#I need to watch more and to actually watch Kiva

[99centmusecd]

Current Inoue ending ranking:

Changerion

Shougeki Gouraigan

Kiva

[ghostaddictgremlin]

I need more mutuals that are into Kamen Rider.😭

My friends listen to me ramble but haven't actually seen any of the shows I'm currently watching.

So I am here for Build, Gaim and Gavv. And like the first 3 eps of Kiva.

[rev-wrath]

Liar 3

Dick Grayson x Reader

First Previous

Series Masterlist

Summary: Up and down, back and forth. Such is life now for (Y/N) (L/N). But still, what the fuck is happening?

Notes: Reader is male and uses he/him pronouns. Implied autistic!Tim. 4.2k words. Paw dividers by sligheach-side. Send an ask to be part of Liar tag list.

“How are you?” Jason asks.

“Better.” A small smile graces his lips as his eyes sparkle. Both a rarity, the smile moreso. “I called my siblings.”

“Yeah? How did that go?”

“I missed them so much. They’re alive. They’re alive and relatively safe.” If he were honest that’s all that he’s wanted. Yes, he wants to be there for them too, to actually be with them, but he can wait. He won’t take their return for granted, he’ll take what he can for now. What matters is that they are alive, have food, clothes, a roof over their heads, and warmth. There’s also someone taking care of them and they’re in school. Oh god, does he have to go back to school and get a GED? He probably does. “They seem happy too.” It’s all more than he could have ever fathomed.

“They are. Natalia helps in the kitchen and Kiva started learning recently.” West was still at the age where he’s more messy in the kitchen but they were working on that. “Natalia seems to appreciate some of my book recommendations.” He’s also spotted some manga around the house that definitely has to come from Tim. West is also interested in some of them. Jason gives him a look that’s a tad too firm to be called soft. “We’re looking out for them. Sasha too.” The lady housing and acting as the kids’ caretaker right now. His siblings called her “Ms. Sasha”. He doesn’t know much about her but he hasn’t heard anything bad.

“If Natalia starts dating, go and threaten the kid for me?” He’s suddenly reminded of the lack of what he knows about his siblings now and what they’ve been through for the past 6 years. “Actually if any of them do, threaten whoever it is.” After all, he probably won’t be out before they all start dating if they’re interested in romance.

Jason snorts. “Handing off that big brother duty to me? What an honor.”

“You’d scare them plenty.” It is also a sign of trust, he hopes Jason understands that too.

“Yeah, sure, it’ll be fun.” Maybe he does.

“Thank you.”

Jason looks at Dick. Dick who looks so tired in front of him but he’s seen him still smiling when it’s called for. Laugh and throw quips. This whole thing has taken a big toll on him, and Jason might be the only one who actually knows. “Does he even actually talk to you?”

“Not really. He doesn’t even actually look at me sometimes.” There’s a joke, about his irresistible looks or show stopping beauty on his tongue but he just keeps it there. It’s not the time.

Jason exhales. “Maybe you should stop visiting for a while.”

And Dick knows that makes sense, to give (Y/N) some space. Hell, maybe Dick himself needs some to figure out how to approach things better. This could also give him some time to focus on other things more. Thankfully it hasn’t leaked into his life enough for many of the others to notice. “That might be good.”

Jason’s eyes find his. “You’re gonna be fine, Dickwad.” Despite the name his demeanor and voice is soft.

“Thanks Jay.”

“Alright,” The younger stands up, grabbing the cups. “come on, let’s make cocoa.” He heads to the kitchen, ready to swap out the cups for mugs. Dick smiles, following him. Later, they’ll talk more and watch a movie, or a show until they either pass out or decide to call it a night.

“Why do you keep visiting me?” Though he hasn’t been here in almost a month.

“Why do you keep coming?” Dick counters. He never raises his voice, always speaking softly or in pleas. Sometimes he’ll speak a little below his normal voice and very rarely will he speak in his normal voice. Right now he’s speaking a bit softer than his normal voice.

“To ask you why you keep visiting.” (Y/N) shoots back. He turns his head away, hardened gaze looking off to the side. “I don’t know if I can even deny visitors.” Frankly, he doesn’t want to find out. What other bits of his life is in their hands? What else has he been handed or denied?

“I can… I can stop coming if that’s what you really want.”

“Maybe.” He says vaguely.

“Tim!”

“Why don’t you visit more? You used to visit a lot more!” Kiva asks, jumping up with her arms outstretched.

“I’ve been very busy. Sorry, Kiva.” Tim says, taking off his coat and patting her head. He’s not a natural with kids and is still kind of awkward with these ones.

He looks up and seems to be surprised to meet Jason’s careful gaze, West next to him. Natalia is in the kitchen entrance behind him also watching Tim and Kiva.

“JayJay’s telling us a story right now.” She grabs Tim, tugging him over.

“Hi Jason.”

Jason nods. “Hey Tim.” He continues with his story. When dinner gets called Jason and Tim stay behind for a moment, promising to join them soon.

“I didn’t expect you to be here.”

“Well I am.” There’s no way he doesn’t know that Jason visits. There’s also been a slight increase since (Y/N) has bestowed that one big brother duty on to him. However he’s also taken that as a sign of something more. He trusts Jason with his siblings, which means a lot.

“How often do you visit?”

“About twice a week when I can.” Whether that means he’s in town to or he’s not too beaten to. “You obviously haven’t been.”

“I just check in every now and then.” By that he means once or twice a month.

“Maybe you should come more if they miss you.”

“I’m busy. Dick visits plenty already.” Jason apparently does too. “How often are you visiting (Y/N)?”

“Enough.” Tim’s eyes don’t narrow but Jason can feel him trying to analyze what exactly that means. In return he looks at Tim, not quite in the eyes but Tim knows what he’s saying. “He’s not a bad person. You knew him too.”

“Hardly.” God, if only Tim knew that Dick’s in love with the guy.

“He’s not a bad person. How much do you even know about him? Because I know you spent time with him before.”

“People change around different people.” That’s just a fact. “The way he acted around me is only a small part of himself.” Jason makes a mental note to ask Dick more about what the fuck (Y/N) did. Until then…

“And what about them?” Jason jerks his head in the direction of the kids. “You brought them here and you don’t spare any time when they clearly miss you. Why? Because case close, mission over? Those are actual kids. You can’t do that to them.” Jason’s protective streak is clearly on display.

Tim deflates. “I’m just busy.” Though he will admit to himself that the kids aren’t very high on his priority list at the moment. Between Young Justice, everything in Gotham, his own personal cases and personal life, added with the fact it has been a long time since they’ve gotten here and knowing Dick’s here, he thinks it’s not as necessary. But Kiva did just say she, at least, misses him.

The older deflates just a bit too. “Take care of yourself, kid. And don’t forget about people.” Tim picks up on the double meaning behind it.

This fucking room.

“Have you spoken to Dick?” The therapist asks.

“He visits.” It’s a deflection, he knows. She, of course, knows this too, as she writes something down.

“Does he talk to you?” She asks.

“Yes.”

“And what does he talk about?”

“My siblings, his brother, Jason, sometimes him, me, the world, Gotham.” The animals without homes he fed, the workers in the shops that give him nostalgia he couldn’t place, the people in the shops that he became a regular at, the people at the libraries he visited, the people that had the courage to sit on a Gotham sidewalk to sell items that he would stop to look at, the ever changing walls filled with graffiti, the ones with murals on them.

“And what do you say?”

The former vigilante shrugs. Dr. Tavarez takes a moment before speaking again.

“You don’t have to forgive him.”

“I know.” He very much does.

“But it is good for you to have good relationships with other people.”

“Jason visits.” He counters.

“Do you speak to him?”

“I do.” It is easier to speak to Jason in a way, there’s so much more he can get out of. Even if deep, deep down he knows there’s so much he wants to say to Dick, so much he’s feeling.

“And what do you talk about with him?”

“Basically the same thing.”

“But you talk to Jason and not Dick.”

“Yes.”

“And why is that?”

“Because my relationship with Jason was never based on lies, because he didn’t lie to me, hasn’t and doesn’t.” It’s that simple.

She nods. “I’m here to help, (Y/N). I hope you understand that.”

“There’s no helping. I just sit here and be good, hopefully good enough to get out early enough that my youngest sibling doesn’t celebrate her 30th birthday without me.”

“I know your siblings are important to you. You came here willingly for them and want to leave early for them?”

“Yes.” They mean the world to him. Always have, always will. Regardless of a certain acrobat.

The helmet clicks off as Dick turns on some music and grabs the medical supply having already chucked his mask into its designated box. Jason’s jacket gets semi-folded on the couch as ABBA seeps into the apartment.

With a small clunk Dick’s hefty medkit is placed on the coffee table. Quietly, aside from the occasional grunt or hiss both boys discard their layers to assess their injuries and patch up.

Dick holds out the healing salve. “You have a bruise on your shoulder.”

“I have pit healing.”

“Take the salve, Little Wing.”

Jason grumbles and takes it, twisting around to find the bruise and slap some salve on it.

Dick secures another bandage on himself before standing and heading to the kitchen. He sets a few water bottles down on the counter. “I have chips and dip, different types of dip,” He adds. “sandwich stuff, Pop Tarts and that cereal you like. I’ve also got some fruit.”

“What kind of Pop Tarts?”

“S’mores, strawberry, blueberry, cookies and creme, and the sundae one.” Dick lists off. Jason, mentally making a note to snatch some of them, joins him in the kitchen.

“What’s the sandwich stuff?”

“Usual stuff. I think I’m low on ham though.”

Jason shrugs. “Fine by me.” Swinging open the fridge while Dick rips open a Pop Tart.

“Are you staying here for the night?” He asks in between mouthfuls of frosting and biscuit.

“That’s confidential information.” Dick stares at him.

“How many times have you slept over and left before I realized anything?”

“Less than Tim has.”

Dick sighs. “That makes sense.”

“Go clean up, Dickwad. I can manage making a sandwich.” Jason nudges a shoulder towards the bathroom and bedroom, not taking his eyes off said sandwich. “There’s blood under your chin and dirt on your eyebrows.”

“Alright, alright.” Pushing himself off the counter he heads off to the bathroom.

Most of the blood on him got wiped off with a towel. There wasn’t much of it tonight to begin with, but still. Turning the faucet on he splashes his face. Slowly his thoughts drift to (Y/N).

Quickly shoving those thoughts away he instead goes over what he has to do tomorrow, for the rest of the week. He promised to show Kiva how to do a cartwheel before any basic flips. West was also promised cartwheel lessons. He’s been thinking about taking them out somewhere for fun. Maybe out of Gotham, but there’s some local things they could probably do. Laser tag might be good, or bowling. Bowling would be nice.

Returning to the kitchen Jason has made himself comfortable at one of the barstools. Dick picks up his Pop Tart packet to finish up the second one. A calm silence washes over them as they eat.

“Why’d you do it?” Jason’s deep voice softly cuts the silence, in the way a knife goes into soft butter.

“Why’d I do what?”

“(Y/N).” Dick turns his head but doesn’t say anything so Jason continues. “Why’d you keep going with the mission and then try to make up with him?”

“Because I felt bad, because he deserves better. He doesn’t have much but he’s nice, he’s kind, and snarky. He does this thing where his brow furrows a little when he’s thinking, or confused or just when you do something stupid and he doesn’t agree with it, but he’ll watch it happen and maybe call you stupid after, and he still listens to the radio. He can tie 20 different knots and knows bits of 4 different languages but couldn’t hold an actual conversation in any of them.” Courtesy of the different types of people (Y/N) grew up around. He told Dick he only knew enough to be polite enough, or to get some scraps of information about people, places, directions. Dick tried to speak to him in one of the languages and he was awful at it and they both laughed about it.

“He…” Dick trails off, swallowing. “He was my best friend, someone I could relax around. I felt free around him.” Sometimes for a moment Dick felt like anyone else in Gotham, he could imagine that this is what it was like to not have to travel around the world taking down global superpowered threats, growing up with anger in his veins that turned into nightly fights along with dealing with the rogue of the month.

He can feel Jason watching him carefully. The judgment, the care, the softness, as he realizes just how deep of a hole Dick dug himself into. As Jason opens his mouth Dick decides to make his escape.

“I think I’m going to go to bed. Goodnight Jay.” Jason doesn’t miss the way Dick’s fingers flex, the itch to do something there. Whether that something is a distraction or a desperation for a solution he doesn’t know.

He watches his older brother retreat back to his own room before Jason quietly sets to cleaning up and slipping out of the window. Messy relationships were far too common in this family but this type of messy wasn’t Dick’s usual style, more of Bruce’s if he was going to be honest. Still, a mess was a mess.

Purple and red blotches decorate his skin. Dick’s eyes have been darting around his entire body, mouth opening slightly before closing. He does this a few times, struggling to find the right words to say about it. (Y/N) takes mercy on him and speaks first.

“Someone realized who I was. There’s a few people in here because I put them here. Word’s probably going to get out that I was Tig. Surprised it took this long.” He’s been here for a good while now, and it’s not like his story is one people would sweep under the rug. Unless Dick and his family swept it themselves.

“I didn’t think about that… I’m sorry.”

“Well, at least you thought about my visitors list. Don’t need people pissed off at me coming at me in and out of here.”

“I’ll see if—”

“It’s a fucking prison, fights are bound to happen. I can handle myself.” He’s been toying with the idea of finding decent people and making allies in here but that might be more trouble. Groups were usually messy in his experience.

“I just want you to be okay.” Unbelievable. “Did the medics look at you?”

“I’m alive. People here are mad at me, and will continue to be mad at me. End of story.” If Dick would just fucking stop trying to be nice life might be easier.

“When are you coming to visit?” Kiva asks.

“As soon as I can. I promise.”

“When can we visit?”

“Kiva, we talked about this.” He’s never letting them come here. Too many people, some with a history with him. Now that people know who he is things have gotten more complicated. Things will also be complicated after he gets out. He’s been assured though that it will be handled. The amount of trust he’s continued to put into that family is surprising.

“But I miss you. We miss you.”

“I miss you guys too. I miss you so much.”

“But Jason and Dick visit you!”

“That’s because they’re big kids.” West says.

“He’s right, sweetheart.”

“Yeah! They’re so strong too! Dick can also do backflips and stuff.”

“They are.”

“They said you’re really strong too.” Kiva announces.

“Yeah? Well I’m slacking a little right now.”

“That’s okay.” West assures him. “As long as you’re okay.”

His heart clenches. He doesn’t even think Kiva remembers him much and West’s memories of him might be pretty spotty too with how long it’s been. Who even knows what they’ve gone through in the last 6 years on top of their childhood. Both Jason and Dick have assured him that they’re in therapy. “Yeah, I’m okay, buddy. Thanks.” In response West makes an affirmative sound.

There’s some muffled speaking on the other end. “Yeah!” West says, but he knows it’s not directed at him.

“Hi (Y/N).”

“Hi Nat. How are you, sweetie?”

“I’m good. We all are. I miss you.” If anyone remembers him much it’s Nat. To remember what he did and what it was like growing up. She remembers the people who took care of them before they died. That’s something he knows Kiva can’t remember, West at this age probably doesn’t either.

“I miss you too, all of you.” It strikes him then that Dick and Jason know more about Kiva, at least, than he does. “I’ll come visit as soon as you can.”

“Are you going to stay with us?”

“I’d like to, but we’ll see what I can do. I’ll figure it out. Dick and Jason are going to help.”

“Tim too?” Kiva asks.

He hasn’t seen Tim since that night. Seems like the same can’t be said for his siblings. Resisting the urge to snort he answers, “I think Dick and Jason will have it handled.” Even if they stop visiting as much he knows at least, they will be there when he gets out. If they are alive by then, if he’s alive by then. No, he’ll fight tooth and nail to make it back to them.

Unknown to him Natalia opens her mouth before shutting it. Because she remembers and she has so much to ask, so much she wants to tell him. Not now, not here. She’ll get the phone and have more time at some point. She has her own cell phone now. So they talk about mundane things until he says. “I have to go, I’m out of time. I love you guys.”

“Love you too! Bye (Y/N)!”

“Bye! Love you!”

“Bye (Y/N), love you.”

“You’ve been visiting me an awful lot since I got in here. You don’t usually stay in Gotham this long.” The longest Jason’s been gone is a month, which is strange because despite his relationship with his family getting better Jason is Jason and runs on his own agenda.

“I’ve got some work to do here, it’s going to take awhile.” His eyes flicker over the bruises on his skin causing his brows to furrow slightly and edges of his lips twitch for a slight second before going back to their previous state. Jason doesn’t say anything about it and he appreciates it. There’s an understanding the two of them have being Gotham street kids. Being from the same part of town, one that took everything they had and ripped it away to create the men they are now. Speaking of which…

“How is the Bowery?” It’s well known that it’s Red Hood’s territory.

“Slowly getting better. I,” Jason pauses. “Bruce has been helping, putting centers nearby, stores and shelters. There’s a food bank and a restaurant where people just pay what they can.”

“I guess, now you know why I never went with you.” Sometimes (Y/N) would hand things off to Dick to give to Jason or hand them directly to Jason so that it could be given to the people there. But he never went with Jason to drop it off or go himself. Work sometimes took him there, those jobs were done with more effort and tried to be done as quickly as possible.

Secretly he thinks that he’s just not strong enough to do what Jason does, that he’s too selfish to. Maybe he’s just not a good enough person to.

Jason nods. “Yeah, I do. But I appreciate what you did.” It was as much as he could do. Jason also knows trauma very intimately. He wonders if Bruce could understand (Y/N) too. He wonders if Dick has talked to Bruce about him, if he’s tried to advocate for him.

“You thought your siblings had been dead, correct?” Dr. Tavarez asks.

“Yes.”

“And why is that?”

“Because I saw them die.”

“Would you like to explain further?”

A metallic thud. Screaming. Crying. Yelling. More metal. Blood. A gunshot. Another one. Cold. A punch. Aches. Avenge.

“Gotham streets are not kind.”

He leaves the room soon after that.

“Because what would you know about getting your hands dirty to have a roof over your head or food in your stomach? You never had to worry about that. None of you did, none of you except Jason.” There’s a spark of anger in his eyes, a dangerous glimmer. Dick’s not even entirely sure how they got here. Maybe something about how Dick misses him or how (Y/N) really was a good person and he’s so sorry it ended up like this.

Maybe if (Y/N) had done something different, maybe if anything had been different, then this would be different. Then (Y/N) had bit back something about how maybe if Dick was different but thank fuck that he knows Dick’s true colors now.

“You kept going, even after that.” Like Dick does, coming back, talking. Despite what Jason says, what he’s been trying to work on. Dick with all his feelings and the ever growing amount of responsibilities he has.

“What else was I supposed to do? It’s hard to have a life when you barely exist in the eyes of the government.” Even in Gotham, where that’s pretty common. “And there were more scumbags out there, more families being torn apart, more childhoods being stolen.”

“There were better ways.”

“It’s what I knew. It’s the language they know. It’s what some people deserve.”

Dick knows that. He does. He knows it after seeing Jason when he came back and accepting his new ways. He knows it after Kori and Roy joined Jason and formed the Outlaws. He knows that after he beat Joker an inch within his life after he thought he killed Tim. He knows that with the quiet, angry fire always deep within him. He takes a moment to think before responding.

“I’m not saying that you’re wrong, but I think you weren’t always right, that you didn’t always do the right things. Some of the jobs you took hurt other people.”

“Welcome to life, do you need to catch up? The world isn’t black and white and people get hurt no matter how much you try. You do what you can.”

“(Y/N).” That fucking look on his face.

“Why do we keep doing this? Nothing happens. You come looking like a kicked puppy, look at me and come talk to me while I just fucking sit here and wonder why the hell any of this ever happened. What are you trying to do now? Haven’t you done enough?” Frankly he’s fucking tired of it and might take Dick up on that offer to not come back.

“Not until I can make it up to you.”

“We’re not doing this again.” His voice is firm and harsh. “There is nothing you can do. Not here, because you can’t.” Because he won’t. Because despite his own rocky relationship with him he is his father’s child, he is Batman’s first protege.

“There is. There has to be.” He’s absolutely desperate.

“You have given me the one thing I’ve wanted for the last 6 years and you’ve taken it out of my reach. You have condemned me.” Out of everything (Y/N) has or hasn’t ever said since he’s gotten here that one might have hit the hardest.

“I’ll make it up to you. Even if it’s not while you're here. Even if it takes years.”

“Why? Why do you keep trying? You’re the reason I’m here in the first place, so why try to make it up to me?”

“Because I love you!” They both pause, and falter. The confession hangs in the air between them. That’s also the loudest Dick has been since he’s been here. He goes to say something, but (Y/N) is faster.

“Don’t ever fucking come back.”

[stickers-on-a-laptop]

that post had me curious on what i've made so here are all the rarepairs i was the first on (with a 🙋‍♀️ meaning i'm still the only one)

some of these are. crack. btw.

ozaki/miura den-o 🙋‍♀️ <- i think i'm funny

touma/noel lupat <- still amazed i'm the first one

joe gokaiger/ryuunosuke shinkenger 🙋‍♀️ <- forgot i did this one

takeru/ryuunosuke/genta shinkenger 🙋‍♀️ <- i stand by this one

sosuke/retsutaka go-onger 🙋‍♀️ <- this one isn't wrangled

gen/seiichiro prince of legend 🙋‍♀️<- this is. basically canon

ayumu/nobutora prince of legend 2 🙋‍♀️ <- real rarepair

misuzu/hikaru ginga 🙋‍♀️ <- WHAT. is this right. did someone delete

naoya/kouta mr unlucky <- first one in the fandom baby

anna/miki mr unlucky 🙋‍♀️ <- does this fandom hate girls??

yanase/kaneda senpai this can't be love <- first one in the fandom

ako/kyouko jetman 🙋‍♀��<- someone who likes jetman more...join?

yoshimi/hosomi ikemeshi 🙋‍♀️ <- rare straight couple

donkiller&donkillerkiller 🙋‍♀️ <- okay guys fix this actually

shinichi&don!kaito 🙋‍♀️ <- this was episode related

akemi/rui changerion 🙋‍♀️ <- not yet wrangled

amu zyuohger/ahim gokaiger 🙋‍♀️ <- start of femfebruary2023

luka gokaiger/mako shinkenger 🙋‍♀️ <- luka can be like fanon marv

flint zenkaiger/umika lupat 🙋‍♀️ <- they should interact

rinko wizard/sawa build 🙋‍♀️ <- i just like this one for some reason

shizuka kiva/jyuka kabuto 🙋‍♀️ <- NOW MY CANON LMAO

misaki kabuto/naomi den-o 🙋‍♀️ <- misaki needs a girl to kiss

yuuko kyoryuger/chiyoko ooo 🙋‍♀️ <- women in their 30s...

misora build/nico ex-aid 🙋‍♀️ <- did they interact in outsiders??

amu zyuohger/poppy ex-aid 🙋‍♀️ <- chou taisen war's fault

medic drive/poppy ex-aid 🙋‍♀️ <- internet girls.....

tomoko/nadeshiko fourze 🙋‍♀️ <- because i ship yuuki/miu

luka gokaiger/satonaka ooo 🙋‍♀️ <- IMAGINE....

kiriko drive/rinko wizard 🙋‍♀️ <- end of femfebruary2023

hana/ichika high school heroes 🙋‍♀️ <- disappointed in y'all

akira/midou keitai sousakan 7 🙋‍♀️<- i like when girls

hammie kyuuranger&nico ex-aid 🙋‍♀️<- same year girls!!

don!kaito donbros/marvelous gokaiger 🙋‍♀️<- i know whose fault

akka/mayuta/usuba kingoh 🙋‍♀️ <- why is this just me

georgie/atsuko gaia 🙋‍♀️ <- girls? girls!!

yanma&akka kingoh 🙋‍♀️<- episode related

kijima/yukari main role of a bl <- the side couple

reiko gaia/reiko ryuki 🙋‍♀️<- start of femfebruary2024

chucky/rica gaim 🙋‍♀️ <- wut

lady toqger/sela zyuohger 🙋‍♀️<- WATCH THEIR GL!!!

misuzu/mana ginga <- not sure why i was first

miccot/ricca orbgin 🙋‍♀️<- GUYS COME ON

elegance/cleo kingoh 🙋‍♀️ <- wasn't my idea but i liked it

mayuta/the female guard 🙋‍♀️ <- okay understandable

asami/shirasaki at 25:00 <- first in the fandom

daisaku/kyujuro kimiyuki 🙋‍♀️ <- wild (also not wrangled yet)

haruto/ayako/riku soul exchange 🙋‍♀️ <- ot3 baby!!

hakase/kozkoz akibaranger 🙋‍♀️ <- i will yuri your parody

ayumu/yamashita buy your love from a vending machine 🙋‍♀️

boondorio/byoon d 🙋‍♀️ <- HELLO??? CAR YAOI?? JUST ME??

jack/jean towards the future 🙋‍♀️ <- the ultra isn't wrangled btw

neung/kay hotel stars 🙋‍♀️ <- BEST BEST FRIENDS TO LOVERS

taishin&takara takara no vidro 🙋‍♀️ <- how is this wrangled

ryoutarou den-o/mei mei-chan's butler 🙋‍♀️ <- i can explain

misugi agito/karasuma blade 🙋‍♀️ <- i can also explain

jesus christ

[the-art-of-sanshoku]

3 & 7

3. What shows have you watched (gonna include some movies because why not)

Forgot this is toku not just KR so I'll break it up a bit

Anime that are somewhat toku-adjacent:

Garo 2014

Casshern Sins

SSSS.Gridman/Dynazenon

Godzilla Singular Point

Movies:

Hideaki Anno's Shin trilogy (Godzilla/Ultraman/Kamen Rider)

Son of Godzilla

Some of the Kong vs Godzilla movies

Godzilla Minus One

Ultraman Rising

Kamen Rider ZO

Finished TV Series (its all Kamen Rider):

Den-O

Build

Kiva

Currently Watching:

Kuuga

Geats

Gavv

Started Ultraman Arc but not sure if I'll stick with it or not

Hiatus:

Zero-One (around episode 20ish from like a year ago)

Think that about sums it up

7. Favorite Villain

I'll do design and then actual villain for fun

Doing design mainly so I can post these Doras screenshots again from Kamen Rider ZO

He is just too cool I am a sucker for the grittier suit designs and biomechanical vibes AHHH he even has like moving mouth pieces and tail and his red form is cool tooooo

For actual villains I think I'll give it to Taiga from Kiva (Kiva spoilers below):

He comes a bit late in the story but I think he's a well written sympathetic villain and I'm a sucker for those.

He fits Kiva's themes of "breaking the chains of societal expectations and roles whose labels only suffocate those they are placed upon" to a T because all of his problems essentially stem from his inability to separate himself and his wants and needs from his duties as King. Despite being the King which should mean he has the freedom to do anything he wants all it really does is make him a slave to the title and it's so fittingly tragic to the story Kiva wants to tell.

Taiga is clearly just a guy that wants to love and be loved which comes from his abandonment issues and being raised by a man he DOES love (Shima) but he still just feels constantly rejected because even though Shima does care for Taiga all Taiga can see is Shima's hatred for the fangire race. The family and relationship drama is strong with this guy and I was HERE FOR IT.

They could have killed Taiga to contrast him and Wataru as people who could and couldn't break from their roles but I like happy endings so when they redeem him instead with the more optimistic messaging if how accepting love can change you for the better (which is another theme of Kiva being shown a lot through the OtaYuriJiro dynamic) I was quite pleased with the resolution of his character arc. The contrast still exists too because Bishop fills the role of "the one who could not break from their societal expectations"

In shorter terms tragic character who I just wanted to give a hug who felt perfectly fitting for the things Kiva wanted to say

Also Saga is cool, the fencer style is fun, his finisher is badass and Roots of the King is a banger

[rosemirmir]

for the toku 20 questions: 3, 4, 12

3: What shows have you watched so far?

Quite a bit! I actually have a whole list of what I've seen so far on my personal website. If I did my math right when counting, I've seen close to 20 shows.

4: Thoughts on what you’re currently watching/watched most recently?

KR Kiva: This show is fun, it's got it's issues and is not Inoue's strongest work but I'm just a sucker for his melodrama at this point. It's a fun time to me.

KR Gotchard: This show is making me feel emotions I have not felt since I saw OOO for the first time, which is big words coming from me. I'm just captivated by it.

Daimajin Kanon: A really touching and emotional story about keeping hope and kindness in your heart, even when the world can be cruel. (With an occasional boob or fart joke.) More people need to see this one, I love it a lot.

King Ohger: Full of tons of characters I love. I've had a good time watching this one throughout the time its aired and I'm gonna miss it.

KR Amazon: Its so much fun! My soul needed some showa rider. Amazon tomodachi.

KR Build: Just started watching this with IRL friends, 2 episodes in and I'm in love with it.

12: Weirdest thing you’ve seen?

Probably the entirety of Changerion (said with affection)

(Ask game link)

[absolutebl]

Not sure if you'll have an opinion on this, but I'm curious. I keep noticing a lot of casting connections between Japanese BL and another Japanese media genre I watch, and in particular one franchise. And I can't tell if it's A Thing or not. Maybe I'm just seeing it because I happen to watch both of these genres (maybe if I was into some other genre I'd see the same kind of overlap?), or for a mundane reason (e.g. maybe shows from both genres recruit actors of a certain sort/level of success?). It seems like more than a coincidence. But if it's not a coincidence, why would this happen?

The genre I'm talking about is tokusatsu shows. My family and I got into kaiju movies, then into Ultraman shows, and through that into other tokusatsu stuff. Around the same time, I got into Kdramas and eventually branched out to stuff from other parts of Asia and into BL. The franchise that most of the tokusatsu overlap happens with is Kamen Rider.

My sample size is small as I'm a recent convert to BLs, which is a weakness for this tentative argument, but I really think this might be noteworthy...maybe? Here's what I've got so far (noting years because the time range is interesting):

Senpai, This Can't Be Love! is full of Kamen Rider alums. I knew both leads (from Saber, 2020, and Ex-Aid, 2016) and their boss (from Ryuki, 2002), then heard from others on here that two other minor characters were on KR shows I haven't seen yet. This is the most extreme example by far and may be skewing my perception.

I knew Takeda Kouhei of Old Fashion Cupcake from Kamen Rider Kiva (2008), where his character is the polar opposite of Nozue (overconfident, flamboyant, girl-crazy). But then I found out he was a regular on Kamen Rider Build (2017) as well.

Less clear-cut and in the opposite direction, Nishijima Hidetoshi was in What Did You Eat Yesterday? (just heard about this quasi-BL from one of your posts) before being the lead in Kamen Rider Black Sun this year. He was also just in Shin Ultraman, the only overlap between Ultraman and the BL world I've noted so far.

At this point anyone reading this is probably picturing me like that meme of a wild-eyed Charlie Day in front of his conspiracy-theory wall collage. But I keep wondering. Is there someone in a studio role responsible for BL who's a huge Kamen Rider fan? A veteran casting director from Toei making a leap to a studio that produces BLs? Or maybe I just have a case of apophenia (unfounded pattern-finding).

Wondering if you might have some insight.

My guess is that it's actually agency stables in play. Talent agencies and casting directors get in each others pockets a lot. So often you'll see cross over actors, sets of actors, like the casting director fielded the agency's team.

Usually this is because the casting director notified the agency of the roles available and the agency also looked into all the sides, extras, etc and basically blanketed the couch with possibilities from thier stable.

So for example, Takara & Amagi are both played by Jpop idols, but while they're form different groups, they share the same talent agency.

To My Star stars Son Woo Hyun & Kim Kang Min are from the same agency and were also both in The Golden Spoon and Tale of the Nine-Tailed.

If you watch Kdramas as well as KBL you'll start to see this a lot with the sides and extras. I think Japan operates similarly. Something like Absolute BL fielded a ton of familiar faces and I think quite a few of them were from the same agency.

If casting has a good working relationship going with an agency, they can just ring them up from set to send someone over real quick if there has been a drop out or a sudden need for an extra. It's a kind of laziness but also the result of long relationships and industry networking. Also actors will travel in packs and get pulled in just because they're hanging around set while their friend is shooting, and they're often friendly because they share an agency.

I wouldn't be surprised if a number of the better KBL lead pairs turn out to be from the same talent agency and to have at least socially known each other before filming. I've never cared enough to look into it, but I would take an educated guess at 50% or so.

It's all about networking in ET.

[christine-ye]

Howdy!

I'm trying to get used to being on here but hi! I'm Christine, nice to meet you! 🎶 Basic info (more in my Strawpage) 🎶 -She/her -21 (ADULT) -Ace/asexual -Autistic

🌺 Things I like 🌺 -Magical girls in general (mostly Sailor Moon and PreCure/Pretty Cure nowadays with some other titles sprinkled in like Magic Knight Rayearth, Tokyo Mew Mew, etc.) -Evangelion -Super Mario (and occasionally other Nintendo series like The Legend of Zelda) -Tokusatsu (mainly Kamen Rider and Super Sentai) -History and mythology (currently majoring in history with a classical humanities minor in college) -Music (mostly anime and video game music)

🌈 Guys I'm very normal over (💙 means main/current favorites) 🌈 -Shinji Ikari (Evangelion) 💙 -Hibiki Hojo/Cure Melody (Suite PreCure) 💙 -Kazuma Kenzaki (Kamen Rider Blade) 💙 -Misato Katsuragi (Evangelion) -Umi Ryuuzaki (Magic Knight Rayearth) -Luigi (Super Mario) -Hotaru Tomoe/Sailor Saturn (Sailor Moon)

♠ Media I'm currently watching (will update as I go, * for shows currently on hold) ♠ -Kamen Rider (1971): started 8/25/23* -Kamen Rider Hibiki: started 8/27/23* -Kamen Rider Ryuki: started 8/28/23* -Star Twinkle PreCure (rewatch): started 10/1/23* -Kamen Rider Geats: started 11/10/23* -Choujin Sentai Jetman: started 11/22/23* -Kamen Rider Fourze: started 1/19/24* -Kamen Rider Kiva: started 1/19/24* -Wonderful PreCure (latest PreCure): started 2/3/24 -Bakuage Sentai Boonboomger (latest Super Sentai): started 3/2/24 -My Adventures with Superman season 2: started 6/14/24* -Ultraman Arc: started 7/6/24* -Ultraman Blazar: started 7/6/24* -Kamen Rider Gavv (latest Kamen Rider): started 8/31/24 -Hana no Ko Lunlun: started 9/21/24* -Acro Trip: started 10/2/24 -Magilumiere Co. Ltd.: started 10/4/24* -Kamen Rider Revice: started 10/23/24

⚡️ Plan to watch (TBD, may change) ⚡️ -Kamen Rider Kuuga (after I finish Fourze and Kiva, will watch alongside OOO) -Revolutionary Girl Utena (been wanting to start it for a while) -Kamen Rider OOO (after I finish Fourze and Kiva, will watch alongside Kuuga)

🍃 Tags (may add some if needed) 🍃 -#christine's ramblings of the day: for general talk and/or random thoughts -#christine watches/rewatches [show name]: for shows I'm currently watching/rewatching (not necessarily actual liveblogging) -#christine reviews stuff: for media reviews -#christine answers: for answering asks -#christine's rant/vent: for any time I vent/feel negative (I suggest muting it if you don't want to see me be pissy on main) -#shameless self reblog: for self-reblogs (don't use often) -#incorrect quotes: for any incorrect quote posts I come up with based on my interests

⚠ Important things to know ⚠ -I'm very sensitive and shy and often suck at social interaction, so don't be too worried if I don't respond quickly, misunderstand a joke, or don't follow you back -Please DO NOT INTERACT if you're the following: bigots of any kind (racist, homophobic, transphobic, etc.), NSFW (or any weirdos in general), pr0sh1ppers, Zionists, and crypt0/EnEffTee/A.I. supporters. GET AWAY FROM MY BLOG OR GET THE BLOCK -If I interact with or follow someone/something problematic, please let me know -Ask me stuff! I don't mind answering asks :) (but I will delete certain asks that make me uncomfortable for any reason) -Yes, I am that idiot on Twitter (username is @/Christine__Ye if you want to follow idc) who won #1 Cure Melody fan back in October 2023 before you ask -You should watch Kamen Rider Blade actually please and thanks

I'm generally nice and trying my best (most of the time lol) so hello again and welcome! ✨

[draintheblood]

Hey!! I’m so sorry about the insomnia thing. I struggled BAD with this for about a year (not continuously thank goodness). It was onset insomnia where I wouldn’t fall asleep until 6-7am. I was exhausted, scared, and desperate.

I’ll relay what ended up helping me. First it’s important to know that my insomnia was a product of extreme anxiety about sleep and exhaustion itself, so all the tips out there about “sleep hygiene” and having a bedtime routine or evening meditation , etc actually made my insomnia worse, because it caused me to obsess too much over the mere concept of sleep and make too big a fuss over the whole process - what should be a natural, easy process when you’re feeling tired, right? Ha, wrong. Brain said no we’re staying awake EXTRA long now.

I relied instead more on distraction, and on reframing the importance I was putting on sleep. All the advice says “stay off your phone!” to get better sleep, but for me having my phone accessible in bed was a godsend to distract me when I would lie down and feel the anxiety and spiraling thought patterns kick up. I’d browse tumblr, or pinterest, read fanfic, and watch ASMR videos - anything that could help keep my mind occupied and not focused on the duality of feeling both exhausted and hyper-awake. This was big for managing it in the moment. Reading a book was also a great thing to do although sometimes hard because it would require turning on the light or sitting up in bed, which frequently felt like too much.

There’s lots of research out there that yells about the “danger” of not getting enough sleep. This definitely contributed to my anxiety. Our bodies are adaptable and resilient. Getting in touch with that deep trust and knowledge is difficult ( esp when the body doesn’t seem to be *cooperating*) but ultimately can make the experience less acutely frightening. Also! There’s research emerging that says that a) we NEED less sleep than we think and b) we often sleep more than we estimate and c) even if you’re lying in bed quietly but awake all night, you’re still getting some valuable rest-induced benefits! That last one was a massive positive discovery and helped me accept my body and mind in the moment and release the intensity of my need for control over how they were both behaving.

Other things that definitely helped over time (not immediately in most cases - it’s okay if it takes a few days or weeks, remember that): magnesium glycinate supplements and magnesium topical lotion/spray before bed, l-theanine throughout the day and evening, phosphatidylserine before bed, getting unfiltered bright morning sunlight each day, using a white noise machine and eye mask. I also found sleep-specific edibles to be really helpful, although I know you mentioned those didn’t work so well for you. It’s highly variable based on formula. I used Kiva brand and that might not be available in your area. They helped take the edge off at night so I couldn’t even get anxious in the first place which is why they worked - so anything similar for you would be a good starting point idea (not alcohol tho - that one screws with your ability to sleep).

Last major thing that helped me was another mindset based shift: I thought about all the days I survived already on slim-to-none sleep, all the things I accomplished and the moments of enjoyment I still was able to have despite the lack of rest and underlying exhaustion. And I reminded myself that I was still capable of living life even without lots of sleep (helps to really think about the times you’ve deliberately chosen to skip out on sleep for really special or fun reasons too! Those count! Those are evidence you can get through it!). Trust your body WILL get the rest it needs, sooner or later. It wants to keep you alive and it’s very VERY good at it in most circumstances, I promise. The brain will catch up to that :) this last tip was super super important, because the sleep anxiety was trying to tell me that I wouldn’t be able to enjoy my life at all ever again if I didn’t sleep. But it was wrong, and I sloooowly started to see that it was lying.

Now I rarely go more than a night at a time missing sleep, and it mainly happens when I get stressed about waking up earlier than usual, or an important event. And I understand where the anxiety comes from so I can gently head it off before I spiral into a true insomnia episode. And even if I do have a bad night - I know I’ll get through the next day, and sleep is coming for me soon. Just know that you can and will recover. I hope hearing my story and ideas helps you even a little bit!!

hi, thank you so so much for sending this. you have no idea how much it means. this hits me really hard because it sound so much exactly like what im going through. its so frustrating and annoying especially to me because im a bit of a perfectionist and control freak and when i cant get my brain and body to cooperate with what i want it makes me so angry and it just adds to the anxiousness. what u said about the sleep hygiene also makes so much sense. i always get so frustrated because its one of the first things i do, and even when the conditions are perfect and i still dont sleep i get so mad that i have to jump through all these hoops that the average person doesnt even have to think about and its still not helping. im also a bit of a pessimist when it comes to behavioral thinking patterns.. like for example i would never be a person who was likely to be able to be hypnotized because my brain just shuts down any suggestions or changes because its so rational that like if i try to change my mindset or do some self hypnosis or whatver another part of my brain quickly takes over and is like "of course this wont work on you because your just trying to trick yourself and this is what you REALLY think". but at the same time i have no control at all over my anxiety or thoughts and it just creates this situation thats such a paradox that it feels like theres no way out. its a vicious cycle where the more i cant sleep the more it takes up more and more of my energy and time. i really appreciate the way you worded this. its gonna take some time to make any of these changes, but i'll definitely try. it feels like my whole life revolves around sleeping and failing to do so (and i hate failing, which just makes everything worse) that if i could just reframe it so that it wasnt such an important, dominating part of my mind i think that would be extremely helpful. thank you so much again for taking the time to message me. its even just inspiring to hear someone in a situation so similar to myself was able to recover and make these changes. ♥️♥️♥️ i hope u have a great holiday season !

[amratsu]

after reading @ryo-maybe 's recs, compiling my own rider recommendations/breakdowns, in chronological order of release, with the general approach of 'here's what you may enjoy' and 'here's what people love/remember it for'. den-o onwards to zi-o cause I need to rewatch the older ones tbh. I've watched all of these myself once, and (barring ghost) with @stuffman-main and @icedfairy so you can poke them for opinions too probably.

>den-o the first 'comedy' rider that really leaned into its mascots, so much so that said mascots are kind of still around to this day like 15 years later. this tends to give the wrong impression though, because den-o still takes a surprisingly deep and melancholic look at its themes of existential dread and being remembered. it's a generally fun time that'll also pull at your heartstrings at surprising times, and takeru satoh (of current ruroken live action fame) really does portray the growth of the protagonist from a complete non-person into a still-nervous-but-will-throw-down hero nicely.

>kiva oh I absolutely agree with the general consensus of crazy aesthetic (fucking STAINED GLASS VAMPIRES?) but whack-ass writing, but as my first rider I have a big soft spot for it. it was also the first rider I watched together with stuffman-main and iced-fairy as an introduction to deeper weeb enjoyment. make no mistake, kiva is deep in the late 2000s sauce of plot via lack of communication, but at the same time it's still kind of charming how earnest it is about it? it's just 100% vampire melodrama inside a kamen rider. and also the time period gimmick is, in retrospect, one of the weirdest and most ambitious plot threads toei's ever tried. I can't even straight say I recommend kiva, but if you can stick around after they only really get better. (fun fact with kiva: the default suit was so fucking heavy BECAUSE IT HAD ACTUAL METAL CAUSE THEY WANTED NATURAL CHAIN JINGLING that they had to introduce the super mode like a dozen episodes early or else the suit actor was literally going to be crushed)

>decade anniversary series. meme origin point.

>w I think if any series really leans into its subgenre the most, it's a toss-up between W and Exaid, but W is way more universally loved. it's a tight noir experience, the duos done so well that it'd fuck with rider writing for multiple series to come (for better or worse). the way it plays with its supporting cast really makes the city feel alive in a way that makes it as easy to love Fuuto as much as shotaro does. the rider tropes themselves are also handled very well, with little arbitrary power ups or alt forms, and an absolutely unheard of total of two riders, period, until you go into side materials. and the writing very much benefits from its ability to focus on them to the exclusion of anyone else. extremely easy recommendation, and its 2 episode format also makes it very easy to watch in short sessions.

>ooo where W lives and dies by its two-episoders, OOOs uses it to support the developing relationship between protag and 'mascot' while also pursuing a much more ambitious overarching metaplot. the nonlinear nature of the belt/suit 'upgrades' leads to an pretty exciting shuffle of transformation trinkets between the protagonist and villains; you never quite know who has what, and in that sense it's almost closer to a rider royale with how the characters jockey for the macguffins. eiji's also a generally very refreshing protagonist who will still do Dumb things, but not Stupid things, and that's a fine line to walk/write I appreciate a lot.

>fourze anything I could say ryo(?)'s already said. it's just fun. it's very different from a lot of other riders though in that you won't see the same emotional ups and downs in the plot you would elsewhere. gentaro's just immune to that shit.

>wizard oof. I'm going to be bold here and say I find haruto, the protag, fine. lots of people say he's boring and one note, which I disagree with; he shows a fair amount of subtle growth as a person over the course of the series. nito, the side rider, is also great. aesthetics are also great fun. but wizard is absolutely STRANGLED by its one note supporting cast, a peanut gallery full of drag-you-to-the-lake-bed cement that's just impossible to care about. if you can deal with the generic kid's show level of eyeroll carry-on cast, you'll probably have an okay time here.

>gaim gaim gaim gaim. oh gaim. I love you so much. and this is contingent on spoilers, but, I think urobuchi plots honestly fine if there's a happy ending. and there is, because SPOILERS that facilitate post-series xovers. like of all the ways we've seen urobuchi wank about the cruelty of the system, the futility of struggling against it, and the tragedy of life, gaim's protagonists arguably end up doing a lot more to win despite it. and also I find the thought of urobuchi simmering in his dark little corner because toei forced him to write a happy ending really, REALLY funny. can't recommend unless you're in the mood for urobuchi though.

>drive honestly? drive is one of the most inoffensive riders. nothing really wrong about it. it leans into its subgenre a lot in the vein of W, so if you're in the mood for a cop show with androids and robots it'll do you good. the protag is also a tall drink of water. definitely a fine starting point.

>ghost oh god. no. by this point in the time line, the 'cool rider=sucky show' meme is really in full force. there's really not a lot I can write on ghost that hasn't been said by other people, but in short it's just very one note with very shallow characters, and a lot of shoehorned merchandising that messes with what little coherence there is (the super form is a seperate belt all on its own, never used by anything else. why???).

>exaid again, ryo(?) has me covered here. worth pointing out though, ex-aid is a perfect otome game cast: clumsy good boy with some spice to him, tragic serious elite genius, jokey lovable trickster, abrasive jerk with heart of gold. so that's fun.

>build build's AMBITIOUS. the conspiracy/amnesia plot goes deep, and it almost forsakes a monster of the week and all the tropes attached to that entirely. whether it lands the plot is up to debate but at the very least the characters are all very well realized and live. they all struggle with 'who am I' in their personal ways, and the way they clash up against each other (ESPECIALLY the villains) is exciting.

>zi-o another anniversary series.

[themomsandthecity]

Parent Coaches Are on the Rise. Should You Hire One?

Toddlers aren't the only ones who have tantrums. As the adult in charge, it's often tempting to scream or cry alongside them. Enter: parent coaches. This growing profession is here to help parents raise their kids in a more intentional way. "It's kind of crazy that so many parents say parenting is the most important job that they have, and yet there's not a lot of education for parents, understanding childhood development, understanding emotional regulation," says Kiva Schuler, founder and CEO of the Jai Institute for Parenting, which trains parent coaches. There's a general belief in our culture that if you're a good person, you should naturally know how to parent. But anyone who's ever had a kid (or was a kid themself) can probably tell you that's not always the case. "One of the benefits of social media is that a lot of parents are realizing that what comes naturally is how they were parented," Schuler says. "So if they want to do it differently, they need support." As parenting advice on TikTok and Instagram has exploded, more parents are admitting that the role is not always intuitive, and many of them are seeking the support of a parent coach who can help refine their approach at home. What Are Parent Coaches? Parent coaching is not so much about dealing with children as it is about training the parent. "We have very little education on how to get your kids to behave. Our work is really focused on teaching adults healthy communication skills, emotional intelligence, values-led leadership, calming their own nervous system so that they're not having their inner 5-year-old fight their actual 5-year-old," Schuler says. Gloria DeGaetano, founder and CEO of the Parent Coaching Institute, makes the distinction of calling the professional a "parent coach" rather than a "parenting coach" because she says that "we are the partner to the parent, the whole person," she says. The actual work of parenting, she says, is left up to the parent themself. A good coach won't feed you answers or tell you what to do - they simply ask good questions that help you figure out what makes most sense for you and your family and how to harness the strengths you already have to work through challenges, DeGaetano says. "Instead of just telling them what to do, I like to tell people my job is to give you some great tools to create connection and cooperation, and then you won't need me anymore," says Sean Donohue, who became a parent coach 11 years ago after getting inspired by watching "The Super Nanny." Parent coaches differ from family therapists in that they're focused on developing skills and identifying core values; they're not aiming (or qualified) to make a mental health diagnosis or heal past wounds. "Coaches really are about defining an action plan going forward," Schuler says. That said, sometimes family therapists or child psychiatrists become parent coaches to assist their practice. How Can a Parent Coach Help? Many people come to parent coaches because they want to raise their kids differently from how they were treated growing up, and they want to improve their go-to instincts and reactions. Sometimes they're dealing with a particular challenge they don't feel equipped to handle. Donohue says clients come to him for everything "from everyday sassiness to disrespect to sibling issues, screen addiction, substance abuse, trauma, blended families, the anxious or angry child." In private sessions, group coaching calls, or sometimes even quick texts, a coach will act as a sounding board for parents' concerns. They might work to help couples better understand the strengths of each other's parenting styles, or do role-playing exercises meant to build emotional-intelligence skills. Mostly, they will ask questions meant to help parents reflect on their values and what might be helpful in their family. "There's an invitational stance," DeGaetano says. "Would you consider trying this? Or, this was really… https://www.popsugar.com/family/what-is-parent-coach-49330479?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=tumblr

[stickers-on-a-laptop]

ooooooh i know some more!

yamato zyuohger was in both signal100 and grand guignol (both of which are pretty good)

parad ex-aid was also in signal100

and hiiro ex-aid was in signal100

kiramaired was also in grand guignol

human gaon from the special was also also in grand guignol

shizuka kiva was in grand guignol too!

ankh was SO FUCKING FUNNY in cult. monotone yelling at the demons

speaking of monotone yelling at the demons, emu ex-aid was in occult no mori e yokoso

touma lupat was in a few episodes of dark drama (good) and the samejima incident (boring as fuck)

shinji ryuki was in dead sushi

okubo ryuki was also in dead sushi and mutant girl squad

mutant girl squad was like actually all tokus as the leads: miu go-onger, rinko wizard, and kotoha shinkenger

impossibility defense: for the love of god if you watch this do NOT fucking watch the drama you do not need to. but it has takeru shinkenger and eiji drive as the mains and a few other tokus that quickly die

lychee light club has a few and also it has some (technically underage although everyone was irl over 20) gay elements: gai gokaiger, shunpei wizard, and at least one more that i don't know yet

re/member has shin kamen rider ichimonji

Seeing Gentaro in a different drama acting like one smart cookie is just so jarring but that is credit to Fukushi-san as an actor.

Also, I think Tokuheroes need to be in horror dramas now.

We've heard of toku to bl/gl pipeline, where's the toku to horror pipeline? We had Aruto, Gentaro, Juuru, Shinnosuke, Makoto (Specter).

[caliburn-the-sword]

Spoiler warning: Ruin and Rising, Encanto, The Blood Traitor (Lynette Noni)

Controversial opinion of the day: I actually like the *protagonist loses magic at the end of the story* trope. I don't think I have to specify that this is only the case when it's done well lmao because that literally applies to anything and everything.

First I’m going to start with Shadow and Bone. I haven't read the series in years and have not been up to date beyond Six of Crows (the rest of the books are buried under my tbr lol) so like forgive me if I'm misremembering or if new information has been revealed, but to me, Alina no longer being the Sun Summoner was the right thing to do. She was never this saviour, this messiah, she was an ordinary girl who loved a boy. Losing her magic meant she lost that status, letting her return to being an ordinary girl who loved the boy. And isn't part of the hero's journey to return home?? Losing her magic doesn't make her lose her memories or experiences, what makes Alina Alina. It was just one part of her though that said book Alina didn’t have that many other parts to her so I’m glad that netflix Alina has a lot more personality lmao

ANYWAY moving onto the Prison Healer. Now idk just how popular this is as a book from Australia so you might not have a clue what I’m talking about lmao but anyway, Kiva losing her magic was ALSO necessary. Ngl I was pissed with her refusing to apologise to so many people for such a large portion of the book, but her losing her magic at her sister’s hands was ALSO necessary. This one is a lot more obvious than Shadow and Bone, thankfully, it’s quite literally stated in the book. It’s the ultimate act she had to make in order to redeem herself for Jaren, even when he’s already forgiven her. There is also her making sure she doesn’t ever become like her sister or mother, but more importantly than that, I think, is that she is correcting a wrong her ancestor Torvin made centuries ago. I’m not entirely sure about the concept of afterlife in Wenderall, but Sarana can now be at rest because (for now) Torvin’s power has been laid to rest, which was what set this entire thing in motion to begin with. And I feel like Kiva is so like and unlike Alina, in that she supressed her powers for so long like Alina until it surfaced because they saved someone they loved, but unlike Alina, Kiva also spent a lot of time in fear of her own power. The way I saw it, she didn’t necessarily have a love for her power. It’s literally stated that unlike the Vallentis’ elemental power, Kiva’s comes from her love of people. The way she often described her power, it’s a practical thing, it’s a tool that she can use to heal, but not her only tool, which is why it’s an especially amazing thing she goes to the Wenderall equivalent of med school.

And this is where Encanto unfortunately falls short. I cannot describe how happy I was watching the Madrigal family losing their power. This wasn’t in a vindictive, yes, now they all know how Mirabel felt, because that would be drawing the completely wrong conclusion. This has definitely be said a 100 times before by many other people, but Mirabel’s family needed to lose their powers in order to properly heal, for the abuela to finally learn her lesson. And so it felt like it was cheapening that when the Madrigals got their magic back. There has been no permanent consequences (and I very hesitantly use that term, because no family should suffer just for one to learn, but I can’t think of any better term) that the abuela has to accept and adapt to. Don’t get me wrong I loved the movie, this is really the only bone I had to pick with it.

You don’t have to agree with me, of course. But I do hope that if you have previously hated this trope, you have some food for thought.

[biomic]

just out of curiousity, out of the previous anniversary seasons eg decade zio gokaiger etc which tributes do you think were well done?

decade’s an interesting one in regards to this because its interpretations of the seasons it’s tributing are so different from what the shows were actually like. sometimes the au is pretty recognizable and other times it’s like. how did we get blade cooking world. although i haven’t seen decade in years so take that with a grain of salt. that being said the hibiki episodes are easily the best of the entire series, bc they’re basically an apology for the show’s second half. it was a nice touch to bring a lot of the actual actors from hibiki back for it, and we all know how perfect that final fight is

gokaiger’s also a difficult one to choose for but because every tribute is pretty damn good. even the more basic tributes feel special, with the returning heroes and all the callbacks for longtime fans. the liveman and shinken tributes stand out in how well they work as both tributes to past shows while also pushing forward gokai’s own story and characters, the timeranger episode played around with sentai continuity in a really clever way while also bringing closure to one of time’s plot points eleven years after the show ended, and the jetman tribute... i mean do i even need to say anything. it’s impossible to narrow it down, gokaiger was just a perfect anniversary season any way you look at it

zi-o’s tributes... happened. i had a fun time with the ghost episodes, and the kiva two-parter wasn’t Good but it was at least entertainingly bad in that special kind of inoue way, but the show was kind of terrible at connecting its own story to past seasons and made most tributes a slog to watch. but then... kabuto happened, and my god did they pull that one off. that two-parter is heads and shoulders above the rest of the show, because they were prioritizing the right things. the returning characters felt true to who they were, they gelled with the zi-o cast a lot more smoothly than most of the other cameos, and it was just fun. if all of zi-o was operating on that level it’d get an A+, easily

now all we gotta do is sit back and see how zenkaiger handles things

[egophiliac]

I recently got into Kamen Rider through some friends of mine, and remembered that you liked it! (The seasons I'm currently watching are Ex-Aid, Ghost, and Kiva. Emu and Takeru are precious) Love the art btw!

Emu and Takeru are very good boys :} if you’re enjoying them then you might like the Dr. Pacman movie! it was their crossover so it has some solid interactions between them, along with some other good Rider boys + teaming up to fight a giant Pacman, what more do you need.

(it does have some spoilers for Gaim and Drive iirc, Wizard is there too but I don’t think they actually do anything spoilery with him)

also, because if anyone thought I wasn’t going to take any excuse to draw more Poppy they were wrong:

[sailor-cresselia]

Post Zi-O Concepts: Bringing the boy into the fold

Okay, so, we’re currently 11 hours away from the last episode of Zi-O airing, and I’ve got a whole lot of ideas for how to introduce Sougo into Riders ReUnited. I don’t know if I’ll use any of these, most of them are pretty out dated, but I really wanted to share them before I lost the chance.

Please keep in mind that when I wrote some of these, not only had I not quite finished Decade, but also we were in the middle of the Kiva arc, and thus I had no way of knowing that Tsukasa and Daiki were coming back. Nor did I have any clue that we were actually going to have Gou appear in-show. Er, in-movie. So, y’know. I was working off of what we had at the time. The later ones were from early June, between the Kabuto and Den-O arcs.

Also, these are largely un-edited, because I wrote them at work. I’ve fixed them up for formatting, but that’s about it. No content or contradiction fixes here. My apologies for the math or failures thereof. My additional apologies for Sougo being a bit out of character – I was doing my best, and my best wasn’t great at times.

(CIRCA MAY 19)

Sougo sighs, turning his fork over in his hand, again and again, not really seeing what’s on his plate. It’s a bit of an insult to his uncle – okay, a /lot/ of an insult, if he hadn’t wanted to fix clocks so bad he really could have been a professional chef – but.

But it’s just the two of them again.

…

It hasn’t been the two of them in a long time.

Heh, ‘time.’ That used to not matter. He could go anywhen he needed to.

But Geiz and Tsukuyomi and Woz aren’t here anymore. They don’t need to be here – he’s never going to be Oma Zi-o, not going to be a king. He still has the belt, and the watches, but.

He doesn’t need them now.

They’re done.

He doesn’t need the watches, but…  he needs his friends.

He’d almost forgotten what loneliness was. It’s really hard to go back to, especially now that his uncle has called him out on it.

The door chimes.

“Oh, a customer this early? I’ll go get that.” His uncle gets up, but casts Sougo a worried glance. “Sougo-”

“I’ll be fine, don’t worry. I just need to adjust a little.” He grins at his uncle – and he knows that they both know that it’s fake. “Go on ahead.”

“If you’re sure.” The old man heads out into the storefront.

“Hello, we’re not actually open just ye- Oh, you’re one of Sougo’s friends, aren’t you?!”

The uptick in his uncles voice is weird. Besides, he only had the three – Geiz, Tsukuyomi, and Woz – so he must mean it’s someone from school. Probably here to get something that’s definitely not a clock fixed-

“Ah, yes, I am. Mr. Tokiwa, was it?”

…Wait. He knows that voice.

“Yes, yes, right. You were- oh, what was it-”

“Takeru. Tenkuji Takeru. Is… is Sougo in?”

“Yes, but he’s not really in the mood to see anyone, his friends just moved out, you see-”

What is – what is Ghost doing here? He – okay, yes, he’s one of the few riders who came here, but why would he come to 9-to-5? And ask for Sougo? When he, by all rights, shouldn’t remember any of that happening?

“I know. I… heard, from Kadoya.”

Kado- that’s Decade. How-?

“I’m here to pick Sougo up, actually. There’s some people who want to see him again.”

…What on earth is going on out there?

Against his better judgement – not that his judgement’s that great to begin with – Sougo goes out into the lobby. “Takeru?”

The brunette beams at him. “Hey there, Sougo. It’s been a while. Everyone’s waiting for you.”

“What are you talking about?”

Takeru’s smile drops a bit. “Some of your information was a bit… off. We all know what was going on. Just… can you come with me? There’s a bit of a get-together, and it’d be a good time.”

Sougo doesn't reply.

In the end, it’s his uncle who decides for him. “I think it’d be a great idea. Sougo, you should go. Get out of the house for a bit. Okay?”

“…Mm-hm. Okay.”

“Great!” Takeru grins. “Do you still have your bike, or will you need a lift? It’s a bit of a distance, so…”

Sougo gives him a wary glance. “…Yeah? I’ve got a bike.”

“Good!”

He turns to his uncle. “I guess I’ll see you later, then.”

“Have fun!” The smile he gives Sougo is only about half forced.

Pocketing the bike watch, along with his belt and his personal ridewatch – just in case, he tells himself – Sougo follows his senior – who shouldn’t remember being his senior – out the door.

–––––

That. Is a really weird looking motorcycle.

Takeru must see the way Sougo pauses, because he laughs. “I know, right? It used to only look like this when I transformed. I got some help modifying it to look like this all the time about a year ago.”

“So, you-”

“We all remember being Riders, Sougo. We’re all still Riders.” He holds up a small ball. “We never stopped.” It looks like the shoulder pads when he used the Ghost armor, so-

“What are those, anyway?”

Takeru’s smile is a little more forced. “It’s called an Eyecon. They… well, it’s what I use to transform. Honestly, though, we should get going.”

“Where are we even heading?”

“My place. I’m close, I have room, and I was supposed to host last month, but then Eiji and Ankh showed up in Japan again, so Miss Chiyoko took over, so now the get together’s at the temple again.”

“Who are any of those people?!” The two start to drive off.

“You’ll meet Ankh soon enough, and you’ve already met Eiji. Hino Eiji, he’s Kamen Rider OOO.”

“Oh, right, the senator.”

Takeru seems to choke on air at that. “Oh my g- is that what he had to do?! Man, no wonder him and Hina refused to talk about it. …Well, that and who his ‘another rider’ was… Let’s just. Let’s just get to the temple, and explanations can happen there, okay?”

“…Sure.”

––––

There’s a lot of motorcycles outside the temple gate.

Like, a lot of them. And two cars.

There’s one that’s green and black, next to one of the cars. [Philip, Shotaro, Ryu, Akiko, Haruna]

Three identical bikes, all of them looking somehow both sleek and bulky at once. [Eiji (large), Ankh, Date, Gotou, Hina]

One that looks weirdly like a space shuttle, and one that’s blue with star patterns. [Gentaro, Kengo, Ryusei]

A red-and-black one, with a yellow front that looks like a cut gem. [Haruto]

Two that have cherry blossom patterns, and one with a rose. [Kouta, Micchy, Kaito, Mai]

Then the other car, a white bike with red stripes, and – what is with the purple one? Why are there skull designs on it?! [Shinnosuke, Kiriko, Eiji (small), Gou, Chase]

Takeru parks his – which looks like a spectral unicorn – next to one that’s blue with chains. [Takeru, Makoto, Alain, Akari, Onari, Kanon]

A bright yellow bike with pink spikes on the front, and a white one with… a hospital logo? That can’t be right, but… Nope, there it is. [Emu, Parad, Kiriya (not the pictured bike), Hiiro, Taiga, Nico, Poppy]

The last one looks like it has one of those bottles that Sento used to become Build sticking out of it. [Sento, Ryuuga]

There's an empty space to the side of it – and Sougo abruptly realizes… that spot is meant for him. [Sougo]

“How… many people are here?”

Takeru purses his lips. “Um… rider-wise… 25, 26 including you. Total people… er, additional 2 with Fuuto, 2 with Eiji and the Births, only one from the KRC, nobody from Haruto’s group, I think Mai came this time, two from Shinnosuke, three from here, another two from the university, because Poppy and Nico keep saying ‘they don’t count as riders’ which literally nobody else agrees with… so. Wow, 37 people all told, counting yourself.”

“That’s… a lot.”

“Yeah, it’s gonna be kinda crowded.” Takeru laughs. “Good thing the weathers supposed to hold up!” He nods to the empty spot. “Go ahead and leave your bike there – Gou said he wanted to get a picture of all the equipment together.”

“Who’s Gou?”

“Photographer, stuntman, and rider.”

–––––

Upon seeing the crowd, and the tables, and food, but most of all the crowd, Sougo balks. “Are… you sure you want me here?”

“We’re sure. You’ve finished, right? You may have noticed we never really retire, but… there’s less to worry about, now.” The look Takeru gives him is warm. “Wait here, there’s three folks in particular who wanted to be the first to see you.”

He leaves for a few minutes, and Sougo sits on a nearby bench. He feels… it’s not the eyes of everyone on him, they aren’t looking right at him. But it feels like they expect something. By all rights, they should be mad at him – he took their powers, after all, and even if they ‘entrusted’ them to him, it’s still not fair to them-

“Sougo? Sougo, breathe, okay?”

Someone’s- someone’s kneeling in front of him, with their hands on his shoulders – why can’t he see who – oh, he’s crying, why is he crying, that doesn’t make any sense-

“You don’t need to worry, we’re not mad at you. Like you said, we trusted you, and you did great.”

Oh, no, was he saying all that out loud, that’s- “I’m sorry, I caused so much trouble and it was my fault-”

“Hey, hey, none of that now. Here, use this, get cleaned up a little-” Whoever’s in front of him hands him a tissue, which he uses to wipe away most of the tears. “That better?”

It’s – what was his name… oh, right- “Doctor Hojo?”

‘Doctor Hojo’ sighs, as Takeru laughs somewhere behind him. “Not this again…” He still grins, though. “If we were at the hospital, yeah, it would be. Just ‘Emu’ is fine while we’re here, though. It’s nice to see you under better circumstances.”

“Uh- yeah, I guess. What is all of this?”

Two more people come up to the small group – that’s, oh man, Build and Cross-Z – no, Sento and Ryuuga. “Emu started it… what was it, a year and a half ago?” Sento looks to Emu, who nods. “Right then, a year and a half, now, give or take a few months.”

“I wanted all of the Kamen Riders to be able to get together, support each other, and all that. We weren’t allowed to tell you before – the time travel experts have said that it would ‘wreak havoc on the laws of causality’ and ‘no one could ever complete their journey if their seniors were guiding them every step of the way’.” Emu’s making sarcastic air quotes every so often, which – well, it does make Sougo smile, because clearly he’s ticked off about it, but understands the reasoning.

Actually, remembering when they met… making him smile was probably the goal.

Ryuuga snorts. “Yeah, like everyone didn’t wind up doing that this time around anyway.”

“Heh…” Sougo chuckles. “‘This time around.’ Because of the time travel. I get it.”

Both Ryuuga and Takeru look incredibly offended. “GOD F-” Ryuuga cuts himself off at Emu and Takerus matching glares. “I mean- Come on, I didn’t mean for that to-”

Takeru shakes his head. “Why with the puns… they just keep sneaking up on us…”

Emu rolls his eyes. “Anyway. This is us, wanting to actually get to know you. You’re one of us, after all.”

Sougo squints. “…Really?”

“Yup.” Sento ruffles his hair – he’d be offended if he weren’t already kind of in shock. “We're Kamen Riders. We help people. It’s what we do.”

“I’ll be back,” Takeru turns away. “I wanna get that photo taken, so we can get some of these bikes out of the front gate, at least.”

––––

“Gou” turns out to be Shijima Gou, Kamen Rider Mach, who is apparently, in addition to a photographer, some sort of absurdly skilled gymnast, given how he gets into a tree to set up his camera. He practically bounces to get up there. It’s impressive. Even more impressive is his use of little model bikes to adjust the camera, and-

“Are… those a dinosaur and a dragon?!”

One of the other riders, in a long sweater with binder clips in his hair, laughs. “Yeah, Fang and Cross. Ryuuga and I are loaning them out for this – they’re coming right back to us after.”

“Um... Sorry, I don't think we've met…”

“Nah, we didn't.” A man in a waistcoat settles his arm over the other. “Nice to finally meet you, kid. Shotaro and Philip Hidari, Kamen Rider Double. Both of us, at once. It's complicated.”

Sougo gapes.

“There's actually a lot of body sharing around here.” Sweater – Philip – scratches the side of his nose. “I did the research, last year. I still have the notes saved to my phone, I can show you if you want-”

“No, no! That’s! Fine! It's not actually anything new to me!”

““Oh?”” Philips eyes light up as the two speak in unison.

“Heh, well…” Sougos smile is wistful. “Me, Geiz and Woz… we got this one form, called Trinity, where they, er, got turned into giant watches, and then we were all basically swapping control of my body.”

A man in a leather jacket mumbles. “Kadoya was right... he is a mini-him.”

“Er?”

“Terui Ryu, Kamen Rider Accel. Don't worry about it. You're far and away less annoying than he is.”

“Who?”

“Decade.” Going by the shadow that crosses his face, Sougo decides not to ask why Trinity would remind him of Decade. As far as he remembers, there was something about ‘going between worlds’ and, of course, the form copying, but that was about it…

“Alright, places, come on, people, we don't have all day!” Gou yells from his perch. “First shot's riders only, second round, we add in the rest of- OH FOR CRYING OUT LOUD!”

Some of the senior-most riders have pulled out their belts, seemingly on instinct, at the appearance of a rippling wall of air. Sougo then realizes that he did the same. After all, the last few times he saw one of those, he’d been shot into the future, met his evil future self, and then the next time had all of his watches stolen.

Both of those two – Decade and Diend – step through, with their bikes in tow, as well as a man and woman, with yet another motorcycle… and a small robot bat, hovering at the woman's shoulder.

“No, no, NO!” Gou does a flip as he jumps down. "You're gonna throw off the composition! We don't have room for three more motorcycles!”

Terui and Drive – Shinnosuke – sigh. ““We'll move our cars.””

“If I still had the Tridoron…” Sougo hears Drive mumble. “But noooo, Krim had to go down to his depression garage and take it with him.”

Everyone has to move out of the way so the cars can pull out – Sougo's pretty sure he hears Accel mutter something about how it makes sense anyway because ‘he's his own bike’ – so that the three new motorcycles can be added in.

After directing everyone into new places, Gou climbs the tree again, to readjust the camera. “Okay, NOW we're ready, right?!”

A resounding chorus of affirmatives goes around the area.

“Great!” He leaps down – Shinnosuke and his wife tense every time he does this; apparently he’s her brother – and makes his way to his spot. “Okay, in three- two- one-”

The flash goes off in a series of bursts, before everyone relaxes from their poses. He heads up the tree again, to direct the relations into the area for the next shoot.

Sougo starts to tremble. “This isn't right…”

He feels a firm hand clasp his shoulder, and looks up to see Ryuuga smiling sadly at him. “‘Cuz the rest of your team can't be here, yeah?” Sougo nods. “I get it. Neither can ours. Back in December… that wasn't really them. Well, they were, but they aren't here. We're from a different world than this one, and it's… gone, and the versions of our friends here don't know us, were never riders. There's nothing for them to remember, because it never happened to them. So…” He sighs. “Do your best, okay? We can talk more after.”

Hesitantly, Sougo nods. “Okay.”

But before Gou can get very far in reorganizing the sections…

“TSUKASA, NO!” The woman who arrived with him yells, while the guy that isn’t Diend tries to pull him back.

“But have you considered, Tsukasa, YES?”

“Come on, Tsukasa, please don’t.” The mystery man tries to tug him away. “Don't ruin this for us, half the people here barely tolerate you as is, and this is my first real chance to meet anyone-”

“Aw, come on, I'm not that bad!”

Diend snorts. “At what, photography or backstabbing?”

“Pick one!” Tsukasa stops short. “Wait, no, I meant photography, but still! I've gotten better!”

“““No you haven't!!!”””

At this point, Diend is choking on his laughter, the small bat is now trying to bite Tsukasa's ear, and both the boy and girl are trying to drag Tsukasa from going toward the tree.

Everyone else is just watching.

“Tsukasa…” The woman – Natsumi, apparently – gives Decade a warning look, her thumb raised. “We’d agreed you wouldn’t take any of your shitty photos today. That you were going to be supportive of your junior this time.”

Decade, the self-professed Destroyer Of Worlds, backs away nervously. “N- Natsumikan- Natsumikan, no.”

She grins menacingly, as the other man with them – Yusuke, apparently – grabs Decades arms, holding them behind his back, and thus holding him in place.

“But have you considered, Natsumi, yes?”

The other Riders look on as she jabs her thumb into the side of his neck, and he collapses into uncontrolled laughter. Everyone else stares, dumbfounded, as the two give the same treatment to Diend.

“I’m not gonna lie, it’s always a relief to see that Tsukasa and Daiki aren’t nearly as big of assholes as they try to make themselves out to be.”

Hina – HINA! – nods. “Good thing they have Natsumi and Yusuke to be the sane ones.”

––––

In the end, they were not, in fact, able to stop Tsukasa from taking a photo of the group. He winds up taking several, actually, because apparently his camera can’t shoot wide enough to get the group at once. They resign themselves to allowing him a shoot of the fully assembled group, as well.

“I'll bring all of you the prints once i develop them.” He smirks.

“I apologize for everything he is going to do.” Natsumi sighs. “These two are the worst.” She juts her thumb at Decade and Diend to point at them.

Unsurprisingly, given the earlier display, they both step away nervously when she does that.

––––

Sougo… can't really bring himself to interact with anyone after that. He's still there, it's not that he's zoning out, but… well, he was never good at interacting with people before his parents died, or after he came to live with his uncle, or after he met-

He looks down at his lap, pulling out his ridewatch, and runs his thumb around the base. He doesn’t trigger it, that would just draw attention to him that he really doesn’t want right now.

“Hey, Sougo, you in there, bud?”

“Mm?” Looking up, there's a man with a… okay, wow, nobody here gets to get on him about his wardrobe, because this guy's in a plaid blazer with a pompadour. What the actual hell. “Um, and you are…?”

The man grins. “Gentaro Kisaragi, Kamen Rider Fourze – the guy who’s gonna befriend all the Kamen Riders!” He pulls Sougo to his feet. “Come 'ere, like this.” After guiding Sougo through a complicated handshake, he positively /beams/. “There. Now we're friends!”

“I don't… think that's how friendship works, though…”

“It is with Gentaro. Utahoshi Kengo. So, you're the latest, hm?” The man – Kengo – gives Sougo an appraising look, before sighing. “Well, at least you're older than we were.”

“Eh?”

‘Wow, Sougo, way to go, great first impression, tell the blatant friendship monster he's probably friending wrong, and then look like an idiot in front of this guy what's clearly a scientist-’

“We were 17.”

“EH?!”

––––

“Hey, Zi-O.”

Sougo turns, and. Oh. Okay. It’s Decade. That's great. “Yes?”

“Couple things I wanted to say. First… the day with the bus…” He hesitates – visibly hesitates, and that doesn't seem like him.

“What about it?”

“I was there. I was only able to save Tsukuyomi and myself, so… I’m sorry, I know your parents were on there, and a lot of other people, too, and… I wasn't able to save them, so. I'm sorry for that.”

“It's okay, it was a long time ago, so it doesn't really matter anymore-”

“Wasn't for me. World traveler, remember? Sometimes that includes jumping between points in time. A lot of the time it includes that, actually. So that was only a few months ago for me.”

“…Ah. …Thanks.”

“There's another thing, too. Less awful, though.” He pulls out a folder. “Probably still awful, but in a different way. I thought you ought to have these.” Passing the folder to Sougo, he looks slightly away. “I know I'm supernaturally terrible, but… well, the pictures that I take of Kamen Riders are about the best I can do.”

His forehead wrinkling, Sougo removes the papers from the folder.

They’re all photographs.

There's him, in the dining room – that'd be right after he came back from his deal with Gho- with Takeru.

Geiz, by a warehouse – when…? Wait, that might be the day he met Oma Zi-O.

Tsukuyomi, on a hilltop… “When was this one taken?”

“…The day of the bus accident. I brought her and myself to where that guy brought you and the other kids. This is outside that city.”

“Oh. Okay.”

Woz, giving one of his speeches. Looks like this is when he used Ghost armor for the first time.

“I normally don’t get to give these to the Riders I take them of, since I'm usually on my way out of that World by the time I get around to developing them. I hang onto 'em, though. Since you're ‘done’ now, I figured you should at least get to see them, if nothing else.” He rubs the back of his neck. “I mean, do whatever you want, I know I'm terrible-”

“Thank you.” Sougo rubs at his eyes, before looking up at Dec- at Tsukasa. “Thank you. You have no idea how much this means.”

––––––––

(June 6)

“So…” Looking around, Sougo pauses before continuing to speak. “Dr… Hojo?”

“Seriously, just call me Emu while we're here.”

“Okay then. I can't help but notice… Nobody here was a rider before 2009. How come more people aren't here?”

Emu grimaces a little, at that. “Well, we haven't really been able to contact anyone from then.” He hesitates, his brow furrowing, before continuing. “Well, okay, that's not entirely true. Gentaro’s met Amazon, but most of the riders from the 70's and 80's don't socialize that often.

“Takeru's met Ichigo – the first rider – but never heard back from him with regards to coming.” He shrugs. "We know he's still alive, because Takeru's friends with his grand-niece, and she'd have told us if he'd passed, but that's about all we know. The oldest riders tend to be off around the world. I met Blade, once, but he can't stay in Japan, because apparently his powers would-”

“-would make him have to fight his friend, right?” Sougo interrupts. “I… might have fixed that, actually. For him and his teammate, Chalice.”

Emu holds up a finger. “Hold that thought, please. I'll be right back.” He runs off.

“…What did I say?”

A few minutes later, Emu returns with a tablet. “Okay, I can't believe we didn't think of this.” He laughs. “You went around and met almost everyone – or people who know them – right?”

Sougo nods.

“Who can you reach again?!”

“Well, I can… kinda contact some of them. I know where they'd go back to, anyway.”

A small crowd has started to gather – people curious to see what's going on, people who'd heard Emu's shout and wondering just who they might meet.

Sougo pulls out his own smartphone, heading into the browser. “I bookmarked the site for the restaurant Kenzaki-san’s sorta-niece works at, hang on.” He pulls up the page. "Here, the Jacaranda Cafe. She can probably reach him, now, and Hajime. I kinda made them both human. Somehow. Not sure if that's good or not?” Sougo winces.

Kiriya stares. “Me'n the banana are gonna have /so/ much explaining to do. Do you have any idea how overpowered you are, kid?”

“There's also here, Restaurant Agito… Kamen Rider Agito owns that one.”

“Hrmph.” Kaito makes a noise. “A lot of explaining. Hope he was on good terms with Kino.”

Sougo looks at them, decides that either he’ll find out later, or that he probably doesn't want to know, and continues. “I’ve also got the numbers for Todoroki, and Gatack – although he might be Kabuto, now? It was a little weird… There's also this one dry cleaning place, where Faiz works-”

There's a loud sputtering sound from another side of the group. “Takumi is alive?!”

“Is he not supposed to be?”

Shinnosuke groans. “He's really not. There's a number of reasons I wasn't thrilled with your time-travel deal, Sougo.”

“Least he's got a better grip on the time thing than I do. His meddling actually works.” Kouta mumbles.

––––

(This one’s a different version of events, and I’m not sure when I wrote it anymore.)

“You look down, kid.”

Sougo looks up, as a man in a fedora leans against the tree next to him.

“You realize you did a damn good job, right? There’s zero grudges here.”

“That’s what everyone keeps telling me… but it’s not right… it’s not my celebration to get into.” Sougo squints. “Sorry, I don’t recognize you at all.”

“Hidari Shotaro, one half of Kamen Rider Double. The Joker half, specifically, since I heard your form only goes into our first.” He grins. “Sorry we couldn’t make it there in person. Your friend in the scarf kinda messed with Philip by going into the library when he wasn’t supposed to. We only got it together in time for that battle.”

Grimacing, Sougo flinches back. “Sorry. Woz basically did whatever he wanted back then, he was a bit… er. Cagey. Always was, really, but at least he… well, we worked together more easily, anyway.”

Shotaro lowers his hat to cover his face. “I heard mention that your friends went back to their time, is that right?”

“Yeah… but… their time was the one where I became overlord, and since we’ve stopped that from happening… I…” Sniffing, Sougo looks down. “I don’t even know if they exist anymore. Tsukuyomi, Geiz, and Woz are the first real friends I have ever had, and for all I know, they’ve been written out of the timeline, just – just been erased, like White Woz was when we first used Trinity,” he starts to tremble. “And it’ll be my fault because my being evil was what made it possible for them to exist in the first place, so if I never become evil, then they won’t exist-”

“Hey, hey, come on, calm down.” Shotaro puts a hand on Sougo’s shoulder. "You're gonna get dehydrated or something if you keep having crying fits, and then Emu’s gonna get on all our heads for letting that happen.” He gives a brief squeeze before letting go. “I’m not saying not to be upset, or to not worry or miss your friends. But breaking down… doesn’t help. Believe me, I get it. I’ve been there – Philip was ‘gone’ for a year, when all was said and done, and I… well, if he hadn’t been restored when he was, I probably wouldn’t have been even semi-functional for very much longer.” He sighs. “So, I’m not saying to forget, but don’t let it consume you. Things here turned out fine. You just have to have faith that they’ll turn up again. Hopefully sooner, rather than later. You’ll have a hard time beating out the record for longest wait – that’s Eiji and Ankh, at 9 years, followed by Gou and Chase at 5, Philip and myself at 1, Emu with Poppy and Parad at a month, and Gentaro and Kengo at about a week.”

“So… here's hoping for second or third, then?”

“Now you’re getting it. Gotta warn ya, the humor gets a little dark around here sometimes. It’s a coping mechanism. Just let someone know if that gets to be too much for you, at any point. Doesn’t matter if it was fine at a previous meeting. If it gets hard, we want to know, so we can help.”

Sougo rubs at his eye with his fist. “Still can’t believe you guys plan to invite me back…”

Shinnosuke sits down on his other side. “It’s an open invitation. Nobody’s required to come, but just so that you know, that invitation will never close, and neither do the communication lines. If you need time away, we get it. But… I’m not going to lie, that sounds like it’s a bad idea for you. Not talking, that is.”

“I’ve… I’ve had enough of being alone for one timeline. It was just me and my uncle for so long… and then they came barging in, and now they’re gone again…”

Shin: “Can you tell us about your uncle? Takeru’s the only one here whose met him, and only briefly.”

That gets Sougo to give a small smile. “Yeah, that… sure was a day. So, Takeru-san… is not a good liar, is he?”

““Not really, no.””

“He did seem like he got what I was dealing with way too much to not remember. But my uncle… he’s great. He took me in after my parents died, and he’s been the one constant since then. He fixes clocks for a living. Or, well, he fixes everything, really, but he prefers clocks. He even managed to fix a train one time.”

““The den-liner?””

“…Okay, yes, it's a time traveling train, and that was a really weird day, but still. Train. Though, gotta be honest, if he wasn’t fixing clocks? He’d be a really good chef. His first instinct whenever a rider came by was to make them something to eat.” His face darkens as he looks across the way. “Though the meal wasn't always intended for them…”

Shinnosuke follows his line of sight. “…What did Tsukasa do?”

“He stole my dinner. The first time I saw him out of suit, he stole. My dinner. When I had literally been a ghost all day.”

They both wince. Shotaro laughs nervously, adding “That’s a pretty good reason to hold a grudge against Kadoya. But your uncle’s a good repairman and cook?”

“Yeah! Yeah, he is! I mean, Agito-san said he could be professional, and he is a professional chef, so-”

“Wait!” Shotaro holds up a hand. “Agito?”

“Yeah.”

“Kamen Rider Agito?”

“Yeah.”

“Sougo, new question for you.” Shinnosuke looks at him, serious. “How many riders did you meet that aren’t here?”

“A lot of them. Why?”

“Do you have anyone’s contact information? This group isn’t supposed to just be the 2010s, it’s that we’re the ones who Emu was able to get in contact with.”

Shotaro puts his belt on. “Philip? Do you mind sending Emu over here?”

––––

(This one’s from August 22, before I remembered I should probably just wait until after the finale actually came out.)

“Sougo-kun?”

“Hm?”

“Are you feeling alright? You've barely touched your dinner.”

Sougo blinks, looking down at his plate. “…Oh. sorry. Your cooking deserves way better than that. I was just… distracted.”

His uncle sits down beside him. “You miss them, don't you?”

It's hard, he’d never admitted to being lonely to his uncle before, not in so many words, but now…

Now 9-to-5 feels so empty.

“Yeah. I do.” His vision blurs, just a little, before he blinks and it goes back to normal… or not, because he can feel something warm on his cheek. He's crying.

“Sougo…” Uncle pulls him into a one armed hug. It's nice. They've never really been this touchy-feely before, it always felt odd, but… they both need this. Now that Geiz, Tsukuyomi and Woz are… are gone. Are in their time, hopefully, because they were only ever supposed to be here until they were finished.

Until he was stopped.

But they were friends, and his uncle liked them, and they were always around…

Sougo had hoped that all of them – Geiz, Tsukuyomi, Woz, and his uncle – that they’d all be able to keep each other company after he was… gone. He wasn't supposed to make it back here, and they were, but they didn't. They got pulled back to the future (he hopes), and he didn't die like he was intended to, and now he doesn't know what to do with himself.

At least he's being given the time to decide.

Heh. Time. That didn't matter, for almost a year. He could, technically, go any when he wanted. He didn't, because that would have been an abuse of power, but he could.

But now there's no time mazines, no another riders, no riders at all, save for him.

He doesn't even know if the few watches he has still work.

Grand… he refuses to try. Doesn't want to risk it.

Trinity… same. If he finds out that it does work, if he pulls them to him through time and space again… that'd be awful, because he'd have to say goodbye all over again when the transformation ends. If it doesn't… then they're gone.

Zi-O II was always… touchy. It's powerful, but also he always felt odd using it – the future sight felt wrong, somehow.

So the only two watches he would dare try are Zi-O and the bike, and he hasn't touched them, save to keep them in his pockets, since the battle ended.

He keeps them with him, just in case.

Just in case.

The front door chimes, and uncle looks at him, concerned,

Shaking his head, Sougo gives a small smile. “Go on ahead. You've got a customer, maybe you'll even get a clock to fix this time, too.”

Uncle gives him a pat on the shoulder, and heads out front.

Sougo can't hear what they're saying, not really, but his uncle sounds… surprised, honestly. Like he didn't expect whoever it is. They must have actually had a clock.

About 10 minutes pass, with the indistinct voices from out front talking all the while, and Sougo's mind wanders.

––––

Sougo had told his uncle about being a Kamen Rider before he'd left… and then one and two made three, and he'd asked, when it was over, if Geiz and Woz were Kamen Riders too. He’d had to say yes, couldn't bring himself to lie and hide it. He'd also added that Tsukuyomi became a Rider, too, on that last day.

When he was asked if they survived… Sougo said they'd gone back to their time.

(He hopes they made it to a better one than they left.)

(Please.)

A week later, four and sixteen made twenty, and Uncle’d asked if the people who they'd brought through were Kamen Riders as well.

“…They were. Once upon a timeline.” Sougo smiled bitterly. “Until I became one. Then their pasts and powers all got stolen, and now half of the Kamen Riders never were in the first place, and the rest never can be again. All the watches, on that stand? Those were their powers, before I came along.” He tried to hold back the tears with a smile. “Some hero I was. Had to erase almost twenty years worth of other, better, heroes to be one.”

His uncle didn't have a reply for that. He just hugged him.

–––

They've been talking for a while, out there. Maybe it's a different clocksmith? There aren't any others in the area, as far as Sougo knows, since it's not exactly a big profession…  oh well.

“Sougo-kun?” His uncle steps into the doorway. “You'd said that some of the other Kamen Riders didn't remember being such, right?”

Sougo looks away. “Yeah. Pretty much everyone I met before January, except for Kadoya Tsukasa. Most of them never came here.”

“One did, though, and he seems very intent on talking to you.”

“…Huh?” That gets him to look up. Why would- before January, they wouldn't remember being riders, and probably shouldn't remember he exists, much less remember having met him. “Did he say his name?”

“Ten… something.” Uncle grimaces. “Sorry, I'm bad with names, it's already slipped my mind…”

“Ten... Tenkuji, you mean? Tenkuji Takeru?”

Uncle beams. “That's it!”

He hadn't remembered. Couldn't have remembered, it was before the paradoxes started piling on top of each other so badly… Except…

When Tsukuyomi had taken off, for a while, she'd left her data pad, the one with the histories on it. Sougo'd copied them all down, each and every one. Even if they didn't remember, someone needed to.

He filled three notebooks with every detail he could, and then with what he'd done.

Miharu and Geiz had thought it was a terrible idea, but… someone needed to remember for them.

Tenkuji-sempai had been 'Kamen Rider Ghost'. He'd been 'Ghost' for a reason, and he'd seemed a little too familiar with what happened to Sougo that day.

Sougo goes to the storefront.

There he is, brown hair and a kimono hoodie, grinning nervously. “Hey, kouhai. Long time, no see.”

…Kouhai. Okay, yeah, he's older than Sougo, but.

What?!

“I, uh. hi. Yeah… that is…”

Tenkuji's grin loses a little of it's nervousness, and he looks like he's trying for reassurance. “We know. We all know. We're sorry, we had to let you think we forgot, because… ugh, something about cause and effect, and predetermined events and, honestly, Ryotaro and Yuuto's explanations went way over my head, and Tsukasa's weren't much better. But we never forgot, okay?”

“You – you remember. All of it?”

“We've always been Kamen Riders, and we always will be.” Takeru's smile is warm. “And we'd like to invite you to a thing.”

Uncle butts in. “So, you are one of them?”

Takeru nods, bowing formally for a proper introduction. “Tenkuji Takeru, Kamen Rider Ghost. I was mostly active from 2015 to 2016, and now it's whenever my juniors need help.” He smiles. “Nice to meet you again!”

“You said you wanted Sougo to come to something?”

“Mm-hm. We've started having gatherings, about a year and a half ago, now, and we'd appreciate it if you could come.” He says the last part to Sougo, before turning to both of them. “It's mostly riders and support, and families, too. But… it can get a little overwhelming, and we thought it'd be a better idea if you, er, Mr. Tokiwa, that is, would be willing to wait until the next one? If Sougo comes back – there's no obligation to, of course, but we'd at least like to fill him in, first.”

Uncle grins. “I'd love to.” He makes little shooing motions at Sougo and Takeru. “Go, have fun, stay safe. You know how I worry.”

Swallowing hard, Sougo nods. “Yeah. Yeah, I do.”

––––

“D'you still have your bike? Because you can ride along on mine if you need to, but it'll be easier if you have your own. The Ghostriker isn't really… made for two people.”

Sougo looks up and down the spectral-themed bike. “I'd say so. You really went all out with the theming, huh?”

“Well, it used to be possessed by a horse spirit, I think, whenever I transformed, but I had it modified a year ago to always look like this. If the eyes glow, it's haunted. Fair warning.”

“That's really cool. I've still got what was my bike, but… I don't know if it still works.” Sougo pulls out the watch, looking down at it. “Never really used it much, honestly. Mostly used the time machines to get places. That kinda felt like cheating when it wasn't that far away, but since we'd have to time travel half the time anyway…” He hesitates. “I haven't tried using it since we finished. I don't know if I can transform, anymore, either. Does that disqualify me?”

“Heck no. A lot of people don't, not if they can help it, or can't for one reason or another. So, don't worry about it.”

Nodding, Sougo turns the faceplate on the watch, and it springs to action. He grins at seeing it again, and then his face falls. …I don't actually have a helmet.”

Takeru breaks out laughing. “You were always Zi-O when you used it, huh? Here.” He tosses a second helmet to Sougo. “Didn't know if you had a bike or not, so I grabbed an extra before I left.”