#asuka r sharp

[rosinkreutz]

haggard

[gear-project]

A Hakama, Celestial Robe, Priest Shirt, and Sneakers...

Someone PLEASE tell Asuka he needs to work on his fashion sense...

[loathemetc]

Asuka’s gameplay is already looking insane but I really wanna focus on this, how his name changes in the trailer. 

You can see that his color scheme also changes with the name change. I assume R# is pronounced R Sharp, although obviously it brings to mind Guilty Gear XX #Reload.

So like, a few things to note here.

R. Kreutz and R. Sharp both have different color schemes, but neither of them are the color scheme Asuka had in story mode. 

All of the gameplay we’re seeing is for R#, so what’s the deal with R. Kreutz? Is it not a different thing at all, what’s up with the color scheme? Is it like Akuma and Shin Akuma? Which is which?

Is there a story reason for this? Is R# even the same Asuka??

Nice cape.

[whymustyouhurtmeinthisway]

GO WATCH THE NEW STRIVE TRAILER BEFORE LOOKING AT THIS, IT LEGITIMATELY JUST CAME OUT

Ok, so, extremely early post I know, but

1.

Why is he dressed like this? His outfit from the story mode looked so sick. I like the cape, but changing him to be more red is weird. And

2.

What does this mean? It showed the first one for a few seconds, then it glitched into the second one. Is this new character not the actual Asuka? Did Asuka make a clone of himself and name it Asuka R#? Is it pronounced Asuka R Number, Asuka R Pound Sign, Asuka R Hashtag, or Asuka R Sharp? Many questions.

[broken-clover]

frederick and jack o manage to get to the moon and theyre greeted with a bunch of doppelkreutzeseses just hanging around doing their own individual things while the original asuka is sitting there thinking about his life choices yet again

Sol feels like he's having another goddamn Valentine situation, there's so many of the damn things and all of them immediately gravitate to him as soon as he's within sight like they're baby birds. They try to find Asuka and the doppels trail behind in a line trying to get his attention by babbling about particle physics or some such concepts but it isn't working. Since they're just as physically flimsy as their creator they all have to stop after a few rooms because all the doppels are tired and need a juice break.

Despite them all technically being grown men they are legally classified as unsupervised children and get turned over to CPS. Asuka finally gets charged with a crime but it's just for child neglect. It's still something at least...

[ashlynniis-bracketeers]

Bonks you with the bigger book summoned from the smaller book.

I'm going to throw up fighting Asuka look at all those projectiles...........

He drops on the 25th

[blackwhitesharp]

In fact, I always wondered why people thought R# hates Asuka. It's funny, but only as a joke. I myself often make memes in which R# treats Asuka condescendingly. But I don't understand people who do this seriously. R# is quite straightforward and "sharp", but even in arcade mode he tried to give Asuka motivation. Of course, his methods are a little… strange, but can you really say that he hates Asuka?

"I know you can't affirm yourself. But at least tell me you'll keep walking. Even if you lose your way. As long as one person out there cares about you… It's worth it to try and keep them happy."

[aria0fgold]

Two birds, One Stone, and Me

A Persona 5 snippet starring Akechi ft. Kaito Kuroba (Magic Kaito) and Asuka (an oc by @misty-wisp)!

Akechi massaged his temples as he walked through the station after having just gotten out of the train. It was headache one after another for him nowadays, the matter with Shido's jobs combined with the emergence of the so called Phantom Thieves of Hearts, not to mention the return of that pesky thief Kaito KID in Japan after doing heists overseas. His first problem is easy to deal with, as something he had gotten used to doing, his second problem was coming along well enough as he already has a good idea on who the members of the Phantom Thieves are, and the third problem is the biggest headache of all as Kaito KID has been a consistent problem for years now. Disappearing in the past only to have a come back years after and no one has any idea how to deal with him.

There's already even a police force specifically designed to capture that thief and yet there's no progress at all anyway. And for some goddamned reason, Akechi was also tasked to help with that too!

If a police force dedicated to capturing that thief can't even handle it then what else can I do anyway? Detective Prince my ass, if only those people know the truth they wouldn't add on to my mountain of problems something nearly impossible to achieve!

Figuring out the identities of the Phantom Thieves were easy with how sloppy they were at keeping it hidden in the first place but figuring out the identity of a criminal that's most likely been at it for more than a decade isn't something Akechi should be doing in the first place. That should fall on the hands of the adults instead.

Ah but of course! Adults are practically useless, good for nothing fools who's only good at hurting others and getting children to clean up after them, OF COURSE! WHY ELSE AM IN THIS WHOLE MESS ANYWAY IF NOT FOR THAT!

Akechi let out a small quiet sigh, it's best for him to retire for the day and take a rest, although, just as he rounded the corner, he was met with a particularly familiar face that had immediately fallen into a frown the split second she noticed Akechi.

“Ah, Asuka, yes?” Akechi put on his usual polite smile, the face of the exemplary Detective Prince.

“Riight, yeah.” She averted her eyes from him, it was obvious it wasn't out of embarrassment, “Excuse me.”

Akechi could just let her go, but a thought formed on his mind, “Wait, if it's alright with you, could you spare some of your time to have a short chat?”

Asuka attends the same school as Akira. In fact, she attends the same school as most of the members of the Phantom Thieves. There's a possibility of her being involved with them, it's better to check just in case.

There was also... That... Although it doesn't seem to be relevant at the moment, it was still a particular pattern to keep in mind.

Asuka looked back, her eyes squinted slightly, though it was still a frown, Akechi can feel the sharpness of a glare hidden behind a thin veil of public civility. “Unfortunately, no. Goodby—”

“Isn't that…”

Just before Asuka could finish her sentence, a person by the distance caught Akechi's attention. And as his gaze fell on the figure's back, the person turned to meet his eyes.

It was Kaito Kuroba. Someone who's close to Akira.

Asuka followed Akechi's sight with a glance and it was at that moment that Kaito beamed at them before waving his hand as he approached the two.

“Oh hey! You're that so called Detective Prince, aren't you?” He smiled so brightly at them Akechi felt blinded and very much so annoyed.

But he can't quite show such a thing, smile, smile… smile… he needs to smile.

“Ah, yes—”

Kaito then quickly turned to Asuka, her passive aggression towards Akechi was replaced with slight anxiety, “And you… Ah! You're that student Akiki told me before! You sit behind him, yeah?”

She nodded, “R-right…”

. . .

Akechi really hates this guy.

He mentally collected himself, it seems that he'd have to talk to Asuka another day. Though this is an ideal situation of killing two birds with one stone, both of them have possible connections to the Phantom Thieves but right now, he'd rather not deal with someone as obnoxious as that guy.

Kaito clapped his hands, “Hey! Since we're all here, how about a meal? My treat! I'd love to get to know more about Asuka and Mister Detective Prince! It's not everyday an opportunity like this can come by!”

Goddammit, WHY?! “You're right, I'll take you up on that offer then.”

“I'll take my leave instead…”

“Now, now, Asuka. Since this kind person is going to treat us, wouldn't it be polite to accept such an offer? He seems to know someone close to you too.”

FINE! Might as well take this chance! DAMMIT!!!

“I'm not really… close to him though.” Asuka tried to take a step away from them.

“Aww! Please, please, please, pretty please? How about I help you with homework too? Please come with us! The more the merrier after all!” Kaito pleaded with the best puppy dog eyes expression he can muster.

“Exactly!” Akechi added, to which Asuka openly glared at him for.

For a second, the two's expression seemed to telepathically communicate with each other, two different thoughts yet both in sync enough to converse with the other.

This bastard is surely planning something…

If I'm getting roped in with this guy, I'm going to drag you into this one too.

. . .

And so, the unlikely trio sat by the table of a restaurant nearby. One who was visibly dragged in, another beaming with a light as bright as an artificial sun, and lastly someone who deep down wanted to break the glass of water nearby as they waited for their orders.

Dealing with Asuka should be easy enough but this obnoxious bastard has got to be faking this entire overly cheerful personality of his otherwise his entire existence is just gonna piss me off to no end.

“So, you go to Ekoda High, Kaito? That's quite far from here.” Akechi is luckily used to maintaining this image of his, it should be easy to do despite how badly he want to just get out already.

“Nah! So long as you know your ins and outs, it's actually pretty close by!”

“Is that so—”

“By the way, Asuka! Your scarf suits you so well! It even matches your uniform!” Kaito cut Akechi off again.

Deep breaths… This guy… is clearly doing that on purpose!

“Ah… Thanks…” She took a small glance at Akechi and then at Kaito before looking at her scarf, she seemed to be thinking about something.

It's fine, if his goal is to rile me up then let him try, his attempts won't work on me at all anyway.

“Being a so called Detective Prince at that age sure is impressive, huh Akechi?” Kaito threw the ball back at Akechi's court.

“It's nothing I can't handle—”

“Yeah, it must be so hard getting swarmed with cases left and right that you don't even have time to do all of them anymore.” It was Asuka that cut him off this time.

“Pardon?”

“Oh, I'm just saying. In a general sense.” Asuka slightly squinted at him and seemingly rolled her eyes in a subtle manner as she turned to look away. It was as if a switch was flipped and now, instead of Akechi killing two birds with one stone, it feels as though that two birds are killing him with one stone.

. . .

Akechi mentally sighed as he could only freeze his own smile in place to keep it from faltering, he shouldn't have accept this invite.

[sir-adamus]

“ "Asuka R♯" has two meaningful references. "♯" is the symbol indicating a sharp or major pitch for musical keys. It's also a reference to the first updated version of his series debut: Guilty Gear XX ♯Reload. The "♯" symbol is also referred to as the double-cross (or Doppel-Kreutz in German). It is a pun on the fact that the playable Asuka is a magic doppleganger fighting in the real Asuka's stead. “

i’m gonna throw Daisuke down a well

[letothethird]

asuka r sharp

Mr Daisuke how do you pronounce Asuka #R

Asuka #R

[the-himawari]

A3! Asuka Haruto - Translation [R] Twin Kingdoms (1/2)

*Please read disclaimer on blog

---

Izumi: (Ugh… I was preparing documents until late last night so I’m sleepy…) (But I have a meeting now so I have to get on with it.)

Haruto: …

Izumi: (Huh, that person walking over there is…) Haruto-kun?

Haruto: Ahh, it’s you.

Izumi: (Haruto-kun’s sharp first thing in the morning, huh…) Are you on your way somewhere?

Haruto: I’m going to watch another theatre troupe’s show since I’m off today. It’s motivating watching various different plays, and there are things I can learn too.

Izumi: You’re self-aware, as expected…!

Shift: Huh, Haruto-san! Oh, Director-san is with you too? What a rare combination.

Izumi: We also just happened to bump into each other.

Shift: I see, then that’s great~! Haruto-san, you’re free after this, right? I have my part-time job now, but it looks like we’re short-staffed again so I was asked to gather people… If you’d like, won’t you come with me?

Haruto: Hah? Why are you assuming people are free on your own? In the first place, why do I…

Shift: Isn’t it fine? The Leader likes you too, so I think it’d totally be ok for you to jump right in!

Haruto: Hey now…!

Izumi: Heh, you two are working part-time together, huh?

Haruto: I just happened to help out the other day! It’s not like we’re working together.

Shift: Please lend a hand today too! Pretty pleeease!

Haruto: What are you, 5? I’m on my way to watch a play right now…

Shift: I’ll accompany you for that next time! Come on, let’s go!

Haruto: Hold on, don’t pull my hand!

Shift: Then see you later, Director-san

Izumi: Ah, yeah. See you.

Haruto: Oi, listen to what people are saying!

Izumi: (Haruto-kun was half taken along by force... he'll be ok, right?)

---

| next

[gear-project]

More info on Asuka

Based on info from Asuka's GG Bio... it's been the 5th Time he's Retrograded his body and so now his blood type is AB (suggesting he's had different blood types every time he retrograded his body to maintain his youth).

I don't know if Asuka is immortal for certain if he took in the Tome of Origin, but we'll find out soon I guess.

Also the # Sharp is to signify that he's using a "body double" to fight in his stead along with the Proteus Universe Bit Pods... without them he gets tired out very easily (Being 170+ years old, is probably the main reason).

Still, paradoxical body double or not... GG's story is full of paradoxes anyway... so go figure...

[gloopytits-chaosmod]

Did you know they kiss sometimes?? It's true.... I saw them do it

[rex101111]

Ch'io mi scordi di te?

Remember all those ideas/hopes about Aria/ being playable in the next Guilty Gear game I posted? Well, combine that with a short scene by @mystech-master and you get this little thing I whipped up in about two days. It’s super angsty and I hope you like it!

A monster stands in the dark of her mind, it is a giant of metal and fire and blood, and she feels red hot fear dig a trench through her gut at the sight of it. Her mind expands, feels far away, and in walks a person. Or half of one, half of her.

The half-person turns to her with a broken smile, waves to her, before walking to the monster, placing a hand on the monster's chest. Slowly, the monster shrinks from a giant to about the size of the half-person, and then it is not a monster.

Her two halves now stand there, in the dark, facing each other without a word. The half that was-is-will be-a monster raises its own hand to mirror the first half. As soon as the fingers touch the other's chest, a sharp, bright light splits her mind into a thousand shards, a million memories.

Running from the orphanage with nothing but her lightly stuffed and battered back pack.

Sitting at a desk working over her thesis.

Meeting Fredrick Bulsara at a café on campus, whistling the Queen song he was humming under his breath as he waited for his order.

Asuka R. Kreutz cursing her out in German as she laughs at some joke she made.

The day the Gear Project was announced, standing shoulder to shoulder with two people she would give her life for.

Coughing blood into her palm while she worked on Backyard research.

Schematics for a suit, a suit to explore the Backyard, an idea, a stupid idea, her idea. Their idea.

Walking away from Fredrick, refusing to listen to his pleas to stop, please, you don't know what you're doing! She does know, of course she does, how could she not?

Arguing with Asuka over data, what it means, what they could do with it, she calls him an idiot.

Fredrick crying at her bedside while she was eaten from the inside out.

Asuka on the other side of a glass tube, tears going down his determined face.

Death. Fire. Fear. Destroy. Destroy. DESTROY. DESTROY!

ALL OF THEM. EVERY SINGLE ONE. DESTROY!

FIRE. A SCOWL. Fredrick. Doesn't know, doesn't recognize her. She can only be glad that he doesn't. Death is soft and quiet and she holds it with both hands.

A sword, a death, fire, another death. And another, and another, and another. Over and over, from a thousand different eyes. Forever.

I-no chasing after her (but not her), Raven healing her leg, Fredrick (bigger and older and sadder and hurt and scared and different but still) watching her as she explains all she can, Asuka (thinner and sorry and wiser and quiet but still) sending her off with a promise and a hope.

A giant, a monster, a will, light.

Nothing.

Aria Hale wakes to the smell of disinfectant and the sound of flickering florescent lights from outside the room. Her head is pounding, her world is spinning, and she is, miracle of miracles, alive.

She swallows what little spit she has in her dry throat, coughs, and then rasps the first sound she makes with her own voice in little over a century, "what the fuck?"

The nurse, who she did not see in the room, is very startled, drops her clipboard, and runs out the door screaming for a doctor.

Aria blinks at the swinging door, then looks back up at the off white ceiling, "what the fuck", she repeats, just as confused, but this time with a weary smile.

-_-_-_-_-

By the time the doctor showed up, the world stopped spinning long enough to gather herself more solidly. She is Aria Hale, over a century ago she died, and now she's alive again.

Between that death and right now a million memories bounce around in her head and give her a migraine, but somehow she manages to make sense of them all, or at least most. The doctor fills her in once he checks her eyes and gives her a plastic cup filled with water.

She's been in the hospital for about six days now, she's in Illyria, and her medical bill is being paid by king Kisuke. She will stay in the hospital for a few more days, just to be safe, and then she's free to go where she pleases.

She smiles tiredly at the doctor, some young man barely out of his scrubs whose name she doesn't catch, and thanks him. She doesn't tell him she doesn't really have anywhere to go as he leaves the room. Doesn't tell him the name Kisuke barely means anything to her, or at least doesn't mean what it means to him.

To her it means lightning and an army, some figure cutting down her soldiers as he streaks across battlefields.

And your son-in-law. A melodic voice, like that of a child, adds from somewhere deep in her heart and she smiles incredulously. She rubs her eyes as she remembers Dizzy, and Ky, and all the things Jack-O knew and now she needs to know if she intends to make full use of this life she's been given.

Life. Alive. She's alive. The concept is numb in her mind, unreal. Her heart thumps lazily in her ribcage, her lungs expand and contract as she takes a breath and sighs. She feels the uncomfortable itch of the hospital gown covering her form, her long hair (she’ll need to cut it, she never liked her hair that long) splayed over the pillow and tickling the back of her neck.

It doesn't make sense, strictly speaking, that she is here, on this bed, alive and fine and waiting for shitty hospital food. It was almost yesterday, to her, that she was wasting away on another hospital bed, miles from where she is right now, hooked up to tubes and wires and patiently waiting for the dull, burning pain to go away so she could sleep.

She remembers accepting death, readying herself for it, bracing herself by holding on to Fredrick's hand as the world grew cold.

But, now, here she is, alive and fine and with a sore throat and a splitting headache.

It's almost overwhelming, but only barely not, just within her reach to understand it, which only makes it more unreal. That it was that easy in the end. One moment she was dead, the next she was alive, and in between those moments a century somehow wedged itself in and she needs to play catch up, simple, straightforward, and too damn much.

It's whiplash and jetlag both at once, her head is pounding and her eyes aren't used to the light and she just wants someone in this hospital to do their job and give her an aspirin or something. Or maybe just pump her full of morphine so she could stop having this existential crisis at 4 in the afternoon.

Before she could spiral down further a knock on the door jars her to attention, "Ms. Hale? Is it alright to come in?" The voice of her doctor floats from the other side of the door, the tone is kind but it is sudden and rubs against her tired and recently resurrected ears like sandpaper and she has to bite her lip to control her reaction to it, "you have visitors."

She breaths in through her nose and out through her mouth and manages to work her face into a facsimile of a welcoming smile as she turns to the voice, "yes, please come in." Her heart belatedly picks up its rhythm at the thought of who might be on the other side as the door opens, she clenches her fists to stop it, it's been a century, if he cared enough to see her she would have seen him by now.

She was right to curb her enthusiasm, as the person who follows the doctor into her room isn't who she hoped. "Ms. Hale." Ky Kisuke bows his head politely at her as the doctor steps aside from him before leaving him with Aria, a pleasant tilt to his lips as he looked at her, "it's good to see you awake."

Aria can't help the tired laugh that jumps out, she almost makes a comment about wakefulness being overrated, but bites her tongue to stop it and instead shakes her head fondly at the young man. "Thank you for the concern, Sir Kisuke, but I'm surprised at how quickly you showed up, I just woke up about an hour ago!"

"We told the hospital to call us as soon as you did." A second voice calls out gently from behind the king, and a lump lodged itself firmly in Aria's throat as Dizzy brushes past her husband to sit by her bedside, face welcoming and warm as she took her hand. "I wanted to meet you as soon as I could…mother."

There. Right there. That word right there brought the full and utter absurdity of her situation into perspective for Aria; mother. She's a mother, this woman in front of her is her child, hers and Fredrick's, a child with her eyes and the curve of her nose and Fredrick's chin and ears, a child with wings and a tail. It is ridiculous and absurd and her heart is struggling to take it all in.

But Dizzy is not a child at all, there was a childhood she missed, a life Aria abandoned and did not care for and yet her she was, a woman fully grown, with a husband and child of her own and a household she needs to worry about. All of that over her head and yet here Dizzy was, taking time out of her day to hold the hand of a woman who is a century too late to be her mother and that she barely knows and that she should by all accounts either hate or resent but instead she holds her hand tenderly yet firmly with a smile.

A century ago she died with nothing to her name but an ill-fated science project that would kill millions as a legacy, today she lays on a hospital bed while her daughter and son-in-law smile at her, glad to be talking to her and glad she is alive and here.

She didn't earn this, none of this. People, people who she loved and loved her but still other people, decided that she deserved all of this. Later, when she acclimates and finds her footing this idea will leave a bad taste in her mouth. Right now? Her daughter is holding her hand and smiling and telling her she wants to know her, and her heart damn near bursts.

She wants to say that, to tell Dizzy how happy she is at this moment that everything starts to click together for her, to promise her she will try to make up for lost time even though she has never known herself to be nearly so maternal, because she is alive despite the odds and that thought makes her so ecstatic that she doesn't know what to do with herself.

Instead, she takes Dizzy's hand in both of her own and controls her voice just enough to smile wetly at her daughter, "well," she started once she could gather some composure, "let's talk!" Her face stretched into a smile so wide it hurt but she did not care, "what do you want to know about me?"

The smile Dizzy sends her way is blinding. "Everything."

-_-_-_-_-

They talk for hours, in-between catching up on her life and Aria's, Dizzy fills her in on the basics of, well, everything she should know about Illyria. Sorry, The United Kingdoms of Illyria. The languages, the holidays, what café is worth a damn near her home.

This is also around the time she finds out she'll be staying with Dizzy and her husband until she can settle herself elsewhere, however long that would take her. The concept surprises her and fills her with an odd sort of anxiety. She is used to living on her own, in her cozy little apartment near the Gear Project complex.

A tiny little three room affair with a half assed kitchen, creaky bed, and barely working shower, but still hers. Hers and long, long gone, probably buried under tons of rubble and a century's worth of dust and God knows what else.

She still recognizes the necessity of the gesture, she has no money, no home, and no fucking clue how to get a job or if any of her three degrees are still any good after all these years. She swallows the indignation at being dependent on someone else and thanks Dizzy as warmly as she can manage.

The mundane details of her daughters' life serve as an anchor, give her a base to stand on where she could find something familiar in a world so changed by time and war and death it might as well be an alien plant. Some things don't change, no matter how much time passes, and that idea is the biggest comfort she has managed so far.

Something distracts her though. Ky, while he participated in the conversation, adding his own little asides whenever Dizzy said something that he felt needing expanding or simply whenever he wanted to make her blush or smile, he seemed occupied by something. Every so often, and more frequently as time wore on, he would steal a glance at the door, his eyes narrowing for a moment before he looked back at them.

Aria wanted to ask him what he was looking at, but decided he would tell her in his own time and she would just enjoy her daughters' company until he does. She didn't have to wait long though, in the middle of Aria telling Dizzy about her undergraduate work for her B. S. (which was indeed, as she told her daughter, BS), Ky heaved a sigh of frustration and shoved the door to her room open with no small amount of force and stomped out.

Before Aria could ask if it was something she said, Ky came back, face annoyed, and holding a large, muscular man by the scruff of his shirt as he dragged him into the room. It takes her a moment to parse who it is, and when she does the grip on Dizzy's hand goes limp.

Fredrick Bulsara, taller then she remembers and more solidly built then she thought he could ever possibly be, looks at her with conflicted eyes and his mouth in a severe line. Her mind went blank, and then it was stuffed to bursting with things she wanted to say, either way she found her mouth refused to work. All she could manage is a wide eyed look as she clenched her thin blanket between her fingers.

Her daughter seemed more on the ball though, thankfully, and quickly rose from her chair, "we'll finish our talk tomorrow, okay mom?" Dizzy calling her mom was just enough of a shock to get her to nod a bit dumbly before Dizzy walked to her husband, leveling a rather interesting look at her father on the way, "you two have a lot of catching up to do as well, right?"

Fredrick, who probably weighs twice as much as Dizzy and is pure rippling muscle (that Aria was not staring at what are you talking about), nods quickly in assentation, bordering on the frantic.

The King of Illyria and his wife exited the room, and left Aria Hale and Fredrick Bulsara to stare awkwardly at each other like teenagers on a first date. Aria remembers that their actual first date wasn't nearly this awkward, the memory is fuzzy but she distinctly remembers it including a movie and burgers for dinner, she thinks the movie was-

"Star Wars."

"Huh?"

"Star Wars, we saw episode 4 on our first date, you thought Harrison Ford looked like a shaved jackal."

So, she said that out loud, but, not being one to let a slip trip her up, she straightened her back and glared at him, "yeah? Well you thought Carrie Fisher had sweet rolls taped to her head."

"We all make mistakes."

They stare at each other after that, that flippant comment striking a spot they both weren't guarding. After a moment, the tension leaves both of their shoulders, and Aria feels a sad smile curve her lips, "good afternoon, Fredrick."

After a moment he shuffles his feet to sit at the chair Dizzy occupied before, every muscle in his body relaxing into an exhausted heap as he slumps on the back rest. He levels a tired smile at her to meet her own, the edges of his mouth don't reach his eyes but neither do hers, and mutters, "afternoon."

As if a century hadn't passed since the last time they were like this, as if they both hadn't died in one way or another, they sat there in front of each other for a moment and exchanged greetings. Like they were having lunch to discuss work, or the weather.

She has a maelstrom of questions for him, how did he survive this long without crumbling under the pressure, did he ever think anything like this could ever happen? Did he think Asuka's robe and hood outfit looked as ridiculous as she did?

Instead of all of those question, she found herself sputtering out a laugh, laughing a bit louder as she caught the confused look in his eyes, "Sol Badguy?" She managed to get out between a chuckle or two, "seriously? You couldn't think of a better alias then Sol Fucking Badguy?"

Fredrick blinked owlishly at her for a long moment before crossing his arms and huffing, "sounded cool at the time…"

"A reference to a Queen song nobody gave a shit about for close to two hundred years sounded cool to you?"

He barked out a laugh, "well you got the reference didn't you?" She burst out laughing again, unable to answer, "well, you and Asuka…"

And she was gone, laughing so loudly she was practically screaming. That was so stupid, so absurd, so ridicules! So Fredrick. That was so Fredrick Bulsara it nearly hurt to think about, this is the guy who spent four straight nights cramming for his theoretical physics finals in senior year, after blowing it off for months, by holing himself in his dorm with literally every single book the professor even referenced during the year.

He got a B-, he was so angry he nearly choked her out when she said it could have been worse.

"You are the most preposterous man I have ever met; you know that?" She managed finally, wiping a tear from her eyes as she leaned back on her pillow, "I swear the only thing that changed is your biceps," she smirks, "is that what you were doing while I was taking my week long nap, pumping iron like some dumb jock?"

If he noticed the bite she paired with the question, he didn't show it, simply shrugging, "gotta keep fit these days, can't exactly go into a lap anymore." She clicked her tongue and shook her head, and he went on. "Besides, you can thank Asuka for most of these things, Gear DNA has some perks."

She pointed a leer at him from under her bangs, "I'll say, never knew Asuka was into that kinda thing, learn something new…"

"Funny…" He muttered quietly, but he placed his hands behind his head, and made a show of flexing his arms, dragging another chuckle out of her, "forgot your sense of humor was this brutal, Aria," he grumbled, though with a hint of affection, "…I missed it."

Her heart leaps into her throat. She doesn't know why that, that simple little phrase is what finally pushes her to her limit. The idea that he missed her, even after all this time, after all the death he's seen and all the lives he's saved, the idea that he missed something as small as her sense of humor, it was overwhelming in a way she couldn’t describe.

Like a Century and a half didn't pass, like they haven't been torn apart until barely anything of who they were remained, like she was never sick and there were never any Gears and they were just shooting the shit on campus between lectures, like it was only yesterday and the world was still okay.

But it wasn't. None of this was okay, not a single scrap of it.

Everything she had ever known, every person she had ever so much as crossed on the street, gone, all of it gone. It was a miracle she could still speak the same language as the people around her, nobody knew who she was or what she had accomplished.

She was one of the head engineers of the Gear Project, she worked her ass off for close to 15 years in college with a shitty job and no family to make something of herself and gain that position. She stood shoulder to shoulder with two of the greatest minds of her generation and made their absurd ideas work.

And no one even remembered her name. In the grand history of the world she was just another nameless drone that worked with That Man to destroy the world, less than a foot note, less than a reference.

Less than nothing.

But, she had a family now. She came into this world with nothing but a name and now she had a home waiting for her, somewhere. A home with a daughter who wanted to know her, a grandson who was excited to meet her, a son-in-law that looked at her child with love and care.

And she still had Fredrick and Asuka. But only barely, but still they hung on, somehow, and they were all alive, somehow, and every pragmatic inch of her wanted that to be enough, and it just might be, eventually.

But right now, she feels so very, crushingly alone.

She got a life she did not earn, that she did not deserve, that she can barely use, that she almost doesn't want.

But she wants to be happy, almost out of spite. She wants to want this life that she got back, she wants that so desperately she can hardly breath.

"Aria?"

She looks up at Fredrick, worry etched on his face, his hands hovering near her like he doesn't know what to do with them, like he ever knew at all without her telling him, he was always a little awkward around her, just considerate enough to hesitate so he could get instruction, part of the reason she fell in love, all those years ago.

"Fredrick…"

Except that was over a century ago, for him, when to her he's still that hard headed jack ass who banged his head on a project until it played by his rules. But what is she to him? A memory he half remembers? A shadow he could never let go of? Is she still Aria? Or is she Jack-O? Valentine?

Justice?

He puts a hand on her cheek, brushing away tears she only now notices, "c'mon…" he mutters helplessly, "you know I'm fucking useless when you start crying."

She launches herself at him with little warning, wrapping her arms around his neck with a wrenching sob, relief and happiness and anger and helplessness and endless other emotions she can barely recognize churning in her gut and bursting out of her throat without restraint.

He crushes her to his chest as she wails, and she hangs on for dear life, her heart is bursting open and her head is screaming with the million memories of the monster and the half person and she prays she can find herself somewhere in between.

"Thank you…"

She almost doesn't hear the mutter from behind her sobbing, she presses her ear to his throat, partly to hear him and partly to anchor herself to his heartbeat.

"Thank you for coming back…"

If she was foolish, she would believe he was chocked up himself as he held her a little tighter. She hugs him tighter still and hopes he understands.

The sun dipped into the horizon by inches from the window behind her, the light slowly but surely fading away. The world sunk into the dark, where only she and Fredrick remained, clutching tightly at each other with all their might.

In a few hours, Aria Hale would officially be alive again for a whole full week.

The thought pulls a smile out of her that stretches from ear to ear, the rumble of Fredrick's chest as he laughs in incredulous joy when she tells him she wants to celebrate with hamburgers, her face still stuck to his sternum, makes the smile stretch even wider.

[broken-clover]

something cool i found: gamespot put out a video of asuka in 2 matches against gio and sol. in the intro with sol, sol explicitly seems to call him a fake of some kind. combined with the change to his name/render in the trailer, i wonder if the playable asuka r# (sharp in german is kreutz, clever) is actually a proxy/clone of some kind because he's on the moon doing his little podcast

Oh yeah, I've seen some people on Twitter debating. It's amazing how he's only been announced for like two days and we're already unraveling things.

I'm very curious as to what this could entail. Is it some kind of flesh puppet? A hologram? Some kind of clone? I'll admit I really want to know now, it's not a direction I expected they'd take but I guess they needed a justification for him being here while he's supposed to be on the moon. I wonder if Doppelkreuz will have its own personality independent from That Man, and if so, that could open a lot of interesting plot threads

[bwinkel]

Official Eevee Gijinkas

Yuki Fukuma (Artist: En Morikura)

Their grandfather is a legendary breeder and master of Teahouse 1121. Carries partner Eevee in their arms. Energetic and friendly, popular in class. Their gender is a s-e-c-r-e-t☆ 1st year middle schooler

[TL Note: 1121 is a pun on Eevee, 1=i as in "ichi", 2== V]

Jun Shimizu (Artist: Yumenouchi)

A great swimmer on the swim team! Laid-back and loves to take naps with Vaporeon. 1st year high school

Koga Ikazuchi (Artist: Nachi Aono)

Might look arrogant, but shy. A wolf-like boy who treasures his friends once he gets to know them. Plays guitar in a band with Rei since middle school. Always wins races. Popular with the girls. Beady eyes and a sharp tooth. 2nd year high school

Miyabi Endo (Artist: Nakahara)

A calm face that hides a leader with burning passion. Has a slim muscular build, but is good at baking cookies. A man with a feminine side♪ Plays drums in a band with Rei and Koga. Loves clothes with fur. 2nd year high school

Asuka Chinen (Artist: Lily Hoshino)

An eccentric with catlike eyes. Smartest in his grade. Paranormal research club member. Loves strawberry candy. Ennui-style psychic boy. Friends with Yuki; both were on soccer team in elementary school. Cute Espeon hoodie! 2nd year high school

Light Akutsu (Artist: pako)

A (supposed) fallen angel clad in black. In reality, pure and shy. He's still growing! Friends with Asuka since his soccer days, and in the same club. They're always together! Catlike boy. Wears his own custom Umbreon hoodie. 2nd year high school

Hinata Aso (Artist: Mai Hanamura)

Beautiful looks, elegant demeanor. Student council president popular with the girls. Grew up abroad in Kalos. Her father is influential in a certain region. Currently lives "as a man" to hide from an evil organization targeting her father.  Strong and mysterious! A princely girl who wears men's clothing. 2nd year high school

Rei Usui (Artist: Dan Ichikawa)

An aloof, arrogant boy... on the outside, but is actually quite lonely on the inside. Works part time at Teahouse 1121 to help with band activities. 2nd year high school

Hikaru Momoyama (Artist: Mengo Yokoyari)

A girly boy raised alongside his three loving older sisters who recruited him for the cheerleading squad due to lacking membership. Take off his twintail wig, and instantly you've got a handsome boy all the girls can't resist. Popular in his class. Also known as "Momorin" 1st year middle school (source: Movic Project Eevee Collaboration)