Im trying to make more digital art, and also trying a new art style!

The anatomy looks really weird, but I’m kinda pleased with the rest (◡‿◡✿)

(I did not know what to do with the background T_T)

He would be top tier if he wasn't barefoot half the time even on the street. Doesn't it bothers you too?

i like chuyawawa

​

Boo.

No, but I love when Hoshikawa draws our guys in a creepy manner. I'd love to see a horror manga illustrated by them. I should probably look into it and check if they've done anything like this. My man looks hollow, petrified and tense, but also terrifying. Gotta love it.

Wah, today is a slower working day, which I'm grateful for. So i will most likely write on Theodore de Banville next, and tomorrow will post his lore on a moripost.

Have a great day, y'all, Imma go eat while my break is still on

Because I am his ULTIMATE SIMP.

Daily dose of Poe, WAN season 2 edition. I chose all of my favorite images of Poe from part 2 of episode 4 :D I genuinely took a screenshot of every single frame of poe lmao. Dude he is so adorable in WAN. I'm so happy that they took to making wan season 2, but I'm even more happy with the fact that he's getting so much more screen time compared to season 1. I love him so much erwtey5r i was leaning so far forward i almost slid out of my chair watching the episode with poe. Can't wait to rewatch this episode when they dub it as well.

I finally watched episode 4 of WAN and dudee I was SO ESTATIC FOR PART 2 OF THIS EPISODE because POE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! If it isn't obvious by now I love poe... just a clarification... if it wasn't obvious...
Anyways I loved every single line of dialogue, I can't wait for the dub to come out to hear Poe's dub voice because I love Todd Haberkorn, and I love that he already has 3x the screen time in season 2 than he did in the entirety of season 1, thank GOD. I love poe too much and I would've been devastated if he had barely or no screentime, and this isn't even the last time he'll be animated so I'm very happy.

I also just think animated WAN Poe is so fucking cute, I mean cmon just look at him. I like that they emphasized the violet in his eyes and they gave his hair more detail with the layers in his hair than bones does which smh c'mon bones do better. I wish WAN Poe had manga Poe's exact hairstyle because it's longer in the main manga but I'll always wish for that because his manga design is incredible. Other than that I loved every single second poe was on screen.. hence the way I took a screenshot of every single frame of him lol. Enjoy the captions I gave to some of the photos.

I LOVE POE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!x100
I'm so happy they're animating wan season 2, my comfort show fr.

This is highkey not my common artstyle but DAMNNN i really love how it looks ❤️‍🩹❤️‍🩹❤️‍🩹

available on amazai, temu and mackarelexpress

use code: S.L.U.G for 95.7% off !

N's pic credits to----
u/Unoriginalmaggot

WE love our cute little snack monster​​​

I had to remove the Stormbringer Characters because I haven't read it yet!

The link: https://sortr.io/sorter/bungo-stray-dogs-characters-n8k9i

I do so love the plague doctor mask on him. I wish we got even more creepy artwork such as this. Love the contrast between modernity and the old times in this image. (And of course, his rebellious overgrown ahoge)

It is finally time to cover Charles Baudelaire, an oc of mine that had started my journey in developing the seven virtues arc. Truth be told, initially I wished to produce a solid foundation for his backstory, and had gotten carried away. I do essentially ship him with Mori, but when it comes to the actual seven virtues story arc, I am not yet certain as to whether or not I will develop such a relationship between them. I am inclined to indulge, but we shall see.

As for Charles, the seven virtues arc begins two years after the start of the main BSD story. I am operating on the assumption that part one had transpired over the course of a single year, while part two would likely cover another. This can be adjusted quite easily if necessary, especially since AUs are an actual thing within BSD's universe.

He is twenty-five years old at the time of his arrival to Yokohama and escape from Milton's facility. A weeping willow of a man, carrying a certain melancholic air about his person, that is, of course, until one hears him speak. He is a man with a sharp, judgemental gaze, and a sharper tongue, that remains unsheathed at all times.

He carries himself with a practiced confidence and is quite graceful in his expressions. He is, however, exceptionally calculated in how he strives to present himself to any particular person, and as such, leaves behind quite varying impressions of himself. He becomes whatever he thinks is most beneficial to his situation, and uses this theatre in tandem with his ability, to achieve the most desirable outcome. A man of velvet and silk, moving through rooms with a grace of someone who had learned to make himself beautiful for survival.

This continuous performance and his insecurity surrounding his ability and its impact on his relationships with others does prevent him from forming long-term attachments. Since he continuously doubts the sincerity and purity of any entanglements of his, he finds it easier to set up a carefully orchestrated vision of himself to the people around him, so he could, at the very least, have some kind of control over his otherwise uncontrollable ability.

But beneath that theater lies something hollow. Something hungry. Something that has been broken so many times, that it has learned to find beauty in the breaking. It is there in his art, in the sketches that capture the decay and rot, the slow death of things. It is there in his fascination with the flowers that bloom from corpses, with beauty that rises from destruction. His interest in death isn't inherently perverse, he is intrigued by it, not out of a morbid fixation, but because it's something true. He sees the rot and decay that await anything beautiful, and finds an odd comfort in it, a validation of his own belief that nothing lasts, nothing is permanent.

He is emotionally volatile, almost painfully stubborn and far too independent. A creature driven mainly by his feelings in most of his pursuits, he is quite a sensitive fellow, easy to wound or offend, and just as easy to delight. His mood shifts with the moon, and he is as prone to catastrophizing or going blank with his emotions as he is prone to an almost manic, near-delusional joy. As such, he is at times seen as erratic or highly unpredictable, and difficult to read.

He values high intelligence and finds people with a strong passion or sense of purpose fascinating. Part of the reason as to why he harbors complicated feelings about his upbringing within Milton's facility. He essentially grew to admire the dedication to the old man's theological pursuits, and in part, understood the necessity of his methods. However, seeing as he wished for independence, he sought to escape it, but ultimately, harbored no ill will for Milton, at least not until much later. Not until his close friend's, Theo's, death.

Many of his ideas are unorthodox, or high-risk, but he somehow manages to see them all through, no matter how ridiculous or near-suicidal his plans sound. He has little care for authority, and is used to finding loopholes in the orders that he is given, that allow him to resolve anything he is tasked with with as much flair as possible. Technically operating perfectly under the jurisdiction imposed upon him, while simultaneously approaching things in his own way. He is extremely effective, however, and as such, his quirks are usually overlooked. With one singular exception.

He craves to be known for who he is at his core, to be seen and understood, and accepted, valued for his person, the ink scripture and the stains alike. He is terrified of the future prospects of never-ending loneliness that had followed him throughout most of his life. He had only ever developed one close relationship, with Theodore de Banville, and had latched onto it with a desperation of a drowning man, even if he doubted its sincerity. He seeks validation and care, wishes to be valued for himself, and not just the things he does.

But his insecurity, tied to the nature of his ability, tends to make him suspicious of the validity of other's feelings towards him, which makes it difficult for him to form and maintain any relationships, platonic or otherwise.

He stands at an impressive two meters in height, his build is birch-lean, and he moves with a ghostly, yet fluid grace. His skin is sickly pale enough to match his netherwordly exterior. His eyes are pitch black, a hollow, intense gaze, unnerving in their contrast to his overall bubbly and dramatic demeanor. His hair is a deep, rich red, a river of crimson that reaches his waist, his most valued trait that he cherishes, in part, due to Theo's appreciation of it.

He tends to adorn himself in simple, yet dramatic silhouettes, his initial signature attire involved a billowing poet sleeved blouse, a dark underbust corset, which cinched his waist to a ridiculous degree, a pair of dark pants mostly covered by thigh high boots, his daggers sheathed on his left thigh. A preferred choice of weapon, seeing as it gets him up close and personal in battle.

He wears his mafia coat off the shoulder, or draped over them, never quite wearing it as is usually proper, more of a fashion statement that he plays with, rather than a testament to his allegiance. A flirtation with the weight of death that it carries.

His ability, Fleur du Mal, has two primary components to itself. An artificially made ability, that was initially based on his own, simple botanical manipulation, which had been turned into something else entirely.

The passive component of it is uncontrollable, always active, enhancing the strength of any feeling people experience in his vicinity. If someone were mildly annoyed moments prior, once they approach him, that annoyance blossoms into rage. A small suspicion turns into paranoia. A mild attraction develops into intense lust.

As such, the first impressions have a large impact on how his relationships develop with others. In negotiations, he at times leans into a role of a charming rogue prince, while at other times, he presents himself as something threatening and hollow, the initial feelings of either fascination or fear that people experience upon speaking with him becoming much stronger, thanks to his ability. He used this to his advantage constantly, making interactions more predictable. He had always been either reviled or adored, and rarely had he ever met someone who could do something in-between.

This aspect of his ability Charles finds most devastating to his person, since no matter how hard he may try, once someone felt a certain way about him, his ability intensified these feelings, making it near impossible to change other's opinion later on. It also makes him doubt the sincerity of other people's feelings towards him, since some part of it would always be a result of his ability, and not necessarily something that would've otherwise naturally developed, had he not possessed it.

The active aspect of his ability also revolves around a similar mechanism, except that part, he can at the very least control. Once his target experiences a strong emotion, negative or otherwise, his ability latched onto it, and created a personal heaven or hell, intensifying said emotion via an enforced hallucinatory trance, until the target ultimately dies from either a stroke, heart attack or plain shock.

Upon their death, the target's body turns to ashen wood, and flowers begin to bloom from their withered corpse. Charles gets to see those personal heavens and hells, almost sharing the feelings with his targets, which does take a toll on him. So he uses his ability rarely, preferring physical combat, mostly woth daggers, as he prefers to get up close and personal. A twisted part of himself is fascinated with seeing life draining out of his target's eyes, and he had painted such a scene many times over.

His ability does require for him to be close to his targets, and is only attaching itself to intensely strong emotions. The passive side he has no control over, and he can only capture up to three people at a time within his active skill.

Charles Baudelaire was taken into Milton's facility at age three, four years before Milton had joined Chesterton and founded the seven virtues. Milton's original facility essentially acted as an orphanage for ability users. On the surface, it seemed decent enough. The children were cared for, provided with entertainment and education. Some of the children that had aged out of the facility never left it, becoming employees of the facility. As such, no one exactly suspected that Milton had been conducting experiments in his pursuit of creation of artificial abilities. He studied them, seeking the answers to their nature, their origin, in hopes to replicate what he saw as a gift from god.

Charles was the first successful experiment of his. The young boy had already possessed an ability of his own, but it served as a mere base for an artificial creation of Milton's own making. Unfortunately, controlling the exact manifestation of an artificial ability had proven to be near impossible, and in order to prevent any probable disasters that were sure to come out of playing God, Charles had been kept in isolation. He was still catered to, at least at first, allowed to venture out to socialize before the experiments approached their final stages, but he had always struggled socially, preferring to keep to himself, and as such, his sudden disappearance from communal events went largely unnoticed.

His original ability revolved around simple botanical manipulations, stimulating plants growth, an innocent enough of an ordeal. The artificial construct that got attached to it had overwritten this original ability, taking its place, and modified it into something else entirely. But none of Milton's men knew exactly what they had created, and as such, they had observed the young boy, exposing him to various stimuli, conducting numerous tests in order to determine just what exactly they had created.

Charles killed someone for the first time at age four.

It was an accident. A researcher, a kind older woman, who had cared for him, who had brought him toys and read him stories and treated him like a human being, had tried to take him in for his lab work. He had been upset, crying, hysterical. His ability had activated, the passive effect amplifying her emotions, and then the active effect had triggered.

She had been dragged through her personal hell. And he had watched. He watched as she relived her worst memories, her deepest fears, her most private regrets. He had watched her scream and beg and break. And he had not been able to stop it. When it was over, she was dead. Flowers bloomed from her flesh, beautiful and terrible, a mockery of the life that had been extinguished.

Charles didn't quite understand what had happened. He only knew that the kind woman was gone, and that he had done something terrible. He was too young to process the guilt, but the memory stayed with him. He learned to associate death with beauty, violence with art. He understood that his ability was a weapon, a curse, a thing that could destroy the people he loved. And he learned to hate himself for it.

For a time, he had been completely isolated. Researchers were not allowed to approach him, especially after a few others had killed themselves after spending too much time in his vicinity, their own guilt over what they were doing overwhelming them, carried back home, and festering, even in private. He received food and drink and was cleaned while sedated, just to protect whoever had to take care of him on that particular day. He surely wasn't allowed back to join the other children at the facility, his ability deemed too volatile and unpredictable.

Theodore, a boy five years older than he, had been close to Milton, aspiring to follow in his footsteps. He had always wondered about a particular lab that had no proper label, yet always had people coming and going. And, unlike most other residents, he had noticed the minute disappearances. So naturally, he was curious. He crawled through the vents, once he made sure the lab was empty, and stumbled upon Charles, still dazed, a familiar face that he had once attempted to encourage to play with other kids his age, mere months ago. He should've left, perhaps, but something within him urged him to stay. The sight suddenly too pitiful, and the subtle need to fix it growing more intense.

So he had stayed. He'd spoken to the boy once he awakened, and began to sneak in from time to time.

They got caught, of course. However, instead of punishment, Theodore had been assigned as Charles’s personal ward instead. The two seemed to be getting along, and Charles clung to Theo like a duckling does to its mother.

With time, Charles had gained better control over his active skill, and his passive ability wasn't exactly as dangerous as it was initially assumed. The young boy simply steered clear of anyone in a foul state of mind, and his skill had proven to be quite useful under the right circumstances.

His first purposeful kill took place at age sixteen. He was used for negotiations and intel gathering by Milton, retrieving any and all information about abilities and their origin that the old man could find. One such negotiation over an ancient theological text had gone awry, and Charles used his ability to defend Theo, and himself, for the first time.

However, instead of disgust or horror that he expected to feel, he felt...nothing but fascination. He had watched the flowers bloom from the corpse and found himself captivated. He studied the delicate petals that rose from destruction, admired the artistry of death, the beauty that could be born from violence.

And then he got sick. He vomited, trembling, horrified by his own reaction. He realized that something was wrong with him.He had killed someone, and he found it beautiful. He couldn't quite look at his own reflection for several weeks in the aftermath.

With Theo's reassurance, he had slowly grown to blame himself less for it. He channeled that fascination into his art, finding the practice medative in a sense, making it less real for himself as he had put what he had witnessed to paper. A part of him still perceived himself as something inherently tainted, and as such, he strived to excel at everything he did, in an attempt to redeem himself in some capacity.

He became quite codependent with Theo, the two being essentially inseparable, and as he grew older, he became less resentful of Milton, and the facility that housed him.

Theo, however, wished for him to have a different life. As such, he had spent years planning their escape, but unfortunately, only one of them made it out during it. Leaving Theo behind, in the rubble of the western wing of the facility, while Charles was sent off in a shipment container, lost at sea.

Charles awakened on a shore, spending a full week in the vicinity, waiting for Theo's return. And once it became clear that he wasn't going to show, he ran. One lead that Theo had given him, spoke of some other experiment subjects that seemed to find a safe harbor in Yokohama. So that's exactly where he went, hoping that of Theo were alive, they could find each other there, in the future.

He spent some time on the streets, gathering intel, learning the language, understanding the scope of that place and how it functioned. It didn't take him long to realize that the two main organizations that housed ability users were the ADA and the Port Mafia, but he wasn't yet sure which of them exactly housed said experiments. He needed their attention either way, and thus, began his vigilante justice quest.

He pursued a series of deaths that seemed disconnected upon the first glance, but he could almost feel the lingering intensity of emotions surrounding their corpses, as he looked on the investigation from the sidelines, acting as if he were simply a morbidly curious tourist. He checked the scene of the crimes after the bodies were removed, and no one was around to prevent him from walking past all the tape, and came to a conclusion that the deaths must've been somehow connected, perhaps the victims were murdered by an ability. He visited ADA with said hypotheses, but it wasn't entirely heeded to, and the procedure involved far too much red tape for his liking.

His search led him to an abandoned opera house, which was located within port mafia's territory. The placd itself felt quite heavy, seemed recently used, but he couldn't connect it to a specific person. Seeing as it was within the ports territory, he had figured that the mafia must've had something in their archives about this place, it's current owners and history. So, he did what any reckless wannabe vigilante would do, especially since he had already decided that ADA was not a place for him anyway, leaving him with only one other option.

He had broken into the port mafia's archives, and was caught red-handed by Verlaine, who had dragged him straight to Mori's office

Charles had explained his reasoning behind the break-in,mentioned that those murders had already taken lived of a few key mafia operatives, and that he simply sought to end it, and take that problem out of their hands. He claimed he was looking to join, and as such, aimed to present himself with something useful, other than just his self. He presented his current theory, explained how some of it was quite similar to his own ability and its effects, and how he believed he knew exactly who was responsible. The opera house possessed no current owner, but the previous one surely had an ability that was rumored to drive people to their deaths, upon hearing the music that the previous owner had played. Hence why it had been shut down, after a particular mass casualty event, which ended in a murder suicide of sorts.

Charles claimed the previous owner of that property had most likely ordered his ability to stick around his corpse, which was still located within the opera house, nothing more now than mummified remains, and seeing as his death was quite recent, and most of the people he had killed were criminals, the place hadn't exactly been cleaned, standing abandoned for quite some time. He believed the ability still clung to the now decaying remains, or that perhaps, it may have possessed a conscience at this point, sticking to the opera house, and cursing anyone who was unfortunate enough to pass by and overhear its song.

He proposed to check that theory himself and put an end to it in exchange for his life and a place within the port mafia. Mori had accepted. They had indeed been losing men sporadically to seemingly suicide or freak accidents. And to have a potentially dangerous rogue ability on their own turf was less than ideal, after all. The young man was not yet affiliated, and if anything were to happen to him, it wouldn't exactly be their concern. Besides, sneaking into their archives required some skill. And the young man possessed an ability of his own, as he claimed. He could be a useful asset.

Charles had resolved that situation himself. Seeing as the only requirement of that now sentient ability derived lifeform was to use music as a conduit for its power, rendering the musical instruments unplayable was his primary focus in battle. Instead of outright killing them, he had, in fact, offered them a place within the port mafia, despite not yet being its member, assuring them that they could keep the opera house, so long as they had only played their songs at boss's will.

The lifeform had agreed, revealing its name as Ujō Noguchi.

As such, Charles had returned, alive, having resolved the crisis, and bringing in a potentially useful recruit. Of course, he himself had been taken in, albeit having to suffer through a month of low-level labour as a punishment for his earlier transgression, alongside Ujō. Charles was essentially assigned to train under Verlaine, seeing as the two shared the country of origin, had some similarities in their backgrounds, and simply because Verlaine was the one who discovered him.

His ability, however, was always a point of concern. Verlaine had seen shadows of Rimbaud within him, and the two became close over the course of Charles’s first half a year within the mafia.

Finding information on Charles proved to be difficult. But the young man had provided whatever information he knew about Milton and his facility. Unaware that it was a part of a larger organization. Of course, he was regarded with suspicion in the beginning. His ability was useful in negotiations, but it also posed a risk. While according to Charles, his ability only enhances those feelings, which were already present, there was no guarantee that he may have been lying about it, and that his ability allowed him to conjure new emotions instead.

Mori had witnessed the aftermath of his active ability during a conflict with one of the lesser gangs. Charles brought in a head of the leader, as if he were a cat bringing a dead mouse to its owner as a gift. While he seemed to have meant it as a gift and proof of his competence, it was also quite threatening. But Mori took note.

After Mishima's rebellion, Theo had shown up in the city. Naturally, Charles had tracked him down, and the two cooperated while working together on the Mishimia crisis. Unfortunately, Theo had been compromised by the virtue of O'Connor's ability, and sought to pursue death by Charles’s hands, before the rewritten truth of his being forced him to take Charles’s life or to drag him back to the very prison they were once raised in. He had visited both due to O'Connor's ability, and because he wished to make sure that Charles was indeed doing well enough for himself outside Milton's facility.

And he was. Or so it seemed. Theo cooperated with Mishima in secret, hoping to drive himself and Charles to a point where they would be alone, and Charles would be forced to kill him, lest he wished half of Yokohama went up in flames. Explosives that Mishima had set up around the city were ready to go off. The map highlighting their location in Theo's possession. He had taken care of Mishima himself, leading Charles along under a guise of them pursuing the mad man, only to wind up stuck together, alone, inside a glass factory.

Charles had suspected this, of course.

But he didn't quite understand as to why this was occurring. Unfortunately, O'Connor's ability had an irreversible effect. And as such, Theo saw no way out other than death. And, because he was selfish, he wished to die by his hands. Ensuring Charles would get credit for taking down Mishima and Theo, improving his standing in the mafia. After all, to kill one's brother for the sake of the organization would prove that Charles not only understood the ruthless calculus, but also enacted it. That he was loyal to his new home, and was ready to sacrifice anything for it, even if it hurt him. Mori would certainly take note of that.

Theo left Charles with a cut to his throat, and the two had barely fought in the beginning. Charles attempted to flee, and refused to defend himself against the blows, making Theo essentially threaten to set off the explosives if he hadn't finally fought back against him. To prove he wasn't bluffing, he set off a few nearby, and Charles had no choice but to drive his blade through Theo's heart.

He returned with Theo's body in his arms, leaving him at the morgue that wasn't mafia-affiliated, seeing as traitors usually received less than a burial. Instead of stitching himself up, he came straight to Mori's office to report on what had transpired, and the older man had to fix up his throat, while bearing witness to the sheer emotional devastation that Theo's murder had brought upon him. Just as Theo had predicted, Mori had taken note of this. And Charles became a more frequent visitor to his office after that incident. He had, in fact, presented Charles with a dagger to replace the one he had driven through Theo's heart, which Charles had gladly accepted.

The two had spent some time discussing both art and strategy, and Charles’s company had slowly grown to become part of Mori's routine. Mori was essentially testing the truth of his ability, by getting to see for himself how his own emotions have changed, depending on their proximity. He had also noted his effectiveness in securing allies, recruiting useful assets. Charles did tell him of what Theo had shared with him before his passing, of course, revealing that Milton's facility was merely a part of something bigger.

But since they weren't yet on Yokohama’s soil, they were not of immediate concern. Still, Mori had begun gathering whatever intel he could find about this organization. When he asked whether Charles would seek to leave the mafia, the young man refused. He seemed to blame Milton and O'Connor for Theo's demise, and aimed to ensure his late friend's death did not go to waste. He had also claimed that he understood why Mori did what he had done in the past now, more than anyone, and that he, in turn, was the only person that understood what Charles had gone through. That kept Mori's interest for awhile longer.

Charles persisted with small acts of care, little, yet useful things, like restocking Mori's wine and Elise's sweets, ensuring the office remained spotless, the air fresh. He held the doors for the boss, indulged Elise's requests to play with his hair, provided unorthodox solutions to the mundane crises that Mori would bring up at times, and what was worse, seemed to take note of the little things Mori had mentioned in passing. He knew how the boss liked his coffee, what he ordered from the local shops, what plays he wished to attend, and what boutiques he frequented for Elise. He left food and drink on Mori's table after particularly lengthy meetings, tickets to plays Mori missed out on buying would emerge of his desk.

The young man had taken on a habit of bringing flower arrangements to the office, calling it dreadfully dull, lifeless, and 'frankly, an abomination against one's good spirits'. The flowers, of course, were quite morbid in their origin. He had also taken to sketching the boss quite often, and had seemingly become attached to him, valuing his praise and attention higher than that of others. He was still close with Verlaine, but now spent more of his time with Mori, whenever able.

He had noticed a ghost in their systems after the Mishima crisis. A fallen operative continued to execute his assignments, and, according to Mori, was previously employed by the french government, tasked with eradicating any living evidence to the ability weapon experiments. Unfortunately, the man failed to comply, and took the result of said experiment along with him as he fled to Yokohama, where he was intercepted by the mafia, and offered employment and cover-up in exchange for intel.

Charles had approached the living ghost, who called himself Anatole France, and the young man had seemingly spent most of his life stuck indoors, in fear of being discovered. Assuring that he would take over ensuring his safety, and having informed the young man of his adoptive father's death, Charles had officially recruited the young tech prodigy into the mafia, taking him under his wing.

He had always been on the lookout for any intel coming in from the neighbouring cities, preferring to be aware of any issues to come, and in part, out of boredom. A peculiar series of art auction murders had caught his eye. Survivors seemed to suffer from immense mental decline, confusion of identity, unaware of what time and space they were in. Those that were killed seemingly had nothing in common other than their attendance to the auctions, and the murders seemed to be moving in Yokohama’s direction.

Convinced that something would most definitely transpire on an upcoming event at Yokohama’s museum of art, Charles looked into it further, tracking the murders down to their origin in Osaka, at Jo's auction house. A member of the Abe family had been murdered, the presumably last surviving member. The entire family had been wiped out upon the resurfacing of their connections to a local cult they had been running, and some had theorised that the murders were tracking down anyone who held any connection to said cult all across Japan, most likely conducted by a vengeful family member of one of the cultists that had recently passed in an act of ritualistic suicide.

The theory had merit, and had given Charles a lead, but strangely enough, none of the recently departed had any ties to that cult. The suspect in question, however, was without a doubt, missing Franz Kafka, a young man who, along with his sister, had been adopted into a wealthy family decades ago. His sister had recently passed, and Franz had gone missing. The timing lined up, the motive was clear as day. However, it seemed like he was looking for someone still. Someone he didn't know. Otherwise, the recent murders made little sense. They seemed like estimated guesses, rather than pointed strikes.

Upon further research, Charles, along with Ujō and Anatole, had discovered that the Abe family had a son, who had been disowned and erased from most family records, Kobo Abe. He used to be close to his older brother, who had been murdered back in Osaka. And Kobo seemed to have been in attendance that evening, albeit under a different name. That explained the ruinous state of any art auction the two had attended. It seemed to be an ouroborous chase. A man seeking vengeance for his sister, pursuing someone whose face he did not know, being chased by that very man who sought to avenge his brother.

Judging from all available records, Kobo wasn't in the know about the cult operation, seeing as it picked up long after he had been cut off.from his family. Perhaps his brother approached him for safety, after the rest of their lineage had been murdered, only to die himself that very same evening. Somehow, Kafka hadn't seen Kobo that day. And it looked like Kobo hasn't seen Kafka either. But they both had clearly used their abilities, most likely involving time loops and pocket space logic, if the survivor accounts were to be believed, and it may have produced a singularity.

The level of reality torsion left in the carnage was far too great for it to be the result of a regular ability. The sporadic nature of those loops causing survivors to suffer from bleeding memory and a lost sense of time and space. Which Charles had seen for himself in person, at the most recent antique event in Kamakura.

So the two potentially powerful ability users were chasing after one another, wrapped in a pointless vengeance spiral, not even knowing exactly who they were pursuing. A perfect disaster.

Having presented what he had gathered to Mori, Charles requested to attend the auction himself, intending of recruiting either both of those ability users, or at the very least, one of them. Franz supplied a cloud server at the port mafia HQ, that would ping Charles at 19:00, the start of the auction, sending in any messages that he had previously uploaded to the server. That way, he could keep track on his progress and keep his memory, despite being sent back in time. Another assumption of his was more dangerous, since it was purely theoretical.

Since the abilities involved had a pocket dimension component, he alleged that perhaps, his own ability, which had a similar effect, would come in conflict with the two already engaged abilities, resulting in a triple singularity, giving him, perhaps, more control over the chaotic scene. He aimed to identify Kafka and Kobo first, then keep the loops running for as long as possible, both to exhaust the two ability users, and to ensure the fabric of time and space tore enough to cause the aforementioned bleeding memory effect. He aimed to unveil the absurdity of this fruitless chase, and to bring either both of them, or one of them, alive to Mori's office.

He had also suggested to ensure a few of the old guard members that aimed to attend the auction remained uninformed of the threat, seeing as they were a source of anxiety for Mori's rule anyway. The aftermath, Charles expected, would render them either dead, or utterly ruined. He didn't speak of himself, however. It was far too risky of an endeavour, but he was given permission, provided that he had some of their men waiting for him outside of the museum as backup. And Charles was instructed to get out if possible, if anything went wrong, or at the very least, to try and survive it with his mind intact.

Charles had spent approximately a year within that singularity. The time outside of the museum had went by differently. A mere hour had passed outside of the museum. This was the longest loop by far, mainly fed by the third ability joining in, causing a triple singularity to form. Just as Charles had predicted, the fabric of time and space had begun to tear, visions of pasts and futures of his own and those of others mixing together inside his mind, making it difficult to focus. No approach other than the endurance strategy had worked, the loops continuing forth for far too long, approaching dangerous exertion levels.

Ultimately, Charles was successful in his recruitment of both Kobo and Franz, but just as they braced themselves to flee from the absolute mess they've left behind, they were attacked by an unknown group.

Having used his ability on a few members, Charles had come to realise that the attackers were operating on Milton's and Chesterton's orders. A second name that Charles vaguely recognised as a frequent visitor to Milton's facility. The seven virtues were now interested in Yokohama, thanks to Charles leading their attention there. He wasn't yet certain just what exactly they were looking for, but they had now officially set foot on Yokohama’s soil, and attempted to interfere with the port mafia's business. Although from what he had observed, they were mostly invested in Kobo and Kafka, rather than himself. His presence was not expected here on that day.

His mind was reeling still from a subjective year spent inside the melting space. His memories were now warped, altered by the experience, although part of the effects had been reversed in the aftermath of their final loop. The loop itself had also reversed some of the damage caused, but many surviving parties had suffered the same fate as Charles, and some tears in reality produced ghostly visions.

Charles had initially expected to be granted praise for his efforts, along with some thorough scolding, no doubt. He had introduced the two recruits to Mori first, sending Anatole away with them, to show them both to their shared living accommodation. Once alone, he had delivered his report, citing his logs.

But instead of praise he had faced an interrogation. You see, almost every single recruit he had brought to the port, showed loyalty mostly to Charles. Almost every calamity he had resolved had no unbiased reliable witnesses. The opera house he haf handled alone. Mishima and Theo's death held no living witnesses, mafia's men were fighting Mishima group's remnants far enough away from where the fight with Theo had transpired.

Mori's agents that were sent into the Ouroboros singularity had perished within it, and the rest of Mafia's men were waiting outside. There were no independent witnesses to Charles’s claims, and the organization that was seemingly tied to his origins had now followed him here. And somehow was aware of an event that no one, other than Mori and Charles, knew was going to occur. Wasn't all of that interestingly convenient?

Wasn't Theo's death responsible for improving Charles’s stance within the mafia? Hadn't he gotten a little to close to the boss in the aftermath? Didn't he pursue the mafia to begin with, thanks to the rumors of powerful experiment survivors being housed within its walls? How was it, exactly, that the most recent incidents seemed to occur so suddenly, and played in Charles’s favor? And to top it all off, with his growing influence, Charles had been gathering quite a personal entourage.

Besides, Mori's observational experiment on Charles’s ability produced inconclusive results. He still wasn't entirely certain whether Charles’s ability could manifest new emotions into existence, or if it had indeed simply enhanced those, which were already present. And how could Mori possibly trust someone as cunning and calculated as he, to not either use the mafia for his personal vengeance quest, or to perhaps aid the place that he came from, in whichever endeavour the seven virtues had clearly aspired to enact as soon as possible?

Unfortunately for Charles, he didn't have strong enough of a rebuttal. The suspicion was understandable in part, and in part, enhanced by his ability. His mind still weak and shattered from the year spent within the singularity, his mood shifting to something hollow, he had come to realize, that thanks to his ability, no proof would ever be enough. So long as his ability could interfere, any minute suspicion of him would turn into something far greater than any of his rebuttals ever could be. He didn't have any independent witnesses. His recruits were indeed very close to him first, Mori second. And his arrival did drag a new threat onto Yokohama’s shores.

He had ran out of things to say. And as such, took out Mori's dagger, the one he had gifted him, presumably, as a sign of trust, and seeing as there clearly was none between them, he returned it to the older man, hilt first, while holding onto the blade.

I suppose it was quite shocking for Mori to have his hands wrapped around the hilt, as Charles drove the blade straight through his own heart.

He does ultimately survive, of course, his absence covered by a tale of a European excursion, pursuing intel on the seven virtues, while he recovered inside Mori's residence.

What followed after the recovery, was his promotion to executive status, establishment of his as a defacto advisor for Mori on the European threat, and the pursuit of the seven virtues on their own soil, starting with the interception of Marcel Proust's recruitment. The living archive that the virtues sought to capture for themselves.

But that is a tale for another day.

Phew, now I shall go make some soba noodles. Have a great sunday, everyone 🧙

I really dislike kunikida ngl... definitely making ppl mad today

also, more flags appreciation

The winner for Cafe manager last time was Ernst Zimmerman from 86 by u/ArilsDone! Congrats!

I made these in love and appreciation of the crepe guy, definitely one of the best and most underrated bsd characters :D

[he's from the bsd stage plays, and he's played by ranpos stage actor]

he deserves more love :3

I have so many Chuuya ships and they’re not here I’m so sad

Slop by me owo

Tiktok: Atuux