeing Hanyuu? I don’t remember that in the manga. The visual! THE VISUAL! WHAT THE FUCK?! ISN’T THIS SUPPOSED TO BE A REBOOT? WHAT THE FUCK?! WHAT THE FUCK?! WHY IS THERE AN ADULT RIKA?! WAIT, IS THAT ADULT RIKA OR BERN? IS THIS GOING TO BE THE PARALLEL UNIVERSE TO THE WITCHES OF UMINEKO?! THE SHADOWS IN THE OPENING ARE TOO FAMILIAR FROM OTHER WORKS! Ryukishi07, you magnificent, fucking troll master for keeping this hidden until the second episode’s air date!

Many of us did not see this coming. When they announced a new Higurashi series that was going to be done by a different studio, many of us speculated whether this was going to be a reboot or a sequel. But then we got the PV trailers and it looked like we were going to get a reboot to correct the mistakes Studio Deen made years ago. Rika’s head doesn’t look like its gonna snap off because her body is so small in comparison. Improvements! I mean, they showed everything we were already used to like the yandere girls, the original soundtrack, the original freakin’ cast, and death by baseball bat. Hell, the first episode ended with an Eiko Shimamiya song! It was on track to being a reboot! A better looking reboot!

Here in lies the sequel aspect! After episode one, we get a scene that isn’t usually seen until the Kai part of Higurashi (a good 4-5 arcs away). And they give away the secret that Rika Furude is repeating the timeline of June 1983 over and over because she keeps dying. And as the series progresses, you notice little things different from the original series. Many of the well-known storylines end much differently than what you remember. Instead of Keiichi killing Rena and Mion with a baseball bat, you’ve got Rena going psycho on Keiichi. And Rika’s fate is somehow worse than the stories of the original series. So let’s head back to Hinamizawa to hear the cicadas cry and watch a murder mystery unfold.

THE SUB: All the original voice actors have returned to voice their respected roles. Perfection in a nutshell!

LICENSING: You’ve gotta be shitting me!

As I’ve mentioned years ago in my review, the original Higurashi anime went through a turbulent time being licensed in the states. It was originally licensed and dubbed by Geneon. But once Geneon collapsed, FUNimation licensed it and did absolutely fuck all with it. Geneon could only manage to squeak out one season. At this point, FUNimation was picking up titles that Geneon used to have before it fell under including Familiar of Zero, Kyou Kara Maou, and yes, Higurashi. All of these titles mentioned here were done absolutely nothing with despite having cult followings, second seasons, and OVA’s.

A year or two after licensing it, the license expired for Higurashi. For nearly six years, the only copies you could get were out of print and estimating at $500 at the very least for a full collection. Single DVD’s could be found in rare shops, but it would take like 13 years to complete the fucking collection if you did it that way. And that was only for the first season. Second season, the best all of us could do was bootleg DVD’s from Japan Town or fansubs with glaring errors for the best season to Higurashi. We had to deal with this shit until Sentai Filmworks licensed and released the first 2 seasons and the Rei OVA’s.

AND NOW YOU’RE TELLING ME FUNIMATION IS CLAIMING HIGURASHI ALL FOR THEMSELVES?!

Where the shit was this love 10 years ago when we were asking politely to release Kai? People ignorantly blew Higurashi off for years because season two was never released in the states until 2016 because they thought the damn anime ended after Rena held up the school. I’m already irritated with FUNimation after the Interspecies Reviewers debacle and I’m still quite butt-hurt over them re-releasing Nichijou with a dub to make a quick buck. Licensing Higurashi just brings back old anger. Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy Higurashi is legally licensed and can be seen on at the very least Hulu. It’s just that I hold grudges and this was a big one.

THE DUB: Holy…um, okay! This is a rather big gulp to take in. As I’ve repeatedly mentioned in past reviews, the Higurashi dub was a mixed bag of okay, bad, and oh gasperts kill it with fire. So, not great! The good folks at Geneon (before bankrupting in America) dubbed the first season with a good chunk of folks that put their fake names to the credits. Again, not great! To me, there were some aspects of Megan Hollingshed, Mela Lee, and Grant George’s performances of Mion, Rena, and Keiichi that were okay. SOME! John Snyder and Karen Strassmen as Ooishi and Takano were the best out of that dub. Everything else was just irredeemable! It needed a redub, an overhaul, and a spit-shine. For years, I’ve wondered who would be the dream cast. Sentai Filmworks unfortunately never dubbed the remaining seasons when they released them. Would Luci Christian be the heavenly voice to do Rika Furude? Could we get Hilary Haag to do Satoko? Okay, that never came to pass.

This dub is a breath of fresh air. Rika doesn’t sound like Mihoshi. Satoko doesn’t sound fake, Keiichi doesn’t sound like a weird Sonic the Hedgehog. It’s perfect. ESPECIALLY BRITTANY LAUDA AS SATOKO! I knew the second she was cast as Satoko that she was going to excel the fuck out of this role. And I was not disappointed! The only voice I’m still not quite used to is Michelle Rojas as the Sonozaki twins. Probably because I was somewhat okay with Megan Hollingshed’s voice in the 2006 version that it’ll take some time! And we FINALLY got a voice for Hanyuu. I am super excited that Xanthe Huynh is the voice and I know she’ll do great with this role! With all of that said, here’s what you might recognize these folks from.

*Keiichi is now played by Khoi Dao (known for Kiriyama on March Comes in Like a Lion, Murata on Demon Slayer, Chaka on Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure Pt. 3, and Iskhan on SAO: Alicization)

*Rena is now played by Emi Lo

*Mion/Shion is now played by Michelle Rojas (known for Shizu Delta on Overlord, Touka on Assassination Classroom, Minase on Psycho Pass, Kanan on Love Live Sunshine, and Kusakai on Keijo!!!!!!!!)

*Rika is now played by Apphia Yu (known for Rio on Assassination Classroom, Marie on Black Clover, You on Love Live Sunshine, Victorique on Gosick, Natsumi on Danganronpa 3, and Laki on Fairy Tail)

*Satoko is now played by Brittany Lauda (known for Riko on Made in Abyss, Meidri on Interspecies Reviewers, Lessar on Index III, and Ichigo on Darling in the FranXX)

*Hanyuu is played by Xanthe Huynh (known for Menma on Anohana, Haru on Persona 5, Hanayo on Love Live, Hidomi on FLCL: Progressive, PallaPalla on Sailor Moon Super S [redub], and Sachi on SAO)

ANY CHANGES IN YOUR HATE-O-RADE:

Okay Medea, let-a-rip!

*inhales and exhales*

Teppei Hojo is trash. He is ultimate trash. This fucker needs to be murdered in every timeline. He is a turd in a Glenn Quagmire shirt. Him and his wife are trash. And when this pile of trash is cheating on that pile of trash, he sleeps with peak trash named Ritsuko. Teppei Hojo needs to die in every timeline. Whenever Keiichi bashes this cum-burger’s head in with a blunt instrument, I scream at the top of my lungs, “DIE SCUM, DIE”! And nothing, I repeat, NOTHING will change my opinion of Teppei Hojo.

Episode 23.

Oh, fuck you Higurashi Gou!

MUSIC: Okay, thank you for proving me wrong. I did not despise the opening theme. Having Higurashi with no Eiko Shimamiya is like having Pokemon with no Rika Matsumoto. Or Rozen Maiden with no ALI PROJECT. But this new opening is fine by my standards.

That’s right, get the niceness of the review before I get angry down below.

THESE TIMELOOPS: Rika tries to find solutions to end her time-loop in June 1983. Much like the original series, we follow stories from the Onikakushi-hen, Watanagashi-hen, and Tatarigoroshi-hen arcs (the first three stories to Higurashi, although now these have different names). However, all of these arcs have different endings. And after a positive turnaround with Satoko escaping from her abusive uncle, shit goes south when Detective Ooishi, who up to this point has never suffered under the Hinamizawa Syndrome or died a painful death goes on a murderous rampage. Higurashi style! That means, he’s after Rika Furude, will slaughter anyone in his way, and scratching his neck because he sees maggots (part of the hallucination effect).

What the shit? Ooishi for the most part has been a great guy. With the exception of the Tatarigoroshi-hen storyline, he was a nice guy! In the limbo with Hanyuu, Rika now remembers who has killed her. Every time Rika dies up to this point, she never remembers who was the cause of her demise. Hanyuu implanted that power to remember the deaths and a clue for Rika to use and then she disappears.

Now seriously, imagine Rika’s plight here. She has been repeating the month of June 1983 for over a hundred years. And each of these times she repeats, she’s horribly murdered. Rika got the shit-end of the deal in the murder department in the original series, including being dissected on while alive. Then, leaving her bloody, naked corpse out in the open of the Oyashiro altar! She’s tired of this shit! She wants to live a happy life away from Hinamizawa. She wants to grow older, become a teenager, and have fun. And this series made it worse by having her die four times in one episode. Not just that, but murdered by the most unexpected people including Akasaka, Chief Kimiyoshi, Mion’s mother Akane, and Keiichi. Keiichi has never killed Rika in any of the timelines up to this point. He has killed Mion and Rena, but never Rika. Keiichi loves Rika! Welcome back to A Million Ways to Die in Hinamizawa.

I’ll just add decapitation, drowning in a lake, set on fire, drowning in a sewage pipe, and death by…um…

Alexa, play Chandelier by Sia.

ENDING: We all know by now that in the original series, Miyo Takano is the betrayer and the reason behind all the murders during the Cotton Drifting Festival. This time, it’s someone closer to Rika that’s causing Rika so much pain. After we watched the worst kinds of murders happen to Rika, the episode after gave us our answer. Satoko, Rika’s friend and confidant is not happy that Rika is turning her back on Oyashiro and Hinamizawa. All the while pulling out her intestines!

Oh Higurashi, don’t stop being gory!

Yes, Satoko is aware of past timelines much like Rika and is almost on a god-like state. So what the hell happened to her? I know Satoko’s past has been a cluster-fuck of horror with her brother disappearing, her parents dying, and every form of abuse from her uncle. But she was able to prevail after all that. After surviving 1983, a lot has changed in Hinamizawa. The three big families of Hinamizawa put an end to the Cotton Drifting Festival and claiming there is no curse of Oyashiro. Mion and Shion moved on and are going to high school. And Rika decides she wants to move away from this village. By attending St. Lucia! And she wants to do this with Satoko.

Oh, if you don’t recall St. Lucia, Shion attended this academy until she escaped during the Meakashi-hen arc. It was also the same school that Ange from Umineko attended. But of course Ange attended it in the 90’s and we are clearly in the 80’s. Moving on!

Rika and Satoko studied their butts off for years and their hard work paid off as both were admitted into St. Lucia. Now Rika was able to prevail and fit in with everyone. Satoko on the other hand couldn’t do the same as her grades took a dip, her manners are atrocious, and she doesn’t seem to fit in with anyone. And this caused a drift between Rika and Satoko! And so during a trip to Hinamizawa, Satoko went to the old shrine where she ended up getting sent to that limbo place Rika and Hanyuu were at many times before. There, she meets Eua (God, I hope that really isn’t her name). She’s much like Hanyuu except a lot more condescending. Oh, and she’s that mysterious shadow during the opening theme. She bestows the power to Satoko of reviving on death and returning to a certain point in time. In the hopes that Satoko is able to stop Rika from going to St. Lucia! But Rika is not going to budge. She wants out of Hinamizawa no matter what. And Satoko just wants to be with her friend no matter what. Satoko is even shown Rika’s past and still no dent in…Okay, this is bugging the fuck outta me. Pause the Ending portion!

MY GRIPES WITH SATOKO: Satoko, girl, the fuck is wrong with you?! I know Rika is like your main chick and everything, but for fuck’s sake loosen the grip you have with Rika. This season has changed you and not for the better. You made a connection with ALL OF YOUR FRIENDS from Hinamizawa. Big connections! At least in the original series you did. Look at your moments with Keiichi and Shion. Are you just going to shove them off? And what really sets me off is that Satoko literally had the opportunity to learn about Rika’s hundred year’s loop of death. And feels nothing about it! Only that it’s a challenge to break her herself! God damn, at the end of season one, Keiichi learned the truth and he was remorseful. This bitch doesn’t care that her friends were murdered in such a way. And Rika’s been shot in the head, had a live dissection performed on her, and other forms of torture…AND IT DOESN’T FAZE SATOKO!

I know in my original Higurashi review, I felt sorry for Satoko as she did seem to get the short-end of the stick living in Hinamizawa. I mean, her parents died right in front of her, she suffered abuse from her uncle, abuse from her aunt, ostrisized by the town for years, and a myriad of all types of shit to befall her. But Higurashi Gou has ruined this character. Rika didn’t really do anything wrong to Satoko. She didn’t snitch on her when Satoko got in trouble. She offered help to Satoko when she thought her grades were slipping. Satoko just held onto this petty vendetta. Satoko acted like Rika sexually assaulted her and have two other people gang rape her while drugging her. Okay, that’s a call for revenge, not your petty shit.

YOU SEE WHERE I’M AT WITH YOU SATOKO?! Your actions are so bad that you have me siding with the protagonist from Redo of Healer.

REDO.

OF.

HEALER!!!

I’m done with you! Girl, bye! We now return you to my talk about the ending already in progress.

BACK TO THE ENDING: Sorry, had to get that off my chest. Yeah, Satoko is leaving a bad impression on many of us who have been following the Higurashi story for years. And it just gets worse as she uses her new power for petty shit and abusing it at that. I mean, we saw Rika use her power in order to find a way to live past June 1983. Satoko is just using that shit to win some games and have things go her way. What else could this series bless us with? How about an epiphany from Teppei Hojo?

What?!

Teppei changes for the better.

What?!

Look, I admit that these moments with Teppei and Satoko were tame compared to the shit she’s pulled in the last several episodes. But this is Teppei Hojo! The same guy that used Satoko as his personal punching bag! The same guy who fleeced Rena’s father! The same guy many of us who cheer every time we see him on a moped because we know someone’s going to bash his head in with a baseball bat. Even my best friend knows how I am with this guy. When she gave me Higurashi free swag, I took everything except for Teppei. I don’t take trash. So seeing him so remorseful makes me…conflicted.

So now Satoko’s got things turned around for her. Her uncle has…changed?! Add to that, her God-like power. Satoko decides to change the past for her own advantage. This includes changing one of the biggest stories in Higurashi Kai with the kids vs. Miyo Takano. If Rika doesn’t experience the pain in those timelines, she won’t think about leaving Hinamizawa. And if she doesn’t leave Hinamizawa, she’ll stay with Satoko forever.

Oh what a tangled web of crazy Higurashi Gou was! I gotta tell you, Higurashi got me excited all the way up until we learn it was Satoko. And then it went straight to Hell. They turned Satoko into a straight-up selfish monster. Totally unlike the Satoko we’ve all grown to love in the original series. Yes, Satoko had those moments where, yeah, you would want to throw a chair at her and beat her ass with it. But that was only temporary! You would always see the good in Satoko despite that mischievous laugh and those episodes in Higurashi Rei. And God help me, I was a shipper of Rika x Satoko 10 years ago. Not a big one, but a supporter of it. Now, I would rather support Amourshipping from Pokemon than root for this. And I despise the living fuck out of Amourshipping. That should tell you something!

If original Satoko were bestowed the powers from Eua, I think things would be different. Satoko would probably use her powers to prevent all the bad stuff from happening to her friends and to her brother Satoshi. I mean, my goodness, not once did I see her think, hey maybe I should find a way to help my ailing brother. Change a few timelines, make him all better! And of course, feel sympathy for Rika’s plight. Do it for Rika’s sake, not your own selfish desires! Rika has died horrificly for hundreds of years. And I seriously just can’t get over Satoko’s reaction to that when she learned the truth. Instead, she wants to treat Rika like a caged bird. Best friend my ass!

Now can Higurashi SOTSU fix the hot mess of Satoko? Time will only tell! And good on them for having Higurashi air in the summertime. Summertime is for Higurashi! Autum is for Umineko. Speaking of, it’s been since 2009. Any chance you want to give Umineko the old reboot or sequel it sorely needs? Oh forget it! My likeness for this season is conflicted. I was annoyed by it, but I didn’t fully hate it. It’s just that last arc with Satoko really burned my beans. And I’m sure a lot of you all feel the same way.

Guys, if you want to watch Higurashi Gou, do yourselves a favor and watch the original series first. Let that swirl around your heads for a while. I know the creator tricked us at the beginning of this series thinking it was going to be an honest-to-God retelling. It is not! It is a sequel. And a sequel that isn’t based off a game or manga of all things. So fans are jumping into this with eyes closed! And if you’re a fan of Satoko Hojo, I’m sorry. I’m just sorry.

If you want to check out Higurashi Gou, it is available to watch on FUNimation and Hulu. But please, if you haven’t watched the original series, go to HI-DIVE now and watch “When They Cry” and “When They Cry Kai”. I think you can manage without watching any of the OVA’s.

I’d rather watch that Kira OVA where the fanservice is thin, you can practically lick off the whipped cream from the Sonozaki’s tit.

That should tell you something if I’m starting to say something nice about Higurashi Kira.

See you in a few months when Higurashi SOTSU comes out.

#anime review #Higurashi no Naku Koro ni #higurashi no naku koro ni gou #When they cry #when they cry gou #Rika Furude #satoko hojo #mion sonozaki #keiichi maebara #hanyuu #rena ryuugu #miyo takano #eua #teppei hojo

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lokomotives · 4 years

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The feel when you’re watching “Scooby Doo: Mystery Incorporated” as it airs and you already have some grievances with the plot direction - then suddenly they do an episode (S1Ep12 ”When the Cicada Calls”) referencing the horror anime “Higurashi No Naku Koro Ni” airs and You Know ya 2010 weeb of an Irish lad Noticed.

Its got those little cicadas, high schoolers caught up in a potential murder(?) case, a guy flat-lines like Keiichi did at the end of the Watanagashi-hen/ Meakashi-hen, corporate conspiracy, poisoning, and the fact the episode title is a direct reference to the english translation of the anime; “When Cicadas Cry”.

Lemme tell you, I Knew they were gonna pull a time reset Somewhere cus any weeb in the late-00s early-10s could tell you that time resets/loops are a pretty big plot point of Higurashi.

I was furious when I saw the series finale

Better timeline my butt

#scooby doo #higurashi #higurashi no naku koro ni #rant tw

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randomavatarfan · 3 years

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Satokowashi-hen Ep4 Phase 1- For You, The Replaceable Ones

Hhhhhhnnnnngggghhhhhhhh

Nothing is as interesting as Featherine right now. Honestly, I'm disappointed that we don't see a truly deep villain. Gou is going to end with Satoko and Rika seeking forgiveness and they both escape the loops, Rika leaving Hinamizawa, Satoko maybe not, and they promise to see each other again when the evening cicadas cry. The end.

I'm kinda disappointed with the development. I had a lot of fun in the first few arcs "what does it all mean?" but I feel like Satoko's motive is just too petty and the obvious ending is... idk. They're going to sing platitudes about trusting and forgiveness, but honestly putting Rika through the hell that she did for a motive so shallow, it's not even exciting.

But Featherine!!!! fiditsitdgodpfuoydufs.

First off, Satoko always seemed disconnected from Lambda. Her blonde color was different from Miyo, her name didn't hold the meaning, she just didn't seem to be the fit. But Featherine connected her to Vier, Takano's doppelganger, whose name is literally 3-4. If Satoko has the power of certainty on her side, then Gou could become endless...

So why does Featherine know Satoko as Vier, Mitsuyo, and a spinal specimen? Vier is definitely a Ciconia reference, spinal specimen... maybe??? Mitsuyo...??????????

(Potentially, she may be Jestress)

I honestly think the most interesting part about this entire chapter is Featherine and the potential connection to Umineko and Ciconia. I really do hope if they ever (re)make animes for them that they do it straight and not make a "Gou"-type thing (Unless we get to see Land of the Golden Witch ;) )

I think my next goal is to reread Ciconia and see where this new perspective comes from. I've tried comparing some of the characters to the Umineko witches, not as an attempt to use them to explain the conflict, but to help identify the conflict- who is the miracle? who is the certainty? who is the observer? Vier and the Jestress may well have the same goal. I also really believe Miyao's name is enough of a homophone to be included in the Ciconia 34 gang, but everything seems to be pointing to them being the good guys. Even Dark!Miyao seemed to be more of a harbinger and Oracle rather than the one pulling the strings- Miyao being a puppet. Who would be pulling his strings? Most likely his parents who birthed them in a manner incongruous with the world culture. But his parents are split: the Jestress and Tojirou are not on the same side. Tojirou wants to see the world burn with WW4.

I think Vier knows of the world outside... those scenes of people on the hooks that didn't fit in. That's the "Meta" of Ciconia, and now, potentially the meta of WTC as a whole. They're living in a simulation. Vier managed to cheat the system, she found a glitch and is living in a manner that wouldn't normally be allowed. The things her team studies are things that should not have occurred within the simulation. The Dreisig conversion, everything are things that should not be possible but are.

The three kings and tojirou/seshat have similar but conflicting goals. I don't think they're quite aware of Vier's base, or the world outside. Their goals however will lead to a more stable simulation while Seshat's/Tojirou's will more likely destroy the simulation. The Jestress has a set of goals at odds with Tojirou's, and potentially at odds with the Kings, but aiding the kings will help her for now.

I feel like i'm looking too much into the fantasy of the realm, but honestly I think the truth of Ciconia lies in there rather than with the Knights. I think the knights may be more in line with the Kings rather than Seshat.

Anyway, my goal is to reread Phase 1, take advantage of the hiatus and delay to really soak in details. What are your thoughts?

#higurashi spoilers #ciconia spoilers #Augusta Aurora Featherine #Vier Driessig #miyao mitake #higurashi no naku koro ni #higurashi when they cry #higurashi gou #ciconia no naku koro ni

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kindafooey · 4 years

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Some of my followers probably knew this was going to happen when I started making random semi-regular posts about how huge an impact both Higurashi and Umineko have had on my life in the past 15 years. So here it is! Some nice fresh ink dedicated to When They Cry, a genre-deconstructive (and/or expansive?) murder mystery series that has played such a ginormous and fundamental part in my personal growth that it more than deserved a place amongst my fandom tattoos. Do I have to add the Ciconia wings too? Only time will tell.

I actually decided to get a Higurashi tat - specifically, the red ‘na’ hiragana from the title that you can see in the final version above - back when I was just a 15-year-old tiny being, but decided to let the idea simmer on low heat for the minimum of ten years because that’s just how I rolled back then. At one point, I also contemplated getting ink of the poem by Frederica Bernkastel at the beginning of Onikakushi-hen, or alternatively a line or two from ‘Why, or Why Not’, because I still adore that song to hell and back.

Well, I ended up going with a butterfly wing/cicada wing combo that reminds me of both the unique soundsphere of Higurashi and all the little atmospheric details in Umineko, but who’s to say I’m never going to get a WTC-related lyrical tattoo in the future? We’ll see. c: In any case, I’m freaking happy that I finally did this. Now excuse me, ima go read Tsumihoroboshi-hen for the rest of the night.

#higurashi #umineko #higurashi no naku koro ni #umineko no naku koro ni #when they cry #tattoos #not gf

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tsukishima44 · 5 years

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My Little Partner

Warnings : Child Neglect

Otoya blinked again and again. His eyes roamed back from top to bottom and repeat it again to break his dumbfounded state and register the sentences to his mind. His right hand fumbled with the scroll on the mouse, up and down, up and down. As his eyes read it again, his mind had underlined several words. Age regrsssion, child, stress. His eyes stranded after reading for the fifth time to the figure beside him. His roommate was sitting in the corner on his bed. His body was curled with his knees raised and arms thrown on them. His face was also hiding behind his folded arms and for the first time after living with Tokiya, he saw how small he was.

At age 12, Tokiya knew something was wrong with his mind. Everytime he reached a certain stress level, he started to feel like throwing a tantrum and crying it all out loud. He wanted his burden, his responsibility off his shoulders for once and just showered with praise and soft things, like the blue flannel blanket his late grandfather gave him when he was 8. It has a blue bird embroidery with his name on one of its corner.

Tokiya was reluctant when his grandfather gave something as childish as a blanket to him, he felt he aged enough not to be pampered anymore, not that his parents care for him much, but his grandfather has stretched out the soft material with his equally soft smile. Tokiya took it into his hand, muttered a 'thank you', his first real gratitude, to his grandfather who patted his head. After said event, Tokiya slowly opened himself to his grandfather, never to his busy parents, and his grandfather in return gave the warmth he unconsciously has been longing all along. His grandfather breathe his final breathe when Tokiya was 10 years old, holding his prunny hands and feeling for the lost thudding of his artery in his wrist. He cried hard for the first time in his whole life. Then, there was nobody else to hold him when he was sad, nobody to teach him how to make a whistle from leaf, nobody to sneak in some snacks before sleep, nobody to read him story when he felt like he can't sleep, and most importantly, he felt alone.

A year after, Tokiya searched frantically after accidentally talking with a lisp to one of his home caretaker. He entered everything he felt, from wanting to get mad at everything to being pampered into google's search bar. His answer came in less than 5 minutes. Tokiya felt his shoulder slumped in distress. He is a Little.

-chapter break-

Age regression is when somebody reverts to a child-like state of mind, often as a coping mechanism for things like PTSD, depression, anxiety and other mental health issues. Basically age regressors are more at-peace and worry-free whilst in 'little space' (a term for when one is in said mindset). These people simply need breaks from the stress of being old and often have a childish personality even outside of regression.

Otoya had sighed as he remembered about yesterday's accident.

-chapter break-

"To~ki~ya~"

Otoya was running through the halls of bedrooms into his and Tokiya's shared room. The red head felt great today! He got a full score on one of his test, scored several goals at soccer, and finally bought the legendary bread in the canteen. The last thing be needed today is to tell everything to someone and that someone happened to reside in his bedroom.

He had been told repeatedly by his blue haired roommate to at least knock if he wanted to enter a room, even if it it was his own bedroom because he shared it. But Tokiya's advice just flew away in his happy state. Otoya turned the knob and opened the door happily.

"Tokiyaaaa~ today I-"

Otoya immediately heard a loud gasp from inside. His eyes opened to see what was wrong and it just stared at Tokiya.

On his tidy neat bed sat Tokiya in a hoodie Otoya had bought for his birthday but apparently two sizes to big, a blue blanket, and tw-three bird dolls. The person in the middle of everything, he deemed as the owner, was ashen and pale with rosy cheeks. Tokiya's deep blue orbs were staring at him but Otoya saw something else in there. Like the pupil was a bit clouded and each eyes are larger than its normal size.

"I--uh--I will come back later!!!"

Otoya ran out of his room, never forgot to close it again, and just wander around aimlessly and trying to will his mind to snap back. What had he seen?

"Yo, Tokki!"

His head immediately snapped up to meet his friend. Ren Jinguuji was stood in front of him smiling, but different from the smile he thrown to his fans, with his orange hair in a ponytail. Masato, his roommate, childhood friend, and potential lover had told him to put it up rather than letting it free. To look tidier at least, Masato had said. Ren had argued that his lovely ladies prefer to see his hair free of tie yet he always tie it whenever they are in dorms.

"What's wrong, Tokki? Are you okay? Come to think of it, where is Icchi? Have you seen him?"

At the mention of his name, Otoya immediately answered as fluent as possible.

"Oh oh I'm fine!! Just thinking about today's dinner~ W-why are you searching for Tokiya?"

Ren's brow raised in confusion and Otoya had to gulp a lump in his throat. Who would he kidding? There is just no way Ren would buy a lame excuse as that. When Ren sighed, he wondered if his acting had taken up into a new level or it was just Ren trying to be nice.

"I heard he has a hard time recently so I was about to see how he was doing"

"Oh, I see! No wonder Tokiya is sleeping early~"

Otoya would praise his mouth for thinking of such a wonderful excuse. But still that didn't cover or gave him a hint on what he saw in his bedroom.

"Oh? That is a surprise~ Why don't we prank him with another marker again? I am running of blackmail phot-"

"Ah! I forgot to buy tonight's ingredient! How about Ren accompany me?"

Ren's brow creased deeper.

But Otoya didn't cower down and used his puppy face, something he knew no one had ever able to say no to.

"O...kay..."

"Great!"

Then Otoya practically drag the taller boy down to the minimarket while messaging Tokiya when would it be alright to come back to his room.

-chapter break-

At 8 p.m Tokiya had replied his message. I'm sorry and I'm fine. But when the clock hit 9 o'clock that was when Otoya finally strolled back to his room from Syo's and Natsuki's bedroom.

The hallway was quiet at night, devoid from any voice except for some cicadas and frogs singing with the moon shining upon them. Just like a spotlight specially made for them. Also the sound of his sandal hitting the wooden floor beneath him was his only companion. As he gotten neared his door, Otoya noticed that there was no light coming from inside. He frowned. Tokiya always slept at least at 10 o'clock or sometimes after midnight and wake up before him. Was he really that tired as Ren had said or probably because Otoya saw the inside of Pandora box?

The red haired man shook his head and opened the door slowly. As he had predicted before, the light was out. His roommate's body was lying on his bed but there was no soft snore or sign of him sleeping.

Otoya took several feet to his partner's bed.

"Toki-"

"Otoya"

Otoya's breathing hitch

"I will explain tomorrow. Please"

His heart cracked when he heard Tokiya's pleading tone. He remembered Tokiya's exasperated noise often, his laugh several times, his awed voice everytime Nanami finished a song, and Tokiya's soft snore when he was deep asleep. But never did he heard something akind to this.

With heavy heart, Otoya turned on his heel and readied himself to bed. He prepared for a night with no sleeping. But today's event proved him wrong as he was taken into a blissful sleep in less than an hour, leaving his partner awake on the bed opposite his.

In the morning, Otoya had prepared for the awkwardness to settle in. Otoya was awoke naturally, not because of Tokiya mother-hen mode for once, and seen his partner's bed empty. Otoya readied himself and went to the hallway where his missing partner was with Masato, Syo, and Camus. As soon as their eyes met, the bluenette stopped and strode to Otoya. His head bowed down, then as they passed, Otoya felt a paper was given.

"Finish your breakfast first" Tokiya muttered beside him

Then as soon as they met, Tokiya was gone.

"What happen just now?"

Syo asked making Otoya startled. The paper given was quickly shove into his pocket.

"A-ahhh, Tokiya said that he wanna practice something again. I-I'm hungry~ Masaaa where is the food??"

Masato huffed and handed him his share of sanma. The other might realize something was going on, but never did they speak about it ever again.

Then here they were, in their shared room. Otoya looking over his friend who was still curled against the wall on his bed.

'Age regression' Otoya thought 'Tokiya was stressed enough'

Otoya slowly walked into where his partner was and climbed the short bed. Tokiya's figure flinched as soon as the bed cover pulled against Otoya's weight. Otoya placed his hand on top of Tokiya's left arm.

"Toki...."

Tokiya's gripped on his own arm tightened

"Toki...I don't mind, you know?"

Tokiya looked up from his hiding place. Otoya heart broken in pieces when he saw red puffy eyes and tear marks in his cheeks. And....yeah. Otoya didn't mistaken the size of Tokiya's widening pupil. If Tokiya ever smile it would be very pretty, not that usual Tokiya's smile not pretty or anything. But Otoya could picture Tokiya in a child-mindset smiling up at him.

"Can I be your caretaker?"

Otoya blinked. Tokiya too blinked. Was that his voice just now?

"U-um.. I mean... it is stated that a Little has to have someone to take care of them when they are in their child mindset. So, I'm thinking if you need one I can help"

He scratch the side of his temple, one of his nervous quirk. Not that the others realized about his habit.

"Y-you want to? Am I not weird?"

"No! Not at all! Everyone has their own coping mechanism and if Tokiya's is being a little than it is fine"

Tokiya blinked unsure at him

"I mean it, ya know? If you think that I am not competent enough, should I call Ms. Yukine from Sunshine Orphanage to tell you my babysitting record?"

Now he was snickering. Tokiya sure did know that Otoya was raised in Sunshine orphanage by Ms. Yukine after his parents got into an accident on a young age. Tokiya also had listened to Otoya's rambling about Chii-chan and Juno-kun adventure time, Shunichi's bug collection, Totoko's singing and dancing talent, and other kids he had growned up with. There was no doubt that Otoya was experienced enough with kids.

"Tokiya?"

Otoya called when the bluenette in front of him didn't do anything.

"Okay"

"Okay?"

"Be my caretaker.....please"

Otoya smiles his thousand dollar watt and glomped his usually cold friend and partner. Tokiya gave a stifled yelp and followed Otoya's giggled.

"Thank you, Otoya" Tokiya said from Otoya's chest.

"You are welcome, Tokiya~"

-chapter break-

The day after their battle with QUARTET NIGHT, STARISH was given a week off. They were physically and mentally exhausted after preparing for their concert. Now that everything settled, each of them sighed heavily full of relieve. They didn't bother to eat dinner or anything, it was 9 p.m, and strode to their room with a simple 'night' to each other they met.

Ren raised his brow when he saw a red head figure playing with his cellphone in their living room.

"Otoyan? You are not sleeping?"

The red head snapped their head to Ren and waved his hand.

"I will be in 10 minutes~ Just need to boil some milk for a goodnight sleep"

Ren chuckled at the A class student's antic and childish personality

"Right then. I will be going first, ciao"

Then Ren left him, not knowing the existence of a baby bottle in Otoya's hand.

Otoya slipped back into his room with a warm bottle of milk in his hand. After entering his room, his hand locked their room in habit.

"Tokiyaaa, I'm here"

Otoya giggled when he saw a blanket covered lump shaking from laughing. The blanket was soft blue color, the one Little Tokiya had described as his back snuggled against the smaller one's chest. Although the clothe wasn't big enough now, Tokiya still tried to cover his body with it which made him just adorable.

Right now, Little Tokiya was covering his body with it, but his legs were jutting out. Otoya walked to where they were and tickled Tokiya's feet. The reaction was a high pitch laugh and the boy's body curled inward to protect his ticklish part.

"Ahahahahaha, 'toyaaaa, sto-ahahahaha, nyohohaha pl-please ahahahaha"

After 30 seconds, Otoya stopped his ministration and uncovered Little Tokiya. His face was glistening with sweat and rosy cheeks.

"Come on, Toki~ It's time for your warm milk and bed time story"

"It's night already?"

"Yup! And it's time to sleep~"

The man scrambled to sit near the headrest but leaving enough space for his caregiver sitting behind him, a position Tokiya loved so much. When Otoya discovered it, he almost hug Tokiya from behind even when he was Big. Sometimes he wanted Tokiya to sit on his lap.

The excited 5 year old, Tokiya also told him it was the time he realized his parents didn't dote him like a normal parent should and time when he acted like Hayato, patted Otoya's space, telling him to hurry up.

Otoya clambered to his place and boxed Tokiya's body with his legs and arms. Tokiya placed his head on the juncture of Otoya's right shoulder and neck while Otoya himself located his head on Tokiya's left, easily placing little smooches there.

His hand took the bottle he had put on Tokiya's bedside table and gave it to the five year old. Tokiya happily drinked his warm milk while Otoya busy hugging his cute partner.

After finishing his nightly beverage, Tokiya placed his bottle back, Otoya figures that Tokiya was a very polite child from the start, and slumped back against Otoya, head nuzzling against Otoya's neck.

"Still hungry, Toki?"

His Toki shook his head

"Oookay~ Have any story you would like to hear?"

"Ummm....astronomy?"

Another fact was Tokiya very very extremely fond with anything about astronomy and myths. Otoya felt challenged each time.

"Hum... ah! I know! Have you heard the gossip about the moon and the sun?"

"No"

"Righty, you see Toki, the sun and the moon were once best friend. The sun is attracted at moon because it has such a unique shape while the moon is attracted to sun's shine and brightness. But then-"

Otoya continued his story for around 5 minutes before he heard a soft snore against his neck. He stopped his story and pecked Tokiya's head. He carefully repositioned their body so they could snuggle comfortably. When he was finally positioned lying on his side with his front against Tokiya's backside, he tightened his arms on Tokiya's waist to bring them closer. Tokiya unconsciously leaned back to Otoya's warmer body.

Smiling again, Otoya spoke softly

"Goodnight, baby"

#uta no prince sama #tokioto #tokiya ichinose #otoya ittoki #tokiya x otoya #jinguuji ren #masato hijirikawa #sho kurusu #children of the orphanage (uta no prince-sama)#age regression #de-aging #caregiver! Ittoki Otoya #Little! Ichinose Tokiya #hurt/comfort #child neglect

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sheusedtobesassier · 3 years

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Day 10,785

172 days until I hit my thirties.

So. An assortment of 172 good memories from my twenties.

001. Addey hype mumbo jumbo singing along with Moana before she was really talking.

002. Being asked to say the big thank you at SOE graduation.

003. Isaac’s face when he peeked at Omar’s new shoes at the East Towne Starbucks.

004. Drinking Mike’s honey moonshine while we played Euchre in his starry cicada humming backyard.

005. Taking Mama on the water taxi rides when she visited me in Chicago.

006. Grandma Kathy calling me, “My pink haired granddaughter.”

007. Sneaking into camp with the Hines girls to write up collaboration glass bottle poems in the Prayer Chapel.

008. The slow and steady hike up to the Hollywood sign.

009. The night I kidnapped Mini Farm kittens to snuggle for a movie and accidentally left the gate open releasing the rest to the Wisconsin wild.

010. Sunday afternoon sipping Stella Artois in the perfect sunny front room of our Albany Park apartment.

011. Zoë giving me all her wallet cash so I could buy bare minimum groceries.

012. Taking turns reading The History of Love aloud in our Winter Staff Forest Springs apartment.

013. The Halloween/Hillside round of Murder in the Dark with All Stars only.

014. Acting a fool in the unfinished Lodge room filled from floor to ceiling with Tempur-Pedic mattresses.

015. Doug lounging in the giant crate of laundry bags in the laundry room.

016. GUBS INSIDE JOKES.

017. St. Patrick’s Day 2021, hahaha.

018. Beyoncé: Lemonade in the empty downstairs apartment with Mary.

019. Accidentally getting kayak drunk from a backpack bottle of Ménage à Trois.

020. Daylight skinny dipping with Amber to inaugurate the new pool.

021. The perfect stray cat that came around the second half of 2018.

022. Renate being the first to cry with me post breakup. Bill supplying sparkling water to prevent dehydration.

023. Doing drag makeup in Bekah’s bathroom while her and Marissa giggled at each other in the tub.

024. Every kitchen island conversation I’ve ever had with Steve Hines.

025. The perfect colors the night we snuck up on the helicopter landing pad on that Dallas hotel.

026. FACILITATING THAT SAME WEEKEND’S GAME OF ASSASSIN, BEFORE IT GOT UGLY.

027. Becoming buddies with all four Williams brothers.

028. When Mercy told me I’m her favorite Williams brother.

029. Hahaha the Camp Clean Up I put Elliot on my crew for my own amusement and told him his only responsibility was to walk around with me the whole time.

030. The time Blaine and I were avoiding the long lunch line together and Nimanim was like, “Wait so this is like an actual friendship huh?”

031. Tanner enthusiastically reenacting Gandalf’s YOU SHALL NOT PASS as I came up the path.

032. Will realizing I’d Facebook stalked him without sending a friend request.

033. Magically finding Pop Rocks the morning of my perfect 22nd birthday.

034. My perfect 26th birthday weekend in Minneapolis with my dreamy local girl gang.

035. Tauri’s blossoms on the Sky Lodge trees in the spring.

036. Encountering and becoming completely enthralled by the Enneagram.

037. OLIVIA FUCKING GATWOOD APPRECIATING MY PINK HAIR.

038. Clementine von Radic writing that Greyhound always loses her luggage too.

039. My stretch of obsession with Hemingway’s love interests.

040. Becoming friends with Fat Boy Tucker pup.

041. Becoming friends with rescued best dog Star girl.

042. The night Doug was my ride from the airport and he pulled his truck over so we could take a good look at the gigantic moon.

043. That hilarious flirtatious moonlight wander of the horse trails with Omar and Edith and Caleb.

044. Jake Nelson giving me a surprise scoop of chocolate custard as a peace offering after his grumpy bedtime attitude.

045. THE DISCOVERY AND CAPTIVATION OF HADESTOWN.

046. Getting to have Alia in every day for a while there.

047. Les Mis at Overture Center because Ally bought our family tickets.

048. Pat Coakley telling me I don’t know how special I am.

049. Spit handshake with Janelle swearing we’ll never think any boys are cooler than we are.

050. Marissa picking me up without explanation to take us on a quiet sunset drive of her favorite county road.

051. Jayden imagination playing with Blue, Guy, and a motorcycle for a whole night then waking me up with them the next morning.

052. Genevieve asking to borrow my lavender romper for her rehearsal dinner.

053. Getting to be Cali’s sidekick the week leading up to her wedding extravaganza.

054. Houston YMCA hallway phone call from Justin’s dorm room asking me clarify which of the boys was Nick, Schmidt, and Winston.

055. The absolutely ludicrous old woman I got drunk with in the Amtrak dining car.

056. The absolute ludicrous glass skull light up cocktail I drank at Freehand’s hotel bar.

057. When Dan Hartke told me I’m a mother hen.

058. When the most beautiful Sora from Korea told me, “You always flowers.”

059. Hannah’s hand me down Steve Madden sandals.

060. Runaway trips with Amber Bamber to watch Shakespeare in the woods.

061. Storytelling with Jack Thomas.

062. Drunk bar darts after Corn Fest with Marissa’s gang.

063. Leaving the reception with Emmy to go curl up in Amber’s bed and giggle about how it was the last place she slept as a virgin.

064. The night Riana and Zoe and I took turns putting our heads out the car windows to howl like wolves.

065. Falling asleep on the couch with Zelina and Chelle beer buzzed watching Jersey Shore.

066. That perfect little basement Thai place a couple blocks from Emmy’s apartment dorm.

067. When Dan forced me to get out of his car and left because I’d annoyed him too hard on our library trip.

068. Vicki suggesting we go live together overseas.

069. Depop photoshoot with Taurilyn.

070. Mykenza bluntly declaring true things I couldn’t confirm or deny.

071. Norm announcing to the full room he was teaching that I was a rascal.

072. Zochella.

073. Noah Gundersen and Brett Dennen at The Majestic.

074. Every damn time we ate beautiful food at High Rock Cafe.

075. The nights I felt capable at TOCHI.

076. LENA DUNHAM’S GIRLS.

077. Jordan suddenly ballroom dancing Genevieve around the kitchen.

078. Staying up late crying to my mom about trying to take good care of the lesbian teenagers at Sky Lodge.

079. The night Caleb very suddenly showed up with a bowl of sangria then tried to leave a dozen times but we convinced him to stay.

080. Rachel swearing that the man in the Wrigleyville bookshop had love at first sighted me.

081. Making the list of how many musicals I’ve been affected by.

082. Discovering weirdo La Llamada then driving straight to Carlsons’s to immediately watch it again with them.

083. Writing heartfelt correspondence back and forth with Kat for a few years.

084. All the funky cards I’ve received from Amber.

085. Finding that PERFECT dress at Goodwill for Tauri’s Winter Ball.

086. An actual friendship with Paul Bierdeman.

087. COUNSELOR MEETINGS.

088. The night Emily Holverson and I stood outside the Lodge trading sincerity about Sky Lodge and the complications of ministry.

089. Blunt conversations with Josiah, hahaha.

090. The Lower Lakeview round of Murder in the Dark when I killed every single person playing before anyone could call, “Dead body!”

091. When I suddenly caught him listening to my singing in the tunnel.

092. Putting together outfits from Lolita’s wardrobe.

093. Driving into such an unexpectedly lush part of Missouri.

094. A nighttime surprise of Big Ben and The London Eye and Buckingham Palace and St James Park in the falling snow.

095. MY PERFECT ABODE IN ST. LOUIS, MO.

096. OUR PERFECT ABODE IN ALBUQUERQUE, NM.

097. Becoming one of Steve’s best friends.

098. The evening Elorine and I didn’t go with and REALLY talked.

099. THE UNDENIABLE INHERENT GOODNESS OF MERRY’S KIDS.

100. Farrell’s crying apology on the sidewalk outside of Maple.

101. Alex’s irregular sudden extreme compliments.

102. The females I’m close with over the internet due to mutual admiration.

103. Lars from Hinge, hahaha.

104. Sitting at the end of a long table with Janelle making a napkin list of our all time favorite manic pixie dream girls.

105. The handful of LotR marathons we’ve accomplished.

106. When Kat told me she understood the Harry Styles crush but that maybe he wasn’t right for me.

107. Reading so many Donald Miller books and getting others to read them too.

108. Kisses on the cheek from Esther.

109. Getting raspberries for Mike’s turtles as an apology for making death threats.

110. Tipsy dancing alone with my eyes closed for like a hundred songs at Sheryl’s Club on New Years 2021.

111. The flattering comparison to the wonderful Harley Duke.

112. Aw omg, our happy hammock stacks at Observatory Hill.

113. Telling slumber party stories on stage for Women’s Retreat.

114. BEING THE MIME FOR LIFE GROUP’S FAVORITE.

115. Fatigued watching The Kissing Booth and laughing harder than ever.

116. Spastic goofing around with Ashley AND Brittany the day we moved Amber into her new home.

117. Sitting on my closet floor showing crying Riana baby videos of singing piano playing Janelle.

118. Giggle running through Piggly Wiggly parking lot at closing with Rene with like $400 of alcohol on Ally’s birthday.

119. Fireball shots ALL NIGHT with Jeremiah and his uncle on Christmas Eve.

120. Listening to the delicious details of Emmy’s Europe romance.

121. Zion giving me his Adidas crewneck as sentimental goodbye gift.

122. Arguing with Austin over our differing zombie apocalypse ideologies.

123. Drunk Discord/Among Us with Hunter and Bekah and Nick and Marissa.

124. How soft Kenny’s absurd speeches made my heart.

125. MINUTE LONG VOICE MEMOS STACKS WITH ROSIE. ♡♡

126. Listening to Lizzy McAlpine in an afternoon candlelight bath.

127. Listening through John Mayer’s The Search for Everything mowing the ball field.

128. Emotionally painting my old house in Birmingham.

129. Being really damn good at that Heads Up game with Omar.

130. Compiling worthwhile stuff for Foreman training.

131. GROWING MY PLANTS.

132. The stretch when Bryanna was usually wrapped in my blanket.

133. Talking about going to Colorado with Alex.

134. The notorious reputation of knowing everybody at CCCA.

135. GETTING ALL DRESSED UP FOR DINNER THEATER.

136. Calling Ally from a parking lot at Emmy’s bachelorette party because I was SO CONFIDENT I was a hot person that I had to talk to her about it.

137. Playing the stupidest laughingest game of The Floor Is Lava with Jackson when I came to visit them all in Dallas.

138. Feeling really really really at home in my apartment at Sky Lodge.

139. How Ryan Boon would struggle to talk through his laughter.

140. Belonging to myself at Fiddleheads Coffee in Cedarburg.

141. THE UNDENIABLE IMMEDIATE CHEMISTRY BETWEEN ME AND COURTNEY HART.

142. Big Falls County Park. Every time.

143. Kayaking down Blue River with Duke, Jeremiah and Addey, Hunter, and Hunter’s friend.

144. That perfect burger at Pier Burger in Santa Monica.

145. Riding The Brown Line down to The Loop and all the way back up.

146. Aw. Welp. Every lengthy truthful phone call with Sam.

147. The four seasons I was compiling four second videos.

148. Ashley’s and my perfect roommates stretch, featuring our perfect couch.

149. The night we forced so many to come to our Blackfish showing then sign our petition opposing Sea World. Hahaha. #emptythetanks

150. The night Ben and I sat in the corner giddy burning through TriBond cards.

151. The night I showed up at Doug’s and Lueck’s door losing my damn mind over The Dress.

152. Community Soccer at the local elementary school gym.

153. Frigid stranded in the Chequamegon National Forest with Mary and Caleb on our return drive from our nightmare trip to Duluth.

154. The final night of being “cats in a bag” sleeping in Janelle’s bottom bunk.

155. Filling up the broomball courts under a negative degrees meteor shower.

156. Getting another wonderful summertime of Delala.

157. The Sunday service the pastor wouldn’t quit snapping his fingers and a bunch of us were txting each other like, “OMFG NO AHHH HOW DO WE MAKE HIM STOP????”

158. Oomph. The perfect veggie omelette (no cheese) at Sparks.

159. Dad’s soft voicemail about his admiration for Adele.

160. Their neighbor lady Maddie’s outfit for the Christmas cantata and her disappointment with the unfamiliar song selection.

161. Raquel’s completely irresistible fun streak.

162. Listening to folklore with Jayden and the girlies first thing when I woke up every morning for a while there.

163. Going through Met Gala looks cuddled up with Omar.

164. The way it felt reading Anthropology of an American Girl.

165. The giant primary colors crochet blanket mom made for me.

166. Noah scooping me up in that hug in the Waterloo parsonage kitchen.

167. When Omar completely surprised me with what he can do to a piano.

168. Deciding I am a Pinot Grigio girl.

169. Omfg, the Nest Night we intensely debated our way through a Staff Wives wrestling bracket.

170. Dismantling multiple purity talks and dress codes like it’s my calling.

171. Laying on blankets in the middle of many fields in different places for the sake of being very very very very sunkissed.

172. Regularly running into Bill at Kwik Trip.

#personal

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