#but kiryu being a better person than literally everyone and him not even knowing it is so goooood.. hes so good

[designernishiki]

as much as a i understand and respect ace kiryu truthers, i really feel like kiryu is the type to really take the idea to heart that sex is something vulnerable and meaningful and thus reserved for someone completely trusted and special to him– someone who feels right. after years and years he’s still never legitimately voluntarily slept with someone, always tries to turn women away or is at least apathetic when they try to get physical with him, never feels that deep and specific bond with a woman– nothing compared to some of his bonds with other men throughout his life. and maybe, hopefully, one day it’ll hit him that there’s a pretty big, glaring reason why no women have ever felt “right” to him.

[rnn11203]

The entire yumi-kiryu-nishiki thing in the end of kiwami makes no sense to me at all and makes me want to gag.... and RGG fumbled kiryu and nishikis story hardcore, so much in fact that they REDID it in LAD7 between Ichiban and Masato. The way Nishikis story is literally about Kazama and Yuko but they dont acknowledge it at all is insane to me. His inability to live up to kiryu, and his failures in protecting his sister… like rlly we just went no where with those plot points? His driving forces? I feel its barely touched on.

It's interesting that Nishiki himself doesnt view kazama personally at all (thati know of)(in game at least) if he so strongly feels that kiryu is his better half than why doesnt he feel any way towards kazama? At most kazama is just an obstacle in his way towards the seat of chairman. Yet kazama himself feels like hes a guidance figure for nishiki?!?! In yakuza 0 nishiki tells kiryu that he doesnt have to do any of the stuff that hes doing to appease kazama, that hes fine being himself and that he doesnt owe kazama anything. It’s interesting that he clearly doesnt feel the debt that kiryu does.

The only real scenes we get with kazama and nishiki are in the Tojo headquarters. Where nishiki and shimano expose the missing 10 billion. Where kazama looks at nishiki in scorn and nishiki stares back, smug? It feels almost playful. Cheeky even. Later, nishiki attempts to snipe kazama. He describes the experience as his hands couldnt stop shaking, because he knew deep down it was wrong? Because he held some sort of affection for him?

I dont think so. I think it was thrilling. That he wanted to and always had wanted to. I always liked to think that Nishiki found out what the orphanage really was. A place where kazama dumped his guilt. This is more headcanon territory but i like to think that nishikis family was wealthy and comfortable. I think part of his greed stems from feeling like he deserves it. Maybe he does in a way. But i think finding out about the blood on kazamas hands just made him think of kiryu. How kiryu called that man his father. The man that killed his birth parents. And yk what? I think what bothered him the most that he knew kiryu wouldnt have even cared. That it would always be kazama, above all else.

Who did kiryu care about more than anything else? Who was he putting above everyone? Even himself?

Kazama.

(Secretly…. I love kazama… but dont tell anyone!)

[eremin0109]

I sometimes get so sad when I remember how Kiryu lost literally everyone that he'd ever loved in the span of a few days. Shinji, Reina, Yumi, Kazama, Nishiki—all of them died right before his eyes and he couldn't do a damn thing to stop it. He was so depressed by the end of Kiwami, ready to throw away his life, not caring if he ended up behind the bars for life.

Who did he even have left that he could go on for?

Date gives him a reason. The girl who looked a little too much like Yumi. And that sparks something inside him, something so unfamiliar it almost wreaks him from inside out. He couldn't save her mother, but he will die trying to protect Haruka. Because she's the only one he was living for anyway, right?

Who else did he even have?

Except, he had Majima too. He had always had him. Right from their first meeting in the hazy, glittering streets of Kamurocho in '88 to the violently ritualistic run-ins with him in the winter of '05, Majima was the only person who was a constant, grounding presence in his life, no matter how fluttering. This man waited 10 years for Kiryu to get out of prison, was tempted to follow him right in because fuck it, at least they'd be in that shithole together.

Majima is the only person still alive that Kiryu knows from before. And that's a big fucking deal. Majima knew Kiryu Kazuma before he was the "Dragon of Dojima". He knew him as the punk kid with ideals too lofty for their lawless world. In a way, they came of age together, and grew increasingly disillusioned with the Yakuza lifestyle, also together.

Today, Kiryu has more people he loves and more reasons to live than he did back in '05, but no matter how close they get to him, no one will ever get to see that part of him that long since got permanently buried in the rubble of the millennium tower.

No one but Majima, who knows and understands. God, he understands Kiryu so much. That's why, whenever they meet, they don't need to talk all that much. One glance, one fight and a couple of drinks later, it's like no time has passed and they're right back on that fated, glittery night at Tenkaichi, clashing for the first time ever.

Kiryu has spent his entire life protecting those he cares about. But Majima is different. Kiryu knows he doesn't need his protection. He knows that Majima wouldn't be killed simply because he had the misfortune of being associated with him. And so Kiryu subconsciously depends on Majima the way everyone else in his life depends on him. It's not entirely fair, maybe also a bit selfish but Majima indulges him, every single time, without asking anything in return.

So yeah, Date was right when he said that Kiryu had something precious to live for. Haruka, yes but also this crazy bastard of a man who would refuse to leave him alone for the better part of 3 decades.

And Kiryu loves him, goddamnit. There's just no simpler way to say it.

[todayisafridaynight]

Do you mind dumping all of your thoughts on ebina for us?

i dont even know where to begin on ebina he just sucks major horse cock and i cant be swayed on this but ill put it under the cut for everyones sake. this is rambly as hell too idc i refuse to spend any more time thinking about ebina more than i already do

like what is his purpose. like i KNOW his purpose but it sucks- him being a Plot Twist baby is the dumbest shit in the world and they dont even ATTEMPT to do anything meaningful with it i do not care what anyone says

why even HAVE HIM be related to ichiban if he never even interacts with ichi in a meaningful way, esp when ichi's whole theme is family-- WHEN THE GAME IS LITERALLY ABOUT ICHI MEETING HIS MOM (or it was until they decided they didnt care about akane in the plot anymore)

like we mentioned it before here but if you have to have ebina related to a yakuza from the past for his ol Bring Down The Yakuza gig then why not make him an orphan from kazama's orphanage ???? literally nothing wouldve changed except it would've made more sense with how much kiryu deals with him instead of ichi. it wouldve been a great way to round things off with kiryu's saga too, what with having to confront the consequences of kazama's actions directly and finally and officially burst that fanatic bubble of his (i dont wanna HEAR nothing about gaiden that's not enough for me im GREEDY). theres something in here too about kiryu and daigo but i cant articulate it... i just know that wouldve been better too .... something something kiryu brought daigo into this life and now that he sees kazama 'bring' ebina into this life hes projecting ... idk ..

the game def didnt seem to give a fuck that ebina was arakawa's son considering they fucking revealed it in a bland-ass in-game cutscene FROM DAIGO OF ALL PEOPLE daigo respectfully why the fuck do you know this

i dont know how many people watch my streams but i was so obnoxious about ebina's villain monologue before his fight because its just ...... it just SCREAMS Hey You Guys Remember Aoki Right. fucking Masumi Arakawa Had Two Sons: One Who Loved Him And One Who Hated Him LITERALLY SHUT UP AND DIE I HATE YOU MASATO ARAKAWA WAS RIGHT THERE AND HE DID IT BETTER THAN YOU fucking stealing his bleach japan shit too. you might be able to steal bleach japan and piss me off about it the entire time because fucking everyone and their grandmother besides zhao seems to have forgotten fucking bleach japan but you can NOT steal Number One Hater Son from masato arakawa GET AWAY FROM HER 🗣️🗣️🗣️ 'why did masumi arakawa have to get himself killed' BECAUSE HIS NUMBER ONE HATER SON HAD HIM KILLED BECAUSE HE WAS A BETTER HATER THAN YOU SHUT UP

another thing that pissed me off to no end was the sawashiro shit fuckin Oh He Kept Him Alive Because He Wanted Him To Stop Him SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP I HATE YOU . i really wouldve preferred if they just killed sawashiro like old man why are you here- WE DIDNT EVEN GET TO SEE YOUR EYE GET GOUGED but im getting off topic. NOTHING bout what we've seen from ebina could convince me he Wanted To Be Stopped like absolutely nothing i dont want to hear this bullshit excuse. it is MERELY just reminding me of ichi being like 'i wish i couldve been there to stop you' @ aoki and its making me pissed

like im the only person who cares this intensely because im the only person who likes aoki enough like this and im trying NOT to mention him so much and just focus on ebina but its just so annoying... like its impossible NOT to see the parallels, especially when the game is practically bashing it into my brain every three seconds. like if we're talking aoki/masato-adjacent antags then i like eiji so its not the fact that HE IS aoki adjacent that pisses me off its just that he has no agency OUTSIDE of being a ghost of him. like there's nothing interesting about him in the slightest and he's barely even on screen why are you forcing me to give a fuck about this twat. if anything the one aoki thing i wish they did mirror onto him was dying at the end i do not care about this man

[koorinokujira]

Yakuza Kiwami is an AMAZING game and I'll shove my love for it in everyone's faces now

So, I kinda realized I didn't make this post yet, and I literally finished Kiwami 2 yesterday, so... whoops? But no matter, better late than never, as they say! Spoilers below, like always, so keep reading at your own risk!

So, Yakuza Kiwami. I've actually seen a full playthrough of it a few years back, so I roughly knew what was waiting for me, but my memory is not my greatest strength, so I luckily forgot most of it. And honestly, even knowing some stuff didn't take away my enjoyment at all!

Now, I gotta say, playing this right after 0 was insane. It made my immersion so much better, and really made me feel things more strongly. I was violently dragged out of the relative peace I got after the whole fiasco with the Empty Lot, the familiar streets with shops and minigames I knew and loved into a new, unfamiliar version of Kamurocho along with Kiryu. It was rough- a lot of things stayed the same or at least similar, but there were enough differences for it to feel like a mockery of all the things Kiryu held dear. He was lost in a place he used to know intimately, and that really got to me, because I had just finished the previous journey with him and Majima.

And slowly unraveling what happened to Nishiki and seeing him fall so far from the bro we used to know genuinely hurt. Especially knowing that he wasn't a bad person before and that he was a sensitive soul that got completely crushed by the circumstances in his life.

As for the story and characters in general, I loved it, it got me in the feels and I was hooked the whole time! While I still think 0 is the best from what I played so far, this story was also amazing. Majima going all out in all the fights and with costumes and disguises, Date-san being an incredibly pathetic man and father who pulled through in the end and sorta sharing that with the Florist, Haruka being a little badass, Reina's tragic, misguided love... there was so much that I adored about this game, and the characters in the main story never really fell flat for me. It also made me love Kashiwagi even more, I just love it when he's there. And the ending was pretty heartwrenching too, though I wish it focused more on Nishiki's death than Yumi's, as I felt their brotherly bond ran way deeper than Kiryu's relationship with Yumi. But that's just my opinion, I still cried and thought it was pretty solid!

Then there are the sidequests. Hoo boy. I have to admit, I didn't really like those that much. They just lacked the spark that the ones from 0 had, and seemed somewhat repetitive in their themes. And there was of course also those very questionable ones. Of course, there were some pretty good ones too! And I had a blast in the whole Pocket Circuit saga, I love Fighter with all my heart.

Speaking of Pocket Circuit, the minigames were still really enjoyable, but I really missed Disco, to be honest. I wish you could groove in a club somewhere at least. The Karaoke gave me whiplash because it was so different (post Yakuza 0 immersion strikes again), and I hated the new version of Heartbreak Mermaid. But I have to admit, I absolutely loved Iji Sakura 2000 and definitely sang it way too many times.

Gameplay was pretty good too! I didn't really like some changes to the fighting system, but overall, it was still really enjoyable to punch everyone in close vicinity. I learned to use Dragon Style a lot more, in 0 I barely used it even though I had it. Tiger drop is spectacular, I will never sugarcoat anything ever again. The upgrade system took some getting used to, but it ended up being my favorite as it was more clear-cut and it was mostly stuff I'd actually use. The Majima Everywhere thingy was pretty fun most of the time! It could get a bit tedious to find specific Majimas, but I got through it like a champ.

So overall, amazing game as the title says, and I will also make another post with some funny screenshots for this game soon! Thank you for reading, and like always...

Have a great day!

[polychocobros]

if i’m allowed to speak on it, this will be tagged as infinite wealth spoilers. Just wanted to talk about how they handled kiryu on here and see if anyone else agrees with me. I know some of my mutuals on twitter do but I want to actually have an open discussion with others on it.

After chapter 7, when Yamai beats the shit out Kiryu and kidnaps him, I feel like the story took a turn for the worst. They clearly put no care into this game’s story at all, especially Kiryu’s part and it was really disappointing to me as Kiryu is probably my favorite character of all time. I personally saw no point in Yamai kidnapping him and then actually not doing anything to him, it felt contradictory, not to say characters can’t be but it felt like there was almost no consequence for it or it wasn’t meant to have an impact on you to begin with. They make you stressed out (at least I was) over what could potentially happen to him and did nothing with it. Kiryu’s bucket list was filled with shit that wasn’t even important. I don’t need to know that Kiryu went to a Poppo on Nakimichi St. at 7:57 am and bought a fucking bento. Maybe make space for shit that actually matters like his children or his relationship with the Jimas. Instead of having Kiryu spend what could be his last months with Ichiban’s friends (i love his interactions with Zhao and his relationship with Seonhee aside from the flirting don’t get me wrong), he should’ve had his party be the people who impacted his life the most. Haruka could have literally been the idol class. She could’ve fought alongside him even to his protest. They used a bunch of heat actions for Kiryu’s skills and could’ve done the same for the Jimas. The Jimas were literally just added into the game for exposition and a boss fight. Daigo seemed to be the only one who was expressive about Kiryu having cancer, Majima and Saejima didn’t even fucking care? Majima who waited ten years for Kiryu to get out of prison so he could train him to be better? Majima who got in the way of one of his subordinates to take a stabbing for Kiryu because he insisted he belonged to him and only he could kill him? Kiryu trusting Majima to the point where he would rather talk to him first than outright assume he betrayed him in 3. Kiryu having a breakdown thinking Majima was dead and almost broke his cover to seek revenge on his killer in 5. There’s way more I can get into but not caring that Kiryu has cancer? Only one sentence on the matter and that’s that? They want to convince us Kiryu and Majima never cared for one another and it feels insulting to us who actually value Majima and Kiryu’s relationship as friends (shipping aside) bc Kiryu and Majima both trust each other with their lives. Saejima and Kiryu also trust each other and have a friendship and it’s like Saejima might as well have not even been there cause he said next to nothing.

I would’ve been happier about him seeing Taichi had I not known he literally only sees him. Not even a single one of his other children does he see besides a scene I mention later on in the post.

Ichiban telling him he deserved to live for only about 2.5 seconds.. was that supposed to make me sad? Or cry? Sure I got teary eyed but they did not even give us enough time to sit with what Ichiban was saying for me to feel as emotionally impacted as I thought I would. Then Kiryu calling him pathetic for being embarrassed about what happened with Saeko? Like seriously? Kiryu may not be super expressive naturally but calling Ichiban pathetic for being rightfully embarrassed felt wrong.

Was Kiryu supposed to develop as a character in this game at all? Everyone keeps telling him that he shouldn’t take things on alone and that he should rest and then at the boss fight with Ebina he’s like I have to do this alone and Zhao and Saeko have to tell him this fucking bullshit again? As someone who can relate to Kiryu in many avenues (feeling like a burden, feeling like he needs to do things on his own instead of ask for help, feels like even the smallest things are my fault even when they aren’t), it felt like his development in this game was scarce to none then rushed right at the end for some villain who literally did nothing all fucking game. Am I supposed to care about Kiryu telling Ebina all this fucking bullshit? The only thing in that speech that made me teary eyed was Kiryu crying, not even what he was saying because I dont care about Ebina enough to waste tears on him cause he was so irrelevant in game.

And the icing on the cake, the final scene. Haruka and Haruto pull up and Kiryu isn’t even there, he’s in chemo and we get a scene of him just saying his actual name again. Not a single fucking interaction with Haruka or Haruto. No, I’m sorry for abandoning you guys I should’ve never done that. One of the, if not, MOST, important relationship in Kiryu’s fucking life, gets not a single fucking interaction. I literally cried because I was so fucking upset we couldn’t even get that. Like seeing the way they dealt with Kiryu in this game.. I feel like I got fucking shot in the chest (no need to be so dramatic). This was supposed to be a send off to Kiryu? After 3,5, and 6 being a send off? Like how many fucking send offs can you possibly fucking give Kiryu? If I knew this was going to happen I would’ve rather they just killed him off of tetanus like Dean Winchester.

It sucks knowing the journey I spent with Kiryu during all the fucking games I played ended up with so much disappointment. I woild literally wake up mad almost every day after chapter 7. It was that serious for me. There were other things besides Kiryu’s side of things that really upset me (the entirety of the Tatara Channel subplot, the mini games with Ichiban ended up being SA’d because a man being SA’d is funny apparently, Hanawa’s death, Seonhee being one of the first women (besides Daigo’s mom) in the game who’s a cool mafia boss for only half her bond interactions to be flirting with fucking Kiryu, them implying she is into women and then doing literally nothing with it, Saeko’s drink links revolving around some irrelevant man who asked to marry her when she got mad at Ichiban at the start of the game for that, to the point of ghosting him, Zhao and Joongi being complete fucking after thoughts, especially Joongi.. Zhao and Ichiban do not interact in the game at all whatsoever, only one plot related sentence). I fell in love with Kiryu for a reason in Yakuza 0. From going to 0 to possibly one of the worst send offs in any game I’ve ever seen; is fucking heartbreaking. I really hope they mean it this time because I cannot sit through another game with Kiryu in it unless he isn’t at peace with his children, where he is truly happiest. Please leave Kiryu alone and let him go.

[chrispychrisalis]

ageism and night thoughts

I realise now why I used to feel a sense of uneasiness when I first watched Bojack Horseman a few years back. I’ve finally watched more of the show than I did back then, but I always had this feeling when I watched a show with an older character who didnt seem to have their life together.

It was because I thought: “Why are they like this? They’re old, gritty, almost about to die yet they still act this way. Why are they so shitty even after their entire lives and what they’ve been through?”.

Bojack is a bad person, for sure, but why did he never ‘wake up’ from what he was doing and stared himself in the face? I felt that older people should be better, but whenever I saw these characters in their 50s, 60s, it seemed like they had so little time left to fix all their mistakes and make up to everyone in their lives. They have so little time to get back on the right track, back onto a standard career path that promises success and money. And I think I felt uneasy, because I never grew up with people like that around me. I’ve always been fed a dose of the prescribed Chinese success and pathways that seeing such flawed, seemingly unfixable characters made me feel a sense of unfamiliarity, uneasiness, and also the fear at the back of my mind where I ask myself: “Will I ever become like this? Where I hit an age where it feels like it doesn’t matter what I do anymore because I’ve had so many year behind me with mistakes piling on top of one another, so the remaining don’t actually matter in the grand scheme of things?”.

Another character I’ve thought about regarding this ‘getting old’ issue is Kiryu from Yakuza. I was so caught up in his age and the idea that he only got out of prison at 39 because I thought that he woukd have nothing else to live for in front of him. That he was now one old man with limited physical strength and everything he ever worked for is now gone, and he’s also broke. I didn’t like seeing such a likable character that way, and I think it also stems from an innate belief that getting older until a certain point equates to the inability to do anything substantial with your life. And I think that’s what also paralyses me to stay in a rational, practical course because if not now, then when? When will I be able to be in a position where the future seems so bright and the modules I study are so useful? I should just stick with status quo because its so promising, yet I don’t think about the boundless opportunities out there and other paths I can take if my passion can’t fuel me.

Yet I have also thought about alternative paths but I’ve never thought about them seriously. Because if I really want to switch my major now, I need to think about the backups I could possibly have in order to move forward if my degree can’t cut it. I never thought seriously about alternative paths because these thoughts only served as a comfort, like “if I end up doing real badly for this module and course then there’s other things I could do like being an influencer and I could also make big bucks in other ways”. It sort of serves as an escapism and also an attempt in taking the enormous weight of the impending doom of not doing well in my studies when all I pride myself in is being good at studying.

Then that begs the question, am I tying all my self-worth in my ability to do something that literally anyone with an ounce of diligence and or innate genius could do so easily? Why are my grades equal to me? But at the same time I just feel that I need to get good grades, because I need to stand out because I have nothing else going for me because who really cares about some 20 year old undergraduate who has shitty langauge skills and the hobby of crocheting and playing games? What worth do I have to the corporate out there other than me summarised in a piece of paper? What good am I out there?

Where do I really stand? 

This grade thing won’t change even if I switch majors. I know that I am just trying to escape the plight I put myself in, but even the major that I feel a semblance of passion in is considered useless because its not vocational.

Its important to think about the career paths out there but what if I dont know what career I want topursure and I just know Im interested in the topic and the research that goes into it?

Is it really wrong of me to want to spend my early 20s on something I like, rather than placing emphasis on the career pathways I will embark in in my late 20s? Career changes happen all the time and interests change, but my 4 years of studying and health are now. I’m just really stressed. 

To be honest, I just wish that I could be somebody that people can rely on and talk to about their feelings. Maybe I want to be a counsellor, but I haven’t even solved my own issues. But maybe this may lead me to a job I’m interested in. I hope so. Perhaps all I want is some sort of legacy and to be remembered. I want to put good out into the world rather than being some corporate slave doing international trading.

Welp good night.

[cloneslugs]

[maddogofshimano]

Dojima Yayoi Character Story

The acting 5th Chairman herself, Yayoi!

Despite wielding a sword, she’s actually a defense unit in game. RGGO unfortunately sticks women in any role except offense almost universally, Miss Tatsu is one of the very few exceptions to that. Even characters like Nair and Kaoru are usually support units! It’s pretty lame.

Summary: Set following Terada’s death and Kiryu’s first talk with Daigo, we find Yayoi learning about the machinations of the Omi. Kashiwagi has a plan to pull the Tojo Clan back together, but he’s going to need the right person to take charge, and Yayoi has an opinion on who that should be.

2006, 5 years after Dojima Daigo was arrested for violating the firearms and sword laws after travelling to Osaka to face Goda Ryuji

Daigo, who was expelled from the family, was abandoned by his previous cronies and has fallen to excessive drinking. 

Daigo continues to order drinks. Yayoi finds him in the club and approaches.

Daigo wants to know why she’s here. She wants to know when he’s going to knock it off and how long he intends to live like this. The man who commited that murder wasn’t Kiryu... but Daigo already knows that, doesn’t he. Kiryu must have asked Daigo to help the Tojo Clan, so he ran off to get himself wasted, right?

 Daigo, being accurately called out, doesn’t want to talk to Yayoi, and says she should leave. It’s none of her concern. She says that of course it’s her concern, she’s his mother.  

Daigo snaps back that now she wants to act like a mom?

Daigo leaves without another word.

She follows him into the street, but he’s already gone. She reflects on what he said, he’s never said something to her like that before. For a long time now, she and that other person’s work with the family must have made Daigo terribly lonely. (Tl note: really vague on who that other person is! I would assume Dojima Sohei, but it would be very interesting for her to think of him as “that other person” instead of her husband or ex-husband)

Right now that child simply won’t listen to her. Kiryu though... she wonders what he can do.

She’s interrupted by some jackass trying to hit on her.

She tells him to scram, she’s not in the mood to deal with this. He attacks, because he is a goon. She tells him not to complain if he dies.

<They fight, she trounces him>

The goon starts screaming for help, that she’s a murderer. Yayoi knows better than to stick around, and leaves, still wondering what to do about Daigo. She hears something and sees none other than........

Kashiwagi! 

He’s bleeding from his chest! She’ll do first aid, but he needs to get to a hospital ASAP. Kashiwagi claims that he’s fine, really! Sorry about this, ma’am... ugh...!

She asks what happened, Kashiwagi explains that he was attacked by an Omi Alliance assassin. Yayoi is shocked to hear it’s the Omi!

<Part 2>

Yayoi wants to know what Kashiwagi is talking about. He explains that the Omi have been attacking, first targeting the 5th Chairman, Terada. They got him into an ambulance, but he still died. Yayoi is shocked. Kashiwagi says that the main branch is working overtime to handle this. 

He was actually looking for Yayoi regarding that. Unfortunately, the hitman attacked him in the middle of his search, leading to this sorry spectacle. The Omi might be trying to crush everyone.

Yayoi has a grasp on the situation now, but asks why Kashiwagi is coming to her with this. He tells her he has a plan he’d like to discuss. Unfortunately they’re interrupted by goons bursting in, shouting that they found Kashiwagi.

Yayoi asks if these are the hitmen that got him. He confirms it, they stabbed him out of nowhere. The goons say they’re going to do a lot more than that this time!

<They fight>

Yayoi is winning, and Kazama Family boys arrive to chase them off. One of the boys asks if Kashiwagi is alright, he says he’ll be fine, and tells the man not to ignite this powder keg into an all out war. 

Yayoi and Kashiwagi head to a familiar bar to discuss this plan that Kashiwagi has, since it’s too dangerous to remain out in the street.

Kashiwagi: ...I’ll cut straight to the point. I want Daigo to be the acting 5th Chairman.

Yayoi: Daigo as acting chairman...!? Kashiwagi: ...Yes. Yayoi: You... You’d paint a target on Daigo’s back like that...!? Kashiwagi: ...I recognize the seriousness. But with the 5th chairman dead and myself as acting captain having been wounded... Leaving the main branch without a head is signing the whole clan’s death warrant.  Yayoi: ...I understand what you’re saying, but to put that burden on Daigo... Kashiwagi: Right now the Tojo Clan is shaken. The Omi won’t wait around for us to resolve this.  Kashiwagi: We need to get ourselves unified as soon as possible. To do that, we need someone suitable to lead us.  Kashiwagi: It pains me to say this, but I see no other option.

Kashiwagi says that he thinks Daigo is the kind of person who could pull the Tojo Clan back together. He knows that it’s not something Yayoi wants to hear, but he hopes that she understands. She does, but she has one suggestion, if he’ll listen.

<Part 3>

Kashiwagi asks if this is really okay?

Yes, she’s not going back on what she said. Kashiwagi understands. Yayoi asks if they can make one minor detour first.

Back at the club Daigo is barking at staff to get him more booze. 

The staff are very politely trying to cut him off. Thankfully Yayoi and Kashiwagi arrive, though Daigo is not thrilled to see them and wants to know why they’re here. Yayoi says she has something to tell Daigo, Daigo says he doesn’t want to hear anything, Kashiwagi tells him he better watch his mouth. 

Daigo tells him to shut up and that he doesn’t want to be involved with anything. Mouthing off to Kashiwagi was apparently the final straw--Yayoi knocks Daigo to the floor.

Yayoi: You can stay out of this, Kashiwagi. Manager, sorry, this will get a little violent.

Yayoi: Stand up Daigo. I’m not telling you something as your parent.  Yayoi: I’m just angry at the dumbass who’s drinking by himself instead of having the guts to stand up during a time like this. Daigo: ...Don’t give me that crap! Yayoi: Then let me see you grit those teeth!! <They fight, Daigo loses>

Yayoi: Moron. You’re so drunk that you can’t even walk straight. Yayoi: ............Daigo, Terada is dead. Daigo: .......... Yayoi: The omi are attacking. ...It might even turn into a war. Daigo: ....So what. Did you come here to tell me to go back to the clan? Yayoi: ....I’m going to become the acting chairman. That’s what I came here to tell you. Daigo: Acting chairman....!? Are you serious!? Yayoi: Yes, starting now I’ll be replacing Terada. I’ll get the Tojo Clan in order.  Daigo: What the hell are you thinking!? Have you lost your mind... Yayoi: ...Of course I know the dangers of the position. But It’s what must be done. Otherwise... Daigo: You...　The lengths you’ll go to for the clan. Yayoi: ......Daigo. Ever since I became that man’s wife, I’ve been prepared for this. Yayoi: Right now... it’s the time. Daigo: Ghh!! Yayoi: ...That’s all I came here to say. Yayoi: Let’s go, Kashiwagi. Kashiwagi: ...Yes ma’am. They leave and Yayoi is quiet. Kashiwagi asks if she’s alright. That was a lot to talk to Daigo about. She says she’s fine, and thinks back to the conversation they had in the bar.

She put forward that she wants to be the acting chairman. Kashiwagi is stunned. 

Yayoi: Do I lack the ability for it? Kashiwagi: No, everyone knows that the Dojima Family only made it’s rapid climb thanks to you. You’ve got a large base of support, and the perfect qualities for a leader. I have no objections.  Kashiwagi: ...Will it really be okay though?  Yayoi: I also think Daigo has the capability to carry the Tojo Clan on his back. Yayoi: But right now, that kid is a little... I’m worried that he doesn’t have enough time to get his feet back under him. Yayoi: Helping him do that should really be something I do as his mother. However, I’m no good at that. Yayoi: So... I wants to offer up my life to buy him the time he needs. (Tl note: the literal phrase here is “burn up [her life]” which is metal as hell) Yayoi: That’s what I can do to become the kind of parent who gives things to her child.  Kashiwagi: ............. Ma’am.....

<cut back to present> Kashiwagi: ...Tactless people. Daigo, and you both, ma’am. Yayoi: Heh... That man was too. Yayoi: Well, let’s get going, shall we? The main branch is big, right? I’ll need to decide on our new policies soon. Yayoi: ...I’m counting on you. Kashiwagi. Kashiwagi: Yes ma’am. I, your humble servant Kashiwagi, shall do my utmost to protect you. ...Acting fifth chairman!

<END>

bonus time: At several points Kashiwagi sort of belatedly added in the proper titles for Yayoi, including that last line. It wasn’t easy to fit in for the most part, so I didn’t try to force it.

I really love that this means that Daigo took another loss during Y2, this time his mom went and kicked his ass. Also interesting that Yayoi really did mean Dojima Sohei all those times she referred to “that man”, there’s probably a lot that can be read into that.

Also, eat your heart out Yayoi/Kashiwagi fans.

[itsybitsylemonsqueezy]

Please now I am desperate for a Baba breakdown from you. Favorite part of him? Least favorite? What would you change? What do you think is unchangeable? *pleading face*

Oh, I see I’ve sparked an interest ^^; Of course I’ll talk about the best little whore in all of Japan, Baba Shigeki xp 

I joke, but like... have you seen Y5? He’s not leaving much up to interpretation, tbh : | And I love that! Baba is a really fantastic and well-executed RGG character and it’s a shame so much of fandom is sleeping on him. (I know mostly it’s that it takes people awhile to get to Y5 ^^; )

Baba occupies a really important space in the Yakuza universe, the assassin. He’s an important reminder that not Everyone in this universe is a moralistic do-gooder. People like Majima and Kiryu are in fact in the minority. Most of the yakuza are thugs, people ready and willing to hurt others and even kill. And we’ve had assassins before in Kazama and Sera, but they’re mostly out of our hand. We don’t know them too well personally. and that makes sense, they’re the previous generation, their values and choices are reflective of a different time. Our time is largely shaped by Kiryu, he is the yakuza messiah. But just because he’s king god of the criminal underworld doesn’t mean that the underworld isn’t still... y’know, dark and harsh. Especially since Kiryu renounced his throne. 

And Baba is the stark reminder of that. I had been waiting for a long time for us to come into contact with a yakuza member who didn’t fall in line when we finally got to Baba. Because, as we all like to point out, Kiryu’s version of this job is pretty rose-colored and naive. HE might be able to only fight bad people and to use his power to help others, but so few of us are in that position. Kiryu is king god, there are no challenges for him, there’s nothing stopping him, literally. So he CAN just do whatever he wants, up to and including being a good person. Most of us aren’t that lucky, just look at Majima. But even Majima, after a time, gets to be a good person and amasses enough power that he can be nice without it being a death threat. But they’re gods, legends. Your average yakuza member is some punk kid who grew up to being a punk adult who has a shitty boss to answer to and dues to pay. Sometimes there isn’t a convenient bad person to pick on. Sometimes, to save your own neck, you gotta take money from people smaller than you. Sometimes you gotta intimidate and scare people. Sometimes you gotta do unpleasant things to please the boss, to make ends meet, to hold up your end. Not all of us have the luxury of making moral choices. 

And Baba is in a worse position than most. Baba isn’t big and tough. He doesn’t have the physical might to be a brawler, so he can’t be some street thug. His options in life likely weren’t great. Probably an orphan, probably had no one to look after him. So he grew teeth fast and figured out quick that ain’t nobody gonna take care of him, he was gonna have to take care of himself. With a body and face like his, he could easily enter sex work of some kind but that job is punishing for a whole other list of reasons. And Baba’s no dummy, he’s canny, he’s strategic. No, he’s smart enough to use his body to dupe others. He knows people trust his angel face. And there’s more money and more security to be had in a job of violence than selling himself to the highest bidder and forever being at someone else’s beck and call. My bet is Baba’s plan was to make enough money as an assassin that he could retire and live out his life in peace where no one would bother him. And his training as n assassin would keep people off his back. Baba decided a long time ago it is MUCH better to be feared than loved. Can’t rely on love, can’t trust it. But fear, people listen to fear. 

So I LOVE that we finally get the perspective of someone who didn’t get any breaks in life, who wasn’t blessed with divine strength, or lucked into a special position. Baba had to struggle for everything and it made him sharp and it made him paranoid. He doesn’t like killing people, it’s not fun, but he’s so scared of what will become of himself, he can’t bear to stop. He can’t afford to make moral choices. He has to survive, above all things, he has to survive. So another assignment in a prison? Sure, why not. Get close to a guy he has to take out later? Sure, he’s done it before. He’s a great spy, a great flirt. And it makes him feel better to sneer over people too stupid to see through him. They get what they deserve if they believe his honeyed lies. He doesn’t have to mourn his actions if they deserved it. Wash his hands, move on to the next mark. 

Saejima should have been no different. And for awhile, it’s easy. Saejima’s a big dumb hunk of meat. All Baba has to do is bat his pretty eyes and look like he needs help. Piece of cake. But Saejima... is different. Oh, he’s duped, sure enough, he’s gentle and sympathetic and protective, all the things Baba needs, but... One of the reasons Baba hated his past marks so much and felt no remorse killing them, is they all wanted something from him. Every last one of them thought they could get something from him, usually his body, but sometimes not. Every one of them was a selfish piece of shit who would have used him just as surely as Baba is using them right back. But Saejima... Saejima doesn’t want anything. He doesn’t try anything. Even when Baba flirts, even when Baba offers, Saejima acts like he doesn’t understand. The fuck??? It starts to anger Baba, the way Saejima just looks at him blankly and shrugs off invitations. Who does this guy think he is, think he’s better than him? Baba will make him understand, make him want him. Still Saejima is stunned and still he seems to only respond because Baba is asking him to, not because deep down Saejima was trying to use him to. 

Baba can’t... he can’t accept that. That can’t be real. If Saejima really was just helping him because... because he likes him or something, because he’s nice... no, that’s wrong. No one’s good and no one’s nice. Everyone’s out for themselves. No one goes out of their way for each other. Because if they did... then why did no one ever help Baba before? He wraps himself in sureness that Saejima’s just stupid and his selfish instincts are really in there, they’re just slow to appear. He’s just like all the others, he’d kick Baba to the curb the same as anyone else and then... Baba doesn’t have to feel bad about killing him. Then Baba can pull the trigger and all of this will be done. 

He’s sure, without a doubt in his mind, when he feels his hands slip off Saejima on that snowmobile and he’s sent flying, his last conscious thought is that he’ll die here. He’s almost happy. Because then he’d be right. Saejima will have left him and he’d be right. And, maybe just a little, he’s happy that he won’t have to kill Saejima either. Maybe this is best. 

It is the shock of his life when Baba wakes up. He wakes up and he’s warm and indoors and there’s a fire going and weak broth and Saejima hovering over him with a spoon going “You’re awake!" Baba starts crying and Saejima assumes it’s the shock and holds him, actually fucking holds him and... Baba doesn’t think he can do this anymore. How is he supposed to kill the one person who’s ever been nice to him? How is he supposed to look Saejima in the eye and shoot him? Oh god, Saejima should have left him there to die, he should have, he should have... why is Saejima so fucking stupid, why doesn’t Saejima suspect? 

The next couple of weeks are some of the worst Baba’s ever spent. Saejima’s nicer than ever, cuddly and affectionate and warm, and Baba feels sick with guilt. See, this is why he only kills stupid people. This is why he only killed people who deserved it. He can’t... bear this. Pointing the gun at Saejima is the hardest thing he’s ever had to do. But he has to, his whole life has been about this, his life above anyone else’s. If he can’t kill Saejima then... what was it all for? What had it all been about? He’s crying. He’s actually fucking crying like a little bitch and he can’t stop. It’s weak, it’s pathetic, but he just wants Saejima to take the gun out of his hand, to tell him it’s going to be okay, to take him home. Saejima screams at him and Baba falls apart. Saejima swoops in on him, holds him close, takes the gun and tells him it’s all going to be okay. It won’t... in the back of his mind, Baba knows even if he fails here, he still has half a job to do. But the fact that... everything out in the open, true colors showing, Saejima is still hugging him and refusing to let go... Baba sinks into that for a minute and believes that maybe there is something else he could do with his life. 

Oh... I have feelings about Baba Shigeki ^^; I love him to death I wouldn’t change a thing. The only thing I want is for Saejima to take Baba home and bring him into the Tojo and then we’re all a weird dysfunctional family together ^^; That’s my dream. Friends and family for Baba X3

[authoratmidnight]

You know, I think the one thing that really, baffles me, about the hate that Ryoken gets (both just the character and in relation to being shipped with, anyone but esp the protag) is that the one main argument I see for why he’s a “bad person” is due to his actions in season 1 the consequences of them had he succeeded.

But like, since WHEN has ‘this character did bad things and hurt/almost hurt innocent people’ ever stopped anyone from liking villains/antagonist in this series or stopped them from shipping them with the protagonist/other characters.

Like, this argument could be used against TONS of different YGO characters(including many of the rival type characters) that I see people drooling over all the time.

Case in point a non comprehensive list (and before anyone thinks I’m trying to say you can’t like these characters, I’m not. In fact *I* like a number of these characters) Also heads up for minor spoilers for all the series since a number of antagonists/villains made this list:

Seto Kaiba: In the manga he was the first villain/antagonist and actually tried to straight up MURDER Yugi and his friends. In the anime this wasn’t present (save for the Toei anime) however he was still, at the very least, a bully who would verbally tear down anyone he saw as ‘beneath him’ (so everyone) and was condescending and belittling and tried to blow up the tower the Battle City finals were in, while people were still in it! We call that manslaughter folks.

Pegasus: Multiple counts of kidnapping and soul stealing

Yami Malik: Killed his own father, attempted murder of Rishid as well as the rest of the cast.

Yami Bakura/Thief King Bakura: The main/end game antagonist of the series. Also in the manga he murdered Pegasus.

Dartz and his Orichalcos group: Mind control, kidnapping, stealing souls, trying to destroy the world. Typical villain fare. Also Dartz fucked up Valon, Rafael and Amelda’s lives and caused many, many deaths.

Takuma Saiou: Literally started a cult and tried to destroy the world (granted he gets a slight pass cause he was being possessed)

Judai Yuki: Commits multiple acts of mass murder as a tyrant king.

Yubel: Possesses multiple people, kidnaps Johan, tries to destroy multiple worlds at once by fusing them together, hurt Judai by hurting his friends.

Jack Atlas: Stole his best friend’s D-Wheel and best card and leaves him and a child out to drown in the ocean as he fucks off to The City.

Kiryu: Nearly killed a man. Joined the Dark Signers and tried to destroy the world.

Placido/Jose/Lucciano/Aporia: The main antagonists of the last half of the series. Attempt to kill various members of the cast at various points in time and their end goal involves the total annihilation of Neo Domino(kill millions/billions to save the world,allegedly). Lucciano nearly kills Rua in their first fight when he’s flung off a bridge and as Aporia attempts to kill Rua, Ruka and Jack during the final arc and actually succeeds causing the death of one of them (for a short time anyways, they get better)

Paradox: Literally travelled back in time to murder Pegasus and also caused the deaths of a number of innocent bystanders in the process.

Any of the Arclight siblings (Chris/Thomas/Michal): Thomas is arguably the worst of them in terms of what he did but they all at various points do pretty awful things (mainly at the behest of their dad). Chris kidnapped Haruto, Thomas was responsible for what happened to Rio, Michal killed Astral (temporarily)

Kaito: Ran around stealing people’s souls to obtain their Numbers cards and just left their soulless bodies lying around.

Any of the Barian Emperors: Like, pick on. Either as a Barian or in their first life they probably did bad things (or in both lives in Vector’s case, who committed mass murder by way of slaughtering his entire country in his past life as well as turning his own allies into puppets/trying to kill them in his Barian life)

Don Thousand: The main villain of the whole damn series who wants to destroy the Astral World, and Earth, basically all life. Also screwed over the lives of the Barian Emperors and his influence on them also indirectly caused the deaths of MILLIONS.

Yuri: Responsible for multiple kidnappings and cardings of innocent people, all things he did very willingly and remorselessly.

Actually just about anyone from Academia’s side of things at some point in time.

Arc V Kaito: Literally went around carding anyone who stood in his way, friend or foe.

Zarc: Again, the end game big bad who literally DID destroy the world, then came together and tried to do it again

Like, I have seen love (and in some cases lust) for literally ALL of these characters (some more than others) and some of them have MASSIVE shipping fan bases and pretty much all these characters were either villains or antagonists at some point in the story. But I rarely-if at all in some cases-see people going ‘you only like X because they’re hot’ or ‘X did all these awful things you shouldn’t like him’ about these characters. And make no mistake, people do like some of these characters cause they think they’re attractive (also, what’s wrong with that anyways? I’m shallow enough to admit I like some characters simply cause they’re really pretty).

Interestingly, Ryoken, esp in the first season, fits the definition for an anti-villain (like the opposite of an anti-hero) more than he does just straight villain (at least once we get context for his actions)

‘...a character with heroic goals, personality traits, and/or virtues who is ultimately villainous. Their desired ends are mostly good, but their means of getting there are evil.’

-TVTropes

Which is, basically what S1 Ryoken was doing, though mostly at the whims of his father. He wanted to destroy the Ignis in order to save humanity, it’s just when the first few attempts failed, he went along with his father’s final, last ditch effort to deal with them which was the Tower of Hanoi (and make no mistake, the Tower was 100% Dr. Kogami’s idea, Ryoken went along with it cause, family loyalty). The results might kill a great number of people, but if it destroyed the Ignis then it would ultimately save even more in the long run. A heroic goal (saving humanity) with a not so heroic way of getting there (nuking the internet and potentially causing a massive loss of life in the process).

I’m not saying you have to like him, god knows I dislike a number a characters, including some of the ones mentioned here, but like, it just feels like a weird double standard to use these arguments against Ryoken, but never on any of these other characters. Or at least not to the same extent that they’re used on him.

And this is just YuGiOh characters. I can 100% guarantee you that there are characters in other series that have far worse things than Ryoken ever did that are massively loved/praised by their fandoms (and also got redemption arcs). Vegeta is the first one to come to mind (and he *actually* killed people).

[sailor-cresselia]

Try and Re-Build

They can't stay here.

This version of Touto is so, so much better off then the one they left. (The one they... replaced? Repaired? … erased?)

But it hurts to be here.

It hurts so, so much to encounter these people, to even see the strangers carrying names and wearing faces that they met and knew, that they fought against and alongside.

They thought about meeting them, and trying again, at first.

But it would be cruel.

Not just for themselves, but for the others too.

Sento and Ryuuga both know full well that they wouldn't be able to separate their friends who lived there from the people who live here, and that’s not fair to these familiar strangers.

It's just too hard, seeing a laughing farmer and his friends, who never had to give up their humanity so their families could live, but who can joke and cheer and relax.

(And isn’t it strange that he still falls for the same girl?)

Seeing politician and his son, who hadn't been worn down and torn to pieces by a war, but are thriving and whole.

Seeing an engineer and a reporter who didn’t have their lives planned, but who got to choose their own paths.

(And isn’t it strange that the dynamics shift, but the choices are still so similar?)

Seeing a pair of goofs with a band, and a successful one at that.

(And isn’t it strange, that even after endangering him, they never thought to tell Tatsuya that Sento wasn’t Satou Taro, did they? They probably should have… but how do you tell someone that? And there was no time. Just one more mistake.)

Seeing a father who runs a booming cafe.

(And they never even knew him the first time around, did they? It was never really him back then.)

Seeing a daughter who goes shopping and sings karaoke with her friends and smiles, who doesn’t carry that awful weight and guilt of being used and tricked on her shoulders.

(And why couldn’t they have seen sooner that she blamed herself? Yet another mistake.)

Seeing a woman who got treatment and recovered.

(It hurts so much that she won’t know him – not this version of him.)

Seeing a man who never had to throw a fight.

(The monkey jokes are harsher looking back – and also couldn’t have been further from the mark.)

Seeing a scientist who openly loves his parents.

(Did she know it was him? Even when he didn’t know who he was, did she?)

(Did she know his father was still alive, too?)

~ ~ ~

Identities are a problem, too. Sento has one mans face and memories for another two, and Ryuuga has a fully-human double born seven months after him. They don’t (didn’t?) exist here – not in a way that fits the shape of this new world.

They have a phone that's a bike, and a mechanical dragon that hasn't woken up. (Ryuuga hopes it will, someday. He grew fond of the little guy.)

They've got two belts, and two bottles - one silver, one gold.

(Neither has tried using them. It feels like it would be bad luck to try, but that it would be even worse to get rid of them.)

Kiryu Sento and Banjou Ryuuga cannot stay in Touto, which is properly a city again, not a war-torn city-district-region-country hybrid.

WAS it a city in their world? They aren’t really sure anymore. Neither of them remember much of politics before the Skywall. Sento only ever really picked up (was given?) memories through Takumi's days in high school, and what happened after Katsuragi Takumi ‘woke up.’ Besides, Takumi was focused considerable more on science than… well, pretty much anything else. Banjou was 13 – he was just a kid! – when the wall went up, and a lot of his youth was blurred and smudged and faded by Evolt.

(Back home, it was Quite A Day when he realized that Misora was the only one there younger than him. Kazumin called him a kid for a week.)

~ ~ ~

They can’t stay here.

So. they leave.

They leave the city that they remember but don't know.

~ ~ ~

And finding work is hard when you don't have a past that doesn’t and can’t match the world you’re in, and everything down to the roads just isn’t the same compared to the ones you know/remember/knew.

History is one of the biggest differences.

~ ~ ~

They look up the history of the other Earth, to see how far back it diverged from their own. They go back 25 years, and there hasn’t been anything that returned from Mars. So that's a good sign, they guess.

(They hope.)

They go back further, to make sure they don’t say the wrong things, and start looking up cultural changes as well, to make sure they can pass for people who’ve been here all along.

They come across something weird.

It's an urban legend fansite, sure, and neither of them is sure how they actually GOT to that page. But that picture is…

It’s a photo from the early 1970’s – discolored by age and grainy from being digitized. It’s off center, and crooked, and looks amateur, but there’s no reason to think it’s not real.

A photo of two men on a cliff, doing posing next to a pair of motorcycles.

Wearing full masks and armored bodysuits.

And captioned as the “first known photo of Kamen Riders 1 and 2 together.”

~ ~ ~

So. That’s not something they had either.

~ ~ ~

The pair who fought as Build and Cross-Z dig deeper. And as they get closer to the present, more and more warriors of justice fighting under the name (title?) of Kamen Rider show up.

There's a period after the early 1990’s where the records sort of stop, and no new heroes show up for a while, but around 2000 the Riders start appearing again.

Some of them are rumors, and urban legends, but others are definitely on record as being real.

And they keep reading, and the closer to the present the more familiar things get.

8 years ago - rumors of a Rider in black with a partner who didn't QUITE pass for human.

7 years ago - a high school that focused on space and science, with sightings of a Rider in silver.

Ryuuga has been to that school, and been rescued by the warriors in those blurry, hastily shot photos.

5 years ago - an archived site for a dance competition that turned into monster fights that turned into battles between members in armor that then stopped reporting, then followed by accounts of describe a city turned into a war zone.

That first armored rider helped get Sento to Ex-Aid’s world. To what might be THIS world.

Neither of them have wanted to talk about the nagging worry they've both had the past month, living here on this other earth.

3 years ago - a temple that has never gone out of their way to confirm the rumors of a Rider in black and orange, but has never gone out of their way to deny them, either.

The concern about what happened that brought them here, alive. What brought them here when neither expected to come out of that last battle with Evolt.

2 years ago - news footage and reports from this worlds Seito, about a digital viral outbreak and the Riders that fought it - and the press conference covering the aftermath, led by a doctor with a face that appears in two sets of memories in one persons head.

The fear that “they didn't get it right.”

7 months ago - News articles about a resurgence of the virus and a giant mechanical hand reaching to the sky.

That “maybe they didn't fix anything.”

7 months ago - terrified social media posts about another earth in the sky, one that had a jagged red scar.

That “maybe they just left home.”

7 months ago - still frames from amateur videos of two Riders fighting a gear themed enemy.

That “maybe they just took themselves out of the equation.”

7 months ago – two riders, a constant and an unknown,

That “maybe they left everything behind -

7 months ago - a rider in gold, with a name and reputation to put to the mask,

“- left everyONE behind -

7 months ago - and a rider in blue and red, never seen before or since.

“maybe everyone else is gone and the people here - these same-but-different people we know-but-don't - are just the alternate versions, not merged or remade or saved, but just preexisting familiar faces that will never, ever replace the ones that I just ran away from and left behind to d--”

And Sento didn't even know he was talking until he couldn't get the words out, until he was choking on fears and doubts and grief and guilt, and sobbing at things that were “all his-and-my fault and he-and-I did this and brought so, so much suffering and then just ran away and I didn’t even have the decency to remember-”

And Banjou grabs him, holding him close in almost a death grip to keep this stupid, egotistical, terrified genius from shaking himself to pieces - physical, mental, emotional, whatever. And he’s shaking too, because he hasn't wanted to think about these possibilities, either.

Hasn’t wanted to think about how maybe they messed up – that he's the one who messed it up, because if nothing else, the other him shows that black-hole bastards or no, he is consistently a muscle-headed fighter, and if anyone that was there that day screwed up the creation of a literal world it would be him…

So, he keeps saying quiet, ragged reassurances to his best friend - only friend now that the others are strangers again - both of them red-eyed and hoarse and SCARED, because they just. Don't know what really happened in and after that gap in reality where space and time and energy were colliding and tearing apart. And that not knowing, that's terrifying, for both of them but neither have dared bring it up for just this reason. It’s so, so terrifying to have so much information and yet still have nothing but questions.

He doesn’t say it, but he can see. It's awful for Banjou, the not knowing. But not understanding isn’t really NEW to him – confused has kind of been his default state since they met and he hasn’t hid that at all – but Sento? Kiryu Sento had really only existed for a year before they met at a factory and a fight, and been manipulated and lied to and trying to find himself and coming up with nothing. He made so much of his identity out of his smarts and on Build and just kept hiding anything that didn’t fit the person he was or could have been or could be – that didn’t have a place in the puzzle of his past. He hid whatever he could fit behind the mask of a grinning nerd and the helmet of a warrior for love and peace.

Then they were thrown into war, and so, so many awful things had happened, and Banjou hadn’t said anything back home, hasn’t said anything here and still doesn’t, but he’d been seeing it for months. He’s seen his friend shouldering worry and stress and doubt until he broke and then hid that behind the same smile and behind his work and the fighting. The war dragged and grew and got worse and more personal and Sento had just kept taking it on himself and bearing it and breaking and kept going anyway.

This is definitely not the time for that talk. It’s even less time for anyone to bring up that half of those fights… that both of them kept going in with no plans for making it out after.

It’s not the time for that, but they’re at a park, the one they stayed in last night, and they should probably find somewhere else for this because they’re two sobbing wrecks who can’t explain this to anyone else. They can barely explain it to themselves.

“We're out of our element here, aren’t we? Listen, man, you can't lose yourself to this, okay? Who else'll be the brains of this outfit? Pretty sure we’re both screwed if it's me.”

He chuckles, half-hearted and hoarse and so, so tired. Looks like he’ll have to take the lead for a while.

“This is messed up. I know. So just… take your time and breath, okay? When you’re ready, we can go and… I dunno, find some of these other Riders, maybe? And we can try to get some answers.

“Just don't GO, okay? We're in this together, Sento, we have to stick together.

“We're all we've got."

[mkdremareriser]

“Rider Rewrites: Build” + Theories about the Future of Build’s Story

Fuuuuuuck me, it’s been literally years since I’ve done Rider Rewrites. In fact, so long that I only ever made one Rider Rewrites, and that was for Ghost, a season that a lot of people have problems with (like the main character, though like I said in it, I actually enjoyed Ghost). So for a while I was thinking “I’ve been free from college for a while, so why not try doing Rider Rewrites again?” and here we are. I’m gonna do Build, since it DID recently finish, and I’ve already gotten a few ideas about what I’d change with it. This is also gonna have my opinions about the final episode in general (since it seems like there are quite a number of people who didn’t like it), and also my theories about where Build’s story will take them, primarily with the Zi-O crossover movie (since I’m sure what I’ll theorize with the Build arc in the TV series proper will be debunked fast) and Build NEW WORLD.

So since it’s been a long while since I’ve done a Rider Rewrites, I feel like I should restate my criteria as well as add some new ones:

- I’m only doing KR seasons that I’ve personally watched to the end, which are Kuuga, Ryuki, Blade, Den-O, Kiva, and all of the Phase 2 Heisei Riders. - No requests, I’m only doing this ‘cuz I feel like it. - Again no actual schedule, but this time I’m hoping to do at least a few more after this. - This is heavily opinion based, so there are definitely gonna be disagreements with what I’d do. I’m fine with different ideas and opinions, just as long as you respect mine as well. - This is all written under the premise that I'm a writer with an “infinite” budget, since I understand that with the restrictions that the real staff and cast have (such as cost of effects, timing, and having to edit things to fit a standard-length episode), they likely wouldn’t be able to do it. - My changes are likely not going to be in chronological order, it’ll probably be all over the place in terms of thinking. - I’m doing this without any knowledge about Kamen Rider Build: Be the One, so any changes that I’d make that are answered in the movie, I’ll take back. This will likely be the same for any future Rider Rewrites, since I’m intending to do these immediately after the TV series itself has finished, as it’s typically where my ideas for changes is the freshest.

With that out of the way, let’s get down to it.

SUMMARY:

The setting; 10 years ago, a space mission to Mars brought back a mysterious item dubbed the Pandora Box. Amidst the celebration of finding such an item, a mysterious man interrupts the ceremony by touching the alien artifact, which activates it and creates a giant wall known as the Skywall that emits a red glow, and divided the country of Japan into three new ones, Touto, Hokuto, and Seito. The light that was emitted from the Pandora Box’s activation affected the minds of those present there, namely Gentoku Himuro, who was there in place of his father, future Touto Prime Minister Taizan Himuro, who couldn’t make it, future Hokuto Prime Minister Yoshiko Tajimi, and future Seito Prime Minister Masakuni Mido. Their minds were affected by turning them into war-thirsty people who sought to use the power of the Pandora Box to their desires, and it was only by Taizan Himuro’s intervention that the Pandora Box was kept out of everyone’s hands. But in the background, a mysterious organization known as Faust begins to act, desiring to take the Pandora Box for itself.

Build follows the amnesiac genius physicist and scientist Sento Kiryu, the titular Kamen Rider Build, who seeks to find out his true identity, as well as convicted murder and former MMA fighter Ryuga Banjou, who transforms into Kamen Rider Cross-Z. They are aided by Soichi Isurugi, a mysterious man who runs the cafe nascita and acts as support by providing information in the lab underneath the cafe, his daughter Misora, who uses her connections as the internet idol Mii-tan to get information as well as being the one responsible for purifying the Fullbottles, which are necessary for Sento and Ryuga to transform with, and Sawa Takigawa, a reporter who’s in need of a big scoop, who also uses her connections to provide information to the Riders. Together, the nascita team fights against Faust and their leaders, Night Rogue, a malevolent man with the powers of the Bat Fullbottle, and Blood Stalk, his lackadaisical second-in-command who has his own plans and intentions. But underneath it all, things are much more complicated than it seems.... 

MY OVERALL OPINION:

I love Kamen Rider Build. It’s easily one of my favorite KR seasons I’ve ever seen. it’s not perfect, I can acknowledge that. Hell, if it were, I’d probably wouldn’t even be doing this Rider Rewrites for it. But that doesn’t change how I feel about it. I really enjoyed the characters, the plot, the designs, everything about it. But with that said, let’s get into

WHAT I’D CHANGE: 

- First off, I think what I’d change is the introductory scene for the Hokuto Three Crows and Kamen Rider Grease. While it wasn’t bad, per se, it did come to my attention some time ago that in that introductory scene, Akaba uses a laser to destroy several buildings (probably killing a bunch of innocent bystanders while doing it) because he was getting bored waiting for Kazumi to join them. Which severely clashes with how we’re supposed to feel bad when he dies fighting against Gentoku as Kamen Rider Rogue. Instead of having Akaba lasering those buildings, I’d have the scene be that Kiba and Aoba are watching their tablet, and they turn around to face Akaba as the Castle Hard Smash, punching away at a Guardian he destroyed before using his laser on it (significantly weaker than what we see in the show, the trade-off being that he can use it more often as an attack now, since he barely used it in the first place). Kiba would chide Akaba about disobeying Kazumi (since I’m also imagining that the beam would damage another building (just not as much as in the original scene), but it would zoom out to show that Kiba is sitting on a Guardian he destroyed, and Aoba had planted a foot on one he did. Akaba would then detransform, revealing that he was different from a regular Smash, and would call out to Kazumi, it playing out much like in the original scene, where we see him having broken through the Skywall as Kamen Rider Grease and having destroyed the Touto Guardians. I feel like this change would help make the Hokuto Three Crows more earning of sympathy, since Akaba wouldn’t have just unnecessarily caused large-scale devastation. - For that matter, give some more time to the Hokuto Three Crows, since we barely know them outside of their relation to Kazumi. Aoba suffers this the most, since he dies first and very early on. According to Kazumi, he was a person who really cared about his friends, and would even cry for a complete stranger. I would like to actually see that, like give Aoba a scene where after he had fought a couple of Guardians (or the Riders), he sees a civilian scared to death of him, and tells them to go, that he’s not there to hurt them. Make him the most like Kazumi in that regard, so that his death stings him and the other two all the more. - Related to giving characters more screentime, do the same with the Washio Brothers. As they were in the series, they were just to be the “sidekicks” to Gentoku while he was on Seito’s and Nanba’s side and little else. For Fu, I’d like to emphasize his relationship with Rai a lot more. Make it that while he’s loyal to Nanba, Rai is the person he cares just a little more about. For instance, have it that when Rai goes back after losing to Kazumi in the Touto-Seito battle, Fu tells him that he’ll take care of things in a genuine tone, and do a brotherly handshake of sorts with him (which would be when Rai hands him his Gear Engine to let him transform into Hell Bro’s). And have it that whenever Rai’s down, Fu is always concerned for him before Rai insists on him finishing the job and tossing his Gear Engine to him. For Rai, I’d emphasize his prideful nature and loyalty to Nanba a lot more. Like, make it being a Nanba Child is a badge of honor for him, especially since he was the one chosen to be the Engine Bro’s. Have it so that in a lot of the fights we have with him, he’s talking down against his opponents about how inferior they are to him because he’s a Nanba Child and they’re not, and that with each fight that he loses, he becomes increasingly desperate to show that he’s superior to the point when he and Fu are offered to take the Nebula Gas infusion before their fight with Evolt, that he’s readily accepts it and pressures Fu to do the same (who I’d imagine would be just a liiiiiiittle apprehensive, but not too much as to not do it since he’s that loyal to Nanba as well), and that he has an even bigger breakdown about Evol being that much stronger than them, even after that Nebula Gas infusion. But still have Rai going down swearing his allegiance to Nanba, but this time as a way to comfort himself about the fact that not only is he not as strong as he thought he was, but that he’s now dying in front of his brother. Also, I think there could’ve been more of an effort to give the Washio Brothers more interactions with each of the characters, since they really don’t have any sort of significant relationship to any of the characters, even to Utsumi and Sawa, both of whom are also Nanba Children with them. - Show Sawa doing her espionage and information gathering. As funny as the “It’s better that you don’t know” gag is for me, I do understand the frustration some people have about her being this incredible character, yet we rarely ever see her doing her thing. Personally, the lack of her actions I chalk it up to the fact that doing unsuited stunts is that it’s time-consuming to teach actors who don’t have any experience with doing their own stunts, that using unsuited stunt doubles is harder to do since you have to match their physique to the actor’s/actress’s, and that it’s altogether too much money and too much of a risk that could injure them. For the purposes of Rider Rewrites, we’ll be ignoring that. Let’s see Sawa take down a bodyguard in front of a doctor who has access to Banjou’s medical records, let’s see Sawa sneak around to get information, just show her doing more things.          - On a related/off-topic side note, I don’t really necessarily think that just giving her the role of like, another Rider or a Rider-like user is really conducive to her character. Like I understand the want for more female Kamen Riders/Rider-like characters, but I personally don’t see it as something entirely necessary. Honestly, in my opinion it kinda makes it feel like the female characters are only useful if they can transform and fight alongside male Riders, and that’s sorta more disrespectful, since we have just as many non-Kamen Rider/Rider-like male characters. Though admittedly with Build, there were none of those. Plus, if it’s on the basis that “we need more female representation in Kamen Rider”, I feel like Magical Girl shows like Pretty Cure kinda fill a similar niche. - Give Utsumi more of a personality other than just being a blind follower of whoever’s the main villain at the moment. Like show more of his inventive side, but have Nanba and Blood Stalk/Evolt dismiss his original inventions and praise the ones that he’s copied, and show his frustrations with that more, but that it’s not enough to break his loyalty to Nanba. Also do more hints about his nature as a cyborg, since that’s one of the few things I feel like genuinely comes out of nowhere in Build besides a few jokes about him being one. Like have Blood Stalk/Evol make fun of him for thinking so much like a computer, or have Utsumi move around a little unnaturally at some points (mainly whenever he’s transformed into Night Rogue or MadRogue). - On the topic of Vernage, I don’t really have a problem with how she’s used, especially within the context of the series, since she’s on a time-limit that grows shorter each time her powers are used. People seem to think that she’s done nothing, but remember, without her emptying the Touto Fullbottles and her defeating Evolt so many years ago, we wouldn’t have a story. - I don’t necessarily have a problem with Sento as a character, but as a Rider, I feel like we should’ve gotten him to use more of his Forms, especially since we’ve established early on that he likes to use different Best Matches and Trial Forms to his advantage. Like, let’s see more of his Best Matches with the Fullbottles we rarely see, even if it’s only used once in the series. Let’s see him use Best Matches like BeetleCamera, or DogMic, or TurtleWatch, or UniRaser, any of them. It’s a shame that later on he mainly relies on RabbitRabbit, TankTank, and Genius Form. Speaking of which, let’s see Genius Form use more of the Fullbottle powers. We see Sento use the Diamond Fullbottle’s powers to defend himself against Evolt’s attack in one episode, so I don’t see any reason why he couldn’t use the other Fullbottle powers as well. - Related to the lack of Form usages later on in the series, we can also circumvent this by just using the Fullbottle finishers of weapons that can use them, like the Drill Crusher, the Beat Closer, the Twin Breaker, the Transteam/Nebulasteam Guns, the Knuckles, and the Fullbottle Buster. Like let’s see the effects of using those Fullbottles have on the weapons, as well as use them more for Charge/Discharge Crushes. - For Ryuga, I’d say that I’d like to see him use the basic Cross-Z suit for a little longer before upgrading into Cross-Z Charge, since it didn’t get to really shine, even after he had to go back to the Build Driver, since he almost immediately gets Cross-Z Magma. Same deal with Great Cross-Z, since it’s a fantastic repaint of basic Cross-Z, though I don’t mind its lack of usage as much as I do with basic Cross-Z. As a character, I don’t have any problems with him. In fact, he’s easily become one of my favorite secondary Riders, and I’m absolutely excited that he’s getting his own V-Cinema next year. He deserves it. - If there’s anything related to Ryuga I would change, I would add more new scenes of him and Kasumi to make it so that we feel a bigger connection between them. Like I love how he still thinks about her even after the 2/3rd point of the series, but it’s always of the same scene. Like, show me more scenes of them together so I can feel like it’s a real relationship. - Kazumi’s character I feel like was fine, but I would definitely tone down his fanboy tendencies at some points, since it was a little over-the-top. I wouldn’t get rid of them, just tone them down a little bit. I’d also wouldn’t give him a new form before Grease Blizzard, since I feel like the impact of Grease Blizzard is because it’s a new form and that it was dangerous thanks to the multiple Nebula Gas infusions he took. Maybe instead of a second Twin Breaker and the Dragon Sclashjelly, he gets a new weapon first, like maybe his own Beat Closer (which is one of my favorite Rider weapons that sadly doesn’t get used often). Hell, call it the “Beat Greaser” and give it new sounds and a paint job and make it a Web Exclusive toy. Bandai loves doing that. - Gentoku’s also fine. At first I felt like I’d have the most problems with him when he was revealed to have a redeeming arc, but after all was said and done, I think it worked for him. Like the nascita team didn’t immediately accept him joining them like I worried about (since he did kill Akaba and was in general partially responsible for the terrible things that happened to each of the characters), and he truly does earn his place with them instead of it being “Oh, I guess we all immediately forgive you for your transgressions.” - Blood Stalk/Evol as a villain is fantastic. He’s got charm, he’s got power, he’s got some of the coolest Kamen Rider designs I’ve ever seen. My biggest problem is his somewhat simple motivation of getting stronger because he’s supposed to be the “superior being”. Like I’m sure in “Be the One” they reveal more of his motivation and background since members of his race also make an appearance, but for now, I’m mainly just going off on the TV series since I have yet to watch the movie. Personally, I would give Evolt a bigger backstory. Like I would make it so that Evolt had been a high-ranking soldier of his race that was entrusted with the Evol-Driver (something that he named himself because he’s egotistical) and the Pandora Box in order to fight a war against another planet. But after that, he became enraptured with the powers that the technology gave him on top of his own that he ends up going off on his own to become stronger and stronger, as well as becoming smarter and smarter with how he handled things. This would eventually lead him to Mars, where he meets his match against Vernage. But as he is, he works as a fantastic villain. - Overall, I think I’d give the series more breathing space to allow it to expand and explore everything, And with that all said and done, I’ll talk about my thoughts on the final episodes. 

Honestly, it’s how I expected it to go, and I’m pretty satisfied with it. I’ve seen some people express dissatisfaction with it, and it’s understandable. But with the fact that their plan involved combining two Earths to create one new Earth, it’s hard to not imagine it going that way. Like, if the Earth’s combined and everyone was alive and had their memories of the previous universe, then what was the point of the tension and drama? Likewise, if the Earth’s combined and everyone that died stay dead, then what was the point of combining them? Personally, the Earth’s combining and everyone’s alive but without the memories of the previous universe is the better outcome, because it shows us how the world is without Evolt and the Pandora Box, and makes us wonder where Sento and Ryuga will go on from there. Speaking of which, I have a couple ideas of how the nascita team will reunite and regain their previous memories. I’m willing to bet that in either Zi-O’s and Build’s crossover movie or Build NEW WORLD, that they’ll all coincidentally meet at the nascita cafe, where they start wondering if they all know each other since each of them feels like the other is familiar, before being pulled into the movie’s plot. Maybe it’ll happen, maybe it won’t, but I’m hoping it does.

[kaorei-endgame]

What Yakuza game would you recommend playing if I wanted play one? I keep seeing stuff from 0 that looks great and you've said a lot of good things about the series in the past.

In a lot of ways, Yakuza 0 is the BEST place to start with the series! 

And you could leave this post at that–but aw heck, it’s been a while, and I got some stuff to say!

So my appreciation of Yakuza 0 is definitely related to how I prefer the slightly more personal “Kazama Kiryu Desires A Peaceful Life but dang if his Best Bro won’t stop dragging him into these intra-clan turf wars,” stories of Yakuza 1&2 to the exponentially expansive scope of “Kazama Kiryu wants nothing more to than to raise orphan bbs on the idyllic beaches of Okinawa BUT WATCH OUT: The American military wants to buy the entire island and you’re the only gangster man enough to stop them!!” of Yakuza 3 and onwards

(note: I can’t remember if that was actually the plot of Yakuza 3 but doesn’t it seem like the plot of Yakuza 3?)

So it’s like a return to form; 0′s a (…more or less…) hardboiled crime plot about one specific Objet d'Ardeur that everyone in the country has a rack-focus mega-boner about solving the mystery of. In Yakuza 1 it was the “10 Billion Yen” and here it’s “The Empty Lot.” You know I loves it when people refer to such things in hushed and/or concerned tones. 

And they do it a lot in this game.

A lot a lot.

And that’s where I’m at r/n.

Don’t get me wrong, I still like them later Yaks, but the series ditched its focus from as it went, where the plots got a lot bigger and they added a shitload of playable characters to varying degrees of success. Enough of those games still rock (Yakuza 5′s got a whole section where you play as an up and coming idol and also one where you fight a bear)

(subnote, the idol does not fight the bear)

(subsubnote, though she absolutely should’ve)

But their plots are such a severe mess that I was only able to enjoy the narrative of 4&5 for their audacity–they’re so dopey and BIG–since none of the characters were, like, super character-y, you know, per se. They all blend together, especially antagonists, who end up being “thug guy” or “haha, it was actually I, the refined business man BEHIND the thug guy, (and also, for some reason I have DIAMOND CUT ABS and KNOW KARATE).” 

So, when you sit down and really think about it, in some ways, Yakuza 0 is actually the perfect Yakuza game!

Though it’s a prequel, the story works without context. There’s a good bit of fan-service in how they spent a decent time on characterization for people who would become major players/antagonists in later games, but I don’t feel like it being a prequel would hurt new players. You’d miss out on some of the dramatic irony I enjoyed, sure, but you also wouldn’t have to reconcile the cognitive dissonance of Majima, Yakuza’s genre-standard “crazy guy who’s gay for the protagonist (but strictly in a violent way (no homo))” acting like just a regular, (…relatively…? i mean he’s a gangster…?) nice guy. In fact, this game made me kind of wish Majima was just always this Majima. :/

(spoiler warning: Yakuza sidequests still have a 1-5% factor of Extremely Bad Video Game Opinions on Gender/Sexuality/Race 😞 And I wish they’d quit that shit already, because it straight up sullies the fun, lighthearted tone of most of the side content–there are always a couple “ugh, aren’t you better than this?” moments in these games)

Aside from that–the narrative stuff, or etc–the mechanical bloat of later games can make it tough to fully recognize which parts are wheat and which parts are chaff. There’s too much of it to sort, especially as they move into the If Yakuza 4 had 4 characters then obviously Yakuza 5 has to have five??? model, where I sorta forgot there were 5 protagonists until I looked it up because the Baseball Guy in 5 was the only dude more forgettable than Baby Faced Grapple Cop in 4. 

And I liked 5, no doubt, but you don’t really need like four+ distinct fighting styles, especially when you’re musical chairs-ing between them every 2 or 3 hours. And it’s definitely fun and/or funny that every character has their own goofy sub-quest like “trapping rabbits on a mountainside” or “extremely solicitous taxi cab driving,” but a lot of that stuff gets lost in the wash as you get farther out from the actual playing of it. 

(vs chicken????)

As a result, I retain vaguely positive feelings about Yakuzas 3-5, but I can’t remember a whole lot of what I actually did in them. Where Yakuza 0 felt like it had just enough that I could manage everything without going nuts. Just the same, I keep sayin’ 1&2 remain my favorites for their tighter scopes–the Goldlocks Principle of Yakuza games–but I also haven’t played them in almost a decade, so who knows how they actually hold up. I’m probably just talking out of my ass! And, in some ways, Yakuza 0 might be one of those situations where it’s actually living up to the fond memories falsified by my nostalgia! 

What I mean by that is 0’s a refinement of a series that has always been one of the extremely few “open world” games that’ve ever actually worked on me. Weird comparisons on sale here, but it’s like Witcher 2: the maps are small enough that they become intimate, and there aren’t a billion checkmarks all over them, so it doesn’t feel like you’re running down a list. Really, Yakuza has been the only series I feel like I can play on whim, act arbitrarily and according to mood, and not freak out about not playing the most “efficient” way.

(also why does it seem like they spent like 100x as much effort on Sagawa’s face than they did anyone else in the entire game, including the main characters? Is it because Sagawa is Actually The Secret Best???)

It’s cool, being in those neighborhoods, whose twists and turns become familiar. They’re some of the few games that I can really space out with, not worrying about completion lists or plot progression or missable sidequests (we just beat Tales of Vesperia, I’m “missable sidequest”-ed out for the foreseeable future), just playing arbitrarily, and pecking away at a long substory until you get bored, and not worrying super much about whether or not you’ll ever come back and finish it. They set a tone; ie: “there’s so much CRAP here.” Like, every bar gives you a mini-lecture on each whisky’s history as you order it. You can’t possibly do all of it–in fact, they don’t let you, because the bartender cuts you off after 3 or 4 drinks–so it’s almost like they game is telling you “hey, do something else so you don’t burn yourself out trying to catch ‘em all.” Which is I suspect Fallout or Farcry or Assassin’s Creed or whatever will probably never, ever do.

So even though Yakuza is as checklisty as any of those games (and in Yakuza 0 there’s a literal checklist that gives you quantifiable gameplay benefits as you fill it out) there’s no impetus to play them that way. You do whatever you want, at the speed you want. It’s like, by curtailing your ability to drink every whisky at once, eat every food at once, find every sidequest at once, they’re giving you permission to leave things half-finished. I dumped several hours into reaching the climax of Majima’s biggest substory, but when the game offered me the chance to go to the final battle, I kinda went “I’m ready for this” and left the whole thing unsettled right before the finish line. 

So I guess I’ll never know how that cabaret plot ended, but I also don’t feel like I really need to know how it ended either. My experience was enough, and it’s good to feel like you’re playing something just to immerse yourself in the experience of it, rather doggedly coming back until you can Finish it and Check It Off A List.

In summation, I’m hope to keep this one in my kokoro 5ever:

…tell Kuze hello for me! 👊

[bloodborne-on-pc]

last night was a good night b/c I watched three Godzilla movies in a row - specifically, Tokyo S.O.S, GMK, and Godzilla vs. Megaguirus. I’m bored and feel like yelling into the void so I’ll just go ahead and ramble about them.

Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S is a sequel to Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla, which is a wild concept in the Millennium series because all of them just kind of exist in their own continuity, with this one exception. It was pretty good, but it felt kind of like a remake of Mothra vs. Godzilla with Mechagodzilla/Kiryu thrown in for good measure. It had Mothra fighting Godzilla, Mothra attacking him with her scales as a last resort attack, then dying and having twins - then said twins proceed to somehow hold their own against Godzilla, biting him on the tail and wrapping him up in silk. It was kind of distracting, honestly. But at least we got some good Kiryu action. And then we got a post-credits scene that implied other kaiju were being cloned, but that ended up going nowhere, which is kind of disappointing.

GMK's real title is not, in fact, GMK. It's actually Godzilla, Mothra, and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack. Which is very long, so everyone calls it GMK. GMK took things in a pretty different direction, but I rather liked it. Godzilla is made out of a bunch of ghosts who are pissed off about Japan’s war crimes and people’s eagerness to forget said crimes. He also has creepy blank eyes. Also, in spite of the title featuring three monsters, there’s actually a fourth one in this film - Baragon. They probably didn’t put him in the title because it was too long already, but probably also because he isn’t particularly famous - certainly not compared to the other three. While I did like the film overall, there is one thing that I wasn’t a huge fan of: Commander Tachibana surviving. Like, it was supposed to some kind of heroic sacrifice thing he was doing, but then he lived. I thought it was gonna be a bittersweet and ominous ending, but then it turned out he was alive, which really killed the mood. It was still kind of ominous, as Godzilla’s heart was still shown to be intact(he exploded earlier), but the point still stands. There was also one smaller bit that was rather odd - at one point, King Ghidorah(who’s more benevolent here than usual) is fighting Godzilla underwater, grappling him with his mouths. One of the humans, in a submarine, fires a torpedo at Godzilla. But Godzilla turns his body so that one of Ghidorah’s necks is struck instead. And, for some reason, the person’s reaction is “Excellent!” or some shit, even though Ghidorah’s on their side - BUT, according to my brother(idk his source), the original line was hardly one of glee, and the submarine’s pilot(?) was apparently like “Fuck!”. But since “fuck” is a really naughty word, they decided to replace it. Which I mean, okay, I guess I kind of get it, because ratings, but - why not replace it with a milder swear, like “dammit” or “shit”? Why “Excellent!”? That’s a completely different statement.

And, finally, Godzilla vs. Megaguirus, notable for being on the first Godzilla movies I ever saw - but that was well over a decade ago, so it was like seeing it for the first time.This is the movie where they shoot a black hole at Godzilla and it doesn’t do shit. That is not, in fact, exaggeration - they made a literal black hole gun and shot it at Godzilla, and all that happened was he got buried by rubble. Twice. That shit happened twice. Also, there were giant dragonflies. And one dragonfly who was especially giant - that was Megaguirus. Who was cool, except for the fact that there were several shots were the wires holding the puppet up where very, very prominent. Painfully so. It’s pretty fucking ridiculous honestly, and really took me out of the film. There were also some times, during the actual fight between these two, where it would just go into slow motion for no apparent reason. Which was kind of odd. But mostly I’m still pissed about the strings. It’s not a bad movie, overall - it has some good fight scenes, and is decently entertaining. But the strings, my God, the strings. It’s wild to think this movie was made in fucking 2000 and they couldn’t hide the damn strings. The fucking Christopher Reeve Superman movie did a better job of hiding the wires, and that was made in the damn 70′s - you know what, let’s use a better example and pull out a Godzilla movie - Mothra versus Godzilla. Made in 1964 - if there was any point in time where you could see the strings, I sure as hell didn’t notice. Absurd.

[itsybitsylemonsqueezy]

oh oh, I feel like this could be a fun one: 22. the one where it’s impossible to lie to your soulmate. Perhaps Kiryu and Majima? However, any is fun, whatever you're in the mood for! :D

I’ve got two requests for 22, so you’re in luck, you’ll get to see this at least two ways XP (Btdubs, for anyone who doesn’t know, An Invitation to Dinner is updated. You should... you should maybe look at it if you like my writing or something.)

***I spent an EMBARRASSINGLY long time on this trying to decide how it should go. But I got there in the end! Apologies for the epic delay. 

22. the one where it’s impossible to lie to your soulmate 

“I saw that shit, Kiryu-chan.” 

Kiryu turned his head up from the punk he was beating into the dirt to find, who else, but Majima Goro striding down the alleyway. Kiryu’s snarl quickly relaxed with recognition.

“Majima-onii-san,” he inclined his head, “what’re you doing here?”

“Just enjoying myself watching ya beat on this piece of trash,” Majima answered promptly, then paused, his eyebrows contracting slightly. 

“You were watching?” Kiryu frowned, turning fully towards his superior. 

The gutter trash took the opportunity in the lapse of attention to scurry out of the way, muttering, “Nuh-uh, I seen this shit before.”

“Sure, I was, can never get enough of watching ya fight!” The answer was fast and easy and Majima’s grin was almost that. 

“Oh!” Kiryu shuffled a little, darting his eyes away. “Um, thank you? Was there uh something you wanted to say about it?” 

“Yes, actually! I wanted to tell ya-” Majima slapped a hand over his mouth and bent over, forcing a cough through his lips violently. He lowered his hand. “I wanted to tell ya that yer-” He squeezed his hand tight over his mouth again, almost puking with the force of his coughs this time. 

“Majima-onii-san? Are you alright? Should I get someone?” Kiryu reached out a hand, concerned. 

Majima straightened, panting. “No need, Kiryu-chan!” He smiled over at him, although Kiryu wasn’t quite reassured by it. “Let's try this again. How’re ya doing tonight?”

Kiryu shrugged. “A bit bored really, but now you’re here. You’re usually not boring.” Kiryu stopped. Why the fuck had he just said that? 

Majima’s eye widened. “Oh? Really? Ya think I’m interestin’?” His lips curled, stepping a little closer to Kiryu. 

“Interesting is one word for it,” Kiryu muttered in reply, backing up a step. 

Majima’s eye glittered. “Mmm, then tell me what you would say to describe me,” he murmured, stepping directly in front of Kiryu. 

Kiryu swallowed. “I’d rather not.” 

Majima tsked. “That won’t do. Now go on, how would you describe me, Kiryu-chan?”

Kiryu bit down, but the words burbled up his throat and spilled out like water from a well-oiled pump. “You’re crazy, but not the way everyone says you are. I can never get a read on you because sometimes you’ll act the way everyone expects you to act and sometimes you’ll be honest. You’re incredibly frustrating because I can’t rely on which version of you I’ll get at any given time,” he finished.

Majima’s jaw fell, stunned. “Well...” He blinked rapidly, “That uh wasn’t what I was expecting.” He stood back, rubbing his neck. “Damn.” 

Kiryu squirmed, feeling like all of his secrets were being laid bare. He hadn’t even said anything embarrassing really, it was just... true. Horrifyingly true. It felt weird, somehow, to be so brutally honest unprompted. “I didn’t... I didn’t mean to say that.” He frowned at the ground. 

Majima raised an eyebrow at him. “Haw?”

“That stuff, that... wasn’t what I meant to say.” 

“So you were lying?” Majima blinked at him. 

Kiryu shook his head, finally looking up at him. “No. All of that was true. I just... wouldn’t have told you.” 

Majima’s eyebrows nearly disappeared into his hair. “Oh...” There was only a second’s pause, then he shook himself, turning away briskly. “Well, I asked ya what ya thought, Kiryu-chan,” he turned back, grinning, “only natural that ya wouldn’t lie.” 

“Yeah, but-”

“Don’t worry, ya didn’t say nuthin that offended me,” Majima overrode him, smiling sweetly.

“Seemed like I did,” Kiryu muttered back, watching him. 

Majima waved his hand, shaking his head. “Never mind all that. What’cha doin with the rest of ya night?”

“I was going to stop any more street thugs I saw, maybe do a round of karaoke, then go to bed,” Kiryu listed like the words were written in front of him. The puzzling sensation of having the truth pulled out of him was still there. Kiryu shook himself, trying to feel more comfortable. 

“Karaoke!” Majima squealed, “That’s it, ya coming with me and we’re doing karaoke!” Majima grabbed his hand and pulled him down the alleyway. 

“You like karaoke?” Kiryu frowned, stumbling after him.

“Sure do! Karaoke’s gotten me through some rough times!” Majima explained with a pained smile. 

Kiryu’s eyes widened. “You wanna talk about it?”

“No! As a matter of fact, I would love to forget that shit ever happened to me, but I can’t!” Majima responded quickly, then broke away, turning to him with an expression of horror. 

Kiryu stopped, staring at Majima as people moved around them down the street. “Majima?”

“Could ya... not ask me about my past, please?” Majima said eventually, voice shaky. “Just... c’mon, let’s get drunk, let’s fight, that’ll be much more fun than this.” He reached for Kiryu, grabbing his arm and attempting to pull him along again. 

“I’m not sure that’s the best call,” Kiryu hesitated, resisting the arm tugging, “Shouldn’t we figure out what’s going on first?”

“I already know what’s going on!” Majima snapped, immediately regretting it, hiding his face in his hands. 

Kiryu just stood there awkwardly, watching Majima crumple a little. “C-Can you tell me?” he asked hopefully. 

Majima’s eye peeked out over his fingers, cringing. “Yes, but please don’t ask me to.” 

“Why not?”

Majima heaved a sigh and pulled his arms down. “Because... I can’t lie to ya.” His voice was resigned as he stared at the busy passers-by. 

Kiryu cocked his head. “I appreciate the honesty?”

“No, musclehead, I mean I literally cannot lie to ya,” Majima clarified, “And ya can’t either.” 

Kiryu blinked. “I’m confused, I can’t lie?” 

“Not to me,” Majima shook his head, “We’re just... we can’t lie to each other.” 

Kiryu frowned. “Are ya sure?”

Majima groaned, throwing his head back. “Would I be standing in the street having a meltdown if I wasn’t fucking sure?!”

Kiryu shrugged. 

“Yes, I’m fucking sure!” 

Kiryu retreated a little. “Sorry,” he mumbled. “Well, what do we do?”

“I dunno. Avoid asking each other any questions we don’t want the answers to.” Majima folded his arms, starting to pout as he looked at the ground.

“Okay,” Kiryu nodded, watching Majima’s body language swing from depression to frustration, “You seem disappointed.”

“Too fucking right, I just wanted to have a fun night and instead I have ta avoid these deep personal truths every time I wanna talk to ya.” He sighed.

Kiryu grimaced in sympathy. “I didn’t know you just wanted to talk to me,” he mumbled, “Makes a nice change from trying to fight me.”

Majima snorted, looking up at him and smiling a little. “I still wanna fight ya, Kiryu-chan. Hardly anyone around here is up to my level and it’s nice to get a stretch of the legs every once in a while.” He winked. 

Kiryu looked away.

“But yer such a goober, I can’t help wanting ta just talk to ya sometimes too,” Majima sighed, looking the opposite way, “Shit… I’m fucked.” 

“Mmm, you sound better as we talk,” Kiryu considered, “Maybe we can keep talking? Maybe it won’t be so bad.” He smiled hopefully. 

Majima raised an eyebrow and stepped in next to Kiryu so they could walk down the street together. “Maybe. Why ya bein so nice t’me, Kiryu-chan?”

“You seem worth being nice to,” Kiryu responded and the truth wasn’t quite so awkward this time. 

Majima turned a little pink. “Well, fuck me, Kiryu-chan,” he muttered. 

Kiryu turned pink. “Th-That’s not a question, right?”