Song; Bruno is Orange by Hop Along, Queen Ansleis, and Frances Quinlan

(With some adjustments to the lyrics to better fit characters and avoid as much repeating)

Characters; Akemi, Eris, Gelid, and Moema. 'Master' mentioned.

Notes; Sooo, time for some lore hints for Akemi's past group, yippee! Lots of angst, mostly hinted at, and some general information on how the group functioned with/around each other and some outside of each other. This does all take place at various points after the group is already established. Enjoy! :)

Oh! I feel as though I should mention that Moema is considered clinically insane. They've got Bipolar 1 with hallucinations, and are a pyro and kleptomaniac, oh, and also Erotomania with stalking behaviors present, haha

Also, since this song has a few-

TWs; Physical abuse, implied sexual abuse, and implied character death

---

(Starting with Eris and Akemi. Early on, Akemi was still very deep into the selective mutism, but, after they did start talking, if it wasn't basic interaction where they were expected to speak, he pretty much only talked about Gelid and/or 'Master,' and it was pretty much all to Eris. It should be noted Eris never knew who 'Master' was, only that Akemi saw him as a parental figure and teacher.)

Eris, gently prompting Akemi to talk to her during one of their hair dying sessions, knowing Akemi would be most willing to talk about Gelid: "Emi, what did you tell that man?"

Akemi, looking at Eris in the mirror of Gelid's mirror, immediatly going to hype up Gelid, as was expected of a "good partner": "He's a clever man, did you know? He said he works for the government!"

(Slight jump further into Eris and Akemi's friendship. Eris is around for a paranoia breakdown and quickly jumps in to try to help, slowly starting to recognize signs of abuse in the way Akemi's partially conscious brain lets him discuss things. After this, the two become closer and eventually Eris talks more about her own struggles in her line of work with Akemi, the two develope a silent agreement of confidentiality and trust, Eris becomes the only person Akemi has ever, and, at least for a very long time, ever will openly confide in. They become the same for her.)

Akemi, amidst a paranoid breakdown, panicking over thoughts they can't control and things he believes they need: "And I know you know I know I can't control thoughts of things I needed!"

Eris, trying to help calm Akemi, gently offering a listening ear and quiet confirmation of Akemi's paranoid beliefs that Gelid will "hurt him", claiming it's unfair that Akemi should hold him so high up when he's clearly a bad person: "I believe everybody needs some encouragement! And I think it's real unfair that you should put him there..."

Akemi, shaking their head in panic after accidentally letting slip in his paranoid state that Gelid may have pressured them into something, immediatly backpedalling to protect their boyfriend: "All we did is kiss, on my grave, I swear!"

Akemi, panicking more on a different occassion when Eris approaches with things that look a lot like evidence of abuse, trying to shake off the worry, immediatly jumping into a state of further paranoia: "Where did you find his shoes? A lock of my hair? All we did is kiss, on my grave, I swear!"

(Eris' portion)

Akemi, quietly approaching Eris after she leaves a clients house bruised and bleeding, becoming scarily angry at the thought of her getting hurt, and quickly stating that she shouldn't get hurt during work, and she certainly shouldn't defend whoever did that to her: "I think it's real unfair that you should put him there."

Eris, panicking slightly and trying to clean herself up, forcing a smile: "All we did was fuck, on my grave, I swear!"

Akemi, gently taking hold of the ripped sleeve of her dress and nodding to the blood in her hair: "What happened to your dress? And what of your hair?"

Eris, lightly pushing Akemi away and averting eye contact: "All we did is fuck, on my grave, I swear."

(Jump back to Akemi's part)

Akemi, half-dissociating, speaking without thinking, telling Eris about the night before with Gelid while amidst a breakdown, fully believing Gelid was in the right and feeling guilty for fighting back: "Some dull morning we were wearing sheets, and I whispered, "I know that you know better than me...""

(Now to Moema and Gelid's friendship! The two are rather agents of chaos together, and they have a great time, because, of course they get to be happy :))

Moema, reminiscing with Gelid over a glass of wine, grinning wildly while Gelid watches and smiles slightly: "See this hand that pushed you into the creek?!"

Gelid, leaning back and watch, encouraging Moema to continue casually: "I'm sorry, was just fun, and you were laughing..."

Moema, excited by Gelid's participation, practically bouncing up and down while reliving the experience: "We were running towards the street, and I wrote my name into the fresh painted yellow line, and you wrote your name right there next to mine!"

Gelid, sipping his drink and smiling: "We had to dodge a truck."

Moema, giggling: "He almost hit a buck! I think we had some luck, and for two bucks we bought some bread, and fed the grey geese and the ducks!"

(Shifting to Akemi and Gelid. Gelid very much weaponized Akemi's paranoia, basically feeding into the delusions whenever he wasn't fully taking advantage of them in the moment)

Akemi, in the middle of a breakdown, hyperventilating and clawing at his hair while Gelid watches, begging Gelid not to "report them to 'Master,'" and freaking out at the consequences if he did: "Everyone will come, everyone will yell! I'd thank you just the same if you didn't tell!"

Akemi, starting to sob while Gelid leans back and watches: "My master says that I will surely go to hell! Please be a good man, please say you won't tell!"

Gelid, snickering and emphasizing the consequences for whatever Akemi's mind is making up: "Everyone will come, everyone will yell!"

Akemi, fully collapsing: "I'd thank you just the same if you didn't tell! My master says that I will surely go to hell! Please be a good man, please say you won't tell!"

(Back to Eris and Akemi's talks, this time touching very slightly ((very, very slightly)) on their one real fight)

Akemi, talking up Gelid to Eris, ignoring the blatant warning signs even when speaking fondly of him: "Did you know that that boy is an armed man? Bearing flowers into hands. Very able to hold me down, and love me more than anyone!"

Eris, growing slightly frustrated in Akemi's blindness to the abuse, half-begging, half-angry as she tries to make him see: "Akemi, what happened to your good sense?!"

Akemi, flinching and trying to insist on Gelid's innocents: "I broke down, that man's good! He said he works for the government!"

(Kind of Gelid and Akemi, kind of Gelid and Moema)

Gelid, snickering and talking to Moema about Akemi, who's on the other side of the room, about how Akemi had come home injured: "Did you hear about that, master? Broke his subject's legs in two and said, "It's too dangerous out there to walk, so I had to save you!""

Akemi, staying silent, but mentally shuddering at the laughter of the two of them, only slightly acknowledging the unfairness of it all: "I think it's real unfair that you should put me there..."

(Now the back and forth of Eris and Akemi dealing with their shit poorly, yippee! Lol)

Eris, defending her work, or, rather, the abuse that came from it: "All we did is fuck, on my grave, I swear! Where did you find her shoes? A lock of my hair?"

Akemi, defending Gelid despite everything, never seeing an issue with how they're treated and even getting offended when Gelid is criticized: "All we did is kiss, on my grave, I swear! I think it's real unfair that you should put him there!"

Akemi, going through another paranoid breakdown: "Everyone will come, everyone will yell! I'd thank you just the same if you didn't tell-"

Eris, in tears as she talks about her past homelife with Akemi, begging them to keep it all quiet: "My mother says that I will surely go to hell, please be a good man, please say you won't tell..."

(Finally, a jump to after Eris' death. Akemi sits at her grave, talking to the only person who would've listened, basically just ignoring and deflecting everything with thoughts of what could have been)

Akemi, dissociating, leaning heavily on Eris' grave and talking about cures for her as though she were still alive, promising everything will be okay in their own way: "Eris, did you know that the Greeks in the morning would eat oranges? They were firm believers in fruit-curing fevers, and I agree! See, they believe that an orange warms the stomach..."

Hello hello, I come with Winter and Summer lore, lmao

-

Song; Evelyn Evelyn by Evelyn Evelyn

(With some adjustments to the lyrics to better fit characters and avoid as much repeating in some places)

Characters; Winter (Leto ((host from body age 3-14)) and Alvah), Summer (actual name Ichabod). Niyati, Spring, Autumn, and unnamed higher ups mentioned

Context; Some insight on Summer and Winter's relationship when they were little up until the point of the murders. Also, it will be noted, but when Alvah takes Leto's spot as host (after a particular event that already swayed things), a shift in dynamics becomes evident very quickly, as Alvah and Leto are very, very different hosts with very different needs and goals.

Also, I should probably mention that, from a young age, Summer and Winter very much saw each other as siblings as well as best friends, and they kind of shared everything. Winter (Leto) got nightmares very often as a kid (they still do, honestly, since that's when the brain is the most vulnerable), and, to avoid this, or catch it before it got too bad, Summer often shared her (very much too small for two people, but they were both small and malnourished so it honestly worked better than it should have) bed with Winter, comforting him when he started stirring. They also swapped clothes a lot, though there weren't many options in that regard anyway aside from a couple of standard uniforms and then clothes they were gifted by guests after an encounter, and shared food with each other very openly when either got their hands on something.

Also-

TWs; Mentions of sex trafficking and forced ring fighting (both involving minors), Mentions of character death, Implied food restriction/intentional starvation, Implied cannibalism, Panic attacks, Dissociation, and Manipulation/exploitation of a disability

This one has so much information and lore, so have fun, lmao

—

(Starting when Winter and Summer are both 5, so a year before actual ring fighting for them. Summer, despite having arrived at the same time as Winter, has always been nervous and critical about the circus' system, always wondering what she could have if they were in the outside world. Winter, already very conditioned and rather targeted is very optimistic about everything, and is really just happy to live in the moment with his friend.)

Summer, approaching Leto rather seriously, looking rather nervous: “Leto,"

Leto, looking up and smiling happily at his friend: “Ichabod!"

Ichabod, averting their gaze and bringing up something she's talked about in the past, running away. They've thought up plans, but refuse to leave Leto behind, now confused and trying to convince Leto to join her: “Why do we bother to stay?"

Leto, frowning in confusion, fully believing the circus is a good thing, as it gives them "everything they need" (even though it really just gives them barely enough to keep them alive): “Why are you running away?"

Ichabod, still avoiding eye contact, growing even more anxious as she indirectly mentions their own worsening mental health as a reason to leave, hoping Leto will agree and understand: “Don't you feel like severing?"

Leto, shaking his head, fully missing Ichabod's point, pointing out their strong friendship was a result of being in the circus together, meaning it can't possibly be that bad, right?: “Everything's just come together at last!"

Ichabod, flinching, but backing down after one last shaky protest: “It's broken, I don't want to play..."

(Despite their differences, Winter and Summer both have very active imaginations and constantly bounce off each other, making up scenarios and creating an entire world completely catered to them where they can be anything they want. Because of this, they ended up being even closer at a young age. This portion also really just highlights how much they depended on each other and did literally everything together.)

Ichabod, sitting in a corner with Leto nestled to her side, both bouncing ideas off each other during a break, the two having found a quite and private place, Ichabod's reminiscing on the two's relationship, also trying to ground themself and keep from having a breakdown: “We grew up closer than most, closer than anything..."

Leto, grinning and happily jumping in, missing the shakiness of Ichabod's voice and just using the moment to emphasize his love for the person he considered a sister: “Closer than anything!"

Ichabod, smiling faintly at Leto's excitement, still trying to calm herself: “Shared our bed and wore the same clothes... Talked about everything..."

Leto, nodding enthusiastically: “Spoke about so many things!"

Ichabod, closing her eyes and leaning her head back, fighting the pit in her stomach: “What shall we wear tonight?"

Leto, immediately catching on that Ichabod's redirecting things to the imaginary world and hopping in excitedly: “What shall we eat today?"

Ichabod, relaxing a little as they slip into their made up world: “Can we go ice skating?"

Leto, pouting: “But we just did that yesterday!"

Ichabod, starting to smile again: “Should we be firemen?"

Leto, thinking for a moment before throwing out a "better suggestion": “Can we be astronauts?"

Ichabod, tightening her grip on Leto's shoulder, tensing as they mention the made up "monsters," who are very much similar to the circus higher ups, of course, a creation of Ichabod's: “What if they find us?"

Leto, smiling and laying his head on their chest, unbothered: “They're not looking anyway."

(Now jumping to the night/early morning of Summer's 6th birthday ((Winter's birthday is the next week)). Summer panics about having to actually fight in the ring for the first time as well as being separated from Winter for an entire week ((due to differing age/fighting groups)) while Winter, ever oblivious, sees it a good opportunity for Summer to progress, which means better food and more comfortable sleeping quarters ((mostly for the benefit of those who want to exploit them, seeing as those in the fighting ring also tend to get more attention outside of it, especially if they win, since the fighting ring has the most eyes on it in the circus' system)) as well as, perhaps most importantly in his eyes, praise from the higher ups and the potential to be reserved by "special/VIP guests" ((again, this falls into the sexual exploitation of it all, they're the highest paying guests who get first pick of victims and most often have favorites that they see repeatedly and sometimes even technically "own" outside of the fighting ring, though they're always left inside circus walls. Victims chosen by these people often get private rooms, clothes, and special diets picked by these VIPs so the VIPs have private access whenever they want it and the victims maintain a look that's catered to the VIPs, thus, they are most often seen as lucky among other victims)).)

Ichabod, as they lay in bed, whispering to wake up their friend, too anxious to sleep: “Leto..."

Leto, who wasn't asleep in the first place, turning over to face Ichabod, responding with interest: “Ichabod?"

Ichabod, shaking, blinking away tears already, making one last desperate attempt to request running away: “Why do we bother to stay?"

Leto, brow furrowing, sitting up to look at Ichabod, honestly in disbelief that they would want to leave when she has the opportunity to "move up": “Why are you running away!?"

Ichabod, shaking harder, on the verge of a panic attack at the idea of staying, voice weak as they try and fail at fully explaining how they really feel: “Don't you feel like severing...?"

Leto, shaking his head, again emphasizing that things are going well, so there's no reason to even want to leave: “Everything's just come together at last!"

Ichabod, starting to sob, finally falling apart as she realizes there's no convincing Leto, and, even more, there's absolutely no way they can leave him behind, meaning she's stuck, referring to how broken the circus' system is: “It's broken, I don't want to play!"

Leto, honestly just confused by Ichabod's reaction, mimicking filling and lifting a glass, honestly seeing Ichabod's birthday as something to celebrate: “Fill my glass, let's drink a toast! This is your birthday, so why are you weeping?"

Ichabod, turning away, honestly feeling rejected and like Leto didn't even try to see their point of view: "At your side, I feel like a ghost..."

(In reference to the next morning)

Leto, after waking the next morning, finding Ichabod staring blankly at him, realizing that they couldn't see each other again for a full week, which feels like forever after not spending a single day apart for basically your entire life: “You wake up first..."

Ichabod, who didn't get a minute of sleep, having instead spent the night going between crying and staring at Leto, examining the person she called a brother, and wondering how the hell she was ever going ot get through this: “And I stare at you sleeping."

(Now jump to later that year. The two reunited after Winter turned 6, and, despite Winter getting picked by a special/VIP guest almost immediately, and thus getting his own specially designed room, the two managed to spend most of their days together in between fights. It was pretty clear that, at this point, Winter, who was already dealing with some amnesia and other problems due to pretty severe trauma both before and during his first years in the circus, was starting to get worse, dissociating more often and forgetting things more. Summer was panicking internally, but outwardly tried to help, attempting to combat Winter's confusion by continuing to build on and bring up their false world, which helped to ground Winter for a short period, even if it was in a fake reality. Oh, also! At this point, Summer has met Niyati, who will eventually become her girlfriend, but, for now, is just a friend and innocent childhood crush)

Ichabod, noticing Leto starting to disassociate pretty heavily, gently prompting him into his imagination: “What shall we wear tonight?"

Leto, slightly out of it, but still eager to try and help Ichabod create: “What shall we eat today?"

Ichabod, smiling, clearly referring to Niyati: “Do you think I should marry her?"

Leto, kind of snapping out of it and looking over at Ichabod, half-amused, half-mocking: “But you just met her yesterday!"

Leto, rolling his eyes as Ichabod blushes, quickly changing the subject: “Should we be movie stars?"

Ichabod, raising an eyebrow: “Will we be millionaires?"

Leto, puffing out his chest slightly: “I want to be famous!"

Ichabod, under her breath, trying not to trigger Leto or cause a fight, but also obviously uncomfortable as they look across the "break and changing room (for between fights)" at one of the cameras mounted on the wall: “They're watching us anyway..."

(Jumping ahead a few of years, Winter and Summer are 10. Winter has very visibly declined in health and is also split between two VIPs at this point, as well as being "avalible" to others when not fighting or working for the two. Summer's doing a little better (and also don't get claimed by any VIPs until making it to the top 4 in the ring), though her mental health is still shit. They've gotten even closer with Niyati as well, and she's kind of joined Winter and Summer in their hang-outs, so her and Winter are also on pretty good terms, though they aren't super close yet. Summer sees Winter's decline and kind of panics, it's bad enough for her to worry about losing him, whether that be physically or mentally. They make a last-stich effort to convince him to leave ((Niyati has already agreed to go with them if they do leave)) out of desperation)

Leto, looking up as Ichabod approaches, sounding quieter than usual: “Ichabod..."

Ichabod, concern evident on her face: "Leto? Why do you bother to stay?”

Leto, tilting his head in confusion, still not seeing any problems with the circus, convinced he has it good with his current situation: “Why are you running away?”

Ichabod, in absolute disbelief that Leto can't see himself so obviously fading away:“Don't you feel yourself severing?!”

Leto, shaking his head: “Everything's just come together at last...”

Ichabod, almost angry, referring to the circus: “It's broken, I don't want to play!”

(Finally, we hit the age 14. Leto, who is very consistently winning ring fights, with the only reason he's not made to fight the current Autumn being because he hasn't killed anyone yet (which is the only requirement; kill one person minimum; to be offered the chance to fight the first of the top 4), is scheduled to fight Niyati, who's Ichabod's girlfriend and Leto's decently good friend at this point. Ichabod pulls Leto aside before the fight and begs him to go easy on Niyati, who's not a great fighter, making him promise to go easy on her and to make sure they both stay safe. Leto agrees to the promise, of course, and goes into the fight with the intention of doing just that. The only problem- Leto fights with the mask, meaning another alter is in charge, and, more notably, Leto is starved and desperately needs raw meat, which has been essentially removed from his diet by the VIPs. Things go south. Leto (Typhon) kills Niyati while Ichabod watches. Leto splits/fractures and Alvah takes over the host position. Alvah is promoted, and fights against Autumn. Ichabod feels betrayed and vows to never forgive Leto/Alvah, calling them a monster)

Alvah, about a week after everything goes down, trying desperately to reach out to Ichabod despite her telling them to leave them alone and stay away, clinging to the memories that they still have of the two of them together and how close they were, longing for that connection again: “We grew up so very close…”

Ichabod, deep in grief and anger, straight up calling Alvah a parasite and mistake: “A parasite needs a host…”

Alvah, who's memory of what actually happened is very flawed and is only really understood through flashes and nightmares, truly thinking that Ichabod is only angry because they refused to leave with her, and begging them to listen because they do think, despite everything, the circus is the only place they can be safe (manipulation's a bitch, lmao): “I'm only trying to do what is best for us!”

Ichabod, frustrated, angry, in pain, and truly scared of Alvah and what they're capable of: “Well, I never asked for this, I never wanted this! All that I want is some time to myself!”

Alvah, tearing up, just desperate to get their sister back: “Looking in your eyes, I'm coming home…!”

Ichabod, panicking as Alvah gets closer, flinching away: “Just get away from me, please just stop touching me! You're always trying to be somebody else…”

Alvah, backing up after noticing the fear in Ichabod's eyes, feeling weak as they start to realize they might really be losing the most important person to them: “Now I realize I'm all alone… Why are you scared of me?"

Ichabod, shouting through tears, believing Alvah knows exactly what they did and is refusing to acknowledge it, half-angry, half-desperate, trying to convince Alvah to just leave her alone and let them grieve and heal, which they can't do with Alvah around after what they did: “But you never cared for me! Why don't you let me free?”

Alvah, mistaking Ichabod's plea to let her be free as them asking them to let her leave the circus, pointing out that she could have left a long time ago but chose not to: “'Cause you'd never dare to be!”

Ichabod, crying harder, growing even more frustrated, believing Alvah basically just told her that they "couldn't/wouldn't grieve without them anyway": “You never listen!”

Alvah, desperation starting to grow into frustration as well, pointing out how much Ichabod tried to drag them into leaving when they didn't want to and then adding on that they were only ever thinking of all the good times they had together in the circus, so they never saw a reason to leave: “You're always insisting! I'm just reminiscing!”

Ichabod, gritting their teeth, angry that Alvah would, in their eyes, weaponize their past together to seemingly guilt her for pushing them away: “Well, stop reminiscing!”

Alvah, sounding more desperate again: “I feel something missing… I just want you here with me!”

Ichabod, taking a step back, hands clenched as they reiterate again that they want to be left alone: “I just want my privacy!”

Alvah, starting to panic as Ichabod continues to back away: “God, can't we just get along?!?”

Ichabod, voice becoming weaker and more frightened again right before they turn and run: “Why won't you leave me alone?!?”

(And, finally, the last section covers Winter and Summer between ages 14 until the circus murders, with Winter finally relenting and leaving Summer alone after she solidified their title above them in the ring)

Winter, 14, trying to make Ichabod come back to them after their last big interaction: “Ichabod!”

Ichabod, 14, completely stonewalling Winter, even refusing to use their name (or, the name she knew them as; Leto), instead only acknowledging them in terms of the ring: “Winter.”

Winter, 16, growing increasingly desperate the longer Ichabod refused to acknowledge them: “Ichabod...”

Ichabod, 17, again simply stonewalling, even after winning their initial ring match that knocked Winter down to the Spring role: “Winter…”

Winter, 17, shrinking as Ichabod stood above them in the ring, having defeated them, seeing the pure rage in her eyes, nothing even reflecting the former affection they'd seen: “Ichabod…?”

Summer, 17, almost snarling as they stand over Winter, very firmly enforcing that she no longer considered Winter family, much less a friend, and they were no longer scared to be forceful about it considering she was now above them in rank: “Winter!”

Winter, 17, laying on the ground, hand loosley holding a now cracked mask, sobbing quietly on the ring floor as Summer stood back and accepted applause, finally giving up any hope they might have had, and using Ichabod's ring name, which was also giving confirmation that they now viewed her as a superior: “Summer…”