#for shiki to even know joshua’s name means neku had to have talked about him b4 shinjuku. which is fun | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

olivemeister · 3 years ago

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OKAY NEO THOUGHTS NOW THAT I’VE BEATEN IT AND HAD TIME TO MARINATE. no spoilers for another day bc i haven’t finished it yet, but i did go “no, why shan’t i? i have the internet” and watched the secret endings on youtube so those and the secret reports will be discussed. yeah. so here’s some thoughts. i’m going to talk a lot about the more contentious things, i think. and again i haven’t finished another day so nothing to do with that, but of course major ending spoilers for the main scenario.

these are my opinions both as a writer and a media consumer, so there’s kinda two levels here. it is very freeform “as i think of it” structurally so my sincerest apologies if it’s all over the place. i am trying to keep specific topics confined rather than splattering the same plot point/whatever all through the post, but it’s not like i’m posting a peer-revied academic essay here. it’s also fucking enormous and i would say sorry but that would be a lie.

the majority of the game, i actually really enjoyed. the localization was excellent and i can’t praise it enough. i know people threw fits over the “horrible overstep” of... teenagers using slang. but did you know, in real life, teenagers use slang? even in japan, there’s slang? wild but true! the dialogue was great, and while i can’t say much re: the jp cast since i played in english, the newcomers for the english cast were spectacular. i actually think the newcomers were, in some cases, stronger than the returning cast. even in characters where i didn’t like the voice (nagi had to grow on me, i admit it), they were a fantastic match for the character’s personality.

the emotional beats re: character deaths, typically, landed the way i think the writers wanted; kanon’s death in week 3 had me devastated even though i could see it coming a mile away. i think that’s a testament to the best parts of the writing; as soon as i understood how the current game was being run, i knew it was fairly inevitable that every other team would eventually lose. odds would be that, barring something like someone changing teams or a team merger, the majority of the other teams would be completely wiped out. i knew far in advance that kanon would likely not make it to the end of the story, but it still fucked me up when it finally happened not just because i cared about kanon, but also because of how much the other characters cared about her. some character deaths affected me far less, of course. i think kanon was the epitome of “this hit exactly as hard as the writers wanted it to”, but i do feel they fell short with others. ayano’s lack of development really hurt my ability to be saddened by her death, especially when it was so clear that she set up her own possession as a trap for shoka. it undermined things for shoka in general, because while she was devastated to lose ayano, the game did a poor job at making their relationship tangible and meaningful. i felt worse (not necessarily sadder, just worse) about motoi’s death, and i didn’t like motoi. speaking of him...

the biggest issue i have with the game is a chronic square enix issue. kubo is the Man Pulling The Strings, whatever, this is fine. the problem is that he, minamimoto, motoi, and arguably susukichi are the only characters in the game with dark skin. they are all morally grey at best. i don’t think i need to elaborate on why this is an issue. we’re not going to pretend that racism and colorism don’t exist in japan. i’m just going to say that all of the dark-skinned characters are either totally evil, excessively violent, and/or morally dubious. this is my biggest qualm, but i don’t feel it needs more elaboration. yes, i know motoi turns it around in the end. yes, i know susukichi ultimately changes sides as well, and he’s ultimately portrayed as sympathetic. minamimoto is........ his own beast. but the fact remains that we don’t get a single major character who’s darker and unambiguously heroic.

second big issue is that while i understand the decision to keep shiki off camera until the very end for emotional impact, i feel like this was to the detriment of the story and to the detriment of said impact. she was mentioned, sure, and she was briefly seen from the shoulders down in a cutscene long before her introduction, but i feel that this was ultimately for the worse. her absence in the plot made her a borderline non-entity that can easily leave the audience going “why should i care about this?” on what’s supposed to be a huge emotional cathartic moment. yes, people should know this is a sequel and neku and shiki’s friendship was a crucial part of the original game, and much of the endgame of neo makes no sense if you’re unfamiliar with the original, but their interactions in the ending felt incredibly shallow. and i think this is because of how little shiki appears and how isolated she is from her other friends. eri is unseen and unmentioned. she doesn’t interact with rhyme. she hardly interacts with beat, using him as a translator at best. her other relationships are just... stagnant at best, ignored at worst, and despite having had just as vital of a role in the first game as beat did, she does nothing of import onscreen. her only narrative actions are “fix mr mew (mentioned but not seen)” and “be sad about neku”. so, functionally...

for some reason (we know why) the story decided that the only thing that was important to shiki was seeing neku. but by holding off on this reveal of her, we lost the impact that their meeting could have had. because the game refused to show her it didn’t show how much his absence was affecting her, which leaves their reunion feeling incredibly hollow. shiki was gone for upwards of 90% of the game. if not for the first game, this reunion would mean nothing; the narrative does a terrible job of reminding the audience that neku and shiki have a strong relationship and i don’t know if it’s that they expected the first game to have done the heavy lifting, or they thought that what neo gave us was good rather than “good enough”. imo this was an enormous failure and i wish we had gotten more for her both as part of the plot and as a character.

this was an issue present with rhyme as well imo, though to a lesser degree. i think they should have given up the ghost much sooner on confirming that the shadowed figure was rhyme; it was obvious by the time they showed us her silhouette, so i don’t know why the narrative held off on showing her. they didn’t have to introduce her to rindo (or give her the name splash screen) yet, but people who played the first game and are paying attention know it’s rhyme, so why bother hiding her? most of what rhyme accomplishes in this game is off-camera as well, but she has double the screen time that shiki gets.

the shiki thing is another symptom of a common squeenix problem these days, which is poorly-handled implied romantic interests. and i think that was also present with how the end of the game treated shoka. rindo and shoka as an implied romance in general did not bother me; more than a lot of squeenix protags, and perhaps primarily because of the excellent job the english cast did, i actually was unbothered by the suggestion of budding romantic feelings because it felt genuine. they actually felt like a pair of teenagers who were starting to be interested in each other, trying to play it cool and prioritize. this, and shoka’s characterization in general, is really helped by the reveal of swallow’s identity; it retroactively heightens her closeness to rindo specifically and offers enormous insight into her decision to help the team covertly. however, i think this budding implied romance was severely undermined by having other characters comment on it, especially because it felt so out of place timing-wise whenever someone commented. it was never warranted; there are times where they seem to be... not flirting, but not doing a good job of pretending there isn’t an interest. this is not when comments come. the comments come when they are having a totally normal interaction that does not suggest any non-platonic feelings whatsoever.

up until the final day, i had fairly ambivalent feelings about the idea of them as the designated hetero pairing. i felt it was a vast improvement from recent shoehorned romances in squeenix properties. the ending made things much more contentious to me, specifically how shoka is vanished by joshua. the audience should at least have the suspicion that he’s reviving her, but the circumstances surrounding it are the problem more than joshua being a deus ex machina. it’s not the first time joshua was a troll re: reviving someone, but the context of why shoka’s revival is necessary is, well... unnecessary.

they barely foreshadow the shinjuku rules re: reapers, and i will freely admit it’s not remotely ooc for shoka to hide something like that until she can’t any more. but they seem to be just a contrived excuse for shoka to be taken away... and from the framing of it, not from the player, but from rindo. which, i don’t know that i need elaborate on why i wasn’t fond of that. and i won’t lie - i know everybody beefed it in those cutscenes, including beat and neku. but when the dissonance noise grabbed shoka it gave me the exact same vibe as the demon tide grabbing kairi in kh3, and i don’t think i need to elaborate more on why that would put a bad taste in my mouth and make me fearful for shoka’s future treatment in the game. i was worried that the narrative was going to yank her away from rindo like a prize being snatched from him, and it did! while i do also think it’s ic for joshua to fuck around the way he did when reviving her, it also seems contrived and brings up a major question.

if shoka is still playing by shinjuku rules, why does shibuya’s composer have the ability to overturn her erasure? yes, i know, shinjuku is gone, but its composer is still active. surely joshua having the authority to do what he did indicates that on a cosmic bureaucracy level, shoka is a shibuya reaper. the secret reports offer a potential that joshua exploited a loophole by waiting until the second after the shinjuku rules resulted in shoka’s soul being dissolved in order to snatch it up, so perhaps the explanation is that her erasure meant she was technically no longer a shinjuku reaper and no longer beholden to its rules. but that doesn’t answer a different question that honestly bothers me more than the admittedly sorta insignificant question of whether or not joshua overstepped in reviving shoka.

shinjuku’s game has ended because shinjuku has ended; why are its rules still in play for former shinjuku reapers? i am aware that shiba is the conductor “legally” and he has made changes to shibuya’s game, but they’re careful to specify that the “ex-reapers are erased at the end of the game” rules are from shinjuku and do not apply to shibuya reapers. is she considered by the higher plane to be joshua’s underling and not hazuki’s? the secret reports confirm that the transfer of personnel from the destroyed shinjuku to shibuya was authorized by the acting conductor (uzuki) and this is standard procedure, everything was done properly. so “legally” the formerly-shinjuku reapers are shibuya reapers, right? hanekoma notes in particular that it’s a culture clash leading to the shinjuku reapers being designated as such and that they’re only nominally shinjuku reapers. why are a defunct game’s rules still active?

the biggest issue is that shoka’s threat of erasure was unnecessary from a narrative perspective, especially given how quickly it’s introduced and resolved. what was the point of putting this in the story if five minutes later the issue is just dealt with, no effort, minimal tension, by a (narratively speaking, don’t come after me joshua fans) minor character who doesn’t even appear until after the plot is resolved? i honestly wonder if it was just the writers deciding joshua needed to do something so that his appearance in the ending wasn’t just shallow fanservice for people who wanted to see the original gang. joshua’s lack of action is also presumably going to be contentious with fans; i’ve read the secret reports, and i don’t feel that they sufficiently justify why he doesn’t make any moves to protect his city despite being positioned both in his own dialogue and the secret reports as someone opposing shibuya’s purification. i will talk about this a little later re: kubo’s motivations though.

i also think it’s kind of stupid that joshua sets up “find her and you win” and then... rindo doesn’t do anything in that regard. he just bumps into her in the scramble. i know i already said i hate the idea of her being a prize to be won in a game but if they’re going to set it up, why make it pointless in that regard? it feels so unnecessary. joshua portrays shoka’s revival/return as something to be earned, and unlike the ending of twewy there’s no recognition that he was actually just fucking with them.

this is similar to my mixed feelings about kubo’s defeat. on one hand, i wanted to smash his face in personally, i have hated him the entire game. on the other hand, having him jesus beamed and rewritten out of existence without any warning or chance to resist was fucking hilarious and i actually laughed out loud. my speculation as to why he didn’t get a boss fight is that developers worried about people having trouble suspending disbelief over the party being able to defeat an angel. ultimately i think the only way this could have been done was to have it be a boss battle where your victory doesn’t matter, like the week 1 fight with susukichi, and have hazuki curbstomp kubo in the post-battle cutscenes. ultimately, i feel like this was a lesser of two evils; i don’t think the “you lose in the cutscene” approach would have necessarily been significantly better than what we got, i recognize that “the battle didn’t matter and you lose in the cutscene after” is a contentious game trope. and i would understand people struggling to accept the cast defeating a being from a higher plane without intervention from said higher plane. the only benefit would be the catharsis of getting to slap kubo around, which admittedly i kind of miss. having him as a secret boss was an option i guess but i think it would bring more questions than it was worth.

kubo’s motivation is also just bizarre; i understand that it’s given as him getting overzealous after carrying out his orders to purify shinjuku, but why? i feel like this could have easily been fixed/rationalized by “shinjuku’s surviving reapers fled to shibuya, leading kubo to consider shibuya to be an extension of shinjuku”, but that’s solely speculation. i do not know why kubo decided to also start an inversion in shibuya. they didn’t give me enough information. his conflict with joshua is inexplicable and almost entirely offscreen via the secret reports. i do not feel like i have a grasp on why the plot of the game even happened. hazuki’s involvement is iffy; i can’t say whether he initially approved of kubo’s overstep and changed his mind, or if he just took his time collecting his errant underling. the secret reports suggest the former, and hanekoma noting that the contentious nature of the previous game’s events gives a speculative explanation for why no action was taken if hazuki was actually making moves against shibuya rather than kubo being out of line. hazuki could damn well have been lying, there’s a precedent for composers being full of shit and telling bold-faced lies to protagonists, though in the previous game these lies were all eventually uncovered. this leaves me to believe that ultimately, hazuki’s statements regarding kubo acting outside of his given authority were mostly honest. but what i don’t understand is why joshua took such a hands-off approach.

yes, he says he figured the main cast had it under control and would have stepped in had things gotten worse, but this appearance and statement comes long after rindo fails and shibuya is destroyed in multiple timelines. why did he not step in in the first timeline? i can speculate, but the game and secret reports do not do a great job in explaining why the proxy vs. proxy game even happened in the first place. kubo is hazuki’s underling, which makes joshua higher in the pecking order than kubo. if hazuki was capable of exorcising kubo instantaneously, why didn’t joshua just flick him off the board like a flea before he even got started trying to cause an inversion in shibuya? in the epilogue of a new day joshua is seen in conversation with hanekoma, who’s taking shinjuku’s inversion seriously, which seems at odds with how easily his fellow composer ends the problem.

retroactively, i guess i could rationalize this as him realizing that either shinjuku’s composer must be responsible for said inversion or that potentially shinjuku’s composer has been compromised in some way. and i can rationalize him failing to immediately jesus beam kubo as well - it’s possible that, as kubo was initially acting under the orders of another composer (assuming hazuki is still technically “legally” one/at the bureaucratic level of one), joshua’s hands were somewhat tied re: what actions he could take without potential consequences. it could be that joshua would get in big trouble if he took disciplinary action against another composer’s underling, but 1. the legal transfer of personnel should mean kubo is joshua’s underling, not hazuki’s, see the shoka problem 2. hazuki’s status as a composer is questionable given that his territory is now purified and its game is defunct 3. given that kubo was acting outside of his original composer’s turf and outside of his initial orders (purify shinjuku) at this point i feel like that isn’t likely. it could be that he was trying to avoid a conflict with hazuki himself. it may be that he considered it hazuki’s responsibility to retrieve kubo, but that’s at odds with him choosing a proxy to combat kubo’s and his claims that he totally would have done something, really, he swears. they don’t give us much info at all as to why joshua entered a game with kubo in the first place. i have reason to believe that something’s fishy in the secret reports, and i would like to see the japanese text, which i’ll mention again in a few paragraphs.

i know the absence of shibuya’s composer is partially, and perhaps primarily, “there wouldn’t be a plot if joshua fixed it”. but it really feels like they just kinda tucked joshua in the corner and hoped fans wouldn’t be like “hey where is shibuya’s composer and why is no one mentioning them?” that part is probably for the same reason we don’t see shiki until the very ending, teasing the audience by holding off on revealing him until the last second, but it’s jarring to me that shiki is mentioned but neither neku, beat, nor any of the reapers (!) think “we should contact the composer”. even if just to say “we can’t contact the composer, he is unreachable”! i guess it’s to avoid people remembering how significant joshua is and thinking too hard about it, because joshua is simply too powerful of a character to be running around freely. the plot falls apart when you have a character who’s so strong and, in his own words, kind of omnipotent, who could trivialize the conflict in an instant if he took action.

i feel like they surely could have given a more explicit reason for him to not be involved in the story, even if it’s a reason like “he’s in trouble with the higher plane”. which could have easily been set up! hanekoma is clear in his reports that shibuya’s impurification is highly contentious in the higher plane; people are big mad about it, potentially people higher in the chain of command than a composer. this could have been easily utilized as an explanation for why joshua is hands-off; he’s on a shit list and needs to step carefully as a result. but it’s just not addressed. hanekoma is unreachable according to his reports, and he notes that people are trying to contact him for help. are we just to assume that people have looked for joshua to ask for help in the past but it was so long ago that it isn’t even worth mentioning now to the newcomers? according to other reports, the higher ups are pissed with joshua about his game with kitaniji and are turning a blind eye to what’s happening with kubo in shibuya as a result. but this doesn’t explain why the members of the shibuya UG never discuss the composer. hanekoma’s reports have him confused as to joshua’s lack of action as well; he knows the context of what’s going on in shibuya but doesn’t understand why joshua is staying silent.

that said! the fact that hazuki’s motive for the destruction of shinjuku is never stated does not bother me too much. he’s placed in a position very parallel to joshua in the first game, and he even says he felt like he was following in josh’s footsteps. when you add his seemingly-genuine inability to understand why people care about shibuya, i feel there’s enough evidence to... not dismiss, but nudge this aside as “He Too is a misanthropic bastard”; shinjuku’s destruction is a parallel to the intended destruction of shibuya in the first game. hazuki just carried on where joshua had a change of heart. the secret reports complicate this; it might be that someone fucked up in transcribing, but the reports i read online state that shibuya’s composer, i.e. joshua, was responsible for the destruction of shinjuku due to a game with kubo. this does not make sense given everything else, including hazuki’s own statements and later reports, so i’m setting that aside for the moment as either an uncaught mistake either in translation or transcription online (most likely) or hanekoma not knowing the actual truth until receiving the post-purification shinjuku reports. hanekoma also suggests that hazuki’s goal was also the purification of shibuya, but as he’s not shibuya’s composer this is certainly not his jurisdiction so i’m curious as to what exactly happened there.

EDIT: i’ve been informed by a helpful anon that this is not a mistranslation, the japanese secret reports do state that it was a game involving joshua that resulted in shinjuku’s inversion. with that in mind, i have figured out how to rationalize this and it solves a lot of problems: if it was a proxy game between joshua and kubo, then joshua must have been the opposition to shinjuku’s inversion. though you could argue that joshua is responsible for the end result, he didn’t destroy shinjuku; his proxy lost, probably because kubo’s had the support of shinjuku’s composer. kubo’s overconfidence in running rampant in shibuya is now explicable and he may have been trying to rub it in that joshua lost.

if hazuki was still backing kubo post-shinjuku, this could explain why hazuki felt he could make decisions about shibuya’s fate and wander around it; joshua had already overstepped onto his turf to meddle in purification, so he was returning the favor. at this point in time, i figure that joshua’s proxy was either tsugumi’s brother (shinjuku’s conductor) or coco (she’s noted to have inexplicable powers for a rank-and-file reaper, but joshua’s opposition to her killing of neku throws this into question), and if we truly had a scrapped “shinjuku’s final game” plot then joshua’s proxy could also have been neku. kubo’s proxy was presumably shiba. this actually answers a few questions that i couldn’t rationalize when i assumed joshua was uninvolved (why would shinjuku’s composer be running a game against kubo when they wanted the same thing?), so i’m gonna chalk it up as an absolute win.

i think hishima as a character was... sort of nothing. he was just there. yeah, it was kinda funny how he dressed shiba down, but i don’t know that the plot needed him. his role in the endgame could have easily been given to tsugumi without much fuss, and i feel tsugumi deserved a much bigger part in the narrative given how much she was hyped up by solo and final remix. she was so prominent and anticipated that the fans called her hype-chan for years before we had a name for her. this could also be folded into the problem with hiding shiki until the very end; it feels like we missed a whole sequence with both of these characters simply because the narrative refused to show us shiki. instead, we’re told that shiki showed up and fixed mr. mew, and somehow this freed tsugumi. i think the fact that they don’t even give a flashback of this crucial event after shiki’s proper introduction is just a questionable decision. the story tells us that tsugumi’s release from the plushie is of the utmost importance and shiba can’t be swayed without her, setting it up as a vital event, but it happens offscreen with no real interaction with the main cast. it also only happens after multiple failed loops, even though rindo’s interference is what prevents the meeting between coco and shiki to repair the plushie. i don’t understand this from a logistical standpoint; if coco isn’t pulled to escort rhyme, she must have met with shiki and released tsugumi in timely manner, but tsugumi does not appear until after you replay to get coco back to her original schedule. you could wave it off as “she didn’t get there fast enough”, but i can’t accept that as a reason given the circumstances; it’s not like she would have to look hard to find shiba. this one’s flawed writing; i know in a meta sense why she didn’t appear, it was to build tension etc etc, but in-universe it’s a plot hole.

coco being so absent from the plot is also somewhat conspicuous. i wonder what reception of her was like in japan and if that influenced her lack of presence in the story. i honestly don’t even know if she was received well by the english audience, all i know is that i did not like her at all in final remix. not from an “i don’t like the villain because they’re doing bad things” perspective, from an “i don’t find this character compelling and i think they’re annoying” perspective. also curious as to whether or not her speech patterns changed in the japanese dialogue since final remix; i found her far less jarring and obnoxious in neo and i think it’s enormously because she stopped talking verbally in internet shorthand. overall, coco’s retool was imo a change for the better, but she’s barely there for me to appreciate how much of an improvement she was. it feels like there’s an entire narrative we were set up for by a new day, yet it’s almost completely missing. the ending of a new day laid out this framework for neku and minamimoto to be forced allies in an unseen future game. i had mixed feelings about this conceptually, but the narrative setup was fairly transparent. not only does this not happen, coco’s motivation in a new day and what ultimately happened were so lacking to me.

i feel like something got lost and we were originally going to actually see and perhaps play the shinjuku game that ended in disaster instead of just getting a summation and brief flashbacks of the survivors fleeing. this kinda ties in with my complaints about how hyped tsugumi was by solo and final remix, and then she turned out to have a very small (albeit crucial, via her trailer ability) and mostly unseen role in neo’s story. retroactively we learn that rindo’s visions are from tsugumi, but this is something she does entirely off-screen. all of coco’s scheming was for nothing, because joshua was a deus ex machina and whisked neku away the second he died. this feels to me like cut content or rewrites; there’s a whole game’s worth of story that just happened off-camera and we got to hear a little bit about it. it wasn’t enough, imo. i think doing it as a midquel is still possible, but it’s a hard sell to create a video game with a downer ending and we know shinjuku’s fate is already set in stone... even though a new day ended on the tragic cliffhanger of neku’s death, it’s a little different since it’s coming as an optional postgame sequel hook after victory rather than the entire narrative you fought through ending in failure. i suppose it could be done with a Distant Epilogue now that we know shiba and most of his surviving reapers will return to rebuild shinjuku. ultimately i really think that if not for the concern about neku overshadowing the new cast, shinjuku’s purification could and should have been the prologue to neo. it would be a tough balancing act, but i do think it could have been done right and it would have done a lot for narrative tension with his absence if we had a prologue following him that ends in a cliffhanger re: shinjuku’s purification. neku’s role in the story was done decently i think re: how big said role was, but a lot of circumstances surrounding his absence, legendary status, and reappearance leave much to be desired.

frankly, i just don’t like how much they glossed over neku’s three year absence. we’re given a vague explanation of what he was doing, but it isn’t actually an explanation. definitely again feels like a plot rewrite situation; there’s this huge blank space of neku doing nothing because there used to be a story that we were going to play through and it got scrapped for whatever reason. overall i feel neku’s characterization was very odd and perhaps a little inconsistent in this game; he didn’t have much of a personality at all, which i struggle to reconcile with the original game. we don’t see how he reconciled with coco, it’s just dismissed entirely as “no we’re good now”. how are we good? why did you forgive her for playing murder games instead of just explaining shit? i know he forgave joshua for his gatekeep gaslight girlboss behavior in the first game, but we had context as to why he made that decision. also what the fuck was keeping him from coming back to shibuya, i don’t feel like that was sufficiently explained either? for someone who was so hyped up by the narrative, i was a little let down by how insignificant neku ended up being to the plot as a whole. and again, his personality seemed very watered down and neutral despite the seriousness of the situation. why was he so mellow? the circumstances of his return i did really like, because... well, we’ll talk about character relationships i guess.

i already summed up my feelings on rindo and shoka and i think i’ll leave them on the note of “unnecessary elements dampened my potential for overt enthusiasm, but overall i feel neutral-positive about the suggestion of romantic interest” which is a lot more than i can say about a lot of (semi-)official pairings. on a broader and more platonic scale? generally i have positive feelings about the new cast and their interactions; i feel like their development is more understated than neku’s in the first game, his character arc is very in your face and the neo cast is not nearly as overt, but you can see the difference in how the team interacts across the three weeks. rindo and fret’s established friendship, not to be dismissive of it, does exactly what it needs to. i mean this in a completely positive way. it’s an established friendship, they feel like friends, and they serve initially as anchors to one another in the beginning of the game as a “you’re the only person i know in this chaos” setup. this contrasts neku in the first game in an excellent way because of how it highlights their biggest character flaws, which i’ll talk about later; it’s important to rindo’s fatal flaw that he has someone to fall back and rely on in the beginning of the game in the same way that it’s crucial for neku’s development that he’s surrounded by strangers who he must learn to trust and rely on in order to survive. rindo and fret can lean on each other in the beginning of the game, and as people who have known each other for some time, are able to recognize and appreciate each others’ positive changes.

i do love the development of nagi’s friendship with fret, particularly how it’s sometimes but not always remarked on when she shelves her initial aloof attitude with him. i prefer when a narrative is more subtle on that kind of thing; pointing it out every once in a while is okay, but i don’t want it shoved down my throat via dialogue that characters are developing an emotional bond. we can see that nagi is slowly becoming more receptive to fret and less likely to dismiss or disparage him. it seems like their initial relationship is that of two people who have opposite struggles; nagi is notably closed off in the beginning, but fret immediately approaches her with an unearned and offputting level of familiarity. their slow and understated (more noticeable with nagi than fret) development towards accepting each other as friends is mutually beneficial to them even outside of the context of their personal relationship; nagi opens up a little with everyone, not just fret. placing two people with very different perspectives on how to interact with new people in close proximity helped both of them grow. i’m sure other people have different perspectives, but i do not feel like they were being teased as a pairing which i enormously appreciate, i am tired of “pair the spares” shit. (minor note: i also appreciate how while fret’s crush on kanon was very overt and strong, she was also fairly clear that she considered him a kid and his feelings were never going to be reciprocated because of that age gap. i know, the bar is low, but thank god.)

i love how, despite nagi now having been confirmed as older than beat, as soon as beat joins the narrative he takes this hard stance of “i’m the one who’s already been in this hellscape so it’s my responsibility to help the newbies”. he really embodies the big brother role so well in this game; he knows a little more about what’s going on, this isn’t his first rodeo even if it’s not exactly the same, so he considers himself to have an obligation to protect the others. he serves as sort of a physical and emotional rock for the team from the second he joins, becoming an excellent support for them both as a combatant and an older brother figure. he has experience in being both of these things, and i think beat’s writing is some of the best in the game.

despite his position as a former player who’s back in the UG, he meshes with the newbies perfectly. he doesn’t overshadow the rest of the team despite having more lived (ha) experience in the reaper’s game, he doesn’t feel like he’s on a different level from them or anything like that. he fits in while serving an important unique role that he can only fill because of his prior time in the UG. it’s completely understandable and reasonable why rindo remains the team leader despite beat’s presence. he’s had a three year gap since his last game and doesn’t even understand how he returned to the UG. he’s not a fish out of water, he knows the UG and the game. but he’s really truly gotta shake the dust off, and he’s trying to figure out what happened to him in the first place because he knows he shouldn’t be in the UG at all. he didn’t have a huge bump in intelligence since the first game, but it’s hard to dismiss him as a complete idiot. he has both large and small perceptive moments where another narrative might have chosen to keep him as the dumb muscle. in fact, his firm convictions serve an important role for the others - beat knows he didn’t die and can’t be convinced otherwise, and his confidence that he’s a living player is part of how rindo and gang realize they also aren’t dead. he’s clearly not simply a comic relief character. another story might have positioned him as more of a mentor figure, but he plays to his strengths and serves to ground the team instead. beat is honestly a highlight of this ensemble cast to me. i’m unsure as to how much of that is simply because he was one of my favorites from the first game, but i really truly love beat in this game.

shoka and neku’s late introductions to the team mean they have far less “we are now firmly allies and friends” interactions with the rest of the ensemble for unavoidable reasons. i will say that the excellent casting and localization for the english version, particularly shoka, has done a lot to mitigate that issue; yes, the plot doesn’t develop her relationships with the team as a whole as thoroughly as some of the others, but the combat interactions with her are so genuine that i found myself shocked when writing this because, well, those combat lines did so much legwork making her role in the party seem earned and cohesive. i had such a strong sense of her place in the team that just isn’t reflected in the cutscenes, and i find that very interesting but i’m unsure as to whether it’s good or bad; i think it’s incredible that the combat dialogue did such a good job fostering this air of “we are a unit” for these characters and it really is a testament to the skill of these actors, but i do wish it was more prevalent in the cutscenes itself. beat’s established relationship with neku and their relaxed nature with one another does a lot to ease neku’s entry into the group; he has an “in” with a firmly established member and a well-written dynamic with him that helps him out here.

as a nekubeat appreciator i feel very fed and i hope there’s an uptick in interest for the pairing following neo. i love how beat, who throughout the game is constantly forgetting who people from 3 years ago are (doesn’t recognize his former superior bc she’s wearing a suit now and can’t even remember her name), immediately recognizes coco despite her changing her entire aesthetic specifically because he’s so angry with her for killing neku. he’s ready to throw down the second he sees her, which gives this feeling of “he’s been waiting for this moment for 3 years”. because the narrative never addresses beat’s change in style, particularly that he wears his hair like neku now, i choose to believe it’s because the last time he saw neku was immediately after coco shot and killed him. it could be that this shit’s been haunting him ever since neku died. my city now, if you don’t talk about it in the game i make shit up. both their cutscene interactions and combat quotes do an excellent job of maintaining the sense that these two have been close friends for a long time and distance hasn’t changed that. they fall right back into old ways with one another immediately.

even outside of the context of me being a nekubeat shipper, their relationship and continued partnership (UG game context partnership) feels very genuine. neku and joshua call each other partner, but it rings hollow. i’m sure it’s partially the lack of screentime that makes it so they don’t feel like partners any more than neku and shiki do, but the game doesn’t even try to push closeness the way it does for shiki - more on that in a minute. beat is the only one of neku’s partners that seems to have retained the same strength in their bond with him despite the three years; shiki and joshua are super absent in the plot, which really undermines their relationships with neku. i’ve already talked about my problems with shiki’s lack of focus and how i feel it harms her relationship with neku, but as for neku’s relationship with joshua, i think neo has taken an interesting approach that i feel will have a mixed reception.

it actually feels like neku and joshua ended this game on worse terms than the first one even though joshua was a far more benevolent figure this time around. neku is very clear about wanting to return to the RG despite this meaning he will have no access to the UG (outside of potentially text-based communication since rhyme paved the way for RG residents to bust into the RNS and... however it was that shoka’s fanGO account worked, since she and rindo were fanGO friends long before his entry to the UG) and doesn’t show any hesitation or reluctance in stating this desire. he seems quite content with not having joshua be a part of his life, as opposed to the first game’s ending where he extends an open offer to joshua to join his friend group. i understand how this would (and will) let a lot of people down, but i actually think it’s for the best. i have no real opinion on neku’s capacity for forgiving joshua after the first game, good or bad, but i think putting distance between them in this game is the correct move.

i take this viewpoint especially given that after the first game, joshua did in fact choose this distance - neku invited him in, and he did not take the offer. it was his decision to not join neku’s group in the first game’s ending and he continued to remain separate from it in the three year gap; he may have masqueraded as a fellow player and peer in age, but joshua is not and has never been an actual peer to neku, shiki, and beat. his life experiences are so different from theirs that i would struggle to suspend disbelief that they have enough in common to maintain a close friendship. he intervened when neku was killed by coco and placed him in a safe area and gave moral support in the ending, and i think this is the most we should expect of a reforming (not reformed but in-progress) misanthrope like joshua. he’s an enigmatic figure sure and largely benevolent if inactive in this game, but he isn’t a good person and he clearly considers himself to be on a different level from neku and his peers. hanekoma notes that joshua’s somewhat reluctant to continue to remain separate from neku’s group, but i think the narrative places him both objectively and in his own mind as someone who is just... from a different world. joshua chose distance, he chose to cut contact, and this is the consequence of that decision. i think that’s a good lesson to teach; it may not be a given, but it’s natural that sometimes a friendship you ignore will fade. it doesn’t necessarily mean the time you spent didn’t matter, but you shouldn’t be shocked if a plant you don’t water wilts away.

i feel like that wasn’t the intended takeaway, that it was just questionable writing that i’m reading too deep into, but that’s how i feel about the situation.

i’m also incredibly grateful that hazuki was introduced as an age-appropriate option for joshua and i hope they’ll draw attention as a bastard boyfriends ship, both because i think it’s very funny and because i have opinions about shipping joshua with the teens. i know it’s contentious and i’m not going too deep into it, so what i’m going to say is this. the secret reports state in plain objective text that joshua downtuning his vibes aged him down and his true appearance is older. neither the narrative nor supplementary info state anything about how old josh was when he died or how long he’s been a reaper/the composer (reapers ageing is ??? as well, we don’t know if it’s not a thing or if it’s optional or what). however, it is firmly canon that he is older than 15. if that canon upsets you then that’s your problem to either work through or ignore indefinitely. suffice to say, joshua and hazuki do not have the schrodinger’s pedophile issue and i wholly support and strongly encourage that over the alternative for this reason and again because i find it funny and think they deserve each other. i hate to say hazuki is a healthy choice for joshua because i think both of them are just walking messes, but they are actual peers on the same tier of the higher plane pecking order and more importantly the disaster they could be as a couple has infinite potential.

on the girls side of things, i am still mad about eri’s absence not just because it’s a relationship shiki had that just got ignored. i know the story wants us to believe that neku and shiki have something but shiki and eri had more. i’m sorry writers you made a more compelling f/f ship by accident in the first game and i am not invested in the one you weakly suggested between neku and shiki here. if you made shiki have more of a role in neo maybe i’d feel differently, or maybe you would have screwed it up worse. we’ll never know. i think it’s a shame that they couldn’t make me care about neku and shiki as a pairing, but it is what it is.

i was briefly worried that the game would try to suggest something between kaie and rhyme because sometimes people lose their minds when a boy and girl stand next to each other, but i was quickly set at ease with that one. they felt like two people who are starting to straddle that line of acquaintance/friend in a believable way despite how little interaction between them we see, and i appreciate that. i was also briefly worried that fret would develop a crush on rhyme based on his initial reaction at being introduced to her, but again quickly dismissed. can you tell i’m a little gun shy about strangled “him boy her girl” romances in fiction these days? yeah. i’ve been let down too much recently by bad writing.

i think all of the party members could have benefited from more development with one another outside of combat lines - i would like to see more interaction between nagi and shoka, or neku and fret, etc - but that would come at the expense of the narrative’s pacing. i think it could have been done by tweaking certain details, but ultimately i can accept this as a sacrifice made in the interest of keeping the narrative from getting bloated.

i wanna talk briefly about the new main cast a little.

rindo’s ups and downs re: development are much more subtle than neku’s were, but with the secret reports in mind i feel his arc is actually pretty excellent. i think we could have done with a little less of fret pointing out rindo’s increased confidence and how he becomes more assertive, i think the audience is smart enough to notice that on their own. but i’m a huge fan of how the narrative quietly places rindo in this position of a leader who fears that responsibility, but nonetheless has to grow and accept it. hanekoma’s reports may spell it out in plain text postgame, but the narrative already told us in our own way that rindo’s development stalled when someone else entered the cast who could take over for him and this is demonstrative of a(n understandable) lack of maturity and failure to grow. neku’s fatal flaw was his rejection of others, and so he was forced by the narrative into a position where he had to learn to trust them; rindo’s is that he relies too much on them and the narrative forces him to stand on his own.

while i think this is a little muddled (he was right in some instances to not make hard solo decisions; thinking specifically of ayano, it was absolutely the right call to ease shoka into this inevitable loss rather than forcing her into the situation unilaterally) and i wish we saw more consequences of his initial waffling behavior, rindo’s indecisiveness is an actual flaw that i think a lot of people can relate to and i think it contrasts him wonderfully with neku without being heavy-handed. rindo working through it from “relying on others to make choices for him -> still valuing the input of others but not wholly dependent on them -> capable of making difficult calls without anyone else to support him” was subdued and while it had realistic hitches in the form of other characters who he could consider authority figures, it was steady and imo very good. he’s a teenager coming into his own, stepping out of this world where others in his life - motoi as an0ther, shoka as swallow, presumably his parents, teachers, etc - have made the big, scary decisions for him or guided him through them, and into a place where there aren’t these people to guide him. he’s surrounded by people who either don’t know anything more than he does, or don’t care about his best interests; he’s clashing and changing and it forces him to grasp and accept his own autonomy rather than falling back and relying on someone else to fix things when it’s too frightening or difficult.

we can talk cultural differences re: the level of autonomy and responsibility that’s right for teenagers but i’m not really interested in drawing hard lines there. this is a coming of age story; as he approaches maturity, rindo is learning how to be an adult. i think that’s a classic and important narrative concept and it’s done well here.

fret, interestingly, is imo a case where the subtlety didn’t work out. to me, there wasn’t a huge distinction between flippant “telling you what i think you want to hear” fret and “genuine” fret. his initial interactions with kanon don’t seem different from their last conversation; maybe he comes off as less initally honest in the jp version, or maybe this one was a writing fumble. maybe it’s just me, and other people don’t feel the same way! he seems to be a far more static character in a strange way; the narrative tells us that he’s developing via other characters’ dialogue, but it doesn’t seem to support that. to me it’s a failure of “show, don’t tell” - i don’t take a hard stance on “show, don’t tell” as some kind of holy rule of writing, there are plenty of situations in a narrative where telling is perfectly acceptable and i think rigid adherence to showing and not telling can result in a bloated narrative, but in this case i feel like that’s where the narrative failed. it failed to support fret’s development outside of other people telling him he’s changed. i like fret, but i feel like in this ensemble cast fret and nagi kinda serve more as nominal protagonists and are more strong supporting characters than true leads.

as for nagi, i love how, despite it being low-hanging fruit, not only are there no real digs at nagi for being a vocal fangirl of a visual novel dating sim, it actually ties perfectly into her character as someone who understands people. dating sims are about people and relationships. how people interact, the importance of conveying your feelings, the consequences of bad communication; that’s what nagi is obsessed with. and rather than this being a detriment and making her avoid others, it ends up priming her to have healthy friendships because her gaming taught her to value knowing other people. it takes her time to actually open up, but rather than the video games closing her off to others they actually set her up to be an excellent friend. elestra in general could have been a subject of enormous mockery, but instead it’s viewed in a very neutral way and is given the implication of universal appeal by fret picking it up in the epilogue. nagi’s not in the spotlight for most of the game, but the payoff of her monologue to fret about being human was immense and was one of the best bits of dialogue in the entire game to me. it’s not going to be as iconic as hanekoma’s “open up your world” and “enjoy the moment”, but i truly think it’s one of the only parts of neo’s dialogue that approaches its level.

shoka is a character that i think is better on the replay, and i say this as someone who was very fond of shoka the first time around. i thought she had a lot of personality in her mannerisms alone, and i firmly appreciate how she wasn’t a one-note tsundere character. she had some of those minor elements, but subdued and with a reasonable context - she’s hot and cold with rindo and his team because she’s supposed to be working this rigged game to erase them, but she’s already rindo’s friend in a different context and is struggling to reconcile these two parts of her life. knowing her motivation as swallow gives so much retroactive depth to her actions; she was circumventing the game itself not just because she was exhausted by it or unease with shiba like some of the other turncoat reapers, but because rindo was her friend from before the story even began.

i will say that i didn’t actually fully call swallow being shoka simply because at first i had the impression that it would be rhyme (before rhyme’s role in the story became clearer), and admittedly by the time the climax hit the mystery of who swallow was had kind of dropped out of my mind completely, but i think it does a lot to develop shoka. whether this development being retroactive is strictly good or bad as an issue is subjective; neo is a game that has a built-in chapter select, so replaying the game and rewatching the cutscenes with the full narrative context is incredibly easy. however, for a lot of players, if you’re replaying the game it’s with a specific goal of getting something you missed earlier in-game, so you’re rushing through those cutscenes trying to get to that completionist bit. i think a line could have been walked re: giving more of a hint that shoka was swallow before the very end without fully giving it away, but i definitely think the rewatch value is more subjective and based on how you specifically play the game. if you’re here looking to watch all the cutscenes again now that you know everything, shoka being swallow is a huge treat regarding changing the context of her behavior - if you’re fast-forwarding trying to find a pig, it’s totally wasted.

i would have liked to see more of shoka’s backstory and interaction with the other shinjuku reapers for sure, and i wonder if this is another thing along the lines of “we were supposed to see more of shinjuku’s final game than we did”; if we’d gotten more of shinjuku, we certainly would have seen more of its reapers. i talked briefly about how i feel like ayano’s death didn’t hit the way i think it was intended to, but if the game had let us see more of her as a shinjuku reaper i feel like the entire plot would have benefited. it would have benefited shiba as well honestly; they tried to have him as a repentant “now i shall fix what i destroyed” character at the very end, but i don’t feel like they did a good enough job portraying that he had changed and he was brainwashed so it fell flat. if we’d seen more of shiba as the compassionate leader who deserved the loyalty of his reapers that they say he was, the contrast would have done a lot to help define the tragedy of his backstory. overall i think this is another “we lost a chunk of the plot in rewrites or something” issue, which i admit is not based in anything like interviews. it’s just my speculation because it feels like something that was supposed to be here got left behind - i can’t say if i’m right, or why it happened if so. it just feels to me like the shinjuku reapers besides shoka went fairly undeveloped not because of writing/lack of screentime alone but because we lost big pieces of shinjuku content entirely. it’s insane that we only learn in the secret reports how tsugumi became trapped in the mr. mew plush to begin with; to me, this screams “we had to cut something”, and the more i think about it the more convinced i am that we were originally meant to see more of shinjuku’s inversion. hell, the secret reports just flippantly inform us that tsugumi’s brother was shinjuku’s conductor and he’s why she survived - but he goes unnamed and unseen, mentioned only in a piece of postgame content that many players may never unlock.

shinjuku’s final game is just left as this incredible story that was never told, with a cast who we barely see. again, it doesn’t bother me that they never explained to us why hazuki purified shinjuku. but i do wish we could have connected with its reapers to see how they reacted to its impending fate; who was on kubo’s side, who was trying to protect shinjuku? who knew what was happening, and who was just swept up in the chaos? how did the purification affect them emotionally after their escape to shibuya? just from the secret reports we see that tsugumi’s brother is this tragic hero of another story, the conductor opposing the executor and fighting to save his city before ultimately sacrificing himself to keep his sister alive. this is enough content that it could have easily been a standalone, but it wasn’t. i think that’s a damn shame. i’m sure there are people who are already chomping at the bit to write about shinjuku’s tragic final game and it’ll make a stunning fanfic in the right hands, but this is a big gap for fanfiction authors to be filling in.

this was mostly a narrative thoughts dump, but i wanna say just a couple of things about the combat: overall i liked it! i was significantly overleveled for the vast majority of the game partially because i was having fun with the combat, i feel gameplay was very intrinsically motivating. because of how the food system worked, being overleveled didn’t mean too much since it only affects HP, but i also was eating constantly so i was in fact just OP for much of the game. so i suppose, take my gameplay commentary with a grain of salt because i was busted quickly. if i hadn’t been such a powerhouse from early on, i expect my gameplay experience would have been much different.

my biggest complaint: there were some significant issues in enemy design related to battles being timed and the timer having consequences. some enemies were a reasonable/intuitive pain, say, elephants being bullet sponges and chameleons having an invisibility mechanic. these things made them challenging, but in a sensible way. like, of course a big honkin’ elephant has a ton of HP. i think that chameleons in particular could have been tweaked; you have to be very close to them when they’re invisible in order to lock on, and i think this could distance could have been extended a bit to minimize frustration. likewise, it felt like party members that get grabbed by a t.rex were trapped for ages; i feel this could have been tweaked as well. i know a lot of people had issues with wolves for this same reason, but their comparative frailty and my pin choices meant that i quickly overcame wolves and they became a minor nuisance at best until endgame introduced a beefier wolf. even then, i found t.rex noise to be much more of an issue because of their sturdier nature and higher damage output. these are minor gripes; i didn’t like seeing these enemies, but i didn’t hate seeing them. no, here’s what i hate: rhinos and pufferfish.

to me, these are the most annoying enemies in the entire game outside of maybe a handful of bosses. i feel they were poorly thought out in general. the tendency for rhinos to put themselves against the arena walls and the delay on pufferfish exploding after their HP hits zero do not mesh well with that battle timer. i find myself very frustrated by these enemies because it feels like i’m being punished not for a lack of skill or bad decisions choosing weak pins, but simply bad luck. very few pins can circumvent the rhino’s front guard and the hitbox for their guard feels enormous, so i can’t imagine i’m the only player having difficulty herding them out of corners to actually damage them or get beat drops. there’s a postgame dive with a big noise rhino, and it was my worst experience with the entire game because it just kept backing into a corner. i quit that dive multiple times because of how much time i wasted with the rhino; i changed my pins like crazy trying to take advantage of elemental weaknesses or use pins that could circumvent the guard. but it wasn’t about what pins i was using, it was just bad luck with hitboxes. when i finally got the gold rank on that dive it wasn’t that i did anything significantly different, the rhino just didn’t park its ass in the corner that time.

as far as i know, and i hope i’m missing something that someone can enlighten me on, there is no way to prevent pufferfish from inflating and exploding outside of a killer remix. i have not discovered any way to make them explode faster. the amount of time it takes for them to blow up seems to vary not by species but by individual, i’m not sure if it’s being triggered by proximity to a party member or what but i know sometimes one of those little shits will inflate and chase me across the entire arena before finally exploding. in a chain battle, that wasted time adds up. the pufferfish issue could have been severely mitigated, if not entirely fixed, if the gap between HP hitting zero and explosion was just the time it took for them to inflate. that would have basically eliminated my needless frustration with them. but instead i just... don’t know how to make them pop faster.

in normal combat, your post-battle score is primarily just bragging rights/making yourself feel good to have gotten a good grade. but when it comes to dives, where the timer directly decides how many of the finite friendship points you get, the appearance of a rhino or pufferfish specifically is something i approached with dread and disappointment. i already mentioned the postgame dive giant rhino specifically being a nightmare, but this was a reoccurring element for me through the entire game with just normal rhinos. i know rhinos are a returning enemy and kept their front-guard schtick, but the shift to a 3D environment has made them a much more (imo needlessly) difficult opponent.

regarding the pin system itself, i was enormously disappointed to learn how the multi-pin input worked. it turns out that you can only have multiple pins using a single input no matter how many multi-pin wields you unlock; gone were my dreams of having 2 Y-input pins and two ZL input pins (i played on switch). the inability to multi-pin wield uber pins regardless of how many uber slots you have filled is also a huge bummer. i feel like in the postgame i should be able to be an absolute god of destruction, but this didn’t pan out.

this seems to be a switch issue, but autosave was the MVP of the game because i had a few cutscenes crash or freeze (the one with kubo’s reveal seems to be a common source of a crash on the switch version as it fails to load the 3D cutscene); this was annoying and needs fixing, but it was slightly mitigated by autosave kicking in immediately after boss battles. i was crushed thinking i was gonna have to go through the shiba fight again after kubo crashed my game, so the relief i felt upon loading up again and going right into the cutscene was immense. don’t get me wrong: cutscene freezes and particularly crashes are a big problem that a game like this shouldn’t have launched with, but at the very least i didn’t lose my progress on that crash. related, i appreciate the ability to speed through cutscenes you’ve already seen, but i do wish we had the option to skip them entirely because that would have saved me from the freezes that i had to manually close the game and lose progress for.

a more minor complaint that i admittedly am unsure as to how to fix (maybe utilizing the d-pad instead of having it be camera/target select alongside the right stick?) is that i do not seem to have much control over which character my camera centers on in combat. typically selecting the pin that’s equipped to them will focus the camera to them, but every once in a while i’ll be locked to someone whose pin is rebooting while my other party members are actively attacking on the complete opposite end of the arena. i have no idea why this happens. if i’m missing something please let me know. the static nature of the overworld camera took some adjusting to, at first i was offput but i got used to it quickly. if camera was fixed position in combat it would have been a nightmare, but it being fixed in the overworld isn’t the same beast.

this has gotten obscenely long, so props and condolences to everyone who has made it this far. i wanna end on a high note because i want to reiterate something: i have so many criticisms here and that’s actually praise. i enjoyed so much of this game that i’m critical of where it fell short specifically because it’s such a strong contrast to how much i felt it did right. the main story was pretty strong in general, though some character interactions were lacking. the plot itself i didn’t talk a lot about because i thought it was good. there wasn’t much to say, they did a good job! the dissonance noise being created from deleted timelines was great, i loved that. i don’t feel like predictability makes a narrative bad, so it’s not like i was upset when it turned out replay was (gasp) part of a dastardly scheme. for me, foreshadowing is an excellent thing even if sometimes i wish it was handled a little differently.

i vastly prefer this game’s vague sequel hook with minamimoto over how final remix ended a new day; that sequel hook i hated and it had me so worried about neo. thankfully a lot of my fears didn’t come true, and i am very happy overall with the game we got. if another game is greenlit, i would hope it progresses with a mostly new cast; as long as we stay in shibuya some supporting characters can and should be staples imo, like kariya and uzuki, and i hope to see more of what’s being set up with minamimoto even if not necessarily with him as a protagonist. but overall i think twewy’s worldbuilding lends itself much more to a rotating cast if it develops into a full franchise; that’s just the nature of the UG, and i would like to see further installments taking advantage of that and allowing characters to have a complete arc and then retire from the narrative naturally.

i’ve got some pigs to erase and some bosses to slap the pins out of, which i’m sure will take me some time. another day certainly has a secret boss and/or time trial boss rush, so i’ll take a look at that sucker soon as well. i’m looking forward to continuing my playthrough, and i expect to sink quite a few more hours into this game. i really truly enjoyed neo despite my qualms, and i’m leaving the main storyline behind for postgame stuff with almost entirely positive feelings and a hopeful stance on the potential future of the series. i know this was a long-ass post, which is why it’s beneath a readmore, but to anyone who cared enough about my thoughts to keep reading the whole thing... thanks for the time you spent, hope you got something positive out of it!

#neo twewy #neo twewy spoilers #this turned into a behemoth. im so sorry #I CHECKED AND IT'S OVER 11K WORDS #I'M SO FUCKING SORRY

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ichika27 · 3 years ago

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Random TWEWY Thoughts

I was gonna make specific posts for some of these but I realized each one is too short so I’ll just dump them all here.

Here are some thoughts regarding Neku, Shiki, Beat, Rhyme, and Eri. I have so much thoughts about Joshua he’d need his own post and if I had enough motivation, I’ll write it all out.

Below are random stuff where you’d find my dumb thoughts, stuff that I ended up thinking too much about, and badly cropped images. Spoilers ahead!

Some Thoughts on Shiki Misaki:

First of all, they didn’t adapt the “Pants Off” scene in the anime. I get why as the anime was short on time and all. This was a funny little scene that probably won’t be missed but I thought it’d have been nice if they added this. It sort of shows what kind of person Shiki is. By that I mean this little scene is kinda a demonstration of the stuff Eri says about Shiki later in Week 1.

The above scene is what I’m talking about. Shiki is a nice girl and we could see that in her wanting to help others and being friendly and all (stuff Neku also got from her and sorta passed on to a certain someone else later lol). The stuff about her sewing though is sorta in the pants scene.

Neku didn’t notice the loose button on his own shorts but Shiki did (she picked up on stuff other people missed and has a sharp eye), she worked on it pretty fast as well (she has skilled hands), and she really wanted to fix that button lol (motivation, I guess?). She’s good at sewing and it’s her thing and she even has a sewing kit with her. Shiki said she enjoyed sewing and Eri said she’s good at it.

I thought it was kinda cool how a little funny scene showed all that.

Another thing: I thought it was kinda sad how they really never showed us what Shiki really looks like aside from this scene at the ending of both the game and anime when she attends their little reunion and the phone photo of her and Eri with her face blurred. Her story is about her learning to love and accept herself. She’s always been jealous of her best friend Eri cause she think that Eri is better and prettier than she was. Her entry fee is her real appearance and she has Eri’s appearance the entire game. She was happy at first but realized she really just wants to be herself. She found friends who would accept her for who she is and she also found it in herself to accept what she is.

But since that’s all a spoiler, every single TWEWY ad and merch (and many fanart) that has her is her with Eri’s appearance. It’s her name on it but it’s not her looks. When people think about “Shiki Misaki” they think of the redhead girl that is in the majority of the game/show and not always the short-haired girl with glasses. She’s finally learned to love and accept herself but she’s only allowed to be “Eri” out of the universe, outside of many fanarts (and fanfics) who uses her real appearance. Kind of a sad irony, I think.

Thoughts on Similarities:

Okay so, I just thought that some characters kind of have similarities when it comes to their stories. In a way.

Shiki and Beat’s similarity lies in that they both don’t think much of themselves. Shiki thinks she’s not that great and so she both looked up to and is jealous of Eri. Beat thinks he doesn’t have a future but his sister does (this isn’t helped by how their parents think the same way). Both of them died after having a little spat with the person that’s most important to them (Eri for Shiki and Rhyme for Beat). They weren’t in an okay mood at that time, too as Shiki had just been told that she isn’t meant to be a designer (and didn’t hear the rest of what Eri would’ve said) and Beat had just walked out of their house after getting into another argument with his parents. Eri wanted to explain stuff to Shiki but it was too late and Beat didn’t want to listen to what Rhyme had to tell him. Shiki and Beat also both died in accidents after those events.

They both are also worried about what the other person thought of them. Shiki was scared to know what Eri really thought about her and Beat feels responsible for Rhyme’s death and didn’t know if Rhyme still cared about him as Rhyme doesn’t recognize him as her brother (I was gonna write that she doesn’t remember but she clearly knows she has a brother but doesn’t connect that to Beat). As a result, Shiki was initially hesitant to listen to what Eri had to say while Konishi taunted Beat with the knowledge that Rhyme’s memory of her brother was Beat’s own entry fee and not hers (with player’s entry fees being their most important thing implying Beat wasn’t the most important to Rhyme as he initially thought).

It’s also them that their respective important people was gonna lose their dreams for. Eri was going to give up fashion design because Shiki died and Rhyme’s dreams were her entry fee (sorta hinted in the game, heavily implied in the anime by other characters) and since she lost, she’d never get them back. Secret Reports say she could gain new ones since she was brought back to life and she now has time to do so.

Thoughts on Rhyme:

Going off from some of the stuff above, this makes me wonder what Rhyme’s real condition is while playing the game. Beat’s entry fee is technically his relation to her as her brother. She knows she’s got an older brother she cares about as we hear her talk about him and even mention her necklace being something that was given to him by the guy. She hasn’t lost memories of having a brother but she lost recognition of Beat being that person.

Does she remember how she died? Did she think her brother survived the car accident they were in? Did it ever cross her mind that maybe her brother is also dead and is also playing the Reapers’ Game?

When it came to her memories of her brother, she doesn’t seem to have any problems. She doesn’t complain that she doesn’t remember his face or anything. My question is: is her memories of her brother’s appearance changed in her mind or does she just not see Beat’s face properly so she doesn’t recognize him?

Some Thoughts on Neku:

This is from Another Day but it was hinted in the main game that this may also be the main Neku’s backstory. Neku had a best friend - an only friend that he cared about. They never elaborated on this and these little scenes at Pork City is all we’d have to know this friend. He wasn’t even named.

Now if this alternate Neku share the same backstory as the real Neku, then this friend of theirs had a lot of influence on them. AD! Neku says it was his friend that got him to becoming a CAT fan in the first place (and in AD, was the one who introduced him to Mr. H as well). If it wasn’t for this person, Neku wouldn’t have always been around the CAT mural where, you know, everything began.

Main game Neku and AD! Neku have differences in personalities so they both kinda reacted to it differently. Main game Neku became a loner and didn’t want anymore friends that he could lose. AD! Neku seems to be protective of those he deem important as shown in this scene in Pork City where he wanted to run after Mr. H cause he was worried he’d lose someone else.

Unfortunately, another thing that happened is the boy’s death in an accident causes Neku to blame himself. This is kind of where he and Beat have similarities in. They both blame themselves for the death of someone important to them and to them, it’s as if they were the ones who killed those people.

If Beat didn’t fight with his parents and run off to be followed by Rhyme, they wouldn’t have gotten into an accident. If he were faster, he would’ve been able to save her.

If Neku didn’t invite his friend to meet with him at the CAT mural, his friend wouldn’t have gotten in an accident and would still be alive.

This makes me wonder what Neku’s reaction would’ve been if he’s had his memories since Week 1 since this is also almost the same with Eri and Shiki. Eri lost a friend to an accident and is sad she’d never see that best friend again which Neku would’ve related to (although he didn’t react about it hen he found out but had a reaction when Rhyme got erased). Neku also didn’t act like it when hearing Beat’s backstory with Beat blaming himself for it (same as what Neku felt). Still it’s an interesting thought.

Thoughts on ‘What if’?

What if Joshua didn’t think of erasing Shibuya or at least, thought about doing it another time? It would mean he wouldn’t kill Neku (or not yet if it happened sometime later). But then, Shiki, Beat and Rhyme, and Sota and Nao who all were living normal lives and had nothing to do with the idea, still dies cause it’s just what happens. Neku is pretty powerful and both Shiki and Beat were lucky to have met and partnered up with him in their respective game weeks. On the other hand, Joshua was in the game in Week 2 cause of Neku and that week is when Sota and Nao are playing and so they got to meet them.

If Neku wasn’t there, how high are the chances of Shiki and Beat+Rhyme surviving and winning the game had everything been normal? The entire game month wasn’t like any regular Reapers’ Game since Kitaniji and Joshua has their little bet with Kitaniji already acting on his plans after all (plus Mr. H doing stuff behind the scenes with Minamimoto). Would Mr. H still have helped Beat after Rhyme’s erasure and if he did, would he still have given Beat the Rhyme noise/pin? Would Sota and Nao have survived and won their own game if the taboo noise wasn’t a thing and it was all a regular game? Joshua probably wouldn’t have revived them if they lost since they’d just be random players and not people he and Neku knew.

Also same with 777 and his band. If Shibuya’s erasure was still a thing, they’d have had to go through dealing with the taboo noise and such. They were also brought back by Joshua cause he and Neku met the band in Week 2.

I just thought, Joshua’s decision to want to erase Shibuya was terrible and killing Neku to help him do it is also bad and yet these other people sorta got lucky that they just happen to be playing the Reapers’ Game at the same time as the Composer’s Proxy. Neku was lucky too in a way as this entire thing happened when these guys were playing the game. If Neku was killed later on instead, how big is the chance he’d have met anyone like Shiki, Beat, Rhyme, Sota, and Nao? These people were a big help in him learning to be a better person after all. And also, the stuff he learned and his on-going character development in Week 2 also influenced Joshua to having his own character development.

Well, that went on for too long. They’re all pretty short on their own though so it’s good that I placed them all here. I’d find that easier for me and my blog wouldn’t be too cluttered hehe. I hope I get enough motivation to do another since I have so many thoughts regarding Joshua, his week with Neku, and why I ship them (hehehe). That said, I mentioned earlier this would have no Joshua thoughts in it but he still snuck in on some things in Neku’s part. XD

If you read this far, thank you and I hope that was enjoyable.

#the world ends with you #twewy #Subarashiki Kono Sekai #subaseka #shiki misaki #daisukenojo bito #Neku Sakuraba #sana_post

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having-a-hyperfixate · 3 years ago

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Secret Reports

Gonna just edit this thing and put line breaks as I get more of them.

I’m also working on the rest of the completion, and will probably wander off in the middle of this to do Another Day, which will probably have its own post. I fully expect that to be sheer madness.

#1 So is it just me or is Mr H writing these reports to channel how extremely stressed he is. Cuz like. Mood. *gestures vaguely at blog* *gestures at this post specifically*

I. Hold up. Skeezy McFuckwad and Joshua did what resulting in which now. Excuse me. EXPLAIN!??! Joshua had a sneaky Game running with Skeezy that directly lead to Hazuki ordering Skeezy to destroy Shinjuku??? Is that what I am reading. Or possibly the order was already in the works, and then there was the Game, which ultimately just pushed that forward?? You can’t just say shit like that and not give details ffffffff.

#2 Mr H having about as much contempt for Shinjuku rules as I do I feel seen haha. Bogus indeed. I can’t remember if I said it in one of my other posts, of if it was in a group chat, but I made a comment somewhere how this ruleset doesn’t seem to work with the stated purpose of the whole Reaper’s Game system. Sweet validation.

#3 Not much to say except that if I had read this entire report when I actually got it, I would have been much more alarmed by all of the Replays Rindo has to do after that. I got it partway through week 3 but decided not to read it until I beat the game and then BAM it has this lovely tidbit about potentially being able to destroy the UG and RG.

#4 So, the business that the fandom refers to as the Long Game is known in universe by the higher-ups and Shibuya’s impurification, because it didn’t get ‘purified’ like Shinjuku (I object to that term but ok).

“The hierarchical freeze presumably stems from opposition to the impurification”

Skeezy wasn’t reprimanded when he arrived in Shibuya “possibly because most Higher Plane denizens still oppose Shibuya’s impurification”

ExcUSE ME. I. WHAT. In one of the secret reports for the first game, Mr H says something about the way things turned out be an ‘ideal parallel world’ according to the Angels. I guess he only meant the ones who didn’t want the city destroyed holy shit. That most of them didn’t want Joshua to change his mind and STILL DON’T is so massively fucked up I can’t. Dear Higher Plane, what the actual, ever loving fuck.

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#5 One hundred and four Games under Shiba. That’s… so. many. teams. Holy shit. And the teams we knew had seen at LEAST 30 teams go. And the three teams we saw weren’t small. So many people…

Also, “Minamimoto seems to be plotting something” is the funnies thing I’ve read in ages OF COURSE HE IS that’s what he DOES. XD That was some mood whiplash.

#6 I was so hung up on the lack of entry fee for so long you don’t even know. Like. Those were so important in the first one it was baffling to me that Shinjuku rules didn’t have anything similar. And then eventually I just decided that the whole Game wasn’t being run correctly and Shiba was clearly after something other than driving the improvement that’s supposed to be the point.

I would like more explanation on this ‘Rindo’s stagnation makes him perfect for time travel thing’. I kind of understand how his reactions being consistent would be helpful in being able to control where the timeline goes (also I just realized this further confirms that Angels remember the other timelines glad I wasn’t imagining that the Prime days are a blur), but what does he mean about being able to maintain abnormally high levels of imagination? (It might tell me later so don’t say anything lol)

“I can only hope I’m not overthinking things.” Oh, you aren’t. If I’m understanding everything correctly, Skeezy actually had two proxies. And poor Rindo managed to end up being proxy for both sides at the same time which is. A mess.

#7 Well, finally we know how Coco managed to get her hands on a taboo sigil. Plagiarism. Lmao. That at least makes sense and I can worry less about her being Something Else. I would like a word with whoever didn’t clean that up from Udagawa long enough for her to copy it though. That’s hilarious. Interesting that Mr H thinks it wasn’t a perfect recreation though, that something in him got changed. Once again, please elaborate. Please. *headdesk* What prompted Coco to just. Copy a taboo sigil though. Cuz that seems. Unusual.

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#8 Ok there’s a lot to unpack in this one. Namely, more Shinjuku rules. I would love to know if these are long standing rules or relatively recent. Cuz like. Did Shinjuku’s Game ever run in a way that would drive the kind of improvement that’s supposed to be the overall goal? Or has it always, or at least for a while now, been basically a meat grinder? The players that don’t clear that minimum bar probably just get erased outright, I would think. Actually, I’m confused. If normally, one team would get to leave and one team would be erased, wouldn’t that normally keep the average pretty level, so the Game would basically go on forever? Otherwise what do you do with all the other teams that are between first and last? I’m confused. It can’t be normal for teams to keep asking for more rounds. And what if the winning team says ‘everyone gets to go home’?

“The Conductor has yet to contact the Composer” and “it is possible he is unaware of the Higher Plane’s purification protocol.” I don’t know why, but I get the feeling these are important.

#9 These secret reports are really driving at the whole ‘Rindo just goes with it’ thing, aren’t they. Like, that was his thing, right? He has trouble making definitive decisions? So his arc culminates in that moment in Udagawa where he tells Hazuki that he’s going to take the risk and go back one more time, where he’s making that decision purely for his own sake. And here Mr H seems to be saying that prodding Rindo down the road to character growth is going to be a lot harder than it was with Neku back in the day. Which makes sense, I think. Confronting someone with the concept that other people have value is a lot less complicated than trying to get them to not only make a firm decision, but to choose something that is purely because it’s what they want and need, not because someone else thinks they should.

It’s a little alarming that this report implies that if the pin wasn’t absorbing the Dissonance caused by the Replays, the UG and RG would already be having a bad time. Yikes. This is the report for day 2 of the second week. We haven’t even gotten into the crazy time travel yet.

Aaaaand #10 is for completing the social network, so I have to actually go do Another Day. I want to read these in order; it is much less confusing that way.

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#10 I really shouldn’t read these late at night with a possible migraine coming on, they’re already confusing enough. The bits that made sense: Uzuki was acting Conductor damn girl. (Did she have to deal with Joshua and was he in Dignified Mode or Being a Shit Mode because that’s possibly an oof.) I had assumed Shiba was Shinjuku’s Conductor and then just kinda took over after they moved in but apparently not? And RIP the actual Conductor, apparently. Weird that so many Reapers made it but the Conductor, who by all rights should have, didn’t.

I am slightly concerned by the fact that there’s standard procedure for obliterating a district. That’s. Alarming.

I don’t think page 4 is continuing the thought on page 3. Fucking. Stop that. Don’t just say a thing and then start talking about something else I would like EXPLANATIONS. UGH. “Almost” he says. I’m going to go out on a limb and assume that almost is a big deal, so why don’t you tell me about it.

Four cases where a district got into trouble before a final decision on whether to reset or not was made. And one was the last game. I wonder if that means whatever was wrong that made Joshua want to destroy it, or if the ‘imbalance’ was all the madness that happened after he agreed to one final Game with Kitaniji and the left the UG. Cuz in one of the first set of secret reports, it says that with the Composer absent, the UG is starting to fall apart as the rules are no longer valid, or something like that. I would definitely call that an imbalance.

#11 All I care about in this report is that Mr H wants to have a digital art bonding party with Kaie and that is so random why are you writing this down you absolute goober. The first page of this report is like ‘everyone is getting depressed’ and then just a wild left turn into dork-town. Lmao what.

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#12 I don’t think Mr H knows at this point (you get this report for W2D5’s Boss Noise) that the Ruinbringers are all Reapers. He’s gonna be mad. He does know what Shoka is up to though. He’s worried. Aw.

#13 It didn’t occur to me until this report hit me in the face with it, but they’ve set up a fantastic contrast between the two people Rindo knows from online. One is. not great, let’s say, because I did not take the reveal of Motoi’s true self well. The other is Shoka, and she’s a real friend. I now see what you did there. One relationship that’s a farce and one that really, really isn’t.

#14 Me, out loud, at 1:30 in the damn a.m.: WAIT. HOLD THE FUCK UP.

If getting Tsugumi out of Mr Mew required an Angel, how in the hell did Shiki manage to…? What. I’m very confused.

Also damn, saving Tsugumi was so important that Shinjuku’s Conductor died for it. Did he know what she could do, the whole visions thing? Or maybe that something was wrong with Shiba and it would take someone like her to potentially stop him in the future?

I still would like to now how the hell Tsugumi got her hands on Mr Mew. Especially since its apparently the ORIGINAL Mr Mew and she seems to have had him during the inversion? What.

#15 So… Inversions don’t always happen when a region is purified. I’m trying to wrap my brain around what a ‘complete loss of character’ in and area that’s had an Inversion could mean. Like… I think I get it, but my brain won’t make words, let alone sentences. Like when you go into a hotel room, and it doesn’t feel like a home, as opposed to when you go to a friend or family’s house, and it does? Kinda like that but it’s the whole district that’s just… blank? That’s kinda creepy.

If there are so many who think a ‘regular purification’ isn’t enough, the a) what does that even look like, b) is that what Joshua was going to do to Shibuya and c) is there an intermediate step between ‘normal’ and Inversion? I have been staring at this report for literally 15 minutes now.

#16 “I wonder how [Shiba] will feel about all this after he is allowed to return to his former self.” Yuuuuuup. I still Do Not Like him, but dude was borderline mind controlled so like. Yeah. And I did get to kill him once, so. As long as he minds his business and isn’t a total dick from here on, whatever. It all just sucks.

*facepalm* Well at least we got to being suspicious of Replay eventually. Why did it take you this long Mr H. Though I do wonder what Rindo would have been able to do without the interference. He had to have some kind of latent skill for the pin to react to him, right? I’m now going in circles mentally trying to puzzle out if Replay is like, a leveled up version of whatever Rindo would have naturally had, and regardless, where exactly it came from. Because the only time I can think of when anyone had a chance to mess with the pin was when he didn’t catch it in the prologue. And I’m pretty sure it was Joshua who picked it up. Aaagh I’m giving myself a headache.

I find it hard to believe skeezy would just yeet a random time travel pin out into the world. That seems both dumb as fuck and inefficient.

#17 “Some of them who know what I am occasionally try to contact me.” Lol so Kariya DOES know who Mr H is, I take it. Alright.

I’m having some kind of emotion that Wildkat still exists in a way for the Reapers, and that some of them still go there.

I just imagined Uzuki texting him like ‘plz make the Composer fucking do something kthx’ and I’ve got the giggles now oh dear

#18 HA! I was right! Minamimoto WASN’T in control when he attacked us! ‘Distortions within himself’ though, that’s concerning. Does that have to do with how he’s come back from the dead twice now? And how Coco’s copy of the sigil was apparently imperfect?

#19 I was about to say ‘who would target him for his abilities?’ and then my brain turned back on because duh. Shiba and them were looking hard for Neku, to the point that they flooded the RG with Player Pins in the hopes that he would pick one up and get sucked into the Game. A thing that occurred to me last night at 3:30 in the morning because I am a disaster: Mr H says that Minamimoto ‘seems different’. Neku says much the same thing after he comes back. So… Neku’s ability to Scan all the way down to someone’s Soul is potentially close to as sensitive as Mr H’s long distance ability. Which is a little insane. On top of the fact that he can use basically every psych imaginable no problem, survived a pact with a Composer for a full week, while said Composer was using crazy light beams which probably should have melted Neku from the feedback, and then almost singlehandedly defeated the Conductor while somehow inventing four-way fusion attacks. Kid is mad powerful. And he’s just a human. Like, the OG secret reports say that people always become dramatically stronger when they become Reapers. Reaper!Neku would be unstoppable.

“This would be much simpler if I could sit down and talk with him.” Okay, I laughed out loud. Like, loudly.

So… Shinjuku’s Composer… basically had his Conductor assassinated by skeezy. And because skeezy was messing with Shiba’s head, he could prompt Shiba to take the Reapers to Shibuya afterwards, to start doing it there too? Hazuki ordered Shinjuku’s purification so… Oh dear. I might have a few bones to pick with him.

OH NO. OOOOOH. OH NOOOO. SHINJUKU’S CONDUCTOR. HE WAS TSUGUMI’S BROTHER OH MY GOD. That is fucking tragic what the fuck. What the FUCK. Okay several things make sense now but OH MY GOD FUCKING HELL I WAS NOT READY FOR THAT. Shiki fixing Mr Mew allowed Tsugumi to free herself because her brother had already done part of the work, I take it? Along with us getting the Noise out of there? No wonder the Conductor stayed, he had to go get his sister… Shit, man.

…… Did Coco steal Mr Mew and take him to Shinjuku?????

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#21 isn’t very interesting, just a rehash of stuff we already knew.

#22 Okay Haz IS Shinjuku’s Composer. What. Why? I’m. So confused. Why would he intercede on our behalf, and why NOW? He was happy to throw his own city away, but stepped in to stop skeezy in Shibuya? And then tried to put it back together, and when Rindo was miserable he came to try to understand why. And then cajoled Rindo into having a breakthrough in his Character Development to boot.

Mr H says he has an idea why Haz did all this. And then doesn’t fucking say it because OF COURSE. *headdesk* That gets really old really fast, game.

I’m now running through The Last Day’’ to get the final two reports and this entire section with Haz is somehow even more confusing with context. God damn it Nomura.

#23 Even after he said we were on our on this time, he forced the Soul Pulvis to reform as Pheonix Cantus to make it easier for us to fight? Bro. What. Are all Composers just… walking contradictions? Aiya.

Shoutout to emotional support Joshua at the end there lol. I remember half-hysterically thinking ‘what are you just here for moral support?’ but ok. And I mean, it did work, Neku did manage to do the thing, so. *sigh* Speaking of, it is ABSOLUTELY INSANE that Neku manage to sync with the entire city without his brain melting. Remember at the beginning of the first game when he scans for the first time and has a massive sensory overload? Look at my boy, all grown up.

#24 Holy shit world building on how exactly people come back to life without everyone freaking out. I never thought I would see the day.

I still have so many questions but that was always going to be the case. The first game had so many things it left open as well. Agh. Time to start wearing new holes in my brain overthinking things.

#let's liveblog: neo twewy #neo twewy spoilers #secret reports

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maddrmatt · 3 years ago

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A Beautiful Future: A Premonition or a Punishment? (SoKai Week 2021)

New to this fanfic? Click here to properly begin!

Greetings, readers and fellow SoKai fans!

Let’s continue on with the show as our favorite MIA Keyblade wielder reflects on what was seen in the last chapter! Enjoy!

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Chapter 2: Ponderings of the Lost Hero

Quadratum

After opening his eyes, Sora suddenly leapt to his feet. He summoned his Keyblade and surveyed his surroundings.

Fortunately for him, he wasn’t currently in any danger. But much to his dismay, he was not in a chapel in Radiant Garden about to kiss the love of his life. Instead, he was standing next to a large dumpster in an alleyway between two tall buildings.

‘I must’ve been so tired from running that I fell asleep when I stopped to rest,’ he thought as he dismissed his Keyblade.

Sora’s current location was hardly an ideal place to take a nap. But the Gigas and the various adversaries that inhabited this world had kept him on the run since his arrival. Also, even though he had yet to encounter him again, he feared that Yozora would find him and try to ‘save’ him again. So, he couldn’t be picky about where or when he could sleep.

It still mystified him that he was now in a world that he had originally thought only existed in a video game. When that girl in the Final World had mentioned she was waiting for a Yozora to find her, he had assumed that she had been talking about someone with the same name. But his encounter with Yozora and the very real existence of this world had certainly raised a few questions.

‘I may have been here for a long time now, but I still can’t believe it. How can this world be real and also be a video game in a world back in my Realm? And why is ending up here the penalty for misusing the Power of Waking?’

But the biggest question was the one that had bothered him the most. ‘And will I ever be able to leave?’

Sora’s thoughts now turned what he just had witnessed in his sleep. ‘That was some dream. The first dream I’ve been able to have since I got here. But I wonder if it wasn’t just a dream. What if it was a premonition? A vision of the future? Dreams can do that, right?’

Sora began to pace around the alley. ‘It certainly looked and felt like one. I mean, we all did look a little older. Not to mention I saw that Pinocchio wasn’t a puppet and the Beast wasn’t, well, the Beast anymore. And there were so many guests at the wedding that I didn’t know.’

He thought back to the part of the dream where he walked down the aisle toward the altar. Now that he was awake, he realized that there were indeed quite a lot of unrecognized faces among those he knew.

‘Let’s see. When I saw the group from Atlantica in the crowd, Ariel was human again even though the last time I saw her, she was a mermaid. Also, it seems that some magic was needed for Flounder and King Triton to attend since they were hovering in the air as if they were still underwater. And then there was that girl who resembled Ariel but with black hair. Did Ariel and Prince Eric get married and have a daughter?’

‘It also looked like there had been some big changes in Arendelle too. Anna had been wearing an outfit similar to what Elsa had been wearing when Donald, Goofy and I had first met her. And speaking of Elsa, she was not only wearing a different snow gown and had let her hair go, but she also looked more at peace with herself then I last remembered. Plus, she also had a small blue lizard on her shoulder. I wonder if she’s taken on Rapunzel’s taste in animal sidekicks.’

‘Woody, Buzz and the rest of the toys we met were there and they had all been enlarged to human size. And there were some other toys with them, probably their friends they’d been separated from when the Organization split their world. Like that redhaired cowgirl and that woman with the pink bow in her blonde hair and dressed in blue. Strangely, she looked like she was made of porcelain which is an unusual material for a toy. They both seemed to be pretty close to Buzz and Woody respectively. Also, there was that unusual toy that looked more like a child’s art project.’

‘Little Chef was definitely in some unfamiliar company. He was with that redheaded man with that woman with brown hair as well as that older man with glasses. And there were also two other rats: one with gray fur and that pudgier one with brown fur. Maybe they were Little Chef’s relatives.’

‘I’m glad that Cloud finally made it home because he was among Leon, Yuffie and the rest of the committee and it seemed that he and Tifa had hooked up. And they weren’t the only ones. Leon had his arm around a woman with black hair and Aerith was with a man who looked a little like Cloud only with black hair. Even Cid apparently had a date: that woman with auburn hair and glasses. And then there were the new faces: that big, muscular guy whose hand appeared to be made of metal and the little girl in pink on his shoulder as well as that strange catlike creature with red fur.

‘It also looks like I ended up in meeting them in Shibuya after all since I also saw Neku and his friends there as well. But there were some missing from that group. Rhyme and that boy she called Beat was there. But Joshua wasn’t. And neither was Shiki. Instead, there was only that girl with brown hair and glasses. I hope nothing bad happened to them.’

‘There were even some unfamiliar faces among Queen Minnie, Daisy, and the rest I remember from Disney Castle. There was that unusual pair who looked like a rabbit and a cat with a whole bunch of little rabbits with them. And then there was that female duck who looked like she could be Donald’s twin sitting near his nephews. There was also someone who looked like a younger version of Goofy accompanied by a female dog with red hair and apparently, some who looked like a younger version of Pete.’

Then Sora realized it was not just the unfamiliar guests that stood out in the dream. His own thoughts during the dream contained information that he had not known before.

‘How could I have known why Xion looks the way she does? And though Master Yen Sid mentioned that Aqua saved Kairi long ago, my thoughts implied that she played a big role in our meeting. I’m sure I would’ve learned it all if I hadn’t disappeared. But is it possible for your dream self to know something that you don’t?’

Sora leaned against the wall of the building and gazed out into the empty street. There was still no sign of incoming trouble. He was glad that nothing had shown up during his pondering on account that he still had more to do.

‘All in all, it certainly was quite a show. But still, I can’t help but wonder why a dream like that would come to me now? And if it really was a vision of the future, does it mean that I’m going to make it back home? And Kairi and I really are destined to live happily ever after?’ Sora thought as a feeling of hope came to him.

Unfortunately, the hope faded as a troubling thought took over. ‘Or maybe it’s a future that isn’t going to happen. Maybe it’s nothing more than extra punishment for breaking rules I never knew existed.’

Sora thought back to when he returned to the Final World after Xehanort’s defeat. He recalled how Chirithy had told him about what he was risking using the Power of Waking to restore Kairi. As he remembered that conversation, a feeling of anger at the unfairness of it all came to him.

“I never meant to break any nature taboos. I didn’t even know they existed. I thought I was just rescuing my friends from that Lich Heartless. I didn’t know it would end up rewriting time and giving us another chance to fight. And I especially didn’t know that it was the wrong thing to do,” he said out loud not caring if anybody heard him.

That’s when Sora realized something. “If I’m being punished for doing that, does that mean that we were supposed to lose no matter what we did? Well, to whoever or whatever decided that, I’m sorry but if following your rules meant letting Xehanort win after everything he did, then I was happy to break them.”

His thoughts then turned to Kairi. “And I definitely was not going to leave the girl I love more than anything in the worlds as she was: shattered, split and scattered. If there was any chance to save her, I would have taken it no matter what the consequences. Because a world without Kairi is one I never want to live in.”

That’s when Sora realized the sad irony. ‘And yet, a world without her or any of my friends is exactly where I ended up anyway. I guess the punishment really did fit the crime in the end. And as if that wasn’t enough, it seems I’m now being tormented with visions of a future that may never be.’

Then a feeling of determination came over Sora. ‘No. I can’t think like that. I won’t ever think like that. If whatever forces sent me here sent that dream to punish me further, then I’m not going to give them the satisfaction.’

Sora gazed up at the dark sky and cried out, “It’s not going to work! You hear me? It won’t work! Instead, I’m going to use what I saw in that dream to further fuel my desire to get back to my home! Back to my friends! Back to her so we can have a future like that in the dream!”

The young hero then reached into the pocket of his jacket nearest his heart. He pulled out a folded piece of paper which he then unfolded revealing the lucky charm that Kairi had given to him before he and Riku left for the Mark of Mastery Exam.

Taking the charm into his hand, he clutched it to his heart. ‘We may be worlds apart, Kairi. But our hearts are still connected. I realized that when I was suddenly able to fight for you. Even though I didn’t know exactly what was going on, especially how somehow Xehanort was still around, I knew you needed me. And I know that connection will bring us back together someday.’

“They can take your world. They can take your heart. Cut you loose from all you know. But if it’s your fate, then every step forward will always be a step closer to home. And it will be my fate. And whatever that dream’s true purpose was, I will do all that I can to make it our fate, Kairi. That’s a promise and I always keep my promises to you. It’s my oath to return,” Sora said out loud.

After gazing once more around for any sign of trouble and seeing that there was none in spite of his earlier outbursts, he figured that he had time to do one more thing before moving on to a new location in the city. Leaning against the wall with the lucky charm in one hand, he then looked at the paper that it had been wrapped in.

He began to read the words written on the paper. Words that no matter how many times he read had always managed to touch his heart because they came from the one who his heart belonged to.

“Thinking of you, wherever you are.”

________________________________________________________________

On the edge of one of Quadratum’s tall buildings, a man in a black coat gazed downward into the alley. He watched the spiky-haired brunette boy read from his letter. Under his hood, he smirked and let out an amused chuckle.

“You might wish to keep it down, Sora. You never know who or what may be listening here in Quadratum. But it sounds like that was a pretty good dream you had with the way you were going on about making it a reality. Your determination to get back to your home and your devotion to your girl are pretty admirable. They will serve you well when the time comes for you to play your role,” said the Master of Masters.

The very first Keyblade master gazed up to the sky. As he had done before, he brought his hands together into a heart shape and held them up so he could view the full moon through them.

“Soon, all the pieces will fall into place, Sora. My apprentices. The Union leaders and Dandelions who still exist. The Darknesses. Yozora. Your friend Riku and the rest of your Guardians of Light over on the other side including your little girlfriend. All of them have their roles to play in my grand plan and once they are fulfilled, we will finally see the absolute end of the true Keyblade War,” he declared.

Then his voice took on an ominous tone. “But after all is said and done, will all your devotion pay off? Will the dreams of a ‘happily ever after’ with your beloved Kairi come true? Or will the fates conspire to pull you apart once again? And if that should happen, will it be the ultimate separation, one that is impossible to undo?”

The Master then parted his hands and shrugged his shoulders. “Who knows? I may be the author of a very large compendium of future events. But the Book of Prophecies never accounted for everything. So, in the end, who can really say?”

The Master then returned his gaze back to the young Keyblade wielder in the alley. Sora had finished reading his letter and was now staring to leave. The Master’s gaze followed the boy as he headed out into the city.

“Things may have taken a… slight turn from my original plans. But the more I think about it, it actually makes things more interesting. After ages of watching events unfold the way I had foreseen; I’ve almost forgotten what it’s like to actually be surprised. And I have a feeling, Sora, that you are going to be full of surprises.”

________________________________________________________________

Notes from the Mad Doctor:

Went rather heavy on the internal monologuing in this chapter, huh?

Sharp Disney and Square Enix fans will likely know the unfamiliar guests Sora was talking about. Feel free to let me know if you did recognize all of them or some of them.

I think we can understand the anger Sora’s expressing here. After everything he did to protect the worlds from Xehanort, this is his ultimate reward? I know he doesn’t regret doing what he did to save everyone especially Kairi. But I wouldn’t blame him for being upset.

Although I have mentioned him in my other stories, this is the first time the Master of Masters has actually shown up. I really hope I wrote his mysterious yet eccentric demeanor well. And I have a feeling, given the Master’s presence in Quadratum, that Sora’s arrival in this world was no coincidence. Then again, is anything a coincidence in Kingdom Hearts?

I give my thanks to whoever reads this chapter.

I also give my special thanks to @fandomchanger, @dreaming-in-seams, and @sakuranekogirl for their likes on the previous chapter as well as @sokaiweek, @phoenix-downer, and @the-secret-place for reblogging the previous chapter.

The next chapter still needs work so it should be posted on Thursday if all goes well.

Comments, likes and reblogs are much appreciated! Stay tuned for we’ll be dropping in on the other half of our favorite couple next chapter!

________________________________________________________________

Onto the next chapter!

#kingdom hearts #kh fanfiction #sokai #sokaiweek #sokaiweek2021 #sora #master of masters #maddrmatt

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stillunpainted · 3 years ago

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There’s so much to unpack in that trailer I literally don’t know where to start. Just going to put my thoughts under the cut, this is all speculation and I am notoriously always wrong when it comes to speculation lol

- The fact that it shows Rindo and the other characters facing the destruction of Shibuya in multiple trailers makes me think that either a) Rindo had some kind of vision about it or b) there’s going to be some kind of Majora’s Mask situation going on where Rindo fails to prevent it on the first run (understandably, it’d be weird if he just knew what was going on from the beginning if he doesn’t have a vision.) and then starts the game completely over to try to prevent it from happening. I don’t know if this will be done linearly or if they’re going for multiple endings, which would be wild.

- Some people in a discord server I’m in were talking about how Rindo has an online friend named Swallow and the mysterious Guy we see at the end of the trailer has a bird on his shirt. Idk if it’s actually Rindo from the future or anything, but I’m willing to bet that the guy is Rindo’s online friend.

- The fact that Neku is both shown to be wearing one of Shiki’s hoodies and we get to see him take his hoodie down his making me think it’s more likely that it’s actually Neku, though why aren’t they showing his face at all? I feel like he’ll either have some kind of scar or there’s still the possibility of it being someone else, but I personally think it’s probably just Neku.

- Coco and Tsugumi being friends (or at least having some kind of alliance) is not something I would’ve considered but that kind of feels obvious now. I’m also wondering if Coco is a Shinjuku reaper since she appeared later than all of the Shibuya reapers and based on A New Day, clearly didn’t know them very well (making Joshua Like That, mixing up Kariya and Uzuki’s personalities.) Since the Shinjuku reapers are trying to destroy Shibuya for some reason it would line up. Then again, maybe she has plans that go against that idk.

- Shiki and Joshua being shown in the trailer makes me think that they’ll definitely play some kind of role, though Shiki’s will probably be more minor if we’re being real since I doubt she’s in the UG. I wonder how much Joshua knows about the situation. At the end of A New Day he seemed concerned by Shinjuku’s destruction but didn’t seem to know the cause. He could know more now, and I imagine since he decided he didn’t want Shibuya destroyed he’ll probably be trying to stop that this time around.

- Apparently Hanekoma’s cafe is gone. I’m sure he’ll be in the game, or at least mentioned, but I’m guessing the Higher Plane caught him.

- I’d have to go replay A New Day to double check Tsugumi’s dialogue to Neku but she states that she’s the only one left after Shinjuku’s destruction. She’s definitely not a Normal Person but this makes me think that she might’ve been a player in Shinjuku rather than being a reaper, or the composer of Shinjuku, as the reapers clearly survived. Then again maybe there were story changes between the release of Final Remix and Neo’s development, though I wouldn’t count on that I imagine they’re trying to be consistent.

- The Lizard Lady (sorry I don’t remember her name) having red eyes is extremely interesting. Red eyes was pretty established by the first game to mean mind control, so I’m wondering if the Shinjuku reapers are controlling each other and maybe there’s only a few orchestrating the destruction of various cities for some reason.

- Glad Uzuki and Kariya seem to be talking, even if they aren’t working together anymore. Lack of divorce pog.

- I noticed that the font and ui is different when fighting pig noise, it’s made to be cuter. I don’t think this means anything but I think it’s nice.

- The giant Mr. Mew might be a Tsugumi fight? I feel like it could also be a Shoka fight but meh.

- I noticed that a lot of the fights they showed have unique mechanics, like the one against the Marvelous Mañana guy having text boxes blocking the screen and the big guy with Tsugumi having some kind of board game mechanic (I think I know what board game it is referencing but I can’t for the life of me remember the name.) All I’m saying is that I hope that one of the boss fights has a rhythm game element solely because I think that would be cool.

#I'll add on more later i have to get breakfast #ntwewy #twewy

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oveliagirlhaditright · 3 years ago

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After the Game, Fret somewhat didn't like when someone other than canon had red hair and wore purple. Canon compliant. Oneshot. Neo spoilers. KH DDD is canon to TWEWY in this fic. Though you shouldn’t at all have to really know KH to understand this fic.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/33469456

For the most part… Fret got on pretty well after Kanon’s death.

It was tough, it really was, but he soldiered on by becoming the more authentic version of himself she had wanted him to be… hoping that that would be enough. And that if her soul did somehow exist somewhere, she might see that and be able to find some happiness there.

And Fret had the Twisters, of course—and Neku’s old friends Shiki, Eri, and Rhyme (who was also Beat’s sister, of course), who had really integrated themselves into the group. There was also sometimes the aloof Joshua—who helped Fret keep his head where it belonged.

That, and all the school work he had to do now, as thoughts about college and careers were coming up, and he needed to try and focus on that, lest he be forgotten.

So, for the most part, while Fret still of course mourned Kanon, he had moved on and was in pretty good spirits, considering.

…The only thing that really got him down, oddly… was seeing redheads like she had been also wearing purple. And at first, meeting the legendary Neku right after Fret had lost the girl of his dreams had somewhat been a thorn in Fret’s side, because he’d just looked at Neku’s hair and the color he so clearly favored and thought “Kanon.”

But, thankfully, those feelings hadn’t lasted. They’d had Shibuya to save, after all. And Neku more than proved why he was great to have on a team and why he was the greatest friend, and why Fret should try and let his ghosts go.

But then, Fret had met Shiki’s best friend “Eri”… who was totally cool, by the way, and a co-creator of Gatto Nero with Shiki, and Fret couldn’t even begin to tell you how much he admired her. Especially since she was so pretty and on point… but not conceded at all, and down to earth.

As fate would have it, however, she’d been wearing purple the moment Fret had met her at Shiki’s birthday party. So, they hadn’t started out well, even though it had of course gotten better, and Fret had almost come undone (as ridiculous as it was for him to still be so hung-up on Kanon, he knew).

Thankfully, Shiki had right away seen his shaking form by the punch table and had come and given him a hug, as she’d whispered sweet nothings into his ear. She had guessed accurately what Fret’s problem was, and held him—not even seeming to feel like he was ruining her party at all—while she rubbed his back soothingly. “It’s okay not to get over a loved one quickly, you know? I was certainly that way about Neku. And you have it so much harder than I did. No one will judge you for your emotions, Fret. And if you need to talk, we’re all here for you. I’ll even go get Mr. Mew for you to hold, as he always cheers me right up.” Shiki had said that last part while winking at him, and Fret had had to laugh then.

He may have been afraid of Mr. Mew when Tsugumi had been controlling him and attacking them with the doll, but now that Fret had seen Shiki with her own one more often than not, Fret was thinking he was a sweet little guy again, and could definitely understand why Shiki would think he was good therapy.

“…And I may mention to Eri that it might be a good idea for her not to wear violet anymore.”

“What? You don’t have to do that? I got used to Neku, so I can with her, too!” Fret had wanted to tell her instantly, but Shiki had already been off to get Mr. Mew for him to cuddle.

And despite everything, Fret had watched Shiki walk across the dance hall with a smile on his face. It felt good to be appreciated. It did.

And after that, Eri did stop wearing that color, and everyone seemed to prefer it that way. Fret did, for his own reason, of course… Eri did, because she didn’t even like it that much, apparently, and Neku appreciated it, who jokingly thanked Eri for getting off his turf.

So, everything was more than good for Fret when it came to those colors for a while… but then some girl named Kairi came to Shibuya: a girl with darker red hair than Kanon, it was true, but wouldn’t you know that she was also wearing amethyst?

At first, Fret had been ready to write this stranger off—just another tourist in Shibuya, that he just happened to notice walking past him—but then she accidentally ran into Beat… and it seemed to startle the girl. And good Lord, then she summoned a magic key-shaped sword to her hands, without even seeming to think about it. And she wasn’t even in the UG! (Though when Fret saw this, his first concern was that they had landed back there.)

And the moment Neku and Beat (who were with Fret to go to Molco, to get him some Tin Pins, because that was becoming a thing again) saw the redhead summon the weapon, they had both exclaimed simultaneously, “You’re a Keyblade wielder!” “Yous a Key wielder!”

Fret had had no idea what they were talking about at that point. So, Neku had hastily explained that Shibuya had actually been destroyed before—a time that he, Shiki, Beat, and Rhyme had only recently gotten their memories back of—and when it had, Joshua had taken their dream fragments (the only thing that had been left of them) to another world, to try and bring them back. And there, they’d taken bodily form once again and met a “Keyblade wielder” named “Sora”, and another one named “Riku,”

Beat had then gone to explain that they’d both helped them out, and that they were probably even bigger deals than him and Neku, and Fret couldn’t believe it. Hell! He could hardly even fathom it. What would that even look like? But he didn’t have much time to try and guess, because Neku began talking to the stranger almost instantly.

“Are you Sora’s girlfriend?” Neku had asked her then, bold as you please, as he’d pulled the redhead back out of the way of pedestrians going to and fro from all the different shopping areas. “He told me that he was great friends with a redhead, who liked art like Shiki does… I think he was insinuating then that I liked Shiki back then, and I wanted to kill him for all the hints he dropped her, while maybe not realizing that he had feelings for you yet, but I think it was still there… If you are that girl he mentioned, I mean.”

And then the poor girl had had a single tear slide down her eye—and Fret almost wanted to kick himself for only being able to think “you’re not Kanon, you’re not Kanon, you’re not Kanon, you’re not Kanon. Why are you dressed like her?”, while he looked at her—and she explained to Beat, who was giving her a big old bear hug, but Neku too, that: “Yeah, I’m Sora’s girlfriend, Kairi… I’m looking for him, because he recently disappeared after he sacrificed himself to bring me back to life. I was thinking he might be here, or that there might be Heartless here that I needed to fight, but I don’t know.”

Neku had appeared to give much thought to all of that (crossing his arms over his chest and closing his eyes, Fret saw), before he finally met Kairi’s eyes with kind ones of his own. “Why don’t you come with me to meet Shiki? She’s another friend of Sora’s. And Keyblade wielders’ hearts can sometimes lead them to keys, right? Maybe there’s something there, if Sora used to tease me about us.”

And Kairi had gone with Neku and Beat to do that (while Fret had followed, aimlessly, feeling really curious, for sure, but also kind of despairing the whole way: he wasn’t going to lie). And then Kairi had found with Shiki’s help, the thing she needed that would help her lead to Sora, apparently.

It was a hockey puck, that Shiki said Neku had gotten her to help them remember old times together… And as soon as Kairi had come near it, her Keyblade had reacted—seeming almost to float over to the puck of its own free will, tugging Kairi along—and then an insanely crazy light show happened (where all of a sudden, the entire world around them had seemed to be nothing but darkness, with just a few pieces of light to speak of: coming from Kairi and the Keyhole that appeared in the sky, that she did acrobatics towards, in order to aim a laser from her Keyblade at it). Then, it was all over and the Buya returned to normal, but the girl was gone.

And Neku and Beat explained that that seemed to sometimes happen with Keyblade wielders—they’d both seen it with Sora and Riku—as they would sometimes get taken away to where they were meant to go next, before they really got to say goodbye. But they both assumed she was fine and gotten what she needed, and definitely seemed to be hoping it, too.

But Neku, Beat, and Shiki had definitely bonded with Kairi that day… and about a year later, she was back in Shibuya to visit them with Sora and Riku… and well, maybe a whole lot of other people. There was yet another girl with red hair, wearing amethyst…

And while Fret was kind of glad to see them—and was thrilled that Kairi had gotten her happy ending and she could just come her for funsies to see everyone now—he couldn’t help sitting in a park bench in Dogenzaka, sighing, as he watched the whole thing unfold.

“Hehehe. You’re in quite the mood. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you were turning into Neku…” Someone else had come to sit by Fret… and one quick look let him know that it was none other than the Composer of Shibuya himself… and that he had better get it together, before the guy threw him into another Game to improve himself, like he originally had with Neku.

“Oh, uhh… Hi there, Joshua. It’s good to see you,” Fret said, putting a hand under his chin and regarding the other boy—god—with mixed feelings. “Did you see that ice is really in this season? And diamonds almost match your light blue shirts, right? I feel like if you started wearing some diamond necklaces, you’d be even more stylish than you already ar-”

But Joshua halted Fret’s attempt to somewhat butter him up, with a hand held high and a small smile on his face. “There’s no need for all of that, I assure you,” Joshua promised, violet eyes locking onto Fret’s and that, too, making the youth think of Kanon some. “If you want her back, why don’t you just ask me?” Joshua asked rather smug now.

And it was too much. All too much. Fret wanted to believe that Joshua could actually bring her back for him… but what if this was a trap? And what if Joshua meant it now… but Fret somehow made him changed his mind, when he begged him to do so and thanked him for it. What if he didn’t do everything to code?

Tripping over his words now, as he ran a hand through his hair, Fret asked, “I mean… I would love it. If you want to, and don’t think it’ll hurt Kanon to be back, I’m all for it. But can you really do that? Wouldn’t you maybe get in trouble?”

At that Joshua “hmmed”, and Fret panicked—feeling like he’d ruined his chances for real here—and he was about to kiss the Composer’s feet to try and be on his good side again…

But it seemed like Fret had started fretting over nothing, as Joshua giggled and flipped his hair once. “I’ve brought Players who didn’t win back after a corrupt Game before, so it wouldn’t be the first time. Kanon’s Soul did seem quite promising to me for a few reasons there, so I’d be interested to see how she would shape Shibuya…

“And as of now… I would not get in trouble, dear Fret. But thank you for your concern. Heh. I am the senior of a lot of angels on the Higher Plane. And right now, the ones above me are actually very much interested me and my methods, for halting Shibuya’s purification twice, but having it turn out better both times for it. So, I imagine they’d let this one slide.”

Fret was near tears at that point; of course he was… And okay, maybe he was actually crying now. It was just that this was all he had ever dreamed of after they’d gotten out of the Game, of course… Because despite what he told himself… Fret did still love Kanon. And wouldn’t it be great, to actually get back one of the friends that Fret had lost?

But now Fret had to wonder, as he scratched his neck awkwardly, “All those gingers I saw in purple… was that a hint from you to me that I could get Kanon back?” Had Fret been looking a gift horse in the mouth all this time?

Joshua was laughing once more, as he urged Fret to get up and go make nice with the Keyblade wielders, who—if Fret was hearing it right—were telling all of Fret’s friends about urban legends they had heard of in a place called Twilight Town… and then Nagi chirped back about the ones they’d seen in the Game, and Rindo and Beat jumped in to help her out with that.

Huh… Perhaps Fret really was missing something over there. And was Joshua, too?

“Usually, I wouldn’t give an answer… I would say it’s above your pay grade, or that the world is whatever you want it to be… But, no. I was not prompting you to make this choice about Tachibana Kanon. Though things seemed to work out rather nicely for you, wouldn’t you say? So you’d find the strength to ask me about her?”

“I- I do,” Fret admitted, looking down at the pavement—and then all the buildings around him—and thinking that for a concrete jungle… Shibuya was actually a masterpiece, and might have actually been heaven, as far as he was concerned. “So, when will Kanon-"

But when Fret looked towards Joshua once more, the Composer was already gone.

And Fret… he didn’t see Kanon for a while after that. And he imagined it probably felt like what Rindo had gone through (and somewhat Fret himself; all the Twisters, really), when Josh had first brought Shokie to the RG.

About four months later, Fret was beginning to dread that Joshua had forgotten his promise, or that it was impossible to bring Kanon back, after all…

And he was at 104, checking out all the new selections there, when he heard a voice behind him, “So, Fret… do you mind telling me how you really feel? And no sugarcoating it! I was proud to see how you grew, after all. And you can’t disappoint a lady by covering it up some, if you went to all this trouble to bring her back, y’know?”

Fret dropped the black hat that he’d been about to purchase (that was maybe so light black, it was actually closer to purple), as he turned around to face that voice and ran towards her to embrace her.

“Kanon!"

Author’s Note: So, the other redhead who goes with Sora and the crew to Shibuya in this story is supposed to be Ariel—in a “The Worlds Are Starting to be Reconnected” idea—and it’s mainly because she wore purple seashells (though a shirt here, of course). Not even gonna lie. But if you don’t like that, you can imagine it’s an OC… that Sora and Kairi had a daughter… or just completely ignore that part. It’s up to you.

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subasekabang · 4 years ago

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Another Chance

Title: Another Chance Rating: G Word Count: 7576 Pairings/Characters: Sho Minamimoto, Joshua, Neku, Beat, Rhyme, Shiki, Sanae Hanekoma, Uzuki Yashiro, Koki Kariya. Joshua/Neku, implied Uzuki/Koki Warnings: Nothing that I can think of. Summary: By all means, Sho Minamimoto should not be alive. He died, twice, yet as the week after the most recent Reaper’s Game dawned, he’s alive. Unsure as to why, he sets out to track down the Composer, and figure out why he was brought back. In the mean time, he ends up tasked to spy on the Composer, and figure out why he’s been acting differently. Partner: Staryshards, @crescentmoonrider Author’s Note: Little short, sweet, a mesh of two ideas I had. First time in a Big Bang, and it’s been quite enjoyable.

The First Day

“… Him?”

“Yeah, I know. But even he deserves it.”

“But he tried to-”

“I know.”

“I’m… alive.” In all his calculations and plannings, there was just something that Sho never expected. Even after escaping death the first time, that was something he had expected. Stitching himself back together, but that was supposed to be his final resort.

So, why? He had lost, plain and simple. Was it a mistake that he had been given life yet again? Questions, questions, flowing through Sho’s head, as he grunted. The first step, of course, to look around. Obviously there was only one place he could really be, but if he could narrow it down-

It was Shibuya alright. Even that was a little strange: It had really survived through everything? Shaking his head, Sho sighed. The Composer would never fit into any of his equations, no matter how many times he tried.

A bit of litter on the ground caught his attention. So carelessly thrown away, it practically demanded his attention. Walking over to it, crouching down, and righting it: a half empty can, that he judged with the eye of an artist. “Heh.” Chuckling to himself, he stuffed it in his pockets.

Only to blink, and run his hands over his own body for a couple of seconds. Even his old clothes were restored, it was as if he had never been made part of a Taboo Noise at all. “This… this doesn’t make sense,” he grumbled to himself.

Well, as he had thought previously, none of this really made any sense. Back alive, wandering the streets of Shibuya, some perverse miracle. Once again his thoughts had returned there, and if matters were entirely under his own control, Sho would spend the rest of his first day just thinking about that.

Luckily, however, Sho would be quite sharply brought out of his funk. Another can, this time aimed directly at his head- and, impact. “Gah?!”

“Yo, number guy.” The sound of a lollipop being pulled out of a mouth. Sho’s eyes traveled the trajectory of that trash, to end up looking up at… some Reaper. His head tilted, an unspoken question practically scrawled over his face.

“Really? I know you were my boss for a while, but it wouldn’t have hurt to learn my name. It’s Kariya. Koki Kariya. Those Taboo Noise of yours were certainly interesting.” Koki sighed, leaning against a wall, his eyes closed.

It was as if a lightbulb went off over Sho’s head. “Oh, yeah, you were always with that other Reaper,” he said, before looking around. “You don’t seem like you’d happen to know why I’m still kicking though.”

Koki shrugged, before jumping down from his perch, and landing in front of Sho. “Nah, but I feel like you might end up finding your answer if you do something for me.”

Even before hearing the rest, Sho interrupted with an indignant- “What? I’m a Game Master, you don’t just tell me what to do, that’s not how this formula works out.”

Instead of Koki replying, there came a cough from behind him, making Sho jump, and spin around. In front of him was another Reaper, reddish hair, who seemed just familiar enough, until she actually spoke.

“Yeah, no. That’s not how it is any more. See, we stayed as Harriers after all that went down, but you? You’re lucky enough to still be in the UG in the first place. We’ve got explicit permission to boss you around. In other words? You’re barely a Reaper any more, let alone a Game Master. Got that?”

“Uzuki, right.” Sho groaned. Yeah, he remembered her name now. Of course those two had to survive, and not only that, survive together. Of course the Composer wouldn’t have been kind enough to fully reinstate him in his former position.

Koki looked over at Uzuki, and smiled, before continuing, “As I was saying. If you do this little favor for us, who knows, maybe you’ll be back on track for becoming a Game Master again, maybe find out why he brought you back to begin with.”

Looking between the pair of them again, Sho realized an unfortunate truth. He didn’t have much of a choice in the matter. Shaking his head, he looked at Koki again, and finally said, “Fine, I’ll help. What do you need me to do?”

With a sheepish grin, and a hand behind his head, Koki explained - “We want you to spy on the Composer.”

Before Sho could even respond, Uzuki added, “He’s been acting… weird. Weirder than usual. Like, he brought you back for one, and that’s weird. Spending more time with the living. We just don’t get it. Is he planning something? We don’t know, so - that’s your job. Just follow him around some, see what he does, and see if you’ve got any idea.”

Blink. Blink. Sho took a step back. “Eh? Talk about a job for an insignificant digit. I already agreed though. Any idea where he is?” They didn’t even need to reply, both of them shook their heads. “Right. That makes sense.” Another grumble under his breath.

Turning away, he threw his hands up in the air. “Fine, I’ll find him. Only a few places he’d go in this city, I’m sure.” And with that, he walked away, leaving the two Reapers in his wake.

They turned to one another, as Koki popped his lollipop back into his mouth. Uzuki, naturally, was the first one to speak. “Do you really not know anything about why the Composer is acting strangely? The way you told me, it just felt… ugh. There’s got to be an explanation to it.”

Koki for his part, merely grinned, kicking his feet up, and closing his eyes.

Well, at the very least, Sho had thought he had some idea of where he could look. Shibuya was, after all, only so big. Only so many places a deity with the mind of a teen could go… right? Absolutely.

“…” Just repeating those words to himself every few minutes. An aimless wander from store to store, from place to place. It wasn’t as if Joshua was easy to miss, but being a low rank Reaper made it a lot harder to him, than when he was a Gamemaster. Simply put, when he was in control of the missions, it was pretty easy to direct Joshua wherever he wanted.

Even if another Game was going on, it wasn’t likely that Joshua would be a part of it. In fact, even if Sho couldn’t understand the Composer, he was more than sure that he wouldn’t want to take part in another one so soon, especially after the decision he had made not that long ago. Yet, who’s to say, perhaps it could help him out.

How long could he wander around Shibuya? A while, certainly, but not long enough. Without actually knowing where Joshua was, Sho would probably get sick of wandering soon enough. And then - at last, there it was, a groan.

“Damn it!” Stomping around, heavy thuds of boot hitting pavement. Sho was throwing a tantrum, as he approached a nearby trash can. Unsure of how much time had passed, he just couldn’t deal with it. There was only one method he had to deal with stress like this.

Picking it up, it wasn’t long until trash was strewn all over the place. Though he detested littering, sometimes it was the only way he could get the components for his art. He had long since given up caring what anyone would think if they saw him doing it. No, all he wanted was the comfort of the beauty held within his art. Besides, there was at least one configuration he had that would help him out during this.

Eventually, a trash pile had been built up. An unrepeatable pattern of junk whose beauty was in its very asymmetry. Sharp angles and harsh corners all about, no one in their right mind would touch it, let alone lay on it. The way that Sho was, arms behind his head, hat pulled over his face. Was it some strange application of a nail bed, or merely being used to it from repeated exposure?

“Zzz…” Snoring away. A day wasted, a mission gained. His last thoughts a mere question: Would he ever find out just what Joshua was thinking?

The Second Day

“I think today I want to visit him.”

“Who?”

“CAT. Mr H. You know, the Producer.”

Sho woke up much the same way as how he had fallen asleep. Peacefully, but with a sharp, jutting pain that he just had to expect. Much like how most of his conversations with the Composer had gone, actually. Though the difference here, the pain was in his back.

Jumping up, and cracking his knuckles, he stretched. Looking back around at his newest creation, at the very least, it provided him with some pride. Even as a low rank Reaper who didn’t have a fraction of his powers - at the very least, this was something he could have control over.

“Right, plan of action…” Not usually the sort of person to talk to himself very often, with no one to bounce his ideas off, he had to take what he could get. So, where was he going first?

“If I have to spend another day walking around Shibuya, this entire city is getting covered in trash, and no one wants that.” Trailing off into his thoughts, eventually, he found a solution. Or, rather, a solution found him. Violently.

A door slamming open, knocking Sho to the ground, as someone stormed out of the place. Someone loud, obnoxious, and to put it into a single word… rude.

“Beat?” It wasn’t like Sho was on good enough terms with him to actually just call him Beat, but that ex-reaper was still someone he recognized. Especially considering the last time they had met was-

“Bwahhh?!” Beat threw his arms in the air, as Sho started to dust himself off. “Ain’t- ain’t you dead?” Straight up asking, Beat did his best to brace himself, trying to hold a defensive stance. For once, he didn’t have his skateboard on him, but the intent was quite clear.

Sho, in turn, groaned, rubbing his head again. Still hurt. “You’re a Reaper, yeah? You should be able to understand that the Composer can do whatever he wants. If that includes bringing me back, then…” Trailing off. He still didn’t have an answer to that, and it wasn’t as if he’d be able to for a while yet.

“Eh…? Oh, yeah, Joshua. Anyways, I quit.”

“… What?”

“Yeah, I quit. Turns out, being a Reaper? Kinda sucks, man. I don’t think I could take erasing anyone after all that.”

“So you just quit?” Sho’s tone was a mix of incredulous and angry.

“Well, I talked it over with Joshua, and…” Beat, in turn, rubbed the back of his head, looking around awkwardly.

Sho was silent for a moment. Incalculable. Pinching the bridge of his nose, he changed the topic to save himself the headache. “So. Joshua. Where was he? Or, rather, where is he right now? I need to see him.” Not that he’d explain anything to Beat.

In turn, Beat looked at Sho. “I don’t owe you any of that stuff, man. I’m not even a Player anymore, and Rhyme’s all okay, so you can’t even use that. Besides…” He mumbled something to himself as he finished that sentence.

“… Ah. You don’t know where he is, do you?” Sho sighed. Of course. The one lead he had stumbled on today, and it was dead on arrival. This ex-reaper was simply useless. Just as he had expected.

“Hey, come on man, don’t give me that look,” Beat protested, as Sho finally just pushed past him. “He ain’t exactly the kinda guy who parades around his location.”

Well, at least Sho had some idea of what he wanted to do next. Beat had come out of a shop, and not only that, one of those shops that were marked for use during the Reaper’s Game. So even if they weren’t knowledgeable on everything, there was a pretty decent chance that they might have at least seen Joshua.

Entering the shop, a little bell rang above the door. The man behind the counter looked up, then over at Sho. His clothes were still the same as yesterday, only more crinkled. About as fashionable as ever, which was more accurately described as, never.

“Yo,” Sho called out, walking up to the counter. Idly looking over at the clothes on display. A little sparse - must have been today’s fashion trend. Definitely not his style, but he could certainly fake interest. Clearing his throat, he looked at the clerk. “You wouldn’t have happened to have seen a… teen enter this shop lately, have you?”

Sho was met with only a dead-eyed stare.

“Blond hair?” Still, nothing.

“Plain shirt, looks disinterested in whatever you have to say. Snooty, arrogant, odd air to him you really can’t place?” At last, the clerk’s eyes lit up. Somewhat.

“Yeah, I’ve seen someone like that,” he muttered, before staring down Sho. “But information isn’t cheap. If you really wanna know, you have to buy something.”

Blinking, Sho looked around. Well, that could have at least gone worse. Spotting something that wasn’t completely hideous by his esoteric standards, he snatched it down, and placed it on the counter with a grunt. Even if it was just a hat, it was probably enough.

“And here’s your receipt. So, about that boy. I think I saw him heading in the general direction of WildKat.” This time, he was the one met by a blank stare from Sho.

“Here, it’s - you have a phone, yeah? I’ll tell you the address, it ain’t exactly hard to find. And, hey, I’ll tell you this for free: I saw him with another guy. Couldn’t tell much about him, other than it looked like he had a pair of headphones around his neck.”

Nodding this time, Sho remembered the address with ease. Though not completely photographic, his memory was quite reliable - and he also remembered exactly who that clerk must have been talking about. Leaving without much of a thank you, he headed out quickly.

The actual trip there wasn’t anything to note, he had navigated Shibuya enough times to have a decent mental image of the city, and without having to deal with any Noise, it was pretty peaceful. As if things had never been at stake, as if everything didn’t hang on the whim of the Composer.

When Sho finally arrived at WildKat, the proprietor and owner of it was already standing outside. Slicked back black hair, sunglasses, a suit that could be quite easily described as snazzy, and an air about him that was completely laid back.

“I- Huh. You’re… Wha-”

The man laughed. “Yeah, I know, it stuns everyone. A handsome barista like myself, Sanae Hanekoma. Some call me Mr. H, some call me CAT, some people call me a man of many talents.”

Mr. H grinned, putting his hands behind his head, and looking over at Sho. “You, of course, would know me as the Producer.” Grabbing a chair, he pulled it up, and gestured towards Sho.

Sitting down in it, Sho looked around the place. “You run this? I didn’t think anything this factorless would be your style. It’s so… so…” Trailing off, he waved a hand in the air, as if trying to capture the very air of WildKat.

“As I said, I’m a man of many talents. I taught you one of them, and… I suppose it saved your life. Though, ultimately, it might not have mattered, Shibuya was still saved, and he even brought you back.” The smile over his face was impossible to read, as he took a seat for himself, kicking back and looking utterly relaxed.

Once again, Sho was silent. There were two people, he realized, he could never get a read on. The Composer and the Producer. Was it because of what they were? On some level that he couldn’t understand? Or had their time as humans shaped them into being so mysterious.

Without waiting for Sho to speak, Mr H continued, “Though I’m sure you want to know why he did something like that. You were probably more trouble than it was worth even as a Gamemaster.” Ignoring Sho’s offended look, he finished with, “Though to be perfectly honest with you - even I don’t know. That’s something you’re going to have to ask him yourself.”

Sho’s expression went from annoyed to straight up indignant. “You expect me to just ask him?! Stroll right up to him, clear my throat, and get a straight answer to why the hell I’m still alive? The chances of that happening are infinitesimal. For starters, I still can’t find him, and I don’t even know where to-”

Oh. Right. That was why he was here in the first place. Because- “Oh, he’ll be here tomorrow,” Mr. H chimed in, going from content to almost a little smug.

“Eh? Why’s he coming over here? And wasn’t he over here not that long ago? That’s what I heard, anyways.” Though, he had to admit to himself, it wasn’t all that confusing. They were, after all, the two most important people for the Reaper’s Game. It wasn’t unreasonable that they’d visit each other, but it still felt unusual.

Standing back up, Mr. H clasped his hands behind his back, and turned around. “There are still things to sort out, after all that mess. Frankly, I’m lucky to have my job still. There are things to look forwards to in the future, things to prepare for, and… he’s bringing Phones. You know who I mean by now. I think it’ll do them both some good, he hasn’t spent a lot of time with normal folk, you know?”

“I certainly think I’d do a better job with his,” Sho muttered, before sighing. “So you’re tellin’ me the composer and that brat he killed are gonna both be here tomorrow? I guess that settles the question of what I’m going to be doing then, huh.” He had a mission to take care of, after all, so it couldn’t be helped.

“Gonna lurk in my hip cafe, huh? With that style? Make sure you don’t stick out like a sore thumb, Sho.” Mr. H turned back around, and clapped his hands.

Standing up in turn, Sho pulled his cap over his eyes, and nodded. He could be stealthy when he needed to be. A task like this was as simple as could be. There was absolutely no way he could fail. Getting to report to those reapers by the third day? A perfect execution.

Before he went out for the day, Sho took a moment to ask the last thing on his mind. “I guess it’s a little late to be asking this now, but…” He swallowed, and finished his question, “Why did you help me? I mean, taking over the Composer’s job would certainly stop what he had planned then - but why are you helping me now?”

Laughing, Mr. H put his hands behind his head yet again. Impossible to read, especially with his glasses covering his eyes once again. “You gotta broaden your horizons. I helped out Phones, and I’m paying it forwards. May as well use your second chance for something good. That satisfy you?”

Scoffing, Sho shrugged his shoulders, and finally went as if to leave. Any answer he could actually provide lost on the wind. That was all that Mr. H needed.

The Third Day

“Do we have to visit him?”

“Now now, Neku. You promised me we’d come back, didn’t you?”

“Urk. Fine. Don’t make it weird though.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it. Let’s enjoy our date~”

“D-date?!”

Another day. As Sho had promised, he had shown up to WildKat, most likely an hour or two before Joshua would arrive. Kicking up on a chair, holding the day’s paper. There was nothing exciting, the sudoku was solved in a couple of minutes, tops. Every story read once, twice.

No matter how bored Sho got, he had to get through it. Questions he wanted answers to, a request he had already said he would fulfill, so what was a bit of boredom? Not that that stopped him from scribbling down magic squares on a napkin, and solving a couple math problems in his head.

Then, at last - The unmistakable sight of the Composer, Joshua. It seemed as if he was… grinning. Not even a smug one. One arm firmly looped around his companion. Neku “Phones” Sakuraba.

“What are they-” Cutting himself off, Sho grumbled to himself, and pulled the paper up over his face. It was a perfect disguise. No one would be able to recognize him like this.

It was only when Joshua and Neku were led to their respective seats that Sho realized a problem with his otherwise flawless plan. He couldn’t see past the newspaper in front of him. Not to mention, everything was tinted darker than he was used to - before arriving at WildKat, he had the decency to pick up a pair of sunglasses, and bigger than what Mr. H usually wore.

The one thing he had collaborated with Mr. H was asking for the seat nearby where those two would be sitting - so at the very least, Sho could hear the conversation going on. Would the answers he was looking for be found there? There was only one thing he could do.

Joshua grinned, and said, “Isn’t it a beautiful day, Neku? The birds are singing, the coffee is as hot as it is fresh, and we’re both alive. A few short weeks ago, I’m sure neither of us could have expected things to end up just like this.”

“Cut the bull, Joshua. You’ve dragged me around these past couple of days, and you haven’t explained anything. You shot me, you practically used me, I nearly lost the first friends I’d ever truly made - I think you owe me.”

Even if Sho wasn’t able to look just yet, he could recognize the sound of that obnoxious laugh.

“Oh, Neku. Do you have to bring that up now? The past is the past, and that’s behind me now. I made my choice, and you helped me make my mind up. As one of those friends of yours, I think that should be enough.”

“… It’s really not.”

From behind his paper, Sho smirked, and changed the page yet again. Eyes glazing over as small print blended into itself. Struggling to pay attention to the conversation that was playing out in front of him.

“Ah,” Joshua continued, with a giggle, “I guess you’re right. Come on, Neku, can’t you read the room? It’s just me and you.”

It was at that moment that Sho lowered his paper, to see just what was happening. Only to be met by Joshua shooting him a glare. A flustered ruffling as he quickly hid behind his paper yet again. Feeling like he had been caught, but there wasn’t really anything he could do about it.

“Just the two of us.” Blatantly ignoring the other person there, and Mr. H had already gone back inside of the building.

Neku sighed, nodding along. “So we’re just going to talk about that later then? Or are you just going to hop away to some different universe or whatever to avoid having to deal with the conseque-”

“I’m sorry.”

“Wha–”

“Wha–” Even Sho spoke out, as hard as he was trying not to. That couldn’t have been right. There was no way he had heard what he thought he had just heard.

Joshua took a deep breath, and sighed. “I said. I’m sorry. I made you worry, and I was okay. You do deserve to hear at least that much. I suppose I’m even sorry for shooting you, though we can both agree it turned out for the better. For both of us.”

Another angry grunt from Neku, although he replied, “I never expected you to say something like that. Didn’t seem like it was in you. Maybe even you can change.”

“Now, that’s more like my Neku. Really now, is that any sort of way to be on our date? We should be enjoying ourselves, getting to know each other - isn’t that how you humans spend time on these things?”

Letting out an exasperated sigh, Neku replied, “Are you still calling this a date? Well, I’ve learned there’s no point in arguing with you, not when you get ideas in your head. What am I even supposed to ask you though? Aren’t you some all powerful being? I can’t begin to imagine what that’s like.”

As the two started to talk more, Sho groaned, and slid a little further down his seat. This was all just… inane drivel. He’d never find out anything just by listening to them. It was like listening to two teenagers just ponder life together - conveniently forgetting the fact that Sho, himself, was only 18 at the time.

All he could do was take matters into his own hands.

Completely throwing away the last shreds of secrecy, and likely his own decency, Sho tossed the newspaper down and stood up. Strutting over to Joshua’s seat, and straight up grabbing the Composer by the shirt.

Neku threw his hands up in the air in surprise, then started to jump out of his seat, but Joshua just raised up a hand, and said, “Oh, look who it is, Neku. Sho, was it? I didn’t think I’d run into you again, so soon.”

Sho just groaned, torn between lifting Joshua up, and just dropping him down to the floor. Finally, he let go, and dropped his arms to his side. “… Damn it. Here I am, standing right in front of you, after all this, and…”

Joshua laughed, and put his hands in his pockets. “Cold feet? Or is it because you don’t have a gun on you?”

Shaking his head, Sho looked away, and grunted, “I’m not here to kill you, just…”

Neku started to get up again, but Joshua merely replied, “Now, now, Neku, he’s here to chat. And even though he rudely interrupted our date, let’s let him speak. At this rate, I’m curious.”

Well, this wasn’t exactly how Sho had expected this to go down. All his anger and confusion had drained out of him, once he actually stood up to Joshua. Now he was left there, standing, but without any real support. “I just want to know why. No one else other than you would know, and I have to - I need to find out. After everything I did- you brought me back?”

Joshua took a moment to pause, and think, before bursting into laughter. “That’s all you want to know? You have the Composer in front of you, and that’s what you want to ask? Very well then. Sho Minamimoto, I brought you back for a very simple reason.”

“You interested me. There were plenty of Game Masters before you, and I’m sure there will be more afterwards, but few so brave and so stupid as to actually take me on head to head. It may have been a special case, but you still very nearly wiped me out - that Flare could have been dangerous. And, besides, after all that… you deserved another chance.”

Both Sho and Neku were left opened mouthed at what Joshua had said so openly, but Sho was the first one to speak. “That’s- That’s all?! What does another chance even mean? You liked me because I tried to kill you? This, this is why I can’t begin to wrap my head around you.”

“Oh, and one small thing. I tweaked your habit of making those annoying math jokes. They were getting on everyone’s nerve, when they were even understandable.”

Blink. “You… can do that?” Sho tilted his head. He did think it was a little strange that he hadn’t spoken aloud most of his normal math statements, but he figured that was just because of how frazzled he had felt after coming back to life.

“I have enough power to cause both physical and metaphysical destruction on a widespread level, at the very least for Shibuya itself. So, yes, if I wanted to, when I brought you back, I could easily have done something like that.” Joshua smirked, raising a hand over his mouth.

Sho turned around in a huff, and started to stomp off. Looking for all the world like someone who was throwing a tantrum.

When it was just the pair of them left behind, Neku slumped down in his seat, and looked at the one who had dragged him over towards this cafe. “So why do you keep calling this a date?”

“Isn’t that kinda obvious, Neku?” Joshua giggled again, and finished, “It’s because the person I’m most interested in - even more than Sho - is you.”

Blink. Blink. Neku felt his mouth hang open for a second, speechless and stunned. “You - you what? Since when?” Sure, Neku knew what a date was, he wasn’t that inept. It wasn’t like he had ever had much experience with them however, especially when he was in his loner phase, as he’d come to call it.

Joshua merely let that hang with a small smile. It wasn’t an easy question to answer.

Once Sho had left WildKat, he wandered around Shibuya, without much of a purpose. He had gotten an answer, sure, but he wasn’t satisfied. Even as he was thinking about this, two shadows loomed over him from above.

Swooping down, it was two specters from two days ago. Uzuki and Koki. The latter still sucking on a lollipop, but pulling it out of his mouth, and pointing it towards Sho when he landed. “Yo, numbers man. What’s the sitrep?”

Uzuki groaned. “I knew taking you to that movie was a bad idea. Anyways, hey, we were watching all that unfold. Saw you chatting with the Composer and his friend.”

Koki raised an eyebrow in turn. “Just friend?”

Slumping his shoulders down, Sho didn’t look up at the pair of Reapers. “I don’t know what his deal was. As smug and as unbearable as ever, utterly incomprehensible. I can’t think of anything to answer what you want to know, because I don’t have any myself.”

In unison, the two Reapers groaned, before Uzuki spoke up again. “You’re so useless! We give you one little thing to do, you even manage to locate him, and what do you do? Nothing, apparently! Did you just have a nice little tea party with him? Ugh, I’m so-”

The only thing that cut her off was the hand of Koki landing on her shoulder. He looked over at Sho, and shook his head. “”Maybe if you just wait a bit, you’ll find out a bit more. I’m not one for rushing things. So, we’ll give you a bit more time before we really get angry. Isn’t that right, Uzuki?”

She took a deep breath, and exhaled slowly, squeezing the air as if it was a neck with just one hand. “… Fine. We’ll wait.”

Sho looked between the pair, then sighed. “Fine, I said I’d do it, and I’m sure he’ll be here again, or just torment me more.”

Spending any amount of time around the Composer was always bad for his health, it appeared, and this time wasn’t any different. There wasn’t anything else he could do for the moment, other than walk off, and figure out what he had to do next.

Once they were left alone, Uzuki turned to Koki, and asked, “What was that about? Just ‘friend’? What did you even mean by that?”

“Oh, I just understand a bit about the Composer. I think he’s a bit like me, you know? At least in one way.” Laughing, Koki put the lollipop back in his mouth, and closed his eyes, sighing. Things were starting to come together then.

“… Eh? Koki, what does that even mean? You two couldn’t be any more different if you tried - Are you even paying attention?”

The Fourth Day

“Hey, so, about yesterday-”

“It’s fine, Neku. We can talk more about it later. Now, can you do me a favor? Call up that girl, she’s the only factor left.”

“Don’t you start with the math jokes.”

For the first time in a while, as Sho wandered the streets of Shibuya, he felt completely aimless. He had already spoken with Joshua, he had seen Neku, even that ex-Reaper was still kicking. And so was he. Nothing felt satisfactory about what he had been told. Even the city seemed a little less vibrant, as he wandered about. The only thing he could look forward to was building another sculpture, but even that had lost some of its luster.

As Sho was lost in his sulking, a girl stopped in front of him. She was entirely… unremarkable. Boring hair, glasses, clothes that were alright, by his own guess. The only thing that even made her stand out was that ugly pig-like thing she was clutching to her chest.

At last, she spoke. “Aren’t you… Sho? That math nerd. You certainly look like how he described you… Did you really just keep the same outfit this entire time?”

The suddenness of which she spoke was enough to make him stop in place, and glare at her. He didn’t think he attracted all that much attention, certainly not until he built more of his art. “I’ll shout it to the sky, I’m Sho, yeah. Who even are you though?”

“I’m Shiki Misaki!”

Sho blinked again. “Who?”

“You know… Shiki? Neku’s partner for the first week?”

“Still not ringing any bells.”

“I was his entrance fee for the second week!”

“Ohhh, the girl. I’m sorry, I don’t try and remember insignificant digits like that.”

Shiki groaned, and hugged that pig-like thing a bit tighter to herself. “Ugh. This is why I’m glad you weren’t my Game Master. I can stomach food puns more than I can take math jokes. Well, you definitely fit the bill.”

“What are you even talking about? And what’s with that weird thing you keep hugging? It looks like a pig.”

“Oh come on. First Neku, then you? Mr Mew does not look like a pig! He’s a cat! He’s my special friend!” Squeezing Mr Mew enough for the stuffing to nearly pop, Shiki glared up at him, before taking a deep breath.

“Right, right. I was told you might be like this. Joshua told me - tomorrow, we’re going to have one big meet up. Everyone. Neku, himself, Beat, Rhyme, me, and, he wanted me to invite you.”

Sho tilted his head. “You’re kidding, right? A meet up? With all you brats? And he’s just going to straight up invite me?”

Shiki nodded at him. “You like to repeat people, huh?”

Ignoring her pretty much entirely, he scratched his head. It wasn’t like the Composer to set up such an obvious trap, as much as Sho doubted him. But it still didn’t make sense. Why would any of them want him to be there?

“So, you comin’, or not?”

Pulled out of his contemplations yet again, Sho looked at her, and finally gave his answer. “Sure, yeah, whatever. What does it matter? If he really wants to see me, that’s on him.”

“Great!” Shiki smiled, and held the plush close yet again. “So, we’re all going to meet back up at WildKat tomorrow. Mr. H says the drinks are gonna be on the house! It’ll be right at noon, so don’t be late, okay?”

Sho groaned, rubbing the back of his head. “So we’re just going straight back to that place so soon, huh? Well, I guess it is run by the Producer after all, so it’s a pretty reliable stopping point.”

Giggling, Shiki looked at him, and nodded again. “Yeah, that’s right. Well, see you later then! That’s all I had to say. I guess the best part about that second week was knowing Neku cared, though I don’t appreciate being a bargaining chip.”

“That’s just what the rules of the Game are.” Sho shrugged, and started to walk off. A little less aimless, and a little more excited. There simply wasn’t a lot else he could do but wait. He didn’t want to waste the day away, but if he couldn’t do anything else, then there was nothing that could be done.

“If I ever get to make any changes to this city, I’ll make it a lot harder to litter. No one ever throws it away in a beautiful style, just scattered on the sidewalk.” Muttering to himself, Sho made his way. A grumbling stomach helpful at least for an idea of where to go.

From the distance, a now familiar pair of shadows loomed again.

“Ugh, weren’t you the one talking about taking it slow yesterday? Why are we still following him?”

The sound of a lollipop being pulled out. “It’s a good thing we did though, huh. So all those brats are going to be together, huh?”

“Are you thinking what I’m thinking?”

“We’ll never have a bowl big enough for that many noodles.”

Uzuki blinked, before shaking her head. “No, you moron. I’m saying we crash that get-together. Come on, we were part of all that stuff that went down, we should have been included. Who does that guy think he is, not inviting us too, huh?!”

Koki shrugged. “Sounds like more effort than it’s worth, but if you want to go there, I’ll come with you. A party’s boring all by yourself.”

Shaking her head, Uzuki just groaned again. No matter how many times she tried, she just couldn’t understand her partner. “It’s not a party. But, fine, if you’re there, it’ll be more worthwhile.”

The Fifth Day

“So you invited everyone?”

“Yeah, even, y’know, him.”

“That’s wonderful, Neku. I think today’s going to go great.”

Even as the day started, Sho wasn’t sure whether he wanted to be early, or late. If he showed up early, he’d probably be seen as desperate, but if he showed up late - shaking his head. What had come over him? They were all a bunch of brats after all, younger than him, except for the Composer.

Then again, they might be his first proper chance at-

Finally, he made his mind up. The path to WildKat was the same as ever, as he checked his watch. Noon, on the dot. His clothes, his style, as recognizably him as ever. And it appeared he wasn’t even the first person to arrive. Joshua was sitting there, at a table. Holding a cup, steam wafting from the top.

“Ah, Sho, you decided to come after all.” A little laugh.

At this point, Sho had stopped questioning it. There were several seats around a big table, and he chose one at random - just not one too close to Joshua. “So, what’s the big idea? Why did you bring me over here?”

Taking a sip, Joshua smiled, and answered simply. “Because I thought it would be nice for you to get to hang out with others. Oh, and, Neku will be back in a few minutes.”

“You’re never going to just give me a straight answer, are you?”

Before Joshua could reply with a smirk more befitting a cat than himself, Neku walked back in, carrying a tray. It was piled high with snacks, and was soon placed right down on the table.

“Oh, he made it.”

Sho looked between the pair, yet again, and grabbed a cookie from the tray. “I’m here because I want to be, no other reason.” With that statement out of the way, he started crunching down on it, side eyeing the two people who had put a stop to his plans the first time.

Again, he didn’t have the time to get lost in his own thoughts, as he was soon to be interrupted by-

“Bwaaa?!”

Someone skating in, and the moment he saw Sho, tripping over himself, and hitting the ground face first. Followed by a small girl, giggling to herself, before helping him up.

Beat jumped back up, and pointed a trembling finger at Sho, as he sat there, and asked, “What the hell is this guy doing here? This some kinda trap, wise guy, huh?!”

Even before Sho could defend himself, Rhyme smiled, and grabbed onto Beat’s arm. “It’s okay, Beat. Joshua just invited him so we could all get along. Isn’t that right?” Looking over at Joshua, and nodding her head.

Joshua nodded in reply, and added, “Yes, yes. And besides, it would do me good. Isn’t that what you said, Neku?”

Everyone at the table, Sho included, turned to look at Neku, expectantly.

“Hey, that’s not exactly what I meant. I just said, it wouldn’t hurt if you had some more friends, alright? Since you didn’t seem like you really…” Trailing off, Neku gulped. It wasn’t exactly easy to say something like that.

Clapping his hands together, Joshua replied, “Precisely. And look over here. It’s all of my,” His smile slipped for a second, “friends.”

Sho burst into laughter, looking around the table. “Are you really including me in that list, huh? All these people, everyone here - and you’d call me a friend? I don’t even know you that well, and I’ve tried to kill at least several of you here.”

Joshua giggled again, and looked at everyone there. “We’ve practically already had this conversation. I shot Neku, you nearly shot me, everything went on, and now we’re here. Everyone’s okay. Isn’t that enough?”

Beat laid his head on the table, and groaned. “Ugh, this is too much to think about. Let’s just chow down, and stop caring about all this stuff. I haven’t had breakfast today because of this, and my stomach can’t hold out past this.”

Rhyme giggled again. “That’s my big brother for you, always thinking with his stomach.”

“I didn’t say you couldn’t have breakfast, Beat, it would have been fine,” Neku said, blinking, looking at Beat with a puzzled expression.

Lifting himself up, Beat replied, “Y-yeah, but I got excited, okay? Sometimes when I get too excited I kinda sorta forget to eat, that’s all.”

As if summoned by the talk of food, another girl appeared, clutching something that was apparently supposed to resemble a cat. “Ah! Everyone! I’m so sorry, I got a little lost getting over here, and I woke up late and I tripped and-”

Neku waved it all off, and grinned. “Shiki! It’s really great to see you here after all this. And… Mr Mew too, I guess.”

“You remembered!” Shiki smiled back, and scooted her way in, sitting on the other side of Neku, so he was sandwiched by his first two partners.

Joshua coughed, and looked at Neku. “Ah, I see. So you’re more excited to see her, are you, Neku?” Though there was a tinge of jealousy in his tone, it was also clearly teasing.

As if to defuse the conversation brewing, the door to the indoor part of the cafe was thrown open, and out stepped Sanae Hanekoma. Balancing a tray on one hand, stacked with a couple of drinks, one for everyone there. Except for Joshua, who was still holding on to one.

As each person grabbed one, and took a snack from the tray that Neku brought earlier, Mr. H grinned and looked at them all. Hands on his hips, he laughed. “All of you had better be getting along now, alright? This is my hip cafe, this place isn’t for people who aren’t friends.” He almost sounded like the parent in charge of a field trip, despite Joshua’s presence.

Rolling his eyes, Sho grabbed his drink, and took a ship. Everyone around him had started to talk, and they were all getting along. Some of these people he barely knew. Yet here they all were, enjoying themselves. Once or twice, he even managed to interject, sharing in their conversations.

Perhaps being a loner wasn’t all that it was cracked up to be, after all. Was this what Joshua wanted in the end? Was he truly being sincere?

For just once, Sho felt as if he could understand the Composer a little bit more.

And from the distance, in a perfect perch to spy on them, those two Reapers were there again, watching what went down. Uzuki facepalmed, sitting back in her seat, as she looked down at them. “He’s just sitting there! Chatting with them!”

“Weren’t you the one who wanted to party crash?”

“Oh, shut up. It almost looks as if they’re all having fun down there. I can’t stand that, not one bit. I might even be sick.”

Koki laughed, as he stood up, and walked towards Uzuki. Placing a hand on her shoulder, he nodded. “C’mon, let’s just leave them be for now. I heard that that ramen joint is trying out a new special. If we move fast, we might be able to get some before it’s gone.”

“You ever stop thinking about noodles?”

“Hey, you owe me, that’s all.”

And with that, the two Reapers left, leaving Sho to be around his new friends. Or at least, a start of some developing friendships.

#TWEWY #TWEWY Bang 2020 #The World Ends With You #Subarashiki Kono Sekai #fluffralsei #submission

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pmiller1 · 4 years ago

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What If Neku Sakuraba Was In Smash

I have been watching BrawlFan1, Whom made video of what he (and other) if some character was in Super Smash Brother. Talking about Move Set what they would use in Smash. And wild they there some character may not be in Smash or less likly, it is fun to come up with what they move and skill would be in Smash. And for me, being Inspired by his work. I will give my own idea for Neku Sakuraba.

A anti social teenage who have got himself into a Game known as the Reaper Game, take to clear the mission in set of team they would face eraser. And with that he have the power of psychs come from each set of pins he have been given by him and the help of his partners who is the only mean to help him clear the mission and get out of this Reaper.

Neku is a well written Character who was able to open up and become a batter person in the ends, no thank to his Partners who beside one became part of his new friends. Now he facing into another Game known as Super Smash Brother. Using his psychs to make a good match for any enemy and helping his allie.

Neku would be a Light wirght class with Two Jump and Wall Jump (thank to flowmotion in KHDDD).

The A Attack.

Let get right of the bat, Neku move are all from his Pins. And in the game he can only up to Six Pins. It wouldn’t really be fair to have Neku only have Six Pins for any attack, so he will have more then Six Pins.

And starting with his Jab, witch will be 1st ever posited element attack, Shockwave, He will slase with one hand, then slace with his other hand then he down slase with his 1st hand with Stellar Flurry pin, that rapidly stab.

His Dash Attack will be using a Velocity Attack Pins, Making a Velocity speed, crashing his body in a blear.

His Side Tilt. He be using his Lance Lunge pin, dealing lance like attack with a high knockback

His Up Tilt will be using his Vulcan Uppercut pin, that as the name said, deal a uppercut attack, this will also give a higher jump in the end, but will end in a freefall.

His Down Tilt will be using one of the Earthquake Pin, facing Neku will have a small shockwave that deal little damage, but will trip opponent.

As for Side Smash, Neku will be using a Massive Hit pin, where he charged up, as Neku to jump slightly forward and swing a large blade.

His Up Smash, Will be using a Piercing Pillar pin, the slash one, Where he a ice pillar shot up wear from Neku, deal ice damage, freezing opponent on contact.

His Down Smash, It will be from his Street Jam pin. As two speaker appear when charged beside Neku facing away from him that deal a sound blasé, deal damage and could knockback opponent,

His Neutral Aerial, He using one of his Pin that use Discharge, As Neku deal electric damage, stunting opponent.

Forward Aerial, He will be using on of starter pin that he get in his 2nd day, Force Rounds, As Neku will fire a Projectiles of Force Rounds, on the angel of where it was tilt, being upper side or down wear side just to the side of him.

His Back Aerial, He will one of Apport Pin, where Neku would have a rock throw behind him that would spick opponent if they was hit bellowed the rock.

His Up Aerial, He'll use a Twister pin, that make a whirlwinds on top of Neku, that deal small multi hit damage that also push opponent up wear.

His Down Aerial will be one from Grave Marker pin, where he does inter fall damage to any that come into contact and a small shockwave when he landed.

The Grabs.

Grabs have long range grab thank to his Pyrokinesis pin, witch he use to keep opponent on hold with his Pyrokinesis.

The Pummel, he will use one of the Holy Light pin, where he deal a small light damage.

His Forward Throw, will push the opponent, knocking back, as if he use Slash version of Pyrokinesis .

His Back Throw, will use the Drag version of Pyrokinesis. where he Drag the opponent, throwing them behind him.

His Up Throw, He use one of the Explosion pin, As it deal explosion damage under the opponent sending them up wear.

And his Down Throw, he will use the Touch version of Pyrokinesis. Sending in the air and throwing them down to the ground that deal damage, if this was on the edge, it will make then go down until of land on a ground or the blasé zone.

The B Attacks.

His Neutral Special, he will use the very 1st pin he have use, Pyrokinesis, with this he will make a trial of fire that you can move with a cursor, the fire will fleam up that deal fire damage. However this leave Neku vulnerable and last for 3s and can't use it for 5s. If Neku in the Air in this Attack. He will use Splash Core instead, That make a Bubble of Water in fount of him that deal damage of a opponent made contact it, that bust it.

His Side Special, well it will be a charge attack as he use Thunderbolt when Uncharged, fire a thunder, locking to a opponent close to him, any opponent beside them will also be locked on, deal a chain attack with each chain deal less damage then he main one. If you release the move when charging, he will use one of Lightning Arrester pin. That make a Neku fire a Lightning bolt direction to wear witch direction of the left anglog with a small arrow slowing where he will fire at. He deal multi hit electric damage. But full charged, he will use Lightning Bolt pin. Where a longing bolt of lightning from blasé zone, pass Neku by the direction of the left anglog again. Like with Lightning Arrester it will deal multi hit electric damage.

His Up Special. He'll use one of the Teleport pin. Witch he Teleport. Yeah. I think you know how that work.

His Down Special... Well here the thing, Neku wouldn't be able to use anything of his pins, if he haven't partnered up with another Player, forming a Pack that bond him and his partnered, he be helpless alone, in fact, he need to Partnered to Survived the Reaper Game, it why he become a better person, he had his partnered, having no other option to work with there partnered, needing to trust his partnered to win the games. And sure, he in Smash for this, not the Reaper Game, He can play his Solo. But really, if he gonna win Smash, He gonna need his Partnered.

The Gimmicks.

That right, he wouldn't be alone, as Shiki, Joshua and Beat will also be joining Smash too. And really, if Neku gonna be in Smash, his Partners have to join too, Being then own fighter in there right. That the point of the game, is having that partnership, Neku became a better person thank to them. Truth you Partners and will take that partnership to the fullest.

For this, His Down Special, He will use a Smash Remix of the Partner Pins. As using will summon Shiki, his 1st partner along with with his stuff pig... I mean cat adding her with Neku, she'll and the rest of Neku's Partners will be a semi-controlled player, like with 2nd Ice Climbers. When Neku attack, she will attack, if Neku use a Special, she will use her own, she move with him.

Down Special, will switch with his Next Partner, Joshua, then Beat and back to Shiki. However, they will have a cooldown when you switch out and would be able to resummons them for a 10s.

However, they is a flaw, as whatever deal damage to his partner, Neku will take that damage, if they hit the blasé zone, Neku will lose a shock and will respawn with the partner. As in the DS game, Neku and Partner share one HP bar. But they will have they own HP bar they own, that also act as they time to being used, one that bar empty out, they will disband will have a longer cooldown, 30s.

You can select who your starting Partners will be by press Y, like with PT, the Echo fighter and The Aegis Girls.

You can also select Neku to go Solo having no Partners. In watch Neku will use Pin given by Rhyme, Beat 1st partner, Cure Drink. This will heal Neku down 30% of his damage, who 1/5 in Stamina. However you can only use four time and it will not cooldown, making Neku Down Special useless until he got KO. As it will refill the number.

And for the sake of it, Neku will only be Solo if the match is a 5-8 player. As having all those Partners, Will be hell for Match.

He will have have another Gimmicks, one that only effect in team battle, the Puck. Every time Neku deal damage, a orb of light move toward one of his teammate, the player with the orb deal more damage, passing the puck to another team or back to Neku, Getting more stronger for each time it passed, but will died out of no damage have been dealt for some time. As Neku need to deal again to restaring the Puck. This encouraged the team to being team combo and teamwork as part of the point of the game, teamwork and trusting your Partner. After all, you and Neku have toward together.

The FINAL SMASH!

For Neku's FINAL SMASH, It will be a cinematic Final Smash. As Neku will from a Black Hold from the Black Hole pin itself, pull all opponents up to three into the black hold. If at least one been suck in, it teleported them into Shibuya with the 104 building visible. As whichever Partners is out, they will there Level 3 Fusion Attacks. Shiki's will have Mew being as tall as the build as it fire laser into the trap opponents, deal a lot of damage as She and Neku stand on his shoulder, Joshua's having the Moon fall toward them as Neku and Joshua flow in Space, And Beat will have city been flood as the him and Neku surfing on the tidal wave. And if there no partners or playing Solo, Neku will instead use the Final Fusion, In watch Neku and his Partners join to bring a powerful light that well deal even higher damage. Each of those Fusion will KO when opponents is over 100%.

I will also say that Neku's Partners as they own Smash Fighter will have the same Final Smash with there repasted Level 3 Fusion Attacks.

The Other Stuff.

Neku will started out with his deflated outfit that we seen in The World Ends with You. I should note that I will not go over his Partners outfit in this, just know there be a theme around them. Yes outfit, As the game take place in Shibuya, faction is a thing and you gotter look fabulous, even in the Reaper Game.

His 2nd outfit that I call Favourite brand: He be wearing Dharma, Inazuma, Gekirin and Wadatsumi. It may seem like the are same as Neku own outfit, but this will be light blue. All of this are from Jupiter of the Monkey.

His 3rd outfit, The Punk: He'll be wearing Red Mohawk Set, Tiger Biker Vest, Bondage Half-pants and Purple Sneaks. All from Tigre Punks. His hair will be Red to match the Monark.

His 4th outfit, The Hip: He'll be wearing Dandy Hat, North Wind Concerto, Youth's March and Young American. All from Hip Snake.

His 5th outfit, The Top-class: He'll be wearing Regal Presence and Liberty Duke. Both from Pegaso, His hair will be brown, as he undyed his hair.

His 6th outfit, The Gothic: He'll be wearing Double-breasted Suit, Ribbon Mini-hat and Platform Shoes. All from Lapin Angelique.

His 7th outfit, The School: He'll be wearing a Boys' Uniform with Blazer.

His 8th outfit, The Gamemaster: He'll be wearing Pi-Face's Bandanna, Cap, Coat, and Jeans. All from his 2nd weak Gamemater, Sho Minamimoto, his hair will be gray as Sho. This will also have most of his attack have a black effect on them as if he using Six of Darklit Planets pins.

Enter will have him come out of a Beam of Light like with Mageman.

His Up Taunts will have him hand close to his headphone saying "Open up your Senses" His Side Taunts will said "You're good as gone!" wild posting like his angry Emoticon Sprite. And his Down Taunts will have him in his battle-ready post. Saying "Any last words?!"

Neku will have 9 victory, 6 of them with his Partners and 2 when he going Solo (and in team victory.) And one Up victory no matter if he solo or have any partners.

In fact is Up victory, will have Shiki, Joshua and Beat teleported in and then Neku will teleported in fount and all of those there pose in Cover Art in The World Ends with You. He will say "That's how it's done."

Neku Left victory with have and his certain Partners move join hand and then does the pose as they Level 3 Fusion attack. Wild Solo, he adjusted his headphone and those the same pose as he would over all. He will say "So, who's next?"

And his Right victory for his solo, he removed his headphone and those behind him wild looking away from the camera. With Shiki, he will be camera faceing back of Neku with a hand light thought him as he turn with the camera toward Shiki, who smashing holding Mr Mew, as the two give a fight five. Like with Ending with when Neku and Shiki met in the RG. With Joshua, Neku will listen to some music, only for Joshua to flow down beside Neku, making him jump, with Joshua gigging beside him, as Nkeu looking annoyed at him. With Beat, Neku and Rhyme will be talking, as Best jump in give the two a big hugged as the trying to keep they smile.

---

And that is What If Neku Sakuraba Was In Smash, Really, I just want to do this myself, I like Neku as a Character and wild he have little changed to be in Smash, I still want to go along with this. And really, wild they could having Neku be in Smash alone, but would defeated the purpose of what the story all about, that Neku have to be in a Team, to open up with another person, he need his partner in order to even use his Pins.

But still, What do you think what Neku moveset would be? Do you like my ideal moveset for him?

And really, go watch BrawlFan1 on youtube, have made some character with really and ideal moveset for other character, some of witch fit with the theme of there games. He could even have Neku as a latter character his own, and really, I like to see what BrawlFan1 will have for Neku’s moveset himself. Over all, I hope you enjoyed this and thank for reading.

#the world ends with you #super smash bros ultimate #What If This Character Was In Smash #Neku Sakuraba

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izaswritings · 4 years ago

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all that’s left in the world | chapter two

Title: all that’s left in the world—

Synopsis: —is me.

Neku’s been shot and Shibuya is threatening to go the same way as Shinjuku, but just because the first Game is over doesn’t mean they’ve forgotten how to play.

Or: Neku deals with a nightmare city and his most annoying (and mathematical) partner yet; Shiki and Joshua commit an escalating number of illegal moves, Beat and Eri hunt down a stray Reaper, and Rhyme watches and waits for the counter-attack. Shibuya refuses to go down easy.

Fandom: The World Ends With You | TWEWY

Warnings: some cursing, implied/referenced character death a la Neku’s situation/Reaper’s game, references to canonical murder attempts (successful and failed), implied suicide mentions (nothing explicit, just… as a way to get into the Game), self-esteem issues abound, and Joshua. Just… Joshua.

AO3 Link is here!

Part One is here!

part two: shiki

She knows even before she gets the call, Beat inconsolable over the phone. She knows, in some way, from the moment she wakes up, that very morning. Mr. Mew’s stitching is ripped and Neku is late for their meeting; she and Eri go shopping alone. It’s not the first time it has happened, and Eri is fine, even more upbeat than usual when she hears it’s just them today—but Shiki, for a moment there at Ten-Four, stands looking in a shop window feeling like the floor has fallen out beneath her feet, like everything has tilted to just that one degree left to off and now no matter what she tries, it’s never going to be the same again.

So, yeah. She knows. She picks up the phone for the second time this morning with her fingers already going numb, her gut all tied up in knots, Mr. Mew strangled in her other hand. She answers the phone.

She says, “Beat, I— I don’t understand, I’m sorry, what happened? Beat, what happened? Where’s Neku? I just talked to him, I was just talking to him—is he with you? Beat?”

She listens. “Beat, where are you?”

She doesn’t move. She feels like she’s barely breathing. She talks into the phone, and she can’t even hear her own voice, the roaring in her ears is so loud.

Minutes later. Shiki hangs up the phone. She closes her eyes.

There’s a beat. Ten-Four is aflutter around her; the murmuring crowd and the click of shoes against the ground and the way the light warps and reflects, bouncing off the glass, twisting around each shadow. It’s midday on a Monday and Shibuya is awake and alive, and Shiki feels like a stranger.

Eri says, “Shiki?”

Shiki blinks. She swallows. She’s still holding the phone, she realizes, and it takes effort to click it closed, to put it away. Her hands are cold.

Eri’s standing in front of her, eyes wide. They’re in the middle of the walkway, the crowd rushing around them. She has shopping bags in one hand and a smile that’s fallen to worry. “Shiki! What’s wrong? Was that Neku?”

Shiki flinches, and then curls her hand. “N-no,” she says. She takes a breath. Then another. Something settles in her. “No, no, it was— Eri, um, I’m sorry, I have to go.”

“What? But—”

“Sorry. Sorry. I just— I have somewhere I need to be,” Shiki says, and she says this last bit very quietly, decided and cold to her core, a whisper to herself. “Eri— Eri, can I ask a favor?”

Eri has already put down her bags. She looks freaked. “Of course, Shiki, anything, but what—”

“My friend, Beat— h-he saw— he needs some help right now. He’s by the CAT mural in Udagawa. Can you go help him get home? Beat’s calling Rhyme, and I’m sure they’ll get him back safe but— I'd feel a lot better if you could help too.”

“Sure,” Eri whispers. They’re in their own little bubble in the crowd, and Eri has come close, shopping bags left on the floor and her bare hands taking Shiki’s wrists. “Sure, of course, whatever it is but—Shiki, what happened? Where are you going?"

Shiki stares down at the floor. She doesn’t answer, doesn’t know how to answer, and in the end she just stays silent. She tugs her wrists from Eri’s grip, and turns to pick up Mr. Mew with both hands, looking down at his face. There’s comfort in this—the stitching she knows by heart, that she did by hand; the reminder of the power, and the life she once breathed into him. Her hands tighten. Her fingers leave little dimples in his black fur. Because Mr. Mew is answer enough, isn't it? She feels so cold, but she isn't surprised, not really. She woke up this morning feeling like the world was off-kilter, and even though she hadn’t needed Mr. Mew with her for weeks, she'd brought him with her today.

“Shiki?”

Her eyes feel hot and wet. She presses her lips. “Eri,” she says. “Please just trust me. I—I have to—I have somewhere I need to go.”

Eri looks panicked. Her hands flutter by Shiki's shoulders. She laughs, bubbly and bright and all Eri, but it wavers at the edges. “I—”

Shiki meets her gaze. “Please,” she repeats. Her grip on Mr. Mew is very tight. “He’s by the CAT mural. He’s… he’s not doing okay.”

Eri bites her lip hard. “Okay,” she whispers. She swallows and looks around and makes as if to pick up her shopping bags, almost, before she seems to think better of it and pulls her hand back, fluttering in the air. “Okay, okay. I will.” She searches Shiki’s face. “You better call me, okay? Shiki, promise you’ll call me.”

If this goes right, Shiki won’t be able to call her. Shiki won’t be able to call anyone. But she can’t say that. Eri doesn’t know—not about the Game, not about anything. Even if she did, she still wouldn’t let Shiki go.

And Shiki has to do this.

Shiki exhales. “Okay.”

Eri’s face falls. She’s always known when Shiki lied to her. She reaches out and Shiki steps back. “Thanks, Eri,” Shiki says, voice tight, and then she turns on her heel and runs for it before she can think better of what she is about to do.

Neku told them all the whole story, in the end; Neku tells them everything. The missing gaps and the hollow pieces and who that pale-haired boy had really been, down there in the Shibuya River, on that final day. He told them, even though he wasn’t supposed to, and at the time Shiki had nodded and listened and tried not to feel sick, and she'd said all the things that needed to be said, like “Why do you still trust him?” and “Okay, Neku, but—” and “Even so. If—if he ever—you know I always have your back, right?”

And Neku had smiled at her. “I know,” he'd said.

But Shiki had taken something else from that truth too, in a way Beat and even Rhyme had not: she had understood. She understands what it’s like. Once, not as long ago as either of them would like, Neku had lifted Shiki into the air and strangled her with her own shirt collar. He tried to kill her. And afterwards he said sorry like it had to be pulled out from between his teeth, and Shiki had accepted that because Shiki accepted everything back then, especially terrible things, because Shiki had known she was an awful person and so bad things in return were just deserved.

Neku hadn’t really been sorry then; in her secret heart of hearts, Shiki hadn’t really forgiven him, either. She would, though. At the end of the sixth day, five minutes before the ad was set to air and they were waiting with bated breath to know the outcome, Shiki had apologized for slowing them down—and Neku, Neku had looked away and said, awkward and quiet and like he didn’t know the right way to be kind: “That's okay. It’s fine. We, um. We all have our bad days.”

She’d looked at him, then. She thought about everything he’d said to her, how she’d bared all her ugly secrets and he’d accepted it like it was fine. How he’d told her she was lucky to be jealous—to have something to strive for—to have a friend so wonderful you could be jealous of them—and how those words had sunk in where everything else had slipped off. The envy ate at her, sometimes, like a rot in her gut; in no world could Shiki ever imagine being able to leave it behind.

So to hear that? That this envy didn't have to be a bad thing? That she could be jealous and still love Eri, be jealous and still be herself—learn to love herself? That it was Neku who gave her that?

And that day, at the end, she said, “Neku? Thanks,” but what she really meant was I forgive you.

So she understands, a little, the thing between Neku and the boy named Joshua, even if she doesn’t like it. She understands. And when Neku told her the story, she took it and tucked it away, that Joshua was Composer and powerful and dangerous and sometimes cruel—but he was also someone Neku trusted.

And she’s thinking of that, still—remembering the story, and the way Neku told it; remembering forgiving Neku. And she’s thinking of the Reapers, and the Game, and of that last day in the rain, facing the Game Master head-on, standing up and standing strong and saying: I'm coming back to Eri, and you aren’t stopping me.

She looks up into the entrance of the Shibuya River. She curls her fingers to fists. Mr. Mew dangles from one hand.

She walks inside with her head held high, and refuses to let herself shake.

The door lets her through. She’s not sure why—if it's because she’s in the RG or if it’s because there are so few higher-ranking Reapers left to challenge him that Joshua honestly doesn’t see a reason to block her or anyone else out—but Shiki’s not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, as Rhyme would say, so she sets her jaw and pulls back her shoulders, and marches right on in.

It’s... as creepy as it was the first time around, she thinks, and cold, too, even with her sweater. She shivers a little and draws the green cardigan higher up her shoulders, taking strength from it. Mr. Mew is a comforting weight in her hands, but the deeper she walks in the more Shiki has to double-check: the warmth of her green sweater, the darker tan of her hands compared to Eri’s, the bobbed cut of her darker hair and the thin weight of her glasses on her nose. She’s Shiki. She’s herself. No matter what she remembers of this place, she’s here now stronger and better than before. She’s walking these halls with her own two feet.

Despite her conviction, though: it really is creepy. The quiet drip of the water from above, the slow trickle of the deadened river, the long, empty hall stretching on and on. She exhales hard and isn’t surprised when her breath fogs.

“Hello?” Shiki tries, and no, nope—the silence is somehow worse when nothing answers. She exhales harder, angry at her own fear, and draws herself tall. Her footsteps click quiet down the hallway. She’s dressed well for this. She likes these boots. Comfortable, cute, and good for running. “Helloooo?”

Nothing.

She thinks of the phone call, of Beat babbling over the speaker. “It happened again, yo, I saw—I wasn’t fast enough—I wasn’t enough, Shiki, I—I'm sorry, Phones—oh, fuck, Phones—”

When she speaks again, she feels very cold. “I know you can hear me. Or, I guess—you should. You probably already know I’m here. Maybe you even let me in... I don’t know.” She hugs Mr. Mew to her chest. “Beat mentioned you. You saw what happened, right? You know what’s going on?” She stares into the darkness. Nothing. “I know we don't know each other very well, but I— Neku trusts you. Despite everything. So I’m going to try too.”

Still nothing. Shiki rubs one of Mr. Mew’s paws between her fingers and draws strength from the stitching. The remembered pride of creating this little stuffed cat, the dedication, her fingers bloody from needle-pricks and the way she’d smiled for days once she’d finished. “I need to talk to you,” she says, louder now. “I need to— I need your help! You’re the Composer, right? You brought us back, right? Joshua—”

“I didn’t say you could call me that.”

The voice is young, boyish, chiding… and utterly unexpected. Shiki startles so bad she almost falls over, and turns around so quick she almost gets whiplash. Mr. Mew is squeezed in a death grip. She splutters. “Y-You—that was—give some warning!”

The boy who had definitely not been there a second ago just smiles at her. Shiki’s heart abruptly lodges in her throat. She feels cold again. Oh, she thinks. She recognizes him. Only barely, only briefly, but... the pale hair, the bright eyes. The way he’s smiling. She knows him. Joshua—the Composer. Or something.

“Um,” Shiki starts, and then forgets everything she’d planned to say.

The boy waits, and when the silence stretches, he smiles. “What,” he says. His eyes are bright. “Nothing to say? And after you came all this way.”

That kickstarts her brain. Shiki takes a breath and sets her feet. It’s fine. She’s fine! Reapers and Noise and even a dragon... and maybe the Composer is stronger than all those things, but Shiki knew this going in. She knew the moment she answered the phone—the moment she walked up to the door.

“I need your help,” she says, and Joshua raises an eyebrow.

“Wow,” he says. “So forward. And demanding. And I should help you... or even listen to you, I might add... why, exactly?”

She stares at him. “Because Neku's—hurt,” she says, stumbling over the words. The boy's smile widens. She kind of hates it. “He needs our help!”

“Mm-hm.” Joshua tilts his head. “Okay. That doesn't answer my question, you realize.”

Okay. Okay. All-powerful being who could smite her or not, Shiki’s starting to get a little angry here. She takes a deep breath. “Neku… he’s in the Game again, right? I wanted to ask if you could—”

His eyes are suddenly cold. “Neku's dead,” Joshua says, blunt. Shiki falters, the words dying on her tongue. “I won’t stop the Game for him, or for anyone. Even if he was in my Game, I’m afraid that just isn’t done.” He smiles again, but his demeanor has visibly chilled. “Well, this was fun. See you—”

But Shiki isn't listening anymore. “That’s not what I was going to say!” she snaps, hotly. “I wasn’t going to ask you to—” Her mind derails. She stops. “Wait, w-what? What do you mean if he was—Neku’s not in the Reaper’s Game?”

Joshua’s tilted his head, though; he looks curious. “Oh?” He blinks. “Don’t tell me you want to join him in the Game. Trust me, you don't need my help for that.”

Yeah, Shiki knows. But she also knows she couldn’t. She couldn’t hurt Eri like that, couldn’t hurt Neku or Beat or her parents… couldn’t do that to herself. Maybe this body won’t ever be what Shiki wants it to be, maybe her reflection won’t ever quite match who Shiki knows she is… but it’s hers. She is Shiki Misaki, and she’s worth something all on her own, and she won’t forget that again. She’s not who she used to be.

But Joshua isn’t wrong, either: he just hasn’t figured it out yet, why out of all people Shiki needs his help, because the only way this works is if he agrees. “Maybe not,” she says, voice small. “But you’re the only one who could let me in as an illegal Player.”

Because Neku told her everything—even the lie, even what he’d thought was the truth. And this time when Joshua looks her over, reading her mind or just her face or whatever it is Composers do, she knows he gets it, because he finally stops smiling.

“...Huh,” he says, but he doesn’t sound much pleased. He crosses his arms, one hand lifting to twirl a strand of hair. “Hm. Well. An interesting idea.” He stops mid-motion. “Though you do realize that just because I break my own rules doesn’t mean I’m going to let you do the same, don’t you?”

“I—I get that,” she admits. “I do. But I'm not—I get it, I know Neku has to win the Game to come back, that’s the major rule, but—but the risk’s the same, right? If I get erased in the UG, I’ll die in the RG too, I’m just... skipping a step to the entry? The Game itself—I’m still playing with the same stakes! Um. R-right?” She thinks.

Joshua doesn’t say anything. His eyes are narrow. “It’s an entertaining idea, I’ll give you that. Unfortunately...” He trails off, hands rising in an open shrug, and sighs heavily, falsely regretful. “I’m afraid I just don’t have any more use for Neku, really. He’s done his duty, and very well, too... and now it’s time for him to retire. I advise you just accept it and move on.”

There’s static in her ears. Shiki is frozen still. She gapes at him. Joshua smiles back, and it doesn’t reach his eyes. He flicks his fingers at her. “Ta. You can leave now.”

“What are you saying?” She sounds so quiet, even to herself. Strangled. Cold all the way to her bones.

He sighs again. “Look—”

“How can you say that!?” Something’s buzzing in her ears, burning in her blood. She can’t breathe. “You can’t—how could you—I thought he was your partner too!”

Joshua’s smile flickers. Shiki barrels on before he can speak. “He'd do it for you!” she snaps, feeling something angry and hot climb up behind her eyes. When she'd died… it had mattered. Her parents had left flowers by the spot, and even Eri—Eri, who Shiki had been so afraid to see—she'd cared so much she'd almost given up her whole dream just because Shiki wasn't there with her. And it had hurt, to hear that—to know she was so loved, and how much she had left to lose by failing the Game—but it mattered. To hear that. To know.

So she can't imagine this—can't imagine if someone spoke about her the way this boy is speaking about Neku, like he's nothing, like he doesn't matter, like the only reason to save someone is because they're useful. It makes something coil in her gut. It makes her throat close up tight.

“He'd do it for you!” she repeats, scandalized, and Joshua isn't smiling at all now and she should really watch that—but she’s too angry, suddenly, too mad to think. Her arms are ramrod-straight by her side, Mr. Mew swinging from one shaking fist; she stomps her foot against the ground and it doesn't feel like enough. “He— he didn't shoot you in your stupid duel and he never hated you even when he was mad at you and he always invites you to our meetups and—and even I know that, he didn't even tell me that, I just know! Because you’re his partner! He—and you—”

She’s losing her words. She wants to scream. “Never mind! Never mind! I don't get why Neku cares about you at all! You clearly don't deserve it! I'll save Neku myself, you—you—argh!”

She wants to strangle him, but she’s not that far gone. Shiki stamps her foot again instead of hitting Joshua in the face like he deserves, and marches down the hall, shoving past him, heading for the exit. Fine, fine, fine. She'll figure something out. She will.

“Neku is a special brand of stupid.”

Shiki takes it back. She's going to hit him. She turns around, livid, words rising on her tongue, and then she sees Joshua fully and stops. He has one strand twisted around his finger; he's staring off into nothing, into the darkness of the sewer, looking something like thoughtful, or maybe tired, or maybe just blank. “He is,” he adds, when Shiki doesn't say anything. “Anyone else would have taken the shot. Should have...”

He trails off, then sighs again. “It doesn’t matter. Like I said before: he’s not in my Game. Someone’s trying to jack Shibuya, and frankly, she's annoyingly good at covering her tracks. If Neku’s in a Game, it’s not one I'm running.” He makes a face, briefly. “And fine, yes, I can guess where he is, but your idea only works if there’s other Players to pact with. If he’s where I think he is… and if she’s running it… well, I doubt there’s anything left in that city at all, Player or person. Even if I was so inclined to sneak you in, you’d be less than useless. No partner…”

He stops there, the words unsaid but understood. No partner, no power. Shiki would be nothing but more food for the Noise.

Shiki stares at him. She turns her eyes away. His admission has pulled the rug out on her anger; she’s not sure how to feel at all. “...Oh.”

“Mm.” He's silent, for a moment. Shiki stares at the ground. In the distance, water drips.

“Could...” Her voice falters. Shiki swallows. “Could you get me in,” she says, haltingly, “as an illegal Player... if I was already in a pact?”

He tilts his head, giggling a little at the thought. “Wow. You’re just full of ideas, aren’t you? Let me guess. Daisukenojo Bito? His sibling? Or what about your friend… Eri, was it?”

This time, though, Shiki’s ready for him. “What about you?"

He seems, for a moment, to be at a loss for words. Then he smiles again. “No.”

“But—”

“It's a grand idea, really. But you aren't really suited to be around, well, me—for a long period of time. And I can't exactly leave Shibuya unguarded.”

What? That’s news to Shiki. “But Neku was fine,” she says, bewildered, and Joshua smiles, a little sideways.

“Well, he was fighting for you.”

Oh, Shiki thinks, and for a moment it just kind of hurts, to be reminded of that. To remember how much she'd come to mean to Neku. Like Eri almost giving up their dream—something painful, but not all bad. It’s never a bad thing, Shiki thinks, to know you’re loved. She draws herself taller. “Then it's fine,” she says stubbornly, and when Joshua raises an eyebrow at her, she says, “I'm playing for Neku. So it's fine.”

He snickers. “That's not at all how it works, but I'll give you points for tenacity.”

“I don't care,” Shiki says, more firmly. “If it's what we have to do, then I'll do it. I'll do whatever it takes.”

They finally got back. They were all finally together. And Shiki could look Eri in the eyes again and not hate herself while doing it, and Beat smiled all the time now and Rhyme, Rhyme was dreamless but happy and, they said, willing to try and find a dream again. Rhyme was alive.

Neku was happy.

Joshua’s smiles fades, a little. He considers her. Shiki stands still and tall and tries her best not to fidget.

Joshua takes a moment to think about it. He twirls one section of hair around his finger, tugging at the strand. And then he is smiling again, and that brightness is back in his eyes. “Well,” he says. “All right then, Shiki Misaki. You have yourself a deal.” His smile flashes to a grin. He giggles. “I guess you can call me Joshua after all... partner.”

Shiki meets his gaze and smiles back. He’s rude. He is, she realizes, a little cruel. When she can do so without getting immediately smited, she’s going to break his nose for ever talking like he was going to leave Neku to die. But maybe he does care about Neku, maybe it does mean something to him too, because she can't see any other reason why he'd agree.

And Neku trusts him.

Shiki isn’t sure if she feels the same, but she knows how the Game is played.

“Call me Shiki,” she agrees, and the last thing she hears before the pale flicker of the binding pact blinds her, and the world flickers around her like bad static, is Joshua, laughing again.

The pact snaps into place—

—and then Shiki is somewhere else.

#twewy #the world ends with you #joshua kiryu #yoshiya kiryu #shiki misaki #eri #neku sakuraba #twewy fic #fic: all that's left in the world #iza fanfic

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composereggwrites · 5 years ago

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Imprint Zine: New Creators’ Spotlight

This is my full article for the twewy @imprintzine!!! There’s still digital copies available of the full zine, and some merch left too!!! It was a blast to write and work with the other participants!

If you like this and wanna chat with me about it hit me up here or in my twewy discord!!!

Ao3

NEW CREATORS SPOTLIGHT

Hello again readers, and welcome to this month’s New Creator Spotlight! We find up-and-coming artists of all types to highlight! From fashion, music, and art, we know how to find the hidden talent in Shibuya and illuminate them all for you to see!

Mr. Mew Creations

First up is Mr. Mew Creations, a new fashion brand led by the fabulous Eri and Shiki Misaki. This duo has taken the fashion scene by storm with their innovative ideas and inspiring designs. From dresses to bright three-piece suits, these two push the boundaries of how we define outfits.

The star of their debut collection is a marvelous dress suit! It’s a dress, and a suit, combined into one! The top half is styled as a silken tuxedo jacket in bold fuchsia, with a pale lavender undershirt and iridescent pearl buttons. The bottom half, however, is a skirt designed to evoke the image of an elegant ball gown. The slip is comfortable enough to wear all day, while providing a backing to the outermost layer, which is a cascade of feathers dyed a stunning cobalt blue.

They have a myriad of other pieces in this lineup, going beyond the binary while staying fashionable and comfortable. From a simple purple shirt with embroidered orange foxes along the hem, to a yellow sweater with a detailed pink squirrel on the front, there’s a wide variety to choose from!

We sat down with the girls for an interview in their studio to talk about their threads, and they had a lot to say!

Thank you for interviewing with us. Could you both introduce yourselves for our readers?

Eri: Yeah sure! Thank you for interviewing us! I’m Eri, the lead designer of our two-person team, Mr. Mew Creations! I do most of the conceptual work, putting ideas down on paper and seeing where that gets us. Shiki definitely helps with that, but her talent shines in, well-- She can tell you!

Shiki: Hah, yeah! I’m Shiki Misaki! I’m the seamstress, so I made all the outfits you can see here in our workspace! Taking what Eri gives me, I bring our ideas to life! We’re both good in each other’s field, but together it feels like we’re unstoppable. She’s handed me some amazing designs to work with, and some I never thought I’d be able to turn into reality. The star of our show, the dress, was one of those. It almost ended up in the trash on more than one occasion, actually. We had to completely redesign it multiple times because we’re both perfectionists, and because someone sees the laws of physics as a challenge to beat. Eri likes to see how far we can push things past their limits, but we work best together because I can reel her back in if it goes too far.

We’re glad you two make such a good team! What led you to make the half-dress, half-suit outfit?

Eri: We wanted to design something that ignored gender norms. Something that defied them, without defaulting to a vaguely-masculine, androgynous look. The fact that clothing is gendered is ridiculous, and there’s this idea that men’s clothing is the default when you want a “gender neutral” item. We decided to go in the opposite direction, and add as much gender as we could, without being limited to one gender.

Shiki: It, like most of our line, is inspired by one of our friends. This dress was originally designed for him, before we decided to use it as part of our lineup. Gender is weird, and the society we live in makes navigating it more confusing than it needs to be. To be able to wear what you want, without worrying about the perception others have of you, without worrying about the way you’ll be labeled? That’s the ideal we strive for, and we hope our work can make a difference.

You said your friends inspired your line. What can you tell us about your creative choices?

Eri: Our friends are unique individuals, and we are too, so we know how to take a look at what people want, and what they need. Not everyone has the perfect model body. Not everyone wants to wear the high-fashion bling, or keep up with all the latest trends. The trick is to find what people want to wear, and design that, instead of chasing what’s trendy. If it’s stylish, people will want it, but it has to look nice and fit right.

Shiki: Just because something is comfortable, doesn’t mean it can’t have style. People are going to notice if you’re not at ease in the clothes you wear, and that unease ruins otherwise perfect appearances. We custom make everything here, and as the seamstress it’s my job to take what Eri gives me for the design and bring it to life. Doing that, while taking sensory issues into account, and ensuring nothing irritates the person who will be wearing it, is of the utmost importance.

Can you tell us a bit about yourselves and your brand? How you got started, or where your mascot came from?

Shiki: Oh! Our mascot, Mr. Mew, was the first thing I ever made. I still have the original, and I carry him around with me. My quality of work has improved a lot, but he’s a big comfort item. He helps me face all the big scary monsters of the world, and I want him to be there to help others too.

Eri: We met when we were younger, back in middle school. I’ve always been good at making friends, but Shiki was a lot more shy then. Actually, we got in an argument, once when we were 15. I was so worried, I thought I was going to lose my best friend forever over a misunderstanding. Thankfully, we worked it all out, and here we are now! She’s a wonderful seamstress, and all of our friends are so supportive, so it’s nice. I don’t think we’d be where we are today without each other, and the help of everyone in our lives.

It’s clear that these girls put lots of effort and dedication into what they do!

These girls offer more than some great threads! The namesake of their brand, Mr. Mew, is an adorable cat, and you can get merchandise of him too! Show off your love by picking up one of their plushies, cat ear headbands, and more!

Check out their full line at https://MrMewCreations.Com

Neku Sakuraba

The artist of the month is none other than Neku Sakuraba! If you’ve taken a walk around Shibuya, you’ve already seen his stuff! This graffiti expert has been gaining a name for himself with stunning displays of color and intricate designs. If you frequent 104 or Molco, you’ll have seen his stylish bold lines on ads for some of the stores!

He first started making waves in the art world last December, when he put up a mural in the Miyashita Park Underpass. Dubbed Hachiko’s Guardian Angel by the public, it features a glowing figure standing over Hachiko, with white feathery wings stretched out over Shibuya’s night-time skyline. There are people at the base of the statue, and musical notes fill the outer space. We reached out to Sakuraba himself for commentary, and managed to secure an interview in his studio!

The space was big, half-finished paintings and sketches scattered across the room. Cans of spray-paint, colored pencils, and charcoal were everywhere. Interestingly, we also spotted a couple Mr. Mew plushies laying around. A second guest, a friend of Sakuraba’s who insisted on being called Joshua, was also in the studio.

But without further ado, the interview:

Thanks for welcoming us to your studio! Can you give us an introduction?

Neku: Right, hi, thanks for interviewing me. I’m Neku Sakuraba. Music geek, CAT fanboy, unwilling follower of fashion trends. That one over there [he gestures toward his friend] is Joshua. Please ignore everything he says. He decided to be here for “moral support,” but I think he just wants to tease me.

[Joshua, at this, gasped, and said, “I would never!” but as requested, his further commentary has been cut from the interview.]

Got it! What inspired you to start making art?

Neku: I’ve always been a doodler. My mom has artwork from back when I was six. The big moment of inspiration for me, when I went, I want to do this, was when I saw CATs art. Looking up at the mural in Udagawa for the first time, back when I was ten, I felt a spark, and I haven’t let go of that feeling since. It’s been rough, I’ve struggled with mental health issues, but art has always been a solace in the dark. I never thought I’d make it this far, or get as much recognition as I have. It’s amazing, and wonderful, and terrifying all at once.

You first got popular because of the mural you put up last December, in the Miyashita Park Underpass. Can you tell us anything about it?

Neku: Oh, yeah! It was the first mural I’d ever done, and I drew a lot of inspiration from Shibuya. In my head, I’ve nicknamed it Shibuya’s Composition. The piece is loosely based off a dream, if I’m being honest. The glowing white figure in the center, with the wings, is meant to be a guardian of Shibuya. Someone who helps the city grow. Meanwhile, the people at Hachiko are waiting for their friend to show, but he can’t, because he’s watching from above, protecting them from afar.

Fascinating! Do you feel like there’s a story you can make from that, one you might tell in the future?

Neku: I don’t think this is ever going to be a story or comic, unfortunately. It’s more of a personal piece. A few years ago, I only had one friend, my first friend, but I lost him. When he died, I isolated myself, and it took a lot from some special people to draw me out of that shell. Even now, I wish I could see him again, and the idea of him still being out there, watching over me and my new friends, comforts me when I miss him the most. I guess I’m like Hachiko, waiting for a dead person to come home.

I’m sorry for your loss. Can you tell us anything about your other artwork?

Neku: I do a lot of graffiti-style works. There’s no other big murals out there by me yet, but I’m working on a few designs right now. People have commissioned me to do stuff ranging from tattoo designs to album covers and store promotions. One of my favorite things to do when I make art, though, is to take the mundane and re-imagine it as something mystical. Why can’t you make foxes purple? Who says there isn’t danger lurking in the shadows? What’s stopping me from adding fire and lightning as weapons, from creating fantastical fights?

Another big source of inspiration is Shibuya. I’ve grown up in this city, it’s my home. If I can look around and see things others don’t? Then I can put that down on paper. Whether it’s as simple as catching the neon lights illuminating the Scramble, or the leaves falling around Hachiko, I can see that, pull it apart, and let my imagination run wild.

That’s pretty cool. You mentioned doing album artwork earlier, so can you tell us what it was like to design the cover for the latest album by The Albatross?

Neku: It was fun! I can’t tell you anything about them, obviously, but it came as a shock when they asked me if I could take on this project. In hindsight, it makes perfect sense. But what I can say, without getting myself vaporized on the spot, is that it was enjoyable, and they’re fun to work with. Even if they’re kinda a priss. The amount of artistic freedom I had was nice, and I think we collaborate well together. So there might be more partnership between us in the future, but nothing’s certain yet.

Wonderful! With that, one last question: what motivates you to create?

Neku: Art has always been an escape for me. It can be pretty, or loud. It can shout your thoughts from the rooftops or disguise them under the rustling of leaves in the wind. You can influence others with it, if you’re lucky. I create art for myself, first and foremost. But if I can provide a glimpse into my own secret garden, and let others see pieces of who I am in my work? Then I’m glad. I want to share it. I want to make my mark on the world, and provide others with the escape I once sought.

This up-and-coming young artist is going to be a big name someday! With his talent, dedication, and heart, Neku Sakuraba might just be the next CAT!

If you want to support him, you can find information about him, his store, and his commission prices at https://nekusakuraba.com

The Albatross

Our final creator of the month, someone a bit less new, but never interviewed, is The Albatross! Their first album, Noise, featured CAT artwork on the cover: an albatross in flight, with TV static cutting through the image. These two are a mysterious duo, but The Albatross takes the title of most elusive. Despite gaining fame from fans latching onto CAT art, The Albatross has never given the public a single word.

Until now, that is! With their second album, Pulse, set to release in a couple of weeks, they have consented to an interview for the first time!

The album artwork was done by Neku Sakuraba, and it features a feathered white wing, sprouting from the right-hand side of the image. Some of the lower feathers have been replaced with graffiti-like designs.

As for the music itself, their first album featured orchestral tracks, heavy on the violin, alongside electro-punk tunes! Some were instrumental, while others had lyrics. Pulse is looking to be the same style, but rather than the dark themes of Noise, it contains brighter, more hopeful songs.

We went through a lot of paperwork, involving multiple non-disclosure agreements, and the interview took place over a call while they utilized a voice changer, but it was worth it! And we’re happy to share what we’ve learned with you!

Thank you for choosing to have your first interview ever be with us! Can you give us an introduction? Nothing too personal is required!

Albatross: You were the only ones I felt were trustworthy, and the only ones completely willing to honor my anonymity. Also, a friend may have bribed me into it with promises of ramen. As for introductions… I am The Albatross, composer of music, avid Tin Pin fan, and a nerd when it comes to all things Shibuyan. History, culture, the trends. I thrive off her, it’s like the city’s got a pulse that matches my heartbeat.

Shibuya is amazing, we agree. Can you tell us why you chose your alias?

Albatross: There’s a lot of symbolism in the albatross. The bird can be a sign of good luck for sailors, historically. In the poem The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, though, one of the sailors kills an albatross, and thus it becomes a curse. He bears the burden as the other sailors hang the bird around his neck, reminding him of how he’s doomed them all. I’ll let fans keep speculating on why I picked it, though. I can’t give away all my secrets here.

Of course. We wouldn’t want you to spoil all the fun! How do you make your music?

Albatross: It’s amazing what you can do with technology! I know how to play the violin and piano, so any parts in my songs with those are actually me playing, but for the rest I use a few different music programs! For vocals, I outsource it to Shibuyan singers, but all lyrics are still written by me. In the end, I weave everything together, and finagle it so it fits.

Sounds like a lot of work. Where do you get your inspiration for it all?

Albatross: From Shibuya! This city has a life of her own. Feet tapping against pavement, voices reaching through the air, all the beeps and honks and the myriad of noises that resound in every corner; it all creates a rhythm, it creates music. Sometimes I’ll sit and let it all wash over me. The city holds so much, a million stories fighting for attention. They echo in my head, begging to be told, so I write them. I turn them into music in the hopes of expressing their messages for everyone to hear.

The tone between your first and second album has changed a lot, from what the previews are showing. Is there a reason for this?

Albatross: Yeah. I’m going to be blunt. When I wrote and released my first album, I was suicidal. Completely isolated from the rest of humanity, with no friends or good experiences to fall back on for comfort. My only outlet was music, and because I was so depressed and misanthropic, my work reflected this. I saw the world as poisoned, felt like people would never change, and thought my existence contributed to the negativity.

But now? I have friends. Someone entered my life, not quite of their own free will, but they stuck around. They dragged me into the sun, undoing all my self-sabotaging attempts, and they helped me grow. Helped me learn to see the good in humanity again. Shibuya is full of life, full of creativity, of people trying to do their best and help others. I wasn’t able to see it before, vision clouded with my own preconceived notions, but they… Removed the tinted glasses from my face, so to speak. And this is why my new album is more hopeful and lighthearted.

You mentioned mental health, just now. Are you able to elaborate on any of that?

Albatross: Mhm, I can. It’s not pleasant, but… Mental health isn’t talked about enough, even though it impacts so many people. I’ve had depression for years now. I still do. Some friends and a few bonding experiences doesn’t magically cure everything. There is no magic cure. What helps is finding people you can rely on when things get tough. If I lock myself in my apartment, I used to hide away for weeks. Now, though? One of them comes knocking after a few days, with ramen and orders to shower. Sometimes it can feel like you’re going to shatter into a million pieces. But instead of falling apart in secret and cutting myself on the shards of glass, I have people who hold me as I break, minimize the damage, and help me piece myself back together.

Recovery is not a straight line, and there’s no end to the winding trail you take. What’s important is having friends there with you. People who help you stand up when you stumble, who help you make camp when you need to rest. Find someone who makes you feel safe enough to fall apart. Someone who can be there to pick up the broken shards, and help you create something new and beautiful with the pieces.

The Albatross is still a mystery to us all, but hopefully their words and music have reached those of you who need to hear them!

They don’t have an official website, but you can find The Albatross on your preferred music streaming service, or head to a local music shop to pick up their stuff! Don’t forget to pre-order their newest album, Pulse, and if you haven’t grabbed Noise yet, be sure to snag that too!

And that’s all for our New Creators Spotlight this month! Be sure to get next month’s issue for all our latest stories, and to discover the up-and-coming talents of Shibuya!

#twewy #the world ends with you #Subarashiki Kono Sekai #Joshua Kiryu #Neku Sakuraba #shiki misaki #eri #eri twewy #yoshiya kiryu #imprint zine

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pahrak-the-sinnoh-slizer · 3 years ago

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I beat NEOTWEWY! That was the most JRPG-ass final boss I’ve fought in years, love to see it. Need to dig into the post-game content before I try to compare it overall to the first game, but the ending at least...I’d probably say that’s better than the first game’s, and being able to say that just makes me giddy. A long list of other, super spoilery thoughts below the cut.

-It’s pretty cool that every family of Noise has its own symbol this time! Makes it a lot more clear when you’re hunting a specific Noise.

-Pachy Noise seem a little less annoying? Maybe? I still dread them but not the most.

-Puffers take a bit too long to explode and that’s annoying, but in the grand scheme of things that’s pretty minor.

-Those fucking Chameleons, though. The vanish and snipe routine I could tolerate, but combined with that counter blast every time you hit ‘em...yikes.

-I still think Rex Noise are cool af, but the Maximazaurus kicked my shit in and it didn’t feel entirely fair. How was I supposed to know that roar attack covered the entire battlefield? Can it even be dodged, or are you just supposed to kill it before it can use it?

-Fuck Plague Noise

-RIP Drake Noise and Progfox :(

-I do find it a little weird that some Noise have a regular and boss version that use the exact same name. Makes me wonder why they didn’t just recolor and rename the boss version. Meh, it’s not that important.

-So it seems “mutating” a Pin just means evolving it but it requires certain conditions, and those conditions seem to be which character it’s equipped to when it finishes leveling. Very glad there’s a skill on the social network that makes their conditions clear.

-RIP Shutdown PP :(

-Music still slaps. I really like that one, “Breaking Free” I think? It embodies that early 2000s angst, plus the final lyrics are “the world ends with me” and I’m a sucker for that shit.

-The direction they went with Kanon didn’t quite land with me personally. Like it was still pretty good, I did feel a bit sad to see her go, but her introduction just really rubbed me the wrong way I guess.

-I was unsure about the VIP system at first, but shopkeepers do still warm up to you even if it isn’t as trackable. And...I never did a whole lot with the brand chart anyway, I guess. The VIP level being a permanent thing rather than resetting every time you leave the area is a strong point in its favor.

-I really like the social network! Gives you even more info about the background characters and helps drive home the themes of connection, and it’s heavily incentivized by the wide variety of rewards you get from it. Five of my six pins can be Uber now.

-There was a minute there I thought I wouldn’t be able to progress without grinding Style, but then I realized it only restricts abilities, not what you can and can’t even equip like Bravery did. Yeah that’s a step up.

-OH, and Pin Mastery! Mastered pins counting even if you evolve or sell them! That’s good. That’s very, very good.

-I like how most of the playable characters have their own unique Psych used in the overworld to make up for their interchangeability in battle. Do sort of wish Minamimoto and Neku had their own, but it’s not a sticking point by any means.

-Also how fucking hype was fighting Leo Cantus Armo and then seeing Neku bust in with Twister playing, that was so fucking cool.

-Speaking of Hype...was kind of expecting Tsugumi to do more? In and of itself I don’t think there’s really an issue, I 100% think it’s a matter of her being central to the sequel buildup in both Solo and Final Remix. She’s super sweet, though. ^_^

-As for Tsugumi’s Noise form...well, lolz told me to bring Stone pins and those really trivialize the fight. The first time, at least.

-Someone I do think was underutilized is Ayano. We didn’t get enough from her prior to her infection and that limited the impact. The flashbacks offered during that scenario definitely helped, and I really liked Rindo going through the day trying to talk with Shoka and mentally prepare her, but...they definitely could’ve done more with her, and her being one of the characters who actually dies doesn’t help.

-Neku’s so happy in this game!!

-SHIKI FACE REVEAL!!!!

-I lost my shit when Beat took off his mask, adding him relatively early was a Good Move.

-HACKER RHYME

-I feel like Joshua showing up right out of nowhere would be confusing to new players, but obviously I can’t say that with certainty. Plus, there’s still the Secret Reports, those might explain quite a few things.

-Right, Secret Reports! I actually got one before even beating the game (Report 3), it was after my social network got to 70% completion so I think that was the unlock. I am...nervous about not having a checklist of the unlock requirements this time, but it seems they might be easier to get overall (I got Report 2 just from fighting Go-Go Beringei’s symbol on Easy) so we’ll see.

-Don’t think I see game time anywhere so that sucks, especially since the Switch’s gameplay records are so damn vague.

-Still a tiny bit salty the game didn’t tell me about what the “-” button does right away.

-All the books seem to be in one shop and I quite like that, as well as the whole organization/aesthetic of the Collection menu. I really want to see if I can 100% this game.

-The Graffiti wall is also a cool spin on achievements, even moreso since you can actually see the wall in Udagawa.

-Susukichi’s completed Noise form is tough. You really need to time your dodges when he punches, took me a minute to get that, and taking cover from that massive lightning attack is a pretty cool gimmick. I got massive Ovis Cantus vibes.

-Can we talk about how fucking packed with spoilers that last trailer was? I am of the opinion spoilers don’t necessarily ruin things but that’s a personal choice and holy shit Square.

-Really like how they subtly mislead you in regards to Swallow’s identity. The way scenes cut made me think for the longest time that they’d be the leader of the Ruinbringers, helped by the fact that Susukichi and Tsugumi start just a bit out from Rindo on the social network, leaving just enough space for one character to link them. Then they start making you think it’s Rhyme. Then you get surprised by the final reveal, but it’s a surprise that makes sense looking back. Love it.

-The whole bit with Rindo meeting anOther is also a really interesting juxtaposition with Neku meeting CAT. Both of their character flaws can be traced back to their idols, but in Neku’s case it’s down to his own misinterpretation, while Rindo is just the type of follower Motoi wanted to create. Meeting his idol is a positive experience for Neku, but a negative one for Rindo, yet they both grow as a direct result of the encounter. Super cool.

-In fact, it’s actually Fret whose backstory ends up being closest to Neku’s, despite their wildly different dispositions, that’s nuts and I love it.

-After her speech in Week 3, Nagi might just be the best character.

-They did a hell of a lot with Shoka and I love all of it.

-I said it before but I was not expecting to love Kaie as much as I do. Definitely in the running for favorite Shinjuku Reaper.

-I didn’t expect much from Hishima due to his nondescript character design, but he’s actually pretty cool.

-For Susukichi and Shiba both, they’re complete assholes in different and entertaining ways, but both manage to have a healthy amount of depth as well, I really like that.

-And fucking Kubo! Hated him from the start, but he managed to grow on me as things went, and his final reveal left a hell of an impression. I do sort of wish we got to fight him ourselves, but he got a brutal death and that’s what really matters. Xander Mobus sounds like he’s having fun.

-Haz was a very interesting addition. We’ve been wondering who he is since that final trailer (where they showed the last scene he, a Walking Spoiler, was a part of, what the hell) and I still wasn’t sure what to expect once we did get his name. He definitely gave off the same vibes as Joshua so I thought he might be a Composer (either replacing Joshua in Shibuya or maybe coming from Shinjuku), but the reveal of what he really is was pretty cool.

-Uzuki mellowed out just the right amount, I like her a lot more now.

-Kariya’s pretty much the exact same character and I love that for him.

-Would’ve liked to see Hanekoma but oh well, it sounds like he’s still writing the Secret Reports so that’s cool.

-Oh yeah, Coco. Mmm...I mean I still don’t trust her? It is a little weird that Neku does, but not to a jarring extent? I dunno, I feel like she’s still got a scheme going on...

-Again, fantastic ending, last scene very similar to the last scene of Steins;Gate so that’s a plus in my book.

-And it’s got its own Another Day!! The mention of Tin Pin makes me wonder if it’s the same timeline as the first game’s Another Day, but not sure. All three of the checkpoint bosses kicked my ass so I left to go hunt Secret Reports and fill out my Noisepedia, but eventually I hope to get further into it.

-I wasn’t super diligent with Pig Noise but there’s only one variety missing in my Noisepedia, plus I missed the second level Rex Noise. Other than that and the spots past Phoenix Cantus I just need to try to fill in drops.

-Blond kid spending one of his seven days hunting for seven urban legends really took me back to the KHII prologue, and I’m one of the folks who liked that so I mean that as a good thing.

-”The pigs’ll come sniffing!” Beat knows what’s up.

-The Chapters menu seems to count Scramble Slam rewards towards completion...I am quite nervous about that, seeing as I only got like halfway to the lowest prize every time…

-Commentator Reaper has my whole heart though

-There was one sidequest...W3D1, I think? It said someone in Udagawa needed help, but I ran up and down Udagawa like 5 times and couldn’t see anyone. Did I miss it? Is it post-game? Is the game bugged? Hm.

-But I have done almost all of the sidequests, and I...usually did well on Dive missions. There’s a decent chunk of stuff for me to do in revisits but not too much.

-Where I am right now, I still have some unanswered questions, but a lot of that comes down to specific details I might not mind if they don’t clarify. Still hope they do, of course. I crave knowledge. Time to get back to finding those Reports...

#Pahrak plays NEOTWEWY #NEOTWEWY spoilers

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crescentmoonrider · 7 years ago

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[first part here] @composeregg

aye let’s go ! time for a summary, from the finding of Neku to the meeting of Rhyme

so. Shiki and Eri live in their cottage in the woods of Saku, not too far from the town of Saku. one day, they see a /lot/ of smoke coming from the town and decide to check it out - what they find is terrible. death. destruction. the town is nothing more than a desolated ruin and they are... they are horrified

seeing that nothing lives here anymore, they decide to go back. and it is in the woods that they find an unconscious young man, injured but not dead. and they bring him back to their cottage

when the young man wakes up, he knows nothing more than his own name - Neku - and that he comes from Saku. with time though, they discover things about him - first, when Eri throws him an apple by surprise, that he is a telekinesist. then, when Shiki tries to communicate with him through telepathy, that he has a mind barrier in place preventing any telepath from entering his thoughts. and Eri grows suspicious, because his reflexes are too good, and the only people with mind barriers are adventurers who fear for their secrets, and he had too many weapons on himself when they found him -

one day, she asks him to spar with her, “to see how he is healing”, and during the spar he almost kills her on reflex. when they both regain their senses (because Eri was rightfully angry and that made it hard to explain that it was really an accident) they agree to keep it a secret from Shiki, along with Eri’s deductions about Neku’s identity (under the promise that Neku won’t hurt Shiki in any way because otherwise Eri /will/ find a way to kill him). the secret lasts... what, three days ? keeping things from a telepath isn’t easy

Neku grows afraid of his old life, afraid of not knowing his old life, because he doesn’t know what he could do and he could hurt the girls without meaning to, and with every day that passes he grows more restless and more annoying and at some point Shiki offers to help him find more about himself (Eri chokes, then says she’ll do it too), and that’s how they start their journey

their first stop is in the ruins of Saku, where Neku remembers a whole bunch of Nothing and gets in a fight with two very self-satisfied gods. the twin dragon gods of Fire and Destruction had been tasked to destroy the one town that adored Life and only Life, and once the deed had been done they came back from time to time to admire their work. that’s how Neku meets them, though he doesn’t know they’re gods at first and only sees them as very weird kids and shouts at them because that’s what he does

when he almost gets set on fire he realizes his mistake though. “almost”, because apparently pyrokinesy is his thing too ?? even though ESPs come in 3 shapes (telepathy, telekinesy, pyrokinesy) and normally people only have one of them ??? the girls are perplexed, the god of Fire now has a new favorite human (even his hair is fire !!! holy shit !!!), and Neku is just glad he didn’t get barbecued and rolls with it

anyway the twins (who aren’t twins at all actually they’re just always together) agree that they like the human boy (fire !! his whole life until now has been only destruction !!) and that they want to see more of him, so they let him live. the girls didn’t even register in their mind (believe me though, they’re going to register much, much later...)

the trio is kind of shaken up by the encounter, partly because they almost died, partly because gods just destroyed a town for unknown reasons ??? what the fuck ??? but they’re not about to give up and go to the next town, then the next, then Neku meets an old colleague (they even did a few conjoined missions at the time) who gets him back in the saddle, though Neku looks closely at his targets now and only chooses people the world won’t miss (also Neku learns he is apparently also a telepath which makes 3/3 ESPs for him. he is kind of a monster, even by assassins standards. yes assassins have standards)

Eri slams her head into a wall for a few minutes because holy shit Neku i know you’re trying to remember but surely there are ??? other ways ??? Shiki decides to take things into her hands because she doesn’t like bloodshed and doesn’t like Neku killing people, and she starts looking into other ways for Neku to regain his memories. Eri joins her in this - between Shiki’s metamorphoses and Eri’s contacts it doesn’t take them long to hear about an elf who can heal Anything, and who doesn’t even mind healing non-elves (though you have to reach her first, which is not an easy task because she lives in the middle of nowehre, aka Dwày elf village, aka these forests up north after the big-ass mountains)

meanwhile Neku gets a contract on an unkillable elf who literally invites him to do his best, and Neku isn’t a quitter but he honestly wants to give up this mission. please. now the elf has started following him “to see what he’ll come up with next” what the fuck that’s not how people with a price on their head are supposed to behave

the group starts travelling north - “the group” including Joshua and his talking cat honestly at this point Neku doesn’t even bother anymore. they get into some shit on the way, as all adventurers do. Neku now sometimes has dreams where he feels like he /remembers/ something, but when he wakes up there is nothing but the feeling of something being Wrong

they also get into some less common trouble, such as that time most of Josh’s wannabe-assassins band up together and attack the whole group. resulting in Neku’s death, Joshua committing a massacre and then resurrecting Neku with powers he wasn’t supposed to have. oh and a Reaper appears to right things (aka get Neku back in his grave and put Josh in his too) but is then stopped by the cat who is actually a god because apparently nothing can be normal today

when the girls ask about Joshua’s powers (Neku is still k.o.-ed at that time), he says that he only knows this one forbidden life magic and seriously he doesn’t want to talk about it no he can’t help Neku also he needs to take a bath. like really. he is covered in blood he seriously needs a bath. or a river. anything. why won’t the blood come off what the fuck

(remember when i talked about ow there were /consequences/ to using life magic to kill people ? yeah the consequences are mostly psychological. think Lady Macbeth)

also Josh changes his hairdo at this point this is obviously an important point that needs to be mentioned (his new hairdo makes Neku feel like something is really, Really wrong which makes no sense at all this is just hair)

no one tells Neku about the life magic thing for some reason

when they finally all reach the Dwày elf village, they are Exhausted and very, very done with all this shit. doesn’t help that they are almost immediately assaulted by a demi-elf who tells them to fuck off and leave his sister alone, his sister is not here to heal the whole world let her live. also what the fuck is wrong with earring dude doesn’t he know earrings are a thing of gods

Joshua gets away with “it’s a fashion statement” but he feels this is going to be a long day... feeling confirmed when they finally manage to get a hearing with the healer who basically says “whatever did this is strong magic so i can’t do shit. also why didn’t you ask your healer friend instead of crossing the whole country to come see me ?”

Neku doesn’t explode, but it’s close

#twewy #twewy fantasy #yumi got asked stuff #composeregg #i wrote a good chunk of this at like 2am so forgive the possible incoherent speech #yes the first half of this AU is literally getting to beat and rhyme #i mean this is a summary focused only on the group so obv there are a lot of things missing #but the Real Talk starts in the second half #thanks to rhyme and joshua #(plus the various parties of the new war but yknow. the group could've staved uninvolved)#im going to sleep now ill answer your other ask tomorrow

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ichika27 · 3 years ago

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TWEWY 12

Grande Finale already!

I felt the same nervousness and excitement I felt when I watched the first episode while watching the last one. I’m excited, half knowing what I’d see but not knowing what else to expect.

Can’t believe we finally got to this point. I took so many screenshots... I had to limit myself cause they’re not all gonna fit in one tumblr post.

Also I don’t have to give a spoiler warning anymore. Length warning though cause this is super long!(longer than the usual posts I made for this series at least).

Kitaniji transforms into a three-headed monster and unlike in the game, he doesn’t capture any of Neku’s partners nor use Josh’s power to do so. I’m not sure what explanation there is as to how he got more than one noise form but I guess he’s the Conductor so maybe it’s part of his powers here.

Shiki and Beat awaken in the middle of Neku’s fight and help out. The trio then forms some kind of three-way pact (four if Rhyme actually counted although now completely sure?) and continue battling Kitaniji. The fight scene was pretty cool especially Beat’s attack with the chains. It just sucks the fight ended too fast. I guess all of TWEWY anime’s boss fights end kinda fast even though they’re uh, boss fights.

Final attack beam like in the game! It was too fast and I couldn’t get a good shot of the white version this transforms into (which looks like the one in the game). They have an explanation later as to why it looks different at first but they’ll talk about it later.

It’s sad Joshua isn’t part of this. This is supposed to be the four-way fusion attack. (;-;)

They defeat Kitaniji who disappears, sad that he was unable to protect Shibuya. Joshua never showed up in this boss battle so Kitaniji never got to talk to Joshua for the last time. In the game he at least dies happy in a way - he lost but he gave it his all and his Composer praised his efforts. He was also able to tell Neku that the rest is up to him now. Here in the anime, he just... he lost and felt bad. I wish they had Josh show up here but they had other ideas.

A new door opens and Neku braced himself as he knows the fight isn’t over cause there’s still one last guy on top.

They find themselves in this room/hallway (is this supposed to be the Trail of the Judged?) filled with CAT murals. This somewhat confirms the “CAT = Composer” theory and Neku has now accepted it, calling out Mr. Hanekoma to show himself.

And yeah, the last episode’s title is the show’s title as well “It’s a Wonderful World”.

Someone else showed up instead. Joshua finally makes his reappearance!

Boy, have I been waiting for you! I wish you were with them in the final battle earlier so you guys could be a team (and you could be one of Neku’s partners) one last time.

Neku is surprised but happy to see Joshua again. He thanks Joshua for saving him before and is glad that he’s okay.

In the game, this never happened cause Josh appears in the middle of a fight. Things were too hectic and when the battle with Kitaniji finally ended, he and Josh talked about their own game and so after Kitaniji disappears, what’s left is questioning what was happening. Since Josh didn’t show up earlier, they were able to reunite in a more peaceful way and Neku had no suspicion until Joshua himself brought it up.

And I guess that’s why I was so nervous when I watched this. It’s a bit too peaceful. I know what’s gonna happen next but not exactly how they’d adapt it.

Joshua finally explains the truth to Neku and his friends.

This felt more... awful to watch. Like we had both Joshua and Kitaniji giving bits and pieces of the truth in the game via their conversation so there’s two people to focus on. Here it’s just Joshua. But in a way, I guess this works cause there’s no one else there to soften the blow and Joshua could make the revelation hurt more if he wishes so. It also kinda feels worse cause you see Neku happy to see Joshua earlier before the reveal happens. Kinda heartbreaking.

“I’m the Composer of Shibuya.”

He finally says it clearly to a confused and surprised Neku.

We get a flashback of Joshua and Kitaniji talking about Shibuya’s impending destruction, why it must happen, and Kitaniji making a deal to try and save it. He has a month to change things for the better and if it works out, he wins. If not, Joshua continues the destruction plan.

Joshua’s Composer form is more vague here. It’s human shaped but you don’t see his face and the outline glows like this so you don’t properly see the shape. I think this is better cause there’s no way you can tell who the Composer is like this and he looks less human.

Beat gets angry at the revelation and tries to attack Joshua which he couldn’t do because of Joshua’s powers. I wasn’t able to get a screenshot of this but Josh is twirling his hair after this while Beat struggles to try and punch him. He’s cute and I know this is kind of inappropriate to say in this situation given he legitimately made someone mad and he deserves that punch to his pretty face.

Joshua uses his powers to freeze the others (and later renders them unconscious to keep them quiet). Neku is worried about his friends and is mad.

Joshua tells him he won’t hurt Neku’s friends. He then explains about how he found his proxy. Which is Neku much to his horror at what this meant.

I just had to get this with the subtitles on. I replayed the scene several times to hear if there was no error. Joshua says “Daiji na Neku-kun no tomodachi...” and I google translated it. It says “daiji” means “important”. So yeah, he definitely called Neku “important” to him. It’s surprising although this wouldn’t be out of place in the original game since they had more moments to just talk on there.

Yeah, I know I focused on this a little but I’m a nekujosh/joshneku shipper so forgive me for latching onto this.

Neku slowly sees the bigger picture as Joshua continues to explain himself. As a reward for getting this far, Joshua returns Neku’s memories.

He really had to get that close while saying Neku’s name, didn’t he?

Neku’s death flashback. The scene plays almost similar to the game right down to the censored guns (is this a creative decision to make it faithful to the game or are they really just not allowed to draw actual guns?). I was gonna make a joke about how Joshua stopped Minamimoto’s bullets using an AT field but the shot was different and the bullets just looked like they froze midair and not stopped by some kinda force field like in the game.

Neku ends up getting shot by Joshua complete with bleeding unlike in the game. I just have to wonder if I was the one who got it wrong cause in the game, Joshua looks like he’s aiming for Neku’s head and here, Neku gets shot on the chest. Did they change it cause a headshot would be too much or has it always been a shot to the chest?

Neku angrily walks over to Josh and grabs him by the collar. Joshua stops Neku with his powers as he continues to explain about what happened regarding the death scene and Minamimoto. Joshua then materializes two guns out of thin air and places one on Neku’s hand as he tells him the rules of their final duel: just shoot and if Neku wins, he could save his friends and he becomes Composer and do what he wants. What stood out with how he said it is that he didn’t exactly go “If you don’t beat me, Shibuya is destroyed.” and instead went “If you win, these are what you get to be Composer and whatever else you’d like! Sounds good, right?”. As if saying killing him has a lot of perks.

It feels weird seeing Josh physically placing the gun on Neku’s hand cause in the game, the gun was by Neku’s feet and Neku had to pick it up on his own accord. Anyways, I like the effect they used to materialize the gun cause it’s the same effect for the names of the routes when they show them on screen. Like graffiti or something.

At this point Neku’s crying. The shot didn’t feel as dramatic as in the game in my personal opinion. Neku is tearing up here but he looks tired and was about to sob in the game. Joshua meanwhile, counts down from ten.

Before Joshua’s count hits three, Neku hears a somewhat distorted voice (which we know is just Mr. H) saying “Trust your Partner”. This reminded Neku how he got to where he is: by trusting his partners. (I have something to say about this later)

In a very shocking turn of events, instead of just lowering the gun and letting himself be shot like in the game, Neku drops his gun and with a hand outstretched tells Joshua “I’ll trust you”. Oh my god... they really did it. I love this change not gonna lie. I think they might have added this cause they didn’t adapt Neku’s ending monologue where he does say he trusts Joshua. It’s less dramatic than the game though since Neku doesn’t say anything while Joshua is counting down. In the game, he was crying and saying how he thought Joshua was his friend and how all of this really hurt him. Guess we take what we can get and they gave us this.

Joshua smiles as he shoots but as Neku falls, the smile on Joshua’s face disappears.

Mr. H didn’t show up at the end here either so Neku didn’t get to see him.

Neku wakes up in the middle of Scramble Crossing like usual but he bumps into people and so he realizes that he’s alive now. He doesn’t scream after the very stressful crap he went to like in the game. Might not be entirely the same but Joshua still left him lying down in the middle of the street. Nice.

We then see a short timelapse from above Shibuya which is probably supposed to show a week has passed. Neku’s monologue wasn’t added in and no ending music as well. I’m disappointed “A Lullaby for You” wasn’t used. Here I was hoping for a miracle.

By the way, Shooter, Yammer, and I think Makoto all passed him by the scramble. They really didn’t get much screentime but at least they made cameos.

Neku finally meets up with the Bito siblings like at the game’s epilogue! The shot they did was almost the same as with the game, too. They have dialogue here instead of just stills with Neku showing how happy he was to see his friends alive again, too. I’m happy the anime version showed him smiling more at the end cause he needed that after everything. It’s nice to see him smile.

RG! Shiki is here! With the same shot as in the game! They really aren’t gonna show us her face, huh? Also, all of the shots with Shiki on them has her back towards us. Like there are scenes where Neku and the rest are looking forward and she’s in front of them with her back turned on us. Why? They could’ve used the lighting on her glasses to obscure her eyes, too. So her bangs are a secret as well then?

They show Eri later, too enjoying a concert, by the way. I was hoping to see a reunion between her and Shiki as well and them finally talking after the stuff from before. Oh well.

Neku takes off his headphones and he and Shiki do a proper introduction with each other with Shiki being herself this time. (Is Shiki the same height as Neku? It looks like that from this angle.)

Anyways, this was a nice way to adapt Neku taking off his headphones since they can’t do it like in the game.

They adapted the secret ending but expanded it to add stuff from the secret reports to explain other lore stuff which would’ve been missed by the anime-only watchers since those are part of bonus game contents. Mr. Hanekoma and Joshua talk about the events of the long game and Joshua says he knew it was Mr. H whose responsible for Minamimoto.

They also talk about the Red Skull Pins and how Mr. H made it for Kitaniji. Mr. H says the pins imprints Kitaniji’s will on people and that he himself (Mr. H) doesn’t need that cause he could do so with all the graffiti he left all over town.

Which brings me to earlier in the duel: Neku hears a voice, clearly (to us) is Mr. Hanekoma’s and it’s in a place filled to the brim with CAT graffiti. Did he imprint the words “Trust your partner” to Neku?

Meanwhile, Beat wonders how they were able to pull off the final attack. Neku says it was probably the pin Hanekoma gave them (the keypin looking thing). I guess they needed an explanation for the last attack but they didn’t have the fusion pin so they used this keypin instead. It’s why the attack looked different in the beginning when the attack was powering up.

There’s apparently a new CAT graffiti at Udagawa and of course, CAT-fanboy Neku has to see it. On the way, they meet Sota and Nao who are now alive! I’m so happy!! Joshua brought them back, too! I always felt bad about what happened to them in the game. I’m glad they got a happy ending in the anime.

Def March, 777′s band, are back as well and look... they got their winged mic back! It makes me wonder if they found it later on or if Joshua gave that to them back the same time when he brought them back lol. I’m just really happy for all of them.

Joshua’s wings!! This is, unfortunately, the best shot I could get since they never really zoom in on this. In the game he is in his Composer form in the secret ending and turns into a ball of light when he leaves. Here, we see his wings. It’s smaller than the one he has in KH:DDD. At least we canonically see it here.

I can now use the term “Joshua Maji Tenshi” and be accurate!

Mr. H points out that Joshua looks lonely and is in denial and Josh just leaves. Mr. H also shows his wings and leaves afterwards, too. I didn’t take a pic of it since we see it in the game’s secret ending anyways. His wings also seem smaller than in the game.

Final shot of the new CAT graffiti. I was so close to crying the entire ending and this nearly tipped me over but it didn’t. If “A Lullaby for You” was playing, I’d have probably bawled my eyes out. This graffiti is beautiful. I want a sticker of it.

Also, I just noticed but CAT’s old graffiti at Udagawa had mostly darker colors. This new one is brighter and is more colorful.

First of all, I wanted to thank tumblr for not giving me an error for posting more than 15 images like I usually did. I was bracing myself for the error pop up and was gonna make a part 2 instead but there was some kind of miracle and I got more than 20 pictures on here.

I have a lot of melodramatic things to say about the anime but I’ll save it all for later. For now, I’ll say something else. I’m sad they didn’t adapt Neku’s monologue. Those words from Neku still hits me in the feels to this day. Him saying that the entire ordeal really affected him in more ways than one and it wasn’t all good even though he��s happy about changing and what he learned from the experience. His line about how he can’t forgive Joshua but trusts him was cut along with it and it would’ve been nice to have to know what he thought of Joshua.

The thing I missed the most was the “I have friends now. We’re meeting each other for the first time in a week. See you there?” lines. It shows how happy Neku is that he now has people to call his friends which is super heartwarming and the line implies that he counts Joshua as one of those friends, too (which is properly confirmed in KH: DDD which I’d probably make a post about later if I get the motivation to do so). That would’ve also made the last scene with Josh hit harder. In the game, knowing Josh wanted to be with them and is sad he couldn’t already makes me sad but also knowing Neku is waiting for him makes it much worse (and I still feel pain thinking about it even after all these years).

Maybe we’d see them get reunited in NTWEWY. Hopefully. I really do hope so.

The anime isn’t perfect but it did what it could with the limited amount of time it had. The show would’ve been better if they had more episodes but we don’t know why it ended up with just 12 so we can’t really say anything else. They did it and it wasn’t as bad as I was fearing in a way. Would I recommend it? I’d probably rec the game first, to be honest. I was only okay with watching cause I have played the game and could fill in the missing stuff but the anime-only fans couldn’t and the thought that they won’t be able to fully appreciate the entire story of twewy is kinda sad. It was a nice watch though and I’d miss waiting for it every week.

I wonder if they’d make “A New Day” OVA since the anime is supposed to help the ones who haven’t/couldn’t play the first game but would go play NTWEWY and that scenario has story stuff that’s connected to the sequel.

Anyways, thanks for reading this far if you did! I’ll be watching gameplays of NTWEWY when it comes out in full (since I don’t have the money nor the console for it).

#Subarashiki Kono Sekai #the world ends with you #twewy #subaseka #sana_post #joshneku #nekujosh

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