Fanfic / Falling Is Like Flying

falling is like flying (stylized in all lowercase letters) is a fanfiction series by NepetaLeijon27. Similar to their other series that combines Bungo Stray Dogs and Magia Record, this series combines A3 and Puella Magi Madoka Magica. Uncommonly, an entire custom world is created in which this series takes place.

The series contains four parts:

• we make our own luck, and i'm about to prove that that focuses on Autumn from the perspective of Taichi;
• what happens when this whole place breaks apart that focuses on Winter from the perspective of Homare;
• the day you mess everything up that focuses on Summer from the perspective of Kazunari;
• the day you make everything better that is a Whole Episode Flashback from the perspective of Kasumi.
• forgotten by time is a collection of random sidestories connected to a certain character.

This series provides examples of:

• all lowercase letters: The titles of every part and that of the series itself is stylized like this.
• And I Must Scream: While this was already slightly implied from the first story itself to have been the state of Banri eventually, this is further confirmed and graphically described in his side-story "Regrets" in second person to boot:
  Your new form is unrecognizable as being you, but you know why you are like this now. And you can't seem to think about anything else than the reason why you fell into despair to begin with. Still, you try reaching out to Juza and Taichi, who are preparing to attack you. But, unable to do anything with all those thoughts running through you all at once, all you can do is utter a scream in your old voice. [...]

  Eventually, you even lose track of that time. Meanwhile, you don't know of anything else to do than luring unsuspecting people towards you, and letting them meet their end soon enough. If others try to fight you, you do the same. Soon, scattered Soul Gems decorate the ground around you, and their bodies are fixed to the centre room. Not that you can do that yourself, but at least your familiars can walk around freely inside the barrier and outside, to some extent.

  You hate being stuck inside such a small cage. But the irony of the situation wants that you have built it for yourself long ago. I shouldn't have, says the small voice inside you. Perhaps it is a remnant from that same time. Those aren't nice memories and you don't want to remember having been 'Settsu Banri'. You have taken on a new name, after all.
• Animal Motifs: Birds for Haruto. Not only does his name contain various words associated with birds, including the word for the animal itself, and his white overcoat in his costume is trailing behind him like wings, the true form of his witch is a small, pure white dying bird.
• Arc Number: Four that becomes five. There are four Leaders plus the Yellow Dragon, five Districts, four Factions, four stories, with last story consisting of five chapters.
  • Misumi's Arc Number is three, as he was the third Summer Faction member introduced in the third story's chapter three, his name contains the kanji for 'three' in it, his personal magic is defined as 'Trifold Shot' and to match it, he uses a Multi Shot crossbow that can fire three arrows at once, and last but not least, he is also the third to transform into a witch on-screen. It is not hard to see why.
• Arc Words: "Too far gone". It usually indicates the person they apply it to is going to turn into a witch soon. Yukio utters a similar sentence to Reni.
  Sakyo: You're too far gone, Settsu.
  Sakyo: Nanao's also too far gone.
  Izumi: You were too far gone! And he knew!
  Yukio: [...] You're headed for ruin, Reni.
• And Then John Was a Zombie: Happens to Banri, Taichi and Misumi on-screen. It is hinted to have happened to Misumi's brother off-screen as well.
• Black Eyes of Crazy: Anyone brainwashed by Reni has purple eyes with black sclerae regardless of their own original eyecolor, but apparently only when transformed.
• Bolivian Army Ending: Although Kazunari manages to free Tsuzuru from his brainwashment, the ending of the third story looks like this. Muku, Tenma and Misumi face Haruto, who keeps healing himself and resurrecting the witch' familiars (said witch remains The Unfought), and Kazunari is just in time to see Misumi becoming one himself.
• Brainwashed and Crazy: Happens to quite a few characters in the series. Tasuku, Tsumugi and even Tsuzuru (albeit the latter for a comparatively short time) all have their behavior altered by a collar Reni forces on them. The exact mechanics are described in the files: While it doesn't control them directly, it is a result of Talulah entrusting them with a portion of her despair, which is encased in the gem inside it. Since their mind cannot handle it healthily, it usually ends up corrupting their characteristics. Haruto also counts, although he is a case of Happiness in Mind Control.
• Buffy Speak: In the third story, Azami's speech is notably difficult to track because he uses a lot of simple words to mean the same thing. This wasn't there in the first story, and it is because his magic rewound his speaking proficiency to that of an elementary scholar after seeing Banri's dead body. He describes it as his words being stuck inside his throat, choking him when he wants to say them.
• Capital Letters Are Magic: The Yellow Dragon is always referred to with capitalized pronouns, even in speech.
• Chained by Fashion: Sakyo's costume◊ features a collar and a lead, and it seems out of place on his formal suit-styled clothing. Furthermore, the lead is behind his back. Taichi comments on it during his side-story, but Sakyo's reaction is not detailed further then it being a Flat "What". Word of God has said that this is Rule of Symbolism, representing his impulsive, emotional side he repressed to be The Stoic.
• Classified Information: The sidestory that describes everyone, has the wishes of some characters censored, as well as what is presumably the name of Yukio. Especially Citron and Guy's sections are heavily spoilered, alluded to something that could happen with both of their personal magic.
• Confusion Fu: The Yellow Dragon's files describe Muku as using it.
  The nephew of the Hyodo family, and this family influence shines through in his somewhat tempestuous fighting style. Will often confuse enemies by playing innocent. There is not much left of the demureness he displays outside of battle.
• Creepy Doll: Word of God says that Azami's (hypothetical) witch form looks like a girl doll, but with a mouth in place of its head.
• Cycle of Revenge: A particularly hopeless one, between Juza and Banri. Arguably, Banri seems to be the cause, as he decided to get back at Juza for beating him instead of accepting defeat. And fittingly, the nature of his witch form is stated to be 'retaliation'.
• Darker and Edgier: Due to its nature of being a crossover with Madoka Magica. Reni has gone from a rival theatre company director who hates Mankai but mostly respects them to being posessed by a violent entity and actively trying to destroy the Factions, and Haruto is not just his actor who follows him around, but also his right hand who does everything Reni wants him to due to him having Happiness in Mind Control and is capable of reviving enemies. The Factions also are not nearly as much of the happy family the troupes become in canon and find eachother tolerable at best. The rules made, imply that they forcibly try to keep the peace. Special mention goes to the Summer and Autumn Factions, as there has been a Cycle of Revenge between them, leaving Tenma with a huge hatred of the Autumn Faction.
  • Just seen from general, it is already fairly obvious that this work is darker than the game it originates from, which did not include on-screen death and blood (and even if it were, it would be merely part of the play). This story contains both, including Demonic Possession.
• Deadpan Snarker: Sakyo.
  Banri: I know, I know...dangit, Sakyo, you're not my mom.
  Sakyo: Well, I don't even want to be your mom to begin with. [...]
• Demonic Possession: Tasuku is the first that seems to be posessed by an unknown entity, Rainbow Speak and all, and Homare himself follows in the last chapter of the same book. When Azami gets posessed by a similar unknown entity, it is cleared up that they are the first Leaders who are ghosts, and need to posess a living being to be able to communicate with this plane. And it's shown to be quite painful for the temporary vessel. So painful, in fact, that they mostly don't manage to get more than five sentences out, while their temporary vessel tries breaking through and scream for help. Even in the most stable case ( Hiro through Azami, the latter is used to it apparently), the spirit can't quite move right without the vessel convulsing and after leaving it, Azami fell and had to be caught by Kumon.
  • Talulah is posessing Reni, and it looks like she has a better control over Reni.
• Does This Remind You of Anything?: Sakyo and Omi's conversation in chapter 11 sounds a lot like two parents having chosen to divorce, and arguing if they should tell their child. It doesn't help that these two characters are known in their origin game as 'Mom and Dad' either, and Azami (the one they're arguing about) is one of the youngest characters. Azami lampshades this in his side story.
  Omi: You are not going to tell Azami?
  Sakyo: That. No, I am not going to tell him.
  Omi: If Muku deserves to know, why doesn't Azami?
  Sakyo: Why are you suddenly so bound on making Azami know? What does Azami have to do with anything?
  Omi: Well, he's a part of the Autumn Faction. He will know sooner or later either way.
  Sakyo: I want to keep Azami out of this drama. It is enough that Sakisaka knows, we do and Nanao also does now. [...]
  Omi: I don't know if you noticed, but Azami is a contracted too.
  Sakyo: Oh, and that inherently means he has to know?
  [...]
  Omi: You are doing the exact same thing to Azami as Juza was doing to Muku and wanted to do to Taichi. And hey, you can see how well that turned out!
• Early Installment Character-Design Difference: The initial◊ designs◊ of Omi and Banri were very different to what they are now◊. A slighter example of this is Azami's initial◊ and his current◊, which has him using Fashionable Asymmetry on one of his legs, a shorter capelet, longer green parts, and he has more visibly longer hair as well (which is probably longer than it is in canon).
• Elemental Powers: Related to The Four Gods below.
  • Dishing Out Dirt: One of the two powers Izumi got from her father Yukio. The other makes her a Reality Warper like he was, but that isn't shown.
  • Extra-ore-dinary: Both Zen and Banri's magic is to manipulate metal. Banri mainly uses this to create weapons, and Zen seems to follow suit from what is seen, although Zen seems to prefer blades wheras Banri has always been shown with a gun.
  • Green Thumb: Kasumi, and Sakuya, although the latter does not play an active role in the main story. Kasumi has been shown to use this power to create trees that can grow inside witches.
  • Making a Splash: Syu and Tsumugi both, despite Tsumugi mainly using it to provide the liquids inside the syringes of his syringe gun.
  • Playing with Fire: Hiro and Tenma. Reni has a variation upon Talulah taking over (fittingly, since the original Talulah had them too), which is inducement of spontaneous combustion. It is not quite the same as Playing with Fire, though, as is stated in the files themselves. Presumably, he can only immolate things and not manipulate them further after they are.
• Exact Words: As stated below, the most likely reason why witch!Banri was aware of Muku's existance and how Juza's wish happened, is because Juza wished to isolate 'Banri Settsu'. The name of Banri's witch form, albeit unrevealed, is not 'Banri Settsu' anymore.
  • Masumi's personal magic, 'Avoid', runs on this. He needs to state a specific thing that he wants to avoid. For example, if he wants to avoid being seen, it'd still make him hearable.
• Fanservice: A very slight example when one takes a look at the designs of the Autumn Faction◊ - while most of them are covered from the shoulders down, Omi's costume has the most skin showing as it leaves his shoulders and armpits bare, as he only has long gloves covering his arms. Juza's costume also doesn't cover his chest entirely.
• Fighting from the Inside: Reni, at least during the latter part of the fourth story. He seems to have lost.
• Flower Motifs: Exaggerated from the original series. It is brought to the point that the soul of the characters has taken the form of a flower inside the Soul Gem. When transformed, their Soul Gem is this flower in their hair. Whereas 'to bloom' took on a metaphorical meaning in their origin series, it becomes roughly synonymous with 'living' since their lifespans are tied to said flower. Cleansing the Soul Gem keeps the flower alive, just as one would give water and sunlight to a flower. However, as the description of the fourth story states, all flowers wilt eventually, and if this happens, the Puer Magi will turn into a witch.
  • This, however, was not the case before Yukio warped reality, and so Reni does not have a flower.
  • Juza also seems to know the meaning behind his flower once his contract is completed, and immediately finds it fitting to his wish to completely isolate Banri and Muku from eachother (the red spider lily symbolizes abandonment, lost memory and seperation, to name a few).
  • A special mention goes to Haruto, who does have a flower motif inside this universe, since he contracted after Yukio warped reality. Although it is not shown in the story itself, this art◊ and the fourth supplemental file confirms it to be Lobelia, signifying malevolence.
• Foil: Kazunari and Azami are hinted to be this to eachother. Where Kazunari's magic lets him bring something into a future state, Azami can bring something into a past state.
• Foreshadowing: There are multiple hints dropped that Reni is Not Himself in chapter six of the third story: he casts two shadows, Izumi outright says he was different in the past, and he seems to be a Third-Person Person when he walks away.
  • To the person in chapter 8 of the same story is very slightly alluded to by the line: 'He's just a nobody'. A pretty apt descriptor for 'Villager C', Tsuzuru.
  • Also in the same story, there are a number of hints for the attentive reader that the witch in the last part of the story is Misumi's brother: they are close to Misumi's house as it spawns, and when that fact is noted, Misumi gets unnaturally anxious. Furthermore, it is a 'new' barrier (that will say, not a copy like they have been fighting over the duration of the previous chapters), but did not detect it first ( because they are brothers, their magic trail is similar and Misumi was standing next to them). This counts as Five-Second Foreshadowing, as it goes down all in the same chapter.
• The Four Gods: A large part of the symbolism in this story makes use of the four gods. The Leaders of every Faction is named after one of them (Sakuya is the Azure Dragon, Tenma is the Vermilion Bird, Banri is and later Sakyo is the White Tiger, and Tsumugi is the Black Tortoise). The direction their Factions are in, their elemental magic and the name of the Faction all match up with the symbolism surrounding the four gods. To finalize it, Izumi Tachibana (and previously Yukio Tachibana) is the Yellow Dragon who resides at the Centre. The only slight difference is that Izumi's power is not only Dishing Out Dirt, but she is a Reality Warper as well.
  • Yukio is the first to remark that the directions they come from match with their magic. It is addressed as 'astrology' (in fact, it is Wu Xing). The names are titles, and are just nomers for the current Leader of the Faction. This is exemplified when Sakyo becomes the White Tiger by taking on Banri's metal manipulation after the latter dies.
• Gentle Giant: Juza, as in the source material, is certainly on the taller side of the scale. In this universe, he has a firm Oni aesthetic and is capable of wielding a spiked club with one hand. However, he doesn't mean harm to anyone unless angered in any way.
• Got Me Doing It: Kazunari at Azami.
  Just after having uttered that sentence, you realize your speech might have been tainted by Azami's mannerisms. You don't know if that's a good thing.
• Guardian Entity: Itaru has Lappland as one. However, he is hinted to be The Kid with the Leash and it's officially stated that while she has a mind of her own, she still obeys Itaru and he can make her do things where she has no influence upon.
  Lappland: Dude, stop putting your words in my mouth, for god's sake!
• Happiness in Mind Control: Word of God states that Haruto is a case of this. It is to such a point that if one were to destroy the gem inside the collar or otherwise nullify the brainwashment, he'll instantly turn into a witch.
• Heart Is an Awesome Power: Most 'personal magic' is not combat-oriented (albeit there being exceptions like Itaru, Hisoka, Banri, Misumi and Yuki), but strangely specific powers that can be used in a variety of situations. For example, Tsumugi's power is relocating things (by forming a window with his fingers and 'framing' the object), which he uses to move witch barriers around, but he could also use it to move heavy items around without having to carry it. Like Hisoka. Twice.
• Last-Name Basis: Sakyo to everyone except Azami.
• Locked Out of the Loop: Muku and Banri are deliberately kept unaware of the existance of each other due to the results of Juza's wish. After Juza dies, Taichi tells Muku about everything that happened. Azami is also kept in the dark about the drama that happened between the West and the South, and he also doesn't know about witches being the mature forms of Puer Magi, as well as the true nature of Soul Gems. Sakyo is heavy on continuing this, until Omi calls him out for it.
  • Banri is implied to have grown aware of the truth upon becoming a witch. It's not stated as to how that happened, but it is presumably due to the Exact Words nature of wishes, as Juza wished to keep Banri Settsu in the dark, and as a witch, his name is not Banri Settsu anymore.
• Loophole Abuse: Banri wished to be the one to destroy Juza. He never stated when, how, or where. As a result, Banri's extremely powerful witch form ends up forcing Juza into performing suicide to take it out.
  • Also, there are a few ways to avoid being poisoned by Chikage:
  • Masumi can use his 'Avoid' to 'Avoid being poisoned by Chikage'
  • Lappland cannot be poisoned since she's intangible
  • Citron's power is said to work in such a way that Chikage doesn't want to touch, and therefore, poison anyone (it remains untold what it is exactly)
• Magic A Is Magic A: Some effects of personal magic are described in a lot of detail by the author in supplemental material, especially how Itaru's Guardian Entity works.
  • Kazunari and Azami's powers (which counteract eachother, as Kazunari can put something into a future state and Azami can bring something into a past state) do not work when its purpose is to turn witches into Grief Seeds or into Puer Magi, turning Soul Gems into Grief Seeds and vice versa, or turn Puer Magi into witches or how they were before the contract. Memories, however, will remain intact. This is all in Word of God as they were only implied in the story itself, and one of the rules is outright mentioned by Azami and Juza in the former's side story.
• Magical Girl AU: Rather, Magical Boy AU. The incubators seem to only focus on male characters in this universe. And although Izumi also has powers, her situation is...strange.
• Mind Manipulation: Quite a few of the 'personal magic' is this. They are stated in the Yellow Dragon's files.
  • Sakuya has 'Oblivion', which is Laser-Guided Amnesia of a sentient thing about a certain thing.
  • Tsuzuru has 'Conditions', which compels the other party to obey certain conditions.
  • Muku has 'Impact', which makes sure he makes a lasting impression on people.
  • Kumon has 'Distraction', which derives all attention from someone to him.
  • Azuma has 'Consciousness', which is more of a direct control over other people's consciousness, as its name says.
• Meaningful Echo: In Taichi's head, two phrases come back as an example of this. Downplayed in that they are not literally uttered for the second time.
  If you had the chance to give up everything for one single thing...what would it be?
  You may not like what you find.
• My Friends... and Zoidberg:
  'Winter Faction's down to us and Guy.'
• Mythology Gag: The lines that Banri and Taichi say before becoming witches are their dismissal lines in the game.
  • All characters that are allied to Reni in some way were allied to him or affected by him in some way. Tasuku is mentioned to have been brainwashed for the longest time out of all characters possibly barring Haruto. Tsumugi was arguably the most affected by what Tasuku did and by the slander Reni put out in chapter 4 of the game. And it is certainly no coincidence that the barrier they happen to find Hisoka, who was kidnapped by the aformentioned two is that of Taichi's witch form. In the third story something similar happens, as Haruto is confronted in the barrier of the witch that was Misumi's brother in its past life. Haruto even says that 'he wasn't of any use anymore'.
• Necromancer: Haruto can revive slain witches and their familiars by sprinkling a magical, white powder over them or an incubator.
• No Name Given: The Yellow Dragon is obviously Izumi Tachibana, but is never referred to by name. Word of God said that this was so that readers could insert the name they used for her in it.
• Noodle Incident: Apparently, something has happened concerning Guy and Citron that has caused the warning for both of them.
  Refer to the ■■■■■■■■ Incident for more information.
• Oni: Juza looks like one, especially with a kanabo as weapon.
• Other Me Annoys Me: Azami isn't too pleased by the fact that his witch form, that has been talking to him in his side story, embodies his inexperience with love. The fact that it is capable of talking normally as opposed to the way Azami is forced to talk really doesn't help the situation.
• Personality Powers: This is a big thing, since all powers do come from a wish and their own personality. For example, the Fiery Redhead Tenma manipulates fire. Which is actually a coincidental example, since the Elemental Powers that the former Leaders grant, are granted to someone they see fit as Leader.
• Post Humous Character: The first four Leaders and Yukio are dead when the main storyline starts.
• Powers via Possession: The spontaneous combustion magic Reni has and him being able to infuse others with his own despair is actually Talulah's, not Reni's. (In fact, the latter may be a 'human' version of her Witch Kiss). It is unknown what his magic was before she possessed him, and it is seemingly Classified Information in the Yellow Dragon's files.
• Prophet Eyes: The side stories reveal that after Banri's witch form had been killed, he and Juza have them upon becoming ghosts.
• Rainbow Speak: Normally an Averted Trope, but characters can speak in the color of their original troupe ('Faction') when they are possessed by the first Leader of their Faction. Four words are also in these colors at the end of part 2.
  • At the same moment, the Yellow Dragon strangely laps into it for as long as a single word, and this word is colored with the code of the protagonists' name tag in the original game. She refers to Yukio with this word.
• Random Transportation: Sakyo can teleport via his personal magic 'Accompany', but only to a random ally in battle. Word of God says it was put in to fix a plot hole in chapter 9.
• Reality Warper: Yukio. He can also use it to change how he is perceived, as of chapter 1 of the fourth story. He is so powerful that he can put himself and four friends permanently in 'limbo', to prevent them from becoming witches by seperating their souls and their despair. Even after his 'death', the aftereffects linger in the Soul Gems now containing a flower.
• Real-Place Background: Yukio's greenhouse is the Metzler's greenhouse.
  • The Summer base that is Tenma's mansion is actually located in California.
• Rewatch Bonus: After reading the fourth story, chapter 10 of the second story and chapter 6 of the third story will read a lot differently.
• Rule of Symbolism: The entire system of Leaders was set up in a greenhouse at Yukio's home. Greenhouses are places where flowers can be grown under protective, optimal circumstances.
  • The magical boy forms of Tsumugi and Tasuku◊ are supposed to make a pair - Tsumugi as the bride, Tasuku as the groom.
• Say My Name: Taichi cries out Juza's name when the latter kills Banri's witch form by performing suicide.
  • A less loud, but maybe a more dramatic version is Misumi whispering '...Kazu...' when he's about to turn into a witch.
• Second-Person Narration: All stories except the sidestories 'Taichi: Brothers' (which is in the much more common third person), 'Haruto: Something' and 'The files of the Yellow Dragon' are narrated this way. In order, Taichi, Homare, Kazunari and Kasumi grant the reader their viewpoint.
  • This narration is occasionally broken during shifts to another place where the character whose viewpoint it is, is not present. (i.e the tail end of chapter 8 of the first story and the Whole Episode Flashback that was chapter 10 of that story, the first half of chapter 5 and chapter 10 of the second story, and chapter 6 of the third story)
• Set Right What Once Went Wrong: Azami wished that his father never knew about his true aspirations, giving him the power to convert something into a previous state. ^note  However, it was not initially planned to be that way.
  • His side-story shows that this has worked against him. Upon being struck with the image of Banri's dead body, his personal magic has reset his speaking proficiency to that of an elementary scholar, without him being aware of the cause being his magic until it's pointed out. This causes a discrepancy, since he still understands words just fine, and is perfectly capable of making sentences in his head with more abstract words, but he is incapable of actually speaking them. From that moment on, he has to use Buffy Speak.
• Shout-Out: The titles are quotes from Homestuck, although the stories themselves have nothing to do with them. Also, the way Tsumugi 'Relocates' things, is borrowed from how Jade warped space.
  • Subverted with the title of the series itself. It is borrowed from a book by Manon Uphoff, but it is completely unrelated.
  • Juza's reaction after Tenma tells him about a Hanasaki student having made a contract.
  'Hanasaki? Can anything good come out of Hanasaki?' While saying that, Juza feels as if he just repeated what someone else said long ago. He can't pinpoint as to what, though.
  • Multiple Arknights ones.
    • Reni's witch form is named Talulah. Do note that said witch form overtakes Reni, mirroring what happened to Talulah in her original game. Also, the lower part of his costume◊ is similar to the lower part of Talulah's dress, albeit with purple mixed in.
    • If Reni is based on Talulah, then Haruto is based on Mephisto. Not only is their magic similar, there are also elements of Mephisto's design in Haruto's◊ (the sleeves and the shorts, the bright white tone of it, the strap around one of his arms, the glove around one hand mirroring how Mephisto's hand is messed up by his illness). Furthermore, Haruto has purple lines all over his body, that seem to be spread from the gem in the collar he wears around his neck. This is also the location where Mephisto's illness started, by being force-fed Originium.
    • Itaru straight up uses Lappland as a Guardian Entity, and it is confirmed at that Arknights is a mobile game in-universe as well.
  • Azami's (hypothetical) witch form is named after Rachel from Angels of Death. Similar to her, her barrier looks like the inside of a house and her primary method of disposing of victims is to rip them up and then stitch them together. With both sides retaining memories and consciousness.
• The Spook: Haruto is not tagged in the work he appears in, part 3, and neither is Taichi in part 2 (although he appears as a witch). It was inspired on how Alex Hirsch was not credited as voicing Bill Cipher.
• The Unfought: Played straight with the witch form of Misumi's brother and with his own, and eventually subverted with those of Taichi and Banri - while the latter is temporarily left alone after appearance, it is fought and killed in the later half of chapter 9, and Taichi's witch form is fought in the second book.
• Switching P.O.V.: Each story is told from the perspective of another character, with the exceptions of some mentioned in that trope entry above. The second story also contains a quick switch to Hisoka's POV for half a chapter.
• Urban Segregation: The entire city is built on the theatre troupes, and as such, there are four Districts decided by direction.
  • The Eastern Districts (Spring) is very multi-cultural, inclusive and contains a lot of greenery. (counts as the "normal district")
  • The Southern Districts (Summer) is uptown, where many rich people live and has the most sun hours. (counts as the "elite district")
  • The Western Districts (Autumn) is the Wrong Side of the Tracks, and it is mentioned to have a lot of abandoned buildings and it is also Gangster Land. (counts as the "slums", thus)
  • The Northern Districts (Winter) is a business district with emotionally distant inhabitants.
• Walking Spoiler: The first Leaders and the entire existence of Yukio. Their names are present right on the last part of the series, but who they were and what exactly happened to them, is left in the dark up until that part.
  • Talulah's entire existence is one, as her entire existence is comfirmed in the very last line of the fourth story.
• Weapon-Based Characterization: Everyone has one, per the universe it's in. Except for the first Leaders, whose Powers Do the Fighting. ^note  Interestingly, Syu has been pictured with a sword on his art. It is confirmed it is a sword made of ice
  • Tsuzuru uses a Spell Book.
  • Itaru has his Guardian Entity usually fight for him, but his art shows him with a gun as well.
  • Misumi uses a Multi Shot crossbow (the default is three).
  • Muku uses twin katanas hidden in a cane.
  • Kazunari uses sharp palette knives, as per his artwork.
  • Banri uses multiple weapons depending on what he wants. They vary from guns to chains, basically anything made of metal.
  • Juza uses a kanabo (aka a spiked iron club), true to his Oni aesthetic. Judging from the artworks, he is able to wield it with one hand.
  • Taichi uses daggers of varying sizes.
  • Omi uses a semi-automatic gun.
  • Azami uses dancing ribbon.
  • Tsumugi uses a syringe gun that can induce effects.
  • Tasuku uses a kukri.
  • Homare uses daggers that are connected to eachother.
  • Hisoka uses a scythe.
  • Azuma is shown with a magic staff.
• Wham Line: The lines before Banri and Taichi transform into witches are (variations on) their dismissal lines in-game. Also, reading Aurelia's name in runes at the end of the first part.
  • Reni in the third story after visiting Izumi:
  Isn't that right, Reni?
  • Misumi delivers one later in the same story:
  Really? After everything you did to my dear brother?
• What Could Have Been: Originally, Sakyo had Azami's personal magic.
  • There is also this deleted bit◊ that followed after Taichi saving the others in chapter 5 of the first story. In it, Juza and Banri have a short argument after Muku comes to bring Juza lunch (which was changed to snacks later) ^note  Thus defying what Juza wished for, which was configured by the writer later on , and Omi (in tandem with Banri) explains stuff about the Factions and the Elemental Magic of the leaders. In this version, they were apparently in a gang war. Banri's leadership is also revealed albeit it currently being kept secret until his own demise. It was ultimately deemed to have been a breach of Show, Don't Tell because Omi was already explaining a lot in chapter 4 and the first part of 5, and this bit was almost fatal to the story.
• Whole Episode Flashback: The entire fourth part is one.
• Wrong Side of the Tracks: The Western Districts are this, with a touch of Gangster Land.
• You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: This is what Haruto says about Misumi's brother, as they're standing inside the barrier of his witch form. Misumi had realized that his brother had turned into a witch as is apparent with Five-Second Foreshadowing, however, finding out that he had been used by Reni all along only to be thrown aside in the end is what might have pushed him over the edge and made him suffer the same fate as he did. Another hint at this is that, as is noted in the extra files, his witch form has a nature of 'brotherly love'.