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Published:
2024-07-02
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2024-08-06
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3/?
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Tenma Saki Discovers Ao3 and Finds Existential Crisis

Summary:

Supposedly, Saki does not have regrets. Not from of her medical condition, nor her many blunders, and not even from being the cause of her brother’s many concerns sometimes. There isn’t a single thing she regrets doing… except for one.

She regrets one thing. That one thing gave her thoughts she didn’t think she would have. The one thing that she concluded that cursed her.

That curse is the other-worldly knowledge no one but she knows.

 

Or: Saki finds Ao3 and discovers fanfictions of everyone she knows, realizes something about herself, others, and questions reality.

Chapter 1: The End of Boredom // Untitled…apk?

Summary:

Basically: Saki is bored, finds a dubious website, installs Ao3 on said website, and starts reading.

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Notes:

[The meta-esque storytelling I’ve seen in some of this fandom's authors' angsty stories gave me a neat little idea that is crack on paper but since this is PJSK… I might as well try writing it out. If things are OoC, please forgive me for that as I am not too familiar with all of the present characters' stories in the game. Also, this is supposed to be a one-shot… Well, not anymore.]

 

[Disclaimer: This is not a react fic (If I make this a react fic, I will go insane), and explicit mention of user-made fanfiction will be credited appropriately.]

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

Supposedly, Saki does not have regrets. Not from her medical condition, nor her many blunders, and not even from being the cause of her brother’s many concerns sometimes. There isn’t a single thing she regrets doing… except for one.

 

She regrets one thing. That one thing gave her thoughts she didn’t think she would have. The one thing that she concluded that cursed her.

 

That curse is the other-worldly knowledge no one but she knows.

 

She knows she could’ve simply feigned ignorance at that moment, she didn’t even need to fiddle with it but when she stumbled upon it, she snooped around it and as she peered into it more and more, she slowly found her own perception of reality warping to becoming something unrecognizable.

 

All because she got curious. Like Icarus to the sun.

 

With this knowledge and her losing sense of reality, Saki asks many things:

  • "Is she really Tenma Saki or is she simply a mask created by a nobody?"

  • "Are her day-to-day actions and decisions real or are they fabricated by someone else? Is her very existence real or is it merely a simulation made to be the plaything of those in control?"

  • "What is truly Hatsune Miku? A Virtual Singer who encompasses the feelings of her group in the form of SEKAI? An unknown deity of this world that spreads memorable feelings in the form of songs? A devil to lure people like her into false senses of security and understanding until it breaks to cause us despair for her own amusement? A voice bank that is given sentience? Or a puppet being used by a higher existence as a ploy to control the actions of others and even her own?"

 

She doesn't know anymore, she wishes that she lived ignorant of this knowledge or gained amnesia to forget it all.

 

If only she didn’t make that decision, the decision that went back to that one evening at the end of the week…

 

 

On one Friday evening, the clock strikes 22:00 in the Tenma household.

 

Due to overwork, the parents are too tired and are sleeping like a certain comatose father. Due to their troupe’s upcoming performance tomorrow, her eccentric brother is performing god-forbid vocal practice two hours shy of midnight while Saki is in her room lying on the top of her bed, bored out of her mind.

 

Earlier she tried writing in a diary, reflecting on the moments she made with her friends, her band, and her family starting from the little moments of tasting and savoring her brother's cooking to her group’s band performance at Wednesday’s live show but when that's all done, she is in her current predicament: bored, energetic, and in need of dopamine.

 

“Uwa... I'm bored…” Saki whines, complaining to herself as if no one is present even though muffled star noises from upstairs can be heard.

 

“No homework… Can't sleep… And why did Tsukasa put limited screen time and parental controls on my phone's TikTok anyway!? Just because doom-scrolling ruined his performance and sleep schedule that one time doesn't mean he has to do it on my phone too!” She complained a little too loudly, causing Tsukasa to hear her judging from the muffled yells of “I heard that!” and “It’s for your sake!” outside of her room. Even if she could, her TikTok feed is probably full of pink twinks anyway.

“He doesn't look to be one up to the trends anyways… And suddenly he broke his sleep schedule and such one day without anyone knowing…” Saki rants to herself more until she begins to lose interest in the matter and starts contemplating what to do to ease her boredom.

 

She could go watch videos in Nico Nico Douga but where are the funny Westerners doing stupid things for the sake of media attention? She’s also contemplating installing Twi-X, a brand change she is still confused about to this day. Why a social media platform rebranded to something that might face legal troubles in Japan is something she doesn't understand from a logical perspective but thinking about it more makes her realize that she does not want to be involved in any form of Ichi’s war against the "special people" there or as Ichi calls it “[REDACTED]”.

 

With nothing else and in respect to her sleeping parents, Saki avoids using her keyboard and instead explores her go-to social media account to look at the statuses of the people she follows, seeing if there is anything she could gush about or laugh at but alas, there’s nothing she hasn't seen before. There are her childhood friends’ pictures of their day-to-day activities and shenanigans, there are Ichi’s pictures of Hatsune Miku, Shiho’s bass practice that she seldom posts online, Hona’s pictures of her dog, Shibao, and apple pie… Occasionally photos of a frail silver beauty that Ichi seldom mumbles about “wanting to touch her hair”.

 

Tsukasa’s…. Saki doesn't think he has a social media account. She might fix that at another time. Toya’s day-to-day life with his friend group and oddly numerous photos of the ginger of their group… It's pretty obvious that he is down bad but what confuses Saki is that the caption always says “friend”... Is he in denial? Or is he that dense?

 

Regardless, she has seen it all… Except for Tsukasa’s social media account and she needs to help him make one. After all, It's his dream to be a star but in this day and age, a social media account is needed. Doesn't have to be personal, just for PR.

 

The only thing she dreads is if her dear brother is as bad at technology as Shiho’s big sister. But knowing how good he cooks and that the kitchen uses modern technology, she can't seem to find concerns about it at all. Phones don't create fire, right?

 

Sighing, she starts browsing through the internet, searching for random things, hoping something could interest her. Cat pics, dog pics, apple pie, apple vinegar, pickle juice, pickle wine, tea, gossip, political blunders done around the world? yikes.

 

“'QXJjaGl2ZSBvZiBvdXIgT3du.apk?' What in the world is this?,” It looks suspicious, therefore it is very suspicious and Saki knows it. But out of curiosity, what is being downloaded? Is it an application? Is it malware?

 

She wants to click on it and install what is within this suspicious-looking website but she has to be safe. It could be malicious and her personal data might just be leaked and then used for nefarious means. Or it could be a jailbreak which would make her phone vulnerable… Or maybe it'll be like her SEKAI’s untitled.mp3 where nothing but self-reflection will happen and it'll change to be less suspicious-looking… Maybe

 

Bah, she is probably thinking too much. She presses the link, and then something starts installing. Saki panics but the file is already installed.

 

[Would you like to install “Archive of Our Own”?]

 

Archive of Our Own? What..? Maybe it is a game of sorts? It doesn't look to be malicious or anything, it even has a decent logo… I mean she's already come this far so why not?

 

Saki confirms her installation of the app, now showing the attempt of her phone, trying to install the dubious app.

 

[Installing. . .]

 

[Installing. . .]

 

[Installing. . .]

 

[App Installed!]

 

With a new app on her phone, she chooses to not open it at first and see if the site has information about the app she just installed but to her surprise, it’s just gone. It’s as if it doesn't exist.

 

“What the hell!? That's impossible! Maybe it is truly malware…” Saki thinks, but she knows she has the site link…

 

She searches the site that checks past histories of existing or non-existing sites and pastes the link there. She then sets the date to around a few minutes and then…

 

Wait… What?

 

Nothing..? Wait what!?

 

“This shouldn't even happen!” she subconsciously yells out her thoughts, seeing how this should not have happened. The site should exist; If there is no existing history of it then what she has is an anomaly!

 

Frantically, she searches for “Archive of Our Own”... Nothing. She finds nothing relevant to her searches. She adds in special search characters to ensure that it searches what she wants to find…

 

There are no search results… Archive of Our Own does not exist… It is not supposed to exist… Like with their group's SEKAI… There is no public information.

 

Seeing how Saki finds nothing about the app she installed other than the fact that she has it on her phone, she opens it to be greeted with a blinding light. She screamed in surprise.

 

 

 

…

 

 

…

 

“Saki!”

 

"Huh! What..?"

 

“Saki! What happened!?” Her brother frantically shouts out in concern, throwing Saki out of her self-induced daze.

 

“N-nothing!?” Saki quickly retorts, unconsciously raising her tone slightly, “J-just bright mode.”

 

“Bright mode..?” Tsukasa questions. She nods quickly, an action not convincing to him but he lets it go seeing the dark room and the horribly bright phone screen.

 

“It’s late at night, Saki. Don't look at your phone without a lamp at least!” Tsukasa scolds Saki before his demeanor softens. “And don’t stay up too late. You wouldn't want to look like a vampire tomorrow morning.”

 

“H-hey! I'm not a vampire! And don't stay up too long too, Tsukasa. You have a performance tomorrow!”  She might be frail and sickly. Well… sickly is not so true nowadays but just because her light skin complexity is due to being indoors for the majority of her teens doesn't mean she will be a vampire if she stays up. Besides, Saki knows Tsukasa will be a hypocrite if he is not reminded. Sometimes she wonders if her brother has an ounce of self-preservation under pressure… Probably not.

 

“Ah! I forgot! Good night, Saki, for a star must get their needed rest!” Her brother speaks in his normal speaking voice before closing the door and walking upstairs. Saki sighs at his brother's behavior, “Idiot brother…”

 

Now left to her own devices, she wonders if this app she has open has dark mode but fiddling around it… none she knows of… bummer. She can use it without the need for an account, which she is grateful for but out of curiosity, she checked on how to register…

 

It is as you would expect but instead of the account registered right after, there is a queueing system in place. Saki notes its usefulness in preventing botting but thinks it's an annoying process.

 

She reads the description and function of Archive of Our Own and decides it is used for fanfiction seeing how it literally alludes to it being a fanfiction site. With that, she searches for stories from shows or games she knows such as Spiderman, Pokémon, Sailor Moon… She dies a little inside seeing glimpses of the smut she doesn't want to know.

 

Filled with more curiosity, she looks into Hatsune Miku and sure enough, there are fan stories about Hatsune Miku. There is interesting stuff Saki takes notice of: a story about the Kagamine twins originally made to be one person but the experiment didn't go to plan resulting in the siblings being born; or fluff about Miku and Rin…. Then there's gay smut which Saki concludes that this app she now has is wack.

 

She wonders what more could she find in this app.

Notes:

[Fun Fact: There's no official Ao3 application. Interestingly enough, there are attempts made to have unofficial applications by others that display Ao3 without the need for a web browser.]

[There is this dilemma of mine to hold it out and write most of it before I release this but with my track record, it would most likely stuck in my Docs so I released this now and worry later on. This will truly be the start of my madness.]

Chapter 2: The RuiKasa Allegations // The BL Incident

Summary:

Basically: Saki finds the "RuiKasa" and confronts Rui, a Mysterious Object appears in the SEKAI, revelations, and Nene catches a stray.

IkFoaC4uLiBJJ3ZlIGRvbmUgaXQuIFNvbWVvbmUgbHVja3kgd2lsbCBmaW5kIGl0LCBhbmQgc3VkZGVubHkgdGhlcmUgd2lsbCBiZSBubyB0cmFjZXMgb2YgaXQgZXhjZXB0IGZvciB0aGUgYXBwIG9uIHRoZWlyIGRldmljZSBoZWhlLiIgLeKWvUtU4pa9

Notes:

[I am grateful for my friend who did a beta on this chapter before I polished them with her guidance (It's not perfect but at least someone has my back on the grammatical side of things)... At the same time, I fear her meeting with a certain Tenma Trauma author... or two.]
[Disclaimer: This is not a react fic (If I make this a react fic, I will go insane), and explicit mention of user-made fanfiction will be credited appropriately.]

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

There is a story Saki randomly found that churns her stomach, one with tags she finds concerning.

 

[Tenma Tsukasa/Kamishiro Rui]

 

Those are different people, right? Surely it’s just a mere coincidence that there is a tag that puts two characters in a relationship that just so happens to have the name of her brother and his troupe director… right? And what is this long fandom tag, [プロジェクトセカイ カラフルステージ！| Project SEKAI COLORFUL STAGE! (Video Game)]?

 

Maybe it's a crossover fanfic with characters coincidentally the same name as her brother and friend…

 

Why is it smut?

 

With morbid curiosity, she clicks on the tag [Tenma Tsukasa], greeting him with a collage of shipping stories with [Tenma Tsukasa/Kamishiro Rui], or “RuiKasa” as the authors making those call it, or tags involving [Kusanagi Nene] or [Ootori Emu], both of which Saki knows are a part of her brother’s troupe.

 

“This surely can't be a coincidence anymore… and why is it full of romance and smut!?” Exclaims Saki as she is concerned that her brother's group has been used as playthings for the sake of smut… Out of curiosity, she read a few of them and is very disgusted at the vivid visual of those shameless literary works.

 

Transmasc? Bottom?? Boypussy??? Screw that, Saki doesn't need these unholy depictions of her brother in her mind. She really wishes wishes were real as she really really wishes she could be the person she was 40 minutes ago.

 

Unfortunately for her, she finds more than just “Ruikasa” smut: Tsukasa angst.

 

Oh boy, she jumped into that rabbit hole. It makes her feel sick at the potential feelings her brother might've felt during all this time… and that Rui is the one to confront him for it.

 

She is aware their parents chose to prioritize work for the sake of their family’s financial means, so that she and her brother could have a roof, food, and in her case, medical attention. This comes with a cost: they are overworked and may not have time to take care of them as mother and father and unfortunately, this might mean Tsukasa is alone all this time in their home while she stays in the hospital room during her sickly era but she can only assume as it seems like he won’t open up to want to talk about it.

 

Those were some dark times.

 

This is why she tries her best to make sure her brother does not worry and now she is fine, better even, and Tsukasa is genuinely happy with his troupe and their work.

“All this angst wouldn't have happened now,” Saki thinks, “But maybe it is unresolved, maybe her brother is again keeping a brave face, hiding his loneliness… Confronting Rui…”





“…”




“Sword fights…”



“…”

 

“Pe- No, No, No! It's too late for that. He can't be lonely anymore. He is happy; that is the true fact.”




…



…

 

Her brother’s romance isn’t. Tsukasa is probably hiding his pain.

 

With too many revelations and uncertainties clouding her mind, Saki places her phone on her desk and starts dozing off, dreaming nothing but simply just a vague silhouette eclipsing the bright light.

 

Is it weird? Perhaps. She'll probably forget about it like how the app is probably just one fever dream and her brother probably doesn't have a SEKAI at all… probably.






…





…




…



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Today is her brother's troupe performance within Wonder Stage and Saki is definitely all too eager to see it!

 

As Saki and Tsukasa are walking together to reach their destination, Saki thinks about their performance from what little confirmed information her brother gave her. According to her brother, the performance seems to be about how a girl finds something forbidden and is evicted when her village finds out about it. During her exile, she finds out the beauty and true purpose of it which she tries to convince her village but they are too stubborn to be swayed… It might have derailed seeing how her brother's group tends to make drastic changes giving each of their performances a unique charm only their troupe can execute.

 

However, as much as she tried focusing on the upcoming show, she couldn’t forget the many things she read yesterday for she can't look at Tsukasa without concern plastered on her face. This causes Tsukasa to ask in concern but Saki manages to convince him that it is okay but even she knows it's not enough to soothe her brother’s concern.

 

The app is not a fever dream either. It's still there on her phone.

 

The unholy tag too-

 

“No! No bad thoughts,” Saki mumbles, “This is Tsukasa’s time to shine, not for me to wallow!”

 

With newfound determination to have fun, Saki grasps the hand of her brother and sprints towards Wonder Stage, much to her brother's surprise. Once there, Saki lets go and heads to the audience's area, leaving Tsukasa confused and concerned about her well-being.

 

She immediately heads to the front-row seats and makes herself comfortable. As more and more people start to come in and settle, she starts to see familiar faces: 

  • Asuzawa, alone, with PxL merch everywhere like a living sponsor. Saki giggles.
  • Toya and his ginger friend, “Seriously, even here!?,” she whispers to herself in disbelief.
  • Surprisingly, Asahina and Kanade are there too, “Oh, Asahina-senpai is there too! Alongside Kanade and two others, it seems,” She mumbles to herself.

 

There is a story she read involving her brother and her upperclassman which involves themes that make her more concerned about her family life. But ever since Hona addressed her concern about Asahina’s home situation and how she’s now living alongside Kanade, Saki has seen more of Asahina Mafuyu’s neutral expression which she knows is genuine from what the author of that story wants to imply.

 

Bah! Ignore those fanfictions, ignore Archive of Our Own. There is a performance and that takes importance!





…




…



…

 

Saki couldn't focus on the show and she blames it on Rui. In fact, she barely remembers anything from the show!

 

Are the stories of him true!? The way he acts on stage, particularly in scenes with Tsukasa, is not something a normal straight man would act. Is he the Fruity Rui those authors make him seem!?

 

“I mean I'm happy for them if they're romantically together but I can never look at them the same way ever again- Oh god is Tsukasa dense!?,” spirals Saki’s mind as she watches how Tsukasa and Rui interact with one another backstage…

 

How Rui flirts at Tsukasa and how her brother doesn’t bat an eye… How could the entire troupe act nonchalant at this!? Is this Kamishiro Rui by design? Are they actually in love and they didn't tell her out of fear she wouldn't accept their love or is it just a one-sided love that her brother is unfortunately dense enough to notice!? Even Toya doesn't sense the oddness of the two. Does he even know???

 

She must confirm.

 

“Hey, Kamishiro-san? I have a question,” Saki asks, joining in on their conversation.

 

“Hmm? What is it, Saki-chan?” Rui asks, curious as to why Saki would ask him of all people.

 

“Are you and Tsukasa together together?” Saki asks the one thing plaguing her mind whenever she sees Rui with Tsukasa.

 

“Hmm? I don’t follow what you mean, Saki-chan.”

 

“I mean… are you two dating?”

 

Immediately, everyone stops talking. Tsukasa is shocked by the accusation she created. Rui simply laughs. The eyes are on Rui, Saki, and Tsukasa.

 

“Wha-wha-what!? Saki!? N-no!?,” Tsukasa is flabbergasted, not expecting this sort of topic to take place from Saki of all people.

 

He is red not because he is embarrassed by the accusation of their potential relationship, he is red because her sister willingly questioned one’s sexuality in public. It is something that people tend to keep private because it is sensitive to a person and can change people's perception of said person. Besides, Tsukasa thinks it is common knowledge he is neither gay nor has lovestruck eyes on his troupe director of all people!

 

Unfortunately for him, it's a sediment not everyone follows.

 

“Wait, are you two NOT dating?” Nene is shocked to hear Tsukasa’s response, being the other person to think that they are in love with one another.

 

“N-Nene you too!?,” Saki can see Tsukasa looking like he was betrayed. From her point of view, he is really trying hard to be in denial, “No we're not!”

 

“That is the funniest thing I've heard,” Rui finally answers, trying to suppress his laughter, “But the answer is no.”

 

Ehh… that's a surprise to both Saki and Nene. Are they both in denial? To make sure, Nene asks, “Really..? You know, every time we talk at home you seem to talk mostly about Tsukasa.”

 

“H-huh!?” It's Saki's turn to be surprised by this. At least she is now mostly sure that they're probably a thing that has yet to confess to one another…

 

“Ufufu~ Can't a man appreciate the skills of a future star? I do recall also talking about Emu and others too, Nene. Did you not hear those praises,” Rui answers in amusement, “Or maybe…”

 

“Maybe? Maybe what?” Saki thinks as Rui pauses for no reason other than to add suspense. But before he can continue, he is interrupted.

 

“Nenechi you have the doki-doki on ‘Kasa?” Emu asks out of curiosity. How did it come to this Saki doesn't know but she can only assume that Emu is on the “ they're not down bad with one another” narrative.

 

“E-Emu No!?” And it's Nene's turn to be embarrassed- oh.

 

“Nene's cheeks are flaring up way faster and redder than Tsukasa’s outburst,” Saki notes.

 

“Kusanagi-san, don't you frequently talk about Tsukasa-senpai whenever our class has free time?,” Saki silently curses Toya for his curiosity and subsequently changes the topic away from Rui to Nene but she is curious as well. If Nene truly has feelings for Tsukasa and realizes it then she will try to help her tame the eccentric brother of hers. NeneKasa sounds better in her mind than RuiKasa, after all.

 

“E-eh..? Nene… If that's how you feel, then-,” Tsukasa, concerned, tries his best but Nene isn't having it.

 

“Nope! Not another word! I'm leaving!” Nene fumes in embarrassment and angrily stomps away. This looks to be a messy relationship between the troupe.

 

Toya excuses himself to talk to Nene who stormed outside and Rui looks at the door where Nene walked out of with fondness and amusement.

 

“Ufufu~ She'll come around. But Saki, why did you ask?” He asks, garnering Saki's attention.

 

“Because you look and act like you're into my brother?” Saki asks, raising one of her eyebrows. Thankfully the topic went back to the status of Rui and Tsukasa.

 

“Oh, Is that so~? I am just as interested in men as I am in women but no, Saki-chan. I don't see your brother that way.” Rui responds with confidence in his sexuality, as well as clarifying his lack of romantic interest in her big brother.

 

Saki thinks for a moment, pieces together Rui and Tsukasa, his actions and whatnot… Saki concludes that Rui just exudes zest with the way he moves and acts.

 

Huh, everything makes sense to her now.

 

“Ahh… ok,” Saki says with understanding. She can put this all behind her with her questions answered. She will try to reach out to Rui sometime in the future about Tsukasa and Nene but for now, she is happy that she can now look at Rui without the horrid smut she read about Rui and her brother…

 

“Fuck,” she says. Naturally, everyone in the vicinity reacts wildly to that.

 

“Me and my mouth,” she thinks, not looking forward to the lecture and the chaos of trying to stop Emu from uttering the very word she spoke.

 

 

Within the School SEKAI, a girl with green-haired twin-tails and hot pink highlights is seen practicing with her guitar, playing the ambient tunes present within the SEKAI.

 

She continues, paying no mind to anything and anyone, present or not, as it is a soothing activity she has come to enjoy.

 

Suddenly, she stops playing her guitar. Noticing something out of the ordinary, she looks around the room she occupies, seeing if there is something different. After a few seconds, she notices a new object that did not exist before.

 

She puts her guitar in its place, handles it with care, and slowly walks towards an unfamiliar object. As she gets closer, she notices it's a book, and when she's within reaching distance, she sees the title.

 

“The Director and The Star”

 

“Huh, it's a manga,” A feminine yet robotic voice escapes her mouth. She flips the book to see its contents at the back, before continuing, “It seems to be BL. Doesn't seem like anyone dropped it here or else I'd notice.”

 

She looks around once more, not a single person in sight.

 

“It must have come from the feelings of either of the four.” The twin-tailed girl comments.

 

Curious, she peers into the contents and reads the manga but as quickly as she opens it, she closes it immediately, red marring her face.

 

“Eh!?” She is surprised, embarrassed, and disgusted by what she saw.

 

“This… should not be seen here…” She comments to herself. But before she can think to hide the BL, the door opens, surprising the girl.

 

“Miku? What's wrong?” A different yet robotic voice asks with concern. The green twin-tailed girl looks at the person by the door, hiding the book behind her.

 

“N-nothing! I thought I found a bug just now…” She lies. Badly. Luckily the girl with long pink hair, the girl by the door, accepts this without further questions.

 

“I-I’ll head out now and meet with Rin, good luck with your practice, Luka-senpai!” Miku hastily tells Luka, the pink-haired girl while rushing out of the room, with the BL in her hand.

 

Luka sighs as she looks at the direction Miku runs, “That girl…”

 

She closes the classroom door and walks towards her bass. With none but the ambiance of the SEKAI, she plays her bass to the tune of the SEKAI.

Notes:

[Fun Fact: BL means "Boy's Love"]

[I kinda wanna do something special to Tsukasa...Tenma Trauma Tenma Trauma Tenma Trauma]

Chapter 3: Apparently, Tsukasa is Not Hip With The TImes // Internet Literacy Manual

Summary:

Basically: Saki experiences how it feels to take care of her big brother but it feels more like a teacher and student than a sibling bonding. Also, Saki now believes in miracles.

IkFoIG15IGZhdm9yaXRlLCBCTC4uLiAgSSBjYW4ndCBoZWxwIGJ1dCBzaGlwIEtBSVRPIGFuZCBHYWt1cG8uLi4gaGVoZS4uLiIgIC3ilr1LVOKWvQ==

IkkgbmVlZCBhIHdpZmUuIiAgLeKWvUtU4pa9

Notes:

[Aha... This took an entire month. Not because I was procrastinating, I was uhh... Preoccupied with one month-long experience. But it's here and I made some changes as I am assimilating to the Ao3 format.]
[Disclaimer: This is not a react fic (If I make this a react fic, I will go insane), and explicit mention of user-made fanfiction will be credited appropriately.]

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

Saturday night and her curiosity leads her to reading stories up at Archive of our Own. She finds stories from different fandoms quite interesting.

 

But the current issue she faces is that she can't keep writing it down in a third-party medium as it is inefficient and eventually, she can't keep track of it all and will get it confused. Not to mention that third-party mediums can be lost… Saki shudders at the possibility.

 

With that in mind, she decides to make an account. But before she proceeds to enact it, she thinks of a better idea. One that she'll definitely never regret.

 

“Wait- I can use this chance to help Tsukasa make an account!” Saki is delighted to have thought of an idea. Her making an account in Archive of Our Own can be used as a demonstration to help Tsukasa make a social media account.

 

But what social media does Tsukasa need? Nightcord, no question. Next would be the social media everyone she knows uses to post photos not named Instagram.

 

Saki is weary of the reputation it holds.

 

Instead, the other social media in question is Tweetr. It is a relatively new social media platform that functions like Twi-X and Instagram. Difference? It's mainly targeted only for the Japanese.

 

“Wait a minute…” Saki notices something, isn't this just a Tw-X bootleg? Even the name is too similar to Twitter before it became known as X…

 

“Like it matters anyways,” Saki shrugs, “A thought for another time,” she says.

 

Tweetr and Nightcord. She must help his brother make an account on these platforms so he can brand himself and be closer to his ambition to become the world's future star that he claims to be.

 

With a plan as solid as wet concrete, she steps out of her room to meet with his brother who seems to be lounging by the spacious living room.

 

Tsukasa notices her, “Good evening, dear sister!”

 

“Good evening to you too, dear brother! How's your aftershow with Emu and the others?”

 

“Haha, It went splendidly! Rui came up with ideas for our future performances, the restaurant we went to is exquisite, and we all had fun talking and celebrating the success of our labors!”

“Ah, that's great Tsukasa.” Saki is glad to see his brother being very enthusiastic about his troupe. The positive vibes he is expressing is enough to soothe the nervous commitment she is facing.

 

Something Tsukasa notices.

 

“Hmm? Saki? Are you okay?” He asks, full of concern for his sister's well-being.

 

“Okay? I am fine. Why did you ask?” Saki asks but immediately realizes what his brother is thinking. She berates herself for not feeling jovial but then realizes that in her brother's point of view, he pretty much left Saki on her own accord, and returned past dinner time.

 

She wants to facepalm at how predictable her brother is…





She forgot to eat dinner, didn't she?




…



Welp.

 

“You seem worried. Did I do something wrong? Have you not eaten yet? Oh no, I got to-” In haste, Tsukasa starts to rush to the kitchen but is stopped by a hand grabbing his hand.

 

“No, no! It's anything but that. Can't I worry about you just as much as you worry about me?” Saki pleads, doing her best to not drag this further.

 

“But you're my sister! Worrying is my job, you don't-”

 

“Nope! None of that!”

 

Tsukasa stays silent at Saki's interruption.

 

“We are family, it's natural for us to worry,” Saki explains her point, one that would reach Tsukasa “Besides, I called in a delivery for dinner.”

 

She lied. She forgot to eat dinner.

 

“Delivery?” Tsukasa asks.

 

“I ordered food to be brought to me. I ordered delivery.” Saki explains

 

“Eh? I didn't know there was such a thing.” Tsukasa marvels at such a concept.

 

Call it a gut feeling but Saki is slowly feeling dread and is forming a mental scenario of what she thinks might end up being the worst-case scenario.

 

She stops her thoughts, surely this is just a one-time thing, that Tsukasa doesn't know of delivery because he is accustomed to home cooking or restaurants.

 

“There is,” Saki says, “It’s been a thing for a while.”

 

“I see… This is such an interesting discovery for me.”

 

Well, now's the time.

 

“Here, I'll show you.” Not that!

 

Saki demonstrates by showing her phone to Tsukasa and makes a call to the local number of a certain fast food chain founded by the Colonel which became a yearly festivity within Japan.

 

How it became synonymous with Christmas is a story not needed within the context of this story.

 

What is within the context is that Saki orders Fried Chicken to be delivered within 30 minutes.

 

“And that's how you order a delivery before delivery apps became the new norm,” Saki says, which enlightened Tsukasa. She softens at the sight of his brother.

 

“If this is how it feels like when you teach me things while I was sick, then I understand why you are adamant about wanting to take care of me,” She thinks.

 

It gives her confidence. Better now than never.

 

“Hey Tsukasa, do you want to broaden your reach and spread your good name to people outside of Phoenix Wonderland?” Saki starts speaking as if she is presenting a product to potential investors. Only that the investor is her brother.

“Oh? But such a thing is too good to be true,” Tsukasa comments in suspicion, but is curious enough not to close off such avenues, “What is this method you speak of, dear sister?”

 

“I am sure you have heard of this a few times,” Saki thinks this is a good sign. So she continues, “Have you heard of Tweetr and Nightcord?”

 

“Tweetr? Nightcord?” Tsukasa is left thinking, trying to recollect moments of when he has heard of them. ”I was asked by Nene once about Nightcord… And passing comments by Akiyama-san to Rui…”

 

To Saki, this is a good sign.

 

“What are they and how do they help in spreading my good name to more people?” Tsukasa asks, sold on the idea.

“Well, they are social media platforms that allow connection to people on the internet. They work similar to X, Facebook, Instagram, and Tumblr.” Saki happily pitches like the sales advertiser she is.






Saki sees Tsukasa grinding his gears mixed in with confusion…





She can see the metaphorical smoke coming out of his ears…




…



Oh no.

 

“You didn't get any of what I said did you?”

 

“Uhm… What is the internet?”

 

“This will be a long night…”

 

 

 

 

...




 

...



 

...

 

...

 

“... And that's how Tim Berners-Lee made the internet a more accessible place and is the standard of how we access websites and whatnot, including social media platforms.” Saki finishes her impromptu history lesson about the internet. How it came to this, she doesn't know but she is glad this is all over.

 

“Ooh…” Tsukasa seems to be taking all this in, which is a good sign in Saki's book. She can now teach Tsukasa how to ma- 

 

“Saki, what is a social media platform?”

 

Tsukasa, how the fuck!?

 

“Tsukasa, how the fuck!?”

 

IkJveSwgaG93IHRoZSBmdWNrIT8iIC3ilr1LVOKWvQ==

 

 

“... And that's how Elon Musk ruined Twitter. Tell me, do you understand any of this?” Saki finally finishes explaining what are pretty much the bare essentials of understanding the digital space.

 

It took way longer than expected as it became a trail of questions leading from one topic to another, and Saki had to explain it all despite not being too well versed in it so she had to look into the internet to teach a boomer of a millennial what the internet is.

 

It took so long that her dinner actually came and by the time she finished keeping her brother up to date with the times, she had already finished eating.

 

“Yes.” Saki finally sighs in relief. Her patience is running thin from all that explaining.

 

“Good. How you even end up doom-scrolling in TikTok to no end without knowing any of this is beyond me.” Saki mumbles but is heard by Tsukasa

 

“Akiyama-san showed it to me..? They said that it helps boost popularity so I installed it and they helped me make an account for me to use.”

 

And he just takes that without asking? Saki could not believe the words that came out of his brother's mouth.

 

“This Akiyama person either got lucky or must be pushy enough to make him accept this without questions.” Saki thinks. “That or they played with his need for stardom so that he shares his eccentricities to the internet through TikTok videos… Wait, is Akiyama trying to make Tsukasa a TikTok influencer!?”

 

After coming to such a conclusion with mental gymnastics rivaling that of an Olympic gold medalist, Saki asks, “Brother, Are you a TikTok influencer?”

 

“What’s an influ-” Before he can answer, Saki places her metaphorical foot down and stops him before it could lead to another impromptu class about Media Literacy.

 

“Nothing of importance! Tell me, do you upload videos there?”

 

“Heavens no!,” Tsukasa declines, scoring a few decibels higher than his usual rebuttal, ”Even though it sounds enticing, especially with Akiyama-san’s suggestions, it still looks sketchy to me.”

 

“The content part or the posting video part?” Saki can't help but ask, curious about his refusal to post videos on TikTok.

 

“Neither.” Tsukasa answers before explaining his reasons. “It’s the Terms of Service and the Privacy Policy I have an issue with.”

 

"Eh?" Saki is left dumbfounded for a few seconds before gears start spinning within her mind to think of why.

 

Well, there has been uproar about TikTok regarding their policies which Saki is aware of thanks to Minori keeping her, Shiho, and Kohane up to date.

 

The fact that Tsukasa knew about it causes Saki to mentally praise her brother's attention to detail.

 

Unfortunately, she is also annoyed by it as she prefers to not be the subject of his hunt for specific intricacies, considering her current experience being one.

 

“Huh, I didn't know basic literacy would be handy. Good for you, Tsukasa.” Saki half-heartedly praises Tsukasa.

 

“Thank you, de- wait you read too!”

 

“Well yeah, but I don't think I'd even read that wall of text through and through.”

 

“It’s good practice.”

 

“Sure,” Saki couldn't help but be sarcastic, “But it’s a tedious practice.”

 

 

After explaining how Nightcord is like LINE but has a bigger reach because of its online nature, and rehashing the history of Tweetr, she and her brother started installing Nightcord and Tweetr on his phone.

 

Once that’s done, they can now start making accounts for Tsukasa.

 

This is quick work for him since he learned from making a TikTok account. He did read the Terms of Service, as well as the Privacy Policies to make sure. While waiting for her brother to finish, Saki starts making an account for herself in Archive of Our Own.

 

“Ok… Log In… get an invitation…” She does exactly that. She is greeted to a new page that requires her to input her email, but also she can optionally read the Terms of Service.

 

“Read the Terms of Service… because my brother is eyeing me…” She muttered that last part.

 

Tsukasa has good hearing despite his ear-deafening speech.

 

“I heard that!”

 

Saki sighs as teaching Tsukasa is suffering, reading the Terms of Service is suffering, but at the end of the rain, there is a happy rainbow.

 

Saki thinks that every time Tsukasa learns, she imagines her brother’s ecstatic and determined demeanor.






For every Terms of Service Read, she can imagine her brother’s smile, telling her a job well done.






For every RuiKasa smut, comes a fluff of EmuNene... But NeneKasa is fine. Better than RuiKasa even.






And for every angst, comes pure sugary fluff, especially when it comes to the upperclassman she grows to pity.











She stops imagining, noticing that she finished “reading it all”.






She didn’t learn jack shit.






Oh well, she technically read it, so no harm’s done.

 

She heads back to the invitation page and types in her email and…





…




…



…



She has to wait for next week.

 

Saki sighs. She should’ve made the invitation yesterday but oh well, might as well wait it out.

 

“What’s wrong?” Tsukasa asks.

 

“Nothing, just have to wait for a week to get the account approved. Many people queued but there’s only so much the moderators of the site can verify and give accounts before they get tired.” Saki explains. A moment of silence has passed and she can see it.

 

“Tsukasa no.” Her brother frowns.

 

“But why not?” Saki can’t hold herself in with the way his brother looks like a hurt golden retriever.

 

“Because it’s girls only.”







…






It’s not true…





But well…




It’s warranted.



And the app doesn’t exist outside of her phone.

 

“Did you finish yours?” Saki asks, trying to change the topic with success.

 

“Oh yeah! I made them now and set up my profile!” Tsukasa is enthusiastic about his new accounts. She is tempted to pat him but she manages to hold it in.

 

“Great!” Saki praises her brother, “Let me add you then.”





 

…





 

…





 

IkhlaGUsIEknbGwgcHVsbCBzb21lIHN0cmluZ3MgZm9yIHlvdSwgbHVja3kgY2hpbGQuIiAt4pa9S1Tilr0=





 

…





 

…





 

IkFuZCBkb25lISBJIHdvbmRlciB3aGF0IHN0b3JpZXMgeW91IHJlYWQuIiAt4pa9S1Tilr0=

 

 

Saki wakes up.

 

She feels sluggish. Must be from dealing with Tsukasa all night. At least she manages to get her brother to make his accounts!

 

“Yes!” She yells to herself in triumph, pumping her hand in the air. Then she lies down.

 

“Ahh… I’m tired.” She says to herself.

 

Lazily reaching out to her phone, she checks on her inbox for a miracle and lo and behold, she can’t believe what she saw.

 

“No way.”

 

It’s an email, about her account on Archive of Our Own.

 

She clicks on it, hoping it is not a joke, and…

 

It’s real.

 

It’s actually real.

 

She hasn’t prayed to any gods out there but if she hasn’t believed in miracles then, she does believe in them now. Hastily, she activates it and fills in her details to set up her account.

 

Saki is happy. And looks like her brother made his first post.

 

The Tenma Tweet

 

Saki sighs.

 

"Baby steps", she thinks. Looks like there’s more to teach Tsukasa. The cursed profile picture stays.

Notes:

[Fun Fact: How KFC Became a Christmas tradition in Japan stems from a lack of one and with a well-advertised marketing strategy, the people in Japan bought into it and it became a tradition.]

[I had to find a decent image hosting site that actually lets me see embedded images in Ao3. And now that I have a reliable source and know what sites to avoid, suffer.]