【KagePro】 Alien Stage AU: KuroEne, AyaEne, MaryEne AU 🖤💙❤️🩷👾🎤
KagePro x Alien Stage AU: Part 1 👾🎤
Summary:
KagePro (KGPR) x Alien Stage (ALNST) AU: KuroEne, AyaEne, and MaryEne AU 🖤💙❤️🩷👾🎤
Round 5: Ruler of My Heart - Saeru Hebi vs. Tateyama Ayano
Round 7 (Final Round): Blink Gone - Saeru Hebi vs. Kozakura Mary
KuroEne, AyaEne, and MaryEne centric AU.
Mainly focuses on my fave KagePro charas in an ALNST AU, and combines the lore and setting of both KagePro and ALNST.
This AU is centered around Takane/Ene multiships because Ene is my wife, so I'm the most invested in her ships.
Kuroha/Saeru: 🖤🐍
Takane/Ene: 💙🐇
Ayano: ❤️🧣
Mary: 🩷🎀
KagePro (KGPR) x Alien Stage (ALNST) AU 👾 🎤
Scan: @/ayara-resara
Artist: Sidu
Colour Edit: Me (@/stepswordsen)
Source: .dsd Sidu Illustrations Works 2011-2015 Art Book
Takane, Haruka, Konoha, Kuroha/Saeru, Ene
Some thoughts I came up with for this AU. I'll be combining lore details from both KagePro and ALNST canon to make the AU more interesting.
Mainly focused on my fave charas and ships. I'm the most invested in Ene multiships because Takane/Ene is my wife.
Also, I wanted to limit the scope and make it easier to write, since ALNST has 6 main charas.
Saeru Hebi (Clearing Snake) manipulated circumstances to get the cast to compete in Alien Stage, a life or death competition.
The tournament has been manipulated by Saeru to reset the time and keep up his pseudo immortality.
Haruka died from his his illness, leading to the creation of a clone, Konoha
Saeru steals Konoha's body before/leading up to a round that Konoha was supposed to perform (or he eliminates Konoha and takes his appearance)
KuroEne become involved with each other, and Ene has a Hate/Love relationship with Saeru and has conflicted feelings for him.
Ene is aware of his true nature and that he's a monster, but still feels drawn to him because he knows her better than anyone else.
He could always read her too well and would always know how to get at the heart of her feelings, so they build a connection. Ene gets attached to him.
Unknownst to her, Saeru retains knowledge of previous timelines and thus remembers all of their memories together throughout the time loops.
During his matches, Saeru weaponizes his knowledge and uses his opponents' grief to his advantage.
Saeru and Ayano compete in Round 5: Ruler of My Heart, and each sing the song out of their love for Takane/Ene.
Saeru preys on Ayano's grief (from losing her siblings and Takane earlier in previous rounds)
Ayano is struggling during her performance from the loss of her family/friends and love interest weighing on her.
Ene sees Round 5 being broadcast. Maybe she tries to return to Alien Stage to bust the others out
Saeru and Mary face off in Round 7 (Final Round): Blink Gone.
During their match, similar to Outer Science, Saeru taunts Mary about her friends' deaths to further drive Mary's despair and desperation, telling her that she is the "Queen of this Tragedy."
Mary uses her Queen/Medusa powers to rewind time, out of a wish to see her friends again, one more time.
Source: Outer Science MV (Blu-Ray Edition)
I linked the Blu-Ray (BD) edition release since it corrects the colours. The original MV upload is much darker, so certain details are harder to see.
Brainstorming Ideas
Alien Stage competition takes place in the August month, and the Final Round is on August 15th (reset day)
Maybe Saeru arranged for Konoha's elimination in a previous round just so he could steal his body
Ene has a Hate/Love relationship with Kuroha/Saeru and conflicted feelings for him due to him stealing her loved one's body and taking his place
Maybe Ene infiltrates a control room and watches the events of Round 5 being broadcast. She hacks into the system and causes a smokescreen to help save Ayano and escapes with her, which Saeru was counting on
Maybe Saeru lets himself lose in the final round because Konoha's body is "indestructible." So if he gets shot, he doesn't get killed, unlike the others.
So Mary is the "winner" of the competition, but Saeru is the winner of the game overall because he ends up getting what he wanted in the end.
Mary resets out of desperation and a strong desire to see her friends again.
I feel like at some point, Saeru would tell Ene that she has a habit of "running away from confronting her more honest feelings and inevitable fate"
In MR2, Ene says she always ran away from her problems and avoided confronting her feelings, in an attempt to bury them and not have to acknowledge them.
Other Notes
Gonna write down some more thoughts so I don't forget
I feel like Ene is the type to sacrifice herself against her opponents... I think Saeru should rig the game so that she's only shot with a non-lethal toxin that makes her unconscious/comatose.
In another loop, if there's ever an Ayano vs. Mary round, I feel like Ayano would sacrifice herself for Mary
ALNST
Ruler of My Heart (ROMH) is implied to have been written by Luka (according to Vivinos' Patreon posts)
Just gonna link for this fan-written description since it links the official Patreon posts: (X)
I think some of the lyrics can be interpreted as references to Hyuna (by fan-speculation)
"Ruler of My Heart" could also be an implicit reference to how Luka constantly has to monitor/keep his heart rate in check due to his strict abusive upbringing and "teachings" by his owner.
ROMH lyric can be speculated as a reference to the artbook line.
My savior, pitiful lady
Make me your god, I can give you everything
- Ruler of My Heart Lyrics
"Pitiful thing. You're just running away from the current situation. If you just came into my embrace, your safety would be guaranteed." - Luka about Hyuna in the ALNST artbook
Rambles with Feila
Alien Stage: Round 5 - Ruler of My Heart
Gonna write down some more thoughts so I don't forget.
Just brainstorming some possible ideas.
Me: Just came up with an idea for a KagePro x ALNST AU where Saeru is in the position of Luka (except minus Luka's backstory details obviously) and uses his knowledge to his advantage by weaponizing his opponents' grief and distress during his matches.
I speedran watching some MVs recently cuz I was interested in MiziSua.
I think my fave ALNST charas are Mizi, Luka, and Hyuna.
Also, I love charas who are deranged and a freak 🫡
Saeru and Ene match-up... 🖤 💙
Saeru and Mary match-up should be the final round 👍
Ohhh, buddy!!! ‼️
I'm also really interested by the concept of adding KagePro's time loop into it with making it a loop where each tournament takes place on August 15th and then the timeline resets.
F: Saeru and Mary as Blink Gone 😭😭😭
ALSO THE TIME RESET PART, GENIUS
Also him fiddling around, switching the contestants' opponent each loop
Me: OH I was imagining Saeru and Mary singing “Ruler of My Heart” so they take Luka and Mizi's place
I was just gonna swap the rounds so it makes more sense. Though admittedly, I'm still deciding.
Especially with the part where Mizi lashes out and attacks Luka as a trauma response (out of anger and grief)
Mary (in Mizi's position) attacks Saeru (in Luka's position) with her Queen/Medusa form 🐍
So that I could have my KuroEne and MaryEne vision with Mary having a match-up with Ene in a previous round, and Ene lets herself lose to Mary.
And then Saeru sings "Ruler of My Heart" out of “love” (twisted obsession) for whoever his S/O is. Ene, in our AU’s case.
ALNST
Iirc it was stated that "Ruler of My Heart" is a song that Luka composed.
Reading the lyrics, if you interpret it as Luka's POV towards Hyuna, it does seem like some lines are dedicated to Hyuna, because Luka’s love is toxic, obsessive, and controlling.
My saviour, pitiful lady
Make me your god, I can give you everything
The lyric, "Make me your god, I can give you everything" really reads as MiziSua and HyuLuka core.
Especially since Round 5 was officially a duet between Mizi and Luka, and then Studio Lico released official solo versions of ROMH for Hyuna and Sua
"Ruler of My Heart" indeed...
Hyuna’s life motto is that she wants to live her life for herself in All-In, she sings out of enjoyment, for herself, as her way of reclaiming singing from the Segyein/Aliens.
Though in contrast, Luka's toxic, obsessive, controlling love for Hyuna is still very child-like and "innocent"
Round 5: Ruler of My Heart
Saeru's "love" (twisted obsession) is very NOT innocent.
I also really like the idea of Saeru singing the line of "Make me your god, I can give you everything"
Especially considering his whole shtick in my KuroEne AU.
He plays up to his S/O's desires and gives them everything they ever wanted. Except for the thing they want most - to move onto the future with everyone.
Saeru tells Ene (during the final confrontation on August 15th in my canon-verse KuroEne AU with the MaryEne team-up Route), how he gave her everything she ever wanted and made all her wishes come true.
Though I'd want Ene to still be alive to see Saeru and Ayano's performance... I'd have to think about the order of the rounds so it can make sense 🤔
Or maybe Mary about Ayano (platonic), like maybe Ayano sacrificed herself for Mary earlier.
Anyways, I’d have Saeru and Ayano compete and sing ROMH about their feelings for Takane/Ene, and Saeru weaponizing Ayano’s grief.
Or it can be Mary about Ene (romantic) 🩷 💙
Or maybe Saeru and Ene should be “Ruler of My Heart” (with Ene mourning Haruka/Konoha) and then “Saeru and Mary” is Blink Gone
So Ig the options are to make "Ruler of My Heart" between either Saeru and Ayano, or Saeru and Mary
Like maybe Ayano thinks Ene is dead when she's actually not (just missing, and Saeru ensured she'd be able to sneak out)
And Ayano is clearly struggling in her match against Saeru and then attacks him out of anger and grief.
Like what point is there in Saeru singing “Ruler of My Heart” if Ene is not alive/there to see it 😭
Maybe Saeru should rig Ene to win one of her matches against an NPC so that she can still see it being broadcast 👍 Though she has no idea that the song is about her
Me: I think Saeru and Ayano singing “Ruler of My Heart” (Round 5) and Saeru and Mary singing “Blink Gone” (Round 7 - Final Round) would have a really nice set-up...
F: 💗
Me: EXACTLY 🤭 👍
F: Love love LOVE WHERE THIS IDEA IS GOING >:D
Me: 🤭💗
Misc Rambles
Me: I think similar to how Hyuna busts Mizi out after setting off a smokescreen so that she isn't killed after her loss in the round and violence against her opponent, someone probably comes to Ayano's rescue
Ayano is shaken up during her match with Saeru because she thinks that Takane/Ene is dead (though Ene managed to survive... somehow.)
Maybe Saeru manipulated events so that after Takane’s loss, Takane’s body would be escorted out after her match.
Maybe he secretly gave the order beforehand so that she could be revived in his lab.
Or Saeru purposely left opportunities to let Ene run away and escape Alien Stage. Though, she most likely wants to come back for the others to bust them out.
During their match, Saeru imitates Takane/Ene's touches around Ayano, because he knows exactly how she acts around him and what those touches feel like, based on his memories and intimate moments with her from previous timelines.
I'd love to see Ayano attack Saeru OMGGG
Imagining Ayano with Mizi's angry feral expressions... ‼️❣️
Idol/Stage Outfits
Me: I imagine their idol outfits are their Design Poll Outfits and Seek At Mekakucity Outfits 🖤 💙 ❤️ 🩷
I could also come up with some alt outfits for them to wear in this AU
Kuroha/Saeru, Takane/Ene, Mary, Ayano
F: I was thinking that Ene might look more like Hatsune Miku 😭
Me: Ene's Seek at Mekakucity outfit is my fave alt outfit for her...
Ayano and Mary also have Seek at Mekakucity outfits too but their clear sprites weren't posted
I'd add the Seek at Mekakucity outfits, but Tumblr has a 30 image limit
Me: Oh interesting idea...
Glowy like this YYB Miku MMD model
Takane's death/loss
Me:
One idea that could be interesting:
Takane is on the verge of death in the previous round (maybe even giving the round up to Ayano) but then Saeru takes her body so her consciousness can be transferred to an android body he made that has Ene's appearance.
Of course, Ene is completely unaware of this.
So Ene has no idea what happened to her between the time she lost the last round. Her memories during that time are completely blacked out.
Or when Takane/Ene gets shot after her loss, he makes sure it's done with a non-fatal poison/toxin, so it just knocks her out
Me: The final round with Saeru and Mary (Blink Gone) could be with MR2 Saeru and Queen/Medusa form Mary...
Me: I also love the idea of a Saeru vs. Mary round cuz of Blink Gone's lyrics:
The clock goes Tick Tock, Tick Tock
Does Saeru Hebi secure the win then? And then Mary uses her Queen/Medusa powers to reset?
ALNST
Me: Gonna show the caption for this HyuLuka art
OP's tags are so goated
I really like the ALNST main ship arts where one is completely love struck and the other is in complete distress.
The MiziSua one is so deeply intimate...
I love the ominous vibes of these arts.
F: MY LORD I haven't seen this yet
Me: Also the placement of his hand on her waist... Jesus christ
That's sexy though 🤭
F: And the pointing finger ☹️ Mf is selfish
Me: I also noticed how Hyuna has this distressed blank eyed stare/look...
Similar to how whenever she gets PTSD thinking back on her memories of Luka (due to the trauma he caused her from killing her brother), like in All-In. She has a protruding vein on her left cheek in this art.
F: The intense gaze on one another is just 😭😭😭
With the MiziSua one, Mizi is looking away with teary eyes while Sua's eyes are closed (cheerfully too, damn)
Me: Vivinos and Qmeng have such nice art styles... The HyuLuka one looks like Qmeng's art?
OH yeah good point!
I like all semi-canon ALNST ships, but I think my fave ALNST pairs are MiziSua, HyuMizi, and HyuLuka (tentative list/placement)
Konoha's defeat/loss
F: Irt this
Saeru steals Konoha's body before/leading up to a round that Konoha was supposed to perform (or he eliminates Konoha and takes his appearance)
F: Tbh... I think Konoha would immediately lose 😭
So both ways (stealing the body and letting Konoha die first) are actually possible
Me: Yeah... As a stage competitor, I don't think Konoha has Kuroha/Saeru's charisma at all.
Also added with how selfless Konoha is. He wouldn’t want to hurt anyone and would sacrifice himself for his friends.
Saeru would know exactly how to manipulate the situation/circumstances to get the reactions he wants from his opponents, to sway the audience’s opinions in his favour.
He knows exactly how to use his knowledge/intelligence to his advantage.
So Ene is probably shaken up by Konoha's loss and Saeru subsequently stealing his body.
Some rambles about my KuroEne art ideas for 6/9, current commission requests I ordered, and some future commission plans 👍
KuroEne Art Ideas 🎨
Main Ideas
KuroEne Kiss 😽
KuroEne Kiss (MR2 Saeru) 😘
KuroEne wearing Traditional Wedding Kimono 👘
Other Ideas
KuroEne wearing Traditional Viet Clothes 💙🖤
KuroEne biting into a golden apple 🐍🐇🍎💛
Redrawing old KuroEne sketches
Rambles
Thought of some ideas for what I can draw for 6/9 🖤 💛 💙
Happy HaruTaka/KonoEne/KuroEne Day~ 🖤💛💙
Technically KuroEne is XX/6 but tends to gets included in 9/6 by association for obvious reasons.
I had a few KuroEne angst ideas in mind, but I was like, "I probably shouldn't draw angst for 6/9"
I can probably speedrun drawing something later today 🫡
I originally drew the KuroEne kiss doodle in May 2024, and then did the rough coloured sketch version in July 2024, which is when I posted it for 9/6 day last year 🖤💛💙
I was planning to work on my JuAli WIPs, but since it’s getting close to 6/9, I’ll just sketch something KuroEne related first.
If I get the time, I’ll make it a coloured sketch.
I’ve been meaning to get back to my KuroEne kiss doodle eventually…
I've just been drawing a lot of sketches lately cuz they’re easy and quick to do (and lower commitment)
And I tend to clean up sketches multiple times and take a LONG time with colouring. Like I just know my art process would take at least 10 hours if I actually rendered fr
The option where I just redraw my old sketches would be the easiest cuz I'd just have to redraw some stuff (Saeru’s hair and expression) and make my sketches cleaner
Since I do multiple sketch passes and refine until it looks "good enough" to me. So basically, until I'm satisfied.
MR2 Saeru Redesign 🖤❤️
The shapes are inspired by this wonderful MR2 Saeru redesign by @/dirtsooop 🖤❤️
Probably gonna redraw MR2 Saeru's hair in that 1st one to be the same as another doodle I did
I'd like to make his hair similar to this MR2 Saeru doodle I drew before.
Since I drew the 1st one before settling on a hair shape I liked.
I'm glad I'm finally satisfied with how I draw his hair shapes now ^^
I love the idea of him having fluffier hair and pointy devil looking horns since villains tend to be designed with sharp shape language (pointy shapes) since it evokes the sense of danger 😈✨
I prefer making his hair much fluffier over using the manga's hair shapes tbh... I tried drawing with the manga's version many times and I was never completely satisfied with my sketches.
I appreciate Mahiro's work, but I'm personally not a fan of her art style so it's kind of disappointing to me that the manga doesn't have dynamic art (ex. strong shape language, silhouettes, or panelling/compositions)
And eventually I'm gonna proceed with my MR2 Saeru redesign where he wears traditional clothing and takes more design inspirations from Azami's design
Cuz I fuck with everything on this design EXCEPT for the canon design's crop top (and entire clothes, tbh)
I love the black snake scales on his face, the cute little tufts of hair and black horns, the braid in the back that looks like a scorpion's tail like Judar's, red sclera and red gradient limbs, and the white sash with bloodstains on it.
Just not everything else 😭
KuroEne Wearing Traditional Viet Clothes 🖤💙
KuroEne wearing Việt Phục 🖤💙
I imagined that Ene would wear this blue Áo Tấc (which is also called Áo Tế (lit. "Ceremonial dress")), and blue Khăn Đóng (lit. "towel to wear tightly," means, "headpiece; turban") 💙🤍
I imagined that Kuroha/Saeru would wear this Áo Giao Lĩnh (lit. "Cross collared dress") 🖤💛🤍
The name comes from 1 Tấc (a unit of measurement), which refers to the width of the bound seam.
This Áo Giao Lĩnh has colours that are PERFECT for Saeru, especially since black, white, and gold are his theme colours. I love the gold embroidering.
I love to imagine Ene wearing blue Fairy style Áo Tấc where she also wears a white translucent scarf/shawl or has translucent sleeves~ 💞🥰
Ofc I have more rambles on my ideas, but I'll put it in a separate post dedicated to talking about KuroEne wearing Việt Phục.
KuroEne Art Pose Ideas
Various pose ideas for KuroEne wearing traditional clothes...
Tbh if I draw the option with them in traditional clothes, then I'll definitely be late for 6/9, so I'll probably opt for the 2nd option and then draw KuroEne in traditional clothes sometime later.
I like the 3rd one’s pose the most. It's the most intimate
Drawing over CSP's 3D models for sketch drafts helps me get a basic idea down so I can sketch faster that way
Rambles with Feila
F: I JUST REALIZED IT'S ALMOST 6/9 😭
Me: Tbh I can probably speedrun a quick doodle 🫡 As long as I work on it today.
F: I like 3rd too, it's a lot more touchy and close, and Ene can easily reach Kuroha that way wwww
Me: I can choose the 1st one’s pose for my own art, while I chose the 2nd for Rin's art
Current Comms
KuroEne Wearing Traditional Wedding Kimono Bust by Rin (@/acengkebab) 👘💐
Poses and compositions similar to this comm sample: (X)
By Rin @acengkebab
Ene can wear Iro-uchikake (色打掛, "Colourful wedding kimono"), the 2nd highest formal wedding kimono, that has a draping bridal trail 💙🤍
Kuroha/Saeru can wear the traditional formal men's kimono, Daiichi reisou (第一礼装, lit. "no. 1/most formal dress"), the highest level of formal wear for men's kimono, which consists of black (黒, kuro) montsuki kimono, haori jacket, and hakama 🖤🩶🤍
Since Kuroha's main colours are black and gray (and yellow), the traditional black, gray, and white colours really fit him.
At first, I thought about them carrying black and blue Wagasa (和傘, lit. "Japanese umbrellas"), which are oil paper umbrellas.
But I felt like it'd clutter the piece (and add too much detail complexity especially with how detailed their outfits are), and I'd rather the focus just be on their faces with it being a bust comm.
I imagined that Ene would wear blue flower accessories in her hair 💙🤍💐
I imagine that the BG would have wisteria flowers.
One of my fave flowers that I love is Wisteria.
I consider it a Selena flower 💜
I associate it to my KHR OC and beloved wife 💞
It's a purple flower and also a poisonous flower 💜💐
In Vietnam, we call it Hoa tử đằng (lit. "Flower behind death"), and Cây đậu tía ("Purple bean tree")
We also call it by the name, Hoa fuji ("Fuji/Wisteria flowers"), which is used when referring to the JP variant.
There are both JP and CN variants of Wisteria.
"Flower behind Death" is especially fitting for them... Sighs... :'^) 🖤💙
Basically, I saw that Rin, an ID/SEA artist, drew KuroEne in the past, and I found out they were offering comms, so I asked if they could draw KuroEne in traditional wedding kimono 🖤💙👘🙏
Omg 😭🥺💖💞💗
Rin's message to me is very sweet 💗
It makes me happy to see a fellow SEA artist who ships them 🥺🖤💙
Feila also discussed ideas with me for the KuroEne comm to help me decide on their outfits, and pose/expression/composition ideas.
Ty for your inputs! 💞💗
Poses and Expressions
I imagine that they would both have open eyed expressions...
I imagine Saeru would still have his signature smug smirk, but that his gaze would be a little softer in this...
While Ene has a happy smiling expression (^v^)
I imagined that they their fingers would be intertwined
And Ene has a hand to his face, while Saeru has his other hand coming around the back of Ene's neck
Just used CSP's 3D models to get a quick idea as a rough visual guide.
I had this at first but then I was worried that his kimono sleeves would obscure too much of Ene's kimono, and I want Ene's kimono to be visible in the piece.
Feila suggested a kind of pose where their fingers would be intertwined. So I did this after! Now both their kimono sleeves can be visible and not cover too much of the other 👍
...
I considered the 1st pose for Rin's comm, but then I realized that his kimono sleeves would cover sm of Ene's kimono (unless his sleeves drooped down to his elbows) and I want her kimono to be visible.
So I'll use the 1st pose for my own art and handed the 2nd image as a ref for Rin to use
Hard to get the poses exact for the 2nd one but it gives an idea
This post is more of an update from me... Wasn't sure whether I should tag
I also had these when I was drafting ideas for the poses for Rin's KuroEne Traditional Wedding Kimono comm.
Rin (@/acengkebab) will get back to me whenever they’re finished their current commission queue (since they already have a lot of slots), since I was put on a Waitlist. I don't mind the wait ^^
For Rin's comm, I went with the ones where they're holding hands 😘
KuroEne Wearing Traditional Wedding Kimono Chibi Icon by Hika (@/onigiwi2namayo) 👘🌹
Poses and expressions similar to the bottom comm sample: (X)
By Hika @onigiwi_2namayo
I considered KuroEne wearing their Design Poll and Seek at Mekakucity outfits but decided to go with the option of them wearing Traditional Wedding Kimono.
Rambles with Feila
Oh I definitely have an idea of what I could commission Hika for 👍
KuroEne in their Design Poll and Seek at Mekakucity Outfits 🖤 💙
And Ene has blue and white roses (flower hair accessories) in her hair 🌹
And they could be holding each other's roses like that one comm sample Hika has ^^
Perhaps Ene could have a veil (but Idk if that's overkill. I just need the roses in her hair 💙 )
Since my refs for my HC version designs of JuAli aren't ready yet. I need to draw their headshots at least. I'd need their half-bodies (or down to their sleeves) if Hika needs to draw poses with their sleeves/arms raised up.
The other idea I had is KuroEne wearing traditional Japanese wedding clothes.
Ene wearing blue and white Iro-uchikake (色打掛, lit. "Colourful wedding kimono") with blue and white roses in her hair 💙🤍👘🌹
Though it adds complexity. Hika can simplify as much as needed ^^
Commission Ideas
I came up with the options of commissioning Hika for:
KuroEne in their Design Poll and Seek at Mekakucity Outfits (while they're holding each other's roses and Ene has roses in her hair) 🖤💙👗
KuroEne wearing Traditional Japanese Wedding Kimono (while holding each other's roses and Ene has roses in her hair) 🖤💙👘🌹
One is simpler for Hika. She'd have to simplify details a lot more for the 2nd one
F: I feel like with the context of roses, weddings are perfect but the other choice is so good too... 😭
THOUGH, I'm leaning more towards wedding
Me: Yeah I also thought about how Ene's Seek at Mekakucity dress goes down to her shoulders so Idk how much would be visible in the chibi icon. Chibi Icons are Headshots. 🤔
I think going for them wearing wedding kimono is the play here, since it'll go down to their shoulders.
I'll tell Hika to simplify as much as she needs to. I just want the light blue to blue gradient on her wedding kimono 👍
No need to worry about patterns. That wedding kimono is VERY detailed.
F: Same, as long as it still has it's main characteristics, I'm sure it'll be fine :D
Me: Thanks for helping me pick! I'll send the form soon. I'll say I want the poses to be similar to one of her comm samples 😌
Me: OH I just forgot about expressions. What kind of expressions do we want?
Would Saeru have a smug flirty expression and would Ene have a shy blushy one or an exicted happy one?
>//< or :D
F: Might sound simple but how about a (cute) nervous expression on Ene and a gentle smile from Kuroha? I mean, she's getting married to a snake demon, who wouldn't be nervous /j
Me: Ooooh it'd be nice if Saeru has a more tender expression 😽😚
I'll ask Hika for a smug yet slightly gentler/tender looking expression
So is Ene's expression like the sample?
F: Yes the purple haired one :D
Me: Okee gotcha! I'll gather my refs and send the form when I can 🙏
(EDIT: As an update, Hika accepted my comm form so we'll see the sketch WIP update soon ^^ Probably sometime next week.)
Future Comm Plans
KuroEne Skeb Chibis by Akiko (@/Akiko_141)
Upcoming Commission Ideas
KuroEne Sketch Icon (Style B) - Ene holding a small chibi Kuroha in her hands, similar to Akiko's ALNST commission arts 🖤💛💙
KuroEne Sketch Headshot (Style B) - Kuroha holding a small chibi Ene in his hands, similar to the Outer Science MV and Akiko's ALNST commission arts 🖤💛💙🐍🐇
JuAli Sketch Headshot (Style B) - Judar holding a small chibi Alibaba in his hands (perhaps with a haniwa (clay doll) Alibaba too. Maybe Judar has cat ears and Alibaba has puppy ears) 🖤💛❤️🐈⬛🐕
Mekakushi Dan wearing Casual Clothing by Sidu
Eventual Commission Ideas
MaryEne Sketch Headshot (Style B) - Mary holding a small chibi Ene in her hands, similar to Akiko's ALNST commission arts (Either of Mary's usual design or in her Casual Dress where she's wearing Ene-style twintails with Ene colours) 🩷💙🤍
MaryEne Sketch Headshot (Style B) - Queen (Medusa Form) Mary holding a small chibi Ene in her hands 🩷💙🤍
AyaEne Sketch Headshot (Style B) - Ayano holding a small chibi Ene in her hands ❤️💙
These are the comps and poses I imagined for my future comms ^^
Admittedly I wanted to commission Akiko (@/Akiko_141) for KuroEne and JuAli, but her waitlist slots closed a lot quicker this time.
I'd like to commission her for my biggest OTPs (JuAli and KuroEne) when her slots reopen again 🙏
And then I'll go for my secondary ships ^^
The 2nd section is what I eventually want to commission.
The main reason why I've been mostly commissioning XanLena and KuroEne of my main OTPs, is because they have tons of refs that make it easier for the artists I commission to draw them.
I’ll be waiting patiently for next time 🙏 Her art style is sooo clean and professional!
Akiko knows both KagePro and Magi 💗 This is very sweet of her 🥺
I was pleasantly surprised she knows both KagePro and Magi!
Her art style is SOOO gorgeous! 💗
I know exactly who to commission in the future for comms of my biggest OTPs 😌🥰💞
Though I need to get JuAli's ref sheets of their HC designs done first.
This does also give me time to refine my eventual arts of them, cuz I wanna make sure the details are good so I can finalize the designs so there aren't inconsistencies in design details.
If I finish JuAli’s refs soon (at least their headshots or down to their sleeves, depending on the pose), then I can comm Hika to draw JuAli Chibi Icons soon ^^
The idea just came to me this morning but I think Ayano pining over Takane/Ene could be really interesting to think about... It's been simmering in my brain.
I love yuri with my girls!!! 🥰✨
The idea of an AU where Ayano loves Takane/Ene and Kuroha is interested in Takane/Ene... Ooogh spicy
Hama's KagePro Fanarts
Hama (@/trashout) on Tumblr was a big fan-artist in KagePro's EN fandom back during 2013 - 2015 (KagePro's prime) who was a HUGE HaruTaka, KonoEne, and KuroEne fan that was obsessed with them.
They also had secondary multi-ships on the side! I was 12 in 2013, when I found their works and looked up to their arts sm.
Hama's KuroEne fanarts was one of the main reasons why I started shipping them in the first place... I'll show them sometime since they have them all still on their Tumblr
Hama's Ayano and Ene Fanart
hhhhh
AyaTaka/AyaEne AU: Ideas
My AyaTaka/AyaEne AU ideas are inspired by Hama's Ayano and Ene fanart... I love them both as platonic and ship 🥰❤️💙
HAMA'S AYATAKA/AYAENE... RAHHHHHHHHH
AyaTaka/AyaEne yuri where in the present day, Ene sees a picture frame of Ayano decorated with flowers, and goes like, “A... ya... no...” with a distraught wide eyed expression
The memories of a beloved friend start flooding back to her. I need Ayano and Takane/Ene to kiss
God cuz I wanted to come up with AyaTaka/AyaEne ideas on the side too, but Ayano being alive in the present day plot in canon-verse actually messes with sm of the canon
Shhhh let's just think about a Route where Ayano is alive
Cuz if Ayano is still alive, Shintaro has nothing to grieve over. Actually, Ig he still would. Cuz Haruka and Takane's deaths would still deeply affect him
But if Ayano is still alive, then the Original Trio (Ayano's foster siblings) has nothing to grieve over. Maybe things DO get tense between them (Ayano and her foster siblings) similar to Manga Route 2
Ig it could be a Route where Ayano dies and comes back with Favouring Eyes, similar to Manga Route 2, but she still gets the chance to know the rest of the Yuukei Quartet beforehand
Cuz wouldn't it be interesting if it was the opposite way around too and Shintaro and Ayano end up grieving Haruka and Takane's deaths. The sheer devastation… So ShinAya are still alive in the present day plot, but HaruTaka's deaths lead to the creation of Konoha, and Takane becoming Ene
Considering that Ene is just Takane with blue hair, I definitely feel like Ayano would recognize her lol
Kano would use his Eye Ability, Deceiving Eyes, to disguise himself as Ayano since they worked together. Ayano would skip school days to investigate the Snake of Clearing Eyes (Saeru) and Kano would take Ayano’s place so Kano (disguised as Ayano) would interact with the rest of the Yuukei Quartet (who didn’t know)
Like even Kano recognizes her (Ene) as Takane. It's not hard to put 2 and 2 together and realize that Ene is Takane lmfao
In a conversation with Takane, Ayano mentions how she feels that she isn't good enough for Shintaro.
Ayano... 😭
"No, I'm no good for him. He needs someone that's even more selfish than him, someone energetic to pull him along… All I do is just follow behind him all the time. I can't do anything…"
- Ayano about Kisaragi Shintaro
Cuz it's so interesting to think about Ayano reacting to Ene, and Takane’s upbeat exterior as Ene being the complete opposite of what she was like 2 years ago. How Takane/Ene seemed to take her (Ayano)’s advice to heart, that Shintaro needs “a person who’s even more selfish than him, someone more energetic to pull him along…” So Ene acts cheerful and upbeat on purpose to cheer him up and string him along in the hopes that he opens up more and stops isolating himself in his loneliness
Just imagine the surprise Ayano gets at seeing Ene... “Is that you, Takane-chan...!?”
In Manga Route 2, Ayano never ends up meeting the rest of the Yuukei Quartet, so ShinAya don't know each other until they meet on the faithful day of August 15th
KuroEne and AyaEne AU: Ideas
Like RAHHHH you know what could also be spicy? KuroEne and AyaEne AU. The flavour…
Kuroha → Ene 🖤💛💙🐍📱
Ayano → Ene ❤️💙🧣📱
Ayano my poor 2nd wife 😭 Ayano saying “I’m not good enough for him (Shintaro)”
AyaTaka/AyaEne with Ayano's insecurity that “she is not good enough for Takane/Ene unlike Haruka,” believing that she just can't seem to match how HaruTaka bonded with each other so well, and the way Ene feels drawn to Konoha.
Ayano notices how easily flustered and embarrassed Ene gets around Konoha just like how Takane did with Haruka. Whenever she sees KonoEne together, her mind flashes back to memories of their school days together (the Yuukei Quartet), and HaruTaka, and she feels an ache in her chest. They're all things she notices right away. She wants their happy days together back…
Kuroha gets amused by Ayano’s determination and resolve to protect the Mekakushi Dan, including Ene, from him. Kuroha mocks her for her failures from 2 years ago, in failing to put a stop to him orchestrating Haruka and Takane’s deaths in the first place.
Kuroha: Despite your vow to put an end to the cycle of Tragedy... The truth is, “Favouring,” that you failed to protect anything at all.
Kuroha: You couldn't protect your friends, nor your family, nor the person you loved... (*)
Kuroha: To come back after your failure, is such a pathetic sight.
Kuroha: What do you even hope to achieve this time around? Do you really think that anything will change?
Kuroha: You couldn’t even stop me 2 years ago. You couldn’t even save them— Your friends— Haruka and Takane— No— Your precious Takane, 2 years ago. (*)
Notes:
Ayano's Eye Ability is Favouring Eyes (目をかける, Me wo Kakeru)
Kuroha's comment about "the person you loved" could be about Shintaro if you want to interpret it in a ShinAya shippy lenses, or Takane/Ene if you want to interpret it in an AyaTaka/AyaEne AU
Kuroha/Saeru refers to the Mekakushi Dan members by their Eye Abilities, with the exception of Mary, whom he calls “Queen” and “Master.” Since Mary is Azami's (his original Master's) granddaughter, and also because she is his new Master, as the current holder of the Queen Snake
KagePro Wiki:
"Ayano's eye ability allows her to project her and possibly others' thoughts and memories to other people, which she refers to as 'the power of caring'"
It's just that, in a Kuroha ship AU, he would refer to his S/O by name. In a KuroEne AU, Kuroha/Saeru calls her Ene, or in certain moments, by her real name, Takane
Like imagine Kuroha dropping the name “Takane” for the first time during their (KuroEne’s) intimate moments together… Omfg…
It’s funny cuz out of the Mekakushi Dan members, Kuroha/Saeru probably has the most tense and hostile relationship with Ayano due to him threatening/planning to kill her family and siblings.
AKDSKLSDKLDSKLL could you just imagine if KuroEne are still intimate together in this AU...
Ayano asks Ene what she feels about the Snake of Clearing Eyes, and Ene gets all fired up and determined like, “Yeah!!! I hate him!!! I hate his guts!!!” All pouty and huffy in tsundere fashion.
But then the visions start coming back to her and start flooding her memories and Ene blushes and looks away cuz she seriously can’t bring herself to tell her friend about the sex their intimate moments together. And Ayano just goes like (?) OvO all confused, thankfully blissfully unaware.
KuroEne and AyaEne AU: Kuroha being evil (as always)
In the context of a KuroEne and AyaEne AU, I think one of the most fucking evil things that Kuroha can do is to drop the mention of him knowing Ene better than anyone else, right to Ayano’s face
Kuroha/Saeru has a tense relationship with Ayano due to her actions setting back his plans in previous Routes (past timelines), so I wouldn’t put it past him. It seems like something he’d do.
Kuroha flaunts how he knows Ene, or really, Takane, and her desires intimately. “You could say I know her quite well… In more ways than one.”
And Ayano just gets mad at him like, “Not true…!” And Kuroha just smugly says, “Oh, but I do know.” And starts listing off his memories with Ene, and she realizes that he’s not bluffing cuz of how specific these recollections are
The idea of Kuroha/Saeru knowing her loved ones better than she does, due to the knowledge he carries, just hurts her heart
I'll put KagePro lore context (summarized from the KagePro wiki) under the cut if it helps
KagePro Lore: Context
I'll just put this if it's needed
Ayano's main songs:
Ayano's Theory of Happiness (Song #11)
Additional Memory (Song #16)
Ayano is Mekakushi Dan (Blindfold Gang) member no. 0, the one who founded the Mekakushi Dan in the first place.
Ayano wanted to be a good big sister to her foster siblings, Kido, Kano, and Seto, who were previously staying at an orphanage (due to being ostracized for being "strange," so because of their Eye Abilities) and taken into her family as her adoptive siblings.
She made the Mekakushi Dan so that they could play together as "heroes"
Ayano's Theory of Happiness:
Fan-translation by vgperson: (X)
Additional Memory:
Fan-translation by bluepenguin/EJ Translations: (X)
I'll link the songs with EN fan-translations (captions or subtitles) above!
Ayano falls in love with Shintaro, her classmate who was a burnt out gifted kid who was tired of life and didn't see the point of living. Ayano befriends him and tries to cheer him up by constantly making him origami paper cranes, even taping back his old ripped up test papers and making them into origami paper cranes for him.
Ayano and Shintaro eventually meet Haruka and Takane, their upper classmates by 1 year. This quartet (Haruka, Takane, Ayano, and Shintaro) is a friend/classmate group nicknamed the Yuukei (Evening/Sunset) Quartet.
Additional Memory (Summary)
I summarized the KagePro wiki lore to fact check my memory
Eventually, she finds out about Saeru (the Snake of Clearing Eyes) and his plan to create a new Medusa in the world, by planning to kill Haruka and Takane (her upper classmates and friends), and orchestrate their deaths, and killing all the current Eye Ability holders (which would also include killing her younger siblings)
In Ayano's Theory of Happiness, and Additional Memory, Ayano finds out about the Snake of Clearing Eyes’ plan to sacrifice her friends (ie. Haruka, Takane), and family, her foster siblings (ie. Kido, Seto, Kano).
(TW/CW: Mentions of suicide)
In most Routes, Ayano plans to commit suicide on the school rooftop on August 15th and enter the Kagerou Daze and gain the Eye Ability, Favouring Eyes, in order to prevent all the Eye Ability snakes from gathering in the real world.
She recognizes the futility of her plan in trying to stop Saeru, but decides to go through with it in the hopes of protecting everyone, even if she knows that her plan will only bring her misery, and how much it pains her to deny her love for Shintaro.
Because as Ayano understood it, Kuroha/Saeru’s plan was to create a new Medusa in the world (making Mary its new master) by killing all the current Eye Ability holders, so Ayano hoped to ruin his plans by dying on August 15th, entering the Kagerou Daze, getting an Eye Ability herself, and staying in there.
But then, she discovered her actions were for naught cuz he planned to force Mary to reset the world anyways, thus allowing him to “live forever” through the time loops.
After being trapped in the Kagerou Daze, Ayano comes to terms with having failed her original mission, and vows to be a spectator in the hopes of recording the events of the tragedy with her ability of showing memories to others, in the hopes that if she ever escapes, she can help her friends break out of the time loop.
Manga Route 2
Manga Route 2 has events that transpire differently from most Routes. In Manga Route 2, Seto brings Mary to Ayano's household, Ayano never meets the rest of the Yuukei Quartet (ie. Shintaro, Haruka, Takane) and becomes estranged from her foster siblings (ie. Kido, Kano, Seto) after she gets desperate and offers up killing Mary as a solution to stop Saeru's plans.
Unlike most Routes, Ayano isn't dead in the present day plot because she doesn't go through with her plan (Events of 2 years before the present)
AyaTaka/AyaEne AU with a Route setup similar to MR2, but Ayano gets to meet the rest of the Yuukei Quartet. Ayano pines for Takane/Ene, who also has feelings for her.
KuroEne + AyaEne AU: Ayano wants to protect her dear friend from Saeru, while Saeru wants to tempt Ene with carnal pleasures
AyaEne + KuroEne + MaryEne ship rambles
Intro
Rambles are mainly about AyaTaka/AyaEne, but there's also KuroEne and MaryEne ship mentions too.
Sen's Ene multiships haven. Ene is my wife, so her multiships are the most interesting to me...
My AyaTaka/AyaEne dialogue scripts will be under the cut!
Sen writes about a ship that's not KuroEne or 9/6 related? Surprise surprise. I was thinking about how much having Ayano in the present plot would fuck with the canon, so I think the Route has to take place before MR2.
I write AUs for my secondary ships, sometimes. I think it'd also be fun to write a separate AyaTaka/AyaEne AU, and then a separate KuroEne + AyaEne AU
Kuroha -> Ene <- Ayano could be a fun tense love triangle between 2 enemies and the cyber girl diva they're infatuated with...
AyaTaka/AyaEne is my fave Takane/Ene yuri/sapphic pair cuz Ayano and Takane have history together.
They have personalities that are really well matched for each other, and they go well together, so I think AyaEne would be really interesting to think about… I want them to interact more.
I couldn't really find AyaEne content, so I took it in my own hands to write about them myself.
MaryEne
I think MaryEne (regardless of whether it's platonic or ship), has really interesting ship potential (based on my KuroEne AU stuff where they team up against Kuroha)
I first started thinking about MaryEne because of my KuroEne AU stuff where they team up against Kuroha, but I realized it’s honestly a big brain ship.
It’s also Snake x Bunny like KuroEne (technically, since Mary is 1/4 Medusa), but much softer, and they have great parallels when it comes to loneliness.
“Seemingly opposites, deep down similar” ship trope my beloved...
KuroEne
In my KuroEne AU, Ene being able to occupy an android body in the real world can technically only happen BECAUSE of Kuroha/Saeru, due to the extent of his knowledge…
Like, he'd be the only one who'd be able to do it, due to his capabilities. But having Ene out in the real world just makes things sexier so uhhhhh... For the sake of the AyaEne AU, ignore logic, I guess.
I took some creative liberties in my KuroEne AU too, but they're still more in-line with canon (just canon divergent)
Kuroha's the only one who'd have the capabilities to make Ene's body, so I'm not sure how her android body would get made otherwise… But I'm just gonna roll with it
I bet Ayano would recognize Ene's true identity as Takane immediately when she sees her (unlike everyone else)
AyaTaka/AyaEne AU: Dialogue Scripts
Context: In MR2, Ayano doesn't meet the rest of the Yuukei Quartet (Shintaro, Haruka, Takane) and Mary joins her family.
A landslide claims her parents, Ayaka and Kenjirou (so Saeru doesn't possess Kenjirou) and Ayano enters the Kagerou Daze and returns to the real world with Favouring Eyes.
She becomes estranged from her adoptive siblings (Kido, Seto, Kano) when she suggests killing Mary as a last resort solution since Saeru targets Mary everytime
Warning: Angst heavy
I just realized I never posted my AyaTaka/AyaEne AU ideas here???
I started writing ideas for an AyaEne AU that's similar to MR2, but Ayano still meets the rest of the Yuukei Quartet.
AyaTaka are much closer in this AU, so I bet Ayano probably brought Takane to her home to see her siblings.
I love them so much 🥺
Also these are WIPs so I used line breaks to mark scene transitions, or which scenes I still need to add to.
...
Not KuroEne related, but figured I'd post it anyways. These are still WIPs
Cuz I want AyaTaka/AyaEne to have a separate side AU at least to themselves
And then another side separate KuroEne and AyaEne AU.
Ideas for an AyaTaka/AyaEne AU (solo ship focus) and a separate KuroEne & AyaEne AU ("Enemies" both pining for their fave cyber girl diva...)
I came up with the idea of the 2nd AU just to fuel my gay side, that's all there is to it
Kuroha -> Ene 🖤💙🐍🐇
Ayano -> Ene ❤️💙🧣📱
Context
Intro
AyaTaka/AyaEne AU ❤️💙
KuroEne and AyaEne AU 🖤💙
The idea just came to me this morning but I think Ayano pining over Takane/Ene could
My original post has context rambles of my AyaTaka/AyaEne AU (separate) and my KuroEne + AyaEne AU.
Discussion
N: Started reading and went "Aw how cute" then saw the rest holy shit 😭😭
Me: Y'all are lucky I don't write like this for my other series
KagePro is like one of my only interests where my writing is VERY angst heavy cuz of the source material
It isn't KagePro without tragedy y'all
M:
Me: MICCHAN HELPPP
F: This was a very depressing read 😭 /pos
I mean, Ayano is willing to kill herself for her siblings so she is definitely willing to kill Mary for the sake of her siblings too
Also about killing Mary, what would happen to Combining Eyes, the Queen Snake? It'd be illogical for Saeru to possess Mary since his main goal was to possess Konoha
F: Unlike Shintaro, Ayano can read through people, so she'd easily recognize Ene
The fact she could remember how Takane was like despite her being the most soft and caring person towards her (since Takane treats people differently, she acts soft-aggressive to Haruka and competitive to Shintaro)
F: "What happened to that hero I used to know?"
Yes there are some moments where Takane is caring to the rest of the quartet, but most of the time she just treats them like that 😭
Me: Exactly, like it’s completely understandable that Ayano would be pushed to the point of desperation that she'd consider killing Mary to protect everyone from the Clearing Eyes Snake (Saeru)
Me: And that's a good point as well. What happens to Combining Eyes if Mary dies? Does he try to possess Mary to save her life just to make her reset? Does that even work? Or does Combining Eyes go back to Azami
Me: Despite their limited interactions, Takane definitely acts softer towards Ayano due to her personality.
Me: Irt that line... I personally thought of it like Ene remembering her old memories with Ayano.
I feel like she'd later express regrets for being so caught up with herself that she didn't realize Ayano's feelings (and how much she sacrificed for the sake of her siblings)
Oh yeah I recognize that but I did imagine a Route where Takane is closer to Ayano
Even in canon, most of their relationship is Ayano giving Takane advice/courage about Haruka and talking about HaruTaka and ShinAya
So I obviously wanted to delve more into their relationship.
