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complete-gay-chaos · 10 months

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hi I'm normal about the new niigo event cards

spoilers for the newest event on JP. eng translation is "saying goodbye to my masked self" but it sounds like one of those awkward eng translations. I just saw the cards and went a little bit nuts because there is so. much. symbolism and callback to other events and cards.

the first very obvious connection is with the cards from the imprisoned marionette event. it's nightcord's first event and it's where we really get it set up that mafuyu's sitaution with her mom is a problem.

mafuyu feels like a marionette, the strings controlling her being her mother and the pressure she feels at school and home, and the mask being hiding her emotions and pretending to handle it.

so yknow with this event's card- the cut strings, the scissors, the broken mask. she's breaking her mom's control, she is "saying goodbye to her masked self". I find it interesting that it looks like not all the strings are cut- it may just be a stylistic choice by the illustrator though.

going further into reading too deeply into things the cards for the rest of niigo are also pretty straightforward with the string thing too. but I find it interesting that in mizuki's card, all the strings are hanging loose, in ena's card she's pulling against the strings, and in kanade's card, the strings all appear to still be tight and she's huddled up in the middle.

I think it maybe represents their different relationships to control. mizuki has always been about being yourself and not being controlled, and has lightly encouraged that in mafuyu or with their personality, at least kept the door open for mafuyu- they never really push.

Ena pushes back against control a lot- she outright lies to mafuyu's mom in "Someday, this wish will transcend the morning sky" so mafuyu can stay at her house. So I think it makes sense that she's directly pulling on the "strings of control".

Kanade never really directly challenges mafuyu's mother until "Immiscible discord". She prefers to focus just on mafuyu, and is kind of tunnel-vision about songwriting and helping mafuyu, so she's not touching the strings at all and is instead focused on the crystal/heart/apple.

(ok I wrote these next slides for a friend discord server so these are a bit more discombobulated)

so apples and heart-shaped apples are pretty significant at points in niigo's story. they appear most prominently in the "Mirage of lights" event when mafuyu get sick and recalls a similar time from her childhood. the memory of eating apple cut up for her by her mom (and later, kanade) is tied to a warm feeling- and it being tied to a feeling, at all, is pretty significant for mafuyu. and the heart shape I think makes it pretty clear- apples are tied to mafuyu's feelings, or her "heart". then there's also a brief reference in the lyrics of samsa and the art for the song as well which I feel like further solidifies it.

yes I know my handwriting is unreadable 😭 I'm going to add image descriptions.

Ok so also the hearts are made out of crystals or have a crystalline look to them and that along with the poses and lighting they're in reminds me of the cards from "Someday, from the depths of despair". Given the fact that the event is about reminiscing on how they all met and the connection and friendship they now share with each other, and the lyrics to Tricologe, specifically "a little chipped pink opal/a lost lolite/a topaz covered in dust/and a lonely ametrine" (although idk how official that translation is) I think the gemstones symbolize themselves, and the memories and feelings they have for each other aka friendship.

I also think it's interesting that for mafuyu's card in that event she doesn't have a fully formed crystal like mizuki and ena do because she still struggles with finding a sense of self and experiencing/identifying her feelings.

But yeah so the crystals/hearts/apples in this event's card symbolize mafuyu, her feelings, their friendship with her, that whole package. So think the rest of the girl's cards are showing them reaching out to mafuyu and supporting them in the ways that they know.

Anyway that's just what I think, it might be inaccurate I don't speak japanese or live in japan so I don't have direct access to things in the JP sekai server or the non-translated meanings of song lyrics, event dialogues, etc. I'm just excited about my blorbos. Mafuyu's story brings me to tears every time she has a focus event istg her story is dear to me and this is the ultimate culmination of all the growth I get super sappy over.

This is event is obviously a very big step that's been built up to since nightcord's first event/main story and I love how the imagery in the cards ties back to repeating themes, other events, and the beginning of it all. It's really the icing on the cake.

#project sekai #project sekai spoilers #mafuyu asahina #kanade yoisaki #ena shinonome #mizuki akiyama #nightcord at 25:00 #hope my image descriptions are alright #I've never written any before #if anyone has feedback feel free to let me know #you guys are getting the coherent version of this by the way #my friends weren't that lucky

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blond-jerk-tourney · 8 months

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Champagne Bracket: Round 1, Poll 13

Propaganda from submitters Under Cut

Nazuna Nito

I'm submitting him because there seems to be a consensus in the fandom that he's a tiny little meek guy. Meek is the LAST word I'd use to describe him this man is full of rage. This guy is by no means evil, but he can be mean, and frankly he should be allowed to be! He has a very sharp tongue, threatening or wishing death upon others. He has some violent tendencies also... In Romantic Comedy, he literally strangles Kaoru. Even when he was in Valkyrie, he wasn't like some sad sopping wet cat. In his Reminiscence: Marionette he remarks on how other units are sloppy and suck in comparison to Valkyrie. I love him dearly. He's extremely sweet, but yes, he is like this also.

link to image of quote 1

link to image of quotes 2

Vil Shoenheit

He's snobby, a drama queen, kinda mean, expects perfection from everyone and yee :3

Where do I even start??? He's literally if the evil queen from snow white was a bitchy influencer. So like if patrick bateman was an influencer. so like one of those beauty influencers that were in drama but the crime this time was murder. He's vain as fuck and kind of the worst. Hates country accents. Has trauma but idk what it is cause I'm not far enough in yet. tried to kill someone probably. amazing at chemistry and making poisons to kill people with.

link to image of quote

#champagne bracket #champagne bracket round 1 #tournament polls #polls #nazuna nito #enstars #ensemble stars #vil schoenheit #twsited wonderland #twst #blond jerk tournament

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miirshroom · 3 months

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Wings and Flight in Elden Ring

Misbegotten are feathered and have wings, although they are non-functional on all except the Winged Misbegotten. One of the main. places where they can be found is Castle Morne which is strewn about with many copies of a winged crest. This crest is just at the correct height to give the illusion that the player has wings of their own, when stood in front of - wings forged of metal. There seems to be a theme here connecting the concept of developing wings as "misbegotten" which can mean "an idea that is poorly formed".

Consider also the meaning of the word "imp". Because while the word can mean a mischievous creature or child, it is also an obsolete term for grafting plant buds. The term "imping" is still used today to describe the practice of repairing the broken wing or tail feathers of falcons - giving them wings. The Cat Imps have slender little wings and the Long-Tongued Imps have dragonfly/fairy shaped wings. The Fanged Imps have wings of various sizes between their appearances as statues for receiving stone sword keys, enemy types, fire pillars, spirit ashes, holding the books at the sorcerer rises, etc.

Wolf Imps do not have wings and neither do Elder or Corpse Imps judging by their catacombs statues. The linguistic connection of imping implies that grafting is at the very bedrock of culture in the Lands Between. Thinking back to the Misbegotten and Castle Morne, this is also the location where the Grafted Greatsword can be obtained.

The Crucible Knights use "Aspects of the Crucible" Incantations and from them are dropped the Tail, Horns, and Breath incantations. When fought, these Crucible Knights also seem to be using an "Aspects of the Crucible: Wings" incantation, but it is not obtainable by the player. This ties into a theory that I have about the general nature of the various equipment and items that we can see used by enemies throughout the Lands Between but are not obtainable. These items and incantations/spells are still considered something precious by Radagon of the Golden Order and the Elden Beast. Thus, the Wings incantation is unavailable because "flight" is in a subset of tools that only an Elden Lord can grant, and you are not Elden Lord (yet).

To explore further the meaning of wings leads to a tangent into Wizard of Oz theory. The north and purple-coloured country of the Land of Oz is called "Gillikin" and this is also the country from which the flying monkeys employed by the Wicked Witch of the West originate. The purple-eyed Demi-Human Queen in the Lux Ruins is called Gilika, and demi-humans in general have a design resembling a hairless cross between bonobos and wolf/rat (typical grunts have simian face & feet with pointed ears - the Queens, Chiefs, and runt subtypes like Boc have more elongated snouts of undefined species). No wings though. But that in itself is an interesting choice because as it happens the term "flying monkey" as used in the Wizard of Oz has been picked up as a psychology term meaning "people who carry out the work of a narcissist or an abusive person".

In the context of the above, it is notable that the witch queen of Raya Lucaria in the west also lives in a fortress guarded by winged marionettes in the similar spirit as winged monkeys. The west county of Oz is known for having the best craftsmen in the land, particularly tinsmiths. This is not to say that mapping the counties of Oz to some kind of 1:1 connection with Elden Ring is likely intended - the official map of the Land of Oz is itself a major source of confusion as it accidentally printed west and east backwards. On the other hand, Elden Ring does seem to use colour-coded regions in a way reminiscent of the Land of Oz - green for Limgrave, blue for Liurnia, red for Caelid, gold for Altus Plateau.

And for a final note, there are two demi-gods who sprout wings in their second boss battle phase - Malenia and Mohg. Of the two of them it is Mohg with his dark feathery wings that has the closest thematic connection to the Winged Fanged Imps and Misbegotten. And Malenia's butterfly valkyrie wings are something unwanted - manifestation of her blooming into a goddess of Rot in desperation. What unites both are their close ties to Miquella, who seemed to be in the process of trying to metamorphose and develop wings of his own.

#elden ring #analysis of art design #media analysis #I hate to speculate on DLC #But dreamworld with flying mechanic?#It is in FromSoft's capabilities looking at Sekiro swimming and AC6 aerial combat #Oh also the Elden Beast is a flying thing with the gold rays in its body plan similar to brine shrimp #Big flying sea monkey

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neon-vocalist · 2 months

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which member of the solsys is texting you? a guide by evie

if the messages include:

weirdly proper speech but no capitalisation to be found - that’s cinderheart baby

:3, :>, >:(, “wwwww” instead of “lol,” and sounds like “wa-ah” “kyaaaa” “uwaaaa” - who else but maria marionette

“perf” “HAAAAA” “SO real” “for fucks SAKE”, seemingly random use of acronyms, and lots of horrible jokes - unfortunately you’ve found yourself talking to yours truly, evie madden

frequent use of :) and cautious sentence structure - aia

an overwhelming amount of exclamation points - that’s cheri!

source references, jokes at her own expense, and weird british slang - rin penrose (proceed with caution)

sarcastic teasing you & sarcastic teasing evie - congratulations, you’ve met miori

constant use of the pet name “honey,” talking a LOT about her husband and child, and emoji use reminiscent of an old lady on facebook - that’s matara :)

if the messages lack:

any shred of emotion - you’re talking to asaki and somehow he hasn’t killed you

any shred of emotion (besides anger) - you’re talking to asaki and he’s about to kill you

correctly spelled words (that aren’t swear words) and any instance of genuine non-sarcastic speech - you’re talking to kaiya, good luck

self-assurance and/or self-worth - have fun talking to juna, be careful with her if you want to keep your knees

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star-light-shadows · 7 months

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Mike is almost certainly going to be a Shadow Crystal Boss. Here's why:

So what makes a Shadow Crystal boss?

The first Shadow Crystal boss was Jevil, and aside from being really out of the way and giving us a Shadow Crystal for completing his fight, the narrative uniqueness of Jevil stems from an implicit past encounter with a Dr. W. D. Gaster.

Particularly, during this encounter, Dr. Gaster apparently revealed secrets to Jevil that caused him to go nuts like he is now. Secrets that Seam says caused their worldview to become "Darker yet darker" as a result of 2nd hand exposure. Causing Jevil to begin saying things that "Didn't make sense, but didn't quite not make sense either."

The idea of Gaster having access to and spreading forbidden knowledge is already something incredibly in line with what we know about Gaster from Pre-Deltarune.

The 2nd Shadow Crystal boss is everyone's FAVORITE [[Number 1 Rated Salesman1997]], Spamton G. Spamton.

Spamton is also suggested to have had a past run-in with Gaster and since then has similarly gone kooky bananas. Gaster communicated with Spamton on the phone and was said to be speaking through Garbage noise the whole time, which fits into the eldritch unknowable wrongness that surrounds Gaster.

It may be tempting to assume that Gaster once again spread cursed knowledge to Spamton and that's why he's gone nuts, but such is actually not the case. Instead, Spamton actually went nuts because Gaster left, taking with him whatever unnatural edge his partnership seemed to give Spamton, causing Spamton to abruptly fall from fame and fortune into poverty.

However, Spamton isn't simply Insane. Along with that, he has a strange speech quirk where his voice gets taken over by various ads. Such a quirk is never mentioned by the Adisons who knew him prior to Gaster despite it being extremely noticeable and frankly offputting in nonhumorous contexts.

What's especially interesting is that his speech in two specific instances gets replaced with what instead of ads seems to be a signal of someone calling for help in the darkness. Suggesting what could already be assumed that these ads overriding Spamton's dialogue are signals he is receiving from across Cyber City.

Such an implication seems to connect to one other noticeable quirk with Spamton's character, his puppet-ness.

Spamton is blatantly associated with being a Puppet in the NEO battles, with green marionette strings coming from the sky piloting him, but even outside these battles, he's presented in a way that's reminiscent of a different kind of Puppet. A Ventriloquist's dummy.

Ventriloquism involves making a Puppet seem as if it has a voice, speaking words that the ventriloquist is actually speaking.

This obviously connects to Spamton's speech quirk, and we're meant to assume that all of this is a result of Gaster's involvement in Spamton's affairs back in 1997. Implying that at that point in the past, Gaster made Spamton a Puppet and highjacked his voice via ventriloquism.

From this, we can conclude that Gaster used Spamton to further spread his influence and/or the kind of cursed knowledge he had spread to Jevil before. (Presumably in the direction of some person or group that existed in the Cyber World, although Dark-world world boundaries in Deltarune are hella vague so it's impossible to be truly sure.)

This combined with the fact that Spamton directly references Jevil as if having met him, (despite Jevil having literally zero relevance to Spamton as a character,) suggesting that the Shadow Crystal bosses have connections to each-other, which presumably is going to be a running theme, generates an interesting potential premise.

One of the next Shadow Crystal bosses is going to once again have been driven mad by Gaster's forbidden knowledge, but this time through Spamton's ventriloquized mouth.

However, I believe that there is an existing character that's been established that we can be relatively sure is the future Shadow Crystal Boss in question: Mike.

Mike is a Character Spamton references whom he seems to miss and mourn as if he's an old friend whom he no longer is in touch with, the one and only character that Spamton seems to still hold fond feelings for.

However, if Mike had simply left Spamton because he wasn't rich anymore, Spamton should HATE him. There are a huge number of people whom he hates in Cyber World because they ceased working with him after losing his fame, and it's unlikely that Spamton would care so deeply about Mike if he had only become Mike's friend because of his short time of fame anyway.

So what happened?

Well, Most likely what happened is that Mike left because he was scared of what was coming out of Spamton's mouth. Gaster was speaking some horrible truths from Spamton's mouth and Mike couldn't take it and just up and left. Something Spamton blames himself for.

But even after leaving for another Dark World (which is apparently just a thing Darkners can do,) the forbidden knowledge followed him, and eventually, he went mad just like Jevil did.

It's possible that he might be the Shadow Crystal Boss of the 3rd chapter, given the vague possible connection between Mike and Tenna, a force who is going to appear in chapter 3, but it is not wholly necessary, and I'd say it only has a shot above pure chance if the time where Spamton mentions both Mike and Tenna in the same conversation is to be interpreted as implying Tenna tarnished Mike's reputation or something similar.

#deltarune #spamton g spamton #mike deltarune #dr gaster #dr wd gaster #w d gaster #dr. gaster #gaster #deltarune gaster #deltarune theory

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neolxzr · 9 months

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okay you cant just do all of this knights killers business and then drop fully voiced marionette happyele you're playing with my brain ARE YOU GIVING US MARIONETTE OR CHECKMATE REMINISCENCE COLLECTION NEXT

#cryn rambles #enstars #watch it be meteor impact

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seishun-emergency · 1 year

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finished wonder game...... flops pathetically onto the ground Ohhuagh natsume and tsumugi

#leo composes #i'm sooooo normal and fine and so normal fine #i wont start reading anything new til later but i think.... maybe a brief breather from the reminiscence stuff LOL #i was reading uhhh . aquarium? i think #so finish that + maybe start quarrelfes #i need to check what i had open last lol #and then start marionette later tonight #once im done at least one of the Non Reminiscence stories

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voiceoffenrisulfr · 17 days

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Hail Hydra - Chapter Fourteen

Bucky finds out what it is to be a part of Zola’s experiment, and is marked as Hydra’s property. Prompts fulfilled; - ‘Apocalypse Cult’ – @multifandom-flash (Beehive); - ‘Tattooing Over a Scar’ – Winter Wonderland Bingo @seasonaldelightsbingo ; BLACKOUT! (with alts XD) - “Say Please.” – @fandom-free-bingo (Flight Edition); - ‘Disturbing a Grave’ – @halloweenhorrorbingo; - ‘Exposure’ – @badthingshappenbingo; - ‘Eternal Agony’ – @fnafbingo; “You Broke the Rules. And Now You Gotta Pay.” – @anyfandomdarkbingo. CW: Death of an unknown character, corpses, non-con body modification, sexual assault.

Boards at the bottom. Check it out below, or on AO3 here!

Dividers by @atlasscrumpit

By the time Zola came to see me the following day, I was already sat upright on the edge of my bed, fist curled loosely in my lap.

“Ah, up already, I see!” His tone was upbeat and jovial, but I simply raised my head to stare at him blankly, devoid of any emotion. “I expect you’re excited to get underway with your training.” A simple nod, and I stood, not bothering to point out that it was, in fact, the never-ending ache radiating from tailbone to navel that had kept me awake. “It’s going to take me a short while to make your arm. In the meantime, we have a job for you.” He handed me a chunk of bread, and I bit into it without enthusiasm, the dry wheat clinging to my tongue as I followed him through the halls.

The machine set up before me was distantly familiar, and a spike of fear shot through me at the memory of a pattern of bruises across cheekbone and forehead where the restraints had dug into my skin, holding me fast as convulsions wracked my body.

But this time the seat was occupied by another – one who looked significantly worse than I did after my time in the chair.

“What is this?” I breathed, inching closer uncertainly, taking in the slack jaw and soured complexion, heightened hearing straining for any sign of a heartbeat.

“Another failed experiment,” Zola replied dismissively, waving a hand. “Get him out. The soldiers will show you where to dispose of him.”

I fumbled with the contraption until one of the two soldiers standing guard sighed in frustration, leaning closer to press a button, the deceased man’s head falling forward with macabre reminiscence of a marionette with severed strings. Biting back fury and nausea at touching the cooling skin, I freed his limbs form their loosened shackles and draped him carefully over my shoulder.

Inanimate fingertips sent a shiver through me as they brushed my lower back, swaying with the motion of my steps as I followed my guard down the endless, twisting corridors.

He paused beside a heavy door, and we trembled in unison at the bitterly cold wind that swirled around us when he cracked it open.

“I’m not going out there,” he muttered, eyeing the flakes flowing readily through the gap and picking up a shovel to press it into my hand. “Find a spot. Dig a hole. Drop him in. Make sure you cover it over, else there’ll be wolves and bears and all sorts hanging around. I’d hate to have to find something else to feed them to draw them away,” he added pointedly. I simply nodded, skin erupting in goosebumps as he opened the door wider and pushed me out.

The snow piled into my boots with the first step, freezing my toes and soaking the thin socks I’d been provided with. I struggled on through the knee-high drifts, almost floundering under the uneven weight of my load and the lack of hands available to hold both shovel and corpse.

Perhaps a hundred yards from the facility, I came to a stop beside a rocky outcrop offering a relatively sheltered spot at which to dig. Pausing, I looked up, peering through the swirling snow. Even with my enhanced eyes, I could barely make out any details of the building – it was unlikely I could be seen by anyone attempting to watch me.

Glancing in the other direction, I gazed out over the blank emptiness, a barely-perceptible, soft haze in the distance the only indication of any break in the endless tundra – a copse of trees, perhaps, or the beginning of an attempt at civilization in this frozen wasteland?

I could run.

I might get shot before I get fifty yards, but at least I’d die out here, as a free man. Not in the endless, eternal agony of being their lab rat, their attack dog on a chain.

I took one step away from the outcrop, then another, shivering violently as the snow soaked quickly through my already damp clothes.

I could run.

I could escape this apocalyptic cult. The torture. The abuse.

I could…

My muscles faltered on the third step, then froze entirely on the fourth.

What the Hell is wrong with you? This is your chance! It doesn’t matter if you die out here! It’s better than staying here! Run!

Despite the voice screaming in my head, I couldn’t take another step, my body rigid with fear the further I strayed from my orders.

My eyes strayed to the body still resting on the ground, coated by now with a layer of thick, fluffy flakes.

I… I should bury him, at least. Nobody deserves to be left to the elements and the wildlife like that.

With a soft sigh of relief at having a clear path before me, I picked up the shovel once more, turning to assess the frozen ground obediently.

The hole was just about deep enough when I came across a sight that sent me sprawling from the grave as my stomach churned.

I was experienced enough in life – and in death – to have recognised what lay beneath the frozen ground immediately, and the off-white bone dotted with residual scraps of partially decomposed flesh was tattooed to the inside of my eyelids as I knelt in the snow, retching. My body, so accustomed by now to emptying on command, acquiesced willingly to the rhythmic gagging, the sparse contents of my stomach steaming as it met the sub-zero ground. My fingers curled desperately as I heaved, breaking through powder and frost easily.

There were others.

How many people like these two – people like me?

When my futile retching finally ceased, I dropped quickly back into the freshly dug grave with hardened nerves and a sense of purpose, kneeling carefully to ease a little more dirt away, revealing thin remnants of dark, shoulder-length hair. My eyes closed in pain, and I diverted my face as I tenderly covered the man over once more, shaking my head the distinct similarities, muttering a hushed apology to my fallen comrade for disturbing his hard-won rest.

Shaking violently from cold and horror, my hand was careful as I lifted the body I’d been sent to bury against my chest, letting his temple fall briefly to my shoulder as I knelt once more to settle him on the ground. His head rested not five inches from our predecessor, and I brushed a thumb gently over the bruising on his cheek.

“I’m so sorry this happened to you,” I whispered softly. I wished I could remember a poem, a profound quote about death to send him on his way peacefully – but the only thing that came to mind was pieces of the Lord’s Prayer, courtesy of Steve’s soft utterances unconsciously invading my mind. It didn’t feel like enough, but it was all I could offer in a stammering, faltering voice, tears staining my cheeks when I eventually stood once more.

I didn’t dare look to the horizon again until my task was complete, fresh snow quickly falling to obscure the disturbed earth.

Only then did I finally glance up once more, finding myself immediately struck once again by an intense, disabling terror as I found that hazy spot on the skyline. But this time I glanced back down, eyes skimming the last remaining signs that I’d ever been here at all.

This is what will happen if I stay here. Will anybody bother to bury me, or will I just lay under the open sky, finding flesh and bone at the mercy of the animals?

My muscles were more willing this time.

Five steps.

Ten.

Fifteen, and my pace increased – first to a lope, then a jog, and then I was sprinting, flying across the ground, malnourished body screaming in protest as I tore over the open tundra, but there was no way in hell I was slowing, not before I was sheltered by the cluster of trees at last identifiable. My feet churned up the powder as I ran, and-

I felt it before the sound registered in my mind.

My legs immediately crumbled beneath me as I yelped, thigh on fire where the bullet had torn through muscle and flesh. The aim was true, bypassing the femoral artery, but that didn’t stop blood from pumping freely onto the snow, staining the pure white with violent red in a macabre echo of the past.

Glancing back, I could see the figures swarming from the facility, moving quickly as they descended upon me as if a storm cloud. My heart pounded in terror, and I attempted to scrabble to my feet – then cried out in shocked pain, raising my hand to touch tentatively at the stinging wound at the top of my ear. Another bullet had grazed the soft skin there, barely breaking the surface – but the intent here was not harm.

No… This is a warning.

I stared at the trees standing stark against the white, finally close enough to distinguish branch from trunk, fingers curling with my grief. I knew I should stand – should force myself forward once more, choosing freedom over captivity in whatever form it came. But the survival instinct within me was a muscle well-honed over recent months, and no matter how hard I fought against myself, I couldn’t force my legs to move in much more than a tremor as I knelt in the snow. My own body simply disobeyed me, choosing longevity by any means.

I didn’t look up as I was dragged back through the snow, staggering and stumbling with a hand under my armpit to keep me going. I’d have simply laid down, but a cattle prod to the ribs made sure I moved forward, body jerking at the voltage shot through me each time I slowed.

The Lieutenant was whistling tunelessly between his teeth when I was released unceremoniously in the middle of his office, legs crumbling beneath me from cold, blood loss and exhaustion. I hardly dared raise my eyes, but he said nothing as I looked to him fearfully, his eyes still on the rifle in his hands as he wiped it down.

“You were a sniper too, once upon a time,” he noted softly, and I trembled ever more at the sound of his voice, stomach clenching in anticipation of punishment as I nodded silently. “Before Hydra, I was a sniper. And then I came here. Now I only shoot wolves, for fun. I couldn’t miss the opportunity to keep my skills sharp, you understand.” He glanced at me at last, his smile almost apologetic as he jerked his head by way of indication. “I’ll clean that up for you. Lie down.”

Moving where he directed me, I shivered with cold and fear, wincing in pain as my back pressed to frigid metal and he moved closer. My feet, wrist and throat were secured beneath heavy steel, earning me another sorry grin. “Can’t have you wriggling around too much. I might end up hitting something important! I’d so hate for you to lose your leg, too…”

I winced, eyes closing automatically as he bent over me, gulping in air at the feeling of scissors slicing through the thin, drenched fabric of my pants. He hummed under his breath as he exposed my wound, blood still flowing freely from the hole in my thigh, the gory stickiness pooling beneath me and filling the air with the scent of dirty pennies as he stepped back. The sound of his small stack of drawers containing his tools rattling as he searched through them made my skin crawl, and I jerked in surprise at a hand on my knee, lids snapping open despite myself to find him peering at the bullet wound. “A clean shot,” he murmured, gently poking at the skin around the macabre sight. “In and out. You’ll be fine – I’ll just stitch you up, and you’ll be on your way.” I nodded stiffly, mistrustful, and he shot me a broad grin. “Didn’t anybody teach you any manners? Say please.”

“Please,” I whispered immediately, flicking my gaze to the ceiling, desperately wishing I could leave my body. “Please, Sir.”

With a quiet chuckle of delight, he began, and I clenched my teeth minutely at the feel of needle passing through skin, knitting together the ragged edges of my wound in a silence punctuated only by the stomach-churning sounds of squelching and sticking produced by parts of me not normally exposed to the outside world.

It took only a matter of minutes for him to secure the site – albeit only at a surface level and in the most basic way possible, leaving my body to do most of the hard work. I blinked in surprise when he released my bindings, sitting up with a soft utterance of gratitude, uncertainty and distrust heavy as I glanced at him.

It was when I went to move to my feet that his hand found my chest, his smile turning just a little cold around the edges. “That was only the exit would, Asset. I need to stitch up the back, too. Lie down on your chest, if you would.”

I could feel my heart hammering as I obeyed weakly, the trials of the day leaving me in no position to fight. Corpses flickered before my eyes, haunting me as my body met the table once more and my already-cut pants were shredded once more, the material pooling uselessly either side of my leg. His hand was high on my thigh, skirting the underpants I’d be given. The touch was almost delicate, fingertips skimming gently under the very edge of the material. His grip tightened minutely to pull the skin taut, earning a hiss of pain that he quietly shushed away. He hummed under his breath as he slowly stitched me up, fingers brushing between my thighs to swipe away the blood.

The hand below my ass relaxed as the tugging stopped, thumb brushing tenderly over my skin. “Good. All done…”

I nodded once more, eyes focused on the long window opposite, the winter sun already beginning to set after a few short hours of daylight. My muscles twitched, ready to move, to be out of this position of vulnerability – but neither his hands nor the restraints lifted. “… Sir?” I breathed, hardly daring to speak as he continued to caress my leg.

“You broke the rules,” he purred, a smile in his voice, “and now you gotta pay.”

My eyes closed in a flinch, jaw clenched with resigned terror. I wished more than anything that I could leave my body – just come back when this was over. This punishment, this life…

But my mind stayed firmly where it was, focused on his hand on my thigh, and the touch of metal to skin. The sound of scissors closing slowly, cold air breathing over my exposed ass, set my stomach churning – a feeling that only intensified as the pointed edge pricked the skin at the base of my spine as he began to methodically remove my shirt.

His free hand trailed almost tenderly over waist, keeping pace with the first until my entire back exposed, the sleeve still wrapped around my arm offering very little comfort in my nudity.

Then he was gone, stepping away from the table seeking unknown instructions of torture. The restraint around my neck held my head fast, no matter how I wriggled and strained, offering no insight into the punishment I was about to receive.

A violent buzzing, intermittent, almost tentative, gave me pause, the pitch wavering minutely as the Lieutenant whistled tunelessly through his teeth. I distantly recognized the sound – there was a sense of faint familiarity, of something passed by on occasion, but never personally pertinent.

It wasn’t until his hand rested lightly on my back and the sharp, dragging pain began that the image of a tattoo parlour Steve and I had walked past frequently flickered behind my eyelids, sending them snapping open in shock.

A tattoo?

… Why?

I dared not ask the question aloud, settling instead into the mild discomfort of the needles between my shoulder blades; the pain was minimal compared to what I was used to, and I’d take his defacing my skin over torture any day.

After all, I was already a monster – there was nothing he could stain me with that could make it any worse.

He’d finished the work with a line that brushed against one of the puckered, tactile scars trailing away from my shoulder. The action caused searing pain to extend along fingers that no longer existed, and I clamped my jaw tighter, refusing to utter a sound at the unexpected intensity.

It was a relief when he stopped, a clammy sweat gathering beneath me at the discomfort. He ran a fingertip over the stinging skin of my back, eliciting a minute wince as he hummed contentedly. “Beautiful… Would you like to see?”

I struggled briefly, desperately trying to figure out which answer was the correct one – which would prevent further punishment. Eventually, stiffly, I nodded, and he stepped into my eyeline as his face broke into a grin. With the edge of something predatory tugging at his lips, he squatted close to my face, mint-infused breath washing over my skin, mingling with the scent of his bodywash and the odour of blood and ink.

He shouldn’t smell good, I noted abruptly, the bizarre thought taking me by surprise. He shouldn’t smell… Pleasant. Not this monster. It’s not right.

He angled a hand mirror over us, showing a quick flash of a delighted gaze and sick pleasure, before revealing the words imprinted across my shoulders.

Hail HYDRA.

Indelible, forever tarnishing my skin, marking me as one of them. As their attack dog. As their Asset.

I swallowed dryly, my stomach churning, as he chuckled softly, lips skimming over my cheek with something close to affection.

“Maybe now you won’t forget who you belong to.”

I could only nod weakly, terrified to look away before I was told to, but eventually he lowered the mirror and my eyes squeezed closed briefly.

I was wrong.

He unshackled me, but I didn’t move.

This was it.

This was the last thing.

I can’t fight anymore.

He hummed in surprise and delight, fingertips trailing over my spine. “So it seems you can learn… Good boy. Roll.”

I obeyed immediately, the metal too warm to soothe the gentle burn of my skin and slick with my sweat. He didn’t bother to resecure me, trusting in my blind obedience. Distantly, I realised that we were alone in the room; I’d never have a better opportunity than this. But I couldn’t even pretend to consider moving. I couldn’t contemplate putting myself into a position of yet another punishment for a slim chance of freedom. It isn’t worth it. He beamed at me, resting a hand gently on my chest. “Look at that! So good. Perhaps you may deserve a reward… Would you like that?”

“Yes, Sir,” I replied immediately, my voice soft and robotic. I had no idea what this ‘reward’ would be, but I didn’t have any capacity left to give anything other than the answer I thought he’d prefer. The smile softened, and his hand travelled down slowly, resting briefly on my abdomen as he leant closer.

My mind was entirely blank when he kissed me, tongue trailing gently over my lower lip, prompting my mouth to open to grant him access. It wasn’t until his teeth tugged tenderly that his fingers his fingers wrapped around my length, caressing slowly. Confusion enveloped me at his gentle touch, the way his free hand cupped my jaw to hold me closer. The combination of the firm pressure of his lips on mine and the expert ministrations on my cock sent spikes of shameful arousal through my body, colouring my cheeks as I began to react to him. “You like that, hm?” he breathed, fingers moving a little more firmly, and I offered an obedient nod.

“Yes, Sir,” I murmured, repulsed and humiliated that the statement wasn’t entirely untrue. He purred with delight at my words and my stiffening member, his hand wrapping more thoroughly around me. To my horror, I let out a soft, breathless whine, earning a soft chuckle, his hips pressing lightly against my side to demonstrate his own arousal.

“That’s it. Just relax. Do you see, Asset? When you’re bad, you will be punished. When you’re good, and obey orders… I can be merciful.”

Nausea cramped my stomach as he kissed me again, tongue brushing mine and making me tremble.

At least when he raped me it was simple.

There was no confusion in violent violation, in fighting and wishing it to be over.

But this… The way my body stirred and reacted to a touch that felt almost loving.

In another time, another situation with another man, I could very easily love this feeling of someone else’s fingers wrapped around my length, lips trailing rapturously over my throat – if not for this specific time, this specific situation with this specific man.

But I couldn’t help the way my hips twitched and my back arched, breath coming in desperate, sharp pants as I inched towards the inevitable conclusion I could feel building under my skin. He seemed to notice my increasing desperation, groaning quietly and working me harder, mouth shifting against my skin. “You’re doing so well, Asset. Almost there – let me here you.”

I whimpered through my teeth – too afraid to disobey, reluctant to follow his orders easily. But a sharp nip of his teeth on my pulse and the steadily increasing speed of his hand on me made me cry out breathlessly, hips jerking with frantic need as I came without warning.

By the time I’d finished twitching, my chest coated with my own seed, my face was burning with shame and horror, humiliation cloying in my throat.

“Such a good boy,” he crooned, kissing my cheek softly. “Hail Hydra.”

His eyes shifted to me expectantly as I hesitated, and I swallowed around the lump in my throat, lowering my gaze. “Hail Hydra,” I breathed, the ink across my shoulders burning.

#fanfiction #mine #fandom: marvel #writers on tumblr #writing bingo #rating: e #whump #dd:de #winter wonderland bingo #seasonal delights bingo #halloweenhorrorbingo #bad things happen bingo #fandom free bingo #fandom free bingo: frosty edition #multifandom flash bingo #five nights at freddy's bingo #fnaf bingo #any fandom dark bingo

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mishkakagehishka · 8 months

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hello !!! sorry this is v random but i just got into enstars recently and i was wondering about that funky little mika guy . just in general . seknots-izumimir said ur absolutely insane about him (compliment) and to go ask u about it so 🧍‍♂️

LMFAOOO my MikaP slay when I get rec'd as the person to ask ab Mika.

In general? I'll keep this relatively bare, in that case, so you don't feel overwhelmed :3

Mika is just a lil guy. A lil dude. His full name is Mika Kagehira, the "Mika" is written in hiragana (he disliked it bc it was "feminine", a different character compared him to Michelangelo for it, etc etc), and his last name is written as 影片 - "shadow fragment". He grew up in an orphanage where he is heavily implied to have been parentified (he speaks often about being in charge of "taking care of the lil ones" when explaining why he's good at doing household chores or taking care of others). There are a few stories where he mentions his parents, and his bio even states "parents" in his bio, but he has a lot more moments where he implies he was never actually adopted, so it's kind of up in the air, but I lean towards "never adopted" bc it comes up more often and in situations he is less likely to lie in. (Like, he mentions parents when he talks to the MC, but the entire tone of that conversation was him being lowkey annoyed with her prying, whereas when talking to his unitmate whom he idolises, he mentions stuff like "at one point I stopped wanting to be adopted" and "you know I can't meet my parents even if I wanted to").

Anyway. He speaks the Kansai dialect, and I talked a lot about how beautifully they subvert the "country accent = idiot" trope with him, but in short, he does call himself stupid, but he is actually kind of a genius. He met his unitmate, Shu, when they were kids, and idolised him since then. He enrolled into Yumenosaki just because he wanted to see Shu again. Yumenosaki has famously difficult entrance exams - that he was able to pass. He also found a copy of the Mabinogion, as it was an English manuscript, it was very likely written in Middle English, and he went and read it using only a dictionary. I could barely even read parts of Canterbury Tales, and I'm, like, fluent. Anyway. He joined Valkyrie when he was a 1st year💅 Although back then, Nazuna was also a member, but along came the War and uh. I suggest reading Reminiscence * Marionette bc it's really good :)

After Shu's execution (which is to say, when Valkyrie's reputation was killed on-stage, Nazuna left the unit and Shu had a mental breakdown), Valkyrie became inactive. While Shu was recovering, Mika was the one taking up odd jobs to keep Valkyrie afloat, as well as taking care of Shu. He's a hardworking lad :] He had a tsundere phase that I feel we don't talk often enough about, but when he was a 2nd year is when the story begins and the player character arrives - due to her association with Trickstar and fine (?), Shu didn't trust her and often said things like, "We don't need a producer" to get her to fuck off. Mika took up the same attitude of calling her an enemy of Valkyrie, but he also very obviously wanted to befriend her, so you're left with some hilarious scenes. Such as in Toy Box, when he was doing a part-time job washing the dishes, and the Producer tries to talk to him because he was there sobbing about his money problems. I have these lines burnt in my memory because of how funny they were to me, but he starts off by saying, "oh, you want me to tell you my problems so you can find my weakness, huh, you fiend?!", then he gets startled and almost drops a plate - says he could have "started hating you for real", and quickly adds, "not that i'd have a problem with hating you". He warms up to you later, though, and by the current timeline, will often offer you candy :) Because he's normal and alwaysss carries candy on him. He likes fruity flavours :]

Anyway. His character development is really neat. During the start of the story, he was pretty much a doll to be manipulated, he let Shu control him and all he did, and he didn't mind it as Nazuna did, in fact he was very happy to play into this role. But as of the current stories, they're both developing past that, with Shu becoming more open to accepting his opinions and individuality, and Mika learning to be more independent and assertive. In Hermitage, he changes the entire concept of a new song very last-minute, which is something he would never have dared to do in the early stories, for example.

I think that's like. The biggest things about him? So for more minor lil fun facts - he has a lower sense of pain and will often not realise if he's pricked himself while sewing (he's also pretty good at sewing! The wikia has a section for clothes he's made), he makes art that leans into eroguro and grotesque (he's also a big fan of horror! He and Ritsu watch horror movies together, and he has a collection of scary posters and images he puts up in his room, apparently to sleep better, whatever he meant by that). He's blind as a bat in the dark <3 He has a twin sister that was featured in Ensemble Girls! They've met in an enstars story, Milky Way, but they didn't know they were siblings, however in EnGirls, she mentions having met her brother. EnGirls takes place during the current year of enstars, so i'm hoping for a crossover story. And you'll immediately notice he's the token heterochromia character - he actually used to hate his eyes and would blame them for why he was abandoned as a child. He had some form of social anxiety for a while where he was too scared to look people in the eye or talk to people at all for fear of his eyes "creeping them out". But he's still very anxious about going on radio and talk shows🫶 Another way of subverting the trope for his dialect, and directly mentioning it, is that people expect him to be extroverted and funny because of the way he speaks (Kansai is the dialect spoken by manzai comedians), and he feels that he disappoints people by being an introvert because of that. (And this is why i headcanon him calling himself stupid as an act - he can't make himself funny or extroverted, but he can make himself seem stupid, which plays into the stereotype, to "avoid disappointing people") Magazines describe him as cool, mysterious and "frail-looking".

I think I failed at making this succinct. If anything opened more questions, feel free to ask me to elaborate tho :) i love talking ab Mika!!!!

#asks

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night-loop · 4 months

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The Birthday Massacre’s demos uploaded to Patreon (part 2)

First of all, I highly recommend that you support the band by subscribing to their Patreon, so you can listen to and download these for yourself :) But for those without the means to, or those who want a concise list, here we are! Broken into Part 1 and 2.

Part 1 is here

In order of upload (oldest to most recent). Text in quotation marks is copied + pasted directly from the Patreon upload. Unquoted text is my own thoughts.

Fading. Dreams of You demo. [Rainbow, about sending the demo to Falcore:] "he plays us this song but he's turned it upside down and created this bopping eighties jam with it. Sped up the tempo, modified the key of the song and added some really cool synth production to it." Fading is a slowed down, spooky, "introspective" demo of Dreams of You. Lyrics are slightly different and the sound is more haunting and longing. Length: 1:49. Exact date unknown.

Marionettes (Premix). In This Moment demo. Very similar to the final version, but different vocals/lyrics in the second chorus. Length: 4:44. Exact date unknown.

Outside. A short instrumental demo of Beyond. Length: 1:27. Exact date unknown

Legend. "Building a Song"- synth chord progressions that developed into Precious Hearts. Length: 1:40. Exact date unknown.

Legend. Precious Hearts demo instrumental. "Building a Song"- "Here is the next version of the song. At this point, Falcore has continued to work out the track and added additional synths and some drums to start to form the idea..... This track was actually called "Legend" right up until the final mix!" Length: 1:52. Exact date unknown.

Legend (Bat vocals). Precious Hearts demo with Bat's vocals. "Building a Song" - vocal ideas only in the first verse and pre-chorus. Length: 4:30. Exact date unkown.

Legend (Chibi rough vocals). Precious Hearts demo. "Building a Song" - Two weeks before album needs to be complete: "What's left? Well, now we would dive into Tracking the final vocals now that Chibi knows the song. Over the next couple of weeks, we will record each song a bunch of times with her in different mindsets of performance. Relaxed, aggressive, soft, intimate and then find the perfect combo for the final album! You may notice there are a couple of things missing still! Rainbow's Harmonies and the Bridge idea!" Length: 4:30. Exact date unknown.

Precious Hearts (Final mix, unmastered). "Building a Song". Title switched from Legend to Precious Hearts. Subtle differences from released mastered version- for example, this can clearly be heard in the bridge. Length: 4:24. Exact date unknown.

Crossed. An electronic-driven instrumental "demo from the "Diamonds" sessions that never fully became a song!" Length: 3:38. Dated to 2018. Exact date unknown.

Neon. End of All Stories demo with Rainbow's vocals, only in the first verse. Length: 2:37. Exact date unknown.

Spooky Loop. A higher quality of the instrumental background music that used to feature on the old nothingandnowhere.com website. Length: 2:27. Exact date unknown.

Night Loop. Another higher quality instrumental from the nothingandnowhere.com website. Length: 1:54. Exact date unknown.

Fatality. Like Fear, Like Love demo with Rainbow's rough vocal ideas. Demo created by Falcore. Length: 2:34, Exact date unknown.

Fatality. Like Fear, Like Love demo. Chibi's rough vocals, but not yet complete (e.g. empty chorus). Length: 4:26. Exact date unknown.

Other. Run instrumental demo. Length: 3:24. Exact date unknown.

Soundtrack. A short instrumental demo from the Walking with Strangers era. "Here is an idea that may have blossomed but there were already so many songs on the table!" Length: 0:56. Exact date unknown.

Irreversible. "An unused gem from 2018 "Diamonds" writing sessions." Instrumental demo which *partly* sounds reminiscent of early instrumental work (e.g. Night Loop, Spooky Loop). Length: 1:51. From 2018. Exact date unknown.

Beware Loop. "Here's a sweet little loop made from the "Hide & Seek" era!". Instrumental track that *partly* sounds like Cold Lights. Length: 1:37. Exact date unknown.

Superstition (Rainbow Version). "A version of "Superstition" that Rainbow had created during his Wight Eye's writing sessions." Length: 4:09. Exact date unknown.

Bad Jeans. A heavy electro-driven instrumental demo . "Written pre Hide & Seek." Length: 4:56. Exact date unknown.

Ever. Instrumental demo with guitars, drums and electronic sounds. "Written pre Hide & Seek." Length: 2:11. Exact date unknown.

2 Hearts (OE demo). Rough demo of Two Hearts with OE singing the first verse and chorus. Length: 1:45. Recorded in 2008. Exact date unknown.

GhostTown. Sideways instrumental demo. Length: 2:24. Exact date unknown.

Pale Instrumental demo. More stripped down than the final instrumental- more electro than rock-driven. Some of the synth is more distorted, which sounds really fun! Length: 3:21. Exact date unknown.

Restraint. The Long Way Home demo by OE, featuring different vocals and lyrics from OE. Sounding even scarier and darker than the final version. Length: 1:54. Exact date unknown.

Glamorama. Instrumental demo of Always with electronic notes instead of vocals. Length: 4:13. Exact date unknown.

Control demo. Featuring Falcore's vocals, and some lyrical differences. Length: 3:24. Exact date unknown.

Part 3 will be uploaded in the future!

#the birthday massacre #demo #demos #unreleased #patreon #tbm #mine

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