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twixitativi · 8 months ago

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do you have any tips on writing an au? normal fics i can usually handle but i’m working on a kunichuu grease au and i’m finding it quite difficult.

hiya! thanks for asking :3 also good luck with that, that seems like so much fun omg; feel free to send when you start releasing, i'd love to check it out!

ill be using splinters as my example here purely because thats closer to what you're trying to do (movie/musical as reference)

this is going to be long as fuck because i tend to ramble and go into detail, so im adding a read-more. i sincerely hope this helps because i know its a LOT (potential spoilers for splinters included)

1. The Foundation

when i first started working on splinters, it started with a lot of idea bouncing. who would suit what role? why would that role work for them? originally, i had looked at dazai as jd and chuuya as veronica, or dazai as veronica with fyodor as his jd.

then, i also started thinking about story 'beats'. to be clear about what that means, i like to think of different parts/scenes that i need/want to hit, and kind of the order if possible. this usually intertwines with the original story-- in your case, grease.

all this starts falling into the next step:

2. Research

it may not be entirely apparent, but i did (and still do) a FUCK TON of research for splinters. by choosing to have multiple source materials to base your work off (both bsd AND grease), depending on how close/accurate you want to be, you're going to want to get in touch with the material.

you've mentioned grease-- i'm assuming you're doing this based off the movie (love the movie. need to rewatch). what i personally do with heathers the movie is that i watched it the entire way through first to refresh myself with the material. it might help you to take notes about different characters, ideas, plot lines. i found a copy of both scripts online in case i wanted to see about throwing an iconic line in during an important scene without diving through the whole movie to find it.

i dont know HOW historically accurate you want to go with your fic--you may be choosing to explore the concept of grease rather than the actual setting itself-- but grease takes place in the late 50s, TECHNICALLY early 60s (movie itself came out in the late 70s) (my mom LOVED it when it came out). so, you may want to do some basic research: fashions/trends of the time (this has gotten harder to search online, you may want to even run to the library and find some books if possible)? societal norms? what did normal teens do during that time? did they have arcades, did they go to restaurants, what was the average place they hung out at?

a lot of times, i have to double-check if some of the stuff in splinters is period accurate. each decade has different lingo, slang, and general information that was normal during it. hell, looking back at the 2010s versus 2020s, if you were to write a story during, saying, 2011, and have your characters saying "slay" and "yas queen" and "road work ahead, uh yeah i sure hope it does", i regret to inform you that that will NOT be accurate, as those phrases are more late 2010s + that vine came out in 2016. now, could you quote/potentially reference these things? absolutely! but you have to be more strategic about it.

ALSO. look up fun trivia about your source material! you know where i got my title from? its the english translation of the italian name for heathers. im not even kidding. also, mix and match material! hell, even throw references in to other material! i had my mean girls reference in there! because its bsd, i like to throw in authors i like from time to time where they fit!

another silly one: what music came out around that time, playing on the radio? HOW did they listen to music? i specifically listen to a 1989 top hits playlist when im trying to figure out what songs might be playing on the radio while my characters are driving-- and even THEN i still will look up specifically when that song came out, because i made the choice to be horribly specific with my timeline.

on that note:

3. If you can, DON'T SET A SPECIFIC MONTH/DAY/ETC.

i made my choices. do i regret them? YES. is it still fun to work with? absolutely, but also the heathers timeline is lowkey a mess and you could simultaneously claim it takes place in 2 months or several.

honestly, avoid specifics. having to keep track of a timeline is an absolute bitch, and it's going to make your life a lot harder, because then, you HAVE to make sure it all matches up. if i say that kunikida went and got his glasses in march, i cant say that his glasses are brand new in may (this is a hypothetical example).

timelines suck. unless you think you can dedicate the time and energy to keeping with one, don't do it.

4. OUTLINES.

i've been writing fanfics for years, which is wild to me. i was writing fanfics in single digits (didn't even know what fanfics were). one thing that i have especially found useful with splinters is to make outlines for where you want the story to go.

let me break it down for you:

you're gonna have MULTIPLE outlines, and they are NOT set in stone. they are guidelines for you to use so that you're not sitting there going "shit i don't know what to do next". they may be scenes you want to have in the fic. they may be important plot points. they may be absolutely stupid shit that youre like "if i dont get this in here i will cry" (diarrheazai is a threat that i intend to keep)

FIRSTLY. try making a general outline for your whole fic. you don't need super specifics, but think of what events occur during grease. in it, danny and sandy meet in the summer before their senior year. sandy meets and joins the pink ladies. there's a dance competition. danny and sandy fly off in a car into the sunset. etc. TO BE CLEAR, you don't have to keep all the details! it is your story, and what you want to do with it! having that structure can be helpful when you start though.

THEN. once you have that general outline? start trying to plan out chapters. you dont have to make outlines for them all at once. more often than not, i'll sit there before i start a new chapter just trying to outline what'll happen in it. this helps a LOT on multiple levels. i'll provide an example of what that can look like below (SPOILERS IF YOU'RE NOT UP-TO-DATE WITH SPLINTERS):

(the blacked out bit is spoilers, everything else should be clear to see)

a quick explanation: i dedicate a small document to outlines for each chapter. as you can see, with chapter beats, i have diff things i want to try to hit. the stuff highlighted in green is stuff that i come back post-chapter to confirm i hit. sometimes, if it's not EXACTLY in there, i'll leave a note in bold (ex: WAS MENTIONED).

but you can kind of see what im talking about here. i have some things that im trying to knock out per chapter.

other things in my doc to outline:

yes i talk to myself in my notes.

i highlight different scenes according to their relevance to certain characters sometimes; i add scenes in where i need to, and then ofc as you see ill go into detail about specific scenes. and AGAIN these are not set in stone. for example:

as you can see, shit changes over time. that boiler room make-out scene during the homecoming pep rally appeared in ch 11. i did not make this sequence fyodor's pov.

sometimes? i just dont have the time or energy to write shit/dont think its relevant to the plot. good bye, corn maze. you'll be remembered in my thoughts and my outline

also try to have fun while outlining. it doesnt need to be something serious. literally my outlines are a mix of dialogue, scenes, my own thoughts, etc. get silly with it. this is supposed to be fun and enjoyable!

ANOTHER THING:

5. LOOP SOMEONE INTO OBSESSING OVER THIS WITH YOU.

i was inspired by ardeidae to write splinters, and i have successfully trapped them in splinters world for almost an entire year now. by both of us loving it, we can keep ourselves focused on it.

what also helps is bouncing ideas off other people. me and lu have had conversation after conversation after conversation about different plot lines, scenes, etc. sometimes, i don't know what to do and i will ask lu (or other people) for advice about the progression.

you may have also heard of the engineering rubber duck method. if you're unfamiliar, engineers will sit there with a rubber ducky by them and talk to it about what they're working on until they figure out what they need to do. sometimes, just ranting about the fic is enough to help you spawn ideas about what to do next.

OH also

6. If you do end up making a timeline? Have a calendar on hand.

this is no longer 100% accurate to the progression of splinters and the chapters, but it helped a LOT. laying it out like this can make one hell of a difference. im a visual person, so doing this helped. also, can help you keep track of holidays and shit. if you want to give your characters a day off from classes, check a school calendar for holidays. be like "uhhhherrrr yeah they're taking, uhhhh veteran's day off" yk

7. Write, but don't force it.

splinters doesn't have an actual updating schedule because i work on it at my own pace, and update once i finish a chapter. now, i usually finish chapters after a month, but i don't say it updates on x day. don't box yourself in unless you truly think you can handle it. some people are very good about schedules. i am horrible at them, bc ykw? LIFE HAPPENS.

when im in the mood, i write. i will sit for HOURS and just write. grab some snacks, maybe pop on some music, get a buddy to sit with you, but just go for it. sometimes, i'll pull a 25-10 method-- 25 minutes of writing with ten minutes of relaxing and bullshitting--and that helps me not burn out as quickly. but honestly, you cant always brute force it.

have i had to brute force it sometimes? yes. you will get stuck. it naturally happens. sometimes, a scene fucking sucks and you're like "i hate this scene but it HAS to be in there" (if it doesnt fuck that shit. throw it out. blegh) sometimes, you need to mix things up to make it more appealing to you, because i am of the belief that the readers can tell when you're not invested in a scene. if im writing a scene and its going slowly and i just want to get it done? the quality's going to go down, and i KNOW it. so, i evaluate. what do i need to do for this scene to work? can i add something to help? do i need to just rewrite the bastard and call it a day?

and sometimes? you can just go ahead and put a little "<'scene'>" in and move on. depending on how much your fic relies on that scene, that won't always work, but sometimes, you just gotta leave it and come back to it. you can also do that with certain dialogue/details. if you're trying to get your characters from point A to point B, don't shove them there if they run out of gas. make a detour, and see what happens.

eerrrrrrr yeah, i THINK that's the majority of the advice i can give? sorry that that's a lot, but uhhh hope it helps! :')

#wild that people would want advice from me but hopefully itll help #good luck with your fic anon! it seems like fun!

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bobafett · 8 months ago

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stealing this because the boops made me realize how much i miss tag games.

How many works do you have on AO3? A grand total of 14. I am not a prolific writer.

What’s your total AO3 word count? 63,880. Please see above answer.

What fandoms do you write for? Batman and Star Wars. I have a little bit of Supernatural fic posted on an alt account, and I've been turning over an idea for an OW fic in my head for a while, but it takes me a long time to figure out how to write in a fandom in a way that still captures the "vibes" of the source material (which is always one of my goals). So I rarely branch out.

What are your top 5 fics by kudos? New Cornerstone (suitless!Vader AU from a million years ago), Brothers in Arms (Jon starts to get an inkling that his best friend has perhaps not had a normal childhood), Setting the Bone (Selina Kyle: reluctant parental figure), In This Twilight (Damian and Jason brotherly bonding, first batfam fic I ever wrote), and Try to Sweep the Darkness Out (batfam Christmas special that I've almost orphaned 10 times because I hate the writing choices I made in it so much). None of the fics I'm actually proud of are on this list. Tragic.

Do you respond to comments? Irregularly and unpredictably! I will if I feel like I have something to say and it catches me in the right mood.

What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? Uh, that would be High Water Mark since it starts with a scene of Cody contemplating suicide and ends with the instant right before Order 66 kicks in.

What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? Probably Problem Solving since it's the only fic I've ever written where I was actually trying to be light hearted.

Do you get hate on fics? Never, thankfully.

Do you write smut? If so, what kind? If I thought I could do it successfully, I would. But I'm not, so I don't.

Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written? Basically never. There is a Doctor Who/Sherlock fic buried on my old FF.net account. There's also a Super Smash Bros fic on there that I wrote in 2009, which I suppose also counts.

Have you ever had a fic stolen? I can't imagine why anyone would.

Have you ever had a fic translated? Nope.

Have you ever co-written a fic before? No, and I never would. I'm too much of a control freak about my writing. Writing, say, shared universe stuff might be fun, but actually co-authoring something would drive me nuts.

What’s your all time favorite ship? What a question. I come back to Jaime/Brienne a lot for reading, but I don't think I'd ever write it. I write a ton of BatCat, but rarely read it because I'm particular. I like Lois/Clark, but I almost never write OR read it. I'm honestly not very ship motivated. Most of the time I filter for a ship because I'm in the mood for its attendant tropes, and if the writing is good, you can sell me on just about anything.

What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will? Hmngh. New Cornerstone again. There's 20k of an expanded version of it on my hard drive that I haven't added to since probably 2017. There's something very fun about suitless!Vader as a character because he's such a sparking, destructive livewire of a person, but also I'm experienced enough now to realize how difficult doing justice to that premise is. Also, I'd have to rewatch TCW to get Ahsoka's voice down, and I just don't got time for that shit.

What are your writing strengths? Description and sense of place. Also pretty good at dialogue.

What are your writing weaknesses? Fucking. Long fic. Plot in general. I'm horrifically bad at it.

Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic? I'm usually inclined to keep all my dialogue in English, but it would depend on the context and the effect I was going for.

First fandom you wrote for? Purposefully? Inuyasha. Without having any idea what fanfic was? I created an Artemis Fowl fairy OC and stuck her in Indiana Jones when I was 10 years old.

Favorite fic you’ve written? They Don't Sing Songs For Me. No contest. It's perfectly captures what I think is the ideal form of fanfic: two characters who have absolutely no business interacting with each other building a compelling relationship dynamic over the course of 9k words.

I will be tagging @panharmonium, @apostatefrog, @dead-ghost-walking, @ryehouses, @yellowocaballero, @lazuliquetzal. Also anyone else who wants to. I will bring back tag games by force of will, so help me God.

#nothing like looking at your own AO3 archive to make you realize how much you've grown as a writer since 2015 #from the beehive

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kayxleeee · 4 years ago

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Bucky Barnes: Normal Days (Bucky Barnes x Reader!)

Warning: NONE! Just civilian Bucky fluff🥺 (I'd die for Buck)

A/N: FIRST OFFICIAL POST WAHOO! If you are here from WP, I love you! Thank you for your constant support. I decided that I will only post my absolute favorites on Tumblr, which will give me more time to actually write new content and not dwell on the fact that everything is deleted! I will be adding a bit more to each one I post from WP (as needed). And if you are new, Hey welcome! Please let me know what you think. xx

Summary: Besides the fact that you were dating an Avenger, you craved normalcy, ironically enough. You always look forward to the days where you can come home to your favorite guy and just be a seemingly normal couple.

Word Count: 909

One of your most favorite things in the whole wide world were the days when you could come home knowing that Bucky would be there too. The normal day’s where he wasn’t away; Not on a mission, not training at the HQ, not with Sam or Steve, but home. It was not always guaranteed, but when it was, it was greatly appreciated, especially since the two of you had just moved into a new apartment together, away from the tower. Today you came home to him just sitting on the couch watching a tv show you started together a few day’s ago on Netflix.

“Hey, you didn’t keep watching without me, did you?!” You call out squinting at the tv while kicking off your shoes and taking the Chinese's takeout to the kitchen, setting it on the counter.

“No, I think I fell asleep on some parts so I was rewatching a few episodes.” He replied pausing the show and following you into the kitchen. “How was work?”

He gives you a quick peck on the lips before he begins to peak into the bags to see what you brought home. “Smells great, I’m starving.” He continues as he pulled out the food containers from the brown paper carry out bags.

You grabbed some plates from the cupboard and two spoons out of the silverware drawer.

“It wasn’t too bad , but glad to be home honestly, with my favorite guy.”

“Who me?” He teases lamely, looking at you then picking up a piece of broccoli from the top of the pile of food and putting it in his mouth. “Damn that’s good!”

“Nah the guy from across the hall.” You giggle. “I’ve literally been craving Chinese food all day.” You continue handing him the utensils to begin serving the content. “Did you get up to anything today?”

“Sleep, that bed is entirely too soft! I always forget. Tv, we have to check out that one show Sam keeps talkin about. Umbrella something? I called Steve, he says hi.” He says this all quickly like a child with excitement in his voice. “Oh and Therapy!” He added seeming as if he almost forget it as he began spooning some of the steamy food onto his plate. “Doc said I’m making progress.” He grins looking at you then taking your plate and piling spoonfuls of rice, chicken, and vegetables on to it.

“Really?!” You smile back at him equally excited. “Thats great news babe!”

With the big move from the Avengers HQ to a small New York apartment, his therapist advised you both to ease into one thing at a time. He had been doing weekly sessions to see how well he was adjusting to modern life on his own. The first thing was him getting use to being in the newly remodeled space, insuring that he would not be triggered by anything or blasted with any dark memories of his past, especially if he was home alone.

“Yup and I think it calls for a celebration.” He winks at you handing you your food.

You let out a laugh and shake your head “Oh really Barnes? Using your milestone as a way to get into my pants?” You laugh taking the plate from him. “Thanks babe.”

“Can’t blame a guy for trying.”

“Mmm how about we kick off our celebration finishing a few episodes of our show.” You nudge him as you walk pass with your food going into the living room. He nods happily and follows close behind.

“Babe.” He whispers in your ear nudging you awake.

After spending hours on the couch watching tv, you ended up dozing off in his arms. You were completely exhausted from your long workday. It was almost completely dark in the living room with the tv now off. The only source of light illuminating the small room, was coming from the glow of the city from the windows.

“Let’s get you in bed.” He continues gently once he sees that you are waking up. “I know you’ve probably got a busy day ahead of you.”

You look at the digital clock on your cable-box, allowing your eyes to adjust. It reads 12:43 am..

“Did I miss anything good?” You reply, referring to the show you fell asleep on.

He kisses the top of your head and helps you get up from your position in his arms. The two of you get up from the comfy couch and head to your bedroom.

“Nope just a little main character death action, but I’m pretty sure the angel guy will bring him back to life.” He chuckles a little walking into the bedroom.

“Hey! No Spoilers.” You say rubbing your tired eyes. “I need to shower before bed.” You add with a yawn as you follow him to your bedroom.

“Sorry dollface, we can rewatch the episodes you missed when you get home.” He smiles at you, knowing he gets another day of just being a normal civilian again. “No worries, I’ll run you a shower.”

And this normalcy is what you sometimes craved on a daily bases. Stupid jokes that made you laugh a little too loud, sweet gestures, falling asleep in each other’s arms, forehead kisses, therapy check ins, and favorite tv shows. This is what you looked forward to and you wouldn’t trade it in for anything in the world.

These were the absolute best days, the normal days.

Thoughts, Comments, or Opinions :)

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tolkien-feels · 3 years ago

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Embarrassing (?) confession time. I love your MDZS blog so much when I saw you make this blog I decided to actually go and watch the LOTR movies orz And it's literally so good?? Can't believe I've been refusing to see it for so long lmfao So what do I do next if I want to get into the fandom?

First of all I'm so glad I was able to introduce you to something you had fun with!!

I'll put everything else below a cut so the post doesn't get too long.

It's Absolutely Normal to get people mixed up. There are many people to keep track of, after all! Rewatching/rereading helps, and there are also many wikis around if that's something that you think could be useful. (Personally, I like the Tolkien Gateway wiki the best because it's usually full of sources for everything, which makes double-checking info very easy.)

Okay, so I'm not sure which LotR movies you've watched, so let's begin there. There's the theatrical cut (which are around 3h for each movie) and the extended versions (which are around 4h for each movie.) If you've watched the theatrical version, I'd start by watching the extended version. You'll get lots of iconic scenes that were cut for length reasons but are honestly great. As a bonus, you'll spend more time with the characters and the world and get some extra familiarity with them, which might help you tell people apart. (As a side note, try and find the making of features called The Appendices if you can. It'll take you days to watch, but a lot of my love for these movies comes from watching how much love went into making them.)

Still in the movie-verse, there's a prequel trilogy called The Hobbit, which I'd skip for now. It has its following and I enjoy some things about it, but it's not exactly a good adaptation of the book it's based on. You'll probably want to watch it at some point, but I wouldn't make it a very high priority.

If you enjoyed the MDZS audiodrama, you might like the 1981 BBC radiodrama adaptation of the LotR books. It's relatively obscure compared to either the movies or the books, but it's surprisingly good and follows the book more closely than you'd expect - which makes it great for someone who's more familiar with the movies and wants to read the books. Also, Ian Holm, who plays Bilbo in the movies, voices Frodo in this adaptation and it's honestly eerie how much Elijah Wood sounds like him sometimes, so that's fun if you're into weirdly appropriate coincidences.

There are also a handful of animated movies if you're into that. They're all corny and dated and wonderful, but probably better appreciated once you're knee-deep into the fandom, unless you're a fan of vintage animation techniques.

At some point you'll probably want to get into the books, of course. There are A Ton of Tolkien books. The three core ones are The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion. Everything else you can come back to later after you've read these.

Now, your first instinct would probably be to read LotR since you watched the movies, but I'd strongly advise you to start with The Hobbit instead. It's a children's book and like 300 pages long, so you'll get through it very quick. It'll introduce you to Tolkien's writing style (including the many poems, which I'm begging you not to skip 🥺) and be just... Generally very fun without a very high time/energy/effort cost to pay. If you like audiobooks, a fan who goes by Bluefax has produced an unabridged movie-inspired audiobook that is the only Tolkien audiobook I like - I find The Hobbit has the tone of a story told out loud rather than a written book.

Then you should probably read the LotR books, which just as a fair warning, are pretty different from the movies in some major ways. I like the novel better than the movies but some people don't. It's also a bit of a slowburn in that you'll have to be patient with the long set up and development stages for both plot and character arcs - it does all pay off in the end, but it's different from the rather fast-paced movies. I know there are movie-inspired audiobooks (by Phil Dragash iirc?) but I've never tried them so I can't speak for or against them.

Last of all comes The Silmarillion, which is probably my favorite Tolkien book but it's not beginner-friendly. Do read it at some point (MDZS fans seem particularly fond of it and there are many reasons for that), but whatever you do, don't make it the first Tolkien book you read. It's not as nightmarish as some snobs try to paint it, but it can be legitimately challenging the first time you read it.

.....I think that's enough to last you for quite a while. I'll just add that standard fandom procedure does apply - start following people on tumblr, watch youtube videos, read fic, whatever you like. If you try to wait until you've consumed Every Tolkien Text before getting in the fandom, you'll... probably take a few years - there are some 30 or so books, depending on how you count, and that's without including stuff like biographies, commentaries and the subfandom dedicated to, say, movie lore, or games and music inspired by Tolkien. It's a lot, and you can and should jump in whenever you feel ready rather than trying to catch up on over half a century of material just to have fun.

And of course, if you end up finding that you loved the movies but can't stand any of the books, that's alright and there's such a thing as movie-only fans, so you can look into that.

Hope you have fun exploring 🤗

#sorry it took me weeks to get back to you #i had to Think About It #also this is all very much a matter of taste #you could just..... pick whatever calls you and go with that

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jazminetoad · 4 years ago

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In My Reality | Chapter 1: Dreams & Wishes

Yo, I finally finished the actual first chapter of this new series! I originally wanted to get this out within a week of the prologue’s release but this turned out to be longer than I imagined. All of my TLC went into this for the past three weeks, I haven’t felt this passionate for a project in a long time. I hope you enjoy it just as much as I do! ^-^

(This is a Tatsumi brothers x Reader)

(To read the first part, click -> Prologue)

(To read the next part, click → Chapter 2)

(Click “Keep reading” to read the story)

"Geez [n/n], you look so tired," Kamida pointed out. "Did you get any sleep last night?"

"Yeah, I did," I told them before a yawn escaped my mouth. "Just not as much as I wanted."

The three of us were standing at one of the local bus stops that took us downtown. It was our usual meeting spot since it crossed paths with the sidewalks that led us to our houses. We were heading to the arcade, our pockets filled with coins and our phones. The two artists were awake and ready but I on the other hand wished I stayed in bed.

"Oh?" Kamida quirked a brow.

"Did you go to sleep when we ended the call?" Meri-chan questioned, narrowing her eyes at me. 'Course in my sleepy state, I wasn't bothered by her laser stare.

"No-"

"[Name]!"

"Look, I wasn't ready to fall asleep at the time. Can you blame me?" I asked only to receive a sigh for an answer. "I didn't stay up too late anyway-"

"When?"

"When what?"

"When do you go to sleep?" Meri-chan inquired, placing her hands on her hips.

'Playing the mom friend, are we now?' I thought to myself. 'At least I don't have to deal with the teasing wingman.'

"Around 2 in the morning," I mumbled.

"[Name]!"

"What did you even do during that time?" Kamida asked, saving me from Meri-chan's lecture.

"I just watched the twins' episodes from Juuni Taisen." I noticed Meri-chan was about to go on again so I added, "Hey, at least I didn't watch the entire series."

"That's not the point," Meri-chan stated. I just shrugged in response.

"You really love those two, don't you," Kamida asked me.

"Yup."

I lost track of how many times I rewatched their episodes long ago. While rewatching the entire Anime is great, I didn't have the patience to go through six other episodes before seeing my favourite twins. I then just kept replaying the twins' episodes, eventually losing track of how many times I did. It's just that every time I watch the two episodes, the more I felt I could understand them. It made them seem as if they were real, but the reality is that they're not and I have to remember that. That doesn't stop my dreams though, speaking of my dreams...

"You know, I had an unusual dream last night," I told my friends. "It wasn't like the rest of my dreams that were strange and went all over the place. This dream it... it was of the Tatsumi Brothers but- but it was alternate ending with them." I left out the description of what happened because it'd spoil the Anime for Kamida, and I didn't want to do that.

"What do you mean by 'alternate ending'?" Meri-chan inquired, raising a brow.

"Like it was the ending of Juuni Taisen but different," I answered. "It just- it looked so real! It felt like I was actually watching the Anime until I woke up. You get what I'm saying?"

"Ummm, no," Meri-chan responded, sounding puzzled.

"Really?" I deadpanned.

"I get what you're saying," Kamida piped, pushing his glasses up for the Anime effect. My brow raised in question as to what his next words would be. "You're saying you're obsessed with the two to the point you dream of them!" He stated, pointing an index finger at me.

"Ack-! No!"

"Relax [n/n]," Kamida laughed. "I'm just messing with ya."

"Ha ha..." I let out before another yawn escapes.

"Man, you really are tired."

"I think the dream took my energy," I theorized, rubbing my eyes to stay open. Just as the words left my mouth, we all caught a glimpse of the approaching city bus. I don't know if it was just me but the thing seemed to be taking its sweet time to get to the bus stop.

"It's okay, [Name]. You can take a nap on the bus," Meri-chan told me as the bus came to a stop. "We'll wake you up when we're at the stop near the arcade."

"Alright."

Following my friends, I stepped onto the bus. It wasn't crowded, which made sense considering most people were still working at 2 in the afternoon. Kamida found a set of seats for all of us and sat down, Meri-chan sat next to him, then I plopped down in the seat next to her. Adjusting my position to try and get comfortable enough to fall asleep, I tilted my head to the side and let my eyes fall shut. Soon enough, I had drifted into sleep.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"Is that thing any good?" Nagayuki asked his younger brother, watching him eat the deceased, cooked lizard.

"Yeah, it's awesome!" Takeyasu's sarcasm dripped with venom as his teeth tried to tear the scaled arm. "What do you think?"

The elder twin just blankly stared at his brother. Silence filled the air around them, but the sound of the younger twin eating his dead pet prevented the silence from taking over the scene. That was until the echo of a knock on their door emitted into their ears.

In sync, they both turned their attention to the door wondering who'd come to the door at this hour aside from a delivery man, but it wouldn't make sense for it to be a delivery man. Neither of them had ordered anything. The two gave each other a glance of uncertainty before Nagayuki let out a sigh, pinching the tip of his nose.

"I'll answer it," he stated as he approached the front door.

"Alright." Takeyasu reached over and grabbed his weapon, pulling it close for easy access, just in case.

The feeling around them pulled the twins towards the edge as eerie vines grew in the room. Masking his expression, Nagayuki slowly twisted the knob and partially opened the door. He briefly eyes the person standing on the other side.

It was a man with a top hat, grey hair tied back into a ponytail, facial hair, and the structure of his face made him seem elderly. He wore a black long coat with a grey scarf and white gloves. By this alone, the elder Tatsumi brother was able to tell this man dressed to blend into the shadows and meant business. Something else emitted from the man, it seemed to be supernatural. If it had been a normal person answering the door, they would've brushed the feeling off as if it was nothing because they don't believe in it, but Nagayuki knew the supernatural existed because he was living proof. That said, he grew cautious, thinking carefully of his next actions.

"Can I help you?" Nagayuki asked the man with a stoic face.

"I do believe this is the household of the Tatsumi brothers, Nagayuki and Takeyasu, if my sources are correct," the man spoke with an unreadable smile.

"So what if it is?"

"My name is Duodecuple," the man introduced himself. "I am from the Juuni Taisen organization."

Nagayuki raised a brow, suspicious of this mysterious person. When the head of the dragon and snake household explained how the Juuni Taisen contacted you the instructions of how to get to the location, they sent a letter in a red envelope with gold wax as its seal, and it was delivered through the mail. Why was this man here?

"Are you?" Nagayuki questioned. "Do you have any proof to back up that claim of yours?"

"I figured you would say something like that," Duodecuple said, his gloved-hand reached into his coat and pulled out a red envelope with a golden seal, handing it to Nagayuki.

Taking it from the man, the elder Tsumita twin opened the letter and thoroughly read the message written. Sure enough, this was legit. Glancing back at the man, still with a hint of suspicion, Nagayuki folded the letter and placed it back in the envelope before handing it back to him.

"Alright, so why are you here exactly? Last time I checked, you don't escort the warriors to the Juuni Taisen."

"While that is indeed true, I am here on the behave of a wish someone made. A wish that you and your brother wouldn't partake in the Juuni Taisen."

Takeyasu, who was listening to the conversation nearby, swung the door open and fired his weapon at the man. In his mind, that statement is something said before another person is killed. Not necessarily a threat, but even so it wasn't something to take lightly. He wasn't taking the risk of his brother being killed.

Nagayuki hardly had any time to react before his brother started burning the person in front of them. Part of him wanted to scold his brother for acting impulsively, but gratitude is the feeling that stirred inside him. He became unsettled after what the man said, and if it wasn't for Takeyasu, there was a chance the walls would've been stained with blood. However, he should stop his brother before they burn down the apartment building, he doesn't want to have to move again.

"Alright, that's enough, Takeyasu," Nagayuki told his twin, putting a hand on the younger one's shoulder. As the final remains of ember faded away after Takeyasu had stopped, both twins saw that no evidence was left behind of the man. "You really got him good..." Nagayuki stated, almost in disbelief.

"I do believe it is considered rude to try to kill someone before they finish what they are saying." Duodecuple's voice lurked behind them. The two flinched and spun around to discover the man standing there with no trail of smoke or ash on him as if he never had made contact with the fire. "But since you are warriors, I suppose that is an exception."

"I'd like to see you try and avoid this!"

"Wait-" Nagayuki tried to stop his brother from making any haste moves but his brother slithered quickly and tried to attack the old man with physical combat.

From the way the man never flinched and stood his ground, Nagayuki knew something was up. Sure enough, when Takeyasu struck he phased right through. Surprised by this, Takeyasu barely had time to recover and stumbled to catch himself. Once he steadied himself, he looked back to the elder man with narrowed eyes, growling.

"Now, now, I don't mean to bring any harm," Duodecuple reassured the two, holding up one of his gloved hands to gesture he meant no harm. "I am just here to fulfill a wish..." he paused for a brief moment to lower his hand. "Three wishes actually."

"Huh?" Both Tatsumi brothers spoke in sync, confused. Why would there be three wishes that involved them?

"By your tone, I am sure you are confused. I do not blame you however, even if you remembered your own wish you still would not know where the third one came from."

The twins' eyes glanced at each other before going back to the man. If they had made their wish and Duodecuple was here to grant it then that means they were already in the Juuni Taisen and won. What didn't make sense was how did they both win? Did something change where they could both win? If that was the case, why was Duodecuple here before the Juuni Taisen even started? Then there was still the third wish that didn't fit in the picture.

"Since it is not possible for the two of you to avoid the Juuni Taisen while in this plane of existence, our organizers thought it would be best to move you to another. And since the organizers are generous, they thought to grant another wish that would benefit both you and the wisher."

Once again, the Tatsumi brothers shared a look. Both unsure if there was a catch, and both having a lot of questions running through their minds. This entire situation seemed to be too good to be true then again, it was the Juuni Taisen. From what the twins heard, they made anything possible, the power they have is unimaginable. Still, better to find out now.

"Is there anything else we should know about?" Nagayuki inquired.

"You will be living with the wisher," Duodecuple informed them. "As I said, it is a win-win situation. You will be informed of the new plane and you will have a new place to stay, it makes things more convenient."

"Alright, so we get our wish granted and a new roommate." Takeyasu turned his gaze to his brother, a smirk on his face. "It doesn't seem all that bad."

"I am glad to hear that. That being said, you have seven hours to pack everything you need before you are escorted to your new home," Duodecuple told them, taking off his hat and bowing. His form began to pixelate away until the air was the only thing that remained where the mysterious hologram once stood.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"[Name], wake up," Meri-chan whispered, nudging me awake. "We're here."

"Huh? Oh, right," I mumbled before a yawn escaped my mouth as I rose to my feet.

Once the three of us had walked off the bus, I stretched my stiff limbs. Satisfaction filled me as the musical sound of my bones cracking played through my ears. I was on that bus for too long, but if that meant I got more sleep, I didn't mind. However, I still wished I had been sleeping, for one I still felt like I needed more rest, and two, I wanted to continue the dream I had. It felt real like the one I dreamt the night before, just as if I was watching Juuni Taisen. I found it rather strange that twice in a row I had a dream like that.

"Feeling more awake now, [n/n]?" Kamida asked me.

"Kinda," I answered honestly before I drew a smirk on my face. "Awake enough to be able to beat you at Street Fighter!" I told him, poking his arm then picked up my feet and dashed towards the building.

"Oh no, you don't!" Kamida shouted, sprinting after me.

"Hey, no fair! You guys got a head start!" Meri-chan complained, following behind, trying to keep up.

'Course, it didn't take long before Kamida was running ahead of me, he had the height advance. Kamida is taller than both me and Meri-chan, and I am taller than Meri-chan which leaves her as the shortest out of our trio. That said, it was the order in which we all arrived at the arcade's main doors. Laughter emerged from us as we stumble at the front entrance.

"You guys are so slow," Kamida jeered.

"Yeah, yeah." I waved it off with a hand before strolling over and opening the door. "After you."

"As the wingman, I insist you go first," he stated holding the door open.

"Fine." I stepped into the world of entertainment and scanned the dark place where black and neon lights hung from. Only a few kids were here today, which means more gameplay for us! "Alright!" I thought out loud.

"Hey [n/n]-chan," Meri-chan addressed me, catching my attention. "Let's play a round of air hockey."

"Yeah- we can do our match later Kamida," I told him, still wanting to do that duel.

"Cool, I'll just be playing Space Invaders over here," he said before walking away.

"Alright, Meri-chan." My hand fished out a dollar from my pocket and inserted it in the coin slot, activating the machine. Taking the puck from the goal and placing it on the table, I put on my game face. "First to ten wins."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Aw man," I groaned, seeing my Pac-man die for 4th time playing this multiplayer game.

"You're off your game today," Kamida commented as his eyes focus on the screen, trying not to get eaten by Meri-chan's red Pac-man.

"Gee, I wonder what makes you think that." I playfully rolled my eyes, chuckling as I saw Kamida's blue Pac-man get eaten.

"Dang it!"

"Haha!" Meri-chan cheered in victory, throwing her hands in the air.

I felt a smile form on my face seeing my friends act the way they did, but my mind couldn't help but focus on the dreams I had earlier. They were stuck bouncing around my loop of thoughts, perhaps that's why I was off my game. Who can blame me though? It's not like I get these dreams every day so the fact they happen was a puzzle itself, maybe if they happened more often I wouldn't be so distracted.

"Well darn, it's 5:10." Meri-chan's statement caused me to get off my train of thought.

"Shoot, I'm supposed to be home by 6," I told them.

"And I'm supposed to be cooking dinner tonight for me and my little brother," Kamida grumbled as he dug into his pocket and pulled out his phone.

"Should we leave now and catch the next bus?" Meri-chan asked, her eyes looking at us after her phone was put back in her pocket.

"Yeah, the next bus arrives in 15 minutes," Kamida informed us, checking the bus schedule.

"Let's get going then," I said leading the way out of the arcade. Stepping outside after being inside that dim-lit building burned my eyes. My hands shot up to block the setting sun as I let out a snake-like hiss, taking a few steps back.

"Hhhhh, why couldn't it be night when we left?" Meri-chan complained, getting the same effect.

"I don't know, I don't control time," Kamida replied to her squinting his eyes to try and adjust back to the normal lighting. "Come on guys, we don't have much time before the bus gets to the stop."

"Right," I nodded, setting my hands in my jacket pockets after my eyes were used to the lighting, following the others.

"You guys wanna do this again tomorrow?" Meri-chan asked, starting conversation as we strolled to the bus stop.

"I already have stuff going on tomorrow," I lied. It's not that I didn't want to spend time with them, I just didn't want to go outside until I have to go back to school.

"And I'm going to be at my grandparents for the next three days. That's why I said we should hang out today," Kamida explained.

"Oh, that's alright. We can always voice chat at night," Meri-chan optimized.

"Yeah." A yawn escaped from my mouth once again. 'Man, I really do need sleep.'

"[n/n], you should take a nap when you get home."

"I will, I will," I grumbled. 'After I take a shower.'

I probably won't remember to take a nap when I get home, cause with showering and then dinner practically ready when I'm finished, the thought will be lost in my head. Not to mention my dreams are what have been occupying my mind. Usually, they don't, but I believe I'm still grasping onto them since I don't want them to slip away.

'What do the dreams mean?' It appeared too real to be just a normal dream but to call it a vision would absurd. Visions are stuff that happened, will happen, or a sort of warning, at least that's how it is in movies. The closest thing I ever get to a vision is the random flashes of deja vu I receive. Perhaps I'm overthinking this, maybe I'm just having proper dreams for once. Yeah, that's probably it, I-

"Whoa there, [n/n]!" Kamida grasped my hood to prevent me from walking any further.

"Huh?" I voiced, confused by his actions, I turned my head to him and gave him a "Why did you do that?" expression.

"We're at the bus stop, dummy," Meri-chan informed me.

"Oh, oops." I sweatdropped as I stood beside them.

"We're just in time too," Kamida pointed out as he watched the bus drive towards the stop.

One by one, we stepped onto the bus. I noticed the number of people taking this transportation has grown since it's at an hour where most people get off work, luckily there was still a three-seat row open for us. My legs took haste to snatch the spot before it could be in someone's possession, then I plopped down onto the window seat. By the time I had shifted into a comfortable yet civil sitting position, my friends had joined me. Kamida next to me and Meri-chan sitting on his other side.

Vines of silence grew around us so we didn't disturb anyone lurking in our surroundings. I wasn't phased by the lack of conversation, taking the opportunity to gaze at the modern buildings the bus drove by and dive further into the waters of my mind. Going through the catalogue of my memory, I searched for the recent dream I had and play it once I had found it. Something felt out of place in that dream, and it wasn't just because the scenario differed from the canon result of the flashback in episode 8 of Juuni Taisen. The fact Duodecuple stated he came to fulfill three wishes and not two didn't make sense.

If I connected the dots correctly, the first two wishes were Nagayuki and Takeyasu's wish to not partake in the Juuni Taisen, but then where did the third wish come from? Why would there be a third wish? Did I miss something in my first dream? Is it possible that if I slept a bit longer this morning I would've found out who made the third wish?

Multiple questions danced in my mind but they couldn't find any answers for them to waltz around with. After all, they were left in the mystic unknown, the only way they could return to the known land and find answers is if I returned to the dream realm, but there's no guarantee that it'll give me what I'm looking for. I highly doubt I'd be able to get another dream of the Tatsumi brothers again, my dreams have been generous enough to grant me two normal dreams in a row, I don't think they're going to give me a third. Still, it would be nice-

"[n/n], we're at our stop," Kamida informed me while waving a hand in front of my face.

"Uh-right... right," I responded and arose to my feet, following them out of the bus. Once outside, I brushed myself off, watching the bus drive out of view. Turning my attention to my friends, my hands set themselves in my jacket pockets. "So I guess I'll see you guys at school."

"{Yup|Yeah}," they answered at the same time.

"Alright, see ya then guys." I waved, beginning to stroll backwards in the direction of my house.

"Bye!" Meri-chan exclaimed, waving.

"See ya." Kamida gave a small wave before turning and heading home.

I faced forward once we had disappeared in our path home, eyeing the slim light that emerged from the sun that is ready to be engulfed by the black night. My hand dug into my pocket and pulled out my phone, I needed to text my mom I was almost home. Turning on the device, I noticed I had two text messages, one from my mom and the other from my brother. I tapped on the notification and bypassed the lock screen to read the message my bro sent me.

"Hey, I'm going to a hangout at my friend's house.

Won't be back till morning"

"Looks like he made plans of his own," I thought out loud. "Guess that means no Code Geass tonight, but that also means I can rewatch Juuni Taisen." Drawing a smirk on my face, I chuckled before sending a response to my brother.

"Aight, cya tomorrow bro"

I waited for the message to load and confirm it was sent before tapping onto the text my mom sent.

"Just wanted to let you know your brother

is going over to his friend's place."

"Good to know."

"I'm almost home"

I turned off my phone once I had replied to her message, storing the device in my pocket. Mom always made sure to inform us whenever something came up, which I am grateful for. It helped me remember and keep track of things, they say "two heads are better than one" for a reason.

"Two heads..." I chuckled to myself when the Tsumita twins popped into my head once more. "Two heads that's been stuck in my mind all day."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I sat down in my office chair once I had finished drying my hair, dressed in a simple t-shirt and cargo pants. Opening my laptop I hopped onto docs and clicked the option open a new document. It had been a while since I had written anything, my search for inspiration had been harder than trying to find water in a desert, but with the two dreams I had, I thought I could use it for the idea of a plot. Fidgeting with my bracelet, I tried to construct a starter for the story in my mind, but I found myself unable to find my way around writer's block.

Glancing down at the accessory hugging my wrist as if I asked for ideas, I didn't have any other options since no one was here beside me. I would call or text Meri-chan or Kamida but I knew I'd be heading down soon for dinner. I found no point in inquiring if they could talk if I had to disappear. Funny enough, the bracelet only reminded me of the Tatsumi brothers. I laughed to myself, wondering what the twins would say if they were here, I found the idea amusing. I became tempted to tear the material on my wrist to make my greatest wish a reality, to see if they could become real once I did, but common sense popped my fantasy bubble. This wasn't some Anime where a game master could grant my wish, such fictional desires weren't possible for me to achieve, but I wish it was.

Something in my gut kicked me, flying my head out of that sad mindset I didn't know I fell into. My eyes went back to the blank doc I had open on my laptop. I felt a spark begin to flicker, attempting to get the fire of creativity going. My hands hovered over the keys, words on the tip of my fingers-

"[Name], dinner is ready," mom told me on the other side of my closed door she knocked on.

"Dah!" Frustrated, my arms flew up and mimicked the action of flipping a table before they slammed down on the edge of my desk. "Just when I had something..." I groaned and hung my head back. My mood shifted quickly, realizing some brain food would be good. "Coming mom."

As I arose from my chair, my bracelet seemed off, but when I checked it, everything appeared to be fine. I shrugged off my instinct, believing I was imagining things.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A yawn escaped my mouth after I heard the door to mom's room close, she went to bed since she had to work early. I was just chilling on the couch, my feet reclined up and any plans of writing had gone out the window once I had become one with the couch. I had the house somewhat to myself, considering my mom was now upstairs sleeping I couldn't do much.

I don't do things too exciting anyway, most times I just continued writing, or watch something on the tv which is what I'm doing now. Other times if my friends are available, I'd call them up and we'd discuss the fictional world. Then there was the rare occasion where I'd put on music and dance or vibe. It's relaxing me time.

Currently, Juuni Taisen played on the widescreen tv, already on the 11th episode. I don't know why, but it felt strange to watch it. I've seen these courses of events multiple times, each time understanding it more, why now do I receive this feeling? Perhaps the reason had to do with the dreams I had previously, with them appearing so real I guess coming back to what actually happened felt off to me. At least that was my thought process as I let out another yawn.

The 11th episode now halfway through and my eyes had begun to droop, feeling drowsy like Nezumi. The tv slowly turned into background noise when my tired mind began to pull me into the dream realm, my arms going limp to my sides as my eyes closed. The last audible thing I heard was Nezumi mentioning his 100 paths.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"Too bad my lizard died, I think he would've liked meeting a new face," Takeyasu remarked gazing at the empty reptile tank sitting on his shelf, taking a break from packing his duffle bags.

This all seemed surreal for Takeyasu, for months he was on edge and trying to distance himself from his brother so when they were in the Taisen it wouldn't be as painful to see him die, at least that was his thought process. It probably wouldn't have worked anyway, not when Nagayuki started to take the big brother role more seriously ever since they both found out one of them was going to die in the Juuni Taisen if the other were to win. Then this wish thing came along and now they're packing for their new life, it was a miracle this was happening. Part of Takeyasu imagined this is some cruel dream that he's in and reality is about to wake him up to see those red letters for him and his brother. He sure wished it wasn't his mind playing tricks on him.

"Hey, are you done packing?" Nagayuki questioned checking in, changed into his signature blue outfit.

"Almost, just gotta stash the rest of the money in there," the younger Tatsumi brother answered, going back to his task. "Do you think we can bring Hitokage and Yuki-onna?"

"I don't think that's the best idea, we don't know who our new roommate is going to be and what exactly they'll be okay with," Nagayuki stated, his hand grasping his chin as he began thinking out loud. "Normal people would probably freak out upon seeing two guys with a flamethrower and an icethrower. Still, if we have something to do with the third wish they must know who we are."

"Heh, I was just going to bring Hitokage anyway, regardless of your answer. You never know if we may need them."

Nagayuki rolled his eyes, knowing his brother would do something like that. His little bro had a point, however. They might need their weapons in this new place they're going, it'd probably give more use than the currency they were bringing with them. Both were unaware of where they were heading. Walking over, he looked inside one of Takeyasu's bags, small red rectangle boxes caught his eye and he picked one up.

"Really? You're taking your poker cards?"

"You say that like it's a question."

"Do you really need all of them?"

"Yeah, they're collector." Takeyasu stated his reason like it was obvious. The snake then cracked a smile. "At least I can reuse them unlike the bags of snacks you packed."

"Shut up." A faint blush appeared on Nagayuki's albino cheeks. "The flavours might not be available where we go, it's not like I'm going to eat them all in one go."

The little brother playfully snickered until the brief moment died down. A gentle silence sat between them, the only thing heard was Takeyasu stuffing items into the duffle bag. The elder Tatsumi brother glanced outside the room, considering if he should go check to see he had everything he needed and wasn't forgetting anything, but his bro caught his attention before he could decide.

"Hey..." Takeyasu started with a monotone, the mood in the room becoming heavy. That was a rare thing to happen among them, so he had his elder twin's full attention. "Did you ever think this would happen; Us not having to be apart of the Juuni Taisen?"

"I'm going to be honest with you, Takeyasu."

That was a phrase the younger Tsumita twin hadn't heard in a long time.

"I thought the Juuni Taisen was what our whole lives were leading up to, but I also thought the day would never come," Nagayuki spoke truthfully, his eyes gazed down at the floor. "I... just can't believe that it's not actually going to come, and how it never will..."

It grew quiet, the reality of what was happening finally settling in their minds. The reality neither of them was going to die. The reality neither of them had to kill the other. It was gone, the dark road was gone. They were free.

A laugh broke the silence, Nagayuki glance at his brother who had made the joyful sound.

"We don't have to play those bastards' game!" Takeyasu exclaimed, tackling his bro into a hug.

"Oof-" Nagayuki stumbled, not expecting the sudden embrace, but when he steadied himself he wrapped his arms around his baby brother. The burden of death has been lifted from their shoulders and they never felt more relieved. Tears of joy threatened to fall as the two hugged, knowing they wouldn't lose the other.

Before either could cry, an outsider cleared their throat. The moment now passed, the twins pulled away from the sibling hug to see Duodecuple there holding his hands behind his back.

"Are you both ready?" the man asked.

"Yeah, let me just get my bags," Nagayuki responded, moving past the elder man to get to his room.

Entering, the dragon went straight to retrieve the two duffle bags he packed. However, he ceased in his tracks when he turned to exit, spying the icethrower from the corner of his eye. He had originally planned to leave it, thinking it wasn't needed in his new life and unsure how their new roommate would feel about it, but since his little bro was taking his flamethrower what could it hurt to bring his weapon along?

"Besides, I don't I could get something like you out there, Yuki-onna," Nagayuki said, a smirk plastered on his face as he picked up the icethrower and put it on his back. He then grabbed his bags and left his now old room. Joining his brother's side in the main room, both face the mysterious man, holding their belongings.

"I hope you both are aware you are not heading to any warzones," Duodecuple told them, seeing how both Tatsumi brothers were carrying their weapons with them.

"Yeah, we know," Nagayuki stated blankly.

"But there's no way we're leaving these," Takeyasu added with a smug expression.

"I see." Duodecuple nodded, grabbing the rim of his top hat.

"So where are heading?" the elder Tatsumi brother asked.

"And how are we getting-"

Before the younger Tsumita twin could finish his question, Duodecuple had taken off his hat to bow, while doing so the brothers faded out of their reality.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"No!" I cried, reaching out to the two, only to face the actual screen in front of me. "Oh... it was just another dream," I muttered to myself, grasping my forehead with my right hand.

I'm surprised I actually was granted a third dream of the Tatsumi brothers. I expected my brain not to be so generous, not that I'm complaining, I'm grateful for it. I wished I knew what happened to them though, maybe I'll find out in the next dream. I could get used to having them on my mind as I sleep.

Returning to the reality before me, I saw the episode had finished a while ago. My hand went to pick up the phone that laid on the couch beside me to check the time, but when I did I noticed my bracelet had broken beyond repair. I quickly sat up, picking up the remains of the lime bracelet and the few beads that were once on it.

"Shit, how'd it break?" I questioned, examing the pieces. "It was fine an hour ago, wasn't it?" Shaking my head, I knew it had to throw it in the trash, it was useless now.

I reclined my spot on the couch back down and stuffed my phone in my pocket. Holding the bits of my broken bracelet, I strolled over to the trashcan in the kitchen and dropped them in there. I felt disappointed, I actually enjoyed wearing that bracelet. Not only was it a gift from one of my best friends but it was something that reminded me of the Tatsumi brothers.

"Oh well, objects can't last forever," I mumbled to myself, recalling the day our Wii console stopped reading discs, on New Year's Day too no less.

Catching a glimpse of the time set on the oven, I figured I should head upstairs to my room. If I stayed downstairs for too long and went up late in the night, I'd give mom broken sleep. Probably best I'd head there now anyway if I wanted to get any writing done.

Going up the steps silently so I wouldn't disturb mom, headed to the next floor. My mind was in a whirlwind of different thoughts, but they were put to a pause when I heard voices. At first, I concluded it was just mom talking in her sleep again, however, I crossed it off since they sounded male. My next assumption was my brother but that wouldn't make sense since he wasn't home. Before the scary sensation of the situation settled into my mindset, I had reached the floor and the semi-audio voices sounded familiar to me. With that in mind, I crept down the hallway towards the sound and I realized it was coming from my room.

'Why would it be my room of all places?' I questioned in my head. 'I don't have anything worth stealing!' I turned around to go and find something to use to defend myself but I never took another step because that's when their sentences became audible.

"Too bad we didn't have more time to pack, I would've liked to bring my desktop set up with me."

'No way...' I thought to myself, slowly twisting my head towards my door with wide eyes.

"Don't sweat it, bro. You got the USB, that's all that matters."

'No fucking way!'

I didn't even realize I moved down the hall until my hand felt the cool metal of the doorknob that opened the door to my room. My brain hardly processing my actions, I twisted the handle and pushed open the door. The sight before me I could barely believe.

There standing in my room, in their full warrior gear, were the Tatsumi brothers.

In the moment of me just staring at their backs, I forgot how to fucking breathe. Then Takeyasu was the first to turn to me.

"Hey bro, I think our roommate is here," he told his brother, his signature smirk on his face.

"Huh?" Nagayuki turning attention to me, his icy gaze settling on my skin. "I think you're right."

The expression of the younger twin changed to a semi-worried one. "Hey, are you okay?-"

I wasn't able to hear the rest of his words because all the weight that once was in my head disappeared. I saw my surroundings grow taller and tilt horizontally, but then I felt something solid collide with my back and my vision dissolved to black. I realized that I fainted from disbelief.

I mean, this couldn't have been real right? I was sleeping only moments ago and I woke up to this? No, no, this couldn't be real. I'm probably just dreaming, right? Yeah, that's what I'm doing, dreaming. I'm just dreaming. I'll wake up on the couch and see that it was only a dream.

#Tatsumi brothers #tatsumi kyoudai #Tatsumi Kyoudai Ani #tatsumi kyoudai otouto #tatsumi brothers x reader #Takeyasu #takeyasu tsumita #nagayuki tsumita #nagayuki #Juuni Taisen #juuni taisen zodiac war #juuni taisen snake #juuni taisen dragon #juuni taisen: zodiac war #juni taisen #juni taisen x reader #juuni taisen au #in my reality (tatsumi brothers x reader)

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jacscorner · 3 years ago

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Pokemon All-Stars: A Fan Region/Game/Alternate Universe Idea

I like watching and rewatching Original Pokemon Game/Region videos. Like Mr. Buddy's "What if X was a Pokemon Region" and stuff like that. I wanna make-or, I guess, write-my own. Since Regions are kind of a character all their own and I'm a Wannabe Character Artist, I wanted to try and make one my own.

I've got no skills in coding, pixel arts, or anything, so this will forever be just some kind of dumb fanfic that sometimes incorporates Game Mechanics to justify things if it were able, for some Godforsaken reason, 'stolen' for a game. Cause, in 2021, no idea feels too big or too dumb. And, uh, trust me, this'll be a dumb fanfic of an idea. So be aware for the subpar writing talents of some wannabe writer who doesn't know shit.

Small disclaimer though:

>This region is being made with the intention that every extra feature will be available in it. Z-Moves, Regional Variants, Gygantamax, Mega Evolutions, and maybe some things I've forgotten. This probably won't matter cause it's just a dumb fanfic plot bible with mechanics peppered in. Competitive balancing be damn! Pokemon Fans can create their own balance! That's what the Battle Simulator is for! In fact, if this was a real game, then it'd have a Battle Simulator like Showdown built into it.

>This is an open source Fanfic Bible. You can take this idea and run with it if you want. You can omit all my bad ideas even!

>I won't be making my own Fakemon. I don't like a lot of Fakemon that exists out there and, trust me when I say this: I am no better than them. In fact, I'm fucking worse.

>If this WERE a game, it probably WOULD still have to cut some Pokemon. I doubt that kinda, and I won't get into why I think dexit was dumb personally, cause it doesn't really matter. But, like, my fan game/fanfic will have a lot of shit going on in it. So, like, realistically, there would probably need to be a cut, if not for data, than just cause there's a lot of work to do as is. But, like, again, under the context of a fic, this wouldn't be an issue.

>With THAT said, I'd want this game to have a Gen 2 Sprite aesthetic. My fangame, don't care if ya'll don't like that.

>I'm probably gonna copy a LOT of stuff from other Fangames I've played. My shit memory probably won't allow me to remember what I'm biting from what, so be free to call me out whenever. Cause if I stole the mechanic, I probably liked it the game. And if not, well, I'd like the recommendation.

Fuck, this was long already. The rest is under the cut, so, like, if you're already turned off, you can stop reading. I understand. I'm kind of a windbag.

Okay, so how many of you guys have seen this picture on the internet? It's a picture of a ton of Pokemon regions all...basically stitched together, since not only could this never be canon, but this goes beyond the size of even most open world games today. But this was the inspiration for this project. The map probably wouldn't, and probably couldn't, look like this, but it perfectly sums up what I'd want out of this game. Thus, it'll be our placeholder.

Our hometown of Capricorn Town is home to Professor Chestnut, and you, her faithful assistant, are about to set off on a Pokemon adventure of your own! The Professor is encouraging you to see the region of Sidus for yourself and is even willing to give you a Starting Pokemon!

Starting Pokemon

Now, if I'm not making new Pokemon, which Starter will it be? Well, the game will have the data for all the starters and will randomly select a Grass, Fire, and Water Type for you to choose from. Those will be your starters, with the option of also choosing Pikachu, Eevee, and Riolu, the two mascot mons...and Riolu, who is kind of a mascot mon, but a lesser one.

Let's say for this example, your options are Torchic, Piplup, Rowlet, Pikachu, Eevee, and Riolu. And, uh, get used to the words 'random' and 'generator', those are our keywords.

Anyway, once you get your pick, there'll be some kind of tutorial mission the Professor will send you on. This will introduce you to two very important things;

1. One of your Rival.

2. An Evil Team Grunt.

Rivals?!

Now to start getting into why this game might still be pretty big still be big despite the sprites on modern consoles.

Each of your Rivals would be one kid from each region of the 8 Mainline Games from Kanto to Kalos. How this'll be decided is that each pair of kids will be plugging into a generator and will pick between either the boy or girl version.

Ex. Brendan and May both cannot be in the game. Instead, they'll be plugged into this generator. Let's say the generator fell onto May. She'll be one of your Rival. Repeat this process 7 more times until you have 8 Rivals sprinkled throughout the world, each one given a defined personality and better AI to make them harder trainers to fight.

May will have one of the Hoenn Starters, sans Torchic. Regardless of whether or not Protagonist-San picked Torchic, May will either have a Treecko or Mudkip, again, chosen at random per kid. Whichever Starter you picked, your first rival will have a starter that beats yours. So, let's say moving forward, May has a Mudkip and you a Torchic. The other kids will have random starters of the various regions they originally hail from.

Anyway, your rivals will wander the overworld. If they see you, they'll battle you on sight. If they lose, they'll be gone after the next time you turn the game off. They won't battle you again until they respawn, but you can hang out with them. In fact, you can even recruit them to be in your party for a few days and they'll follow you around and just generally be your friend. It'll make every battle a double battle, but they'll battle you again before their timer runs out, so be prepared!

BANG! BANG! ENTER! Team Wild!

The two of you will have to face off against Team Wild! They have a Cowboy theme to them, using a mix of Ground and Steel-Types, with a few Pokemon being added in for good measure like the Ponyta Lines, Cacnea Line, and Remoraid. Cause...it's a gun.

They're an outlaw gang, they're rough and tough (or, at least, a mild threat) and will always throw down when they spot ya. Something I'm just sniping from JelloApocalypse is that they'll appear sporadically and act as Timed Events across the map.

You and your new Rival beat them and send you packing. I'd imagine May and the other Rivals would mostly be friendly, but I'm sure there's one or two that'll just be jerks to you. Regardless of personality, they'll be pretty tough and programmed to skill with you. Your strongest mon you have on hand when you fight them will be the level their entire team.

With your tutorial done, the world is opened up! Your mom gives you your running shoes, some Pokeballs, and your...I don't know, PokeCelular or something, just the regional gadget that does a bunch of stuff. From holding your map to holding your VS Seeker.

The PokeCelular will also give you notifications on where Team Wild are! You can choose to ignore the events, but if you do, then they'll start to appear in the overworld know and will get progressively stronger.

A Balancing Act

This game will be an open world, 8-Bit Sprite Game for you to explore after you leave Capricorn!

So how do we balance that?

Well, we got our Rival out of the way already, so let's move on. Gym Leaders will have a pretty linear progression. However, regardless of which Gym you tackle first, they'll all be at the same level.

It doesn't matter if you decide to go across the map and battle the Bug Gym, he'll stay at Level 10, just like the Normal Gym. Whe you get the second badge, they'll all jump to Level 15. NPC Trainers will follow the same progression; the higher your badge number, the stronger the number of Pokemon they'll be.

Wild Pokemon will also get stronger. The more badges you get, it'll attract stronger wild Pokemon because they'll see you're stronger and will come out more.

The overworld will also have various dungeons in them that'll be Level Locked. Say, you go through a forest and you're just trying to reach the end of a maze. The Trainers and Pokemon will function the same as I've mentioned before. But, you can decide to go deeper into the dungeon. These Pokemon will be level locked, usually something of a high level, because this is a more dangerous part of the dungeon. But, there'll be some goodies down there, like rarer Pokemon and some kind of really rare and good item like a TM or something.

How will you traverse? Well, first of all, HMs? They're semi-back. BUT, instead of having to deal with teaching Cut to a Pokemon, you just need the move Cut and a Pokemon that can use the move and you'll be able to use Cut. A few other Pokemon that are reasonable candidates, but don't get cut, will be allowed to do this too. Like, Gallade can use Cut. It can't learn the move, but just holding the HM will get the job done.

Controversial opinion, but I think I've always liked the idea of HMs. On paper, they give you a reason to explore the world and go back to areas you couldn't before for goodies and make for a good way to get off dungeons until you get the needed item. Even something like Cut can be used to open up new areas for exploration for your squad of mons.

BUT, well, HMs suck. As moves, they suck save for, like, 2...MAYBE and they're only for, like, a handful of areas. You either hand them out as evenly as possible, forcing mons to take moves you don't wanna use, or you just get an HM Slave or two to use 'em all. But like they, they serve their function and all you need is the Pokemon in question and NOT teach them the move. If you need a Move Deleter just so people aren't stuck having to use Rock Smash for three towns, then there's a problem with your RPG. Imagine playing Final Fantasy and you had to give your Fighter the Bronze Axe to get through a forest and still had to fight with it, even though you got a +12 Silver Sword! It's no wonder people hated these things! But I don't think getting rid of them and introducing Rental Pokemon was a good solution either and adds a different, albeit less intrusive problem.

Gym Leaders

So, how do Gym Leaders work?

Much like your rivals, they'll be randomly generated. Let's say, hypothetically, there's a pool of 60 Gym Leaders and Elite Four members. The game will randomly generate 16 to be Gym Leaders. The generator will have some kind of complicated math (at least, too complicated for me) so that you don't have more than 2 gyms of the same type. (Example: Misty and Nessa might be Active Gyms, Siebold can't be selected for a Gym cause the Water Slots are taken).

As a trade off, some Gyms might have special conditions before you can challenge them. Like, if you got stuck with Koga as a Gym Leader, than he'll only let you in if you complete a nearby dungeon and help his daughter out cause he doesn't trust her to make it back on her own. Or, like, Claire's a Gym Leader, but she won't battle you unless you've collected 7 Gym Badges prior at least.

The Gym Leaders, as mentioned before, will get progressively stronger with each badge obtained. After the 8th badge, you can go and climb Victory Road, face the E4 and confront the Champion! You can keep hunting Gym Leaders, but just remember that the E4 will always be 10 Levels above the strongest gym you beat. And they'll just get stronger with every one you beat until all 16 are slain.

Another handful, let's say 8, Gym Leaders/E4 Members will be wondering around as NPC Trainers. The justification is that this big super region is in some Alternate Universe Pokemon Game that has all the Pokemon and other important trainers in it, hence why we can have a game where Roxanne and Lenora are hanging out at a coffee shop. They're not Rivals, more like stronger NPCs you can rematch and wonder the map. They're not here to be the very best like no one ever was.

I mean, I'd like, like, 10-20 instead of 8 extras, but let's not get TOO greedy...yet...

Elite Four

And now, it's time to flip the script. Cause if E4 members can be Gym Leaders, then who are the Elite Four?

Easy. The Rivals.

All the Rival characters will be put in a random generator as well. The four that are chosen. You can have an Elite Four made up of Wally, Marnie, Hau, and Barry and you gotta deal with it.

This is excluding Brendan and May, Blue, and Calem and Serena. Anyone else is fair game.

Champion

So, the Champion. Who would it be in this? There was a funny idea I had, but this is a Pokemon Game. So there would be two versions. We'll call them Pokemon Dawn & Dusk. The difference between these games is the game Champion!

Benga would be the Champion of Pokemon Dusk, the grandson of Alder! His final Team will include Volcarona, Garchomp, and Dragonite, Pokemon he used in Black and White. I'd also include Scrafty, Rampardos, and Golurk, Pokemon used against you in White Treehollow and Black Tower areas.

Meanwhile, the Champion of Pokemon Dusk will be Zinnia, the Lorekeeper! Her team would include the Goodra, Tyrantrum, Altaria, Noivern, and Salamence she used in her original team, with her plucky Whismur sidekick becoming an Exploud and her ace.

You would've met them in the beginning of the game and would've showed off a bit by helping you with Team Wild before. They'll pop in and out throughout the game, at first amused by your tenacity, but not wanting a rookie like you to get hurt. But if you keep bonking Team Wild, they'll be impressed with how strong you are.

The show up to chat again when you beat 8 Gym Leaders, and will pop in if you White Out to give you some advice. White Out three times and they'll feel bad for you and give you an egg. Benga will give you a Larvesta Egg and Zinnia a Bagon Egg.

EXTRAS

So I don't got a lot of ideas for the Post Game, but there is one idea I thought would be cool if, if after you defeat the champion, they give you a call. They'll tell you that there are strong trainers wondering the Overworld and to be careful.

Because dotting the overworld will be Champions passed and proper! Cynthia, Blue, Lance; all of them are rocking Lv 100 Teams and are out for blood. They won't challenge you, but if you talk to them, there will be no backing out of the battle! You come with your A-Game!

sI'm not exactly in love with the idea of Team Wild. Maybe the Evil Team should go full fanservice and just be Team Rainbow Rocket. Or maybe go half-and-half; having past Evil Team members and leaders walk around in cowboy gear and acting as Team Wild executives.

I'd also would love Tournaments. Like, maybe that could be a weekly event in some town, they'll how tournaments and the characters that aren't designated as Gym Leaders and such will attend. Maybe there's a cash prize, maybe you'll win Pokemon Eggs of rare, guaranteed shines, or maybe you'll get some kind of important quest items.

Yeah, I want quests! All sorts of side quests! And can't forget what I'd do with Legendairs;

If you know Bengal's team, you'll know he's got the Lati Twins. I don't like that personally and would prefer Legendaries to be Super Bosses. Like, you gotta do a lot to find them. And when you do, their stats are boosted and they become an Uber Boss! You catch them in a cutscene after you beat them!

There's also just a ton of characters I didn't get around to or really have a place for. Emma, Looker, N, and the Stat Trainers all come to mind. Overall, I'd want them to pepper the world as well, but don't have anything to say except this: Pokemon has made a lot of memorable characters. Both good and bad. And this is probably my dream Pokemon Game; one where you can hang out with your favorites

#Pokemon #Pokemon Dawn and Dusk #Fan Game #Fanfic Bible #Plot Bunny #JAC Notes

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