An Archive of Our Own, a project of the
Organization for Transformative Works
He becomes a blank canvas for Shougo and Ryou to etch their wishes, dreams, and love onto… His body becomes akin to a painter’s prized possession—Ryou’s and Shougo’s prized possession.
chapters: 1/1 | characters: uenoyama ritsuka, itaya shougo, ueki ryou | ship: ueki/itaya/uenoyama, past ritsumafu | genre: porn with feelings, experimental, light d/s | notes: this is different than how i usually write, but this will probably be the first fic of many for this ot3.
one day i’ll write that itaya/ueki/uenoyama fic and it’ll be the most self-indulgent thing in the history of self-indulgent things i’ve ever written... but jokes on me, all my ideas for it are fluff and slice of life stuff and i just feel as if i can’t write fluff to save my life.
“I’m not lonely. I’m having fun. I love music. I’m having fun during lunch. And I have someone new I’m in love with. If only I could talk to you again.”
throughout given, there have been more than a couple of scenes/panels where ritsuka has either denied himself sleep or food to get a song or two done. which may seem harmless at first or it can be seen as something that is not a big deal, but for ritsuka, it has turned in quite the habit. especially when you look at how insecure he’s been during mix arc--the arc where he’s had multiple sleepless nights and days where he’s skipped a meal or two.
this habit first appeared in chapter one (literally 9 pages into this series):
at this moment, it doesn’t seem like a big deal because ritsuka’s tired and wants to get his mid-day nap on, but that’s another bad habit of his too... ritsuka misses meals and he doesn’t always get a good night sleep.
we see this issue pop up again in chapter 5:
this chapter also has yayoi mentioning ritsuka’s habits to akihiko, making it seem as if ritsuka hasn’t just missed one meal, but multiple meals as he tries to finish a song that he can’t stop himself from finishing.
so by the end of volume one, we learn that ritsuka has two bad habits: missing meals and not getting enough sleep. it’s also common enough knowledge in the series that ritsuka usually uses ‘lunch time’ for anything but lunch as we learn that ritsuka likes to take naps at school, hang out with mafuyu in the stairwell, or play bball with the guys. and while this isn’t a huge issue at this point, it’s the start of habits that could lead to worse mental/physical health... which we don’t see in the next couple of volumes, but once volume 6 hits, it’s a different story.
because by volume 6, we have a couple of things that are currently impacting ritsuka during mix arc:
- chapter 23 where ritsuka realizes there’s still a wall between him and mafuyu
- given does not win cac
- chapter 29 where ritsuka deals with his sister’s response to his sexuality for the first time (with the possibility of only haruki being the wiser due to yayoi’s talk with him)
- mix arc in general where ritsuka asks mafuyu to debut with him, but gets shot down (mafuyu also starts to avoid ritsuka in this arc), ritsuka begrudgingly agreeing to finish yuki’s song and all the drama that comes from that, given practice being at a standstill as everyone deals with their lives, etc..
at this point, you’re probably wondering why i’m even mentioning this stuff at all, but mix arc is the arc where ritsuka is the most insecure... and the arc where his bad habits start to negatively influence his mental and physical health.
mix 5 is where we start to see ritsuka start to skip meals again:
we also see ritsuka’s first all-nighter as well, because mix 5 also has ritsuka staying up all night to finish his first attempt at the demo, only to make his way to hiiragi’s school to show him said attempt:
we also see how haggard ritsuka is from his first attempt at finishing yuki’s song as well:
those habits don’t stop there, because we can infer ritsuka does another all-nighter after mix 7 (chapter ends at nighttime), only to send hiiragi an updated demo in mix 9 during the ‘morning hours’ as the text that ritsuka sends takes place during the day (the blue sky background shows this) and this panel happens right after hiiragi tells his family that he’s staying home, hence the possibility of ritsuka forgoing sleep again:
then in mix 10, ritsuka stays up late and possibly does another all-nighter after going to school, doing his part time job, visiting akihiko and haruki to give them their tickets and to get advice (which ends up being terrible advice because akihiko and haruki have zero clue about what’s going on with ritsuka and the song at the moment)...
only for mix 12 to show us the start of how insecure and tired ritsuka is... ritsuka is so insecure that he can’t stop himself from asking shizusumi for advice, never mind taking his words to heart. even though you could say that ritsuka didn’t need his advice. while mix 13 shows ritsuka’s need to have someone be his shoulder to lean on:
and it’s the chapter that tells us that ritsuka isn’t okay:
even though we know that mix 14 has ritsuka persevering despite these obstacles, that doesn’t mean his bad habits have gone away.
at this point, it’s relatively safe to assume that these bad habits have definitely impacted ritsuka’s ability to deal with his insecurities throughout the past couple of months. as that can be seen through ritsuka’s constant questioning, which we’ve seen a couple of times now, as well as some of the panels that were discussed above. so with that, if ritsuka is prone to continue his habits where he is missing meals or getting less sleep, than it could continue to affect him adverse ways...
and while ritsuka isn’t the first character in given to have the occasional all-nighter or a character that has missed a meal, he’s the only character that has made these byproducts a part of his coping habit... which ultimately makes them their own habits, because they happen throughout the series often enough that they’ve become their own thing as well. and that’s the issue, especially if these are going to continue being his go-to habits for whenever he’s making music... especially if he’s using said music to deal with his own emotions, let alone others’.
Apparently giving other people a good whack on the head is a thing that 🎸bassists🎸 do in Given 😂😂😂
LOL it's funny but it's a good way to snap people out of wallowing in their guilt/trauma.
Chapter 9/Ep 8, Mafuyu started to wallow in his guilt for blaming Hiiragi and for running away from his issues,
and Hiiragi snapped Mafuyu out of it.
It’s good that Mafuyu was coming to terms with why he momentarily lost his temper at Hiiragi. But Mafuyu started to stew in the guilt of his actions a little too much, which was unhealthy and unproductive. Hiiragi immediately lightened the situation and asked Mafuyu to call him sometime, in other words, COMMUNICATE MORE with him.
Trust me, I truly believe it was right after this chat that Mafuyu actually finished writing the lyrics for Fuyu no Hanashi but just couldn't quite sing yet. Clues:
1. In the anime, right after Hiiragi leaves, Mafuyu had a flashback of him meeting Yuki for the first time and the whole "My dad hits me when I talk" and "I'm not your dad" memory. This could suggest that Mafuyu was coming to terms with the fact that it's ok for him to attempt to communicate his feelings in the form of a song.
2. In the manga, this flashback between Mafuyu and Yuki occurs at a different point. But after the Hiiragi and Mafuyu convo, we get a montage panel. Within that, we get a small ~Mafuyu may have been writing lyrics in class~(I have my FBI hat on)
This conversation was INCREDIBLY important for Mafuyu's healing and repairment of his bond with Hiiragi.
---
Chapter 27/Given Movie, Akihiko started to dissociate and wallow in his own negative feelings and doubts right before the CAC live,
and Haruki snapped him out of it.
Pay attention to what Akihiko's saying, he was so depressed that he was on the verge of giving up on music completely, and because to Akihiko music is his life passion, he was basically about to give up on himself completely.
But remember to Haruki, music is all about COMMUNICATION.
In that moment, Haruki didn't need to say it out loud but Haruki's essentially evoking to Akihiko, "come on, snap out of it! Communicate with me through this CAC live, through music. You believe that telling me using words won't solve anything? Ok fine. Tell me and express it to me then through music."
Akihiko dissociating was unhealthy and also unproductive as they were just about to start performing but Haruki helped ground him again.
While Mafuyu's song did the ~magic~, Haruki's "whack" helped unleash all the PASSION that was previously fogged up by Akihiko's depression. Akihiko was truly able to immerse himself and enjoy playing the drums in Yoru Ga Akeru thanks to Haruki's "whack".
---
Both Hiiragi and Haruki seek validation by wanting to be the centre of the social system they operate in.
Hiiragi wants all the spotlight and dazzling attention from the members of his childhood squad and gaining fans by being involved in music.
Haruki wants to be the one that everyone relies upon to feel a sense of self worth.
But Hiiragi and Haruki love their respective squads so so so much. As the bassists and as the home “base” of their squad, they stop their loved ones from overthinking and running away. They bring their loved ones back to reality and remind them that
The “bass”is to a solid relationship is COMMUNICATION.
Also
The bass line of a song is usually how we are able to tell the key 🔑 of a song.
And guess what?
COMMUNICATION IS KEY.
*Badum tsssss mic drop*
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An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
Jumping at the feeling of something cold on his cheek, Mafuyu almost falls over at the sight of Ueki handing him a small carton of strawberry flavored milk. Ueki looks as serious as ever, but there’s a twitch of his lips that has Mafuyu breathing a little bit easier at the sight of Ritsuka’s fri—No, the two of them are friends too—presence. Ritsuka may have been Ueki’s and Itaya’s friend first, but ever since Ritsuka had taught him the guitar, Ueki and Itaya had often treated him like he was their friend as well.
chapters: 2/2
characters: uenoyama ritsuka, sato mafuyu, itaya shougo, ueki ryou
ship: ritsumafu/mafuyama, pre-uetaya
genre: friendship, hurt/comfort
notes: this can be read alone, but also follows my series ‘you’re giving me a heart attack’
I was the last one left back then, and that’s how it’s always been till now. That’s why I have to take them with me. I’ll take everyone who fought and died alongside me to my final destination.
