Absolute Culling

ena shinonome is a member of nightcord at 25:00, an underground music circle, as illustrator for the group’s music videos. a girl as kind as she is candid, ena takes her passion for artistry very seriously. she’s been shot down for this her whole life, especially her father, who seems insistent that she lacks the talent to be come an artist. though ena stubbornly perseveres in the face of all the harsh criticism she has received, resolving to continue on no matter how difficult it may be, she struggles with low self-esteem because of it. she hides her own insecurities by lashing out when hurt or insulted, but sometimes still struggles with her own self-doubts. she’s especially self-conscious about the fact that her looks seem to attract more attention than her art, with the selfies she posts on social media often getting more likes than the illustrations she puts so much more time and effort into. “keep that smile on your face!”

ena has never been known to smother her own emotions under a veneer of happiness just to placate others. she feels things too intensely to even bother trying, though she wouldn’t even if she could. the last thing she wants to be is a doormat, or someone put in the same position as mafuyu, where even your own personality has become molded in the shape of something more palatable. she can’t imagine what it must be like, to claw back your own identity after losing it for so long, but she knows that even the emptiness must hurt to. ( she’s too prideful to admit it, but she’s always admired mafuyu for that. )

so the advice doesn’t go over well. at the time of hearing the final warning lacey belle imparted her with, ena simply scoffed, affronted at the very idea of it. she’s not going to smile and pretend everything is all fine and dandy because some woman she doesn’t know passive aggressively told her to. everything is very much not fine and dandy—she’s stuck in a completely foreign city, away from her family, away from any semblance of familiarity... and all completely against her will. seriously, there are probably some weirdos out there who would jump at the opportunity to partake in interdimensional travel, but ena is definitely not one of them. she has a family and friends to go home to... though, maybe she could do without her family.

but no matter how stubbornly she willed herself against this, giving anyone in charge a piece of her mind until she realized it wasn’t their fault... two months have passed, and it seems that she’s no closer to waking up from this weird dream. it’s almost too ridiculous to grasp—and why her of all people? certainly there had to be someone who could fill whatever need feuerfell had better than she could. she’s just an ordinary high school girl. sure, she’s not a stranger to things that don’t make sense—she talks to hatsune miku and visits a pocket dimension in her computer. but this is on a whole different level. it feels like a terrible waste of everyone’s time.

there’s not really much for it she can do though, just waiting for the day this place has had enough of her and sends her back. with her friends and even her dweeb little brother, of course. she doesn’t want to imagine returning to a world without them.