#ghost is very secretive of his identity so he's kinda hard to pair with a civilian | 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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kabira · 4 years ago

Text

08 | distance

pairing — spider-man!vernon x ofc

featuring — joshua, yeji (itzy), felix (skz), yangyang (nct)

word count — 2.5k

genres — spider-man au, marvel au, fluff, action, angst, humor

warnings — minor violence

note — ok so this was kinda later than scheduled (three WEEKS) but the next update will hopefully be on time so i can keep up! by which i mean sunday 6 am (ist). also, for the love of god, tumblr make this show up in the tags. pretty, pretty please.

go to fic masterlist | main masterlist

“Okay, so here’s what I found out about your Rhino guy,” Yeji said, jumping over the side of the rooftop and landing on another, hitting the ground with a roll before coming up on her feet. They were currently involved in a high-speed chase, which meant she had to yell at the top of her voice for Vernon to hear her—not that it mattered a lot. Up here, no one could hear you scream. “He’s Russian. Name’s Alexei Sytsevich.”

“Russian, huh?” Vernon yelled back. He swung over a tall rooftop garden, taking care not to accidentally knock over something he wasn’t supposed to. “Anything that could tie him to Osborn?”

“Not really!” Yeji yelled. “His identity is public, so anyone could get to him, and he must have happened to have been around when he attacked you. But there’s nothing concrete we could go after.”

The two of them were chasing Batroc the Leaper across the top of the buildings, having caught up with him just moments after he robbed a store. A basic assignment, really, but it was still a challenge to apprehend him before he got too far from the crime scene. One of their more casual operations, much like a training session, except this was the real deal.

“Anything of interest?” Vernon asked. They were close to catching their quarry, very close. Batroc wasn’t really that notorious in the underworld, but he was still a menace and technically a criminal. A more notable point of interest were the mechanical leaping legs attached to both his feet which allowed him to jump several feet high in the air, making for a good old-fashioned superhuman chase scene.

“He was experimented on with this gamma radiation technique to give him superhuman strength and durability, but it ended in an accident,” Yeji answered. Her voice, apart from the strain due to the yelling, sounded strangely relaxed for someone who was chasing a guy across the tops of buildings. Even after having time to get used to it, Vernon was still surprised by her resilience. “The suit he was wearing that day—remember how it was made of some kind of self-regenerating polymer? It’s literally stuck to his skin. Can’t get it off him.”

“Must be constipated; it explains the anger issues.”

Just then, Yeji caught up to the Leaper. She sprung off a ledge and onto the top of a water tanker, from where she dived towards the unsuspecting criminal, flattening him to the ground. Vernon swung up to her, landing on the ground next to her. Batroc tried to wiggle away, but Vernon webbed his hands and feet to the rooftop, successfully trapping him. “So,” he said, turning his attention back to Yeji. “Any idea where they’re keeping him?”

“If you’re wondering if he’s being kept anywhere close to Osborn, don’t worry.” She placed her hands on her hips. It looked strangely satisfying, her claws aligned with the gray markings around the waist of her white suit. “Rhino’s placed in the Helicarrier for now, but in a special ward designed specifically for the big guys, though th They have specialists looking into his, er, sticky situation, but he’s on an entirely different level than Norman. And I mean that quite literally.”

He nodded. “Did the files mention which specialists are looking into it?”

“Eez it perhaps—” Batroc started.

Vernon webbed his mouth. “Zip it,” he said.

“No. The only files I could access didn’t have much on him,” Yeji said, sounding genuinely sorry. “There was other stuff, like his eye color and his blood type, but I don’t think you’d be very interested in all of that.”

“You think right.”

“There might be more details in the confidential reports coming in from the Helicarrier holder itself, but getting them would be a lot of trouble,” she said. “Although if you really want them—”

“No, it doesn’t matter,” Vernon said, shaking his head. “Thanks for digging up the rest, though. I owe you one.”

“Consider it early payback for when your Aunt May teaches me how to beat your ass at video games.” He couldn’t see her face, but he sensed that underneath the mask, she was smiling.

“Hey, that’s an Aunt May thing, not a me thing,” he said, then paused, hesitating. There was something else he had wanted to ask her, but he didn’t know if he really wanted to follow through with it. “Hey, Tiger…” he trailed off. “Actually, never mind.”

“No, go ahead,” she said. “Unless you’d rather not.”

He shook his head slightly. “It’s not like that,” he said. “This might sound kind of intrusive, but do you know the deal with Fe—Iceman?” he asked. “Don’t get me wrong, he’s great and everything, but with all the brooding and the secrecy, I’m just a little—” He scrunched up his nose. “That does sound intrusive.”

“It does,” she agreed, but it sounded amused. “Look, I’d tell you. I really would. But it’s something I feel he should tell you yourself, you know? If and when he’s comfortable talking to you about it.”

“Did he tell you?”

“No, I just kind of figured it out.” She sounded a little sheepish. “And maybe I got it out of one of the IT guys.”

He looked at her, amused. “They have IT guys at S.H.I.E.L.D.?”

“Well, I guess they’re not IT guys in the strictest sense,” she mused. “There’s a hierarchy of ranks even within the record regulators, so it’s a little hard to explain. Not that it really matters, anyway.”

“It would be kind of cool if S.H.I.E.L.D. needed IT guys,” Vernon said, looking down at Batroc, except he wasn’t really looking at him, but through him. “Unrealistic, though.”

Yeji shook her head slightly, like she was unable to believe they were having this conversation. Or maybe he was just projecting his own amused disbelief onto her. But he noticed the tenseness of her shoulders and she let her arms fall to her sides, as if she was holding in a laugh. It was one of those conversations that took a turn that didn’t even have to be funny to make you laugh.

“Good talk,” she said, and this time he could actually hear the smile in her voice. “Now let’s get this guy back to the carrier.”

Luce knew something was up.

She had known this for a while now—about a year, in fact. She had only just started to suspect it when Vernon had changed, and Joshua had gotten secretive, and Harry had first started floating away. It had come one after the other, like the three of them were carrying out parts in a play and she was in the audience, watching but unable to take part. Change, and secrecy, and distance.

She liked distance. Luce had always been distant, someone who stood in the crowd and yet apart from it, unwelcome and unsettling for most around her. Eccentric, some called her, or strange, or downright creepy. It never really mattered to her, because for her, it had always been just the four of them—Vernon, Joshua, Harry and her—and even after everything that had happened, they still felt like four. Three people with a ghost in between, still shaking his head at their dumb jokes and still taking the best seat in the Parker living room when they had movie night.

Looking back, she realized that the cracks in their relationship had first appeared a year ago. Often, after Harry died, she thought about how they had collectively ignored those fractures in their friendship, that had come in the form of change and secrets and distance.

The first to change had been Vernon, of course—trading his glasses for unexplained bruises, his mysterious disappearances poorly covered up and rarely questioned. Then Joshua—the two of them with their heads together in the hallways, shooting each other knowing looks that shut everyone out. It felt like it was just the two of them sometimes, Luce and Harry often forgotten during their closed conversations. That was probably what had pushed them together, but now that Harry was gone, she was left alone. Still on the outside, trying to look in, but in vain.

She knew she couldn’t blame Vernon and Joshua for it, she had started to blend into the background a little more with every passing day. Catching one without the other was hard, so at some point she stopped trying, letting them find her whenever they felt like it. Sometimes she felt like a ghost, too, lurking in a ruined castle, only seen when a wanderer needed shelter.

Now, it was all happening again. The arrival of the new kids had seemed like a minor disturbance at first, like a tiny cloud on the wide horizon, but Vernon had warmed up to them surprisingly quickly after his initial coldness. It wasn’t that Luce didn’t like them—after all, she had been the one to initiate first contact—but she had still been taken aback by how quickly they had become a part of their little group of three (and a dead boy, but he didn’t take up seats anymore).

Except they didn’t feel like it. Not to her, and probably not to Joshua either, whom she had seen watch the new trio with lingering looks when he thought she wasn’t looking.

She was a little surprised by her own reserve, because the arrival of more people should have been a good sign. More people, even numbers, pairs, so she wouldn’t be a third wheel anymore. But it hadn’t worked out that way—she was still stuck outside, but this time Joshua was stuck with her.

It was hard not to be even a little mournful.

“Aren’t you forgetting something?” she called as Vernon walked past her in the school hallway after fifth period, looking distracted as he usually did these days. He turned, surprised, as if he hadn’t even noticed her there.

“Me?” he asked, looking confused, and she sighed internally. On the outside, she simply shook her head as if in amused exasperation, reaching into her bag and taking out a spiral notebook.

“Notes. From Physics.” She handed it to him, and he stared at the cover for a dazed little moment before looking back up at her. “You missed another class today.”

“Right,” he muttered, giving her a grateful smile. Fifteen seconds had passed already, about five seconds less than the longest conversation they had held in two weeks. He probably hadn’t even realized. “Thanks.”

“Don’t worry about it,” she said, meaning it. No point in moping after something that hadn’t been for months. She leaned against the locker door and folded her arms across her chest. The zips along the cuffs of her jacket pulled against the leather. “Going somewhere?”

“Not really.” He shrugged. The smile was still on his face, that stupidly delightful half-smile that still felt like it was behind a glass wall. “Are you?”

Am I ever? She shook her head. “Where did you go?” she asked instead of answering his question.

He frowned. “Where did I go…when?”

“During physics,” she clarified. “You’ve been disappearing a lot lately.”

“Oh, you know…” he started, trying hard to keep his voice casual. “Places.”

It was hard not to smile. “Like?”

“The principal’s office,” he said, sounding a little disappointed.

“The new guy?” Luce raised her eyebrows. “Did you do something to piss him off? Get a low grade?”

“Of course not,” Vernon said indignantly. “My scores are perfect.”

“I know. The rest of us on the curve are suffering because of it.”

“Sorry,” he said, not sounding sorry in the least. Instead, there was a small smile on his face that looked suspiciously like a smirk.

Almost a minute now. Luce let the back of her head hit the locker door, finally letting herself believe that he wasn’t going anywhere, not this time around. The feeling that came with it was so warm and delicious that it spread inside her chest like hot water, reaching her toes and fingers and the tip of her nose. “You’re not sorry,” she said with a smile, though she didn’t really mind. “Are we still on for Friday?”

Now Vernon’s smirk dropped, replaced by a split-second look of horror. “Friday?” he echoed. “This is going to sound bad, but I don’t—”

“Movie night,” she supplied. “And don’t worry, I didn’t expect you to remember. The last time we talked about that was a while ago, anyway.”

Movie night, or game night, was their irregular childhood tradition that had become increasingly infrequent over the past few years, but particularly so in the last year. Even then, they’d never gone this long without getting together at least once. The last time they’d done something like that together, it had been almost two months ago, when they had still been four.

When Luce finally mentioned it, she felt strange thinking about the prospect of movie night with only three people. It felt odd. Unnatural. Three felt like the wrong number, like fates and the prongs of a pitchfork. Too little.

“Tell you what,” she said, pulling herself out of her thoughts with difficulty. She did that too much, lose herself in her memories or some random vein of thought and manage to completely detach herself from the world around her. It got harder and harder every time, and sometimes she wondered if one day she was just going to be trapped in her own mind.

“What?” Vernon asked. He had that distracted look on his face again, his posture jumpy like there was extra energy wrapped into his body.

“Why don’t you bring Yeji and the others along this time?” she suggested. Six wasn’t that great of a number either, but it was definitely better than three. And maybe this way she’d be able to get to know the others a little better, pull herself back to reality. “I’m sure they’d like to. And that way, it’ll be an even team.”

“Not if May decides to join in again.”

She smiled. “Then maybe I’ll bring Hairball.”

He groaned. “Oh, no, not Hairball,” he said, eyes refocusing on her face. There was such a vibrant intensity in his gaze that it made her want to stand up straighter. Then he smiled, and she actually had to stand up straight. “You sure, though?”

Of course he would ask her. Vernon Parker, despite all his bodily changes, was still the same guy from fourth grade who always let her have the rest of his lunch—if he managed to keep it from Flash. Luce was almost tempted to reconsider, but she saw the earnest look on his face, the slight arch of his eyebrows, and swallowed the words that welled up in her throat.

“Of course,” she said. “Three’s already a crowd, so we might as well have a whole party.”

“A party, huh?” He winced. “That reminds me. Food.”

“We’ll order from Larry’s.”

“I’ll have to decide if they deserve it yet,” he joked. At least, she thought he was joking. “See you on Friday.”

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witcher-ot3 · 4 years ago

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List of Iorveth/Roche WiPs

Because somethings I like to torment myself by showing how many fucking things I’m working on. Doesn’t help that lately, I’ve started a new WiP every time I get stuck in another fic. So, in no particular order (literally just how the tabs are ordered in my window lmao), here are all my Iorveth/Roche WiPs

2 fics in the Petals and Stripes ‘verse - one with Roche’s POV straight after and one of the Stripes’ POV as they deal with the aftermath... and try to help their boss woo Iorveth. Surprising no one, they’re terrible at it.

Curse breaking WiP where True Love’s Kiss strong emotion for one’s enemy saves Iorveth’s life. And then he, Roche, and Triss team up to go save the Scoia’tael.

Roche’s POV WiP set before they first meet. Includes some nice knife and blood kink during a face off between Iorveth and Roche. No idea where this one is going.

Eye On You Chapter 3, for which the plan is thigh-fucking. That’s it, that’s all I got.

Fake dating casefic (The Curious Case of the Murivel Resort for Couples). rn they’re playing strip gwent and I somehow signed up to write 5 different gwent games for this 😢

Competitive makeouts (The Chase) rn they’re spiderman kissing, but there’s gonna be a conspiracy plot that Iorveth has to reveal.

New ‘verse involving Iorveth/Roche/Kayran and Roche/Foltest lmao. First WiP is Roche running into Iorveth during his monthly fuckdate with the Kayran... and then joining in. Second WiP is a comparison of Roche’s two relationships and how they make him feel. For some reason, I framed it around the Chivalric Virtues from Blood & Wine and made it a 5+1 lol

Pining and Poignards, a WiP in which there is pining and stabbing lol. A poignard is a type of knife, which Iorveth generously “gifts” to Roche. rn Iorveth is sneaking around the army base and has just caught Roche masturbating. I...only sort of know where I’m going with this one.

Tittyfucking. That’s it, that’s the plot lmao. Iorveth is a lil obsessed with Roche’s chest and attempts to fuck it.

Gross Gremlin Man aka Iorveth prefers Roche nasty and sweaty. Uh... I just started this one and somehow it went from “huh, why do I not mind Roche when he’s all sweaty” to “hmm, I think I’m gonna steal his clothes and smell them while I touch myself” and I’m still working on the transition from one to the other lol

Red is the Rose Chapters 3+4 - Ch3 is about ready for posting, but I’m trying to figure out how much of the events of W2 to cover or if I should just skip all of them and get to the post-W2 plot.

Fun fact: all of those WiPs above are in 1 document because I like to make life difficult for Google Docs. But the other docs are all specific ‘verses (or themes) and these ones are theoretically standalone. Theoretically.

More standalones

Letters - a post-W3 WiP where Roche is running Temeria and hates it and starts receiving letters from Iorveth (sealed with a forget me not in wax).

WiP where they both get captured and imprisoned in a magic cell and whoops, sex ends up happening... and then their teams come rescue them.

Cuddles with the Commander - continuation of Pride of Temeria, where Roche wakes up cuddled up with Pillow Tits and his team.

Fire Breathing - a Meet the Family WiP where Iorveth is hanging with the Stripes and PT decides to demonstrate how to breathe fire. Iorveth is more than slightly freaked out that humans have this ability.

Iorveth gangbang - uh yeah, what it says on the tin. The Blue Stripes take Iorveth apart under Roche’s guidance.

Different first meeting identity porn WiP - they meet in Flotsam just as the Scoia’tael is starting to get formed. Neither knows who the other is, but they have amazing sex and every time they’re in Flotsam together, they meet up again. But Iorveth, of course, leads the Scoia’tael, and Roche has been tasked with hunting them down.

Crones WiP - Roche went to the Crones to plead for his men back. He gets them back - but as ghosts. He also gets assigned to help work on a cure to the Catriona plague, and it turns out one of the people already working on it is Iorveth. I literally just want Blue Stripes ghosts laughing at Roche’s bad flirting, but somehow it’s mostly angst rn ooops

Love Shack WiPs

First Time WiP - this one is so close to being done dammit. It’s actually the first WiP I ever started for this pairing and it just needs like 2 more orgasms aaaaahhhhhh

Medicine WiP - morning after their first time, they have a discussion about scars and medicine and how elven medicine is way better than human medicine. Not at all based on the billions of medical procedures I’m going through or anything.

PWP Ovi WiP - uh yeah, this one is just pure porn. rn Iorveth is giving Roche his eggs and Roche is loving it.

The Picture Says It All - next is gonna be a sketch of Roche hard at work hunched over a desk and Iorveth is all “no, this is wrong, he’s meant to be wielding a sword and fighting me”

The Haunting of Barrack 8B - Adda!! Adda is officially getting introduced in the next part, which is good, ‘cause she’s important in this ‘verse (and in my heart)

Roche builds Iorveth a home WiP - oh yeah, I stalled out because I realized I had to establish Roche and Rinn’s friendship before she could give him a hint about making a nest for Iorveth

Long Live the King - WiP about Roche’s relationship with Foltest, some of what he’s done for the King, how Iorveth feels about it, and then the big finale for this ‘verse, which I will leave secret for now.

Don’t Cry For Me, Temeria WiPs These are only the ones that have actual WiPs started, because believe me, I have a LOT more ideas

(Im)Perfect Strangers ch 27 - time for Roche to step up his wooing. Featuring dinner, dancing, and gift giving. And, of course, it wouldn’t be me without misunderstandings lol.

Between Two Fools Ch 8 - I’m working on getting this out as soon as I can. Just gotta finish writing their sex from the end of (Im)Perfect Strangers ch 26

Unlucky Number Thirteen - I want to write about how he starts spying for Roche and their developing kinda mentorship relationship

Silas’s story - he’s literally JUST joined the Stripes and I need to write how he and Thirteen work closely together but also this poor anxious boy is like 3 seconds from a heart attack at all times rn. It will get better tho.

Earning Your Stripes ch 2 - the first time. This chap will actually have porn! But first I gotta finish writing it lol. Rn Ves and Finch are double teaming Fenn and PT and Thirteen are in subspace cuddling with Roche, but soon they’ll get to join in too.

break (v /brāk/): to destroy someone's resistance - cnc WiP where Iorveth asks Roche to break him - and Roche has a lot of fun doing so as they pretend to fight like they’re still enemies.

Bath House - this was SUPPOSED to be a porny lil thing where Roche talks dirty to Iorveth while they’re stuck being proper for the kids, and then finally they get some alone time. But what it also turned into is that Anais and Thirteen equally hate baths lmao. Boussy loves them tho. He’s a hedonist, while Anais is just bored and Thirteen is like a cat with water.

Tutti Ch 2 - Iorveth begins to compose a symphony for Roche about their love story.

Daggers, Dumplings, and Dresses - the Elihal/Hattori side story. Not gotten much written so far - mostly just Elihal reflecting on his friendship with Iorveth.

The First Rule of Fight Club ch 2 - Ves now has time to think about what Ciaran said about Roche not being worthy of her loyalty. And also about how Ciaran’s skin tasted when she bit him.

Dragonfucking - another PWP WiP featuring a threesome with Saskia... except Roche still doesn’t know about the whole dragon thing, so he’s in for a surprise.

Water Balloon Fight - silly lil WiP where the Scoia’tael and the Blue Stripes have a water balloon fight. PT is the ref.

Baby Mama - lmao yes that is what it’s listed as in my doc. Not gonna say a lot about this, but will probably be a longer piece. Set in the distant future in DCfM,T.

Tempt Not a Desperate Man ‘verse Yeah, does anyone know what this is? It’s the ‘verse that started with Devour What’s Truly Yours and so far has nothing else published oops

Part 2 - in which they actually have to face each other again and figure out where they stand. And then there’s some fisting.

The Chaperon - Iorveth decides to make Roche a chaperon since the last one was sacrificed as a cum rag

Human Bootlicker - Iorveth makes a joke about Roche surrendering on his knees when he gets the upper hand in a fight between the Blue Stripes and the Scoia’tael - and then Roche actually does.

Elven Baths - so it’s kinda a thing in this ‘verse that they end up meeting and fucking in the elven baths in the Flotsam forest. As in, the legend about “if you’re in love, you can still hear the lovers’ sighs in the garden” came to being because Roche is fucking loud lmao. Also, roses of remembrance. 😉

Sort of series fics, but technically stand alone. AKA apparently I decided I wanted to do Themes.

Theme 1: Possessiveness aka all the kinky sex kinda embarrassed to admit to these which is dumb because fuck shame

Piss fic - uh, kinda what it sounds like? Roche decides to be an asshole and refuses to move out of the way when Iorveth tries to get to the bathroom - and somehow this turns into Iorveth pissing on his crotch.

Come inflation + piss fic - Roche gets a potion that makes him come a lot. Iorveth likes it and wants more.

Possessiveness - Iorveth has feelings about his nemesis and Roche does not know how to feel about this.

Tentacles + Breeding - a tentacle/vine plant instinctively tries to lay its eggs in Roche. Iorveth is not okay with this plant going for his enemy... until it turns out Roche is very much here for it. And also for Iorveth fertilizing the eggs after they’ve been laid.

Dream - Roche dreams about Iorveth being an elven king and himself being essentially Iorveth’s plaything, to use and to show off

Theme 2: King Roche aka hey, wouldn’t it be funny if he ended up in charge? He would hate it so much

Murder husbands - Iorveth breaks into the palace and finds the very unhappy “King” Roche, then they go run away and kill war criminals together. But of course Roche could never abandon Temeria, so he’s still in charge by day. But by night, it’s murder time.

Okay, technically this has like a line written for it, BUT bodyguard AU where Roche knows he’s gonna get assassinated without protection once he becomes king, and only Iorveth is allowed to kill him. So only makes since for Iorveth to become his bodyguard.

Arranged Marriage AU - inspired by softestpunk’s The Gift, I literally just want cracky fun where they are forced to get married and they hate it but also fall in love. That’s it, that’s the story.

Holy fuck, I have a lot of WiPs. But I think that’s all the Iorveth/Roche ones. Which is not to say I don’t have more, but rn, I am hyperfixated on these idiots, so these are the ones I am actively writing.

#rorveth #iorveth x roche #the witcher #the witcher 2 #long post #My fic

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the--sad--hatter · 6 years ago

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Phantom Pain (12)

FANDOM - MARVEL MCU

PAIRING - Bucky X Reader

WARNINGS - Bad Habits and Rough Sex, Angsty and Dark AF.

DESCRIPTION - Everybody in the world knew of you, but not who you really were. Some called you a vigilante, some called you a criminal and some called you a hero but all of them called you The Phantom. Only two people knew your real identity and they swore to never tell anyone but when The Avengers need to infiltrate a high-security facility, Bruce Banner deduces that you’re the only one who can pull it off. That decision puts you and Bucky Barnes on a path you can’t turn back from, even if neither of like where it’s leading.

Series Masterlist

Chapter Twelve - Mischief, Magic and Ghosts

It was really hard to concentrate on what you were saying when Bucky Barnes was sat in your armchair gazing intently at you as you told him the full story of how you had become The Phantom.

“You locked yourself in the chamber? You didn’t consider letting one of the two superhero’s handle it?” He growled.

“I asked them to come, I couldn’t get them killed for trying to help me and I couldn’t let innocent people die because of something my family built.” You said reasonably.

Bucky’s mind turned over all the facts and he realised that yet again, everything he thought he knew about you was all wrong. You weren’t a spoilt brat like he’d assumed, you weren’t a badass vigilante like he’d thought. You were a ridiculously brave person who’d sacrificed your life to save others and when you’d ended up with extraordinary abilities you hadn’t hesitated to constantly throw yourself into dangerous situations because you didn’t want to waste those gifts.

“Oh no. You’re Steve.” He groaned.

“I’m who now?” You asked, extremely offended.

“You’re all bravery and no brains.” He said, throwing his head back in frustration.

Frank used the new angle to sniff curiously at Bucky’s hair and you narrowed your eyes at the furball of deception.

“You need to tell Steve everything.” Bucky insisted, reaching up to scratch between Franks ears.

“I’m not telling Captain Asshat anything. Five of The Avengers already know I’m The Phantom, that’s more than enough.” You said.

“Five?”

“Besides you, Tony and Bruce, Natasha figured it out and I just gave up and told Clint.” You admitted.

Frank chirped happily as Bucky scratched a particularly good spot and you lost it.

“How are you doing that?” You demanded, standing up and stomping over to check Frank for telltale signs of having been replaced by a robot cat or something to explain his behaviour.

Bucky sat up and smirked at you and you realised you’d placed yourself directly between his knees.

“I’m good with cats. And you do need to tell Steve, he’s got you all wrong. We all did.”

“My being The Phantom or how I got that way changes nothing, I’m still me.” You insisted.

Bucky stood up abruptly and for a brief second you were pressed together before you took a step back quickly and he followed. He backed you up all the way over to the couch and the backs of your knees hit the sofa and you sat down, bouncing on the cushion a little.

“The fact it changes nothing in your mind is why it changes everything.” He said cryptically.

You battled with the blush trying to paint your features as he hooked a finger under your chin and tilted your head so you were looking up his perfect body to meet his intense gaze.

“I won’t tell him until you’re ready but you have to tell him sooner or later.” Bucky said and released you and took a step back.

You released a breath you hadn’t even known you were holding in as he left the room, the door closing with a depressing finality behind him. Frank yowled in displeasure and you shakily drew your legs under yourself and silently agreed with the disappointed cat.

Bucky leaned against your door for a second in the hallway to centre himself. The way you’d sat there, so plaint and soft in front of him and looked up at him with those wide eyes filled with trust was too much for him and he’d needed to escape before the last drop of blood rushed from his head. If he’d left it even a second longer you’d have definitely noticed the tightness in his jeans.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

“Oooh, soup. Does that mean there’s bread?” You asked as you pottered into the kitchen.

Wanda smiled up at you warmly as you started sniffing around her where she was taking the loaf out of the oven.

“There is, Mr West taught me how to make it.” She preened.

“West makes the best bread.” You said excitedly.

“I know we have met but I don’t know if you remember, it has been an eventful few days,” She said nervously and you grinned brightly at her.

“I remember, who could forget you?” You joked and she smiled but the nervous look in her eye gave her away.

“That’s a good thing, trust me. West thinks so as well, he doesn’t give up his bread recipe for just anyone.” You assured her and the way her eyes lit up was breathtaking.

She cut into the loaf with a small, happy grin on her face.

“Will you be joining us for dinner?” She asked hopefully.

“I’m starving. Can I help with anything?” You asked.

“No!” She exclaimed in a hurry and immediately looked bashful at her outburst as she bit her lip and tried not to laugh.

“West told stories about my kitchen adventures didn’t he?” You asked and she nodded as passed you a heavily buttered slice of fresh bread.

It was still warm and the butter had melted into it, it looked and smelt heavenly and was a very effective distraction. You made obscene sounds as you bit into it and Wanda giggled at you.

“Well what have we here?” Someone said from right behind you and you turned your head and looked up. And up again.

Loki was smirking down at you with a mischievous twinkle in his eye and you gulped down your mouthful of bread and bit into the slice again shamelessly.

“You must be Miss King.” Loki purred, looking you up and down flirtatiously.

“Loki! Leave her alone.” Wanda chastised and you raised an amused brow.

When Loki had joined The Avengers it had been a global topic, some people were on his side and some weren’t. You had figured The Avengers wouldn’t have let him join if they didn’t trust him.

“I’m just introducing myself.” He defended innocently.

“Really? That’s just an introduction? What happens if you actually try to flirt, spontaneous ovary combustion?” You joked.

“Would you like to find out?” He asked.

“Kinda.” You admitted and he looked slightly taken aback at your answer before his smile widened.

“I do love a woman who is so... transparent.” He said heavily.

Six, six Avengers who knew who you were. Though you weren’t entirely shocked by this one, he had seen right through your invisibility at the warehouse.

“PRINCESS!” Tony’s outraged voice thundered through the compound.

“Uh, you haven’t seen me.” You said and disappeared.

“What’s going......... on?” Wanda asked, turning to you and frowning when you weren’t there.

Loki hadn’t taken his eyes off you and looked amused as Tony stormed into the kitchen.

“Where is she?” Tony demanded.

“Where is who?” Loki asked coolly.

“Princess. Her and Romanoff locked me in a cell and tortured me all afternoon. Being tied up by two beautiful women is supposed to be much more fun that it was.”

“I haven’t seen her, I think Natasha’s in the armoury though.”Wanda said helpfully.

“Yeah, cause I’m going to confront Nat.” Tony scoffed.

“You aren’t as afraid of Miss King as you are of Miss Romanoff?” Loki asked casually.

“One is a deadly assassin and the other is a Park Avenue Princess.” Tony pointed out.

“Are you really not afraid of me Snark?” You whispered in Tony’s ear.

He jumped so high he almost hit the ceiling.

“Tony? Are you alright?” Wand asked in concern.

“What? Fine.” He squeaked out.

“For the record, my hand is literally inside your chest right now. Shall we find out if Tony Stark has a heart after all?” You said quietly.

“I’ve got to go!” Tony exclaimed and bolted.

Loki chuckled and Wanda looked perplexed.

“What was wrong with him?” She asked.

“No idea.” You said and reappeared.

Wanda was startled by your sudden reappearance and gaped at you. You winked at her and bit into the piece of bread you’d stolen while invisible.

“Are you The Phantom?” She asked.

“Yeah, but it’s a huge secret so you can’t tell anybody.” You sniggered.

That made Seven.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

When Wanda had asked if you were joining them for dinner you hadn’t realised she meant everybody. You sat back in your chair and watched in amusement as The Avengers all drifted into the room. Vision kept glancing at you and you grinned at him. And that was Eight.

“Yes, I can walk through walls as well.” You confirmed.

Wanda had already asked you if she could please tell Vision and could you explain that just because you didn’t need to use a door, it was still polite to use one.

“Fascinating. Would it be rude of me to ask you for a demonstration at some point?” He asked politely.

“Not at all, we can compare after dinner if you want?” You offered.

You were actually curious, you hadn’t met anyone who could do anything similar to you before. You wondered what would happen if you and Vision tried to phase through each other at the same time.

“I would like that.” He said, smiling happily over at Wanda who shot the two of you a thumbs up as two tall figures came into the kitchen.

“Your highness! I am Thor, King of Asgard.” The large Blonde god exclaimed, grabbing your hand with surprising gentleness and bestowing a kiss upon it.

“She’s not royalty you buffoon.” Loki said in exasperation.

“Shhhhh, yes I am.” You insisted, fluttering your eyelashes at Thor.

“Do forgive my brother, This is Loki, Prince of Asgard.” Thor said.

“Oh we’ve met.” Loki smirked.

“Yes, we have. He said hello and now I’m pregnant.” You told Thor in mock seriousness.

“Loki!” Thor looked aghast.

“She’s jesting with you brother.” Loki said, rolling his eyes at Thor and draping himself on the seat next to yours.

Thor looked between you and Loki suspiciously.

“You are friends?” He asked.

“Yeah.” You said casually.

Loki turned his head to look at you without changing his bored expression at all.

“Friends. Yes, we are. Happy now Thor?” Loki asked.

“I am!” Thor boomed.

“Ow.” You said under your breath, leaning away from the exuberant blonde giant.

“You get used to it.” Loki assured you.

“You highness, might my brother and I sit by you?” Thor asked politely.

“Yes, you may your Majesty.” you said, pushing the chair on your other side out for him.

Natasha and Clint wandered in, whispering about something to each other and from the furtive glances that Clint kept shooting at you, you guessed you were somehow involved.

Steve, Bucky and Sam walked in behind them and you gaped. Once again, Frank was perched on Bucky’s shoulder. Steve kept glancing warily at the content cat that was looking around the room with disdain.

“Frank, you lucky little bastard.” You whispered, forgetting that most of the people in the room had super hearing.

“You wanna sit on my shoulders Domniţă?” Bucky asked with an infuriating smirk as he sat down directly across from you.

Steve managed to choke on air and Sam sniggered at the three of you. Loki decided to drape his arm across the back of your chair and Bucky glared at his hand. Frank leapt off Bucky’s shoulder onto the table and sat on Steve’s empty plate. You wondered if you should high five the cat or would that be too childish.

“Miss King.” Steve said in a strained voice.

“Yes Captain?” You said sweetly.

“Could you move your cat?” He asked.

“Frank, move.” You ordered.

As you expected, nothing happened.

“Sorry, I tried.” You said, shrugging.

“He’s a menace. He’s violent and stubborn.” Steve insisted.

“He’s an independent cat who shows his love in subtle ways.” You protested.

“He’s rather cute.” Thor said, reaching over to pick Frank up by the scruff of the neck and quickly dropping him when the cat yowled loudly and swiped at Thor’s arm. The cat scampered onto your lap and glared at the God of Thunder.

“Very violent.” Thor agreed, nodding at Steve.

“Well you’d probably scratch someone if they tried to pick you up by the scruff of the neck.” You defended.

“That is true. My apologies Brother Frank, it was shameful of me to try and pick such a fierce warrior like yourself in such an undignified way.” Thor said solemnly to Frank, who was ignoring him in favour of licking his paw.

“I like him. He reminds me of someone.” Clint said, ducking unsuccessfully out of the way of Natasha’s cuff to the back of his head.

Someone kicked your foot and you glanced across the table at Bucky who was looking at you.

“What?” You mouthed silently.

He shrugged nonchalontley and kicked your foot again. You narrowed your eyes and tried to kick him back but he caught your foot between his own and smirked. You wished you could ghost individual body parts but if you tried to free yourself that way you’d end up falling through the chair. It had taken you a long time and an embarrassing number of incidents to figure out how to phase without falling through the floor.

You settled for turning to Loki and ignoring Bucky.

“Alright, the party is here. We can begin now.” Tony called loudly as he waltzed into the room, Bruce tagging along behind him.

As soon as Tony sat down at the head of the table several phone’s went off in unison and Steve, Natasha and Tony checked all their ringing phones. Steve read his message and stood up, glaring down at you.

“Whatever it was, I didn’t do it.” You instinctevally said, holding your hands up in surrender.

“Steve.” Natasha warned lowly.

“Princess, Bruce, come with me.” Tony said, getting up and dragging you away from the table urgently.

“What the hell? What’s going on?” You demanded, shrugging your arm out of Tony’s grip.

“Alexander King just escaped from government custody.” Steve snapped.

“What?” You gasped.

“It says you visited him this afternoon, hours before he escaped.” Steve said coldly.

“Cap, back down. I was with her.” Natasha said.

“Were you in the room with her the whole time?” Steve asked.

“It doesn’t matter, she didn’t do it. She wouldn’t.” Tony snapped.

“How sure are you of that really?” Steve asked him.

“As sure as you were that Barnes didn’t bomb the UN.” Tony snapped, standing in front of you protectively.

“Cap, she did not do it. Take my word for it, I trust her.” Bruce said, standing up and coming to stand beside Tony.

“She turns up out of nowhere, leads us to Hydra, helps us arrest her father and the next day visits him just before he breaks out of a secure government facility. Why am I the only one who thinks this is a little suspicious?”

You didn’t say a word to defend yourself, you couldn’t. You couldn’t even think straight. You barely even registered Bucky standing up and trying to calm Steve down.

“How has she got everyone here falling for her innocent act? She’s lying and I’m the only one who seems to be able to see it. She has to have helped King break out, it’s the only explanation.”

“He’s right.” You sighed.

“So you admit it? You helped him.” Steve confirmed.

“No. I hate him, I wouldn’t help him even if he wasn’t Hydra.” You snarled.

“He’s your father, you expect me to buy that his lack of attention is enough for you to turn on him?”

“No he...”

“He what? What possible excuse can you come up with that would make me believe for a second that you are on our side?” Steve asked.

“Just let me...”

“Let you lie more? There’s something going on with you and there has been since you walked in here and I want to know what it is.”

“Oh for fuck sake.” You snapped and walked through Tony and Bruce, as in right through them.

“I’m The Phantom and I hate my father because he killed me. He built a bomb that blew me up and turned me into a ghost and I’ve been trying to bring him down for all the things he’s done. I knew he was corrupt but I didn’t know he was Hydra. And I’m not a computer hacker. Well done, you caught me out.” You yelled.

“You’re The Phantom of New York City?” Steve breathed out in shock.

“Yes!” Bruce, Tony, Natasha, Clint, Wanda, Vision Loki and Bucky all said in unison.

“Oh. I’m a huge fan of your work.” Steve said.

“Huh?”

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Reader: Frank is an asshole. Anyone Else: Yeah, he is. Reader: hOW daRe yOU?

So a LOT went down in this chapter.... From Bucky's boner, Wanda being adorable, Loki getting reader pregnant, Thor being Thor, Bucky playing footsie and Steve.... well. I hope you enjoyed my third chapter of the day? And oh yeah, dad is free!!!

You can ask to be added to or removed from tags at any time folks, just comment or inbox :D @drdorkus @gravedollie666 @sadsoldat @bigplantdaddy @moodyruth @likes-to-smell-books @shirukitsune @inquisitor-selvala @myfandomlife-blog @markusstraya @adeleoctobre @vajeenparty @sexyvixen7 @love-nakamura @buckitybarnes @littledeadrottinghood @pinkisokay @jsmith509 @brownlee-22 @angieptt @thosesexytexasboys @liveonce-sodoitright @tarastudiesalot @spnrvt @dahkness @dilaila95 @rororo06 @mizzzpink @release-the-cathyrchkn @thefridgeismybestie @fairislesheets @strangersstranger @life-wanderer @uuuuuuuuggggghhh @curiositykilledthepepe @musingpredilection @boxofteenageideas @thelostallycat @demonlover87 @cutie1365 @mcuthemusical

#hattersmarvelverse #Bucky Barnes #bucky x reader

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twilightofthe · 5 years ago

Note

For the fanfic writer ask meme: E, N & W. Thanks 🙂.

Thanks for the ask, anon! (sorry for responding so late aaaa) Questions from this writing ask game

E: What character do you identify with most? Is there a certain fic of yours that captures these qualities particularly well?

C-3PO, I too am loud, over-talkative, anxious, like linguistics, and tend to bother people. Lol but for real? Ok, I know I’ve made this joke before, but minus the evil and the murder, I really do relate to Anakin in a way, like I’ve got this entire [post] on why I think he’s ADHD like I am, and his anxiety and general tendency to be a disaster socially resonates with me too, like, I get that. I’m also a massive drama queen who’s really smart about like one or two particular things so yea. I’d say overall tho, I’m probably the most like Luke, a little whiny and awkward, a little dramatic, little reckless, love my friends and family a LOT, want to explore. As to fics that capture similar qualities, I’d definitely say Pas de Deux, the way I write Anakin in it has a LOT of my anxiety and my worst headspace involved and wrapped up in his character, I very much projected a bit while writing it.

N: Any fic ideas brewing that you’d care to share?

Ohhhh honey you’ve got a storm coming…. besides the obvious other two books in walk the (family) line, I’ve got an entire list on a separate document of different stories I want to write, ideas including:

A oneshot fic I’m actually kinda working on right now. It’s another modern!AU Obikin romcom and I won’t spoil it, but it involves parkour, R2 the parrot, Obi Wan may or may not be James Bond, and Anakin accidentally becomes Twitter famous

An epistolary style fic set during Obi Wan’s time on Tatooine where nine year old Leia finds the emergency comm Bail has to contact him, and both the lonely, kind of awkward young princess and the tired old hermit who should know better but is also lonely and misses both of her parents dearly set up a penpal relationship. End goal is to establish a relationship that gives Leia a proper reason to name her son “Ben”.

A semi-crackfic where the Jedi Council gets some sort of Clue From The Force™ about the identity of the Secret Sith Lord, that clue being that the Sith Lord is: a politician with close ties to Anakin Skywalker, and also had very specific motives to send Darth Maul to Naboo. Alllll the wrong conclusions are drawn from that, and the next day, Padmé Amidala is arrested for treason. Obi Wan is the only Council member who’s like “y’all she’s innocent, it’s clearly the fucking Chancellor”, Sidious tries to manipulate the situation to remove the only two people in his way at once, and poor Anakin spends the entire fic in a state of “UH HI YEAH WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON” Shenanigans ensue

A 5+1 times they kissed Obikin alternate canon shortfic, because I’m hopeless and want to write shmoop.

A Sadmé (Satine/Padme) Ocean’s 8 AU that came about entirely over me yelling over Cate Blanchett and wanting to write a heist fic starring all of the SW Prequels/TCW ladies being total badasses

This absolutely BONKERS Rebels AU fic where S4 Ezra accidentally pulls both Ahsoka AND Kanan into the World Between Worlds during the Vader fight in S2. Vader recognizes what happened and promptly kidnaps S2 Ezra who’s there by himself— as well as Maul who’s established a bond with Ezra over the Sith holocron —in hopes of discovering the secret of time travel. While S2 Ezra has to somehow survive the Crazy Murder Roadtrip with Maul and Vader, now S4 Ezra, Kanan, and Ahsoka have to race to A: Find and rescue S2 Ezra before one of the Sith kill him— and therefore also kill S4 Ezra, B: Make sure Maul and Vader’s tentative alliance doesn’t lead to them finding Obi Wan for obvious reasons, and C: Make sure neither Maul nor especially Vader find the Lothal Temple World Between Worlds entrance and risk unleashing either into a past they both desperately want to change

A fic detailing different little neuroses and traits and attitudes passed down through the Yoda-Dooku-Jinn-Kenobi-Skywalker-Tano line.

Cross generational shortfic focusing on the desert children— Anakin, Luke, and Rey — and their first experiences with water and rain

A ficlet where Yoda somehow gets babified and basically just all of the Jedi Order having to deal with the cuteness overload that is Baby Yoda.

A post-TROS political drama where Leia’s Force Ghost realizes that once again, a new government is gonna need to be built in the aftermath of the First Order’s nonsense and that there are almost no good remaining politicians in the galaxy. Finn is unfortunate enough to know how command works, how to take charge, how to deal with FO remnants, and is Force Sensitive enough to see ghosts, so Leia takes it upon herself to mold Finn into the next leader of the GFFA. Would focus on rebuilding, family legacy, be very very Jedistormpilot, and so on. I feel like I’m not really invested enough in the ST but I reeeeally want to see this idea in fic form, so I might end up giving this idea away at some point.

This one fic that’s been going through my head for YEARS but have always felt scared of actually writing because I know right now that it’s gonna get LONG, like over 200k (lol and look what’s happening with Mutuals ahahAHAHA—) where Anakin flat out dies. Just, during TCW season 5, he fights Dooku and in the process of killing him, goes down with him and dies. Padmé will have just became about a month pregnant at this time, and part of the fic will focus on her and Obi Wan and Ahsoka dealing with the aftermath of Anakin’s death, as Sidious is forced to jumpstart his plans and execute Order 66 early now that he’s not waiting on Anakin anymore. The other part of the fic will focus on Anakin’s ghost, unable to communicate with Obi Wan or Ahsoka and having to watch them and Padmé and the surviving Jedi form the Rebellion themselves and his children being born and growing up without him, even though Luke and Leia will end up being the only ones who can see him. It’ll go right up through the 20 years of the Empire and have a gigantic cast and I just don’t know if I can do it.

Now, I hate to say it, but I need to let it be known that these are still MY IDEAS, and I have not given anyone permission to use them, so please do not be that person. Do not steal these ideas for yourself. I will be VERY upset if someone does. If you really like an idea, DM me and ask, but I don’t plan to give any of them away at the moment.

W: What is your favorite pairing to write? Favorite pairing to read?

Hmm, to write? That’s tough! There’s so many different complex relationships in Star Wars that I’ve really found myself enjoying exploring, and it’s hard to find a particular one that I like best. I’m open to at least sampling most pairings for reading, but my favorite has to be Obikin. It just makes me happy!!!!! :D

Thanks again for asking, and y’all should tell me in the notes if any of the fic ideas sound like something you’d read!!!!!

#morai musings #asks #ask #anon

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smokedstorybara · 6 years ago

Text

I’m compiling a list of all my wips w/ summaries here to remind myself what all I should be working on and keep myself accountable - and if y’all wanna yell at me about them please do

(Also be warned there will be some spoilers in here cause I suck at non spoiler-y summaries)

Fanfics:

Dear Evan Hansen:

(Apprentice) Park Ranger Handsome part 16 (doesn’t even have a name yet I’m so sorry)

Evan and Connor’s first date!! They go to the orchard of course, and have more relationship conversation... and a picnic.

Fae Court AU

Prince Connor of the Winter Court falls in love with a human boy and acts on it, despite his parents having Rules against relationships with humans. The consequences are big but Connor and Evan weather them well.

Flash:

Soulmate AU (I’m thinking ‘Dream A Little Dream Of Me’ for series title)

A series of one-shots following the Arrowverse characters - with a bit of a focus on Team Flash and the Legends - as they find love and happiness , with some bumps along the way, in a world where you share dreams with your soulmate. Timeline is spread out from Stein and Clarissa’s first meeting to some point around mid canon.

endgame ships include Barry/Len, Hartley/Cisco, Wally/Jax, Sara/Ava, Nate/Ollie/Felicity/Lisa(it’ll make sense I promise), Iris/Caitlin/Shawna, and more

Role-reversal AU

In a world where Barry was kept strictly away from the file on his mother’s murder after he becomes a CSI he grows resentful and distrusting of law-enforcement and a little quicker to recognize that he can’t entirely fix the issues with the police from the inside. So when he wakes from a nine month coma with super speed his first thought is how much he can shove the police’s faces in the fact that the system isn’t perfect and needs to change... he becomes the world’s fastest thief - unbeatable. At least until he goes after a certain diamond at the same time as one Leonard Snart, who walks away from the encounter looking to the world like a hero and gets a sweet taste of positive press that he’s not all that eager to give up.

Harry Potter crossover

Snart and Rory go “backpacking across Europe” on a ridiculous challenge to steal one thing in each country. Their last stop is in England and they’ve set their sights on a suburb in Surrey... which leads them to noticing the treatment of the young nephew of their potential target. Being survivors of abuse themselves they decide to remove him from that environment... along with all of Vernon Dursley’s valuables. Raising a kid is hard, raising a magical kid while maintaining positions as master thieves? ...piece of cake...

Check Please:

Moving On

When Jack and Bitty go through a messy breakup their friends are torn and Bitty is uncertain about what to do, especially when he has to go back to Georgia - where he’s firmly in the closet - for summer break. He can’t talk to his family or his friends about all his conflicting feelings about what happened, so he somehow finds himself corresponding with the one person who he knows would understand - Jack’s other ex, Kent Parson. He also finds himself growing closer to the previous year’s freshmen on his college hockey team and the team’s new manager - especially when summer ends and they’re all handling the situation better than the rest of his friends - ie: behaving like nothing happened except that they’re immediately down to fight Jack at a moment’s notice.

The Umbrella Academy:

Ghost Dave (that’s what it’s called in my google docs but it’s definitely not gonna be the title of the final product)

Dave Katz has been haunting the surviving members of his unit for a couple decades when the story about the 43 women comes on the news; a story Dave had heard plenty about before he died from his lover, Klaus Hargreeves. In whose tellings of it he was one of the children born that day. He also had claimed a few times to be from the future so Dave was fairly willing to take this as proof he was telling the truth. Immediately Dave seeks out Reginald Hargreeves and the 7 of the children he adopted. Over the next 29 years Dave follows the young Klaus around, giving him advice and unconditional friendship and protection from the other ghosts the poor kid could see.

Circle Of Magic crossover

When Tris finds herself dropping out of some kind of portal in a strange land it doesn’t take her long to figure out that some mage had decided to get rid of her - and possibly her siblings - by banishing her to another world, one with advanced technology but not much by way of magic - if one didn’t count the six super-powered siblings she appeared in the middle of. At the same time, but also not, Tris’s adopted sister Sandry wound up smack dab in the center of a group calling themself The Commission who’re very interested in adding her to their ranks, she joins up but maintains suspicion. Daja, the third sister, follows a pair of assassins. And their one brother, Briar, falls into the Vietnam War alongside one freshly tortured Klaus Hargreeves. They all find their way back together eventually - with much fewer casualties than if they hadn’t been there

Harry Potter crossover 1

When an eighteen-year-old Klaus Hargreeves gets bored of being lookout on a mission in London and wanders into the bar across the street he isn’t expecting to find a best friend, but that’s exactly what happens. Lily Evans is a couple months into a break-up and still tired of her ex and his idiocy, especially after his most recent letter - a pile of stupid big enough to send her straight to her local bar. The two hit it off instantly via complaining about anything and everything and egging each other into doing the most ridiculous but fun things. Their night of fun turns sour when Klaus finds out his brother Ben died during the mission and at least one of his siblings blame him. Lily takes the broken boy back to her flat and let’s him stay with her until his visa to stay in England runs out. Thirteen years later the apocalypse is interrupted by a tired ex-professor bringing life changing news - Lily was pregnant when Klaus left England(they’d slept together a handful of times but were never more than friends with benefits), also Lily and her husband(the idiot ex who apologized and changed his behavior, Klaus was at their wedding) are dead and Klaus and Lily’s son was placed with his aunt Petunia(who Klaus has met and knows the boy never should’ve been put with) because only five people besides Lily and James knew who Harry’s father really was and the only one capable of doing anything about it had to find the wandering junkie first. Klaus handles all this about as well as a powerful veteran with a traumatic childhood can - fighting tooth and nail for custody and then raising the boy the best he can with help from his siblings and robot mom and shoving his son’s happiness and safety in the faces of everyone who did the boy wrong

Harry Potter crossover 2

Not long after the war ends Harry finds that he can’t stand staying in magical Britain any longer, so he takes his godson and moves to America. Six years later one of the kids who live across the street sneaks out his window, wearing only pjs despite the heavy snow. Harry finds himself staying up waiting for the boy to return to their street and making some hot cocoa - which he offers to the boy as soon as he sees him. It quickly becomes a Thing(tm); Klaus will sneak out his window in the middle of the night, go for a walk, and eventually wind up having hot cocoa in Harry’s kitchen. They form a strange friendship, one where Klaus has someone he knows he can go to when everything becomes too much - even if that means crawling through Harry’s window, collapsing on his floor in tears, and falling asleep on his couch, waking up just in time to get home before his absence is noticed. Three more years have passed when Harry and Teddy are idly watching tv and Harry sees a very familiar face as Reginald Hargreeves introduces ‘the inaugural class of the Umbrella Academy.’ When Klaus comes over that night Harry asks how much choice Hargreeves gave him and his siblings in their ‘heroics’. After some thought Klaus remembers how his brother Ben hadn’t wanted anything to do with what happened at the bank but was made to participate anyway. He answers honestly: they weren’t really given any. Thus begins Harry’s campaign to get custody for the kids from Hargreeves.

Original Works:

Four Elements Universe(a collection of stories set along one timeline - very far apart and with no overarching plot, just a shared world):

Sisa:

A secluded young king sneaks out of his castle and gets a job under a false identity in hope for friendship, then gives everything up to help his new friends and the rest of his people when he realizes the extent of his adviser’s corruption. Around the same time, a teenage master thief is hired to steal a specific box from the castle - and then to help another thief break her friend out of the castle dungeon - and uncovers several major secrets that might just change the fate of the kingdom.

Kings:

Bandit King Vakhtang’s life is irrevocably changed when he agrees to lend his men to a rebellion for a hefty amount of gold. Over time he finds himself growing fond of the boy prophesied to be the next king and learning just as much from his new employer about letting himself care and open up as he’s teaching the boy how to protect himself. (His best friend and lover is very proud of this growth and kinda wants to adopt the kid)

The Completely Unrelated Adventures Of Four People Who Had Nothing To Do With Each Other Beforehand:

Four teenagers in rural Texas follow a cipher they found in an old tome and discover that all four of them have magical abilities, and that their town may not be as average as they’d believed. As they delve deeper in this new world they uncover two different secret organizations and find themselves caught in the middle of a dangerous conflict over a powerful artifact - that may or may not be the kid sister of one of them.

Mythicals:

Six kids around the world each find objects - artifacts - that grant them magical transformations and abilities. Seven years later all six of them end up at the same prestigious performing arts school in New York. When they discover that they all have these artifacts and powers - and that New York and possibly the world is in danger - they team up to protect everyone else, and quickly become close friends. Though one of them has a secret that could drastically change how the others view them... and possibly risk the fate of the human race.

Eternity And Forever(this one does have an overarching plot):

Eternity Of Forever:

Back in the early years of humanity a young man goes up a mountain for his Trials of Adulthood - a series of three trials set to test a person on the traits of whichever three gods they’ve been assigned to serve - unfortunately for this boy he’s been chosen for the gods of empathy, loyalty, and love... three traits that do not come easily to him. In his desperation to pass his trials he cheats the system and gets caught. As punishment he’s cursed to live forever just on the cusp of adulthood but never reaching it, the only way to break his curse is to prove - with no possibility of dishonesty - that he’s capable of the three traits. Over the next few millennia he gets caught up in a war for the fate of all life on earth, and also somewhat adopts a maybe-alien and falls in love with a time traveler.

Throughout Eternity:

At some unknown point in the future all that’s left of the human race is a refugee colony on an island floating above the desolate remains of our planet. It’s into this that Quinton is born. But when it’s discovered that he can travel through time with just a thought he’s trained for a very important mission: to go back in time and stop the apocalypse. Shortly into his mission he meets an immortal teenager who claims to have met Quinton’s future self and who offers to help, telling him that first thing he should do is gather a team to help him - he even provides names and years. This little team becomes like a second family to Quinton, especially the pretend-aloof immortal.

Forever And After:

After the death of the closest thing he ever had to a father, Slythus finds himself applying to the superhero school the immortal had founded - despite knowing that even if he were accepted into the student body he’d never be accepted by the student body. Somehow he manages to get in... and even more impossible; manages to make friends. But even as he learns how to be good, his past is lurking on the edges of his new life and quickly becoming impossible to ignore - figuratively and literally.

Shadow Warriors:

After the dragon Svartr gets cursed protecting a village from invaders they offer their children to be trained by him - to take care of him as his condition worsens. Those selected and taught by him become known as the Shadow Warriors. Alexir was born several generations after the tradition began of sending every twelve-year-old up Svartr’s mountain for the selection and she never expected to be chosen, being much more focused on intellectual growth than physical, so when it happens it comes as a bit of a shock. She struggles to keep up with her peers in most of the lessons but refuses to give in, pushing herself to reach their level while also learning the complexities of friendship from them all.

Consequences(originally titled ‘Consequences of War’ until I realized it’s more about just consequences for actions in general - like: don’t piss off the powerful magical Being hiding out in the abandoned building):

After deliberately pissing off what they believed to be a ghost - or a false rumor more likely - a college aged idiot ends up being banished into a strange world... with a distinct change in biology(mostly in the area of hormones and primary sex characteristics). As they travel this new world in search of a way home - and back into their original form - they learn new things about themself and make interesting new friends. They find themself questioning whether they actually want their ‘old body’ back and then, when they begin to fall in love, whether they really want to return to their old world.

#sorry the lengths of the summaries are so inconsistent in the fanfics #(A)PRH #four elements universe #sisa #kings #tcua #mythicals #eaf #shadow warriors #Consequences of War #that's all the tags I have so far for these wips so check them out if you wanna know more #literally only one of the fanfics has a tag sdkjfhluejifsd #I should post more about the fanfics I'm working on I guess

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raeliyah · 6 years ago

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Exalted Secret Santa 2018

First, snippet -- with full descriptions, reference pictures, and links under the cut. Anon-asks should be enabled so feel free to ask me anything if you need more info!

If none of these guys strike your fancy, I also have the rest of my exalted characters, with reference images and descriptions, here:

https://refsheet.net/redkite7

Caleb “Wraithshot” Raith Dawn Caste Solar Exalt of the South, longrider lawman, Righteous Devil gunslinger, Badlands Gentleman with a heart of battered gold, giant flirt

Qismet ibn al-Nusar, The Veiled Eagle Night Caste Solar Exalt of the west, self-appointed judge and executioner of corrupt supernaturals, leader of the Brotherhood of the Righteous Death, terse and broody

Zaela Tokari, Queen of Adrelith, of the Meridian Isles Zenith Caste Solar Exalt of the East, friend of Dragon Kings, precious cinnamon roll, youngest daughter, too young to be queen, too young to be Exalted, mousy and self-effacing but will stand up to everything from Deathlords to Elder Lunars in defense of her friends (no art yet)

Caleb “Wraithshot” Raith

Dawn Caste Solar Exalt

Caleb’s Pinterest Inspiration Board

Caleb’s easy. Think of every western trope and smash them all together. He’s a cowboy bounty hunter; a self-proclaimed lawman in a land where there is no law, riding circuit on a handful of towns in the South he considers his and protecting them from whatever evils lurk in the desert.

Physical Description

Caleb stands at 5′11″ and is on the leaner side at ~185 lbs. He’s fit, like a brawler (been in significantly more than his fair share of bar fights) or a ranch hand - someone who works at hard physical labor most days.

Caleb looks like he’s in his early 30s

Being the son of Northern immigrants, Caleb’s complexion is mostly pale, a reddish-burned tan anywhere the sun would shine - arms to the elbows, back of the neck, face mostly.

He’s also freckly across his face, shoulders and upper back, mostly from sun.

His eyes are clear honey-colored brown, more gold towards the pupil from the influence of exaltation.

Hair is black at the roots, growing out into sun-streaked brownish blond. He usually keeps it cut pretty short but if it goes too long without a trim it gets curlier. He likes a clean-shaven face but given his lifestyle he’s pretty much always got a day or three of scruff.

Caleb… basically looks like Chris Pratt.

He’s always got a smile of some stripe - warm, mischievous, leering, insincerely-wide - something.

He’s also very mouthy, and usually has something to chew on, whether it’s a piece of straw, a match, a toothpick, a cigarette (50% chance of it actually being lit), a twig - something. He’s never met a lollipop or chewing gum but he would love them.

Scars, see reference image: He's got a fair few that have never healed all the way. Added to that a nose which was broken in some bar brawl and never healed straight.

Left arm, from wrist to elbow: long nearly parallel white lines.

The remnants of pressure cuts through his right eyebrow, right side of his lips, and the left side of his chin, leaving gaps in the scruff.

A bullet-scar just above and to the left of his navel.

The remains of various slashes and stabs decorate his ribs. Most of these fade to nothing quickly, but he’s in fights often enough there’s always something.

The upper portion of his back is a mess of scars look like they were left from him getting dragged quicklike backwards over rock (because he was). A stylized rattlesnake tattoo on his right shoulderblade is only half-seen through the scars.

Caleb dresses in layers - shirt sleeves, a vest/waistcoat, and either a faded blue or red serape tossed over his shoulders or a brown longcoat. Pants are either canvas or faded denim, and boots are less cowboy-style and more combat- or motorcycle style with a heel for riding. He does wear spurs, but they’re blunted. He’s usually covered in trail dust and sweat, sometimes blood, despite efforts at cleanliness. Feel free to embellish the standard Cowboy gear with arabesque/middle eastern ornamentation, because it is Exalted…

He always carries two modified flame pieces (six-shooters… he’s got six-shooters) on his hips, and the belt’s buckle is large and obnoxious, mostly because he keeps a couple extra rounds of ammunition within it. He also has an artifact rifle (based on a Winchester M1873; lever action, but otherwise unspecified) named Medicine Man that is either slung across his back or is in a sheath on his horse’s saddle. He makes his own ammo for all his weapons. He is a student of Righteous Devil Style, having mastered up to the form charms, but his sifu disappeared and he’s not found another, nor is he skilled enough to pick it up without tutelage.

He does own chaps but whether or not he wears them on any given day depends on how hot it is and how much hard riding he’s anticipating. He has a hat he’s rather fond of, but it’s not anything truly special.

There may or may not be a bandana around his neck/on his person at any given moment, and he often wears a chip of blue crystal with an antelope petroglyph etched on it around his neck on a leather cord. It’s a token from his friend, a springs goddess named Rivela, and a reminder of a partner he lost.

He rides a buckskin warhorse named Dirt who he pretends not to be particularly attached to, but in fact he really really is. Dirt is his horse. Dirt adores him and is always trying to steal his hat. Dirt will also steal anyone else’s hat nearby, but he prefers Caleb’s.

Anima: Caleb’s anima banner is a hailstorm of bright burning metal, like large forge sparks, raining down on him and even appear to bounce off his skin and clothing. Golden smoke and flame rise from the ground at his feet wherever the sparks fall.

Full Description including Personality, History, Art, and links to Fic and Character Playlist Here.

Qismet ibn al-Nusar

Night Caste Solar Exalt Revenge-driven assassin, self-appointed judge jury and executioner of supernaturals who prey on innocents. Leader of a band of mortal assassins with the same motives.

Qismet's Pinterest Inspiration Board

Qismet's Character Playlist

Physical Description:

Qismet is shorter than average at 5'9" built lean and tough like an acrobat at around 150 lbs

he’s kinda touchy about his height

Qismet looks to be in his mid-to-late twenties.

He's darker complexioned, bronzed from a lot of time under the Western Sun

Examples: (Oded Fehr)(Cristian Codrin)(Avraham Aviv Alush)(Francisco Randez-also his face inspiration)

His hair is so dark brown it might as well be black, cut close but still has a bit of a wave to it.

Style example:(One)(Two)* Eyes are the same: so dark brown they might as well be black. Tend to go lighter, almost honey-colored, when he's channeling essence.

Qismet has fairly narrow features, a generous mouth with cupid's bow lips (see reference images) and a crooked nose, somewhat overlong. He would look great if he smiled but he hardly ever does. Eternal Brooding Face

Face Inspiration: Francisco Randez (One)(Two)(Three)(Four)

He has a thin blade scar vertically through his lips on the right side

Tattoos: One, on his right shoulder, the symbol of his assassin's order. Two, on his left bicep: a greenish kraken crossed out by two black swords (indicative of his vendetta against the Lintha).

Clothes and Accessories:

Qismet has two distinct "modes" -- his working guise, as The Veiled Eagle, equal parts vigilante super hero and feared villain, depending on who's looking, and his regular everyday self. The Veiled Eagle's identity is an open secret on his home island but if he's not in 'costume' the folk there know not to bother him as anything more than Qismet.

The Veiled Eagle:

As the Eagle, Qismet wears long open vests and tunics and leather armor (cuirass, pauldrons, greaves) in shades of charcoal to dove gray, with a hood and mask over his face, leaving only his eyes exposed, though the skin around them is usually darkened with greasepaint and charcoal. This outfit is patterned roughly after the Assassin's Creed styles. (Inspiration Images: (Mayan Armor)(Original AC Outfit)).

There is a single splash of blood red among the grays as a sash: normally wound around his waist or crossed from hip to shoulder.

Weaponry:

As the Eagle, Qismet also carries a lot of weapons. Most notable are his two artifact Moonsilver Bracers, the Eagle's Sheathed Talons. These artifacts are made of black siaka leather and covered with moonsilver filigreed plates making the shape of a mantling eagle. They extrude a long knife in combat and also serve as armor for his arms (they're basically Hidden Blades with Exalted flair).

He also wields the paired soul-steel short Daiklaves, Anguish and Agony (see reference image in refsheet.net gallery). He struck a deal with the spirits within when he took them from their former owner. They spend a night and a day of peace within a consecrated temple on the nights of moon dark every month, and in return he will never be chained by sorcery or necromancy until his Task is complete. If he fails to give them peace, they'll turn against him.

As Qismet:

When he's not 'working', Qismet tends towards sleeveless cross-front tunics and vests, loose-cut trousers and short fitted boots, thin-soled for good climbing. He still wears the red sash around his waist, knotted on one side, and always has the artifact bracers.

He tends towards cool, de-saturated colors (because they're cheap), but isn't picky: if it's free of obvious dirt and won't get in his way, he'll wear it. His lieutenant/lover Samira has been slowly stocking his wardrobe with nicer things since ostensibly he's an important figure in their region of the west and should occasionally look it. Really, have fun with clothing design.

He very occasionally wears a shark-tooth pendant, but he's not big on jewelry or adornment in general.

Anima:

A ghost-white and violet sea-eagle, whose head obscures Qismet’s face and whose movements echo the Solar’s.

Further Reading:

The Eagle and the Marionettist

Infectious - Drabble, features several characters

Silver Sun Era - Storium Game

A History of the Brotherhood of the Righteous Death

Zaela Tokari, Solar Queen

Zenith Caste Solar Exalted - Mousy former-Princess given Divine Power - Too Precious for this world - Too young to be Queen and feels it

Zaela’s Pinterest Board

Physical Description

Slim and willowy at 5′4″ish and 120lbs-ish - built like a dancer or musician

Medium-brown hair at the roots and lower layers, bleached gold by sun (and anima) light, with those instagram beach-style waves. Comes down to about her shoulderblades

Turquoise eyes, that fade to nearly white when she channels essence

Heart-shaped face with expressive eyes

Her complexion is tan with a bit of a copper tone to it

She exalted at 17 and still looks it

Zaela wears draping gowns in vaguely greek or ancient egyptian-esque fashion, in cool greens and blues and golds and white, accented with delicate jewelry wrought from gold and gems and flowers (natural or artificial). They are usually of light materials, silk,mist linen, and brushed cotton, suited for her jungle island kingdom.

She usually wears her hair in multiple loose braids, or half-up and adorned with tropical flowers (or whatever’s in season, if she’s travelling far from her home Isle). Nothing in her appearance would mark her as anything other than the favored daughter of a well-off family, but she does on occasion wear the orichalcum, white, and green jade lotus crown of her kingdom. It’s a little too ostentatious for her tastes.

Anima:

A flock of tropical birds, in jewel tones limned with gold, who spiral and swirl around her.

Fun Fact:

The ghost of her former shardholder, Prismatic Lotus, used to reside in their royal family chapel, trapped there during the Usurpation. Lotus fled to safe harbor within Zaela when the chapel was attacked and Zaela exalted--she now carries the spirit of her ancestress with her. Lotus acts as mentor, guide, sometime-posessor and obnoxious First Age brat in turn. But mostly she is helpful.

tagging @shiftingpath for secret santa organizational purposes -- thank you for all the work you put in to this every year; I very much appreciate it! and you! I will probably be editing this to make sure all the links are working properly and everything’s formatted correctly so apologies in advance

#exalted #exalted rpg #exalted secret santa #exalted secret santa 2018 #shiftingpath #my characters #I really need to make one up for Fiera on Refsheet too #next time #six is certainly sufficient options right #oh gosh and Senka #who else am I missing

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sinningwithoppa · 7 years ago

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Retrograde - Chapter 01

Description: Famously titled ‘The Grim Reaper’, you were one of Seoul’s ruthless assassins capable of entirely wiping a person’s existence without a single trace, since to the outside it seemed like you didn’t have an identity, to begin with. But just as you’d finally found your place in this world, it wasn’t long before you realised you had a target on your own back.

Pairing: Hoseok x Reader

Genre: Angst, Fluff

Word Count: 5.7k

Warnings: Violence, Mentions of Death, Swearing, Scars, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Mentions of Abuse, Light Smut kinda???sorta???maybe??? Filthy Descriptions

A/N: Here it is! Our very first fic! I’m so so happy with the direction this fic is going to go in, so I hope you will enjoy it too~

Masterlist || Playlist || Aesthetics || Ch 01

In an otherwise peaceful and ghost-quiet night only you heard the deafening thuds of your heart nearly beating out of your chest with excitement, having pinned one of your more unruly client’s henchmen against a wall in the shadows beneath a bridge on the outskirts of Seoul, not a soul in sight. You’d caught the bastard while he was heading back to their HQ, you assumed, not far away from where you’d intercepted him.

“You’re going to be a good boy for me and you’re going to tell me where your scumbag of a boss is hiding his sad ass, yeah?” you purred with a pleased smirk and hooded eyes as you hiked your knife up the man’s throat, pressing the blade a bit harder into his flesh. If it wasn’t your weapon or reputation that intimidated him, it was your eyes darkening with a practiced murderous glint. You knew he’d be capable of taking you out in the blink of an eye if you let down your guard and fear bubbled angrily in the pit of your stomach but for now, you had to keep up your fearless facade.

“H-He’s handling a deal at The Vibe,” he managed to choke out from his unfortunate position, glaring daggers down at you.

“Atta boy,” you relented and released the pitiful goon, returning his glare as you hid away your knife. His hand shot up to his neck, tracing the irritated skin with a grimace while stepping away from you, eventually turning away and muttering what you suspected to be some variation of the degrading terms you’d heard during the course of your career, before vanishing into the night. You kept your hand poised on the gun hidden on your person until you’d made sure he wasn’t following you. Now to collect what’s mine. You thought determinedly while making your way to one of the many nightclubs the infamous ganglord owned. God knows what less than legal and horrid things happened within their walls but it didn’t phase you.

At least you liked to think that none of it did anymore.

Out of the many millions of people that roamed Seoul, it had to be you, whose life revolved around gripping the cold steel of guns, relentless in taking care of your marks. You were unpredictable, merciless and possessed great prowess wielding a weapon, earning you the title ‘The Grim Reaper’ along with the pleasure of serving those willing to splash tens of thousands on eliminating rivals, occasionally even millions just to watch their backs.

It was just the way it was.

Society ran its cycle, the city bustling with people as they went about their daily lives earning a living and living on what they earned. It was normal, nothing out of the ordinary, nothing unexpected. And then there was you, slamming people’s heads into walls hard enough that tiles cracked on impact, wielding deadly weapons, knuckles dried with blood and fighting to live another day; the underworld hidden in plain sight. There were organizations after the exact same things, and with competition came rivalry, and with rivalry came your purpose; evening out the playing field for those affluent enough to afford it. Of course, you had your own personal share of enemies but they hadn’t proven to be anything more but bumps along the road.

What a shame for them that you worked with the best.

Ironically, you hadn’t chosen this life yourself, but you were forced into it, just like so many others. You’d lost your parents to crime and your new home had found you wandering the streets. A gang had taken you in as one of their own but definitely not from the goodness of their hearts. It had been more of an investment than anything. They trained you in combat to later use you to deal with rival gangs and send you on missions they didn’t dare to send more valuable members on, which you, unfortunately, excelled at. You needed to shine in order to live another day.

How disgustingly ironic.

The only benefit you reaped from it all was finding a purpose for your once meaningless life along with your first love, Jimin. He’d given you the affection you’d craved all your life and a reason to live. You’d piqued the ganglord’s interest and soon a passionate romance had blossomed between the two of you, lasting until that one fateful night. Now he was dead and your home had been destroyed. They’d all been killed. Living out in the open forced you to put your skills to use to survive but it lead to you creating your current reputation as one of the best assassins out there.

You grimaced at the suppressed memories of your early years. You didn’t have to scrape by anymore and you didn’t have to deal with people using you against your will. Not anymore.

Soon you’d arrived in the center of Seoul; all you had to do now was find The Vibe in the vibrant clubbing district. The distinct scent of alcohol and pheromones drifted through the air as you maneuvered your way around the drunk, lustful people outside either smoking, switching clubs or heading to their apartments with their one night stands. Something about the way human nature was lured out on nights and in places like these had always drawn you in. The best thrills of your life had taken place in these settings. Your sour memories were wiped away by a particularly bright one that had marked the beginning of a better tomorrow. Years ago you’d met the man that had revived your purpose in a milieu very similar to the one tonight.

With your spirits lifted and your mind refreshed, your eyes landed on your destination. The club looked as packed as ever with people waiting outside to get in, along with the scrutinizing bouncer, whom you specifically remembered despising, doing his job of checking IDs and turning absolutely wasted people away. Why is it never the nice one?

You completely ignored the now irritated clubgoers you’d cut in front of, tilting your head up as a silent greeting to the familiar figure. “I’m here to see Jay,” you muttered to which he responded with a curt nod. “In the back,” he let you in and you immediately started narrowing in on your target.

“Hey, Hoseok,” you smirked as you found him standing in the ambiently lit area outside the room where he liked to conduct business, looking as handsome as ever dressed in his usual tailored suit with perfectly shined boots. His bright orange hair stood out in contrast to his mostly black and white ensemble but not as much as his blaringly luminous smile.

“My my ___ I wasn’t expecting you so soon,” he glanced at you grinning his cheshire smile and drinking up your appearance before returning his gaze to his bloodstained fingers which he was in the process of wiping clean. Looks like I’m not the only one collecting debt. “How can I help you, my darling assassin?” he smiled almost innocently before soiling such an image by bringing your attention back to the bloodied handkerchief being slipped unphased into his suit pocket.

“We might be friends but I still expect to be paid on time,” you pressed, approaching his figure. His hands immediately found purchase on your waist, sinfully kneading the flesh beneath your dark shirt. You both savored the intoxicating sensation of being pressed so close together as the bass thumped in the background, distracting you two from your own pounding hearts. Fuck, he smells like sin incarnate. Even with the distinct odor of death wafting through the air, his signature aroma ravished you.

He leaned down to whisper in your ear, his words almost lost in the music blaring outside the secret room, “Ever considered the thought that I missed you and wanted to see your beautiful face more often?” he purred, his lips brushing against your ear as he spoke, drawing a pleased groan out of you. You hummed with satisfaction as you felt one of his hands lift from your waist and slip into one of his pockets.

“You could just ask, you know,” you sighed with a smug smirk as you felt his nose dragging along your neck, his stifled breaths making the hair stand up on your neck.

“Fair enough,” he murmured, bringing his lips back to your ear before placing a feather-light kiss onto your lobe. “I slipped in some extra to make up for my tardiness. Buy yourself something nice for our next job,” he cooed, breathing in your scent, which he found absolutely irresistible, and you could’ve sworn you heard him groan in the back of his throat as he slipped the wad of cash into the back pocket of your jeans, letting his hand linger a bit too long for your taste.

“I’m still not one of your whores, Hoseok,” you asserted with a breathy chuckle, pushing him off of you, cutting your shared moment of indulgence short. You were convinced that your relationship with him was controlled by baser desires more than anything. Over the years you’d grown to like his company in a strange way. He offered you the thrill that you used to numb the fear and let yourself go. Of course, it could prove fatal one day.

“Mm maybe… But it doesn’t stop me from wanting you,” he grinned at the double meaning, eyeing you with a suggestive glint in his eyes. “Such a shame that you’re so damn stubborn about joining Bangtan. We’d take really good care of you, princess,” he purred, cocking his head to the side.

Not much stood in the way of bending to his desires; you were close with a couple of the members, he offered you gratifying missions along with the undeniably intoxicating cocktail of chemicals released by having his tempting lips caressing your skin or his salacious tongue imparting a silent promise of bliss but truthfully speaking, the only way he could get you to join, was to hire you as a bodyguard or earn your loyalty. Problem was you’d most likely decline since you didn’t like to associate with specific gangs. Too risky. As for your loyalty; you found it difficult to give, especially to ganglords. The fewer ties you had, the safer you were. Everything could be ruined again by trusting the wrong people. The last time you’d given your trust blindly was when you had absolutely nothing to lose.

“You’ll take me up on the next hit I texted you about, won’t you?” he pouted, deciding to test the waters a bit by stepping in closer, biting his lip and looking into your eyes, knowing full well how he could play with your heart but you held the key to his. You couldn’t blame him for being so fond of you. You’d never let him down, so you became his favorite assassin. His wish was your command with the right price tag.

“If you keep paying me as generously, as usual, consider me at your disposal,” you smirked and nodded.

“Aahhh, that’s my girl. I’ll need you tomorrow,” he winked and licked his lips, “then on Friday for the job. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to get back to my guest. See you, sweetheart,” you barely managed to scoff at his racy advances before he had vanished into the room he’d presumably stepped out of for a moment, blood pooling beneath the door as he closed it.

You breathed in the fresh air as you relished in the tranquility of nighttime. You were in your element and you savored peaceful moments like these when you didn’t have to worry about work. Of course, anyone could attack you and many had reasons to do so, but the handgun hidden beneath your black bomber jacket brought you an extra sense of security. In your position close to the top of the food chain though, many didn’t dare touch you, in fear of you living up to your title. In addition, your services were sought after and crossing you usually ended in deals going bad and blood being spilled. You’d worked hard on creating your guise of a fearless killer along with building yourself from the ground up after losing what you’d called home. You had absolutely nothing. And now you were willing to fight tooth and nail to maintain the web of ties to various gangs employing your services and paying handsomely. As ‘The Grim Reaper’ you felt invincible.

[23:49] You: I’m on my way home

You smiled down at your phone, thinking back to a night similar to this one. Little did you know at the time, that your life would be changed forever by a boy initially sent out to kill you.

You’d left Busan, the memories of abuse and violence haunting you every step of the way. You decided to flee to Seoul, knowing you’d find opportunities to use your unfortunate ‘talents’. In the outskirts of the city, even the most dull-witted of people wouldn’t dare to put their lives on the line by going through an arms deal with a completely unfamiliar ganglord to whom you had absolutely no ties. You weren’t stupid, of course, but considering you had nothing lose at this point, there you were, pulling the hood to your jacket over your head and fixing your face mask to further conceal your identity as you silently left the gritty apartment complex with nothing but disappointment weighing down your shoulders. You’d been to the same guy countless times, and the countless times you’d been there’d fortunately never been a problem except him voicing his unneeded opinion about you being a young girl. The moment you realised he wasn’t there your instincts moved you out the door, your mind creating likely scenarios of his disappearance. You ended up at dead but didn’t bother to wonder how.

You didn’t mind the cold, no matter how much it threatened your muscles to stiffen because all you were thinking about was where you were going to spend your next night, just as you had so many nights before. You managed to convince yourself that the clothes on your back kept you warm enough and that you weren’t weak enough to submit to climate. The only thing you had to do was to find somewhere even remotely comfortable to sleep in, or on, and without the imminence of being forcefully dragged out of your slumber, and your eventful day would end.

It was a quiet evening as you walked aimlessly, mentally marking different places as you passed, and it wasn’t until the sudden rush of footsteps behind you that your mind suddenly went into overdrive. In normal circumstances, it could have been a normal citizen strolling behind you, but you were in a gang-infested area and a citizen strolling through here would be far from normal. Part of you told yourself to ignore them, but the realist in you told you to put your guard up while not drawing any unnecessary attention. You almost let out a sigh of relief when you saw a shop window coming up because it meant that you could see who was supposedly stalking you, how big they were if you could possibly take care of them or just accept your inevitable demise. Just as the window came up you discreetly tilted your head up.

Your eyes widened as you made eye contact with your now apparent stalker. Shit. Gotta find a way to lose—

Before you could finish your thought, he had lunged at you, covering your mouth with his palm to trap any sounds you might’ve dared to make. “Shhh…” he soothed mockingly as your hands flew up to grab onto the assaulting arm just as he wrapped his other arm around your waist before nearly effortlessly carrying you off into a nearby alley veiled by darkness to cover up whatever atrocities he was about to commit.

He twisted around and slammed your body against the wall, forcing your arms behind your back and holding them still with one hand, his fingers painfully digging into your wrists as he tore off your hood and gripped your hair with his other hand unrelentingly. You felt his body pressing against your own as he leaned in and whispered, “Awfully late for a girl to be out, isn’t it? You don’t seem to be going clubbing, babe.” He tightened his grip as a silent threat to keep you quiet. “Something tells me you’re who I’ve been looking for,” he hummed into your ear. To his unfortunate surprise, you weren’t going to give up so easily. With your head and arms immobilized, you had one weapon left; your feet, so before he realised it you’d rapidly brought your foot down onto his with all your might. He grunted in pain as his grip loosened enough for you to whip around and send your elbow straight to his nose, the space between the two of you opening up as he stumbled back. To your surprise, he just chuckled breathily while bringing a hand up to wipe away a bit of the blood that had started to trickle out of his nose. “Looks like you’ve got some fight in you. Too bad I need to take you out,” he cooed huskily while looking you in the eyes with a mischievous glint in his.

“Fuck you,” you spat with a smirk. Might as well put up a fight before biting the dust.

You’d always had no choice but to rely on taking down your opponents not with brute strength, but by using their weak points against them, so you lunged forward and aimed for his nose again, but he managed to block your attack and used the small window of time and his advantageous position to knee you in the stomach, causing you to wince in pain. Of course, his next aim was to smash your face into his knee but you anticipated it and it was your turn to block his attack, grab his leg and shove him off his unstable stance.

Both of you met the concrete but it was you who was on top and nothing but anger fuelled your punches as they rained down upon his face. You were breathing heavier, moving faster, and your face mask had become a hindrance at that point, so you elected to rip it off while elbowing him in the jaw. In the process of removing your mask, however, you’d slowed enough to give him an opportunity to catch your next blow and land his own on your cheek.

Pain spread throughout your entire face in waves of excruciating fire. It clouded your mind enough that it left you vulnerable to his hand curling around your throat. You’d been left in such a daze that you hadn’t realised that he’d managed to flip you over until you’d registered the concrete chilling your skin. Your hands flew up to his, trying to pry it off desperately as precious oxygen failed to reach your burning lungs but his grip was so incredibly tight that your eyes began to sting, and you barred your teeth to fight back your tears.

Something in his eyes softened though. Whatever it was, you felt his hold slacken a bit but not enough to let you breathe. Having you on your back with more light shining on your face revealed your features to him and something in him clicked. He suddenly collected your wrists and pinned them above your head, gazing into your eyes intensely, clearly fighting an internal battle while you heaved, trying to regain your breath and refusing to look away from his puzzled features. You were painfully aware of the extensive bruising forming on your face and neck, hell you didn’t even want to think about what you might’ve looked like at that point, but your pride nearly had you smiling. You marked him alright, his right eye swelling, nose possibly broken and still dripping blood and bottom lip split just as bad. Is that a light sheen that’s glossing his forehead? You, a walking shadow to most, were such a challenge that your attacker was sweating?

“Just kill me! End me!” you started laughing at the ridiculousness of your situation, your body practically trembling beneath him from the rush of endorphins engulfing you, “What’s stopping you?”

He hesitated for a moment before speaking, “What if I told you I could give you a place to stay.”

“And why the fuck should I trust you? You’ve been trying to kill me this whole damn time!”

He leaned in and whispered, “I’ve been tracking you for a while now. I know you don’t have anywhere else to go and nothing to lose. I’ll train you too just to sweeten the deal, babe,” before leaning back out, having the audacity to smile down at you almost admiringly. Unbeknownst to you, your face had revealed your secretive past to him and he couldn’t be more delighted. Given what you’d had to go through by trusting all the wrong people, you were still skeptical of his proposition but he was right. You had absolutely nothing to lose but your life at this point. You’d lost a lover, a home and at this rate, you’d eventually die in the streets.

“And where will you take me, hm?”

“With me,” he smiled sincerely, “to my apartment.”

You narrowed your eyes at him but strangely, you wanted to trust him. You desperately wanted something or someone to save you from this hell you’d ended up in. At this point, you’d had enough of life. With a gun on you that you hadn’t been mindful enough to use, though you knew that he likely possessed one as well and if you couldn’t take him out, at least you could end your own miserable, meaningless life. You worried your lip between your teeth for a moment before replying.

“Fine.”

He slowly released your wrists and to his and your surprise, you didn’t try to fight or escape. He carefully got off you and held out his hand for you to take, to which you obliged and he helped you up. Out of habit, you repositioned the facemask you’d left hanging by your ear. The fear of being recognized after leaving Busan ate away at you each and every day.

“I have a ride,” he spoke softly, almost as if to lull you into a sense of safety. “You don’t have to worry about anyone seeing us,” he assured you as he looked over to you lifting your hood back over your head to which you just nodded curtly, relieved that you’d be able to give your aching legs a rest. The effects of adrenaline were wearing off and your body burned dully from exhaustion. You noticed him limping slightly as you walked in silence for a moment before reaching a sleek black car parked in a secluded area. Damn bastard was probably gonna drag my body here. You snorted to yourself but he didn’t seem to notice.

“Ladies first,” he chuckled, opening the car door for you. You hesitated for a moment. If I’m going to escape now’s my last cha— “I promise I’ll take care of you,” you looked at him startled. “It’d be a crime to waste your talent,” he elaborated, smiling sincerely at you.

“Hand me your weapons,” you demanded, “then I’ll trust you.”

“If it’s that simple then here,” he took the handgun from within his jacket without hesitation and placed it in your now bruising hands. “You can pat me down too if I haven’t convinced you enough,” he winked and laughed when you scoffed and got in the car, shutting the door yourself stubbornly. You took off your mask and managed to catch a glimpse of the damage he had dealt you in the rearview mirror as he circled around the car. Not the worst I’ve seen. You noted as he got in the driver’s seat and started up the car.

“Here’s my proposition,” he said calmly as he pulled out of the alley, unphased by you taking the safety off of his gun. “I’m going to train you to be a proper assassin,” he took a turn and paused to think for a moment, “And you won’t ask questions,” he gave you a small but dazzling smile. Yet something inside you wanted to rebel against your suave abductor if only to test your luck. You were the one with the loaded gun after all.

“When do we start?” you smirked and a matching one spread onto his lips.

“Feisty, huh? I like it,” he cooed and stepped onto the gas, speeding up the car and laughing as you yelped in surprise.

Soon you’d arrived at his apartment close to the center and he’d given you a brief tour. It became evident that your exhaustion was catching up to you since he was yawning after every couple of sentences and your thoughts were slowing down. The open space which contained the kitchen and living room was the first thing you saw in the humble accommodation. There was a hallway which lead to what you presumed were the bathroom and his bedroom.

“I’ll go get you something to sleep in,” he murmured and headed to his room. He looked absolutely wretched with that black eye. Soon he came back with a stack of neatly folded clothes.

“Here,” he spoke softly as he handed you what you presumed to be one of his shirts and sweatpants. “Bathroom’s the door at the end of the hall. Take a bath if you feel like it and use whatever you want in there,” he looked into your eyes with more care than he’d care to admit and something inside you stirred at his genuine concern for you. Maybe it was your shared exhaustion but he was gradually chipping out a cozy little nook in your heart to settle in. Instinct kicked in and you couldn’t help but hug him. He smelled almost like lavender; a comforting and relaxing fragrance.

“Thank you,” you murmured before vanishing to the bathroom, leaving him stunned.

You’d drawn your first bath in weeks. Standing in front of the bathroom mirror, you couldn’t help but study your worn body. Scars, and now bruises, littered your once smooth skin. What did it even look like back then? Some were from fights, some from the people you thought you could trust. But it didn’t matter now, you were safe from them.

You slowly dipped into the water and were enveloped by a comforting warmth you hadn’t felt in ages. You took your time bathing, savoring the warmth your body had craved yet your mind was riddled with questions. What will happen to me after this? Will I stay here forever? Will my heart still be beating…? Will he keep his promise? You tilted your head to the door, staring at it blankly, knowing that he was somewhere on the other side. Waiting. With either malicious intent or tender compassion. It could all be a facade he had set up.

You sank down in the tub, letting the surface of water reach your cupid’s bow, and exhaled through your nose, the surface rippling as you closed your eyes and shoved aside your fears. What do I have to lose? Absolutely nothing. It’s all gone now. You pulled the plug and watched the water drain with dull, glossy eyes. The air felt cool against your heated skin. You reluctantly braced your hands on the edges of the tub, wincing from the sharp throbbing in your knuckles and shakily stood up, stepping out of the tub carefully. If you were going to die now at least you’d had one pleasant experience before it and the two guns you’d taken with you. You dried your hair slowly, fixating on your refreshed features in the mirror. His clothes felt like a protective embrace wrapping you in his now strangely comforting scent. You silently opened the door and padded your way down the hall. He wasn’t in his bedroom.

“In here.”

Ah. You padded your way to the living room, finding him making a makeshift bed out of his couch. He had changed into a large cotton shirt and sweats, looking almost identical to you and admittedly more adorable and innocent than before, though the dried blood on his bottom lip and ice pack he was holding to his eye clashed with his appearance. “You’re sleeping in the bedroom,” he chuckled as he noticed your dazed state and offered you his hand which you took with less hesitation than before.

He quietly led you to the bedroom you’d passed on the way to the living room, never easing his gentle hold on your hand. They still ached.

“Get some sleep will you?” he whispered as he pulled you into the dimly lit room, tossing the ice pack onto the bed and he turned around to face you. A small lamp enveloped the room in a warm and soothing glow. You averted his gaze and nodded faintly. “You have nothing to be afraid of, okay?” he spoke as he gingerly brought his hand to your chin, avoiding the bruising, and tilted it up so he could see you, the corners of his lips lifting up slightly. He looked like an absolute mess yet he was still smiling.

“Use the ice pack to ease the swelling. Good night,” and with that, he was gone.

You’d slipped into the most peaceful slumber you’d had in a while when he’d silently slipped back into the room, unable to sleep as thoughts raced through his mind.

[00:37] You: Thought this one would be more useful alive rather than dead

[00:38] You: (JPG.1)

[00:38] You: Put up a strong fight too

[00:38] You: Beat my damn ass up pretty badly

Looking over at your sleeping figure, he smirked softly as he touched his split lip. “You’ll be the death of me,” he muttered with a smirk and shook his head, his phone eventually vibrating with a notification from his boss.

[00:51] ₩bag: Definitely.

He’d hired the assassin to deal away with you since you’d been disrupting business in his territory by roughing up some of his members, yet something inside the ganglord stirred as he struggled to believe his eyes. You’d been very advantageous to him after all.

[01:04] ₩bag: Oh and Jeon

[01:04] ₩bag: Take good care of her.

You finally arrived at the condo in the center of Seoul you and Jungkook had managed to purchase with the income from the empire you two had built together. He had kept his promise and let you live — no, thrive. You pulled out your phone and unlocked the smartlock with it and soon the gate clicked, letting you step onto the grounds. Following the small paved path, you reached the entrance to your extravagant home. You paused for a moment before unlocking the door; you still didn’t know exactly what prompted him to take you under his wing that fateful night and he refused to tell, but frankly, you didn’t mind; you kept your own secrets from him. You had found salvation in Jeon Jungkook and that fateful night had been the first since leaving Busan that you hadn’t had a single nightmare and a proper night’s rest. Your ‘apprenticeship’ quickly grew into something much more valuable to both you and him.

Unlocking the door, you were greeted with the smell of takeout and Jungkook’s head turning your way, a toothy smile stretching onto his lips at the sight of you. “About time, ___. I was getting worried, you know,” he chuckled, tilting his head to the side with his grin stretching even further.

“Geez, don’t get your panties in a twist,” to which he snorted. “I was dealing with Hoseok’s habit of paying me late,” you smirked as you shrugged off your jacket and made your way to the living room, where he had sprawled out boxes upon boxes of takeout on the small coffee table, presumably waiting for your arrival. In many ways, Jungkook had become almost like a brother to you. He always had your back and he’d helped you put yourself back together from the tattered state you’d met him in. You’d speculated his generosity to stem from both curiosity and reverence. You’d managed to deal your fair share of damage to him that night after all.

“Still doesn’t mean you can run around the city at this hour without telling me where you’d gone,” he pouted playfully and tilted his head to the side, earning a chortle from you.

“Gah, you’re so needy, I hope you know that,” you grinned as you sat down on the floor with him. He scoffed and looked at you with his hand on his chest, pretending to be offended.

“You’d treat me this way after all these years?” he pretended to wipe away a tear and you snorted, leaning over and grabbing a lamb skewer from the container in front of him.

“Sorry, babe. Should’ve gotten used to my candidness a long time ago,” you laughed and gave him a smug look as you took a bite, causing him to drop his facade and snicker.

“You win this time,” he narrowed his eyes at you as he picked up a skewer of his own, “but mark my words, I will have my revenge, babe,” he quipped while motioning at you with the skewer.

You scoffed and it was your turn to express your faux distaste yet you couldn’t help but mirror the grin spreading on his lips and with that, you two began eating dinner and summarizing of the day’s events to each other. You discovered he’d carried out the mission posed by a longtime client; a millionaire who got tired of one of his mistresses. Clean shot too apparently. You yourself had discussed the logistics of your next operation with Kim. He said he’d hand over the prospective weapon for it tomorrow after your workout with Jungkook. Ah, shit, I should get the outfit— After the meeting…. You couldn’t help the yawn that slipped past your lips and had you stretching your now stiffened body while you brought a hand up to stifle the involuntary action.

“Bedtime?”

“Bedtime.”

#hoseok x reader #bts x reader #bts fanfic #bts scenarios #bts angst #sinningwithoppa #retrograde #can't spell assassin without ass sass and sin #jimin x reader #jungkook x reader #yoongi x reader #namjoon x reader #fasten your seatbelts and get ready for one hell of a ride

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bigskydreaming · 8 years ago

Text

@jewneto

Okay this is too long for our asks back and forth so I’m just switching to regular posts lol. So picture this. Robbie Reyes/Sam Alexander, with guest appearances by Ms. Marvel and Amadeus Cho.

In this headcanon, Robbie and Amadeus are 17, Kamala and Sam are 16. Sam just tends to be assumed to be younger sometimes because of his personality and well, he’s really short.

And Robbie’s a solo hero, doesn’t really do the team thing, but he does do the group hang thing and its nice to have other teen heroes who can relate to the general fucked up weirdness of his life, so he’s been hanging out with Sam, Amadeus, Kamala, Miles, and assorted others like the occasional Young Avenger or X-Men student.

And Sam is crushing, like, HARD. Now normally he prides himself on being cool, suave, collected. He’s cocky and a smart-ass and he knows it. Its part of his charm. But around Robbie he trips over his words, trips over his feet, because c’mon....Robbie is just...he’s just COOL. He’s like, part demon or something, Sam’s not even sure, but having hellfire for a superpower is never not cool, and have you seen his car? Not to mention how hot he looks in his leather jacket but Sam doesn’t mention that. Like ever. Never ever ever.

He might, however, occasionally follow Robbie with long, lingering glances that are overseen by one Kamala Khan, professional meddler.

Robbie, for his part, is not entirely oblivious. I mean, he’s not usually the first to pick up on when someone’s crushing on him, but subtle is just really not in Sam’s wheelhouse. But he doesn’t say anything and figures Sam will get over it eventually, because we all know beneath his calm, collected exterior, Robbie is a giant bundle of insecurity and nerves.

So we have Sam. Crushing hopelessly, waaaaaay too embarrassed to articulate it, so instead he just mumbles one word answers and avoids eye contact when Robbie’s around. And we have Robbie. Very aware of why Sam avoids eye contact but waaaaaaaaaay too self conscious to like....point it out or bring it up because like, what would he even say? Nope. Nope. Not having that conversation. Too weird. Too lame. Not gonna happen.

But luckily for these two, we also have Kamala. Because occasionally, a world class meddler is just what the doctor ordered.

So Robbie, Sam, Amadeus and Kamala are all hanging out one Friday night after beating up some random bad guy or something. I don’t know. Plot is for losers. Anyway. Sam is playing video games, or trying to. Mostly he just keeps dying, a lot, because he is very distracted by his game partner, one Robbie Reyes. Who, unlike Sam, is crushing it at this game, even though he’s never played before, because when you’re hyper focused on a video game to avoid sidelong glances and the implications thereof, Zelda’s suddenly not so hard. At least Robbie thinks they’re playing Zelda. Whatever. His character has a sword.

Amadeus meanwhile is kicking back and entertaining himself by just being a douche, mostly. Who needs video games when you have Sam playing badly to mock instead. And Kamala, well, Kamala’s on her laptop, doing something that has her looking over at Sam and Robbie every five seconds, suppressing giggles, and in general trying to ACT like she’s being secretive about what she’s doing, when in fact she’s really trying to be super obvious until someone asks. Which Robbie finally does.

“What?” He grunts at her finally, supremely annoyed. He’s not stupid. He knows exactly what she’s doing, he even has a sinking suspicion WHY she’s doing it, but she’s shown no sign of letting up in the last hour and he just wants this over with.

“Oh its nothing,” Kamala tries to say. Robbie rolls his eyes. Changes his mind about engaging.

“Okay.” He leaves it at that. Smirks the tiniest of smirks when she narrows her eyes at his refusal to take her bait. She’s just so damn bubbly all the time, its fun when he can manage to get under her skin.

Back to silence for a few minutes, until Kamala finally speaks up again.

“Well, I don’t know that its nothing nothing. I’m just not sure I should say anything.”

“Then don’t,” Robbie mutters. He kills Sam again. Accidentally. They’re supposed to be on the same team he thinks? Whatever. Video games are stupid.

Kamala hesitates. He’s really not making this easy for her, but like I said. World class meddler. She powers through.

“I guess maybe you guys have a right to know,” she muses. Pondering artfully. And artificially. Robbie remains focused on the game. Amadeus is quiet for once, though mostly just because he senses the potential for mischief and is waiting on more specifics before capitalizing on the moment. Sam is just confused. He hasn’t really been paying attention to anything but Robbie. Umm, their game, that is. Robbie because he’s his partner in the game they’re playing. Or maybe his opponent? Crap, is that why he keeps dying?

“Well I’m sure you’d tell us if it was in our best interests,” Robbie deadpans. “It’s not like you gossip or anything, so it must be really important if you think we need to know.”

“You’re right,” Kamala says, somewhat testily. Or at least as testily as she’s really ever capable of being. It’s a new look for her. But these boys are being stupid, obstinate boys, so you know what? Yes, it IS in their best interests. They’ll thank her later. "So I’m on this fanfiction site, right? That’s mostly for fic about various heroes and vigilantes. Some villains. Mostly heroes though. Anyway. So guess who one of the most popular pairings right now is?”

Robbie narrows his eyes. Amadeus sits up, sensing blood in the water. Sam is not quite so oblivious - or fixated on Robbie in his leather jacket - that he doesn’t pick up on the tension ramping up in the room. His eyes bounce back and forth between Robbie and Kamala like a ping pong ball.

“I couldn’t even begin to guess,” Robbie says flatly. “Why don’t you tell us?”

“You,” Kamala says smugly, allowing herself to arch an eyebrow in smug satisfaction. Look, if he was going to make it this hard, she was allowed to milk the moment.

“Wait, who? Robbie?” Sam blurts out, instantly insanely jealous because what the fuck? Who is Robbie in a super popular pairing with? Umm, random internet strangers shipping his crush with some rando so was so not cool. “Robbie and who?”

“You,” Kamala repeats, her smugness somehow reaching all new elevations. Robbie’s glower intensifies proportionately.

Sam stops, shapes words with his lips, forgets them, tries again. A flurry of emotions kaleidoscoping across his face.

“Wait,” he says at last. “Me? You mean like, Robbie and me? Me and him?”

“Yup. You and Robbie. Nova and Ghost Rider. They’re calling your pairing Space Ghost.”

She doesn’t mention that she coined the ship name, back when she basically single handedly launched their ship with her multichapter epic meet cute a few weeks ago. That’s like....surplus information. Totally not the point.

“Say whaaaaaaaaaaaaaat?” Sam squeaks out in a high pitched voice several octaves above his usual. He tries to angle his head so he can see Robbie’s face and reactions out of the corner of his eye, without giving away that was what he was doing. It was less successful than he imagined it was. The super unconvincing laugh he accompanied it with didn’t really help sell ‘nonchalance’. “That’s....that’s so crazy. Like....who would even think that’d be a thing. I mean, that we’d be a thing. Not that like...I mean. Say whaaaaaat?”

“Why is our ship name Space Ghost? That’s stupid. Neither of have Space in our codename,” is all Robbie says though.

Kamala frowns. She was pretty sure that nitpicking the name she picked just to help them stop being stupid obstinate boys was like, super rude. Where was the gratitude?

“I don’t know,” she says. “Nova’s basically a space cop though, so there’s space in like, his hero identity. And it could be an homage to that old cartoon. That’s kinda clever, don’t you think?”

“No. I think its stupid. That’s not how ship names work.” Robbie says, crossing his arms and staring at her pointedly. Sam’s jaw has unhinged slightly as he watches the play by play because like.....Robbie’s not freaking out? Or remotely weirded out by the idea of him and...him? Instead he’s just....talking about their ship name? What is his life, what is even happening right now. Is he supposed to be breathing?

“I didn’t realize you were such an expert on shipping,” Kamala says, crossing her own arms.

“I hang out with you, don’t I? Kinda hard not to be after that.”

“So I suppose you have a better idea?”

“Yeah. Obviously our ship name should be Nova Ghost. Or Ghost Nova.”

“What about Nova Rider?” Amadeus speaks up suddenly from where he’s been watching the proceedings with avid delight. He emulates a cymbal crash with his hands. “Ba dum tush.”

Robbie redirects his glower from Kamala to Amadeus in one smooth, seamless motion. Sam really has to figure out how he pulls shit like that off. It’s so....badass. Does he practice in a mirror?

“You know what?” Robbie says, still in that monotone that says ‘you are dangerously close to shredding my patience and did you forget that I have hellfire’. “Yeah. I like that. Nova Rider. I think that’s a great ship name, thanks for your contribution Amadickus. What do you think Sam? You like Nova Rider for our ship name?”

“Umm. Yes?” Sam squeaks. He clears his throat. Tries again. He’s....somewhat closer to the baritone range this time. “I mean, yeah. Yeah I like that one, its cool. It’s....”

“Porny?” Amadeus supplies with a huge grin.

“Why are you breathing the same air as me right now,” Robbie says flatly. He and Amadeus are friends. Sometimes. Sort of. Other times, not so much. It’s complicated.

Amadeus opens his mouth to speak again, but Robbie cuts him off. Standing, turning to look down at Sam.

“I wanna go see a movie. You wanna come?”

“Umm. A movie? Like...right now? You and me?”

“Yeah,” Robbie shrugs, like its no big deal, oh so casual. Oh so cool. “She’s meddling. He’s being a douche. You...you’re not so bad, and I like popcorn. You like popcorn?”

“Umm, yeah. I mean, yeah!” Sam bounces to his feet, his head bobbing up and down like an animatronic bobblehead thingie...whatever, he’s excited. Shut up. “I love popcorn! So like. I mean. Is this just like a.....are we just going to a movie to hang, or like...”

“Yes Sam, its a date,” Robbie says, striding for the door with easy, confident strides. Sam’s heart swells. Who knew monosyllables could sound so romantic? He hurries after the other boy, jogging to keep up.

“That’s cool! I mean, I knew that, I mean, I didn’t know that, you know but ummmm.....oh hey, can I drive your car?”

He didn’t really mean that last part, it was more just something to say, to shut himself up. The babbling. So not hot. So not cool. Lame, Alexander, way to be lame. Robbie stops in the doorway. Swivels. Stares at him in what can only be described as calm, cool disbelief. Sam backs up.

“Right. So that’s a no. Got it.”

They head out the door, Sam doing his best not to skip because that’s really not the way to impress the fucking GHOST RIDER who he was going on a DATE WITH holy shit how was this his life. Robbie doing his best not to let his lips turn up ever so slightly in amusement at the shorter boy’s antics, because I mean. He had a reputation to uphold. He’s the fucking Ghost Rider.

He spins around just before the door can shut behind him, points at Kamala, pins her with a glare.

“Just so we’re clear, you should in no way, shape or form take this as vindication.”

“Too late,” Kamala chirps, clapping her hands excitedly. She has so many people to call. Viv, and Miles and oh oh, Billy and Teddy for sure, ooooh maybe they can double date, that would be so adorable. She barely notices when Robbie heaves an aggravated sigh, rolls his eyes, and slams the door behind him. His voice echoes from the other side of it.

“And change our fucking ship name!”

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absolutebl · 4 years ago

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This Week in BL

April 2021 Part 4

it’s my birthday week! *raises a glass of pink milk*

Being a highly subjective assessment of one tiny corner of the interwebs.

Ongoing Series - Thai

Second Chance Ep 4 - oh noes my babies are all so sad! Teen angst for the win. Tropes included: crying in shower, a very significant hand hold, & striped shirts. (At this point over half the cast has been in stripes.)

Love Machine Ep 1 - not gonna lie, I barely made it through the first half, this is a short run LOW budget experimental web series and it’s not good. Dropped.

Lovely Writer Ep 9 - I like it when LW gets serious because there are fewer dumb sound effects, but oof Aey, poor baby. How many Aeys have I known over the years? Rejected, broken, angry, lonely, and lashing out. On a different note, I haven’t see the “sex drug made us do it” plot device since 1980s Johanna Lindsey. Props to that cocktail rearing its ugly head. (yeh yeh) ZOMBIE TROPE ALERT. (Is this the point where I remind the world at a-play doesn’t have to hurt? Well, it doesn’t! Toys, prep, and lube people. Sheesh.) Anygay, zombie trope is put safely back underground. Please don’t let it rise again? (I KNOW, I’ll stop now.) So this was a rough episode, especially the back end. (Okay now I’ll REALLY stop.) Seriously tho, BL doesn’t do a massive coming out family drama scene often. I liked LW’s handling of this one. Hard to watch but compelling.

Close Friend Ep 1 (OhmFluke) - very cute snapshot into a LTR featuring an overworked music producer and his student BF. That’s the chassis for this whole series, each one has to do with the song & is a portrayal of that song’s message. Essentially, the theme of this one was remembering to make time for your partner. I enjoyed that. OhmFluke gave us easy casual familiar affection and a kiss, but no BL tropes, just romance.

Fish Upon The Sky Ep 3 - Pi is a total spazz & the ghost story bit was... well, it was something wasn’t it? Lots of tropes: fixing his clothes, wound tending, drag baby around, piggyback, head in lap, hand hold, and ending on a drunk kiss. I just noticed Pi uses guu/mueng with Mork, but Mork’s a year older. (So I have a new entry onto the linguistic brats list.) So rude and presumptuous. Also I gotta say this, don’t wear watches when you’re working on a cadaver, mmky boys?

Y-Destiny Ep 4 - look MaxNat have great chemistry, this ep had loads of great tropes (e.g. cheek kiss, rooftop, public claiming via phone), it’s not their fault I’m just not wild about these characters. I do like Nuea’s wanna-be idol wardrobe though. And Sun is sporting the red bag version of Tharn’s black bag that I wanted so bad in TT2. (I wonder if I can score a knock off when I’m over there?) Regardless, I basically grinned all the way through this installment, so that’s another thumbs up from me for Y-Destiny. Who knew I’d come around? Man would I love to see these two get their own series.

Brothers Ep 12 - teacher/student exposed! But the power of boys on phones will overcome all. No KhunKaow for me, so of course I found this ep tragically disappointing.

Ongoing Series - Not Thai

HIStory 4: Close To You (Taiwan) Ep 6 - MuRen is officially a yaoi manga character in the flesh. H4′s outright mockery/subversion of tropes “don’t touch him he’s mine,” + “touch my lip & think of kissing” makes the fact that other (way more damaging) tropes are being blithely utilized without critique almost - dare i say it? - insulting. YongJie is trash but I’m the one who feels like trash because I want to forgive him. How aptly abusive & dysfunctional we all are. I don’t know whether to applaud H4 or start drinking. (Maybe this is the show I should invent a cocktail for? Who am I kidding? This is totally a jello shots show.)

Friend or Lover (Taiwan) Ep 2 - I thought this was only a microfilm but turns out it’s a web series. It’s cute. I’m enjoying it.

My Lascivious Boss (Vietnam) Ep 3 - subs take a while to drop but it’s still better than average. I like a secret identity trope, I love a grumpy/sunshine pairing, and the side couple is great but this ep was slow. With only 6 total (I assume) they better get the main couple together next ep or the improved quality of this series will be sacrificed on the alter of pacing issues.

Word of Honor (China) Ep 28-30 - slowed down to focus on bad guys (yawn...ooo Scorpion...yawn again). Then baby gets kidnapped, other baby goes crazy, and old friends turn up. We end on DOOM because mathematically this was an episode 11. All boxes checked.

Nobleman Ryu’s Wedding (Korea) Ep 3-4 - how is this show SO DAMN CUTE & weirdly wholesome at the same time? Another one of those: Will Korea resolve this satisfactorily in 4 short eps? But I seem to say that half way through every Korean BL. These days, I have complete faith. Warm fuzzies for everyone.

Stand Alones

Color Rush movie is the same as the series. There is a stinger at the VERY end (untranslated) but which I’m assuming has something to do with the missing mother. Is this a possible indication of a 2nd season? Hopefully someone will eng sub the stinger and post it out into the universe. So yeah, Color Rush movie = To My Star style, sadly, not Wish You. That said, I did enjoy watching with different subs. The first version I watched was fan subbed, and they were better on English colloquialisms. Viki’s subs are better on Korean colloquialisms.

Breaking News

Bunch of new press on Thailand’s I Told the Sunset About You 2 AKA I Promised You the Moon. Here’s a master post on the subject with all the links you could ever want. It will start airing May 27th 8 pm (Thai time) on LINETV.

New Thai Bl Golden Blood got a teaser trailer. Stars familiar side dish Gun Napat (Techno from LBC) as a rich kid who needs a bodyguard. Yeah, it looks to be the Thai version of Where Your Eyes Linger which is FINE. I love me a bodyguard romance. DO EETTT Thailand. Trailer contains ALL the tropes: dry his hair, piggyback, cooking together, and more, plus good smooches. It looks GREAT. Also cheeper to make then KinPorsche and it might get funded due to of residual enthusiasm. Also GOOD TITLE.

Close Friend got another teaser trailer this one for Talay & Yoon (no subs).

Taiwan has a new BL coming out... eventually. Looks to be a new franchise like the HIStory series with different couple(s) each season. It’s the first Taiwanese BL from a major in-country network. The first installment is titled Be Loved in House: I Do (seriously Taiwan, could we talk about your titles?). It stars a familiar face, Aaron Lai from HIStory: My Hero. It’s a grumpy/tsundere boss/employee office-set BL with some forced proximity to push them together. (Nods to Japan.) No release date, but (unlike Thailand) Taiwan usually doesn’t make announcements without content & serious intent.

Gossip

Taiwanese BL NOVEL Miracle dropped a trailer, no subs or translation. According to YouTube comments it was supposed to be part of HIStory3 but MODC took on its slot. Still it’s kinda fun to see what might have been.

Next Week Looks Like This:

Some shows may be listed later than actual air date for International accessibility reasons.

Upcoming 2021 BL master post here.

Links to watch are provided when possible, ask in a comment if I missed something.

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greenflamedwriter · 3 years ago

Text

Angel rejected Notes

Hunk was nervous

"Guys what do we do?"

"Calm down, we just have to think-"

"-Well think quick, they're going to out us out there in the arena."

..."Shiro you fought in there, what do we do? Shiro...?

-Shiro is currently freaking out-

"Well fuck."

"Paladins…"

-Reveal lotor and antok who talk to the others-

"Who are you?"

"The reighning champion after shiro. I’ve been fighting here since I was a boy."

"I meant You're name?"

"I am Lotor and this is antok."

"Shit a guards coming- shiro!"

Lance shoves himself forward with a growl. He is pissed and will murder everyone for hurting shiro. Years....Shiro was here yearsfighting and starving to death he lost his arm and it takes a lot to scar a demon. Lance was going to kill them.

"Shiro snaps out of it when Lance is take .

"Lance!"

Shiro slames against the gate-

"Don’t attack first- evade and find its weakness!"

(Lotor) "He’s a lost cause he’s facing Urak the worst galra here.

"Goddamit let him out."

-Hunk is freaking out and keith consoles him since Shiro ignored him-

"Oh god they’ve taken lance."

"He’ll be fine Hunk- he flew out a ship to save shiro, remember."

"But this- he can’t fight- he’s terrible at combat."

Lance barely panting breathless with his eye shut to stop blood from dripping into it. Then smirks. Oh he was only messing around waits until the robo beast runs at him. Then uses his grace and wigs out his anger at everythkng shiro’s been through.

I'll become a demon if I have to. (Dissonates)

Shiro was the champion they found another one. He screamed and the tortured him and lance was pissed.

Shiro runs out on the arena lance heveggaze fixated on him burning hatred and disdain and a gun aimed at lance.

"Look out!"

-Lance stared and for a moment Shiro thought he was going to use his grace on him. That did not detour him from running. -He clips lance and they tumble to the ground lance snaps out of it-

"Shit!"

- They run in the panic towards their lions. -

Shiro backhands a galra lance looks impressed -nice one!- and they get their bayards and shit.

The other paladins are outside in space and fly around Lance leaps over dhiros shoulders and flips over Shiro blinks up at lance upside down then grabs his arms- Lance squaks when Shiro pushed him backwards and Lance spins below him and yells when Shiro dives after him then they’re chasing each other diving and swooping and just olain showing off.

Date with pools and stars

faceed with the same choice again of letting lance go with the celestiels or staing with voltron.

Lotor Keeps his identity a secret.

He is actually oart of the mamoura and was undercover in the arena being a double agent to zarkon as his champion. And letting the paladins and the prisoners go.

“But what about you.”

Lotor smiled smug and it made lance grind his teeth into dust especially when lotor kissed alluras hand.

“I’ll be fine princess, our oats may meet again.”

Lotor helps them and others escape and thankfully no galra are aware they left the paladins and the mamoura help the rebels to a planet to settle down and join the rebellion.

The manourian soies keiths blade and question him Keith tells the truth and te blade tell keith he needs to talk to their leader.

Keith keeps the blade but has a deadline if he cant activate it then the blade gets taken from him moreso to prove he desevrs it and hunk is there every step of the way even Lance and oidge say they can just 3-d the thing Nd give the fake to the mamoura.

Later keith’s blade activates when Hunk is in danger, and Keith realised he’s a galra.

Only in highly stressful situations does keith galra out and Hunk is able to calm him down.

Lotor and allura get together he’s actually really sweet and always surprised by allura.

Until she finds out he’s the son of zarkon.

She fumes Lance takes her side and shiro takes lotor.

“Look I’ve besn where you are, I felt betrayed it’s cold and hot at the same time because you feel as if your hearts been ripped out.” Allura blinked tears in her eyes.

“Lotor is a jackass and you din’t need that in your life.” Allura shook her head.

“I really liked him.”

“I know.”

“Allura I can’t change who my father is, but everything I’ve said was not a lie. I like you and I want to get to know you, please give me a second chance I can prove I’m nothing like my father.”

Allura bit her lip “I-”

“Allura can I talk to you a sec?” Lance asked and took her hand leading her away.

Shiro’s shoulders sagged, there went any hope Lotor had, Lance had allura wrapped around his fibger she’d believe anythkngbhe had to say

Both shiro and Lotor saw the pair arguing back and forth, Allura looking more upset as Lance finalky crossed his arms and nodded. Thats it, it was over.

Before shiro can even begin the talk of more fish in the sea.

Although in his case none coukd compare and everything after when you’re sure you met the right one was justsetyling.

(I hibestly don’t believe this I’m jus pairing characters up- life is hard to find the right one maybe you did or maybe the person your with isn’t for you. But if you know it’s not right and the situation feels wrong trust your gut.)

and takes them to the mamoura whom call Lotor a traitor and even call out on Keith-His mother is there and they end up escaping the gladiator ring lotor reveals information about a certain area and thats where we find shiro clones.

Which makes shiro unable to pilot black and keith has to take over. As keiths break up-black-clones plus one ptsd flashback shiro is just done.

He snaps at everyone even lance but later on lance is able to coax him out and they bond. Lance shows shiro dnd and they make out accidently.

Lovely sexual scene bit groping here and there.

After they leave for their mission to take down Zarkon and their alliance with the Mamoura they decide they need advanced technology and minds to beat him (Sam holt+ Slav)+Oriande

On the way their SHiro admits he loved Lance and Lance admits it too and he still did but what Shiro did hurt too much to forgive.

On their way Lotor admits they need to cripple Honerva and they follow him to find the shiro clone place now shiro has an exestetial crises weather he's a clone (Finds footage of Shiro blood loss from having his arm ripped off) Lance saves him by awakening his sword to save Shiro

Lance takes the first step and admits what happened to him with Keith and Shiro and what happened to Ryou (Lance accidentally killed him) Here Keith hugs Lance and tells him that he and Shiro aren't like that- It's an open relationship humans did it all the time it wasn't feeding or even dating it was just friends with benefits.

(Have mission where Keith calms down Hunk they have moments before that also and Lance admits why Keith would make a good leader) Finds clues to celestie by honervas notes and barely escape alive, Keith breaks up with Shiro because the more they were in space they didn't grow closer the mutual pining between shiro and lance made Keith feel like he was second place. He needs someone to treat him better.

After this Lance and Shiro play D&D they get close and personell Lance freaks out (And instead of a misunderstanding) SHiro admits to breaking up and says it's because he's saw Lance shine grow evolved and even now he's still advancing before Shiro's eyes (Basically laying it on thick) And admits how he feels like he's useless) (Since I think the reason the show failed was because Shiro was forced to come back)

Introduce Crux. Anti-Quintescence and see that celsestia hordes Alteans and Galra/Hybrds to make them warriors to fight the greatest threat ever. (The monster Zarkon and Alfor fought the very thing that's contaminating the Galra)

Lotor absorbs it (When Allura was going to) And turns evil knowing she will save him Honerva and Zarkon take him back and he becomes the prince of the Galra and a full out war begins, while Keith turns evil and Lance has to fight him. Then Shiro fights Sendek and defeats him.

Then have celestials come into it and see Allura remember a lesson her other taught her- purification and she saves Keith then Lotor and even Honerva the two work together and manage to save Zarkon but the expelled crux warps together and becomes bigass monster that Voltron takes down.

Celestiel then want voltron destroyed (To close he rift and stop any crux from leading out into the world,) and for Lance to return to celestiel since he's still an angel and could be 'saved.'

They think they're being welcomed then get cast inside a cell (You've been exposed to the quintescence of your lions and voltron. You can be causes of Crux yourself (Full metal alchemist give or take if you make quintescence to balance it out crux is made)

They saw the planet and the others gasped "It's so beautiful." Pidge turned "Right Lance- uh, Lance?" Both Shiro and Lance looked pale both breaking in a cold sweat. It had the others worried.

"Guys, what's wrong? You look like you've seen a ghost." Lance trembled and without thinking Shiro's hand moved and even Lance's arm clasped around his shoulder as both seemed to graviatate towards one another.

It seemed freaky but honestly it was kinda reminiscint of Scooby jumping into Shaggy's arms, Keith thought.

"The wings- they- how?"

Both of them were locked onto something- something the others couldn't see. "Guy's you're freaking me out here." Hunk admitted even Keith's hand latched around Hunks and squeezed it once.

"There are wings wrapped around the world." Coran said and showed a visual of a pink outline showing five pairs of angelic wings covering the globe.

"What does that mean?" Pidge asked glancing to Shiro and judging his hand being wrapped tight around lance's.

"It means, that whoever possesses those wings has to be powerful, and wise. They have to be older than time itself and faced so many enlightenments to reach that point but usually with wings that large their mass soon follows. A Celestiel will be born."

"A celestiel?"

Lance swallowed "Remembeer that giant floating decapitating head in space and thousands of ships could fit inside the nose?" Allura nodded then paused.

"No."

The others stared at one another horrified.

"Wait didn't someone say that the giant head was evil and was defeated!?" Hunk cried out "Celestiels can turn evil, like how angels can become demons." Lance said and it was something he was always warned off. Falling and even if you achieve great heights you can still fall. There is no final form or chapter, you simply carry on until you cannot any longer.

Lance fly with me.

Hesitates,

oh right I forgot, *Looks understanding* you're afraid of heights.

Shiro *tenses* What?

the other angel looks up "Oh yeah some demon flew Lance past the earths atmosphere and dropped him. Can you believe that?

Keith looked startled "That really happened?"

"Who would do that?"

"What an asshole." Hunk growled even the others couldn't be surprised by his choice words, Lance practically tried to make himself smaller.

Shiro was sweating buckets.

"Oh what was that demons name again? hmm....Kevin- no Kiero- oh yeah Kuro! That's it it was defiently Kuro."

There was a beat of silence at slowly all eyes turned to Shiro. He looked ahead, no sign he was affected except for the tell sale sign of sweat rolling down his cheek.

The angel kept talking "But honestly Lance, you can still fly- you don't have to go far, just glide and you'll be up there in no time." Lance shook his head "Nah, I'm good. Flying just reminds me that I can't go back to celestia that's all."

Shiro couldn't even look at Lance. He told him he liked heights because it made him forget he had even fallen.

Shiro had no idea he took that away from Lance, he couldn't even look at the others or even know how to fix it, the more he and Lance became closer the more the gap between them grew wider.

__________________________

0 notes

thatcrazyfanfictionwriter · 7 years ago

Text

Secret of the Sewers: Ghosts of the Past

On board the Prime Leader's personal cruiser, the Hamato siblings were all lying on their backs, looking out at the stars through the observation deck while playing their favorite game.

"I see… A Triceraton doing a headstand!" Mikey called out, pointing at a cluster of stars.

Everyone snickered at the idea, then Raph caught sight of one.

"I see… Traximus using Shredder's helmet for a bowling ball!"

That got a good laugh out of everyone, then it was Hisako's turn.

"I see… The Salamandarian/mutant turtle hybrid child of Raph and Mona Lisa!" Hisako declared. "I think I'll call her Irrilia."

All of the turtles, save for Raph, immediately busted out into fits of laughter. The Red turtle just blushed hard before grasping one of his sai. He stabbed it into the floor scant centimeters from her face. She jumped a bit as she glanced over at the weapon.

"What?" she asked. "It could happen."

"Yeah, you're the only turtle with an actual girlfriend, Raph." Mikey agreed, "More than that, you actually have a chance with her."

"Unlike Leo and Miwa." Donny commented off hand.

"Yeah, dating your sister is a bit of a taboo, even for us." Hisako added.

"You guys are never gonna let me live that down are you?" Leo asked.

"Nope!" the rest of his siblings declared in unison.

They all laughed a bit more, than Hisako bopped Leo on the arm.

"Come on Bro, it's your turn." she told him.

"Alright, alright." he replied, looking out at the stars. "I see… A space station?"

"Where?" Mikey asked, looking out into the vastness of space. "I don't see it. Is it behind that space station?"

Raph smacked Mikey upside the head as everyone looked out towards Leo's station. It resembled a tall tower, with several large shields jutting out on the sides. The panels were etched with pink lights, practically broadcasting it as an Utrom station. As they all stared, the Professor walked onto the deck.

"I came to tell you that we had arrived, but it would appear you are already aware." he declared.

"That's it then." Leo whispered. "The Utrom outpost."

"We finally made it." Donny said with a sigh.

"And about damn time too." Raph declared. "I'm sick and tired of space. I'm ready to be back on Earth."

"Yeah," Mikey agreed. "I miss Master Splinter."

"We all do Mikey." Hisako told him. "But I'm sure he'll be waiting for us once we get back."

"As long as the Utroms let us see him before getting mad at us for the mess we caused." Raph reminded her.

"I'm sure we can work things out." she said hopefully. "Besides, we can worry about that once we're all safely back on earth."

"Right." Leo agreed. "Professor, take us in."

The Professor gave a nod, then returned to the deck to start the landing procedure.

…

The hangar bay of the space station opened up, allowing the Professor to land the cruiser inside. Once the doors sealed shut behind them, the six space weary travelers all shuffled off of the cruiser into the surprisingly empty hangar bay.

"Whoa… where is everybody?" Mikey questioned. "Are they getting space coffee or something?"

"Not quite, Michelangelo." The Professor replied. "This sector of space is located on the farthest edge of the Utrom's sphere of influence. Because of this, it is very rare that any sentient life forms come here."

"I just hope there's someone here to help us." Donny said quietly.

They all walked into the station, more than a bit put off by how dark and empty it appeared. All of the Hamato siblings had their hands on their weapons on instinct.

"Guys… this is just like that scene from the new Star Trek series." Mikey whispered.

"Yeah, all we're missing is Scotty and the weird gremlin." Donny replied.

"Who are you calling a gremlin?!" a high pitched voice called out from behind them.

The six of them all jumped at the sound, turning around to see a lone Utrom floating behind them. He was on a floating platform about eye level with the lot of them, giving them all an angry glare.

"You come into my outpost, no doubt looking for my help, and you insult me?" he demanded.

"Honorable Utrom," Professor Honeycutt interjected. "I am sure that my friends meant no disrespect."

"He's right man." Mikey quickly agreed. "We were talking about a movie from our planet."

"Speaking of our planet," Donny interjected. "We were hoping you could help us get back home."

The Utrom let out a frustrated groan as he continued to stare down the six of them.

"First of all, my name is Kraang, not 'man'." he informed them all. "And second, does this look like a sky port?"

There was a moment of silence, then Donny rubbed the back of his head.

"Well… That depends." He answered. "What does a sky port look like?"

"Not like this!" Kraang exclaimed. "Now go find some sky port clerk to bother."

He was about to fly away when Hisako slid in front of him.

"Hang on." she insisted. "My brothers and I were transported to this part of space on accident. Mr. Mortu told us to-"

"Oh!" Kraang exclaimed, his voice dripping with sarcasm, "Mr. Mortu sent you! I had no idea!"

Raph let out a growl.

"Okay, look here you wad of chewing gum!" he snapped, sticking a finger in Kraang's face. "We have been stuck in the shell forsaken part of space for weeks now. We've been chased, shot at, arrested, beaten up, forced to fight in gladiatorial games, and now that we finally found the stinkin' place that the purple haired freak job sent us to find, you're telling us to get lost?!"

The Professor gave the turtles a nervous look.

"Should we stop him?" he asked.

"I ain't getting involved in that." Hisako replied quickly, the other turtles quickly nodding in agreement.

"You listen here, creature-" Kraang began.

"No, you listen!" Raph shouted. "You're gonna send the six of us to Earth within the next 10 seconds, or I'm gonna find out what color your blood is. You hear me?!"

Raph was centimeters from Kraang's face, panting heavily from his sudden explosion. There was a moment of silence, then Kraang let out a gulp.

"Well… when you put it that way..." he mumbled nervously, looking down a bit, "I suppose I could fire up the Transmat."

"Yeah, you do that." Raph replied, not even blinking.

Kraang slowly started floating off with everyone following him. The Professor let out a sigh of relief as they did, giving Leonardo a look.

"That was… unexpected." The cyborg commented.

"Actually, I'm surprised Raph was able to keep calm this long." Leo admitted.

"I'm surprised he didn't slam Kraang into a wall or something." Mikey mentioned.

"Too true." Leo agreed.

The group entered a large room in the station, one that was identical to the very room that had sent the Hamato siblings on their space misadventure in the first place. Kraang has flown himself over to a large control panel, a pair of simple mechanical limbs coming out of his platform so he could do the necessary typing.

"You said your planet was Earth, yes?" Kraang asked.

"That's the one." Donny replied. "You know where it is?"

"Of course I do you-" Kraang then caught a glance of Raph, then let out a cough. "Of course I do. The planet has been under investigation by the High Council for a few stellar cycles now. Perhaps if they had taken some of my suggestions for raising the productivity of our operations rather than banish me to this backwater scrap of space, then maybe they would have completed their mission by now."

The Hamato siblings exchanged confused glances, Mikey making the 'cuckoo' motion with his finger. Finally, the Transmat device began to hum, various lights flipping on.

"There we are." Kraang declared, gesturing towards the portal. "Just step on and you will be transported right into the Utrom base located on the planet."

The Hamato siblings all looked at the portal, none of them able to keep the look of relief off their faces.

"Well guys, we're finally going home." Leo declared.

"You'll love Earth Professor." Mikey told the cyborg, wrapping his arm around him. "Nobody will try to use you, and you can lay low and do whatever you want."

"It sounds like a dream come true." the Professor mused.

"Then what are we waiting for?" Hisako asked happily. "Let's go!"

They all eagerly ran onto the Transmat, feeling that same sensation as before as swirling lights surrounded them. Soon the six of them all disappeared in the swirling light show, leaving Kraang alone once more.

…

Back at Galactic Enterprises, the portal room was suddenly filled with swirling pink lights. As they faded away, the Hamato siblings and Professor Honeycutt were left standing in the center of the Transmat, once more back on their home planet.

"We're back?" Donny asked, slightly bewildered.

"We're back!" Mikey cheered, flopping onto the ground and rubbing it as if he was giving it a hug. "Oh how I've missed you, Earth."

He then proceeded to kiss the floor repeatedly, much to the disgust of the others.

"Mikey..." Raph groaned. "Get up off the ground before-"

He cut off suddenly, hearing the sound of footsteps approaching. The others also heard the noise, all of them reaching for their weapons, even Mikey.

"Be ready guys." Leo warned. "Friendly or not, we did cause a lot of trouble last time we were here."

The door slowly slid open, but rather than the Utroms they had been expecting, in came some rather friendly faces; Casey, April, and Miwa.

"Guys!" Miwa cheered.

"You're okay!" April declared.

"Miwa!" The turtles called out.

"Casey! April!" Hisako grinned.

"It's about time you got back!" Casey chastised, giving Hisako a noogie. "We've been waiting for weeks!"

"Man has it been that long?" Donny asked.

"Yeah, you kinda lose track of time while out in space." Raph remarked.

About that time, a large figure barreled through the door, making a bee-line for Hisako. Everyone instinctively got out of the way as Leatherhead grabbed his friend, pulling her into a hug.

"Oracle..." He said softly, tears of relief rolling down his face. "You're alive..."

"Hey big guy." Hisako greeted, returning the hug in kind. "I've missed you too."

"How you guys are here?" Leo questioned, looking at Miwa. "Especially you?"

Miwa chuckled a bit.

"Would you believe we were invited?" she asked.

The turtles and Hisako all looked confused.

"Invited?" Leo repeated.

"Yeah." April replied. "Miwa called us down to the lair after you guys didn't report back when you said you would."

"We were all prepared to storm the joint, with Leatherhead tearing the doors down." Casey went on. "But when we went to the elevator to head your direction, that guardian guy was waiting for us."

"What? No way!" Mikey exclaimed. "How'd he find our lair?"

"Who do you think led Hisako to it in the first place?" A voice asked from the doorway.

They all turned to see Samson walking towards them. He had a relieved smile on his face as he saw the five returning space travelers.

"Samson!" Hisako cheered, waving happily from her position in Leatherhead's grasp.

"Hello Hisako." he greeted. "I am happy to see you all alive and well."

He then noticed the cyborg still standing on the transmat. Professor Honeycutt had let his friends enjoy their reunion, unwilling to break up their happiness.

“Though it would seem that you did not return alone.” Samson remarked.

“Oh, almost forgot.” Leo remember, mentally kicking himself. “Everyone, this is Professor Zayton Honeycutt.”

“A pleasure to meet you all.” The Professor declared, giving a small bow.

“The Professor helped us find the outpost.” Hisako explained. “But he needed our help in escaping from his home planet.”

“Yeah, he’s super smart, and this really mean guy named Dunn or whatever was threatening him and treating him badly.” Mikey added.

“I’m sure that the council can find a place for him amongst our ranks.” Samson assured them all.

"Hang on back up a bit. What did you mean by you're the one who led Hisako to our lair?" Raph questioned, more than a bit confused.

Realization dawned on Hisako.

"Your voice was the one I heard wasn't it?" she asked.

"Indeed." Samson replied. "Your home used to be an Utrom outpost long before the city became as… expansive as it is."

"And you just decided to give it to us?" Leo asked.

Samson chuckled.

"I understand that you all have questions." He commented, "And you have my word that you will get the answers you seek. However, this conversation will require a few more parties before it can commence. Professor Honeycutt, would you mind waiting here for a moment? I have a feeling that your friends will require some time to themselves."

“I wouldn’t mind in the slightest.” Honeycutt assured him. “I have always been fascinated with teleportation, and a chance to examine a working transmat device is a dream come true.”

Samson smiled, then exited the Transmat room, gesturing for the others to follow. Miwa, April, and Casey all got big grins, already knowing what to expect. Even Leatherhead seemed uncharacteristically excited. The turtles and Hisako raised eyebrows in confusion, but followed nonetheless.

…

The large group followed Samson towards a large room on the opposite end of the building, where two figures were waiting for them. One was the purple haired Mr. Mortu, and the other was a familiar figure that had the five space-weary siblings gasping in delight.

"My children." Master Splinter greeted, a smile on his face and his arms held open.

"FATHER!" the five space travelers shouted.

The turtles and Hisako rushed forward, the latter being released by Leatherhead, practically tackling Splinter with their embraces. They were all laughing and crying at the same time, Splinter doing his best to hug all of them at once.

"You're alive!" Mikey sobbed.

"You're okay!" Hisako hiccupped.

"We were so worried about you Sensei." Leo said softly, his fingers gripping Master Splinter's robes as tight as he could.

"It is alright my children." Splinter reassured. "I am alright, and we are finally together again. All of us."

He looks up at Miwa as he said that last part. She laughed a bit, then joined the family in their group hug. For a good few minutes, they all just hugged it out, unwilling and unable to let go. Eventually though, Mr. Mortu let out a small cough, adjusting his glasses. The Hamato family eventually released one another, turning to the purple haired man.

"I'm glad that the seven of you have been reunited once again." He said with a smile. "And I do apologize for the difficulty caused by our Guardian Prime. While he is one of our most capable fighters, when it comes to those he holds dear, rational thinking tends to be placed on the backburner so to speak."

"Yeah, about that." Leo began. "We're grateful for everything you did to help our father, and our sister, but I just have to ask… why?"

"Yeah, why's our sister so important to you guys?" Raph added.

Mortu gave a nod of understanding.

"I expected you would be curious about that." he remarked, walking towards a wall decorated in strange, metallic orbs. "However, I am not the one who can properly answer that question."

"Then who?" Donny wondered.

Mortu picked up one of the orbs, bringing it over to the group. He pressed a single pink button on the top, then placed it on the ground. The entire room seemed to shift, becoming this ethereal, cloudy landscape set is a seemingly endless twilight. Two figures shimmered into existence, standing before the group. One was a man, tall and muscular wearing a uniform identical to Samson's. He had sandy blonde hair tied back in a low ponytail and piercing blue eyes. Next to him was a woman, long black hair up in a bun and stormy grey eyes, also in a guardian uniform. Once they fully formed, Hisako let out a gasp. She stumbled back, tears in her eyes as long forgotten memories surfaced, memories of a time before TCRI.

"Hisako, are you alright?" Leo asked.

Tears flowed down her eyes as she stepped forward, approaching the two newcomers. They looked down at her as well, both of them becoming equally shocked.

"Richard..." the woman whispered in the man's ear, "Is that-?"

"I think it is..." The man, Richard, replied.

They both turned to her as two words slipped from Hisako's lips, almost too quiet to hear.

"Mom… Dad..."

"Mom? Dad?" Mikey asked. "Hisako are these your parents?"

"They are indeed." Samson answered, looking at the two wistfully.

"Richard and Renee Kaimera, two of the greatest guardians we could have ever asked for." Mortu introduced.

Hisako stared at the two, tentatively reaching for them. Her hand met solid flesh and all of her self-control melted away. She bawled hard, hugging them both as they returned the hug in kind.

"I had forgotten..." Hisako cried.

"Oh sweetie..." Renee cooed, petting her head. "It's not your fault."

"You were so young when we died…" Richard said softly. "And you've been through so much..."

Casey let out a sniff, wiping a tear from his eye.

"Man, I knew this would be emotional, but not even I expected this." He whispered.

"Hang on, if you're dead, how are you currently hugging Hisako?" Donny asked, the scientist part of him screaming about the various impossibilities of the scene he was witnessing.

"We Utroms keep a collective memory archive of all of our Guardians, both past and present." Mortu explained. "What Hisako is seeing is a manifestation of all they were, brought into being through techno-organic imaging."

Hisako finally released the two, her face still red. Renee wiped a tear from her daughter's eye, smiling warmly.

"My dear daughter..." she said softly, "I am so sorry for everything you suffered because of us."

"It wasn't your fault." Hisako told her.

"I'm afraid it is." Richard correctly, looking down at the ground.

"What exactly did happen all those years ago?" Leo asked.

"Yeah," Raph agreed. "After everything the five of us have gone through, I think we're entitled to some answers."

"That you are." Richard agreed.

The landscape changed, forming a cityscape that the group instantly recognized as New York City. They were standing in some back alley, the only beings visible at the moment.

"I suppose the best place to start at the beginning." Richard declared. "On the day Samson and I became part of something much greater than ourselves."

Two figures materialized in the alley. One looked like a younger Richard, perhaps no older than the turtles themselves. The other was no doubt a younger Samson.

"Richard and I had been friends for most of our lives." Samson began. "We were almost like brothers, doing everything together. One night, we were walking home after a long night of partying when we came upon an unfriendly sight."

Three more figures appeared, one was Mortu, and the other two were most likely an early version of the Purple Dragons, or one of the many street gangs that plagued New York.

"We witnessed a man being assaulted by two hooligans, attempting to mug him and leave him for dead." Richard explained.

"Neither of us had ever been ones to just stand by as innocent people were hurt, so we stepped in."

The figures began moving, playing out the fight like a photo animation video. The two hooligans were easily dispatched and sent packing, but not without attempting to shoot at the two would-be heroes. Thankfully, Mortu stepped in the way, taking the bullets. The shots did not hurt him, but they did reveal his robotic exoskeleton.

"In the end, my unnatural state was revealed." Mortu commented as the figures ceased moving. "Because of their selflessness, I offered them a choice. They could walk away, and forever wonder about what they had witnessed, or they could join me, and be introduced to a world far beyond anything they knew."

"You can guess which one we chose." Richard joked, smiling slightly.

"You went home?" Mikey asked, jokingly.

Hisako laughed a bit, an action mirrored by her siblings and her friends. Once it died down, Renee spoke up, the scenery returning to the cloudy twilight.

"It was when they joined the Guardians that your father and I met." She told Hisako. "We trained alongside one another, and then one thing led to another. Soon enough, we were married, and I was pregnant with you."

"Of course, being a Guardian is a difficult task." Richard remarked. "We had a sacred duty to protect the secret of our Utrom Allies, as well as be their tools to complete their missions."

"The three of us were assigned to a rather important mission not long after your parent's marriage." Samson continued. "We were sent to locate property stolen from the Utroms some years ago."

Mortu stepped forward, holding out a canister of an all too familiar bluish-green liquid.

"I suppose I don't need to tell you what this is." he quipped.

"Mutagen." Donny surmised.

"Indeed." Mortu replied, setting the canister aside. "Though it is far more than that. This substance is a very powerful medicine, one that heals wounds at the subatomic level, accelerating cell growth so even the most grievous of wounds can be healed in a matter of days, if not weeks."

"Uh, hate to break it to you, but for a medicine, it does a lot more harm than good." Mikey commented.

Mortu chuckled.

"That's because you have only witnessed its effects when it has become molecularly unstable." Mortu explained. "That instability is what causes mutations such as yourself, your brothers, your sensei, and your large friend behind you."

"Though we learned that even in its stable form, the medicine can have side effects under the right conditions." Renee commented, looking at Hisako with a knowing glance.

"You mean Hisako's powers, don't you?" Leo asked.

"Yes." Renee replied. "There was an incident that occurred while I was pregnant with her."

Once more the scenery morphed, becoming a rainy rooftop. Figures of Renee and Richard appeared, both of them looking almost identical to the way they appeared now.

"We'd located a large chemical truck completely filled with mutagen, ready to be shipped off." Richard explained. "We planned to hijack the shipment, reclaiming our stolen property."

The scene changed again, this time forming a large truck crashed into a small, burning house in Chinatown. Both Splinter and Miwa stumbled back, instinctively grabbing hold of one another.

"We failed..." Renee said softly, looking down. "The truck was remotely controlled, and I was unable to prevent it from colliding with the house."

"My home..." Splinter choked.

"Our home..." Miwa muttered.

"I was barely able to get Renee and myself out of the truck before the mutagen combusted." Richard said, looking at the two. "For the rest of my life I regretted being unable to save more lives that day."

"Well at least some survived that day." Splinter replied, placing a hand on Miwa's shoulder.

"Yes." Richard said with a nod. "Of course, we did not get out unscathed ourselves. Both of us were badly hurt, and were placed in healing tanks for a week to heal."

"But what's that got to do with my powers?" Hisako wondered.

"When I was exposed to the mutagen's capabilities, you were as well, and without cells in need of repair, the mutagenic medicine boosted your existing cells." Renee explained.

"In basic terms, the medicine has become an integral part of your DNA." Mortu clarified. "It's why your body can recover from wounds faster than any average person, why you can pick up skills such as Ninjutsu in such a short amount of time."

"I've always wondered about that." Donny admitted.

"And of course, your mental capabilities." Mortu finished.

Hisako looked down at her hands in surprise.

"So that's why I am the way I am..." she whispered before closing her hands, taking a deep breath, "But… how did I end up… There?"

The landscaped faded, becoming cloudy once more. However, rather than the warm colors of twilight, the place seemed a bit darker with deep blue and purple colors filling the area. Renee and Richard exchanged sad glanced, holding each other's hands.

"You had just turned three." Renee said softly. "We'd left you in the care of Samson while we went out on a recovery mission."

"We thought it would be a simple snatch and grab." Richard explained before wincing visibly. "It wasn't."

"The entire mission was a setup." Renee spat out angrily. "And we played right into his hands."

Everyone knew instinctively who she was referring to. Hisako placed a hand over the dual scars on her cheek.

"Shredder..." Splinter said softly.

"He captured up both, and tortured us." Richard told them, rubbing his arms. "He want to know who we worked for, and where to find more of the mutagen."

"Neither of us would talk." Renee stated, her fists clenched. "We would not betray the trust the Utroms had placed in us."

"After several days of this, we managed to escape, and immediately ran to our allies to warn them of what Shredder had done, and what he was willing to do to find them." Richard continued before pausing a bit. "But what we did not know was that Shredder had planned for us to escape."

"He'd placed tracers on us, and followed us right back to the old Utrom Headquarters." Renee spat. "We led that monster right to them."

Everybody winced, especially Leo, who knew all too well what that feeling was like. Miwa rubbed her arm, remembering the very same incident.

"The Shredder invaded, bringing an army of his greatest warriors." Samson remembered. "So many guardians lost their lives that day. Your parents among them Hisako."

"Those that survived helped us to flee to this place, and we began to slowly rebuild ourselves." Mortu continued. "Unfortunately, in our haste to escape, we were oblivious to you being taken by Shredder."

"We believed you had perished along with your parents." Samson admitted, looking remorseful and saddened. "For years you suffered at the hands of-"

Splinter held up a hand, Hisako already clinging to his robe and Leatherhead surrounding them both.

"Kindly refrain from mentioning the name of that monster around Hisako." He requested.

"My apologies." Samson said, looking at Hisako as his face fell more. "For everything… For all those years you lost because of our negligence."

"Had we known you were alive, we would have stopped at nothing to save you." Mortu assured her.

"Well, thankfully ole Leatherhead here did your job for you." Raph commented, giving Leatherhead a pat on the arm.

"Yes..." Richard agreed, walking over to the large mutant, placing a hand on his arm as well. "I cannot thank you enough for what you did for my daughter."

"Same to the five of you." Renee added, looking at Splinter and the turtles.

The turtles all exchanged glances.

"Us?" Mikey asked, gesturing to all of them.

"Yes." She said with a nod. "You took her in when you didn't have to. You protected her, raised her, and cared for her where we could not."

"She's our sister." Donny replied with a shrug. "Doesn't matter if her name's Kaimera or if she's human."

"Yeah, with us, family doesn't end in blood." Raph declared. "Or genetic code."

Both Richard and Renee chuckled at that, then their forms began to shimmer. Hisako saw this and walked towards them, a worried look on her face.

"What's going on?"

"The archive holocron is losing power." Mortu explained. "I'm afraid I must power it down and return it to its charging pod."

Hisako looked at Mortu, then back at the shimmering forms of her parents.

"Can I-? Can I come see them again?" she asked.

"Sweetie, you can come see us whenever you wish." Renee assured her.

"Yes, the Hamato family and their friends are welcome in Galactic Enterprises whenever they wish." Mortu declared.

"Just be sure to use the front door next time." Samson joked.

Everyone laughed as Hisako gave her parents one last hug, one that lasted until Mortu turned off the orb, returning them to the normal room and reducing the images to nothing. Hisako stood there for a moment as her arms lowered, tears rolling down her face. One by one, the turtles came to her side, followed by Leatherhead, Splinter, and then Miwa, Casey and April. Hisako then wiped her eyes, taking a deep breath and smiling.

"Thank you Samson." she told him. "You too Mr. Mortu. I always wondered what my birth parents were like."

"I only wish I could have done more to help you." Samson replied. "Perhaps then you would not have had to suffer like you did."

Hisako gave Samson a smile, then punched him on the arm.

"What happened to me was horrible, and I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy, even Shredder." Hisako admitted. "But from all that bad, I got some good too."

She wrapped her arms around Leo's and Mikey's necks, pulling them into headlocks.

"Like these bozos for brothers." she joked. "Not to mention some amazing friends, a boyfriend who means the world to me, and even a sister of my own."

Casey, April, Leatherhead, and Miwa all grinned at Hisako's compliments, then she turned to Splinter.

"And best of all, a man I am so thankful to call my Sensei, and my father." she said happily.

Splinter felt a single tear roll down his face as his smile grew bigger. Hisako released Leo and Mikey, going to give Splinter a hug. He held her close, then released her with a tired expression on his face.

"Come my children." he declared. "I think it is time for all of us to return home."

"Sensei, you took the words right out of my mouth." Raph replied.

They all began heading for the door, Leatherhead picking up Hisako and holding her like a stuffed animal once more.

"Hey, you think we can stop for pizza on our way home?" Mikey questioned. "You would not believe the things you miss when stuck in space."

"I'm sure that can be arranged, my son." Splinter assured them.

With that, the large group left Galactic enterprises, off of them happy to be together once again.

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