#Like I said I love Jaya as much as the next guy but we need Nya to lose Jay for once.

[spiderpawzsys]

DRS2P2 SPOILERS

I think that should've made a cut in my post? IDK I've never used it before eek..

But guys, hear me out, Jay stays evil for all of season 3 and actually DOESN'T get his memories back ever.

He doesn't remember Nya, he doesn't remember ever falling in love with her. She keeps trying to get him to remember, basically, in his eyes, stalking him and continuing to try and manipulate him into joining their side, when she was the reason he was discarded in the first place. I'm not saying he'd follow Ras like a blind puppy, more that he hates both of them, and himself with it. He believed Ras when he said he was a warrior, a fierce one at that. But then Nya came along, saying these sweet things about loving him, just to rip the little bit of true identity he had gained away from him, embarrassing him, shunning him from his savior, the past he believes he had and the only semblance of friendship he's ever had. Just for her to continue to try and sweet talk him right after she'd beaten him. I'd hate her too, honestly. Now she took some guy you don't know with her to come track you down, with the same bittersweet words of "I love you" falling from her mouth again and again. I think it'd become a parallel to the early seasons of ninjago, where Jay was desperate towards Nya's affection and attention, literal quote from s3:

"What did we talk about?"

"Right! Boundaries.."

Only now you can turn the colors around. Jay doesn't fall for Nya all over again, as much as I love Jaya, if prefer this much more from a writing standpoint. Tragic parallels my beloved!! Jay eventually does cave in and join them, purely because it's his last shot at getting a home, and getting away from the administration. He doesn't have anywhere else to go besides Ras, someone who threw him out after his first and only failure despite forgiving his other pupils for the same thing. The administration where he feels drained and empty. Or somewhere where people, at least pretend to, love him. Eventually he'll become more and more like the Jay we know, but he'll always be damaged. He'll always be broken. He'll always be shattered. And he'll still beat your high scores, Cole.

[finn-m-corvex]

Jaya Week 2023 Day 2: Gift

And here we go with Day 2! This one was a little more difficult than the first one, but I think I got a creative enough idea to make it work. I don't know when this takes place, by the way. I think I kinda had it in mind that it was between s10 and s11 but there's nothing concrete in here to confirm that. I'm really glad you guys liked Day 1, so here's to good stories for the next five!

Words: 1.7k

[REUPLOAD!]

Jay couldn’t stop frowning.

He buried his face in his hands in order to avoid looking at the object of his frustrations. Cole sighed on his other side, patting his shoulder in sympathy. The ravenette looked very confused when Jay kept glaring daggers at his desk through his hands, looking like he wanted to take a molotov cocktail and toss it straight into his mess of a room.

“I really don’t think it’s that bad,” Cole tried, “and you know Nya would appreciate it even if it wasn’t any good, Jay.”

“That’s not the problem, Cole,” Jay said tiredly, like he had explained this a thousand times. “I know it’s good, anything I make is good! But is it good enough?”

“We both know anything you make for Nya will be good enough,” Cole said patiently, smoothing a thumb over his best friend’s hand.

The blue ninja wasn’t so easily convinced. His hands were still coated in sawdust from when he had been sanding the creation off, and he was quickly reminded of how many splinters he still had yet to take out. Jay started picking them absentmindedly, contemplating what else he could do to improve on the perceived monstrosity he had spent the past two weeks creating in his spare time.

“Do you think it needs more blue?”

“Jay, you’ve already painted the whole thing blue.”

“But there could always be more blue! I knew I should’ve gotten more at the store-”

Cole squeezed the younger boy’s shoulder, making Jay’s sudden spur of panic come to a stop. “It’s amazing just the way it is, Jay. Nya will love it, you’ll see.”

Kai entered the room, leaning against the doorway with a glass of water in his hands. He took a sip, tipping a nod to Cole and looking appreciatively at Jay’s desk. “Did you make that?”

“No, Jay did,” Cole said, “for his and Nya’s anniversary. He did a good job, right?”

“Good job? The thing’s great!” Kai praised, coming over to stand on Jay’s other side. “Nya’s gonna love it.”

He started tapping his foot on the floor in a well-recognized sign of his anxiety. The last thing he needed was another one of his brother’s comments about his gift that clearly wasn’t good enough. “I think the hole needs to be bigger.”

“Actually,” said a new voice, and the three of them turned to Zane walking in the room, glancing over the wooden thing with fondness in his eyes, “the hole should be a sufficient enough size for all of the wildlife in the area to be able to use it.”

Wonderful. Just what he needed.

Jay started weaving his fingers together, feeling his hands start to go clammy. “It isn’t good enough, but I don’t know how to make it better.”

Zane raised an eyebrow. “Perhaps you do not know because there is no way to improve it. It is already very good, Jay, just what Nya would like.”

He opened his mouth to respond when Cole clapped a hand over it. “Nope, not happening. You’re not going to keep putting yourself down. The thing is great, it is blue enough, the hole is large enough, and you are enough.”

Oh. Jay felt the tears prick at the corners of his eyes when Kai slung an arm around his waist. “Dude, we both know by now that I wouldn’t have let you be with Nya if you weren’t good enough for her. You’re amazing to her, and you putting this much effort into something for her means a lot to me, and it’ll mean the same thing to Nya.”

“I just want it to be perfect,” Jay confessed, bringing his hand up to start biting at his fingernails. A metal hand gently guided it away from his face, smoothing a thumb over Jay’s knuckles.

“You are overthinking it, brother,” Zane said, “as you tend to do. Everything will be just fine, and Nya will love the gift. She will not care that it isn’t perfect, and that you are not perfect; she has never cared about that, Jay. Nya will appreciate that you made anything at all, especially of this caliber.”

“So, just a little faith in yourself, okay buddy?” Cole drew him into a full hug, and Jay was quickly sandwiched by his two other brothers. Love swelled in his heart as he hugged his best friend back, and Jay finally felt like he could breathe since he had first started making the darn thing.

All of them separated, and Kai gave him a kind smile. “Now go knock her socks off, Jay. We’re right behind you.”

Now, standing outside of the monastery in the courtyard was one of the hardest things Jay had ever done. He shuffled from foot to foot, fixing the collar of his sweatervest over and over again. The original plan had been to go on a date to one of Ninjago’s nicer restaurants after he had given her the gift, but he was terrified that he would have to stay home with how tightly his stomach was turning into knots. His dress pants felt too small, the waistband suffocatingly tight around his abdomen.

Jay forgot why he was nervous as soon as he saw her.

She was gorgeous as she stepped out from the front doors of the monastery, her flats clicking against the stone as she strode towards him. Her hair was down, a rare sight of it falling around her shoulders and framing her face. Wearing a long blue dress, she also had a complimenting white cardigan over her shoulders that he vaguely recognized as one of his. The dress fit her extremely well, and Jay could feel his brain shortcircuiting as she took his hand and pecked him on the cheek.

Nya smiled when she saw how dumbstruck he was. “Hey, handsome. Are you okay up there?”

“Uhhhhh,” Jay said eloquently. It took everything he had to keep his face from erupting into flames when Nya broke into a fit of giggles, even if he couldn’t wipe the lovesick smile off of his own face. She looked so pretty when she put on her makeup, even though now she was happy to leave her beauty mark alone.

“Didn’t you have a gift for me?” she asked, and it took a minute for the blood to flow to his brain.

“O-Oh yeah,” he said nervously, and Nya’s eyebrows rose. “It’s behind the statue, wait here for a second.”

He could feel her eyes on him (he had that uncanny ability, apparently) as he stepped behind the fountain, and Jay was positive that she could see his knees knocking. Picking up the gift, he did his best to hide it from view until he was standing in front of her again. Nya had crossed her arms, looking at him with concern rather than the anticipation he had been hoping for.

Get it together, Jay. She’ll love it.

Swallowing, he could feel his Adam’s apple bob up and down: one of his many anxious tells. He took a deep breath and let it out. “Nya, I love you so much, more than I could ever put into words. I’m so happy that you picked me out of all the guys you could’ve had, and I hope I can make you as happy as you make me for the rest of our hopefully long and fulfilling lives. In order to celebrate our anniversary, I made you this.”

Willing his hands to stop trembling, Jay held out the gift, slapping the best version of his thousand-watt smile on his face. “Happy anniversary, Nya.”

She gasped. “Oh, Jay.”

It was a birdhouse. He had spent hours cutting and carving the wood (even longer surfing the internet to find out how he was supposed to do it properly instead of winging it), painstakingly sanding it so that there wasn’t any risk of splinters. Covered in a coat of blue paint (Nya’s favorite shade, he had triple checked), Jay had recruited Cole to help him paint ocean waves along the sides, complete with white for the sea foam. It was also triple reinforced in order to withstand anything that the world decided to throw at them. But even now his careful eye could see all of the little imperfections: a glob of paint noticeable on the right side, a corner sanded just a tad too much, one of the screws tilted enough for your finger to catch it if you were running your hand along the bottom.

Oh, First Master, how had he ever let them convince him this was good enough?

For a minute Nya didn’t say anything, just looking at it with her hand over her mouth. Jay’s nerves got the better of him, yearning to fill the silence with literally anything. “I know it’s not perfect, but you were telling me all about how you wanted one after we went hiking a while ago and I was like ‘hey, I can make birdhouses!’ so I thought I would make one and then I started and turns out I did not know how to make birdhouses so I’m really sorry if it’s awful-”

Her lips caught his, and Jay let out a startled noise at being cut off before melting into the kiss. When she pulled away, Nya had one of the softest looks he had ever seen on her, and his heart fluttered in his chest. All of the butterflies flew out of his stomach as her hand grazed against his jaw, thumb on his cheekbone as he finally let himself relax.

“Jay,” she started softly, and Jay flicked his gaze down to meet hers a few inches below, “did you really think I wouldnt’ like it?”

He shrugged, and her eyes narrowed. “Jay Walker.”

“Maybe,” Jay mumbled, kissing her palm. “I just wanted it to be perfect for you.”

“Anything’s perfect when you’re the one making it, honey.” Nya soothed, and Jay let the words wash over him, putting a genuine smile on his face. The giddiness that he felt whenever she complimented him was never going to go away.

“I love you.”

“I love you too,” and she kissed him again, only pulling away when his lips started to tingle from his element, “now let’s go hang this up. We still have a date to catch!”

Anything for you, Jay thought to himself as Nya started leading him away by the hand. because I would give you the world if I could hold it.

[purplerose244]

My thoughts on Seabound!!! 🌊🌊🌊 (4/4)

Here we are! What a journey, and while perhaps this season wasn't at MoM level it was REALLY good, with great new villains/allies, great little throwbacks and an awesome story! 🤩

How to get this was very good to great? Give me a very good ending Seabound!! 💕💕

Alright, here we go!

GENERAL THOUGHTS

I genuinely got too much into this remaining four episodes and forgot to put any general thoughts 😅 So you'll see me rambling at the end, see you there 😉

THE CALM BEFORE THE STORM

This title really summarize my feelings so far, like, I'm seriously wondering how it will move on from now, but I do expect the outcome to be CRAZY 🤯

Aaahhhh, yep, the one in Shintaro is a fake 😅 I wonder when did the change happen? How did Kalmaar pulled that off, wow

I'M SORRY WHY ARE WE PUTTING THE TITLE SCREEN WITHOUT THE INTRO?? THAT'S A FIRST EPISODE STUFF AND IT HONESTLY SCARES ME??? It reminds me of Winds of Change too and that episode was WOW 😭😭😭

Heeeeyyy, it's youuuu... huh... *watch scribble on hand* google snake guy, huh... Glucose... yep, good old Glutine and everything 😅

Are we having a "I may have made a mistake being evil" with this guy?

Jay: ah, Prime Empire! I was in that game you know! I fought for my life and the ones of all of Ninjago and I've seen my best friends and the love of my life die before my eyes... good times 🙂

Jay and Nya having fun at DDR has to be one of my favorite thing, they are so in sync and so lovable ❤💙❤💙

DID THEY ACTUALLY PUT THE JAYA SHIP NAME INTO THE SHOW??? OMG GUYS THE FANDOM IS TAKING OVER THE SHOW AT LAST!!! 🤯🤯🤯 The electric Jaya, heeeyy, niiicee 😎😎😎

HOW CUTE CAN YOU BE

MY SHIP 💙❤💙❤ They even gave each other high gives... this is neat, and it means something awful will happen right 🙂

Commissioner: he's saying something about a giant snake... and the end of the world... didn't we already have something like that?

Okay yep, he did the trick while fighting Nya, dang Kalmaar is sneaky! Not too shabby... but I gotta say, the summoning of the Great Devourer was a lot more dramatic 🤣🤣 Props to the serpentine, still my favorite snakes 💪💪

Wojira seems to be a little smaller than the Devourer maybe? His head way bigger than the bounty, while hers is not that massive even in comparison with Kalmaar

I might be wrong but at first glance, I stand by my opinion and by the superiority of the OG giant snake 🤷‍♀️

Yep Glutine guy did have a change of heart, better late than never 🤷‍♀️

You're telling me that Jay doesn't do engineering anymore, okay... HOW IS KAI A BETTER SOLUTION??? 🤣🤣🤣 Lol look at the messy brothers, love Lloyd and Kai so much I miss them interact 💚❤💚❤

Thank you Kelly for the alert 😗

It makes me wonder if they actually do have simulations of evacuations often, it would be pretty smart considering the city 🤷‍♀️

OKINO IS THERE HI DUDE!!! 😍 I hope he's doing great! 🥰🥰

Gail Gossip! Been a while!

WOW, this is going Deluge like, my first Spinjitzu Master! 😱 How... how do we go with three episodes from here? Like, I'm guessing Nya will have to do what Nyad did before her (which TERRIFIES me), so are they going to struggle trying to find another way? IDK BUT I'M IN LET'S GO!! 🤯

ASSAULT ON NINJAGO CITY

Alright, pretty straightforward title, let's see what we got here!

Tourists?... that actually makes sense, I mean, I would want to visit all the places where history was made on this island 😍 Aww nice to see they remember the battle against Garmy of Hunted, also that it is known that Jay was the one who faced Unagami 👍👍

DARETH!!! 🤎🤎🤎

Where have you been you knucklehead, I've missed you! 💕 I think I've last seen him in a commercial from the Fire Chapter?

This is a terrible guide 😵 Not knowing the brown ninja? Owner of the dojo the Green Ninja had trained in? Brief commander of the Stone Army? Master of makeup and puffy potstickers? Unforgivable, someone fire this woman ASAP 😡😡

LOOK AT DARETH TAKING CHARGE!!! 🤩 He's right, he should get involved every once in a while, come on guys!

Ah okay good, I'm not the only one struggling with that google snake name 😂

Yay Bentho is fully integrated with the team! He is a great addiction, like, I know he'll probably take the throne at the end or something but I do hope we'll need his help again in the future! 💙

Sometimes I forget how much I love Kai and Zane interacting 🤣 The brainiac and the airhead 🤍❤🤍❤

Oh right, Cole came back from Shintaro! So... now in this extremely secret city there is a fake amulet hanging into a highly secured place... how is it always Shintaro the keeper of flukes? 😂😂

A bath as a boat but it has a whole 😂😂 I love this show's randomness

What ears are they supposed to cover 😅

I LOVE THIS ATMOSPHERE!!! 😍😍😍 Between the gray sky of storm and the sea underneath, this is the perfect scenario for Wojira and it's not even forced! I love how they are handling backgrounds for Ninjago recently, I really hope it gets as good as in the finale of Prime Empire 💙💙💙

AAAAAAHHHHHhhhhh okay for a moment I was scared Wojira was going to eat Jay 😅 After The Island this is already the second time Bluebell risks it... STOP

WHY THE CLIFFHANGER!?!?

NUUUUU WHAT NOW??? 😱😱😱 We have two more episodes, how is this going to end? I DON'T KNOW AND I REALLY WANT TO PLEASE GIVE ME A GOOD FINALE SEABOUND!!! 🙇‍♀️🙇‍♀️🙇‍♀️

NYAD

I AM SCARED FOR MY WATER LILY OKAY

Daaaang she can just float on that? She got super good at controlling water! Now I want her and Kai just randomly flying around with their powers 😂😂 Kai got missiles in his hands come on 🔥🔥🔥

JAY CAN YOU LET ME WORRY ABOUT YOU GUYS ONE AT THE TIME??? 😱

What would Kai do? WHAT WOULD KAI DO?? DID YOU DECIDE YOU WANT TO DIE JAY WHY WOULD YOU THINK OF HIM??? ... although technically Kai is the only one with Jay who didn't straight up die before coming back to life in a dramatic moment... huh... Kai might be the most reasonable choice after all 😅

We grew up from Ninja never quit to NINJA AREN'T IDIOTS AND KNOW WHEN TO GET THE HECK OUT 😎😎 Even our motto got a character development 💪

JAY NOOOOOOOO 😱😱😱😱

BENTHO YAAAAAAASSSS 🥳🥳🥳🥳 Did I ever say that I love shark boy? BECAUSE I FREAKING DO!! 💙

Master prankster Wu once again, take that empty ship Calamari head 😎 Although the poor bounty doesn't deserve to get destroyed as many times as it did until now, it's my favorite ship... pun intended 😜

Ah more ninjajan, wait a moment

"Auto Pilot". Fair enough, although I was hoping for a "psych" or something 😂😂

NO WAIT NO WHAT THE HECK!!! I THOUGHT JAY GOT SAVED HE INHALED WATER??!? BLUEBELL NOOOO!!! 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

But Cole running to his best friend immediately? HECK yes 🖤💙🖤💙

NYA CARRYING HER BOYFRIEND BRIDAL STYLE THIS IS THE RIGHTEST THING I'VE EVER SEEN!!! ❤💙❤💙❤💙❤💙 Gosh this season gave me amazing Jaya moments, I've been fed 👌👌

Okay Lloyd pacing back and forth? Kai already mad at their enemies? All the guys eager to help Jay? MY FAVORITE NINJA FAMILY BABY!!! 😎😎

I NEED A MOMENT 😭

Oh... oh gosh I knew Nya doing the Nyad thing was meant to happen, but this way? My heart is melting already 😭

I remember a post that said that Jay told Nya that he loves her many times, while she never did. Tommy reponded that she lets her actions speak... boy do I see it now, I see all of her love 😢😢

I never felt such conflicting emotions for a villain like I do for Kalmaar, like, he caused so much pain to Nya... but he is voiced by Giles... but he is the reason Jay is hurt... but that startle gag 😂😂😂

Okay this? Is adorable?

What the HECK? The police in this city is generally not very helpful, but the Commissioner is very wholesome 💜

Nyaaaaaaa 😭😭😭😭 I didn't think it was possible to love her even more, she was ignored for so long during the show, but now we finally see all of her. She is an amazing warrior, a selfless person, and a real hero 💪💪 And coming from such a mature girl that doesn't like to act irrationally, this means so much more

Jaya grew up so much, it went through some very questionable phases yes, but what they have here? It's the result of all they had lived together 💙❤💙❤

I have chills, this is amazing so far, I'm legit scared of going further 😱

SHE SAID IT!!! 😭😭😭😭😭😭 Okay this moment, everything, EVERYTHING, is absolutely marvelous. Nya said I love you without a voice, alone, showing again that she values the actions more, but still her feelings are 100% truthful. Then the transformation (THERE IT IS HER BEAUTIFUL WATER FORM 😍😍😍), Jay getting saved, the realization of what she just did from everyone... DANG IT IT'S ALL BEAUTIFUL HOW LONG DID IT TAKE TO THINK OF THIS SCENE???

*slow clap for Bragi, Tommy, and the Ninjago crew*

Jay and water Nya with their hands together gives me big The Form of Water vibes... LOVE THAT MOVIE WHO'S READY FOR AN AU??

Jay wants to help her, I had no doubt 💙 They always help each other in these BOUNDs seasons 😍😍😍

Kalmaar: where are the ninja??

Commissioner: I don't know, they are ninja!

FINAL BATTLE INCOMING AAAAHHH I HOPE THIS WILL HAVE A GOOD ENDING OMG BRING IT!!! 🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩

THE TURN OF THE TIDE

Oh, curious title? It feels a little vague, I don't really know what it could be

YES GIRL GO GET HIS CALAMARI BUTT HECK YES!!! Just how cool can you be for walking slowly while the attacks go straight through you? 😂

Hey Nya still recognizes Jay! 😃😃

HEY NYA GOT VAPORIZED WTH 😱😱 It's too early, I don't believe that's it!

WHOA JAY WENT BERSERK JUST NOW!! I don't think I've seen this before, this is the coolest thing! 💙💙💙 I just love when he shows how strong he is, you can be a comic relief AND kick butts 😎

FIGHTING ANIMATIONS MAN I LOVE THESE SCENES!! 😍😍😍

What the- was... was that a cameo of the lightning chicken? Ninjago what the HECK I love your randomness 😂😂

BENTHOMAAR TAGS IN!!! Showing off why he is best boy of the season 💙 These fightings are very cool but I can't help imagining Wojira just chilling while there are midgets getting very angry at each other onto her head 🤣🤣🤣

WHOA, CALAMARI BITE! Kalmaar got the Pythor treatment... might change color by next season if he returns 😅

(Please return I loved having Giles' voice in this season 💙💙💙)

NYA IS A DRAGON!!! I REPEAT NYA IS A DRAGON!!! 😍😍😍😍😍😍 I was wondering where the dragon moment was, this is Ninjago after all 🤷‍♀️

Head empty, just Jay smiling softy at Nya because he loves her 💙💙💙

IT'S RAINING NYA, HALLELUIA IT'S RAINING NYA, HEYE!! ☔☔☔ This fight is MASSIVE! We had finales with big creatures before but now one of the ninja is big enough to face them and that's 🤯

NYA DID IT!!! 🤩🤩🤩 ... now onto the angst that I KNOW it's coming

Kai being unbelieving is tragic, and Jay's "don't leave me" broke my heart. Please end this misery, where is the deus ex machina that solves everything?

Wait she left?

...

WAIT SHE ACTUALLY LEFT??? WHAT THE HECK THEY AREN'T ENDING IT LIKE THIS

...

OH MY GOSH

ARE THEY?!?

AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH 🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯

Omg the grief in this is beautiful, nice to see Jay and Maya so close to each other! Also Kai leaning onto his mom while Cole is comforting his best best friend? Amazing, they really do these scenes great 👌

EVERYONE SHOWED UP I LOVE THIS CITY SO MUCH 😭😭😭 Aww Ed and Edna, wasn't this such a sad situation I would be so much happier to see you guys 🥺

Master Wu even mentioned that she built Samurai X, you really want to make me cry now do you? 🥺🥺

MAYA AND RAY 😢😢😢😢😢😢

Omg look at Cole being there for his best friend, he is amazing 🖤💙🖤💙

I have such Rebooted vibes from this... is it hopeful? That Nya comes back like Zane? She's no nindroid but still... oh my gosh they got her symbol on the vase I just noticed, I need more tissues 😭😭

"In loving memory of Kirby Morrow". Always in our hearts 🖤🖤🖤

...

Wow

WOW

THEY ACTUALLY DID IT I NEED ANOTHER MOMENT 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭 WHAT IN THE WORLD THIS IS THE BIGGEST CHANGE THEY DID IN A WHILE!!!

AND NOW WHAT??? 🤯🤯🤯

FINAL THOUGHTS

I'm speechless... like that's true, have A LOT to write over here 😅

This type of plot twist reminds me of our early seasons. Zane sacrificing himself, Garmadon giving up his life, those moments that made me so curious and excited about the following. I have no idea what will be the outcome for this, but I can't wait to find out

With that out of the way, AMAZING SEASON 😍😍😍 I think this finale beats MoM's, just because it was really unexpected and opens up a SEA of possibilities... yeah too soon 😭

I'm still shaken, my world, they did something HUGE and I do hope it will be a good shake to the entire Ninjago plotline. Nya is "gone", we still don't know about the person behind all that vengestone, we haven't heard from Garmy in forever, there are so many good ideas out there now that they've set the ground for more 🤩🤩

Voice acting was *chef's kiss*, not only for the villain which I already stressed enough about, I think Kelly reached a new level of emotional intimacy with Nya and I'm so happy she showed her skills 💜💜

Animation is TOP, there's little to no point into saying anything else since they showed it very clearly in the latest season ☺

This was the emotional, witty and engaging writing I was looking for! Good jokes, meaningful dialogues, emotional scenes, everything was really good and I'm gonna rewatch some scenes especially for that 😍

It turned out having Maya and Ray back was kind of a distraction to fool us all 😅😅 Well played actually, and it was very cool seeing them again in any case 🙋‍♀️

And now? Jay lost his love, I have no idea if the show will work on him getting over her or hold onto her memory (thinking of Jay probably the latter, although I do think that handling the first would be an interesting idea). KAI LOST HIS SISTER 😢😢😢 I have no doubt he's gonna beat himself up for it, like he did when Zane was gone too. Everyone lost their friend, she had become such a vital part of the team and now she is not here anymore it will be hard...

They are back with the four plus one green savior formation, I sincerely don't know how I feel about that 😅 I'm always happy when we get the OGs, but this is about going on without Nya... maybe Skylor will be called? Or Pixal will be more active? That could be interesting to see, who knows 🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️

Gosh, how are they going to handle the next season? It will have to give A LOT of answers to the millions questions we all have right now. Man I can't wait, it could be anything!!! This is a Ninjago revolution!

But if I have to mention a little complain, and I'm a fangirl so I absolutely have to, Kai didn't show much of a reaction to Nya's "departure". Okay, she didn't straight up die like in Skybound (I'm gonna fear all BOUND seasons from now on 😱), but he's her brother and he loves deeply his family. Either we're gonna see him go all out next season, or the writers really did only focus on Jaya. A tiny bit salty... but you got me a fantastic finale so I'll move on 👍

Outstanding, I'm blown away. Whenever I think I'm used to this show they do stuff like this. I'm so glad and sad you guys 😅 But mostly happy that despite everything I still get very strong emotions while I watch this long time favorite show of mine 💜💜💜

What else can I say at this point? ONTO NEXT SEASON!!! 🤩🤩🤩

Thank you for reading me freaking out over LEGO spinning ninja as always! It helps me calm down but this time it might be harder thant the others... *sobs*

I need to lay down and process all of this, I'll be on my way 😂😂 BYE!!! 💜

[kaizokuou-ni-naru]

The Voyage So Far: Punk Hazard

east blue (1 | 2) || alabasta (1 | 2) || skypiea || water 7 || enies lobby || thriller bark || paramount war (1 | 2) || fishman island || punk hazard || dressrosa (1 | 2) || whole cake island || wano (1 | 2)

nami i love you

i reread nami’s backstory for the east blue post shortly before sitting down to write this one up, and it made her insistence on helping the punk hazard children hit a little different for me. they’re victimized and exploited kids, just like she was. 

law’s devil fruit is genuinely one of my favorites, as well as, in my opinion, one of the visually coolest by far, and i love all the cool displays of it we get both in this arc and the next one

i know law gets clowned on a lot this arc, and that’s fantastic too, but he also has a lot of genuinely cool panels, especially early on

characters that remind me how gay i am

relatedly, i do think monet has one of the best visual designs introduced in the new world, especially for a character who, ultimately, is a minor antagonist. i’m not just saying that because she’s hot, either- her wings and talons flow so well with the rest of her design while giving her a monstery look that will later come out FULL force when she turns into a full-on snow monster.

law saying he’s free to go wherever he wants, and his chopping up anyone who even dares to question that right, hits a lot harder knowing his backstory and cora’s final words and thoughts

alliance time!! this was eight and a half years ago in real time, and these two are still working together. i kind of like thinking about this from law’s point of view, because he allied with the strawhats solely to have a few more hands on deck for his dressrosa suicide plot and definitely never assumed he would be around to actually go through with the ‘fighting kaidou’ part of the plan.

joke’s on him. he allied with the strawhats.

luffy’s smile here makes me very happy 

kinda like thriller bark, punk hazard is another pretty teamwork-based arc, which is something i really love. it’s particularly fun in this case because there’re a bunch of vastly different people and groups thrown together (the strawhats; smoker, tashigi and the g-5 guys; law; kin’emon (and momo)) who are all very different and yet can work very well together when needs must. 

smoker and tashigi get a downgrade in prominence post-timeskip, mostly because the introduction of armament haki means smoker just can’t be the threat he used to be anymore, and i have particular problems with tashigi’s treatment in this arc that i’ve written about before, but- all that said, smoker is still really, really good character in punk hazard, especially in his interactions with vergo and law. 

i really love when little, forgettable details come up in ways you might not expect- of course nami’s heat ball hard counters monet’s powers, at least momentarily. she’s made of snow. oda is really incredible of keeping track of little things like this.

i may have issues with the monet fight but god if this isn’t sexy as hell 

of the strawhats, i think chopper is actually one of the ones who shines the most in punk hazard. chopper has some of his best moments when faced with so-called ‘doctors’ who use science to hurt and dehumanize others, directly spitting on everything chopper values and believes in and everything hiriluk died for. he’s really good in thriller bark for the same reason. 

this is one of my very favorite luffy panels. 

law defeating (and ultimately killing) vergo is highly satisfying just on a first read with only context from this arc, given vergo’s earlier torture of law and his betrayal of the g-5 men’s trust in him, but it takes on an entire new dimension with the knowledge of law’s backstory and just what vergo did to him and cora. 

fishman island might be the first major arc after the timeskip, but punk hazard, specifically law’s new era speech at the end of it, strike me as much more emblematic and a much better introduction of what the entire post-ts era of the story is about. it’s not just about survival anymore- it’s about directly, proactively confronting the old, entrenched systems of power that rule the world and then tearing them down to make room for a new world and a new age.

i’ve written... a lot of meta about the donquixote family, their strange, abusive cultishness and the obsessive love and loyalty they hold for doflamingo and how he doesn’t value them in nearly the same way, but this panel in particular is one that sticks with me. 

i think this is the only time anyone other than luffy is described as “the man who will become the pirate king” (海賊王になる男/kaizoku-ou ni naru otoko). monet is ready to die for doflamingo, and this is her last thought. it ties very effectively into the twisted parallels between the donquixote pirates and the strawhats.

it might be obvious by now, but i’m a huge sucker for group shots

i couldn’t find a good place to mention it earlier, but i really love how kin’emon and momonosuke are introduced in this arc. they’re introduced as fairly inconsequential characters with no real indication that they’ll be anywhere near as important as they will be in the future. 

and yet at the same time, there are a lot of details from this arc that make a lot more sense having read wano- momo’s fear of heights, kin’emon’s dislike of dragons, momo’s unwillingness to eat food given to him that hasn’t been taste-tested (definitely something he learned as a shogun’s son, and also probably what saved him from suffering the same fate as the other kids). oda is on a storytelling level i can’t even conceive.

doflamingo has already been pretty thoroughly established as a very dangerous person ever since his introduction back in jaya, but his absolutely destroying smoker and nearly killing him just for not telling him what wants to know really drives the point home, just in time for him to come to the fore as main antagonist of the next arc.

[auncyen]

Ok ok so I'd been idly thinking about updating "Chats with Joker in Mementos" for Royal for a while, except as far as I know there aren't any transcriptions for the Royal Mementos chats like there is for Vanilla...

So...after some questionable use of my time, I now have a list of a good chunk of the starters in Royal. Only starters, not responses, since the point of the fic is having Joker be the one to respond, and I didn't transcribe ones I didn't think would be interesting for him to respond to, but still, if anyone does ever look to do a complete transcription, this might be helpful as a start? Or just interesting if you want to see what some characters talk about. Spoilers for third semester below cut.

Ryuji: Man, we really bust our asses to get stronger in here. I wish it meant we got stronger in the real world too.

Ryuji: Man, I had this horrible dream last night… Can’t remember a thing about it, though.

Ryuji: Ya know what? I guess Mona does have a mask, technically.

Ryuji: Yo, the way he jumps behind Shadows is so sick!

Ryuji: Yo, is it just me, or is fallin’ asleep getting tougher every night? At this point, I’m outta ideas of what to do.

Ryuji: Kinda fiendin’ for some ramen right about now… Maybe I’ll hit up Ogikubo when we get back.

RyujI: So lately, I’ve been tryin’ to work some training into my nightly routine before bed.

Ryuji: Hey, is it just me, or is Morgana’s sword basically the same size as Joker’s knife?

Ryuji: My mom made gyudon last night! My fave! Now I’ve got, like, fifty times more energy than usual!

Ryuji: This phantom thief stuff feels real as hell whenever he’s flyin’ around with that grappling hook.

Ryuji: Dude, that grappling hook is awesome! He looks like a freakin’ superhero with that thing!

Ryuji: Aww man, I just can’t get enough of those Akihabara maids…

Ryuji: Aren’t knives kinda hard to use ‘cause of their shortness? I definitely prefer my own shit.

Ryuji: I always thought darts looked easy—just aim for the board, y’know? But, it’s waaay harder than that.

Ryuji: Every try the monja in Tsukishima? That stuff is LEGIT.

Ryuji: Yo, does this outfit really make me look like I’m part of some biker gang?

-

Morgana: Listen, it’s not that I look like a cat. Cats just happen to look like me.

Morgana: I repeat: I am not a cat. To prove it, I took an actual bath yesterday.

Morgana: So, cats love to chase mice, right? I don’t get it—where’s the fun in that?

Morgana: I’m always so entranced by Panther’s whip technique!

Morgana: Panther, we have matching tails!

Morgana: You know, I’ve never actually been in a car before. Is it anything like I am now?

Morgana: I definitely made the right decision giving him the code name “Joker.”

Morgana: I’m willing to bet Joker’s skilled enough to use throwing knives.

Morgana: Anime, books, movies… Phantom thieves sure are popular.

Morgana: Last night I dreamt that Phantom Thieves were kicking some serious butt—let’s bring that dream to life!

Morgana: I can teach you everything you need to know about being a phantom thief. Relax—you’re in good hands!

Morgana: *yawn* I didn’t get enough sleep…

Morgana: I couldn’t fall asleep at all last night. I just laid there with my eyes open…

Morgana: I like Yongen-Jaya; it’s a great place for a stroll.

Morgana: Is Shujin Academy the only thing in Aoyama?

Morgana: I was vegetating in front of the TV last night, and I have to say, there are some pretty decent shows on now.

-

Ann: The bakery had a sale yesterday and I ended up buying everything they had!

Ann: The Ferris wheel is a must for me at theme parks, every time. I love being able to just relax.

Ann: I have an upcoming shoot at a theme park, but what sucks is how I can’t go on any of the rides.

Ann: Last night I dreamt I was eating a chocolate bar, then all of a sudden, it got mad and started chasing me!

Ann: Every once in a while I have a dream where I get chased by a Shadow…

Ann: I’ve been sleeping really well since I started getting all this exercise.

Ann: I was up late watching TV last night, so I might be a little sleep deprived…

Ann: I tend to do my clothes shopping in Kichijoji—it’s fun looking through all the resale shops.

Ann: I hate when people ask me to say stuff in English just ‘cause I lived overseas.

Ann: It always bothers me when foreign movie subtitles leave stuff out or take too many liberties.

Ann: I was talking to my overseas friend the other day—her straightforward attitude was really refreshing!

Ann: I was talking to Shiho on the phone and before I knew it, three whole hours had passed!

Ann: Joker seems like he’d make a good cook, doesn’t he? I mean, he’s great with his knife and all…

Ann: It’s actually quite exhilarating to attack with a whip. I wonder why that is…

Ann: Whenever my foreign relatives come to Japan, they always rave about how much they love Japanese food!

Ann: Do you think there’s anything I can do about my outfit? I feel like I stand out too much in this…

Ann: Is there a difference between a whip and a grappling hook?

Ann: Ya know, Skull’s always been into skull designs and stuff.

Ann: Wouldn’t a grappling hook be awfully handy in the real world?

-

Yusuke: I wish to paint the world as only I see it. The best way to succeed at this is through practice.

Yusuke: It’s fun to walk around and inspect different temples and shrines. The architecture is always impressive.

Yusuke: If Shadows are sentient, do you think their being moved by a painting would invoke a change of heart?

Yusuke: There have been times where I was compelled to create three-dimensional art.

Yusuke: I’m quite curious about Mona’s Western-style sword…

Yusuke: I hear whips are quite difficult to use. Where did you learn how to wield one?

Yusuke: Joker using a grappling hook…. That would make for a picture-perfect composition.

Yusuke: Mona, what exactly do you have in those pouches?

Yusuke: Creating a piece of art is pointless unless I can convey the full essence of the subject.

Yusuke: Art museums stimulate my creativity like no other place—I wish I could live inside one.

Yusuke: Skull and I both use long melee weapons, but they’re total opposites of one another.

Yusuke: Why does my outfit have a tail? I don’t understand…

Yusuke: I considered growing my own bean sprouts, but it seems to be more expensive than buying them grown.

Yusuke: I once had a dream that I washed up on a deserted island. I painted as much as I pleased… So wonderful.

Yusuke: I may specialize in Japanese-style painting, but I’d like to learn some Western techniques as well.

Yusuke: That grappling hook is very useful. I should find a way to utilize one in my daily life.

Yusuke: The other day, I went into the mountains to gather vegetables so I could cut back on food expenses.

Yusuke: I tried to paint a landscape of the starry sky once, but it’s quite difficult to do so from within the city.

Yusuke: India ink isn’t my specialty, but I’ve been experimenting with it in some recent work, just for fun.

-

Makoto: I may have stopped being a doormat for adults, but people are still calling me a “teacher’s pet.”

Makoto: A phantom thief’s body is their most vital asset. We need to make sure we eat balanced, nutritious meals.

Makoto: Do you enjoy visiting theme parks? I’ve rarely been to one myself.

Makoto: Fox looks cooler using his katana than I had originally imagined.

Makoto: I had the weirdest dream… I was at school, but I was wearing my phantom thief outfit.

Makoto: Would anyone care to learn how to drive, while we’re here? This place seems as good as any for practice.

Makoto: I know it’s not very healthy, but I do enjoy eating ramen from time to time.

Makoto: Once I’ve graduated, I’m going to buy a motorcycle and go on a road trip.

Makoto: I’ve been working on my grades because I still want to attend college, despite being a phantom thief.

Makoto: I want to read a certain book, but it’s out of print. Where do you suppose I could find a copy?

Makoto: Maybe I’m just burned out, but waking up has grown awfully difficult lately.

Makoto: The grappling hook’s cable seems pretty strong, but it’s scary to think what could happen if it snapped.

Makoto: Once my sister brought home some sushi for me. It was indescribably good…

-

Futaba: I heard rhythm’s an important part of fighting, sooo… I started playing a rhythm game!

Futaba: There’s going to be an event tonight in the MMO I play. I can’t wait!

Futaba: This MMO I’m hooked on is really cool. Do you wanna play with me? Oh—it’s in English, though.

Futaba: I’m about to beat the game I’ve been playing. Wonder what I should play next?

Futaba: I’ve been going outside a lot more, so now I’m sleeping way better than I did when I was a shut-in.

Futaba: Guess what? I’m making a game called “Hungry Hungry Mona”!

Futaba: You know who’s a really good driver, is Sojiro. He can parallel park with his eyes closed!

Futaba: If you could shoot grappling hooks from your hands, you’d probably be able to get around just using those!

Futaba: Ya know, I’ve thought about workin’ out and fighting alongside you guys.

Futaba: You guys should try playing shooters! It could help you improve your gun skills.

Futaba: Last night I had a dream my hard drive failed… That was scary.

Futaba: Wouldn’t it be cool if you could mod the grappling hook so it was electrified?

Futaba: Sure, the internet’s convenient, but it’s not like it can do everything. Don’t overestimate its capabilities.

Futaba: I wonder if I’d be okay going to some place by myself if it wasn’t crowded. Inokashira Park seems nice.

Futaba: Yesterday Sojiro bought me my favorite instant yakisoba!

Futaba: Maybe I should get a gun too, just for self-defense… Nah, my hands need to be empty.

-

Haru: I found this cafe in Kichioji with phenomenal tea—would you care to try it sometime?

Haru: I ordered kusaya but they refused to make it—they said they couldn’t get the smell out of the kitchen.

Haru: I feel like I need to learn more about the world, but I’m not sure how to best go about it.

Haru: Recently, I’ve been finding rare delicacies rather enticing…

Haru: Even lately, I sometimes dream about doing phantom thief things with Mona.

Haru: If you’re having trouble getting yourself to relax, I recommend herbal tea.

Haru: Asakusa is a wonderful area—I love how it’s this blend of the old and the new.

Haru: Ever since I started high school I’ve been taking the train in the morning, but I’m still not used to it…

Haru: Queen, your mask looks like it’s made of iron. Doesn’t it get heavy?

Haru: Joker’s so acrobatic! He’s really got the hang of that grappling hook.

Haru: I don’t think I’ve gotten this much exercise since I was in ballet.

Haru: Let me know if you ever get a tear in your clothing—I’m good at sewing, so I could most likely fix it.

Haru: I dreamt that the vegetables I’d been growing all died… I was so sad.

Haru: Your weapon seems fun, Skull. Do you want to swap sometime?

Haru: Sometimes it’s impossible for me to fall asleep on days that we’ve been to Palaces, no matter how tired I am.

Haru: You know, before this, I’d never considered using an axe for anything other than chopping firewood…

Haru: My hands have gotten all calloused… I supposed it comes with the territory in gardening.

-

Akechi: I have no intention of changing my stance on matters, no matter what anyone may say.

Akechi: Pancakes... I don’t want to hear that word again for a long, long time.

Akechi: We don’t have much time left. Please do what you can to avoid getting sick.

Akechi: The enemies are stronger than ever. Don’t let your guard down.

Akechi: A world that panders to your every whim is so mundane. Where’s the thrill if there’s no competition?

Akechi: Do you prefer my previous outfit or this one? Moving around’s become much easier for me.

Akechi: This place is immense. If there weren’t train tracks everywhere, I’d bring my bike here.

Akechi: We’re working under the constraints of a time limit, so I’d appreciate it if you could be more efficient.

Akechi: If you’re looking for a way to train both your mind and your body, I highly recommend bouldering.

Akechi: You think I’m frightening when I fight? Well, I’m afraid you’re just going to have to accept it.

Akechi: I meant to tell you, regarding Shido… Thank you for keeping your promise.

Akechi: You may not like working with me, but I’m counting on your assistance until our goal is achieved.

Akechi: When we’re riding in the car like this, it’s easy to forget that we’re actually inside Mona.

Akechi: The Shadows here behave differently from the ones in the Palaces, don’t they?

Akechi: I’m getting a bit hungry. I should’ve eaten beforehand.

Akechi: I enjoy spending time in Kichijoji. It’s not very big, but there are plenty of trendy shops.

Akechi: Riding in the car may beat walking, but it doesn’t stop my legs from growing stiff and sore…

-

Sumire: I have a few different superstitions for good luck in my routines… They get sort of hard to drop.

Sumire: It was already hard for me to believe Palaces existed, but to think there’s such a massive one under Shibuya…

Sumire: It’s a bit cramped in here with this many people…

Sumire: I get stiff all over from just sitting in the car.

Sumire: Why is the one desert you get to eat during the week so delicious?

Sumire: A phantom thief outfit represents a person’s image of their rebellion, right?

Sumire: I wonder if I should try incorporating another sport into my gymnastics training.

Sumire: I wonder what I could use as inspiration for my performances…

Sumire: Swords are actually pretty hard to wield.

Sumire: Whenever I travel, I always end up buying some sort of good luck charm.

Sumire: Your outfits are all so unique. I can see coordinating them wasn’t a priority.

Sumire: This time of year, a heating pad’s an absolute must for keeping warm.

Sumire: Sometimes people will just walk up to me and ask me to show them a standing split.

Sumire: I’m in top shape today! Let’s keep going.

Sumire: Do you all stretch beforehand? You could pull a muscle if you don’t.

Sumire: It’s too bad gymnastics competitions aren’t on TV more often.

Sumire: Fighting makes for a pretty good workout, doesn’t it?

-

while I didn't transcribe responses, I did notice something a bit disappointing: neither Sumire nor Akechi seemed to have responses for anyone else. It's possible I missed one?? But not being able to remember any, they must not have many if they do have some. A bit odd.

[thepeanutbutterwizard]

Ninjago / Avatar au Part 5

On to Book two! (I have more concrete ideas on this than Book 1, so I might have to put Book two things on more than one post)

(Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4)

Also, if you like this au, check out this awesome art by @spirit-elementmaster!

Team Avatar is looking for an earthbending teacher for Lloyd. Wu and Morro are on the run in the Earth Kingdom. And Harumi is on the hunt, but she’s gonna need some help...

Enter Skylor, the laconic, acrobatic, chi-blocking daughter of a Fire Nation high-up, and Akita, the borderline feral knife-wielding niece of Vex, the warden of the Boiling Rock, who ran off to join a circus. Harumi ‘recruits’ the two girls, who she had ‘befriended’ years ago when she was first brought to the Firelords palace, to help her track down the Avatar. They were also sort of friends with Morro when they were kids too (there will be no ships between these four. They might be shipped with other people, but not with each other.) Also, Akita is a little younger than the other three, but won her right to hang with the ‘big kids’ by being able to pin a fly to the wall with a toothpick at thirty feet when she was 8 and the others were 10-11.

Wu and Morro are working their way to Ba Sing Se, under the guise of being refugees. There are shenanigans. (Wu 100% makes tea out of the poison bush thing. Morro almost broke his neck rolling his eyes at that) There are stupid fake names. There is bonding. They don’t end up splitting up like Zuko and Iroh do, but they do get unintentionaly separated at one point (more on that later).

Also, Kai’s acting a tad more overprotective than normal bc of what happened with Zane. And he’s acting that way toward everyone, including Maya and Garm. That will be addressed later.

Team Avatar is heading to the city of Omashu to try and find an earthbender they had meet there before, a guy who was actually a friend of Koko’s from her travels before she settled down in the South Pole. I have no idea who this character will be yet and am open to suggestions (mb one of the Serpentine Generals? Or one of the Elemental Masters? They’re some of the side characters I like, so they might work but idk). They stop briefly at an Earth Kingdom base, where they meet one General Kozu, who has the brilliant idea to try and weaponize a thirteen-year-old boy.

This does not go well. Garm, Maya, and Nya are staunchly against this, Kai thinks if they had a sure-fire way to get it to work without hurting Lloyd they should go for it, but if he thinks Lloyd is in danger he will step in, and Lloyd is scared, but thinks that if they can get this Avatar State plan to work and end the war now, long before the comet arrives, then it’s worth the risk. Kozu does the thing where he makes it look like he’s trapped Garm underground to suffocate (what happened to Katara)(also, there will be no ships between Lloyd and any of the ninja or Morro). Kozu gets his butt whooped and his base trashed.

And now we get to the next ninja to join the plot! In a second. Maya, Nya, and Lloyd are practicing waterbending, Garm and Kai had been doing a little firebending practice but had started chilling. And then they meet the nomad musician stoners, who are a few of the Elemental Masters. Jacob (Sound) is definitely one of them, a couple I haven’t decided on, and Jay! Jay’s a nonbender (I couldn’t for the life of me come up with a way to make him a firebender so he can use lightning) and an inventor who is following these weird flower hippies around bc they said they could get him to a city where he could try and sell his inventions. That was months ago. He has not seen a city. He has not been able to properly bathe. He is regretting several life choices.

Jay is instantly enamored with Nya (sorry if you hardcore ship Jaya, but that ship aint gonna happen here. I don’t like, hate the ship, but it’s really not my favorite), the strong waterbender who was instantly intrigued by his inventions (I think a character in Legend of Korra has some kind of lightning glove thing. One of Jays inventions is something like that) and was able to understand and keep up with his technobabble. He thinks he’s found his dream girl, and an excuse to get away from the smelly flower people! Jay begs Team Avatar if he can come with them. They say yes.

They can’t make it over the mountain, so they have their adventure in the Cave of Two Lovers. They get separated into three groups, Ultra, Garm and Maya, Kai and the musicians, and Jay and Nya. Jay keeps trying to awkwardly flirt with Nya, who actually doesn’t realize that he’s flirting bc she’s worried about her family and focused on getting out of the caves. They find the crystal path thing when their last torch either burns out or gets dropped and snuffed out. Kai and the hippies befriend the badgermoles. Garm and Maya, who were thoroughly done with this whole lovers cave adventure, used their bending and Ultras help to brute-force their way out (the badgermoles fix the cave later).

They get to Omashu, but it’s been taken over by the Fire Nation and the earthbender they were there to find was taken captive by the Fire Nation and sent to an earthbender prison. They have their first run-in with Harumi, Skylor, and Akita.

They have their little swamp adventure, they have some not-fun visions. Garm sees his dad (which scares the crap out of him), Maya sees her dead mother, Kai sees Zane, idk who Nya sees (mb Ray I guess? She misses him but he isn’t like, dead or anything so it might work?), or who Jay sees either (his birth parents I guess? That could be part of a character arc) and Lloyd gets a vision of his earthbending teacher. Y’all can probably guess who it’s gonna be, but I don’t wanna spoil it right now. And you know that one swampbender who bent the water in the vines to make a big plant monster? That’s Bolobo, the EM of Nature.

That Avatar Day adventure happens. Lloyd tries out that free lesson at the earthbending school, and they go to Earth Rumble 6. Kai gets way too invested in this underground fight club. Karloff is The Boulder, nuff said. And the reigning champion, whose stage name I haven’t decided on is Cole. Now, here’s the thing: I don’t want to make Cole blind just bc Toph was, but I do love the whole ‘listening to the earth’s vibrations to become a powerful earthbending master’ thing. So here’s Coles deal. His father is a rich and famous performer, and his mother was killed in an accident (possibly Fire Nation related, possibly not) that lead to Cole losing his legs (below the knees). He was just learning how to earthbend when it happened.

Something I’ve noticed in A:TLA is that earthbenders seem to use their legs and feet much more than other benders, with strong stances and stomping moves to connect to the earth. So to an earthbender losing their legs, losing their way to connect to the earth, would probably be one hell of an obstacle to work around. Cole’s father used his wealth to get Cole some nice prosthetics (Sparky Sparky Boom Man had two prosthetics, so I know they exist in the avatar world. Coles aren’t intimidating metal ones with some kind of mechanism to move like a real foot) but they don’t allow him to feel the earth like he needs to. So he painstakingly makes himself some new prosthetics. It looks like he’s just got bulky boots made out of stone, but Cole spent years working to be able to feel the earth’s vibrations through these prosthetics, to the point that he could be blindfolded and still be able to ‘see’ and earthbend fairly well. He can even get them to move like their his real limbs a little bit.

He can’t move with as much speed and agility, but he makes up for that by being a freaking powerhouse. But Cole can’t wear his earth prosthetics for super long periods of time bc he had no idea how to actually make them comfortable and make it so they don’t damage his stumps after long periods (after he joins Team Avatar Jay and Nya help him combine his professionally made prosthetics with his earthbending ones so he can wear them full time). Lou had become very protective of Cole after the accident, which is why Cole started participating in Earth Rumble 6.

Things go similarly to cannon, Cole shows his dad how powerful he is as an earthbender, and while Lou does ban Cole from going with Team Avatar at first, he actually does change his mind and let Cole go with them. He even sees them off. It’s a sweet moment.

So what have Wu and Morro been doing? Traveling, dealing with the occasional rude fellow traveler, and getting seperated in a storm turned flash flood. Team Avatar also get split up in this storm turned flash flood, Garm, Cole, and Jay get separated from everyone, including each other. This leads to Maya, Kai, Nya and Lloyd flying Ultra around in a small area to search for them, and makes it really easy for a tank occupied by three dangerous girls to track them for a good two days, leading to some mild sleep deprivation. (Dragons don’t shed fur, so that’s my fix for that bc I really like “The Chase” and wanted to include it)

Morro was looking for Wu, but finds Harumi and starts following her (he’s hoping that she might lead him to Wu, or that Wu might start following Harumi and they’ll run into each other, or smthn. And if he’s able to catch the Avatar there’s a chance that he and Wu will be forgiven by the Firelord. He’s not banking on it, but it might work). Jay and Cole find each other, and then run into Wu, who was looking for Morro. Maya and the kids split up to cover more ground and to try and to try and lose the tank and the girls. Lloyd goes one way, Kai and Nya go in another, and Maya takes Ultra to find a place for him to nap.

Harumi follows Lloyd’s trail, and Skylor and Akita go after Kai and Nya. Meanwhile, Cole and Jay have some tea and conversation with Wu. No idea what the conversation is about, but it gets cut short when Garm finds them and tells Jay and Cole to get away from Wu. There’s a bit of a stand-off, since Garm doesn’t trust Wu and hasn’t read his letter yet, and Wu is getting a little frustrated at his brothers stubbornness, (and is wondering how he keeps collecting children) even though he does understand why Garm would be cautious around him.

They work together to find a trail, have some awkward small talk, the brothers start to reconnect a little bit, meet up with Kai and Nya (who fought off Skylor and Akita), and they all go after Lloyd and Harumi. They find them in a three-way fight with Harumi, and Morro is going all out with his airbending for the first time in his life. Everyone gangs up on Harumi and corner her, and when she notices Garm is a bit distracted trying to subtly check on Lloyd, she tries to fire an attack at him-

-only for Wu to push him out of the way and take the hit. Wu goes down, hard, and everyone attacks Harumi, but she gets away. Morro blows Garm away away when he tries to get to Wu, calling Wu his father for the first time, and he kicks up a wind storm to keep them away. Maya shows up on Ultra, who got enough of a nap to fly for a few hours and let everyone get some much needed rest. Everyone that is, except Garm, who finally sits down to read his brothers letter...

[recentanimenews]

FEATURE SERIES: My Favorite One Piece Arc with Maffew

  I love One Piece and I love talking to people who love One Piece. And with the series going on 23 years now, there is a whole lot to talk about. As the series is about to publish its 1000th chapter, a true feat in and of itself, we thought we should reflect upon the high-seas adventure and sit down with some notable names in the One Piece fan community and chat about the arcs they found to be especially important, or just ones they really, really liked.

  Welcome to the next article in the series "My Favorite One Piece Arc!"

  My next guest in this series is Maffew, creator of the popular pro wrestling web series Botchamania. For my chat with him, he chose the Alabasta Arc, in which Luffy and his crew not only have to save a desert kingdom but also topple Baroque Works and its powerful leader Crocodile.

  A note on spoilers: If you haven't seen the Alabasta arc yet, this interview does contain major plot points. Watch the Alabasta arc starting RIGHT HERE if you'd like to catch up or rewatch!

    Dan Dockery: So I guess my first basic question is, let’s say for some reason, I got to the end of Drum Island and I said “Well, One Piece ends here for me. This seems like a good finale.” What would you tell me to keep me going into the Alabasta Arc in one sentence?

  Maffew: Well, after Chopper has made all the kids cry, you’ll need pickin’ up.

  That’s pretty good! What was the impetus for you getting into One Piece? What made you want to jump into an anime that’s nearly one thousand episodes long at this point?

  I think I tried watching it on YouTube back in 2009, and I just couldn’t get into it. At that point in my life, I wasn’t ready for a character like Luffy and his adventures, and I couldn’t wait for the villains he fought to kill him. So I dropped it. A year later, I’m in Germany and this wrestler ACH was doing a Q&A panel for this German wrestling organization called WXW. And ACH is a REALLY big One Piece fan, and even dresses up as Luffy in New Japan and Ring of Honor. And I was like “Hey, you watching JoJo?” because that was my thing at the time, and he was like “No, no. Just One Piece.” I said, “What else are you watching?” “Just One Piece.” And I’m like “Wait, what? Just the one?” But he was sellin’ it to me like he was a One Piece ad on QVC. And guys like Steve Yurko are so passionate about it, and if one person tells ya to watch something, you’re like “Eh, whatever,” but if five people tell you, you start to pay attention. So I’m gonna blame ACH and my good friend Steve Yurko for this.

    What do you like about this arc in particular?

  You get so much wonderful worldbuilding. They go to Alabasta, meet up with Mr. 2, and it’s one of those cool interactions where they’re meeting, but they don’t know who they are meeting exactly, like when they meet Blackbeard in Jaya. So later on, they’re like “Oh, it’s THEM!” There’s a real sense of everything not being really pre-determined at this point. It’s building everything through a bunch of pirates just doing stuff. Ace shows up, knocks out some assassins so he can get his royalty checks.

  That’s such a funny way to put it.

  Then we get Kung-Fu Dugongs, and they’re a pretty pure expression of One Piece. They’re all synchronized, they’re adorable, they play their part amid all the serious stuff, and they’re completely ridiculous, but they work anyway. And it’s with Alabasta that Eiichiro Oda starts to perfect the tropes that he puts into place throughout, with the new islands, the new leader who everyone loves but is actually a bad person, the crew having to deal with him and the Navy, them having to help put someone back in their position, etc. And even though, on paper, it reads like “Well, he’s gotta beat this dude and this dude and this dude,” it’s so much more chaotic and less formulaic than you’d expect. It keeps things interesting. 

  I agree. I like how he takes all of these pieces and he’s consistent with them, but Oda always plays around with how he sets them up.

    But it’s all a foot massage before the real reason to watch Alabasta: Sir Croc. 

  Are you a big fan of him? That dude is so cool, conniving and powerful. He’s kinda the perfect villain. 

  Back when I was being miserable and first watching One Piece, I really liked him. I like the design, the sand powers that could actually pose a threat. I always appreciate it when a villain provides actual tension. It’s like why I think Goldeneye is still the best James Bond film. Because Alec Trevelyan is constantly reminding Bond “Remember, I could kill you. I’m from the same place as you. I can take your exploding watch and just, eh, I’ll stop that then. Thank you.” And Luffy loses twice to him in the three-match structure that really works here as it did for wrestling in the 70s.

  How so?

  So you’d have somebody like champion Bruno Sammartino and someone like Ivan Koloff or one of the Wild Samoans or Stan Stasiak. They’d have one match where the hero would beat Bruno by disqualification. Bruno’s still around to fight, but he’s lost. Luffy survives being thrown in the sand, but he’s been beaten. Then they have the second match, where Bruno would win because the villain would just give up and leave and get counted out. Luffy attacks Crocodile with water, but it’s not enough, and Crocodile just kinda leaves Luffy thinking it’s all done. And then Bruno would be like “Oh no ya don’t. Next time, you won’t be able to escape, because we’re gonna be in a cage match.” And then Bruno wins, just like Luffy wins by punching Crocodile up through that giant enclosed space. He escapes the cage.

      It’s just so satisfying and that’s a great way to describe it. So, villains in the series have had extensive crew members before, but they haven’t been as recognizable and colorful as Croc’s crew, Baroque Works. Do you have a favorite member?

  They’re all good in their own way, but at this point, I’m gonna go with Mr. 2. Eh, that’s probably too obvious an answer…

  Mr. 2 is a lot of people’s favorite member. 

  Oh, who cares. I’ll go with Mr. 2. I like how Mr. 2 interacts with everyone, having fun with the boys and fighting Sanji with kicks but respecting him. 

  So, in this arc, there’s a lot of government intrigue and a revolution is about to happen, and everyone’s dissatisfied with their perception of the monarchy. How did you react to all of this political drama in One Piece? 

  Well, it’s great because you have Vivi, and you get to learn her motivations and because she’s on the crew, it gives you a reason to care for the crew and how all of the political intrigue affects them. Without her, you’d just hear about a war and say “Oh, sorry about that. Hope it goes well.” And with all this lore being thrown at you because you have Vivi and that connection, it’s adding to the main conflict, rather than distracting.

  Yeah, Vivi really grounds it all with a personal attachment. Because otherwise it’s just savin’ the kingdom, which is cool and they’re good for it, but it doesn’t have the same impact. So, they did this back in the Arlong Park arc, but what returns here is the kind of 1 vs 1 match structure, where a member or members of the enemy crew are matched up against a Straw Hat or Hats. Mr. 1 has knife body parts, so he’s obviously gonna fight Zoro. Mr. 2 kicks and Sanji kicks, etc. What do you think about that kind of matchmaking, because it’s also a little wrestling-esque.

    Yeah, right, like if you have D-Generation X fighting the Nation of Domination, you can’t just have The Rock fighting Triple H. Ya gotta have D’Lo Brown vs X-Pac and The Godfather vs Billy Gunn. I like it because the characters feel like they have to prove themselves, like Zoro’s a swordsman, and he’s gotta test himself against another swordsman. And Usopp does it when he fights Mr. 4 and Miss Merry Christmas with Chopper, because they have a weird dynamic and they’re fighting two people and they have no clue what they’re up against. 

  So, at the end of the arc, they do the iconic “We can’t let Vivi become associated with pirates so we’ll hold up the X symbols on our arms in solidarity” pose. What did you think about that? Because it’s one of the most famous images in One Piece, and it’s hard to avoid it, even if you’ve never watched the series. Was that your first time seeing it?

  It actually was. And I’m glad you brought this up because I was watching it and I thought “Wait, they’re just going? They’re not even keeping the duck?” And then they do that with the X and the original opening starts playing and I get goosebumps just remembering it. That really hit me. Because it finally got me really emotionally invested in the series. Made me feel a bit cheeky. 

      ONE PIECE LIGHTNING ROUND!

  So, considering you’re such a huge pro wrestling fan, your lightning round is gonna be a bit different. I’m gonna say a Straw Hat that’s in the crew at this point and you tell me which wrestler they’re the most like. You can also tell me what time period they’d fit the most in, since wrestler personalities tend to change. So, Luffy?

  Gotta be Cena. Specifically? With Luffy’s attitude? Probably 2015 defending-the-United States-Championship John Cena.

  Zoro?

  He’s all business, he likes to fight. So I gotta go with Cesaro.

  Sanji?

  Going with Eddie Guerrero.

  Usopp?

  That character is all over wrestling - the underdog who isn’t very good and uses every trick in the book to win. Gonna go with MJF. He had one of my favorite matches of this year against Cody Rhodes and he just had to use EVERYTHING to beat him - brass knuckles, distraction, chairs, everything he could to get that win. But he could be MJF, could be The Miz, could be Mikey Whipwreck from ECW, take your pick.

  Nami?

  Hmmm. Becky Lynch. 

  Chopper?

  KeMonito 

  Robin?

  Oh, she shows up after being booed for ages and you’re supposed to like her, so 2019 Charlotte Flair.

      Stay tuned for the next installment of "My Favorite One Piece Arc" as we speak with One Piece's official English manga translator Stephen Paul on his favorite One Piece arc: Skypiea!!

      Daniel Dockery is a Senior Staff Writer for Crunchyroll. Follow him on Twitter!

  Do you love writing? Do you love anime? If you have an idea for a features story, pitch it to Crunchyroll Features!

By: Daniel Dockery

[thecorpulentbeagle]

Okujima Week 2020: Coffee

Today’s topic is “Coffee”. Those of you who read my Okujima Week 2019 Challenge fanfiction might remember that I promised to do a continuation of the date proposed in the “First Date” prompt if there was a 2020 version of this challenge. Well, it’s time to put my money where my mouth is!

And if you haven’t read that previous prompt, no worries! You will be able to read this without that context and understand what’s going on, as I will explain any references/give a brief background of what happened. But definitely feel free to read it and come back to this if you’d like.

Here is the fanfiction.net link.

Please enjoy this fifth part of the Okujima Week 2020 Challenge!

As always: THIS STORY WILL NOT CONTAIN SPOILERS FOR PERSONA 5 ROYAL, BUT WILL CONTAIN SPOILERS FOR PERSONA 5.

Okujima Week 2020 Challenge:

Only the Beginning:

Coffee

-Makoto-

“A date… with Haru… I can handle this! Right?”

Thoughts (and doubts) like these raced through Makoto’s mind as the two seniors stepped off of the subway that had just pulled into the station.

Makoto had asked Haru on said date just yesterday. After making a bet with Ann and Ryuji, Makoto had been forced to, as they had called it “make a move” on her crush. She had been extremely nervous, and had actually asked Haru on more of a friendly outing. She’d been content to leave it at that, but Haru, ever perceptive, had deduced that Makoto was really attempting to ask the gardener out on a date.

Once the two had confessed attraction to each other, Makoto had been floating on a cloud. All of her nerves had drifted away, and a bubbly feeling of giddiness had taken its place. They had held hands in the Student Council Office for a few minutes before parting and promising to meet again the next day.

When Makoto had arrived home, the feeling of happiness began to change into one of apprehension. She had thought that confessing would be the hardest part, but now she had to actually go through with the date!

Seeing as the girl had never been on one, she thought furiously about what she should consider.

“My appearance should be planned first, I suppose,” she had mused aloud to herself, seeing as Sae was out working late.

She had entered her room and turned to her closet, trying on multiple outfits before ultimately settling on what she usually wore as casual wear when the weather turned cold. A blue jacket with a black turtleneck underneath, black pants, and brown boots that came up to just below her knees. It was a simple outfit, but one that was comfortable and elegant enough to be considered “first-date” attire. She hoped.

Makoto wanted to look nice, but not like a completely different person. Haru always tried to make Makoto feel comfortable in her own skin, which was one reason Makoto cared for the girl so much. She wanted her choice in outfit to reflect this trust.

By the time Makoto had decided on her outfit, she realized that she had a mountain of homework that she would need to complete, seeing as she wouldn’t have time to do it tomorrow. She had taken one last look at the outfit she laid out for herself before striding over to her desk, hoping formulas and equations would distract her from thinking about tomorrow.

After thinking back to everything that had brought her to this moment, Makoto took a few steps away from the subway before turning to look at her companion. Upon seeing what Haru had decided to wear, Makoto was instantly glad about her own decision of apparel.

Haru was wearing what she normally wore for cold-weather outings as well. A light blue coat with a fluffy white collar, followed by a pink skirt, white leggings, and brown shoes. It was a look that really suited her, and Makoto had to make sure that she didn’t stare too long.

It seemed that Haru had noticed her looking, however, as the girl smiled at her and said, “Ready to go, Mako-chan?”

Makoto nodded back and smiled shyly. “Of course.”

The two turned and walked side-by-side towards the exit. Even though it would be nice to hold hands, Makoto was far too nervous for public displays of affection just yet. The two weren’t really even “together” yet, as this was their first date. Of course, Makoto hoped that it would be the first of many.

Haru seemed to sense this, as she did not make any attempt to hold onto Makoto, for which the other girl was grateful.

Once the two made it out into the streets of Yongen-Jaya, they continued to walk down the road without pausing to get their bearings, seeing as they made their way here quite often to meet up at the Phantom Thieves’ headquarters at LeBlanc.

As they made their way past the familiar café, Makoto saw that Futaba was crouched outside of the building, tapping something out on her phone. Makoto gulped. She had hoped the two would be able to sneak past the café without running into any of their friends. Not that she didn’t enjoy seeing or spending time with the rest of the Phantom Thieves, but the student council president wasn’t quite ready for the group to know what was potentially blossoming between the two seniors. Other than the two blondes who already knew of course.

As the two passed by the café, Makoto saw the younger girl look up from her phone and make eye contact with Makoto, instantly giving her a toothy smile. Makoto couldn’t help but smile in return, though internally, she was panicking.

“Makoto! Haru! What’s up you guys?” Futaba pocketed her phone and stood up, giving the two of them a quick salute.

“Futaba. It’s lovely to see you!” Haru walked over to the girl, giving her a small wave.

“Hello, Futaba,” Makoto replied, hoping her voice remained steady as she too walked over.

“Whatcha two doin’? Going to the batting cages?” Futaba winked at them, knowing that the only person who really seemed into that was Akira.

“We’re actually about to see a movie at the theater,” Haru answered.

“Oooh!” Futaba smiled, and for a moment, Makoto wondered if the hacker had figured them out.

“I’m pretty bored. And there was a really cool sci-fi flick that just opened up here. We could all see it together!” It turned out that Futaba was on the completely wrong track.

“Well, uh…” Makoto fumbled for a response. The last thing she wanted to do was discourage Futaba from doing things in public with friends, but she couldn’t exactly join them. How awkward would a date be if the third person had no idea that she was being a third-wheel?

Luckily, Makoto was saved from answering as the door to LeBlanc swung open to reveal Akira, who looked at them all curiously. “I didn’t tell you guys that we were having a meeting, did I?” He scratched the back of his head, looking worried.

“Nah. I was just hanging out here until you decided to show up, and I saw Haru and Makoto passing by.” Futaba gestured towards the two, both of whom smiled at Akira.

“Good.” He breathed a sigh of relief. “It’s hard to keep track sometimes. It feels like all these days are blurring together.” He straightened his glasses, which had been slightly askew. “Probably not enough sleep.”

“Sleep is for the weak!” Futaba proclaimed, smacking him on the back. He coughed.

“Anyway, what’s the occasion?” Akira asked once he recovered.

“We’re going to see a movie,” Makoto answered quickly. She hoped he wouldn’t ask which one. The two girls had decided on a rom-com, seeing as that was generally a light-hearted affair and matched the tone for a date. Haru didn’t mind action movies, but Makoto knew she wasn’t particularly keen on them, and she wanted them both to have a good time. Makoto had vetoed the newest horror film instantly, not wanting Haru to see her crying and whimpering. That would not be a good look for a first date.

However, announcing that would probably lead to a lot of questions, so Makoto offered no details.

“Wanna go with ‘em, Akira?” Futaba asked.

Akira looked at Makoto. She saw that he was thinking deeply about something, and she wondered if he had picked up on what was going on. After a few moments, she saw him smile. “That sounds like a good time. I’m gonna have to pass though.” He turned to Futaba. “I was actually thinking of going to Akihabara. They’ve got some new controllers that come in a rainbow design.” He wrapped an arm around Futaba’s shoulders and gave her a squeeze. “Want to come with me? My treat.”

“Really?” Futaba looked up at the boy, starry-eyed. Makoto couldn’t help but chuckle at the sight.

“Yeah.” Akira looked back to Makoto and winked at her. She blushed slightly. How was it that Akira always knew everything?

“Well I can’t say no to free tech. We’ll have to meet up some other time, you two!” Futaba practically dragged Akira to the subway station, the two disappearing down the street in no time.

“So you’d rather not have anyone know about us at the moment?” Makoto looked at Haru to see that she was giving her an easy smile.

Makoto laughed nervously. “You make it sound like a bad thing.”

“That’s not how I meant it! Really, Mako-chan.” She blushed. “I’m fine with not letting any of our friends know for now either. We’ll become a hot topic of discussion once it comes out, and I’d like to spend some quiet moments with you before that happens.”

Makoto signaled her agreement. She had to admit, seeing Haru blush was rather adorable. And the fact that she wanted to spend some plural “moments” with Makoto made her heart beat faster.

“I’m not sure how long we’ll have. It seems like Akira already has an idea.”

“So you saw that too?” Haru giggled. “I think you’re right, but he’s pretty good with keeping secrets. I’m sure he won’t tell anyone until we’re comfortable with it.”

Makoto thought back to how this date had even become a possibility. She wasn’t so much worried about Akira spilling the beans. It was that knew that Ann and Ryuji had trouble keeping secrets sometimes – she’d found out about the Phantom Thieves in the first place from Ryuji’s excited phone call to Akira after all.

But she didn’t want to share that this was part of a “bet” with Haru. Makoto figured that the gardener would definitely take it the wrong way if she told her. Besides, Makoto couldn’t care less at the moment what brought up this opportunity. She was excited to be spending quality time with Haru, and delighted to see that she felt similarly.

“I hope you’re right.” Makoto gestured down the street. “Let’s go. After that little detour, we might be late.”

“I highly doubt that! You’re always so punctual. And we left with plenty of time.” Haru turned back in the direction of the theater and started walking, with Makoto next to her side.

“Well then, that’s more time that I can spend with you,” Makoto blurted out. Though it was true, Makoto could feel herself cringe internally at how cliché that had sounded.

That feeling increased exponentially as she watched Haru’s face turn slightly red. What made it worse was that Haru said nothing in return.

“I… uh sorry. Was that… too much?” It took all of Makoto’s willpower to not slap her hand to her forehead in embarrassment.

“N-No. That’s not…” Haru took a breath to compose herself. “I’m just… not used to someone being so… forthright about wanting to spend time with me.”

“Really? But who wouldn’t want to?”

“Well, it’s not so much people not wanting to be around me, and more why they want to.” Haru sighed. “I’m used to people pretending to be close to me to gain access to my father. It’s… been that way for a while now.”

“Oh…” Makoto didn’t know what to say. She hadn’t even been thinking when she had made that comment, and now her thoughtlessness was causing Haru undue worry and stress.

“But when you say it…” Haru turned to look at Makoto. “You sound so… sincere. So honest. It makes me really happy.”

“Oh?” Great. Now she was just saying the same word over and over again. This first date was not going well at all, was it?

Haru seemed to find the situation funny at least. She giggled at Makoto’s response. “I suppose I shouldn’t have brought it up. What I mean is… I appreciate what you said. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” Though Haru had bumbled her way through her explanation, Makoto understood what she was trying to say. Haru had to analyze every interaction in her life to see if there was a hidden agenda. That sounded like it was exhausting.

Not sure what else to say, the couple walked the rest of the way to the movie theater in silence. The silence itself wasn’t necessarily uncomfortable, so Makoto decided to let it be for now.

The two entered the building and made their way over to the box office to get their tickets. The cashier asked which film, and Makoto pointed to the rom-com that the two wanted to see. She hoped the boy wouldn’t put two and two together.

She reached into her purse to retrieve the money for the tickets. The two exchanged.

Makoto handed one to Haru. “Here you are.”

She smiled as she took it. “Thank you.”

They walked over to have their tickets checked before walking by concessions.

“Ah. Would you like to get some popcorn? Maybe a drink to… share? If that’s okay?” Makoto wasn’t sure how this should work. The two had spent time together before today, of course, and had seen movies in this very theater.

When they did though, it had almost always been in the context of a Phantom Thieves friendly gathering, where everyone would share popcorn, drinks, snacks, and candy. Makoto usually shared with either Haru or Ann, but now that she could potentially be going steady with the former… she wasn’t sure if this sharing had more of a suggestive or inappropriate context now.

“It’s definitely okay, Mako-chan!” Haru giggled. “In fact, why don’t I pay for it, since you paid for the tickets? It’s only fair, after all.”

Makoto nodded. “That works for me.”

Haru smiled. “Great! I know the perfect snack to purchase!”

“Oh?” Makoto walked over to the counter, Haru next to her.

“Yes. I had some chocolate-covered coffee beans the last time I came here.” Haru ordered the snack, in addition to some popcorn and soda. “It’s sweet and bitter at the same time. It’s a real treat!”

“I see.” Makoto had to admit, she was curious. If Haru’s glowing reviews were anything to go by, she was sure that the treat would be delicious.

As Haru paid for the food and drink, Makoto took hold of the popcorn, not wanting Haru to have to carry it all. Haru took the rest, and the two made their way to their theater.

When they arrived, they decided to sit a little bit further in the back so that they could remain relatively undisturbed. As they took their seats and made themselves comfortable, Makoto began to worry.

Now that they were sitting, what exactly was she supposed to do? Should she just watch the movie? Should she make some kind of move? Was it too early to do so? If not, what sort of move should she consider?

She was interrupted in her thoughts by Haru shaking the candy box in front of her face. “Would you like some?” she asked quietly, not wanting to disturb the other patrons.

Makoto relaxed. This was just like other outings she’d had with Haru. She should just act like her usual self. “Yes please.” She reached her hand into the box, pulling out some of the beans. She tossed them into her mouth.

The initial texture was creamy, but as she bit down, she felt the crunch of the bean. The chocolate and the coffee mixed together well, though she noticed that the bean left a gritty residue as she swallowed it. She took a sip of the soda.

“How is it?” Haru was looking at her expectantly.

“Pretty good.” Makoto smiled. “Thank you for suggesting it.”

Haru nodded, popping a few into her mouth. “I’ll try my best not to eat it all.”

The two laughed.

A few minutes later, the movie began. Makoto was curious to see how it would be. With most rom-coms, she either enjoyed them or thought them to be completely cheesy and unrealistic. Either way, she usually got a good laugh or two out of them.

Makoto took a glance around at the other movie patrons, and saw that the theater was mostly populated by couples. One such couple in front of her seemed to be cuddling together, with the boy kissing the girl on the cheek.

Should… Was Haru expecting that from Makoto? She shook her head to rid herself of that thought. Those two could have been girlfriend and boyfriend, maybe even having dated for years. Right?

She looked to see what Haru was doing. Watching the film. Which was normal. Why wasn’t she watching it herself, again?

She went back to the film, hoping the few lines of dialogue she had missed weren’t crucial to the plot.

A few minutes passed, and Makoto started getting into the film. It wasn’t too cheesy, and the leads appeared to have great chemistry.

“Mako-chan?”

“Hm?” Makoto looked over to see Haru offering her some more chocolate. “I wasn’t kidding about eating all of these myself. Please, have some more before it’s gone.”

“Sure.” Makoto reached out her hand and Haru leaned over to pour some into her palm.

She tossed them into her mouth, relishing in the distinct flavor again.

“Hm…” Instead of moving back into her original position, Haru continued to lean further until she was resting her head on Makoto’s shoulder.

Her action surprised Makoto so much that she choked a bit on the food she was eating. Luckily, she was able to ingest it without incident, but once she recovered, she focused on the warmth that she was feeling from Haru.

She wondered if the other girl was comfortable, laying her head on Makoto’s shoulder. She should… reciprocate in some way, right?

Makoto slowly lifted up her arm, carefully draping it around Haru’s shoulders. This seemed to be the right move, as Haru snuggled closer without Makoto’s arm blocking her. She nuzzled into the space between her shoulder and her neck.

Makoto was glad for the relative darkness of the theater, as she could feel the heat radiating off of her face. She wondered if Haru was feeling something similar.

The two spent the rest of the film in this position. Makoto wondered if this might mean that this would lead to a second date, and maybe a third, and then, many more after that?

But it seemed that she was getting ahead of herself. For now, she resolved to enjoy the most out of this date as she could. And if it led to something more, she would deal with it then.

She couldn’t wait.

--

Woohoo! First date fanfic complete!

When I wrote the prequel to this last year, I wasn’t sure what their first date would entail. I spent some time wondering what I would do, and then the prompt of Coffee turned me in this direction. I’ve had these chocolate-covered coffee beans myself, and they are delicious!

Anyway, hope that you enjoyed. See you tomorrow!

[oldtumblhurgoyf]

Lauren Orsini wants to kiss a cat man and that’s wrong*

Here’s a ranking of All 36 'Magic: The Gathering' War of the Spark Planeswalkers Ranked By Dateability in Forbes no less. But it’s so terribly wrong. Here’s my Empirically Correct List of Planeswalkers Ranked By Dateability.

*this is all very silly and Orsini’s list is fine, I’m sure... for her.

36-28 Undateable

36 and 35. Tie between Gideon Jura and Domri Rade (with an honorable mention to Dack Fayden).

Dudes are all literally dead. Sorry, but I’m not dating a corpse. Also, before Gideon’s death, he was running himself ragged hopping from plane to plane to save the world. He didn’t have the time for a relationship. Domri is an obnoxious child (emphasis on child too). Of the three, Dack had the most potential but even alive he’d be lucky to break the top 20 of my list. Good for a few fun weekends and that’s probably it. Tempting to hope your love could reform him but that’s just a good way to have your heart stolen.

34. Nicol Bolas

He’s downright evil and self-centered to an unfathomable degree. Hard pass, no thank you. Literally no redeeming qualities.

33. Ob Nixilis

The obvious date for him is someone into BDSM, right? Wrong. He’s not going to respect your boundaries or practice good after care. He’ll use and abuse you for what he wants and then probably murder you. That’s not a date.

32. Dovin Baan

This dude’s whole deal is that he sees the flaws in everything. He’d probably outright refuse to date and if not, he’d constantly be nitpicking your relationship and you. There’s probably a decent amount of built up angst and stuff and if he ever cut loose there could be some fun, but it would be very fleeting and comes at too great a cost (months later thinking “what did he mean by ‘your forehead is adequate, but your nose is not the ideal shape’?”).

31. Tibalt

See Ob Nixilis. Kind of crazy how similar these two are.

30. Ashiok

We don’t know a whole lot about them, but I’m envisioning they’re like Ob Nixilis/Tibalt except it’s all mental/psychological harm. It’s Dovin Baan but instead of an ostensible pursuit of perfection, the mental anguish is its own reward.

29. Ugin

Like dating a dad, but a really boring dad. And like any other dragon, he’s still very full of himself, he’s just a little more subtle about it. Besides, apparently you’d do all your dating in the Prison Realm and Bolas would be there trying to ruin your (already pretty miserable) date as some small payback for being trapped.

28. Sorin Markov

Things will be okay, but he gives me weird unwanted daddy vibes and he’s just going to ghost you anyway.

27-19 Redeeming Qualities, Not Long-Term Material

27.  The Wanderer

Not much to go on here but we do know she’s gonna ghost you though probably not voluntarily.

26.  Teyo Verada

He seems nice enough but he’s pretty young and super naive. He’s got some things to figure out and some growing to do before you’d want to date him.

25. Jiang Yanggu

What I said for Teyo goes for Yanggu as well. Plus side, every date with him there is a really cute pupper coming along.

24. Kaya

She’s giving me Gideon vibes. I think she’d be more fun than Gids, but she’s too devoted to her career to have time for a relationship.

23. Teferi

It’s a common refrain I’m running into here, but Teferi is also too dedicated to his job to make for a good relationship. Additionally he’s got lifetimes of experiences that make him “The Most Interesting Man in the Multiverse” and you’re always going to feel like a second fiddle to him, not an equal. This is a case where he’s almost too perfect.

22. Jaya

Jaya’s got distinct mother vibes for me. There’s just no way I could see a date with her that isn’t weird. It wouldn’t even be a bad date per se, but it’s not gonna happen.

21. Samut

I’m intimidated by Samut. I mean, who wouldn’t be? She’s been through Amonkhet’s trials and stood ready in front of Hazoret’s spear. That’s such a singular dedication that few others can match. I think I’d shrivel in front of her love.

20. Kiora

She’s a playful trickster and kind of flighty. You’ve got one good date with her and then maybe a follow up fling at some point, but there’s no building a relationship here. I mean, unless you’re really lucky, but I wouldn’t count on it.

19. Karn

Karn’s got plenty going for him. He’s done some really interesting stuff, he’s motivated, and deeply invested even if he doesn’t always show it. He can certainly show you a lot of cool things. But long term the lack of humanity creates distance and problems.

18-10 A Good Time, Let’s See How it Works Out

19. Liliana Vess

She’s a toss up to me at this point. She’s been through a whole helluva lot and this is the point where she could go completely good, or take her get out of demon-contract-death jail free card and double down on all her worst attributes. She’ll be a fun date, you just can’t be sure it should be more than that.

17. Angrath

Dude’s super dedicated to his family but he gets incredibly frustrated and pretty damn easily. His name’s literally angry wrath so you kind of have to expect that. If you think going to a dive bar and getting into a fight with a biker is a good date then Angrath is going to be a fun time.

16. Vivien Reid

Maybe I just haven’t been paying a whole lot of attention, but I know less about Vivien Reid than any other planeswalker on this list I think (which is wild when you consider exactly how little we know about the Wanderer or Kasmina). But as the Steve Irwin of the multiverse, there’s no way this date isn’t fun. You’ve just perhaps bitten off more than you can chew.

15. Ajani Goldmane

Ajani is a total sweetheart who will care for you like no other. The flip side of that is he is always pushing you to be your better self and, hon, that’s just a little much for me. Like can’t we just stay in and cuddle for once? I do NOT want to go to the gym again this week.

14. Arlinn Kord

Unlike Jaya, I don’t have mom vibes here. She’s a good looking lady who definitely seems to be here for a good time. 

13. Huatli

This one is totally an “it’s not you, it’s me situation.” She’s so big on community and sharing stories--I’m more of a homebody. There’s nothing wrong exactly, we just won’t be compatible, I don’t think. But somebody out there is, and the two of you will get along famously. Another list would totally rank her as marriage material.

12. Narset

This is another case of such dedication and perfectionism that I just don’t think I could measure up in a relationship with her. She’ll come home from exploring the multiverse and meditation and combat training and reading ancient scrolls to find all I’ve done is take out the trash and do some dishes before playing some games and... not be disappointed exactly, but it won’t inspire respect and desire in her. Another one where there’s incredible potential there... for the right person.

11. Kasmina

Mysterious as she is, I’m getting young Jaya vibes from Kasmina. Not as in, when Jaya was actually young and all fiery temper and stuff. But rather, current Jaya without the creepy (to me) mom vibes. There’s potential here but so much mystery it’s impossible to say for sure without taking a chance.

10. Nahiri

I can’t imagine anyone I’d have a better single date with. Like a real good time. She’s planned it out perfectly and she’s ready to go. It might not last, but you’ll enjoy it while it does. Keep the lines of communication clear, respect boundaries, and be aware she can hold a grudge, and I think this actually has a chance.

9-1 Marriage Material

9. Jace Beleren

He’s sort of what I see Yanggu or Teyo needing. He’s done that growing and learning and he’s a pretty solid guy. He’s learned a lot of lessons the hard way but he’s definitely better for it.

8. Tamiyo

She’s literally married and raising kids in a happy home. The potential is there (if we ignore her canon marriage and assume she is available to date), not to mention her chosen career of essentially multiverse astronomer is pretty damn cool and relatively safe compared to what these other planeswalkers have devoted themselves to. (Sure, there’s Innistrad and Emrakul, but I imagine most planes’ moons are much safer to observe than that.)

7. Sarkhan Vol

Like Jace, he’s worked through a lot and is a pretty awesome person because of it. Unlike Jace, he’s been attractive the whole time. He’s tender and vibrant and aware and just cool as all hell. Bringing him home would be like dating Brendan Frasier in his prime.

6. Vraska

Downside to Vraska is that she’s pretty clique-ish and suspect of anyone from outside her group. Her views have expanded recently, but I think she’s still going to put up a rock hard exterior. If you can chisel your way through that then you’ve got a heart of gold.

5. Davriel Cane

Forget the demon contracts and all that nonsense. What this guy wants deep down is to just be left alone. Let’s retire to a nice estate on the countryside and enjoy our time together.

4. Saheeli Rai

Creative and inspiring, Saheeli is an absolute sweetheart. And she’s dedicated to a craft that she can do at home. She doesn’t have go trooping about the multiverse on dangerous missions without you. She can work on amazing marvels in her workshop then come next door to take you out for ice cream.

3. Nissa Revane

Nissa is a bit aloof and distant, but don’t let that fool you. She’s nurturing in every way you could want and then some. She’s great if you can get past that stoic exterior.

2. Ral Zarek

Ral’s more romantic than I ever woulda thought. He’s dedicated and thoughtful, but not so stuffy that things get boring. Actually the biggest detractor here is that things will never be boring with Ral, but he’ll make it worth your while to stick beside him through it all.

1. Chandra Nalaar

Full of warmth and passion, Chandra’s got what it takes to make the strongest connection. And she’s another character who has made some incredible personal growth recently. She’s ready to take the next step with someone special and if that were you, the two of you are in for a long-burning love.

[vorthosthewillis]

Gatewatch Predictions for War: Oaths or no Oaths, that is the question.

Who (if anyone) is joining the Gatewatch during WAR?

Recently Maro gave one of his infamous ‘maybes’ to whether or not there would be Oaths in WAR, and that got me thinking. See, with 36 planeswalkers in the set, they obviously have to have a significant portion of the set care about them (either to buff or kill them). Oaths would be a perfect subtype for this environment, but Magic isn't just going to throw them in for no reason - it has to make sense in the story. So the question shouldn't be ‘Is there any Oaths in WAR?’, but instead ‘Would anyone who will be present want/be willing to join the Gatewatch?’. That is what this piece is all about.

A quick disclaimer: I'm not like VorthosJay, SEV7, or the other big vorthos. I don't usually have the time, resources, or energy to make big speculation pieces, and on top of that I haven't read the art book on Ravnica, so I may miss something in there. On another note, writing this piece doesn't mean I am convinced someone will join this set, it's just how likely do I think it could happen.

So… where to start? Well, the first thing we can do is some basic elimination. First off, Maro has stated there will be other planeswalkers in the set not in cards, and we can eliminate them off the bat. There is no way they will give an oath to someone who doesn't get a card. Next, we can remove the Gatewatch itself, for obvious reasons, as well as Bolas. That reduces us from 36 to 29.

For the record, I reference a lot of stories that have been written over the past several years, all of which can be found in the story gallery on Magic's website. For each walker, I'll do a rating of 1 (least likely) to 5 (most likely). Here's more detail on what each number means:

0) If this walker joins the Gatewatch in WAR, I give up Magic.

1) I mean.. there's a chance, I guess...

2) Its possible, but unlikely

3) It could happen, I'll give you that. Maybe even likely. Maybe.

4) This walker has a good shot, if the story calls for it. Not guaranteed though.

5) If this walker does not join the Gatewatch in WAR, I give up Magic.

Now, let's do this from order of their pics in this website, starting with...

SAMUT

So not only does Samut hate Bolas, she knows the members of the Gatewatch too. Seems like it should be a shoe-in. Buuuuuut… last we saw her, she was pretty devoted to trying to rebuild Amonkhet, and much less interested in leaving her world. Now, she could say something like “I want to make sure no world ends up like mine”, which would be a good reason to join, but I'm not holding my breath.

Chance to join: 3/5

ASHIOK

Ashiok is a big mystery, and Maro has made it clear they want to keep them that way. On top of that, they are definitely in the antagonist category. No way this will happen.

Chance to join: 0/5

???

If Ashiok is a mystery, this character is even more so at the moment. People have… 2 main ideas, from what I can tell. The biggest is Elspeth, which to be honest I doubt because her in the Theros underworld is a huge reason to go back and no way would they deal with it offscreen. The other big one I have heard is Tacenda from the novella Children of the Nameless (slight spoilers for the novella below), but Tacenda seems like a strange choice for this particular artwork for a few reasons. Firstly, we don't know if Tacenda is a planeswalker, it is kept intentionally vague. Secondly, the art screams a white/blue walker, where as Tacenda is decidedly not white/blue. There are a few other theories, but regardless, we don't know who it is so I can't speculate on what they might do.

Chance to join: ?/5

DOMRI

Domri is at the moment on Bolas's side, but here's where I get to another interesting piece of speculation of mine: Bolas does not really care for the walkers he uses, and I fully believe he intends to sacrifice them with all the others. That being said… Domri is a teenager, who just took control of his guild, and I suspect a bit of classic gruul rioting from him. Doubt he'd be interested in joining the Gatewatch.

Chance to join: 1/5

TEYO VERADA

On the one hand, Teyo is on the cover of the upcoming Magic book all about WAR, which makes me feel like they're a more major player than some of the walkers (or they just wanted one of the new walkers on the book to promote speculation like this). On the other hand though, like the mystery character before, we know nothing about this individual. The real issue is that they are new. So far, every walker added to the Gatewatch has been an established character, which is (as far as I can tell) because the Gatewatch is the main protagonist group in Magic and they want popular characters the players have established connections with to be members. Now, the book could go a long way to developing Teyo, which would help big time in making us invested, but that's still an unknown element. While I suspect Teyo is the most likely of the new characters to join, I still doubt they stand a chance.

Chance to join: 2/5

RAL ZERAK

Does anyone else remember that twist when we learned Ral was working for Bolas? I was shocked! Over time though, we have learned bits and pieces of how this might not be an entirely… loyal relationship. The biggest reason comes from the artbook (I know I said I haven't read it, but lo and behold I HAVE FRIENDS) , where we learn he owes Bolas “an old debt”. What's more, he is also working with Niv-Mizzet to combat Bolas, and is only foiled at the last minute by Dovin. If he was really on Bolas's side, then he would have sabotaged it before Dovin needed to step in. Couple this with my sub-theory of Bolas sacrificing his walkers, and Ral is definitely ending on the side of the Gatewatch. Does that mean he'll join? I think no, for 2 reasons. One, he is very devoted to his guild and plane, like Samut, but secondly this guy crossed Bolas. I suspect at least one of the characters to cross Bolas will realize that can be a fatal mistake. He's currently my number 2 for most likely of Bolas's minions to bite the dust. Whose #1? Keep reading!

Chances of joining: 2/5

TAMIYO

Tamiyo made it clear back at the end of Shadows over Innistrad why she wouldn't join then… or did she? When I reread ‘The Promised End’ to make this piece (an excellent Innistrad story if you haven't read it), I realized they never gave her reason, and it seems to me that it's far more likely she refused because of what she just went through (Spoilers, she literally was taken over by Emrakul and used to power up the spell trapping Emrakul into the moon). So what about now? Her friend Ajani is currently involved, and not only does she know the Gatewatch, but she is friendly with Jace as well. While the pieces are there, she's a storyteller and a scientist, not a warrior, and in the end there's a good chance she'll continue that route and not join.

Chance to join: 3/5

KARN

Just last world, Karn declined joining the Gatewatch because he plans to work towards destroying New Phyrexia once this is over, and I don't think anything in this set is going to change his mind. Finally, a short and sweet one.

Chance to join: 1/5

JAYA BALARD

Just like Karn, she declined, stating “I'm not a joiner”, and just like Karn, I don't think this set will change her mind. Boom, even shorter!

Chance to join: 1/5

TIBALT

No. (I HAVE REACHED THE PINNACLE OF SHORTNESS)

Chance to join: 0/5

???

This character is widely suspected to be Mu Yangling, one of the two walkers from the first Global Series. From what little we know of her, I don't see any reason she would or wouldn't join, but I suspect she is still too new to the scene to be added in by wizards.

Chance to join: 1/5

KIORA

Kiora is not what I would call a willing team player, if her actions during Battle for Zendikar showed anything. Thinking her world was lost, she even tried betraying the Gatewatch, and last we saw of her was walking in shock along the shoreline. So where does that put her now? She's a teammate in a pinch, but for the same reasons she didn't team up with the other walkers in BfZ will be the same reason she doesn't join here, as much as I would love her to. Still, she's established, and the team lost their G/U member recently, so I won't completely shut the door.

Chance to join: 2/5

SORIN

If we don't hear how he got out of the rock, and he doesn't have the rock with him, I riot.

On a serious note though, I really don't see this happening. What I do see happening is a massive issue between Sorin, Nahiri, Ugin, and Ob Nixilius. This will be the first time in literally thousands of years that the three who locked away the Eldrazi are together in one place, and if that is not addressed in some way, even minor, I really will riot.

Chance to join: 1/5

Chance to cause drama: 5/5

ANGRATH

Oh man, Angrath. Like Tamiyo is a mother, our boy Angrath is a father, but being he is B/R he is definitely much more of a… angry person. Why bring this up? Because he just got home to see his kids after years of being trapped on Ixalan, and now he's being dragged to Ravnica. The only one more likely to riot than Domri is Angrath right here. But will he join the Gatewatch? While I think there's potential, it just doesn't seem likely to me.

Chance to join: 2/5

DOVIN BAAN

Hahahahahahahahahahahahaha. Dovin has to really dislike the Gatewatch, given the events of Kaladesh. Even if Bolas does sacrifice his walkers with all the rest, there is no reason I can come up with where'd he would want to join the Gatewatch.

Chance to join: 0/5

ARLINN KORD

Hmm, this is an interesting case. Our solo werewolf walker who can't transform when not on Innistrad, meaning she is stuck as wolf or human depending how she leaves Innistrad. She was on Innistrad during SoI block, but didn't interact with the Gatewatch at all. I don't think she'll join, but who knows, she could be the dark horse candidate here.

Chance to join: 1/5

OB NIXILIUS

Hey, remember how I said Dovin probably really dislikes the Gatewatch? Well Ob here flat out despises them, given the BfZ block. I wouldn't be surprised if he actively sabotages them in some way or shape, and the only reason I could see that not happening is because someone he hates even more is here: Nahiri.

Chance to join: 0/5

JIANG YANGGU

Yanggu sits in the same spot as the mystery character people suspect to be Mu. For sheer cuteness reasons though (Mowu is adorable, and no one can tell me differently), I'll bump him up one number.

Chance to join: 2/5

HAUTLI

Like Arlinn, I don't think this one is likely. She has no major connection to the Gatewatch, and she's still relatively new. Hoping for some cute moment with Saheeli or Angrath though… oh, who am I kidding. This is WAR, cute moments are probably not happening.

Chance to join: 1/5

SARKHAN

Here's my principle question: where does Sarkhan go from where he ended on Tarkir? Unlike Narset, he's not connected to the Story Circle (that we know of at least), so what's left? In the last story from Tarkir, called Unbowed and Unbroken, he tells Ugin that he wants revenge for what Bolas did to him and to Ugin, so if the Bolas saga was still going strong I could see him join but this seems very much like a finale. The other thing he says, this time to Narset, is that like Narset he is exactly where he wants to be. So… that means one of two things, Narset or Tarkir. If it's Narset, then depending what she does, I suspect he'll follow. If it's Tarkir, then he's going home.

Chance to join: 2/5

SAHEELI

Saheeli is the first one so far that I feel ok giving higher than a 3. Saheeli has worked significantly with the Gatewatch during the Kaladesh block, and when asked if she wanted to join (during the story titled Breakpoints), at first she told Chandra that she was more worried about the current fight, and then stated that she wasn't sure because there was more to do on Kaladesh in the aftermath. Since then we got a glimpse of her at the end of Ixalan block with Hautli,  but nothing substantial there.

Unlike others, her decline to join was more of an “Ehhh, not right now”, then a straight no. She has at least somewhat of an emotional attachment with the fans, with many disappointed she didn't receive more screen time on Kaladesh, and even people asking Maro on tumblr to add her to the Gatewatch. On top of that, it's been a bit of time in game, several months, since the end of the Kaladesh block, and honestly I could see her agreeing to join if Kaladesh has healed somewhat and she sees just how dangerous the threats that could reach her world are.

Chance to join: 4/5

NARSET

Narset is another I feel could fit in the group, but for different reasons than Saheeli. Narset has never met even a single member of the Gatewatch, with the possible exception of Ajani offscreen. But, Ajani gathering allies very easily could acquire the help of members of the story circle, namely Narset. Fans really have taken to her, so much so in fact that fans are the reason Narset is in the story circle in the first place, so the attachment needed to be eligible to join the Gatewatch is much more in place than most of our contenders here. Narset would be an interesting addition, but there's a big roadblock: the group already has a W/U walker, and while I suspect this to change at some point, so far there are no walkers in the Gatewatch that are the same colors. Due to this, I'm not as confident she'll be joining this time around.

Chance to join: 3/5

NAHIRI

Oh, Nahiri, the only other person on this list beside Sorin that I feel the need to add a drama chance counter to the end of her paragraph. She caused the entire Emrakul fiasco on Innistrad, and with both Sorin and Ob pissed at her, as well as her possibly pissed at Ugin, joining the Gatewatch seems low on her to do list.

Chance to join: 0/5

Chance to cause drama: 5/5

UGIN

Last time he met the Gatewatch, Ugin left them on, while not bad, certainly not good terms either. It remains to be seen how he'll react to the evolved and larger group now, but I honestly believe having Ugin as a Gatewatch member would be a disservice to both his character and the Gatewatch as a whole. He's basically a less evil but still morally-grey (to us mortals) version of Bolas, and having that type of power in the Gatewatch would really destabilize what Magic has been trying to build. So no, this is not going to happen.

Chance to join: 0/5

DAVRIEL CANE

Now here is an intriguing fact. During an AMA Sanderson did on Children of the Nameless (where we met Davriel) on reddit (link here), Sanderson mentioned that Magic specifically requested he make a walker as they had a role for a walker in the future, and they wanted this new walker to fill it. Now, Davriel is in his first set, and I have a few questions. This role… is it for this set? What exactly is this mysterious role? Is he to be a villain, an antihero, or even a hero (though that last one seems unlikely)? While there's nothing here pointing to him joining the Gatewatch (plus the negative that he's a new character) I would love for him to join just to see the interactions between him and Liliana. I bet they would haaaaaate each other, and it would be hilarious.

Chance to join:1/5

VRASKA

Now here's a fan favorite to join! I would love for her to join too, and the pieces are all aligned - she knows a member of the Gatewatch (that's kind of an understatement), is an established character, and the fan base has a huge attachment to her at this point. What could go wrong? Well… three things. Firstly, she doesn't seem like the type of person to join the group (but frankly that one is just my opinion and the most minor of the three) and secondly, she is now the leader of the Golgari, and that's been her goal for awhile. To join the Gatewatch would probably mean giving up her position, and why would she do that when she worked so hard to get where she is now? As for the third… I hate that I am writing this… but she could get murdered to death.

Let me explain.

Remember how I said with Ral how one of the walkers betraying Bolas may realize this can be a fatal mistake? Well, she's my number one pick for this, because if anyone were to die outside of the Gatewatch, I firmly believe that Vraska would result in the most emotional response from the audience. Even worse, with her connection to Jace, there's a chance she could get fridged, though I hope and plea Magic is better than that.

Pushing that uncomfortable thought aside, if she can A) survive this set, and B) figures out how to juggle the Golgari with the Gatewatch, then she's probably poised to join. It's just doing those two things that are the issue.

Chance to join: 3/5

KAYA

Kaya's a mercenary, and that alone makes me hesitant in thinking she would join the Gatewatch. But before writing her off completely, let's do a deeper dive into her character. To begin, she's of noble blood, but “she and her kin had never stood on ceremony” (taken from “Laid to Rest”), and in that same story we see that while she's a mercenary, she doesn't do thievery, murder, or espionage. Kaya focuses on getting rid of ghosts who have overstayed their welcome. While I don't want to give spoilers, the last thing we learn in this story is that her sense of justice is greater than her desire for coin, which we see again in Ravnica when she begins releasing all the Orzhov ghosts from their debts. Speaking of Ravnica, she joined with Bolas in exchange for him helping her family, which screams to me that she doesn't actually know Bolas. Couple that with A) Bolas is likely to sacrifice his walkers, and B) she's one walkers on the cover of the book, and I'm expecting big things from her. Joining the Gatewatch? Still not totally convinced, especially since she's newish, but big things nonetheless.

(Last Minute Edit: In the Weekly MTG that just came out yesterday, link here, Greg Wiseman says he enjoyed writing Kaya and she has to make a big decision at some point - this totally fits with me expecting something big!)

Chance to join: 3/5

NISSA

I know what you're thinking, either “SHE SHOULD HAVE NEVER LEFT THIS IS AN OUTRAGE WE NEED HER BACK NOW”, or “SHE ALREADY LEFT THE GROUP YOU IDIOT WHY WOULD SHE JOIN NOW!?!”, and to both I say, please stop shouting. Besides, calling me an idiot is kind of rude.

At one point, awhile back, Maro stated on his tumblr that if a walker were to leave and rejoin, they probably would get a new oath, which is the only reason Nissa is on this list. Do I think she will rejoin? Depends largely on if and how her reason for leaving in the first place is addressed. Remember, in the story she is disgusted at Liliana and says, “I can't bear to see another plane broken before I make my own home whole. I'm sorry, but my watch is over.” (This is from Return to Dominaria, Episode 1). The Liliana bit is not ending well, as while Liliana is being forced to work with Bolas, Nissa doesn't know this and instead will probably assume the opposite. As for the second, we have no idea how Zendikar has healed.

All that being said, two things do work in her favor. Firstly, she came to Ravnica instead of ignoring whatever beacon Ral created. That has to mean something. Secondly, she just evolved from monogreen to G/U, and while it was slowly and sneakily well done, it seems a waste to remove her after such a change. Hopefully they address the reasons she left so she can return.

Chance to join: 3/5

VIVIAN RIED

Now we come to the last walker in our list and the newest walker to our roster pre-WAR. If you have read her bio and the series of stories on her, then you know that she hates Bolas with a passion, which is good for this scenario. So other than her newness, she would work great, right? Ewwww, I doubt it. Vivian truly seems like a force of nature, who can be good or bad depending on the situation. She dislikes civilization in general, so I would bet we'll see that in the city plane of Ravnica. Despite not being red, she's too chaotic of a character to be a good fit for the Gatewatch, and even if she joined she would eventually leave, just like Nissa but probably with more violence.

Chance to join: 1/5

So that's it! Let's quickly recap by looking where everyone ended up (subtracting the mystery characters):

0) Ashiok, Tibalt, Dovin, Ob Nixilius, Nahiri, Ugin

1) Domri, Karn, Jaya, Sorin, Arlinn, Hautli, Davriel, Vivian

2) Teyo, Ral, Kiora, Angrath, Yanggu, Sarkhan

3) Samut, Tamiyo, Narset, Vraska, Kaya, Nissa

4) Saheeli

5) none made it this high

You may be curious why I didn't rank anyone at 5, and that leads into my final thought for this piece. Just like no one has to die to make a good story (though, maybe this is hypocritical, but I'll amazed if no one falls in this particular story, especially after watching yesterday's WeeklyMTG… well the first 20 minutes, then I fell asleep cause I was watching it at like 11:30 at night), the Gatewatch doesn't need new members every new world/arc. We have seen this on both Amonkhet and Ixalan, and it could happen again here. Still, if someone does join, I am convinced it will be one of the 7 walkers listed in either groups 4 or 3. I admit I ranked all the new characters low, and there could be a surprise oath from one of them, but history has shown they don't add new walkers to the Gatewatch, so I feel comfortable with their standings in the rating.

This has been fun to make! Feel free to share and discuss, I would love to hear others thoughts on this! Until next time!

[kotorirod]

Chapter Summary The last month had been surreal.

It went from him leaving from cram school to attending a high school in Tokyo under probation. A sense of hopelessness was massive on his shoulders, with the only thoughts on his mind was to get through this year with ease.

Little did he know that he will be playing a vital role in the events that will shape the destinies of many he comes across.

Notes So just clear things up, this is a crossover of Persona 5 Royal and Mr. Love: Queen’s Choice. Why is there a crossover? Because I’m a dork who is a fujoshi and decided to have Joke replace MC while also tying in the story of P5 into the mix of Mr. Love. Call it some guilty pleasure.

Also, this is considered a prequel to the events of Mr. Love, approximately five years I would say. Story was changed just a bit in order for the two games to coincide.

For example, Evolvers do exist but they aren’t fully out yet due to the fear that is strong in Tokyo right now thanks to the mental shutdowns. Are the Phantom Thieves Evols? Maybe? I mean, Joker is one of course :D

I hope you enjoy!

4/9/XX - Daytime

Amamiya Ren let out a heavy sigh. He stared down at his phone, reading the GPS’s directions to Yogenjaya. He didn’t think that a month would go by quickly, but it had in the worst way possible.

Everything was supposed to be ready for his second year at his hometown’s high school. He had many friends, some he had grown up with since childhood. All it took was getting involved with a couple fighting and being accused of assault to turn everything into a mess.

Ren shook his head. He needed to reach the district and his new guardian’s home. He’ll then start his year of probation with ease, and then he can go back home.

All this thinking had come to a halt when he noticed something strange on his phone screen. There was a weird crimson icon with an ominous black eye in the middle of the screen. It probably became aware of his gaze because it expanded until it covered most of the phone’s display. Ren grew annoyed as he reached out with his finger to drag it away. However, his phone was registering his gestures. The icon just continued to stay there, staring up at him.

This nearly distracted him from realizing the world was slowing down to a stop, leaving him to take a few steps before he stood in place. Although the rest of the world was frozen, he was still able to move. The teenager glanced around curiously, trying to see what was causing this phenomenon.

Something off in the distance attracted his gaze. He couldn’t tell what it was, but some burning sensation was growing in his chest. It was almost ready to burst, but he felt no pain. Just as quickly as the feeling came, it disappeared, allowing the world to resume its average pace.

“Hey, kid! Get moving,” someone called out to him. 

Ren realized that he was standing almost in the middle of the street as the traffic started moving again. Thankfully, the sidewalk was just a few feet away as he moved to jog the rest of the distance. It was odd, but it felt like the floor beneath him was lower than expected. He stumbled backward while noticing that a truck that was in the street had impatiently gunned its engines. It was roaring, turning into the lane just as where he stood. There was no way for the driver to stop in time. He could hear people screaming in fear, and some people were moving to try and grab him. A blaring horn alerted him of his impending doom. 

He just had the worst luck to happen to a teenager ever.

However, Ren never felt the ground. In fact, he felt like he was suspended in midair, aside from the fact that he thought someone was holding him close. Silver-colored eyes closed shut, scared that it was all an illusion and the last thing Ren will see is the grill of the truck. Instead, he just saw a white dress shirt and a black tie.

What was going on?

Whoever had grabbed him was running with him in their arms. Once they reached the sidewalk, everything that felt like it froze at the moment resumed as the horn flared passed them along with people reacting in shock. The crowd moved, some giving enough space as whoever had pulled him to safety helped him narrowly miss the truck. It sped off as if ignoring the fact that it nearly committed manslaughter.

People clamored to check on him. Ren didn’t feel the warm concrete. Instead, he felt warmth and a heartbeat. Lifting his head, he saw that his savior was sitting up while carefully pushing him off him. He was met with sharp violet orbs staring into his silver ones, making him freeze in place. 

“Oh no, the poor kid is in shock.”

“What an idiot.”

“Probably was playing some stupid game on his phone.”

“Is he hurt?”

“Did someone get the plate on that truck?”

The crowd murmured amongst themselves, with only one other person approaching him to assess his wellbeing. Ren quickly hopped onto his feet while his savior stood up calmly. The teenager eyed at the suit he wore, a blue jacket that contrasted against the white pants that had some scuffs now. Ren was a bit speechless, unsure what to say until he bowed lowly to him.

There was no response for a moment. When Ren didn’t hear anything, he suspected the man had left. Ren looked up to see that the man had turned to do just that, but he heard something said beneath his breath. 

“ Damn idiot... ”

Ren felt his jaw unhinge. Did the guy seriously call him an idiot? Sure, he hadn’t been paying attention, but it wasn’t his fault. It was too late before he could snap at the man. He was gone, disappearing into the crowd. 

“Damn it...”

Ren then remembered what had caused all this as he quickly looked down at his phone. The icon was there, but it was at the usual size of the other apps. He then pressed down on it long enough to bring the prompt up to delete it. He took in a deep breath, reassuring those who had checked on him before he resumed his trek.

He just needed to reach Yogen-Jaya without incident, and he can live the rest of this school year in peace.

-+-+-+-

4/9/XX - Daytime

The universe was just not giving him a break today. The train he was supposed to take along with the entire train system was delayed for the next two hours. No thanks due to an accident on one of the lines. At least, that's what he got from the information booth when he found the terminal he was supposed to take was blocked off.

Ren bowed his head in defeat. He could take a cab there, but the traffic in this city seemed dire. Plus, he'd rather avoid being too close to the streets after what happened just an hour ago. The teenager glanced back down at his phone, seeing that it'll take about an hour to get to his destination on foot. He reluctantly resigned to that choice, turning to head where the app told him to go when he collided with someone.

"Whoa, easy!"

Ren fixed his glasses, looking up to see another teenager standing before him. Compared to him, the boy dressed in casual clothes, a red sleeveless hoodie on top of a black shirt with blue jeans. He had golden blonde hair and teal eyes. The boy smiled brightly and said, "Sorry about that. I guess we were both not looking where we're going."

The spectacle-wearer nodded his head in acknowledgment, about to excuse himself to continue with his trek when the blonde boy commented, "Whoa, hey! You're a Shujin student?"

Indeed, he was wearing the uniform of the school he would be attending for the year. His father had suggested he wear it to give an excellent first impression to his new caretaker. The blonde asked, "Wow, I've never seen you there before. You a transfer student?"

Again, Ren slowly nodded his head. He really wanted to keep on walking. If he delayed anymore, who knows how things would go for him being out in this dangerous city. Thankfully, the blonde seemed to read his discomfort, taking a step back to give him room and apologized, "Sorry, I'm just excited. It'll be great to see a new face at the school."

The blonde bowed his head before introducing himself. "I'm Hikaru Kira, soon-to-be third-year at Shujin Academy!"

So that meant this guy was his upperclassman. He seemed rather outgoing and charming. Ren bowed his head in return, just a bit lower than him as he answered, "Amamiya Ren, uh... soon-to-be second-year. I hope to learn much from you, senpai."

"Hey, no need for those honorifics," Kira smiled brightly as he used his hand to wave off the formalities. "Anyways, why are you dressed in that uniform? Did you get from the school to get your paperwork done?"

"I, uh, no... I just got here. I'm trying to get to Yogenjaya, actually," he replied.

That seemed to make Kira wince in mental pain. "And I guess you gotta walk there because of the train."

News travels fast in this city, Ren noted to himself before inquiring, "Does that often happen here?" 

"Only recently," Kira answered with a nonchalant shrug. "With all the talk about mental shutdowns, it's surprising you choose now to transfer schools."

"Mental... shutdowns?"

For the next thirty minutes, Ren learned everything that has been happening in the city while walking with Kira. It was odd, but despite just meeting him, he felt he could talk with ease around him. However, Ren had avoided telling him the circumstances that led him to his transfer. He simply stated that while his parents were moving out of the country, he wanted to stay with a "relative" of theirs. As such, Kira took it upon himself to give a small tour of the restaurants and stores that were on the way to Yogenjaya.

At about halfway there, Ren saw Kira checked his phone.

"Oh shit, I need to get going," he moaned in dismay. "I nearly forgot that I was supposed to meet up with some of my friends."

"Ah, sorry," Ren apologized, about to bow his head.

"Nah, don't be!"

As Kira pocketed his phone, he gave Ren a wave of goodbye and called out while departing, "See you on Monday, Ren!"

With that, Ren was standing alone in the street, but he didn't feel as bad as he was before. His mood was lifted just a bit, feeling glad that someone like Kira-senpai will be at the school. It made him nearly forget about his death experience and also the rude savior of his.

A loud grumble and slight pang in his abdomen area quickly reminded him of his need to eat. He hadn't eaten breakfast, have been rushing to make sure he got on the trains properly. Thankfully, there was a convenience store just nearby. After some perusing, he got what he wanted: an egg sandwich and a soda to carry along. That should hold him over until he reached this Sakura Sojiro's house. He stuffed the sandwich in his mouth, enjoying the fluffy texture while thinking about the senpai he had just met. He was glad that at least going to be people like Kira there. It'll be nice to have a good year, at least here.

However, he felt the lingering fear. What if Kira found out the truth? He's sure that the teachers know, so would that information become known by the school populace. However, he didn't want to get ostracized. Ren's lips thinned, feeling the frustration rising in his chest. Attempting to quell it, he shoved the other sandwich into his mouth while he struggled to open the soda bottle. Fizzy foam erupted from the bottle once the cap was released, spilling out and on to the sidewalk. Once he could quell it, the bottle's contents were now just half of what it was. Was this an ominous warning of what was to come during his stay in Tokyo?

After taking a few sips of his drink, he placed it in the plastic bag. Although his stomach growling was quelled, he could feel it becoming upset thanks to the anxiety coming back. He took in and let out a shaky breath, about to take another step towards Yogenjaya.

"Ah, excuse me."

Ren looked over his shoulder to the person who had called out to him. They were a bit taller than he was, sporting brown hair and golden eyes. There was a question held in the gaze before recognition filled the golden orbs that matched his own. It had been a month since he had seen him, specifically back when he graduated from school. Ren didn't attend it, being as that was during the time he was going back and forth in the courtroom. Still, he didn't expect to see him again.

"Kazama-senpai?!"

This was Kazama Haku, a graduate of his high school back in his hometown. Although they shared a friend through Kanya, Ren couldn't say that they were close friends. They hung out occasionally whenever Kanya was around, and that was it. It was probably due in part to the rumors of him being an extorter and a bully, but Kanya would say otherwise.

Ren hadn't expected to run into him here, especially after his little fumble with the soda just a second ago.

"Amamiya-san... what are you doing here?"

Ren's throat tightened up as he looked away. 

"I... transferred schools," he answered in an almost robotic tone. It was a practiced response at this point, at least towards those who didn't know. It was easier to say earlier, so why was it harder now? "My parents were going out of the country, but I wanted to stay in Japan until I graduated."

There was a long uncomfortable pause before he heard his ex-upperclassman relay, "I... I see."

The awkwardness of the situation was growing even more pungent. Ren could never converse with Kazama alone. It fell on to Kanya's shoulders to keep the conversation rolling. His grip tightened on the handle of his carrier and plastic bag. After a while, Ren spoke up, "It is good to see you, senpai."

He took a step back, bowing his head before turning to head towards Yogenjaya. He didn't notice the older teenager opening his mouth, reaching out to talk to him but remained silent.

-+-+-+-

4/9/XX - Evening

Thankfully, he reached the area just a bit after 4 PM. Though, no one was answering when he rang the bell. It was convenient that a mumbling postman spoke about Sakura-san’s cafe. That’s where he was now, opening the door as a soft bell jingled his arrival. He stepped into the restaurant that had a bar settled on the right side. Instead of alcoholic drinks, the shelves held different kinds of coffee grinds.

At the bar, two adults were conversing with an older man dressed in a pink shirt. They were sitting at the bar, sipping their coffee as the male of the duo stated, “I believe the word you’re looking for is ‘oyster.’”

The bartender jotted down the suggested word on the little booklet he had before humming in appreciation. The woman who was sipping her coffee with the man glanced up to look at Ren. The pink-shirt wearer took notice that his patrons were focusing at the front door, for he too turned to stare at Ren.

Feeling he was the center of attention, Ren move about in his spot on the doormat.

“Oh right,” the pink-clad man muttered. “That was today, wasn’t it?”

Ren kept his head down, looking just at the corner of the bar counter. His eyes did wander across the small restaurant, seeing the rustic atmosphere seemed fitting, albeit out of place. He saw the duo stand up from their stools as the man interjected while placing some money on the counter. “As always, thank you for the coffee, Sakura-san.” The woman extended her thanks as well, following the man ahead.

His voice sounded relatively smooth, making Ren ponder just who these people were. The woman was also rather nice, but that seemed to be all that was common between them. The man has dressed formally in a sizeable beige coat draped over his shoulders while the woman had goth-like attire.

Seeing as they were leaving, Ren quickly pulled the door open for them, getting a soft thank from the woman while the man smiled, “Why, thank you...?”

There was a pause before Ren realized that the man was asking for his name. Why was that?

” Uh... Amamiya.”

Why did he answer?

The man continued to smile, nodding his head before heading out. The loud jingle announced their departure after he let the door go, leaving him with the man who would be his guardian for a year. Ren had met many interesting characters today, both familiar and unfamiliar. As he listened to his new guardian relay the rules of what was to be his year in Tokyo, he hoped that it would go without a hitch.

[vinylsolution]

The Next Step @MakotoNiijimaWeek

Day 5: Future/Career Makoto Niijima walked into the testing center, her bag full of all the essential tools she needed. Her heart was racing. This was it. This was the big moment. The entrance exams that she spent a big piece of her life studying for. They were finally here. She took a deep breath, looking at her phone one last time.

> Haru: Do your best, Mako-Chan!

> Ryuji: Show those tests who’s boss!

> Ann: I believe in you!

> Yusuke: If anyone will ace those tests, it’s you.

> Futaba: You got this, advisor!

> Sae: Good luck, Makoto. I’m proud of you no matter what happens.

Makoto smiled. She was so grateful meeting such wonderful friends over the past year. Her phone buzzed again while it was in her hand.

> Akira: You can do this. I love you.

She put her phone back into her purse, shutting it off. She walked into the classroom she was assigned to, her mind full of knowledge and determination. She took her seat and took out an empty notepad, a pencil, a pen, and her favorite calculator. The test booklets were passed out, The timer was set, and the test had begun.

Thanks to her rigorous studying, the strict schedule she was placed under by her sister, and her constant tutoring sessions with her boyfriend, she managed to breeze through most of the topics, giving herself plenty of time to go over each section thoroughly, leaving her feeling very confident. There was even an ethics essay about the Phantom Thieves! Makoto slyly smirked to herself as she wrote page after page regarding the topic. Who knew those hours in Mementos would’ve helped her in her studies?

The final egg timer went off. She put her pencil down and grabbed her wrist, rubbing it. She may have overdone it on those essay questions, but it was worth it. Her test was collected by the monitor. “You will receive an email about your results within 24-48 hours, sent to the address listed on your application. That will be all.” Makoto sighed to herself. It was almost over. All she needed to do was wait for the results, and her future would be locked in for life. She could be a police commissioner just like she had always wanted. She turned on her phone and sent a message to Akira.

>Makoto: It’s over. Would you mind if I stopped at Leblanc? I feel really tired...and I just want to see you..

>Akira: Sounds great. I’ll be waiting for you.

Makoto put her phone away and dragged herself to the train station. Unloading on that test really took it out of her. But she was excited for the results. She had brought it up with Akira beforehand, but she was planning on going outside of Tokyo for her university. After all, he was leaving. And she didn’t want to be without him. She couldn’t even explain it to herself, but Akira was really the center of her universe. Everything about him just made her happy. Even thinking about him made a subconscious smile creep across her face. The train had arrived and Makoto managed to find a seat. She yawned, rubbing her eyes as the train departed, making its way to Yongen-Jaya.

Makoto yawned again as her head bobbled. Her eyelids began to get heavy as she leaned back and drifted off to sleep. She began dreaming about coming home to her luxury apartment. Makoto could immediately smell her favorite dish being made. Blue back fish. She was dressed in a suit, with a badge attached to her hip. She removed her jacket, putting it on the coat rack. “I’m home!” she called out. She made her way to her kitchen, loosening her tie. “Hey, how was work?” Akira was cutting up the fish, preparing it for her. “It was great! We took down a syndicate today.”

“Wow, that is great. They should’ve known not to cross Commissioner Kurusu.”

Makoto chuckled and blushed. She still wasn’t used to the name.

“And how was business today?”

Akira looked over at the coffee pot, which was now boiling. He put his cutting knife down and went to pour his wife a cup of coffee.

“A bit hectic. People just can’t get enough of the new curry dish!”

“Oh, that’s wonderful.” Makoto inhaled sharply, taking in the smell of the fish & coffee. “I don’t blame them, you’re such a great cook!” Akira smiled and said “YONGEN-JAYA. THIS IS YONGEN-JAYA.”

Makoto’s eyes shot open, looking straight at the train door, which had swung open. She jumped out of her seat and ran out, the door closing on the tip of her bag. She yanked it out, the door opening again and closing quickly. She panted. That was a jolt of energy she wasn’t expecting. She made her way to the alleyway, taking in the familiar sights. She had grown accustomed to Yongen since she started dating Akira. It was a quaint neighborhood, small and humble. A perfect place for such a wonderful cafe. She walked through the door, the bell attached ringing behind her.

“Sis…!” Makoto gasped. Both her big sister and her boyfriend were sitting together at a table. She walked over to the two of them, Akira moving over to make room for her. She smiled and sat down next to him. “Secret’s out, huh?”, she said, trying to keep her cool. She never really publicized her relationship, she was a private kinda girl. But seeing both Sae and Akira together, she just assumed the worst. Sae gave a knowing chuckle.

“I’ve known for a while. For a pair of Phantom Thieves, you’re not very good at covering your tracks.” Makoto blushed and looked away. “But now that you’re here, we can talk about that.” Sae’s eyes narrowed, looking over at Akira. He swallowed nervously.

Sae folded her arms and held that stern look. Makoto knew immediately that was her sister’s ‘interrogation face’. “What are your intentions with my sister?” Makoto put her hand on Akira’s knee. She could see that Akira immediately felt less tense thanks to her touch.

“They’re pure, I promise. I...I’m in love with her.”

“Can you provide for her?”

“I have 10 million yen.”

Sae’s eyes widened, her stern look wavering. “W-what?”

“I have 10 million yen.”

“O-Oh...I see..”

Makoto was watching this exchange in awe. Nobody could ever get Sis that flustered, not even in the courtroom! After all this time, he always found new ways to surprise her.

“I feel like after our...previous encounter that I have a good grasp on your morals. I know you’re a good person, and with this, um, financial incentive, I think Makoto would be in good hands dating you. I approve of your relationship.” Akira let out a sigh of relief. “But if you manage to hurt her in any way…”, Sae growled, slamming the table. “Let’s just say I’m proficient in kickboxing.” Akira gulped nervously.

“You don’t have to threaten him, sis!” Makoto cried out. “Akira’s a really smart guy. I think he understands.” Sae sat back down, satisfied with the results. “Well then. What do you say you treat us to a meal?”

“Y-yeah, okay.” Akira mumbled, still feeling a bit flustered Makoto got up so he could attend to the back area, making sure to make the finest plate of curry he could. That woman knew how to put fear into a man’s heart. Makoto looked away from Akira and back to her sister. Sae’s expression relaxed now that she wasn’t in interrogation mode. “How did your entrance exams go? Was there anything that may have stumped you?”

“Not at all! I’m feeling more confident about my results. I went over every subject and every question.”

“I’d expect nothing less from you. When should you learn about the results?”

“In a few days. I’ll get an email telling me my placement.”

“That’s definitely worth celebrating. With your high score, you’ll be able to go to a top school in Tokyo, and land a high paying positi-”

“Yeah, about that…” Makoto interrupted, rubbing the back of her head nervously. She wasn’t looking forward to bringing this up with her, but now felt like as good a time as any to bring it up.

“Hm?”

“I was talking with Akira and…” the words got lodged in her throat. “I, uh…”

“She’s looking to move in with me once I go back to the suburbs, and wants to go school outside of Tokyo.” Akira said, putting the pots on the burner and turning on the gas.

“What?!” Sae wasn’t expecting to be thrown for so many loops tonight. “But you just started dating! You shouldn’t be moving in together so suddenly!” Makoto cleared her throat. That push from Akira helped her speak again.

“We’ve been dating since last August. A-and now that I’ve graduated high school, I don’t have anything tying me to Tokyo any longer. And with me gone, it’ll ease the financial burden you’ve had. Sis, there’s always Tohoku! Or Nagoya! I just…” Makoto looked down. “That month without him hurt a lot. And...I don’t wanna be without Akira anymore.”

Sae looked over at Akira, who was busy preparing Leblanc’s signature curry dish, and back to Makoto. She put her hands on the chin, elbows on the table. She didn’t want to see Makoto go...but she wasn’t just her little sister anymore. She was a woman who needed to do more than live in her shadow. And she was right, money would be less tight if she was only supporting herself...Sae sighed. I wonder what dad would do if faced with this, she thought.

She leaned back, her expression softening. “Makoto.” Makoto looked up immediately. “I could not be more proud of the woman you’ve become. You’re strong, compassionate, unyielding, with a need to always do what’s right. And you’re right. You should go and live your own life. It won’t be the same without you around the apartment, I’ll admit.” she said with a smirk. Makoto’s eyes welled up with joy. “S-sis!!” she went over to the other side of the booth and hugged her sister tight, squeezing her. “Thank you so much! You’re the best…” Sae managed to dislodge her arm from Makoto’s absurdly strong grip to pat her on the head. As much as she’d matured and grown up, Makoto would always be her little sister.

“I, uh, hate to interrupt this heartwarming moment, but the food’s ready.” Akira chuckled, sprinkling the spices onto the 3 dishes. He served the girls first. “The curry for you, madame~”, he said, winking at Makoto. Makoto’s smile never left her face.  “And for you, miss.” Sae kept her arms folded, but she did smile at Akira. “Well, if your cooking tastes as good as it smells, I shouldn’t worry about Makoto going hungry.” she chuckled to herself. Makoto scooted over to make room for her boyfriend, who came back with his own dish. The two of them watched Sae, as she took a spoonful of the curry and rice. She put the spoon in her mouth and involuntarily moaned. “Mmm…!!” Akira felt himself ease up for what felt like the millionth time that night. “This is delicious! This may be even better than Sakura’s curry.”

The three of them continued eating, the only noise being heard was the clanking of the spoons against the plate, and the moans coming from Sae. There wasn’t a moment when her mouth wasn’t full of Akira’s delicious curry. Once she was finished, she pushed the plate aside and let out a sigh of satisfaction, her hands on her stomach. “How was it?” Akira asked, already knowing the answer. Sae smirked. “Are you sure I can’t come with you two?” Makoto chuckled, finishing her own plate of curry. This was even better than she could’ve possibly anticipated. Her sis and her boyfriend were getting along great. And she even said it was okay to move in with him! The future she’d been planning for may have finally started.

The next day, Makoto had packed up all her old textbooks, her clothes, everything she owned. She looked back at her room, now only her futon remained. She smiled, thinking back on when she and her sister got that thing. It was only supposed to be temporary until they were able to afford something better for her. Makoto then felt a warm hand on her shoulder. “I’m going to miss you, Makoto.” Makoto turned around to look at her sister. “You can stop by anytime you like! I’ll give you the address!”

“I promise to do that. There’s no way I’m gonna spend the holidays without you.”

Makoto smiled, wiping tears from her eyes. “I wouldn’t let you anyway.” Makoto hugged her big sister, wiping her tears on Sae’s blouse. Sae gently rubbed her back, fighting back tears herself.

“I love you, Makoto.”

“And I love you, Sis!”

After what felt like an eternity, but not long enough in Makoto’s eyes, she had to let go. The two of them loaded up her newly purchased Citroen H van, and Makoto took off. She sniffled again. It wasn’t a goodbye, she told herself. But she knew she had to get moving, quickly! She wanted to surprise Akira with the van, so she had to get to Shibuya as quick as possible before he went to the train station.

She couldn’t believe her own delinquent behavior. She had run multiple red lights just to make sure she made it on time! She pulled over to the side of the road once she made it to the station, keeping her eyes out for Akira. She saw him instantly. On the corner of the block. She got out of the van and started waving to him, frantically. “H-hey! Akira!!” but he didn’t see her. Damn!, she thought. She had to say something that would get his attention. Thankfully the girl who never fumbled with her words knew the exact thing to say.

“I’ve always loved you, Akira!!”

That’s when he looked over, his face completely red. It was a rare sight to see him blush. Makoto was jumping up and down, waving her arms. She started laughing, her plan working perfectly. He walked over to her, carrying his Shujin bag behind his back, with his rolling suitcase not far behind. “Now you know what it feels like.” she chuckled, his mouth partially agape. “W-when did you get this van? It looks just like Morgana.” His bag started to shake as a familiar head popped out of the bag. “What looks like m-woah! It’s a big grey me! How’d you do that, Makoto?” She leaned against the van, satisfied with herself. “I wanted to get us a car, something special that commemorates a very special time in our lives. And there’s vans out there that looked like the Mona van. So I thought ‘hey, only fitting, right’? And when we get everybody back together, we won’t have to worry about space! I wasn’t gonna let us go on a boring old train anyway.”

“Wow, you’ve really thought this through.”

“O-of course I did. This is really special to me.”

Akira smiled and kissed his girlfriend, holding the kiss for longer than normal. It was Morgana who broke the silence. “Bleh! Are you two gonna be like this for the whole trip?!”

“Keep up that attitude and you’re going right back to Leblanc. Do you wanna have your face pinched by Futaba?” Makoto said, waving her finger at Morgana.

Morgana muttered something incoherent and put his head back into the bag. Akira put his suitcase in the back seat, strapping it in, along with putting his Shujin bag down, unzipping it so Morgana could roam around the van as he pleased. He got into the passenger’s seat next to Makoto as they took off together. Akira took in the sights of Shibuya one final time as they drove away from the city and onto the highway. He leaned back in his seat, smiling. He was looking through the sunroof at the sunny skies above him. After what felt like an eternity of silence, he looked at Makoto, and said “You know, I’m glad that things turned out the way they did. I’m glad you caught us.”

“You are? I hated that time in my life. I hated hanging on the Principal’s every word. Being his...his lapdog!”

“But if you weren’t, you wouldn’t be a Phantom Thief.”

“I suppose…”

“And we wouldn’t be together.”

“Y-yeah.” she smiled. She always prided herself on being the smarter of the two of them, but there were times when Akira’s intelligence even outshined hers.

“My sweet stalker~” Akira teased. He put his hand on Makoto’s thigh, gently rubbing it.

“A-Akira! Please, I’m trying to concentrate on the road!”, she said, blushing.

“What? It was cute having you follow me around like that. And it was even more fun losing you.”

“So you knew I was following you that whole time?!” Akira flashed a sly smirk at Makoto, making her cheeks redden even more.

Morgana hopped into the front seat.

“Oh yeah, he saw you coming from a mile away.”

“Wh-huh?! But I was so clever, hiding in the crowd…”

“The only girl in the crowd that would hold a manga up to her nose and still manage to look over it..”

“Damn. I think I should’ve followed Ryuji instead. He would’ve never figured me out.”

Akira and Morgana laughed.

“I’m glad I learned how to say no to Kobayakawa. To stand up on my own merits. Ann was really nice and helped me a lot when I was just starting out with you guys.”

“What happened?”

“She came to the student council room and apologized for telling me off. And then she wanted to become friends.”

Akira pretended to gasp and put his hand over his mouth “So ‘The secret between girls’ finally comes out!”

Makoto playfully punched his arm. “Oh, shut up.” she giggled. Morgana ran across Makoto’s lap and looked out the window. “So this is the suburbs...it’s so pretty!” Akira looked out her window. Things were looking familiar, almost nostalgic. He was getting close to home. “Take this exit, right here.” Makoto pulled off the highway, Morgana trotting his way back to his seat. She looked over at Akira, who was looking out the window, smiling.

“So I haven’t asked before, but what was your home life like?” Akira didn’t break contact with the window, but his smile faded. “Things were rough for a really long time. My dad, he lost his job when I was a kid, and he didn’t take it well. He started drinking, hard. And kept gambling a lot of our money away. There was a long time where I wasn’t sure if I was gonna have anything to eat. Debt was piling up, and that’s when my mom divorced him. He didn’t leave without a fight, though. And he always made his fights with her public. He did love me, for what it’s worth.”

Makoto pulled over to the side of the road, unbuckled her seatbelt, and hugged Akira. She had never seen him so upset.

“Heh, thanks.” Akira wrapped his arms around her, holding her close. “Things are much better now that everything’s over. I think you’ll like my mom.”

“I hope she likes me.”

“What’s not to like?” Akira smirked. There’s that cocky guy I fell in love with, Makoto thought. She got back into the driver’s seat and got back on the road.

Akira gave Makoto directions until they pulled into an average sized home, sandwiched between other average sized homes. “So this is where you live?” Makoto asked. Akira nodded in response. “I’m home.” He got out of the van and opened up the sliding door, getting his bags in first. Morgana hopped back into the Shujin bag. “You need to remember to act like a cat, okay Morgana?” Makoto said. “Yeah yeah, be really cute and meow a lot, I understand! It’s not like she knows what I’m saying anyway…” He kept his head out as the bag was zippered around him.

Akira slid the door aside and walked through, taking his shoes off. “Hello? I-I’m home…” Akira called out. Makoto followed behind him, taking her shoes off as well. “Akira-kun?” a voice responded. A woman peeked out, her greying hair looking strikingly similar to Akira’s. She walked fourth, hugging her son. “Oh, I’m so glad you’re back! You look like a changed man. So handsome! And who is this lovely young lady?” she said, motioning over to Makoto. “This is Makoto Niijima. She’s my girlfriend.” Makoto bowed. “It is an honor to meet you, Ms. Kurusu.”

“Such manners!” she smiled, admiring Makoto’s respect. “And what about this little guy?” she noticed the cat peeking out of Akira’s bag.

“Oh, this is Morgana. He followed me home one day. He’s a good kitty.” Akira’s mother petted him as Morgana meowed and purred. He was pulling off the cat act pretty well.

“It sounds like you’ve had quite the eventful year, Akira-kun. You must be starved! Let’s sit down and you can tell me everything over lunch.”

“In a second, mom. I have to help Makoto with her things.”

“Her things?”

“Oh yeah, she’s moving in with me.”

“Goodness! It’ll be nice to have so many people again!”

Makoto had already left and come back with 2 boxes, stacked on top of one another. “Just bring those upstairs. That entire part is my room.” Makoto nodded as she went up the stairs. She walked up the stairs to see a dusty room, but it was definitely Akira’s. It felt like a more personal version of his attic bedroom. The bed even looked like his from Leblanc. She smiled as she put the boxes down. This is her new bedroom. Her new life with Akira. It felt good to think about. She then heard him come up the stairs, the remaining boxes in his arms. He grunted. “Aaah, is this okay?” Makoto chuckled as she took one of the boxes off the stack, freeing up his field of vision. “It’s perfect.” she put the box down and kissed his cheek.

After unpacking, the three of them went downstairs as Akira and Makoto told Akira’s mom all about their escapades over the last year, save for a...few details. Mostly the Phantom Thief thing. But she was still captivated by their story. It went well into the evening. It was a lot of information to process, so Akira’s mom had went straight to bed. Makoto washed the dishes as Akira had gotten out the cleaning supplies. They couldn’t exactly sleep in a year’s worth of dust, after all.

Once she washed the dishes and put them away, Makoto was walking up the stairs to their room. She liked the sound of that. Their room. She got to the top of the stairs to see Akira, already changed into his pajamas, lightly dusting his desk. He looked over at her. “What’s got you all smiley?” he smirked. She didn’t even realize she was smiling. She started unboxing her clothes to find her pajamas. A slim black top and white sweatpants. She felt nervous changing in front of her boyfriend, but they were gonna be sharing a bed. Akira kept dusting, replacing the old sheets in the bed with new ones. Makoto changed fully into her pajamas, keeping her bra on. She still wanted to remain a modest in front of him, after all.

“Wow, you look even cuter in pajamas.” Akira chuckled. “Would you stop?” she pushed Akira away, making him fall onto the bed. Akira just laughed as he made his way under the covers. “Care to join me?” he smirked. Makoto was about to say something, and then her phone buzzed. It was the email she’d been waiting for! “M-my results are in!” Akira got over the covers and scrambled up to her. “What’s it say?” Makoto read the email, her eyes started to well up. “I….I made it. I scored within the top .1 percent of all incoming students. I’ve been granted full academic scholarship to any university of my choice..” Akira beamed. “That’s incredible! I knew you could do it.” Makoto put her phone aside and kissed him deeply, her hand holding the back of his head. He put his arm around her waist and pulled her closer to him. She wanted this moment to last for eternity. She didn’t have a single worry in the world. All the nervousness, all the ambivalence was gone. All that was left, was hope. With a full scholarship to anywhere she wanted, and Akira by her side, she knew everything was gonna be okay.

@makotoniijimaweek

[purplerose244]

Thinking journal for season 12 Prime Empire 😎😎😎 (2/2)

Here we go with the next part! I really hope we get some major big plot twist at some point, because it's all really cool but I need something to really change from good to GREAT

For now, let's focus on the next episodes!

It's the 17th of April and here we go!

GENERAL

I feel like there's little time to really pull up something, I don't know. Like, what plot twist could happen now that there just half season left with only Unagami/Dyer's identity and maybe Scott's past as mysteries? There's little space for more plotlines, that's what I think

Overall fighting scenes, character designs and game backgrounds are AWESOME!!

Let's see how it goes, maybe I'll be surprised. Wouldn't be weird for Ninjago to pull a bomb last episode 😅

ONE STEP FORWARD, TWO STEPS BACK

ZANE AND PIXAL FINALLY!!! IT'S DETECTIVE TIME!!! 😎

Okay, so there is a photo, and there is a friend. As I thought, Dyer might not be Unagami at all, I feel like there's a lot of backstory coming along. I wonder if Scott has a part in this... WHERE IS SCOTT 💙

Ah, of course Kai would spend his credits on an avatar, I should've known, my flame babe can be such a dummie sometimes I mean why would you even do such a thing as buying an avat-

NEVER MIND I LOVE IT 😍😍🔥🔥 I thought him being blonde was going to bother me, I actually kinda like the change. Still prefer my baby brunette, but it's really cool as well. The best of this season are definitely the characters designs

Was that "let's fight an ogre mission" a hint for next season? I wouldn't be weird, but it's been a while since I've seen forshadowing for new season in this show

HECK YEAH THE DANCING EPISODE!!! I was waiting for this, Jaya is so cute while they are on the dancefloor 😍 They have chemistry 😘😘😘

I like the implication that Nya was really bad at dancing before Jay, like Kai covering his eyes because he cannot handle her sister not being perfect at something 😛

And Cole being the dance expert, that little tango moment with Kai I bet made many lavashippers super happy 🖤❤🖤❤

THE TRIPLE TIGER SASHAY ALL THE WAY FROM SEASON 1-2 ABSOLUTELY YES YES YES!!! AND HE DIDN'T ROAR, HE STRAIGHT UP SAID "NO ONE PUTS COLE IN A CORNER" I'M DYING!!! With this and Nya's 'catch me', I expect so many Dirty Dancing AUs from this 😂👌

JAYA BEING AWESOME HECK YEAH ❤💙❤💙

JUST LOOK AT THEM!!! Nya better say I love you back soon, like Kai and Skylor are a little behind, Zane and Pixal already said it, Jay can't stop doing it, come on girl it's your turn! 😎😎

RACER SEVEN

SCOTT IS BACK YES!!! 😍😍😍💙💙💙

Okay, I think my theory won't happen 😅 Feels like there are not enough episodes for a good reveal, and it doesn't seem like Scott is that influenced by Jay. My last idea is that perhaps he has spent so much time in the game like Jay said (POOR BABY 😭) that he doesn't remember. Maybe the moment he will come back, we will find out that it is Jay's brother/twin, I mean he still has those dragon and lightnings drawing on his back... yeah I like this theory a lot, gonna hold on to it!

So Scott is indeed a person trapped in a game, at least that's confirmed 👍

Also he's got some major issues, the poor thing, and I think there is some special reason behind him not wanting to race besides having just one life.

HERE IT COMES

OH MY GARMADON 😂😂😂 Okay, okay, it's actually better than I expected really. The scarf is cool, and so are the golden tattoos, the suit and the golden sleeve. It's just the mohawk that will take time to get used to, it's not even bad, just weird 🤷‍♀️

Racer Seven is so cool! Always nice seeing a new female character in this show that is not a love interest. I do love Nya, Pix and Sky to death, but I love variety too 💪

Really, really nice the piece of all Racer Seven's crashes! Impactful and sad, a never ending loop that she wants to break through from. That's the heavy stuff I like!

Okay, ready for the race! And I'm... scared? Like, a lot of they guys have one life?? KAI HAS ONE LIFE?? 😱😱 I hope for the best I guess 😅

THE SPEEDWAY FIVE-BILLION

Might be my favorite episode yet

Seven is SO COOL, it's another reason why I'm sad these episodes are so short! I really would had liked see her more, truly have her bond with the guys

Soooo... I guess since Scott's been in the game for 30 years it's safe to assume he's not Jay's brother/twin. To be fair it's really hard to tell a LEGO person's age😅 At this point I guess he could be either Dyer's friend, even if it sounds unlikely, or... idk, still think he could have a connection with Jay. Maybe he's like... an older brother? Libber had him a long while ago?

NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! WHY DID SCOTT HAVE TO DIEEEEEEEE??? 😭😭😭 Just when he was getting more involved, come on! He even said he wanted to try that hero stuff, I love him! WE WILL SAVE YOU MY TECH BABY!!!

Cole getting a ride from Kai, this season has some pretty good lava material ❤🖤❤🖤

I've got some major Ninjaball Run vibes from this, that brings me back 😂 Even the no rules thing is there, come on, there has to be a little bit of inspiration from it!

Still don't know what I think of the rats, kinda seems useless and annoying, gonna be honest. But it's a nice race, exciting with nothing big happenin-

Kai and Cole sacrifice for Jay

I KNOW I THOUGHT ABOUT IT BEFORE BUT I'M NOT OKAY WITH THIS!!! MY FLAME BABE AND MY ROCKY BABY!!! 😭😭😭😭 WHY PEOPLE KEEP DYING IN THIS EPISODE???

I so, so enjoyed how they did it. Like, one look between them to realize that yes, this is it, Jay is the expert and needs to go on. This is the end of our race... AAAHHH!! (Infinite shipping potential too)

Omg Nya screaming her brother's name and Jay his best friend's name, while Lloyd looks so devastated (those masks are actually kinda espressive, I really like them). Wow. This is the angst I needed, finally👌

YES SEVEN WON!!! HECK YEAH GIRL!!! SO HAPPY FOR HER!!! Also Okino in the background being happy, nice touch!

And now they are three... it's gonna end up with only Jay huh. I... I'm not ready actually, my heart 😢 They better all hug when this is all over!!!

STOP, DROP AND SIDE ROLL

I CAN SEE THEY ARE KEEPING THE FEELS FOR LAST APPARENTLY??? 😭

The music of the old school section was actually very nice, reminds me of the past, I kinda hoped The Fold were going to release some game themed songs. Been a while since I have one of those 😍

Lol, explaining the side scroll games was actually pretty cool

YES THEY ACTUALLY ACKNOWLEDGED THE AIRJITSU!! Maybe they will remember they can used it, right Cole? The ladder scene? YOU CAN FLY???

OMG NYA ACTUALLY SAID CICLON-DO JUST HOW CUTE IS THAT!!! All the way from my favorite season Possession, Jay's definition of airjitzu that I actually still kept in one of my fanfictions 😂

Okay the design of the temple of madness is REALLY cool, you can immediately tell it's from an old videogame. Gives me the double vibe the googles for the first 3D movies used to give me 😂

Also look at this

THIS IS ADORABLE!! 💙💚💦 Really old style videogame 😂

And there we go!! Harumi!! Since I saw her in the set I was wondering what she was going to be, maybe an avatar or an NPC of some sort... THIS HURTS WAY MORE!!! And of course pure heart BABY boy Lloyd doesn't feel good fighting her, he had a crush on her! AND HE FREAKING SAW HER DIE!!! It's really sad that he still hopes for her to be good...

The fighting scenes are really, REALLY good! So fluid and active! This fight was really pleasant to watch, not gonna lie 💜

NOOOOOOOOO!!!! NOT MY GREEN BABY BOY!!!! I KNEW IT WAS GOING TO HAPPEN BUT STIIIIIIL!!! 😭😭😭

Okay, down to three members. Remaining Zaptrap and water godess... omg Nya will totally die first and at that point Jay will go completely nuts. I'm both scared and DYING TO HAPPEN!!! ANGST FINALLY!!! THIS IS THE STUFF!!

Got some major Skybound feeling, like when it was only Jay and Nya... will Nya finally say I love you back?? I HOPE SO ❤💙❤💙

With the three keytana now, what will happen? I'm actually curious now, this is the exciting stuff I need! And yes I do realize it's a little weird that for getting hype I need my faves to die 😅

NINJAGO CONFIDENTIAL

OMG THEY ACTUALLY DID A DETECTIVE THEMED EPISODE BLACK AND WHITE I'M DYING 😂😂😂

The Weekend Whip with sax, never thought I needed this in my life 😍

Bet Brent had a blast recording this

Okay this is the third Chima reference I see, they better throw some Nexo Knights hits as well next season! Come on, it's about freaking knights!!!

This is not what I expected when they said there was going to be an episode with only Zane and Pixal but I'm sure as HECK not complaining 👌

Oh, seeing Pixal joining in so normally is so beautiful, I really wish we could have her even more often

Dareth's karaoke bar! From Sons of Garmaron! Also him guessing first try because the ninja really do get post in other dimensions very often 😂 Gotta love them indeed

Pff Zane narrating and getting stopped every time because of it, how I missed this naive little nindroid

So the bartender Tony is the friend? That's it? A little easy really, hoped for more... still calling him Milty is cute 💕

Buddy's Pizza from season 2!!! This season is killing me with references and I LOVE IT SO MUCH 💜💜💜

So, the mechanic is free again (the Kryptarium dudes should really learn how to do their job right 😓), Zane is kidnapped, and Pixal has a fedora that makes her possibly even cuter. I have emotions

AH!! KNEW IT!! UNAGAMI IS NOT DYER!! FREAKING CALLED IT!!... kinda expected really, but still called it 😅

So Unagami was the first name of Prime Empire and is also an AI that got crazy and was shut down, but now is back after programming the game itself and wants to get to the real world?... I'm down with it

So I'm guessing we won't get much of a Scott backstory... Eh, let's see how it goes!

THE PRODIGAL FATHER

I was seriously confused by why those dudes wanted to kidnapped Wu, but it made sense later. Still come on sensei, you're a freaking half god or something, pull yourself together 🤦‍♀️

Very nice that Pixal is the one to bring up the argument about feelings and AI. So very nice to have her in this!!!

I THOUGHT ZANE WAS GOING TO TAKE A BREAK FROM LAST SEASON, WHY ARE THEY MAKING HIM SUFFER AGAIN??? 😭

Oh finally the backstory of Unagami I'm really curious about what happened in the past and what exactly brought the shut down of Prime Emp-

I LITERALLY CARE ABOUT NOTHING ELSE BUT THIS BEAUTIFUL GAMER BOY IN REAL LIFE!!! 😍😍😍😍😍

So Scott was the first beta tester, Milton asked Unagami to make the experience as exciting as possible, and that ended very badly so the game was shut down and THEY LEFT HIM INSIDE FULLY KNOWING HE WAS THERE??? I HATE DYER NOW!!!

Although it is really interesting knowing a tech genius like him, until now we got Dr. Julien and Cyrus Borg that were plenty open about the idea of AI with feelings as meaningful as humans'. While he doesn't get that, they are only machines for him and that's the reason why he doesn't understand how much Unagami is mad and filled with need for revenge.

This is why I want more than 11 minutes, the themes of this season are really, REALLY cool. I would have loved more introspection and development.

I guess Scott being Jay's brother is officially debunked 😅 Although I am curious about the life he left behind, since he was stuck in that game for 30 years. He still has those lightnings on the jacket I don't understand...

DON'T YOU DARE LET ZANE BE DESTROYED AGAIN PLEASE I STILL CRY WATCHING "THE TITANIUM NINJA"!!! 😢😢😢😢😢😢

The portal is open, Zane might get destroyed, Unagami wants revenge, Jay and Nya are the only one left and I'm pretty sure Nya will be killed as well leaving only Bluebell so there's THAT. So yeah, this is actually pretty cool!

Two episodes left. Okay Ninjago season 12 Prime Empire, wow me 😎

THE TEMPLE OF MADNESS

This felt a little simple if I'm gonna be honest. I felt like the last mission before facing Unagami was a little basic, with nothing really exciting. Still liked it, but this is probably my least favorite episode 🤷‍♀️

Of course, put Jay is a sushi restaurant-themed level and he will kill you with puns 😂 I love this prankster

Again, the fighting scenes are dope. Definitely one of my favorite things since they changed the animation. You lose something you win something 😙

Wooo, Jay saying that he had trained for years just for kick his butt was actually cool! Bluebell is unleashing!

"And that's how we roll!". You rock we roll, am I right 😂

AH!!! CALLED IT!!! TOTALLY CALLED IT!!! MY POOR BABY BLUEBELL 😭😭

I wish Nya said that she loves Jay back though! Freaking come on girl, he is your yang!!! ❤💙❤💙

Unagami is not Dyer, he wants to get to the real world, I'm actually kinda curious about the confrontation that is about to happen... ALSO THERE BETTER BE LOTS OF HUGS WHEN THIS IS OVER

I... genuinely forgot about the dragon medallion 😅 Eh, I love dragons so I'm fine with it. Well, let's see how it ends!!!

GAME OVER

Wow, I actually love this ending?? A LOT?? After last episode I didn't have much hope, but after seeing it I gotta say, it was really great 👌👌

Thanks for not dying on us again Zane, much appreciated

Jay taking charge is quite rare and when it happens you know things are about to get crazy 😂 It was really nice seeing how sensible he could be, telling that Unagami wasn't evil after all, that he needed closure and answers

I know I miss the animation peak we reached with SoG and Hunted, but I gotta say the atmosphere of the city with the lightnings and the gray sky was really awesome. Very cool.

Pff, that part with the elevator though, reminds me of the one in season 1 that made me start watch Ninjago ✌ Also it's always Borg's Tower indeed 😂

OKINO KICKING BUTTS HECK YEAH LOOK AT OUR RONIN GO!!!

And wow. WOW. I didn't expect Jay to drop the I'm adopted bomb on us, I think I never heard him talk about it since Skybound (that technically never happened so 😅). It was SO good seeing him sympathize with Unagami because he was also left with no explaination. His desire to know, along with the hope that the past is the past, but they had a good reason for. Also he freaking said he didn't have the chance to ask because Cliff is dead and I 😭😭😭😭

And here I melted, because we finally see the situation for what truly is, the way Jay also sees it: Unagami is a kid, a child that doesn't understand how the world works, that just wants to make his father proud but got rejected instead. The confrontation was actually touching, I really wish we had more time for that. Even a little resistance from Unagami, another fight, and a finally reconcilliation with Dyer.

MY NINJA BABIES ARE BACK I MISSED YOU GUYS SO MUCH!!! ❤💚💙🖤💦💎

Could you seriously be cuter than this?? ❤💙❤💙 I wished for more hugs but I'll settle for this I guess 😍

Okay, very nice to see Seven and Okino out there and deciding to live their lives in Ninjago, nice to see some others like the rats going back to Prime Empire. As Unagami said, he gave them a choice, it's up to them at this point

But I'm sorry, WHY ARE WE NOT GOING TO TALK WITH SCOTT??? That guy's been trapped inside the game the longest, not even a "Hey bud, you're alive, cool cool"? I know I've been overbearing about how much I love Scott, especially since I had all those theories about him (still don't know why he has lightnings on his jacket and hat, is it just a style thing? Idk), but come on! Well I guess if he's happy I am 🤷‍♀️

Is that his girlfriend or something? After 30 years? Or maybe she got trapped with him a while later? Or maybe that's his... mom? Look, we all know determine the age of LEGO characters is hard, give me a break please 😅😅

Overall, very nice ending, it brought everything together quite nicely. I'm satisfied, yes!! 💜💜

FINAL THOUGHTS

As I said, the episodes' lenght I really think gets in the way of making this an excellent season. There is so much that could be explored more, the choice matter, all the amazing characters, and the AI feelings stuff from the latest episodes. There is room for more, I wished we got that

The characters though were really amazing. Between Scott, Okino, Seven and Unagami himself, there were very different personalities with very different dreams and thoughts, that made this ride much more interesting

Fighting animation was 👌👌👌

Comebacks from past seasons were 👌👌👌👌👌👌👌👌👌

Maybe it didn't really focused on Jay as much until the end? Yeah it was about him, but we got to see his sensibility and his past only last episode. He loves Nya, he likes videogames, of course but there's more about him than meets the eye! Wished we saw that, but in general it was nice seeing him first line again 💙

I liked this season. It has flaws, but I enjoyed many parts and at the end I was left satisfied 👍

Just... wasn't Jillian supposed to be in this? Or is it next season? She said a mom was going to come back, I took for granted it was going to be Edna. I'm curious about next season now... FINALLY A COLE SEASON EVERYONE!!! 🖤🖤🖤

Thank you for leaving notes to my last rant, this helps me not jump excitedly every time a new episode comes out 😅 Well then, that's all from me!! Have a nice day everyone!! 💜💜💜

[burclay]

Be Held Chapter 7

“Yeah, I get it,” Buffy said. “England’s better than we think.” She grinned. “If your name is Earl Grey.”

“Well,” Giles said, hiding his indignation behind his Britishness in such a familiar way, “I’m going to bed.”

AO3 Chapter 1

Buffy had had it with emotions. She had defeated the literal First Evil, she had averted the apocalypse, and now she had to deal with all these feelings , like exhaustion and love and embarrassment and anxiety.

And Faith was so calm through it all. Buffy didn’t get how she did it. But then again, Faith hadn’t gotten where she was by wearing her emotions on her sleeve. And Faith wan’t the one standing next to her girlfriend and asking to crash at her ex’s.

So Buffy backed up and did some Slayer wrangling, making sure that everyone had roommates they could deal with while Faith talked to Angel about rooms. Soon enough, most of the Slayers had gone up to their rooms to sleep, and Buffy, Faith, Xander, Willow, Kennedy, Giles, Dawn, and Angel sat in the hotel lobby.

“So, you’ve all been busy,” Angel said.

“Pretty much,” Buffy said.

Angel surveyed the group. “Who’s…” He gestured at Kennedy.

“This is Kennedy,” Willow said. “She’s a Slayer.”

“Huh. Seem to be a lot of those lately.”

“You said you had some?” Giles asked.

Angel nodded. “One’s been living here. She’s asleep on the third floor. There’s another in the suburbs, who has a pretty picturesque life. She doesn’t have much interest in being a Slayer, and she won’t cause trouble if you leave her alone. There are a couple more who would go with you if you asked, and one who’s a trickier case.”

“Never seen one of those before,” Buffy muttered.

“I’ll take care of it,” Faith said, shooting Buffy a glare.

“She’s holed up in an abandoned movie theater,” Angel said. “I think she’s using vampires as slaves.”

“Good for her,” Kennedy commented. She leaned forward and addressed the group. “But what are we going to do with all these girls?”

“Spread out,” Buffy said, sitting up straighter. “We set up a base for training, and then when we’ve got girls trained up, we send them into the world.” She looked around at the others. “I mean, that makes sense, right?”

“I’d say I’m looking right at the core training staff,” Angel said.

“Works for me,” said Faith. “Where’s our base?”

“Might I suggest England?” Giles asked. “The resources of the Council--”

“Didn’t the Council explode?” Willow asked.

“Yes, but that was not their only stronghold,” Giles explained. “The Council, as a rule, is careful, and it is old. Furthermore, for all intents and purposes, at this point, I am the Council, as the only remaining active Watcher. Therefore, I will be able to take over their resources in order to properly train and support Slayers.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Faith said.

“So, we all head overseas?” Dawn asked.

“Pretty expensive proposal,” Xander said.

“The Council has always been a wealthy organization,” Giles said. “It has had thousands of years to accumulate wealth and resources.”

“We’ll have to ask the girls if they actually want to go,” Buffy said, trying to keep the bitterness out of her voice. “I mean, if there’s not a chosen one, surely they can do their own choosing, right?”

“Jealous?” Faith asked.

“What? No!” Buffy exclaimed. When everyone in the room stared at her, she sighed.  “Well, a little. I wouldn’t have chosen to be a Slayer.”

“Neither would I,” Kennedy said, “but I can’t go back to my life now that I know about this.”

“We’ll let the Slayers decide,” Giles said. “Some may agree with you, Kennedy. But they deserve the choice, now that they have it.”

“And so do all of you,” Buffy said. “If any of you non-Slayer types don’t want to stay with us--”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Willow interrupted.

“We’re with you, Buff,” Xander agreed.

Buffy shrugged. “Just checking.”

“I can get you plane tickets,” Angel said. “I just need a head count.”

“Some of us should stay back,” Willow said. “For the new new Slayers.”

“Faith and I can handle it,” Buffy said. “One last California quest before we go to the land of no sun and scones.”

Faith laughed. Giles scoffed.

“I’ll have you know--”

“Yeah, I get it,” Buffy said. “England’s better than we think.” She grinned. “If your name is Earl Grey.”

“Well,” Giles said, hiding his indignation behind his Britishness in such a familiar way, “I’m going to bed. I’ll make some calls in the morning and get access to the Watcher Council funds.” He stood and left, up the stairs to his room.

Willow got up, saying a quick good night and pulling Kennedy after her, and then Dawn made a wisecrack about it being past her bedtime, and even Faith left, and a moment later everyone was gone but Angel and Buffy.

Buffy sighed. “And here we are again.” She stood to leave. “I’m going up, too. Thanks for letting us stay.”

Angel stood too. “No problem. I’m always glad to help.”

“Helping the helpless, right?”

“You’ve never been helpless.”

Buffy smiled and went up the stairs to the room, where Faith was already curled up under the covers. Maybe Buffy had never been helpless, but she had been afraid, and she realized in this moment that she wasn’t.

How strange.

She got into bed and fell asleep in moments.

The morning brought with it a frenzy of activity; everyone was calling somebody, everyone had to be updated on what was going on, and all the Slayers were being put on the bus to the airport, either to go to England or to go back to their homes. Angel’s co-workers were around, too, trying to actually run their business, which was awkward when one of them was Wesley, and when their clients came in to see twenty teenage girls packing weapons into suitcases. Buffy wound up answering a million questions from what seemed like a million Slayers, and then Fred came up to her, grim-faced girl in tow.

“Buffy, this is Madison. She’s a Slayer.”

“Hi, Madison,” Buffy said. “I’m Buffy. Um, I’m also a Slayer. Are you joining the group?”

Madison nodded.

“We’re glad to have you.” Buffy tried for a warm smile. She didn’t really know what else to say. “Have you Slain anything yet?”

“I’ve gone with Angel’s team a couple of times,” Madison said. “Killed a few vampires.”

“She’s being humble,” Fred said. “She took down three at once her first time out.”

“I almost died,” she said, her face still expressionless. “I want to learn how to live.”

“Can I tell you something?” Buffy asked.

“If you want.”

“I’ve almost died more than I can count. I even actually died a couple of times. It’s hard, being a Slayer, but more people are alive at the end than would be if you hadn’t been there, even if you’re not one of them. Three vampires your first Slay is incredible. But don’t think it’s going to get easier.”

There was a moment of silence, and then Madison nodded again. “I don’t feel safe here,” she said. “I want to go with you.”

“Okay,” Buffy said. “Do you want to go today, or in a few days when Faith and I bring the other local Slayers?”

“I’ll go today.”

“Fred, can you tell Dawn to add her to the count?”

“I’m on it,” Fred said, walking off.

Buffy turned back to the girl in front of her. “We’ll be glad to have you, Madison.” She paused. “Do you want to go talk to some of the other Slayers? There are lots of them. I’m sure one of them will be your friend.”

“Okay.” Madison walked away, towards the center of the lobby where girls were gathered, talking and laughing. Buffy looked at them, at Madison hanging out on the edges, and was glad for a moment that these girls had each other. Never again would there be one girl in all the world, or one girl in all the world and the one other girl in all the world.

Buffy looked at the scene in front of her, and then she turned away to look for Faith.

Finally, two hours later, everyone was on a bus to LAX, and Buffy stoodwith Faith in the lobby of Angel Investigations, feeling oddly adrift.

“So, now we look for those other Slayers?” Buffy asked.

“Guess so,” Faith answered. “Come on, let’s go ask Angel where they are.”

Fifteen minutes later, Faith and Buffy were on the streets, addresses in hand.

“We should split up,” Faith said. “You get Tina, I get Jaya, we meet up for Nadia.”

“No,” Buffy said. “This is our last mission as the Chosen Ones. We go together.”

Buffy could practically hear Faith’s eye-roll, but Faith didn’t say anything.

They got to the first address, a shabby apartment building not too far from the hotel. Buffy stood awkwardly at the doorway, unsure of what to do, but Faith walked right in and pushed a buzzer, and so Buffy took a few more steps in and stood behind Faith.

“Aren’t these buildings supposed to have doormen?”

“The nice ones are,” Faith answered.

A voice crackled over the speaker.

“Hello?” It couldn’t have been the voice of anyone over twelve.

“Hey. This is Faith and Buffy. We’re Angel’s friends. We’re here to see Tina.”

“That’s me. Come upstairs.”

Faith led the way up the stairs to Tina’s apartment. She knocked on the door, and a tiny girl with wide eyes opened the door. Behind her Buffy could see a sofa and the edge of a coffee table against gray walls.

“Are you guys Slayers?” she asked.

Faith and Buffy exchanged a look.

“Yes,” Buffy said. “Just like you.”

Tina backed away and held the door open, so Buffy and Faith stepped through and into the living space.

“You guys can sit down if you want,” Tina said.

“Okay.” Buffy sat on the sofa, and after a moment, Faith sat next to her. Tina sat cross-legged on the coffee table, her eyes darting between Buffy and Faith. She leaned in.

“Do you guys really kill vampires?”

“Every day, practically,” Faith said.

“Wow.”

“Have you seen any vampires?” Buffy asked.

“Angel showed me one,” Tina said. “He took it down. He’s not a Slayer, is he?”

“No,” Buffy said. “He’s just had a lot of practice.”

“So, Tina, do you want to learn to do that?” Faith asked. “Be a Slayer?”

Tina nodded. “I think so.”

“You might have to go far away,” Buffy said.

“That’s okay,” Tina said. “My mom doesn’t really care about me. She doesn’t stay here most of the time.”

Buffy looked around the room. She had thought that it was so clean because it was well-kept, but she realized it was so clean because no one used it.

“Do you want to come with us now?” Faith asked.

“Can I?” Tina asked. Her posture was suddenly straighter. “Can I go with you and never come back here? Ever?”

“It’ll be hard,” Faith said. “Being a Slayer is hard. But we’ll feed you, and give you a place to sleep, and what more could you ask for? Bit like prison in that way.”

“Don’t scare her, Faith,” Buffy hissed.

“What? It’s the truth.”

“But it’ll be like you have lots of sisters,” Buffy said. “You won’t be alone.”

They left the building with Tina between them. It was a short walk full of questions and answers, and before long they were in another building, ringing another buzzer.

Jaya actually appeared just as they were asking for her over the intercom; a man’s voice had just said that she was out when she walked in. She was right in the middle of letting her hair out of its braid when she stopped and glared at Buffy and Faith.

“Why’re you looking for me?” she demanded, crossing her arms and leaning back on one foot, hair half-braided. Buffy almost laughed; it was a pose she was so used to from Faith. Jaya was about as old as Faith and Buffy had been, too, when they had met.

“We’re Angel’s friends,” Faith said.

“Angel?”

“Tall, dark hair, leather jacket?” Buffy asked. “Might have talked to you about being a Slayer?”

“Oh, that Angel.” Jaya’s posture relaxed. “You two are going to teach me to kill vampires?”

“Something like that,” Buffy said.

“If you want to,” Faith said. “And if you can come to England.”

Jaya shrugged. “I’ll do anything if you can convince my parents.”

“Can we set up, like, a fake boarding school?” Faith asked Buffy. “With a ton of financial aid?”

“Could probably set up a real boarding school,” Buffy said. She turned her attention back to Jaya. “Stay here until next fall. By then, we’ll either have someone in L. A. to teach you, or we’ll be able to sell an impressive boarding school.”

Jaya’s facade of strength cracked. Her arms fell to her side. “Will I be safe here? Without training?”

“Angel can help,” Buffy said. “He and his people can protect you and teach you some stuff.”

“I don’t trust him,” Jaya said. “He’s weird. Isn’t this Slayer thing supposed to be about girl power or something?”

“How about Fred?” Faith asked. “You know her?”

“Yeah. She’s okay.”

“Hang out with her,” Faith said. “She can help you, too. Just let Angel teach you some cool kicks, okay?”

Jaya nodded. Her eyes traveled from Faith to Tina.

“You a Slayer, too?”

“Yeah,” Tina answered. “I’m going to England.”

“Good luck, kid.” Jaya held up her hand for a high five. Tina slapped her hand with force that would have moved a lesser soul to tears, but not a Slayer.

“Thanks,” she said.

“We’ll be in touch,” Buffy said. “If Angel’s people call, answer.”

And they left, still towing Tina.

“Where’s the third?” Faith asked.

Buffy held up the address sheet. “The address is just the movie theater.”

Buffy looked down at Tina. “We can worry about her tomorrow. We should probably go in daylight, if she’s got vampire slaves.”

“And maybe we shouldn’t take an inexperienced kid?”

Tina poked Faith’s hip, which was the only part she could reach. “Hey!”

“Sorry, Teeny.” Faith shrugged. “But trust me, you don’t want to walk into an abandoned movie theater with a potentially rogue Slayer after dark. Even with me and B along.”

“You want dinner?” Buffy asked. “We could order pizza to the hotel.”

“I like pizza,” Tina said.

A few minutes later, they were back at the hotel and Buffy was on the phone, calling in an order for the whole Angel Investigations team. The rest of the evening felt a little bit like a party, with everyone sitting around with pizza, talking about-- well, mostly about the demons they had killed, which ruined the mood a little bit, but it wasn’t every day that they had a wide-eyed newbie hanging on to their every word.

Although maybe it was, now.

At any rate, it was exactly what Buffy needed: a regular evening without twenty teenagers relying on her to know what to do, even if one of them was her vampire ex, and one of them had been a Watcher she had hated, and one of them was an eleven-year-old who was really not old enough for everything she was about to experience. She enjoyed watching Angel bicker with his friends (including and especially Faith), and she enjoyed the tag-team storytelling that she, Angel, and Faith could pull off, with memories of when life was just a couple of Slayers against an entire world of evil. And she liked hearing the stories that Angel’s people had, too; they had been through as much as Buffy.

Later, when she was lying next to Faith in their room (Angel had offered separate rooms, but he hadn’t seemed too surprised when neither Buffy nor Faith wanted to switch), Buffy asked, “Are we like moms now? Telling stories of the good old days and trying to figure out what to do with eleven-year-olds?”

“I told you,” Faith said. She was lying on her stomach and doodling on a pad of paper that Buffy was pretty sure she had stolen from the motel. “I’m the weird aunt.”

“I’m serious, Faith. We’re going to go to England, and there are still going to be all these people looking up to us.”

“To you,” Faith said. “Who’d look up to me?”

“Girls like you,” Buffy said, her voice quiet. “The ones who are seventeen and confused and in a bad place. You’re not so bad, Faith.”

“Nicest thing you’ve ever said about me,” Faith joked, but it wasn’t quite a joke.

“Not true!” Buffy sat up and faced Faith. “I’ve said lots of nice things about you. Like, you’re good at Slaying when you’re not evil, and your hair is really nice, and--” Buffy stopped, distracted by Faith’s hair. It really was nice, especially with the way the low light was making it glow as it fell over Faith’s shoulder.

Faith looked at Buffy. “And what?”

“Nothing.” Buffy blushed. “I, um, got distracted by your hair.”

Faith sat up, tossing her head. “You wouldn’t be the first.” She leaned in, her face close to Buffy’s, their foreheads almost touching. “Are you distracted by anything else?”

With a smile, Buffy pulled Faith in for a kiss.

[sweetbunpura]

I’m Your Sword and I’m Your Shield Ch. 14

After the kiss, Ryuji had promptly fled into the guest room with a red face and locked it. You didn't chases after him, you were still stunned after that surprise kiss. You cleaned up everything after you got unstunned and went to bed, yelling a goodnight to Ryuji, who didn't say anything in return. The next day wielded the same results as last night, you got ready for school and texted Ryuji that you were leaving, he didn't text back.It was only until the school was nearly over that you got a response from him.

R: About....about the kiss.... Yes? R: It was a.... A what? R: Spur of the moment thing...

You felt everything freeze as you read his message. Your heart's crushed as he continues texting. R: You were my clutch and you listened to my problems... R: Seein' you so calmly looking at the rain and all... R: Caused me to move without thinking, y'know?

'Like usual...' You think and glance up to make sure the teacher wasn't watching before responding.

...So you don't like me in that way?

It takes a full five minutes before he responds and you can tell from how long it took that he's contemplating his words. R: ....I...I don't know.... R: Maybe.....I just... R: I don't want to ruin this..... R: If I lose you then I have no one left.... R: I'll go back to being a lonely delinquent with no future ahead of him... R: Heh.... R: Maybe I deserved all those words after all....

You clench your phone upon reading that. Ryuji's spoken on this kinda thing before, back when you both were in middle school. It took you a full week to get him to stop thinking like that. Ryuji. You, in no way, deserved any of that, understand? You always put others first and neglect your own safety in tow. The others... they don't TRULY know you like I do. So, of course they have no idea what words NOT to say to you. R: But....I never told them to stop.... Cause you didn't want to appear as weak? R: Yeah... R: ..... Ryuji? R: Thanks, (Y/N) R: You're always there when I need it

You give a soft smile as the bell rings overhead, the students start packing up their bags as you continue texting the blond teen. You're welcome Now go gorge yourself on those terrible chips you love so much. R: Dude, you have no taste R: They're amazin'~ They taste of cardboard R: : P

You laugh to yourself as you pack up your things and leave the classroom. You're halfway down until you hear your name being called. Your hand grips the railing as you turn to face who called you. Akira and Ann are standing at the top of the stairs with Morgana peeking his head over the side of the shaggy haired teen's shoulder. Ann looks off to the side, almost as if she's embarrassed to make eye contact while Akira's meeting your gaze head on. For once, you can see his eyes without the glare of his glasses keeping them hidden, his steely gray eyes have a serious look to them. Any student that's still loitering around stop to watch the confrontation between the boy with the criminal record and the best friend of the school's blond delinquent. You brace yourself for whatever Akira has to say. "Yeah?" "Can we talk to you?" You gesture down to the floor and he shakes his head. "At Leblanc. You know where that is?" "Nothing I can't look up." You turn to leave, "I'll go there a bit later." You descend the stairs. "Now." The new tone in Akira's voice causes you to freeze and the sound of quickly moving footsteps fills the vacant air. 'He's definitely the leader of the Phantom Thieves.' You look back at the teen and cross your arms. "Then I might as well follow you there." You step aside as he descends the stairs with Ann following, the curly pig-tailed blonde has yet to say anything or even look at you. You travel along with them to the train station, the three of you don't say a word as you get off in Yongen-Jaya. You take in the appearance of Leblanc as you approach, it's got a rustic and homey feel to it, but it does nothing to calm your nerves. Akira opens the door and allows you and Ann to go ahead of him, you walk in and are greeted by Yusuke, Makoto, and Futaba. "What's up?" You already have a feeling about how well this talk is going to go. None of them say anything and you can feel a bit of your temper start to flare up. You cross your arms and glare at them. "If no one's going to say anything, then I'm leaving." "We would like to know where Ryuji is." Makoto speaks. "We can't get a hold of him." "That's not my problem." You snap slightly. "Why should I tell you? After everything he's told me about how you guys treat him, I'm surprised you even want him back." Your nails dig into your arms. The team flinch upon hearing your harsh words, but you can't bring yourself to care. "We want to apologize." Ann says. "Did you guys decide this overnight or did Akira say that you have to say your apologies?" "What's the difference?" Futaba asks. "Between a heartfelt apology and one where you're being told to?" Your temper flares up again. "One where you know you were in the wrong and the one where you want to get it done so that person who told you would stop nagging you?" You glare at the red-haired teen. "I don't know Futaba, but I'm pretty sure you're smart enough to tell the difference." Futaba steps back and Makoto comes to her difference. "We didn't know and we apologize." "Why the hell are you apologizing to me for?" You growl slightly. "I'm not the one who took all that shit from you guys for six months." You take a deep breath. "Look, Ryuji's been taking shit his whole life: from his father, from Kamoshida, and now from you guys. Giving him time might not cut it..." The team stares at you with wide eyes and you have to fight down the bitter laugh that threatens to emerge. "Yes, I saw the messages you were sending him...." "...So, what do you suppose we do?" Akira asks. "You said giving him time might not work." "Are you suggesting that we avoid Ryuji?" Yusuke speaks. You shake your head, "No, I'd never say that. He talked a lot about you guys before all this happened." You rub the back of your neck. "Maybe...don't pressure him into accepting whatever your apology is... or whatever it is that you guys have planned." You walk towards the door. "If he accepts and you guys rekindle your lost friendship.... Please think before you say anything that might be harmful to him. Underneath the tough guy exterior, he's someone trying to find his place in the world." With that, you leave and make fast tracks towards the train station. When you get off in Shibuya, your phone goes off. R: Do you know Haru Okumura? No Why? R: She's a third year at our school and we're stopping by your house real fast to say hi. I'm on my way back right now Please don't jump the fence R: On your way back? R: From where?

You contemplate telling him the truth, but decides that it's best to hear it from you before the others. Akira asked me to come to Leblanc The others were there as well R: .... R: What did they say? They asked where you were, but I didn't tell them Then I told them off about how they treated you and left R: ...Oh R: You still had my back even when I wasn't there. Hell yeah I've always got your back

You fish your keys out of your pocket as you hear Ryuji's voice around the corner. You turn to look at him and a girl, you assume is Okumura-senpai, approach. Ryuji loops an arm around you and introduces you to the fluffy haired senior. You invite them both inside and try to push down the bad feeling you have for the future.

[ask-the-phan-site]

Phan Cam: New Yorkers for New Years

NOTE: Forgive me if this might show up after New Years. It’s pretty long.

>Shibuya, New Years Eve. The people were a buzz for the upcoming celebration as they watched a stage being set up for it. Arriving from Narita Airport and waiting at the statue of Bachiko, some familiar faces from overseas.

Here we are!

Tokyo, Japan! This place is amazing.

I know I’ve been here before, but it just takes my breath away.

Peter: You’ve been here?

Harry: Yes. But I’ve only seen the Wilton. My dad- Norman, never let me go anywhere. But he’s not here now. Now I can see the whole city.

Peter: And we’ll be seeing it together.

>Both Peter and Harry smile at each other.

I wonder where they could be.

Akechi, you did tell them where we’re meeting them, have you?

Akechi: I told them we would be waiting at Bachiko.

Bachiko? I thought it was Hachiko.

Akechi: ... It’s a long story.

Hold on, here they come!

>No doubt, we arrive.

We’re here! Sorry we’re late. We were having breakfast.

It’s alright, Ann, we weren’t waiting that long.

Either way, we’re so happy you could all be here.

Peter: Same here. Oh yeah, here’s our gifts for you.

Thank you. We’ll open them up when we meet at Leblanc.

Harry: Good. That should give us time to come up with a place to stay while we’re here.

Where are you guys staying?

Peter: Well, Max and Hector are staying at an apartment they rented in Yongen-Jaya.

Hey, that’s we’re our place and our hideout is. We’ll be neighbors.

Max: That’s good. You can show us around sometime.

Peter: As for the rest of us, we’re still looking.

Harry: We thought about the Wilton, but I’ve been there and I’m sick of it.

Why not stay with each of us? I’m sure our guardians wouldn't mind.

Peter: In that case, I want to stay with Akechi. He got to see where I live, I want to see where he lives.

Akechi: I don’t think that’s possible. After my “untimely demise”, I lost my nice apartment downtown. Even after my “resurrection”, I couldn’t get it back. I’m currently staying at an institution.

Peter: (surprised) Oh, I’m sorry.

Akechi: It’s alright.

Makoto: You could stay with me and Sis, Peter. Fair warning, we only have one bathroom.

Peter: That’s okay. Our house has one bathroom, too.

Gwen: I’ll see if I can stay with Ann. If that’s okay.

Ann: I’m sure it will be okay. My parents are away on some last minute business for the next few days, so it’ll just be the two of us.

Gwen: Thanks.

Ren: Miles, you can stay at Leblanc with me, Yusuke, and Morgana.

I normally stay at the dorms at Kosei, but during certain holidays, I stay at Leblanc.

Miles: Thanks. Maybe I can even try their famous curry and coffee.

Anya: If Miles is staying in Yongen, so am I.

Futaba: Good. You can stay at my house. But there’s something you should know.

Anya: What’s that?

Sojiro snores.

>We all couldn’t help but laugh.

Haru: Looks like Harry is the last to go. You’re welcome to stay at my place.

Harry: Thanks, Haru. But I really want to see where Ryuji lives. I also want to apologize to his mother for the money.

Really? Thanks, man.

Harry: Besides, I’ve got a surprise for you. My own Christmas present to you.

Ryuji: For real? Now I’m more anxious.

Ren: Then it’s settled. We’ll take these guys back to our places to get settled in. Then, we meet at Leblanc where we’ll do some sightseeing around Tokyo. And finally, meet back in Shibuya for the New Years Eve celebration.

>We agreed. With that, we all go our separate ways.

>My room in Leblanc. Me, Miles, Yusuke, and Morgana arrive.

Miles: Nice place you have here.

Ren: Thanks. You can sleep on the sofa. Me and Yusuke usually sleep on the bed.

Miles: Together? I guess it’s true. Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy for the both of you.

Thanks, we appreciate that.

We really do.

Miles: I’m just surprised this place is hardly decorated.

Ren: I already have some much decorations, I don’t know which ones to put up.

Yusuke: What about the statue I got you while we were at the museum?

Ren: ... That might be too much. But I still have the Star Stickers and the Hamaya.

Yusuke: That’ll work.

Morgana: Oh, I want to add the chocolate fountain! I’ve always like that one!

>We laughed as we helped Miles put his things down and start decorating.

>Ann’s room. She and Gwen arrive.

Gwen: You were right. Your parents aren’t here at all.

Ann: (with a basket of biscuits) They called and said they wish they could be here to meet you. They also said you’re also welcome to sleep in their bed if you like. Here, help yourself to one of these.

Gwen: Thanks. By the way, I like your room. So much clothes and shoes and fashion magazines.

Ann: Well, my parents are fashion designers. Most of all the clothes here were made by their label.

Gwen: I see. And those pictures are good, too.

Ann: The one behind my bed is my favorite. I don’t remember artist’s name, but I heard she loves experimenting painting people’s pictures with different colors.

Gwen: I can see that. She did a real good job.

I know. Can’t wait to see what she does next... Don’t tell Yusuke, though.

Gwen: It’s a secret between us girls.

>They laughed as they talked more.

>Futaba’s room.

Futaba: Sorry about the mess. With all the heists we’ve done, my school life, and such, I’ve hadn’t had time to clean and I also usually let Ren do all the cleaning.

Anya: It’s alright. Sometimes, I have a hard time remembering to clean my room.

Futaba: I hope you cleaned it before coming to Japan. I don’t think your mom would be happy to make a long-distance call to scold you.

Anya: (laughing a bit) Don’t worry. I did. Hey, I like your computer. What system does it run on?

Futaba: Huh. I actually forgot. I asked Sojiro to get it.

Anya: It actually looks similar to the one I have. I also see you have a mini fridge and... Is that Phoenix Ranger Featherman R?

Hands off my children, please!

>Anya and Futaba continued to talk as they ended up cleaning the room.

>Makoto’s room.

So glad you can join us for New Years, Peter san.

Peter: Thanks, Niijima san.

Sae: It’s alright if you call me Sae san.

Peter: Sure if you like.

Makoto: We’ll settle things here, Sis.

Sae: Okay. If you need anything, I’ll be in the living room wrapping up some work.

>With that, Sae leaves them to get settled in.

Peter: You’ve got a nice looking room, Makoto. Looks at all these books... And these pandas.

Makoto: I’ve liked Buchimaru since I was young. That pencil case on my desk was a gift from my father.

Peter: I see. You’re dad was a great man. It’s hard to believe he’s... I’m sorry. I’m a guest and I shouldn’t bring up something like this.

It’s alright. I’m glad someone is speaking highly of my father.

Peter: I know. I just know how you feel. My father and Uncle Ben were great men and to lose them? It’s real hard.

Makoto: I’m sure they would be proud of the kind of person you grew up to be.

Peter: Thanks. I’m sure your father is the same.

Thank you, Peter.

>The two continue to get Peter settled in... Unaware that Sae was listening in.

>Ryuji’s room.

Harry: Thanks again for letting me stay over, Mrs. Sakamoto. I just hope I won’t be too much a bother.

It’s no trouble. I’m just so glad one of Ryu kun’s friends from America could be here for New Years.

Can we please can it with the pet name?

Mrs. Sakamoto: Well, I’ll just be out for a bit. I’ll see you later... Ryu kun. You too, Harry kun.

>With that, Mr. Sakamoto leaves. Ryuji was a little unhappy about his pet name while Harry smiles.

Harry: Ryu kun? (laughs) And I thought Petey-poo was too much.

Ryuji: Come on. It’s not like you were ever called any embarrassing pet names.

Harry: Actually... I wasn’t. Remember? No loving parents.

Ryuji: (surprised) Oh, right. Sorry. (looking down)

Harry: It’s okay. We both forgot. It’s just... I think it’s nice that your mom calls you by a pet name. For me, it’s just Harry or Harold. Even my grandparents wouldn’t call me something like “Hair Bear”.

Ryuji: I can see why that would fit. You have such nice hair.

Harry: Yours is nice, too. I’ve only ever dyed my hair once for Halloween. My dad didn’t like it.

Ryuji: I think he’s just jealous about how much you like your life. But you’re free now, Harry Lyman. You control your life and no one else.

Harry: That’s right. And I have you guys to thank for that... And Pete. Thanks, Ryuji.

You too... Hair Bear.

>The couldn’t help but laugh.

DING! DONG!

Ryuji: Mom’s back already?

Harry: Actually, I think that’s the special gift I got you.

Ryuji: It must be. You’ve been on the phone about it the whole trip here.

Harry: Why don’t you answer it?

>Both Ryuji and Harry go to the door and answer it... Ryuji was start stuck.

Y- You’re...

You must be Ryuji Sakamoto. From the videos, right?

Looks like it. When Harry Lyman showed them to us, that appearance was unforgettable.

Ryuji: (blushing) ...

Harry: (checking the time on his phone) Oh, look at the time! Everyone’s meeting up at the cafe. So, I’ll just leave the three of you to talk. I’ll tell them you just got held up and we’ll be seeing you later.

Keigo: Don’t worry, we’ll make sure he makes it to Shibuya in time for the celebrations. Right, Ryuji san?

Ryuji: R- R- Right... S- See ya.

>With that, Harry leaves Ryuji with the two idols in his apartment... What’ll happen next?

>Cafe Leblanc. Harry arrived where we all were waiting for him.

Hector: ¡Delicioso! This is great coffee.

Thanks. Never thought two famous people would praise me for a simple cup of coffee.

Max: Still, it’s good to see you again, Sojiro san.

Boss: Same here.

Gwen: You’ve met before?

Boss: It was when he was in Japan and met Wakaba.

Gwen: I see.

Harry: I’m here!

Ann: Welcome. Where’s Ryuji?

Harry: He’ll be joining us later at the celebration in Shibuya. I think you’ll like what I got him.

Futaba: Now I wish it was now... But it looked like you were on your phone. So I guess I can hack into it and see what you were up to.

Harry: Don’t you dare.

Peter: Come on, everyone. It’s New Years. We came for fun. I’m sure we’ll know what Harry got Ryuji soon enough.

Akechi: I’m sure it will be spectacular.

Futaba: Say, Akechi, you were in New York and you and Peter probably spent time with Harry...

Akechi: Sorry, Futaba chan, I don’t know what it is, either.

Peter: None of us do, actually.

Aww, man!

Ren: Come on, Futaba. We’re going to show our friends around Tokyo. I’m sure time will pass before you know it.

Futaba: I suppose you’re right.

Miles: Max, Hector, are you guys coming?

Max: Sorry, Miles, you’ll have to count us out. We’re going to meet with the principals of Shujin and Kosei. But we’ll try to meet with you at Shibuya.

Miles: Alright. We’ll see you then.

Alright. If we want to see at least most of this city this year, we better get going. Let’s go!

>Everyone cheered and we were on our way.

>First, we stayed in Yongen for some batting at the batting cage. Then, we went to Shibuya were we did some shopping in the Underground Mall, played at the arcade, and had lunch at the diner. Then, we went off to Akihabara to do some goods hunting. Peter, Harry, Miles, Gwen, and Anya were pleased with the machine parts the found. The arcade there was indeed closed for renovations. Luckily, they said they should be finished next month. Our next stop was Asakusa to get some Kumade and explore the Sky Tower. Then, we took in some art at the museum in Ueno. Strolled through the park in Inokashira. Did it bit more shopping in Harajuku. Looked around Chinatown. Browsed through Book Town (Jinbocho). Had some fun in Dome Town (Suidobashi). Watched a movie in Shinjuku. And finally, we went to pray at Meiji Shrine and got our fortune for the New Year.

>At long last, we all gathered back in Shibuya.

(sighs) What a day!

Makoto: We squeezed in lot. It’s already getting dark.

Miles: We even went shopping five times.

Gwen: But at least we got some great stuff out of this. Mom will love this purse I got in Harajuku.

Anya: And I got this great book in Book Town. I’m surprised they had some in English.

Peter: And I can’t wait to give this watch to Aunt May.

Miles: Same thing I got my dad.

>Suddenly, we heard someone calling. It was Iwai and Kaoru.

Yo, fellas!

Ren: Hey, Iwai, Kaoru. How was your ski trip?

It was fine. Though we didn’t do much skiing. We ended up spending the whole trip in the lodge drinking hot cocoa.

Iwai: But the Christmas party was nice. And I still have some of the money from the lottery for a nice New Years Eve dinner before we go to the celebration.

Kaoru: That’s true.

Makoto: Are you coming as well?

Kaoru: Yes. I really want to see Kanamin Kitchen. I hear this new hit, Pull The Trigger, is going to be quite the show... But not as much as what KUROFUNE has in store.

Miles: What do you mean?

Kaoru: Oh, you must be Ren’s friends from America. Nice to meet you.

>He and Iwai shook hands with them and introductions were exchanged.

Kaoru: Anyway, KUROFUNE posted something online about a surprise they have for the show. I kind of wonder what it is.

Iwai: Who knows. I’ll never understand idols.

Ren: So, we’ll be seeing you there?

You bet.

>With that, he and Kaoru leave... I notice Harry smiling.

Futaba: (suspicious) Does this have something to do with Ryuji’s gift?

Harry: If you’re asking... Why don’t we find out?

>Harry reaches into his bag and takes out many lanyards with cards on them.

Are those... Backstage passes!?

Anya: Well, judging that they’re in lanyards, yes.

Peter: Harry, what’s this about?

Harry: You’ll see.

>Later, we were all backstage of Kanamin Kitchen’s New Years Eve Spectacular. While there, we spotted three familiar faces.

You should be honored that your friend at least made it in 1st. That means he gets the prize money for your treatment.

I know. But I still wish Joe became the champion.

That Haninozuka’s a piece of work. Everyone in his family has been practicing marital arts for a long time. But I'm sure Joe can do it next year.

Yuta: Yeah, you’re right. Thanks, Shinya.

No problem!

Ann: Hey, guys!

Ken: Oh, hi! What are you guys doing here? And I see Akechi’s back, too.

Akechi: Yes, me and our friends came in today. Harry got us backstage passes. And what about yourselves?

Ren: Yeah, Ken. I would have thought you went back to Port Island with Mitsuru san and Akihiko san as Yu and the others went to Inaba.

Ken: Mitsuru san and Koromaru went back without us. That Kanami girl insisted me and Akhiko san stay a bit longer.

Ann: How come?

>As if to answer her question, a dressing room door opens.

I have a feeling I’ve worn something like this before... But I don’t think I like to talk about it.

>We all just stared in silence.

What’s with the out fit?

Akihiko: Believe it or not, I have don’t something like this before. It was part of a some idol-them event at my old school’s culture festival. They thought I would do it again during my final year, but it got rained out. Somehow, Kanami Mashita found out and she and that Ochimizu woman dragged me into doing this little show of theirs along with that KUROFUNE.

Ken: I got roped into it as well to perform with Akihiko san.

Futaba: Really? ...

I wonder how you two look when you perform.

Akihiko and Ken: (both blushing) Shut it!

>We all laughed.

Makoto: Say, how come you two are here, Yuta kun and Shinya kun?

Yuta: Joe is going to be given the 1st place medal on stage. He invited me to hang with him backstage and I brought Shinya with me.

Ren: You know, I don’t get it. Yuta has CIP yet he somehow met Shinya. How did that happen?

We met at the same place you got that.

>He was pointing a keychain hanging from Gwen’s bag. She won it while we were in Dome Town.

Yuta: Mom was so happy with my school work, she took me to Dome Town to reward me. She needed to use the bathroom and told me to wait for her in the arcade. That’s when I saw Shinya at the shooting gallery and recognized him from the gaming magazines.

Shinya: He wanted to have a go with me, so I let him. And I’ve gotta say, this kid here we real close to beating me. In fact, the only other person I know who was close to that was...

Well, you, Ren san.

That’s only because I have a good teacher.

>We shook on it.

Yo, guys! Over here!

>We turn to see Ryuji coming up to us with, to our surprise, KUROFUNE.

Is that...

Yuto: Hi. You must be Ryuji san’s friends.

Yusuke: W- We are.

Futaba: So this is the special gift you got Ryuji.

Harry: It’s get’s better.

Keigo: We were thinking and we’ve decided... To let Ryuji san perform with us!

>We were surprised and happy to hear that. We already knew Ryuji has all the makings of a great idol.

Gwen: That’s amazing! Are you sure you can do this?

Ryuji: After we explained it to my mom, the three of us went to the studio to rehearse.

Keigo: We saw the videos of you and Ryuji san dancing and were impressed. And he did real well at rehearsals. And he can sing real well. Even beat box.

That’s a wonderful gift you have Ryuji.

Thanks, Akechi... You too, Harry.

Harry: You’re welcome.

Futaba: Does this mean Ryuji will be part of that Dream Festival System.

Keigo: Pretty much.

Futaba: Guess that mean he’ll finally be living his fantasy...

Of having a magical transformation like Sailor Moon!

>Ryuji scowls a bit, but he wasn’t going to let this bother him. This is his moment.

Haru: So, have you guys thought of any songs you’ll be performing?

Keigo: We all agreed to do OVER THE SEVEN SEAS as our first song. The next song is something Ryuji san decided.

Ryuji: We’ll be doing Keeper of Lust. It’s a dance I’m sure everyone will end up doing.

Yuto: And what about you, Akihiko san?

Akihiko: I’ll start with Soul Phrase. Then, me and Ken will do Light the Fire Up in the Night.

Ken: Ms. Ochimizu said Akihiko san will come up after Kanamin Kitchen performs Your Affection and Calystegia. Then, after he and I perform, KUROFUNE’s next. And then, the concert’s wrapped up with Kanamin Kitchen’s new song, Pull The Trigger.

Yuta: Are you two going to do that System thing, too.

Akihiko: Of course, not.

Yuta: How come?

Akihiko: For starts, I’m not a real idol. I’m a cop.

Ryuji: And second, even if he was, he’s not with D-4 Productions. Only they and the Dream Festival Agency use it.

Ken: That’s probably good... I’m not sure I want people seeing me naked.

Shinya: Yuta, are you and Joe staying for the concert?

Yuta: Nah. After the award ceremony, me and Joe are going back to Grandpa’s restaurant to celebrate New Years.

???: Yeah, your mom would probably feel uneasy about you being in a crowd of wild fans.

>We turn to see Joe and Kanami Mashita walking up to us.

Ren: Hey, Joe. I guess the award ceremony's about to begin.

That’s right. Are you joining me? You were in 3rd.

Ren: Correction: Soul Taker came in 3rd. Besides, only 1st place winners get their medal on New Years Eve. But we’ll still be here.

Okay, it’s about to begin! Are we ready?

Ryuji: (a little worried) Y- Yeah.

Kanami: Don’t worry. You did real well at rehearsals and if Rise senpai says you can do it, I believe her. And I know KUROFUNE believes in you, too.

Yuto: She’s right. Just do your best, man.

Ryuji: (a little more calmer) Right. Let’s do this!

Peter: Well, we better be off. We’ll be watching for you.

Keigo: Before you go, during Durika Time before we sing OVER THE SEVEN SEAS... We suggest you use New Sailing Coord.

We’ll be sure to do so.

>With that, we join the rest of the audience where we met with Boss, Max, and Hector as Kanamin Kitchen’s New Years Eve Spectacular begins.

Kanamin: Happy New Years, everyone! I’m Kanamin!

Tomomin.

Tamamin!

Sumomin!

And Nozomin!

Kanami: Tonight, we’ll be kicking off the New Year with our spectacular music. And it’s not just us tonight.

Tomoe: Also with us are fellow idol group, KUROFUNE!

>Everyone cheered as KUROFUNE came on stage with Ryuji.

Keigo: For a long time, KUROFUNE has always been represented by the colors, Silver and Gold. But for tonight... Bronze will be joining us. Let’s hear it for our third for tonight, Ryuji Sakamoto!

>Everyone cheered as Ryuji stood up. We cheered the most.

Ryuji: H- Hi.

Keigo: Common, no need to be shy.

>Ryuji nodded and took a deep breath...

Just watch! I'm totally gonna wreck your expectations! ... U-Uh, I mean that in a good way!

>Everyone laughed a bit, but cheered him on, none the less.

Kanami: Also with us is Akihiko Sanada who you already saw in the tournament along with his friend, Ken Amada.

Akihiko: (trying to sound enthusiastic) I will fight on until the break of dawn!

Ken: (also trying to sound enthusiastic) What he said.

Kanami: Well this will be a truly interesting night. But before we can begin, we would like to award this gold medal and this check for ¥900,000 to the winner of the Fight Before Christmas Tournament. Joe Akamine, come on up!

>Joe comes on stage as Kanami puts the medal around his neck and gives him the check.

Kanami: So, Joe san, what are you going to do with the prize money?

Joe: Let’s just say it’s for the best little brother a guy could ask for.

Yuta: (a bit on the verge of tears) Thanks, Joe.

Kanami: That’s sound like a noble thing to do. Thank you, Joe!

>With that, Joe leaves the stage as the audience applauded. He quickly meets up with Yuta and they leave... I hope we’ll meet them again soon.

Kanami: Now, without further ado, let’s get this party started!

Sumomo: Oh, I just can’t wait to see what tonight has in store!

Tomoe: We might even get a kiss at midnight along the way.

Nozomi: Who knows? We might get it.

Tamami: Of course, if a guy tries to sneak a kiss in before midnight, I’ll slap ‘em... But I doubt that will happen.

Kanami: Alright! The stage is set, now we can begin. Remember, our meat will be extra delicious, so...

Kanamin Kitchen: Enjoy every last bite!

>The audience cheered as the concert begins.

>First, Kanamin Kitchen performed Your Affection. Next, they performed Calystegia. Then, Akihiko came up and performed Soul Phrase. Next, he performed Light the Fire Up in the NIght with Ken. A lot of girls cheered when Ken was on stage.

Ann: KUROFUNE’s next up.

Max: Then you’re going to need these.

>Max hands us wand-like devices and a pack of cards.

Ren: Keigo suggested we use New Sailing Coord. Let’s see what we’ve got.

>We search the packs until we found what we were looking for.

Ren: Found one!

Akechi: I found one as well!

Harry: I found one for Ryuji!

Peter: Really? I’m surprised they made those cards for him so fast.

Futaba: Yes. There’s still a lot about the System we don’t know about. Like where it even came from, who made it, or how it even works.

Max: It’s a real mystery.

Yusuke: Here they come now!

>The audience cheered as KUROFUNE and Ryuji came on stage.

Yuto: Now it’s time for two stars to become three.

Keigo: Tonight, we will weigh anchor and set a course for anew.

Ryuji: We will sail this great sea and into your hearts!

KUOFUNE and Ryuji: Now, let us set sail OVER THE SEVEN SEAS!

Dorika Time!

>We load our cards into the wands.

(thinking) You can do it, brother. Just keep going.

>With that, we launch our cards in the air along with the audience’s cards as they all flew to the stage where the idols would catch them.

Yuto: (Catch Your Cheers!) Let’s set sail for adventure!

Keigo: (Catch Your Cheers!) All hands on deck for a new year!

(Catch Your Cheers!) We’ll blow the old year outta the water! Together!

(Please keep in mind that these pictures are not necessarily sensitive or adult content as they only show the upper half. Please do not block.)

>Ryuji was wearing the same thing, but with a more Bronze color.

New Sailing Series! Complete!

>They began their performance, OVER THE SEVEN SEAS. I’ve never seen Ryuji so happy on stage. This is what he’s been dreaming about... We’re all so happy for him.

Keigo: (after finishing the performance) Thank you all. Now, our next song is by Ryuji san himself.

Ryuji: I just hope you all like it. This is where my beat boxin’ skills are put to the test.

Yuto: I’m sure they’ll love it more than you think.

Ryuji: I’m sure, too... Otherwise, Mittleman san would be a little embarrassed.

>Everyone laughed a bit.

Hold on! I just had an idea.

Futaba: What’s up, Akechi?

Akechi: I think I know just the Coord for the next number. Look.

Harry: I think that might be good.

Haru: And it’s the same element as his Persona.

Ren: Alright. Let’s do it.

KUROFUNE and Ryuji: Now we shall fight the Keeper of Lust!

Dorika Time!

>We put our cards in and launch them to the stage where they caught them. And just like before, they change into the clothes that were on the cards.

Thunderbolt Series! Complete!

>With that, Ryuji and KUROFUNE were performing Keeper of Lust. Keigo was right. The audience really loved it. By the end of the performance, they were giving a real stand ovation.

Kanami: That was amazing, KUROFUNE! Your third member has a bright future to look forward to. Now, speaking of looking forward, it’s almost midnight, so we have just enough time for one last song. So here it is! The moment you’ve all been waiting for! Kanamin Kitchen’s newest hit single, Pull The Trigger!

>The entire venue was screaming with excitement as Kanamin Kitchen performs the last song of the evening, Pull The Trigger. When it was over, the crowd was really fired up.

Kanami: Wow! That was quite a show. Midnight is fast approaching and this show must end... Until next year. And we hope that you...

>The girls, Akihiko, Ken, KUROFUNE, and Ryuji all come on stage and said...

Enjoyed every last bite!

>One last applaud and the show was over. All that was left to do was wait for midnight.

>In the dressing room, we came to congratulate Ryuji on his performance with KUROFUNE.

You were amazing, Ryuji!

Ryuji: Thanks. This was the happiest night of my life.

Keigo: Kind of makes you wish you could do it again, huh?

Ryuji: You bet.

Keigo: Then I suppose you would love to hear this.

Makoto: What do you mean?

Keigo: Well, me and Yuto were discussing and we decided together.

Ryuji: What is it?

Yuto: ... We’d like you to join KUROFUNE.

FOR REAL!?

>We were all just as surprised.

Keigo: Of course, it will be a part-time gig, so you’ll still have time for school and other things, so you can set times for when you’re available.

Yuto: Basically, you won’t be with us very often, only at certain times. Times you can decide.

Keigo: There will also be times when we will call you when we need you.

Ryuji: (still starstruck) You- You really mean it?

Yuto: If we weren’t, you wouldn’t be in our dressing room now.

Miles: He’s got you there.

Keigo: So, what do you say?

Ryuji: I don’t know. I mean, I’ve always wanted to do this, but I don’t know.

Ann: Come on, Ryuji, this could be your big chance.

Keigo: Plus, you’d be paid for it. You could use it to help your mom.

Ryuji: ...

You can do it, brother. Do what your heart says.

Ryuji: Brother?

>Ryuji takes out the Dorika card he got. We saw that what I thought when I used it. Then, Ryuji closes his eyes.

Captain Kidd’s voice: You are joined by kindred spirits. Though my story ended poorly, yours can still have a happy ending.

Seiten Taisei’s voice: Take this opportunity so that your light may rise to the clouds above. Take fight and change.

Ryuji’s voice: But what about you and my friends?

Captain Kidd’s voice: We are the other you that exist within you. We are thou. Thou art we. Whenever you and your comrades need us, we will be there. We come when you call.

Seiten Taisei’s voice: We are always with you. You are you, Ryuji Sakamoto.

>Ryuji opens his eyes and answers...

EFF YEAH!

>We were all happy to hear this.

Keigo: That’s the spirit! Just let us know when you’re available and we can set something up D-4 Productions.

You bet.

Yuto: (checking his phone) Hey, it’s 11:45. Better find a good place for the countdown. We’ll see you soon.

>We all nodded as we left.

Keigo: He really does have the makings of an idol. You think he can do it?

Yuto: We both decided. He’s got the skill and the talent. And it’s what he dreams about. That’s why it’s called Dream Festival. Besides... When are ever going to get the chance to have a Phantom Thief join us?

>The walkway where we would meet during the Madarame and Kanashiro heists.

Ryuji: This was a really great gift, Harry. Thank you.

Harry: You’re welcome.

Ryuji: I just wish we could do something for you in return.

Actually, we can.

Harry: Really? How?

Futaba: Actually, it’s for you and Peter.

Peter: What is it?

Futaba: While we were in yours and Harry’s shared Palace, we learned that he had other dreams before us. About some kind of world.

Harry: (looking a bit down) I guess you would know.

Futaba: Well, during a heist on Thanksgiving in 2017, we met someone with one of those key-shaped blades and I think he might be able to help with that dream.

Harry: (surprised) Really!? You would do it?

Ren: You and Peter are our friends. You deserve something special from us after everything that’s happened. So please, accept this gift with our humblest gratitude.

Harry: ... Alright, we’ll take it.

Peter: Me, too. Wherever Harry goes, I go, too.

Harry: And I go where Pete goes.

Gwen: That’s the spirit.

>We all smile.

It’s starting!

>The countdown starts... 5... 4... 3... 2... 1...

(Insert song: Auld Lang Syne)

>I’ll leave out who kissed who... I’ll just let you decide.

>Later on, we all make our separate ways home... Not seeing the bats who were hiding...

Another year gone... Soon. Very soon.

I agree... What’s soon again?

Jin: (groans) How did I get stuck with you two?

Wouldn’t you like to know... Cause we would like to know, too.

Jin: (groans again)

>The Sakamoto residence. Harry had already gone to bed. Ryuji only stepped out of his room for some water. Then, suddenly...

?????: (faint clapping) How amazing. I saw your performance in Shibuya and i’m still impressed by those dances you did. Guess you got your talent from my after... Though I prefer the piano.

You!? What the hell are you doing here?

Is that really how you’re going to greet me after all these years? I’m crushed.

Ryuji: Does... Does Mom know you’re here?

Paine: Well, she does know I’m in town. And it’s only a matter of time before that brat knows. I only came to wish you all a Happy New year. But I’ll be here in Tokyo for a while.

Ryuji: Well, as long  as you behave yourself, I think we’ll be fine.

Paine: Good. Just be careful out there... Even a Phantom Thief needs to watch his back.

You- You-

Paine: Happy New Years... Ryu kun.

>With that, Paine leaves.

...

>Kind of makes you wonder what’s going to happen to us this year. We’ll hope you stick around to find out.

Happy New Years from the Phantom Thieves of Hearts!