#what's the plan with keiwa? ace?

[new-haven-psych-ward]

yknow, this one's on me, I really should've known that

THERE'D BE ANOTHER FREAKIN TOURNAMENT ARC

[honeysuckle-fic-creator]

So, honest question

Please understand I mean this as politely as possible (I admit I can be something of a Takahashi apologist at times), but

WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK IS GOING TO HAPPEN IN THE NEXT 4 EPISODES THAT’S GOING TO WRAP UP THE PLOT IN A CONCISE AND SATISFYING MANNER????!!!!

[emperorhyperi0n]

How Did We Get Here: Keiwa

*long exasperated sigh.mp4*

So since everyone seems to be taking part in the Keiwa Morality argument. Here's my two cents, dismiss it if you want.

Like. Look. Keiwa teaming up with the DGP to exploit Tsumuri's powers is clearly a crossing of the Moral Event Horizon. That's clear, and I don't think we can dispute that. What I'm having a hard time dealing with is that most people seem to be lacking an understanding of the "why" of his plan (rather than just going to Ace in the first place) and going straight to "the writers are bad/sabotaging his character/doing all of this for no reason" argument.

So: why is Keiwa doing his plan (which is roughly "vengeance, stop for brunch/kidnapping, and then reset the world to accomplish my original goal in the first place") in this way?

See, the thing y'all haven't noticed is that, number one, Ace and Tsumuri literally cannot just fix this themselves. It's been assumed by some that because of their godly powers, the two can just fix the problem instantly by bringing Sara back. But judging by the things we've seen in the show, there are way too many holes with this idea. Remember, Ace and Tsumuri have (somewhat) limits; Ace himself lamented that he couldn't do more with his power outside of giving everyone their DGP memories back, and that was with Geats MK9, and Tsumuri just learned that she has goddess powers like. a week ago? Unless she's been training, that kind of power has been shown to very rarely activate on its own volition, instead occurring under extreme stress. While using the power itself is reliable, the two people connected to it are not.

Speaking of: Keiwa's relationship with Ace is, naturally, strained at this point. There's the opinion that because of PunkJack's Wacky Woohoo Expository Conference back in Episode 37, that Keiwa was supposed to just. magically let go of his grudge for the Goddess and be on Ace's side again. And that's kinda weird??? I'm not going to go into it (this post is long enough), but one press conference that implies that "because Ace was born, the Goddess ain't evil and is being used", without providing a concrete thing of "oh hey, she's not doing this of her own free will", really doesn't resolve things for Keiwa's low opinion of... pretty much everything at this point. And with Ace being, as usual, pretty mum about the situation, Keiwa still holding onto the grudge, especially now that Ace appears to have taken her place, and having pretty much lost everything at this point it's not entirely hard to see why he's lost faith in him.

Which makes it so that his "best option" (which is really not that but Keiwa doesn't know that) is to team up with the DGP. He clearly doesn't want to considering all the bullshit they've put him through, but he's still locked in the opinion that the wish that the DGP grants is the only way to accomplish his goals, which is a point that also wasn't resolved during the previous arc, leading to how we got to this point. So, using Tsumuri's power, with a deal from the DGP, in order to revive everything after his Vengeance Tour 2K23, is hypothetically his best shot. Is this a good way to process grief? Hell no! But as long as this path is open, and that the dueling opinions of "Ace can't help me rn, so I have to do it myself" and "the goddess still needs to pay for her sins (<- doesn't know about the whole "trapped as a statue thing)" still exist, he'll still try and do it. As long as his sister is safe, regardless of the consequences.

Lastly, going into this Keiwa doesn't have a healthy mentality. At all. Keiwa was one corn chip away from having a breakdown several times before this, and losing his only family to the same fucking guy that killed him... yeah, he's very far from mentally stable at the moment. With Kekera egging his misery on from the sidelines, like, my guy has snapped, and making impulsive, selfish, not very well thought out (remember, he's teamed up with the DGP) decisions with the "best" intentions is very in-character for him, whether we all like it or not. All of the things I've said beforehand are, in Keiwa's really fucked up mental state, valid reasons to do this.

And you know what? Probably not valid! He needs to go to therapy, or something. But he can't (and not only because describing the DGP would make you sound insane), and he won't, so he's Lazer Focused on this instead.

It's... honestly kind of depressing when you think about it. But those are my thoughts on the matter. At the very least, it looks like his wish will result in a monkey's paw effect... and maybe that will snap him out of it. Maybe then he'll just finally talk to Ace and the others, and clear up the sheer amount of miscommunication at the bottom of the issue.

...we have at least 8 episodes left though. So I might not count on it though.

[zaruba-needslove]

Times I wonder if some people were overthinking too hard on some of the initial motivations for many of Geats major and minor characters.

Like how some people claim that D may appear to be an AH but they might actually be a nice person because of the wish they make and their back stories... or how C's wish might seem pretty shallow but it's actually pretty deep and reflected their past etc...

I mean for real...

Aside from Ace... I doubt any of the DGP players had time to think up any long-term goals when they make their wish. So their wishes that they wrote down on their cards shouldn't be too deep, even if you'd argue that the wishes weren't made rashly.

Like how Tanba's wish was to be young again, i doubt that the old man really made a thorough plan on what he gonna do once he got that wish come true or WHY he wanted so much to be young again to justify risking his life for it. Tanba probably only thought if he could be young again he don't have to worry about how he gonna spend the rest of his old age by himself in the current short term. The same should be for many of the minor or major players in the series.

Like take Keiwa for example. When he arrived at the Desire Temple with everyone and suddenly they were asked to write in a wish, did anyone took note at how much time given for players to think up a wish and write it down on their card? Not very long... esp when no one was being told of all the finer details and hidden traps that waits them should they sign up as player. If people were told of all the risks involved, would they recklessly write in their wish recklessly? Had ppl known that they'd die for real if they get killed by the Jyamato, won't their resolve start to waver... like what happened to Win's friend? And seriously, had anyone able to think deeply about their wishes... they wouldn't have written such reckless wishes.

Back to Keiwa, when he wrote down the World Peace wish... I doubt he really thought too deep about the wish. To Keiwa, at that point he can't think up on any wish that he would want... so he settled on his usual standard answer. World Peace. Because that should be a good wish, right? A world where people are happy, no war no disease etc... if only that was so simple, right? No. Because that wish was too vague. Yet it was accepted into the system, unlike A's wish to see Mitsume. Why? Because in the end, the GM would determine HOW the wish be fulfilled. Like how Ace's wish of turning the DGP management as his family only really affect Girori and Tsumuri, and not all of the hidden staff of the DGP including Win. Likewise, had Keiwa won his first DGP... his 'World Peace' probably only really affect just Keiwa's 'world'. Since it's not like Keiwa actually specify the wish exactly. Regardless, the only reason Keiwa's wish for world peace at the end of the show become a well-thought wish compared to his first world peace wish that Keiwa wrote down was because so many things had happened in between that makes Keiwa think deeply what 'world peace' really meant for him. Not just a standard answer like what a Miss World candidate might answer to appear virtuous or pure, but something [Sakurai Keiwa] would deeply wish.

In short, Keiwa's first world peace wish DO NOT reflect who Keiwa really was. Because no one would have clear knowledge of what they are from the start.

This above point is important for what comes after this.

I would use this same argument to all the other main characters. Aka Ace, Neon, (Win), Daichi... and even Michi.

Like when Ace wrote down his wish to meet Mitsume, and other subsequent roundabout wishes to get to her; all he cared about was reuniting with mama. Ace cared NOTHING about other people... but then he met Keiwa and stuff and Ace's wish for Mitsume (which was for her to be happy -which strange enough, mirrors Keiwa's who made their wish for Sara) evolved into a wish to grant happiness to everyone. Like Keiwa, that wish (and sacrifice) Ace made was not something Ace thought up on a whim. Like Keiwa, Ace's initial wish was not reflective of their whole personality.

Let's get to Neon. Cos I had some1 telling me about some random post saying that Neon's wish for true love wasn't shallow but actually really deep. And i just-- Guys? Do we forget how sheltered Neon's life used to be? How her idea of finding 'happiness' was for her to meet her prince charming who'll give her a happy ending like some dis-knee story? Her initial wish was really just THAT. And it's likely not for some reason some overthinking ppl projected themselves to what they imagined Neon's 11 years of life could be. Neon's initial wish for 'true love' was most likely stemmed from her idealistic image of a loved one as well as a desire to live freely (without needing constant protection cos she's a rich heir who face risks of getting kidnapped for ransom all the time). Like why else was mom trying to find a suitor for her, aside from wanting to give her a secure life? (since Neon's life was always so sheltered). So since mum was trying to get her to marry, she might as well wish for someone she could truly love, right?

Neon's initial wish was really as shallow as it was. Like really, even if she won her initial DGP I doubt she'd really get her 'true love'. Because the wish might end up just 'brainwashing' a random person near Neon to be her prince charming. But would that really be 'true love'?

Yet Neon's wish for true love did become much deeper than it initially was (but it definitely did NOT happen until at least the Dezastar arc, because only starting then she had a much clearer idea of what kind of love she was looking for and it's not just abt finding a husband, but finding true happiness). Still, it didn't change the fact that Neon did used to wish for a superficial wish, and willing to sacrifice other people's wish to get her own fulfilled. Neon's wish to find her prince charming in the end of the show was definitely not the same wish she made at the beginning, because this time... she had a clear image of what her prince charming should be. And that prince is Kyuun.

And now we come to the main root of contention. Which was someone's wish to [Crush all Kamen Riders]. Because someone claimed that a certain cow was thinking about the 'good of humanity' when they make that wish and STUCK to it until almost near the end.

That wish about crushing the Kamen Riders? it's just a plain simple wish. Because (some) Kamen Riders made his friend get killed so he wanted every other Kamen Rider to die. While cow might have thought of a 'deeper, noble' reason of why he needed the power to why he wanted to fight as a kamen rider later on (which may stem from a sudden newfound guilt for 'killing' Sara in front of Keiwa), it still doesn't change the fact that the dude did wish for the ability for his Rider system to bypass the DGP Rider system's safety features that prevents any DGP rider to cause physical damage to another DGP rider just to allow him to take his (supposed) revenge on Tohru's killers (whom he still have no idea who). And those two things had nothing to do with each other, since the reason why someone wanted the power to crush Kamen Rider was because Tohru died. He just wanted that power for revenge. Like seriously it's not that complicated.

Like seriously if you're the cow and you just saw your ONLY friend being pulverised literally in front of you. Would your first thought be 'I wanted a power to save the people from their own greed'? NO. You'd just wish for a power to destroy everything that had a hand in causing the friend to die stupidly even if you may end up dragging along some innocent ppl cos your anger caused you to have tunnel vision and only see the object of your final goal. Which is..... all kamen riders be destroyed by you.

Like really, we're talking about a character whose strategy was just 'pick a target and rush forward' like a bull being taunted by a matador to rush blindly at them. You expect this guy to think about stuff in a big picture?

😃😃😃😃😃😃

That said, as much as I'm commenting about some people overthinking things over plot stuff that was just plain simplistic, here I am making super ass long meta post because I had too much thoughts about stuff and gets stupidly bothered when some people are spreading misinformation about fictional stuff 😃

I should be better off writing porn about characters that i extremely dislike 😂😂😂😂

[incorrectreiwakamenriderquotes]

Some other submission ideas (sorry I have too many /lh):

Win: If you smell burnt toast, chances are you're having a stroke. A stroke of luck that is, it's fucking toast time!

//

Sara, while in the Heaven or Hell game and the Desire Royale: Shout out to everyone who's dealing with... the horrors... of it all.

//

Ace, when leaving a concert with Keiwa, Neon and Michinaga: With only our wits and poorly charged phones to guide us... I am Odysseus, guided by the North Star of the vague direction where everyone else is kind of going, while we try find the way out of this concert hall...

Michinaga: Odysseus! Let's go!

//

Geryon: Just because I'm nonbinary doesn't mean I'm gender neutral... I'm actually gender evil! (Scurries away to further El Dorado)

//

Kaguya, when he's henshinning into Legendary Legend: I want something big, I want something that says I'm here... Béyonce!

//

Kyoka: I dreamed I tweeted 'You're a nihilist? Cool! What do you nihil?' and then my laptop exploded in the dream, and I woke up in a panic.

//

Yua, after punching Gai Amastu and resigning from ZAIA: Revenge makes it sound so negative, I like to call it DIY justice. Maybe I don't have the right tools and certifications, and the outcome's a little bit messier than I had planned, but I'm an independent woman who got a job done!

//

Isamu, seeing beach maintainence: And this is a message for the council, there's a JCB... going into the sea! He's reversing into the sea, he thinks he's a boat! We need help immediately...

That’s a lot of submissions…

[cloudaintfair]

Some Taneko Headcanons for White Day.

Keiwa Side

Keiwa has had people use Valentine's Day to confess their love to him. It often made him feel bad to reject them, but, as his sister puts it, its better that he rejected them instead of going out on dates with them when he just does so out of obligation not out of love.

Sara had vehemently rejected his plan of giving every person who gave him chocolates on Valentine's Day, a chocolate on White Day.

He had reasoned out that it was like the friendship chocos that the girls would give their male friends.

Even still, his suggestion met with a resounding no to the point that Sara had to confiscate all of the chocolate he had bought for white day and store it in the house.

This got him the reputation of "dateless" or the title "dateless Keiwa" but of how dejected he often goes to school during white day, which made everyone assume things.

And there you have it, the origins of the "my brother cannot find date" statement that Sara implied when he reported her brother missing. The ironic thing was that she was the cause of such a reputation.

Keiwa didn't mind the title as it was true, he was dateless, but he had to admit that the label stung him a bit, which he just shrugged off.

The label originated from some friends of the people who had confessed to him on Valentine's Day, believing him to be cruel for rejecting the proposal but still accepting the chocolates given to him.

Sooner, Keiwa became part of a dance troupe, and he wasn't really seen in school all that much.

Fast forward to now, Keiwa got panicky when March 7 rolled around. This was the first time he was going to give chocolate to someone he really loved instead of the casual way he had planned all those years ago.

He had consulted his sister, some female friends in the dance troupe, heck he even bit the bullet and asked Tsumuri for advice.

And no, he won't ever, ever, ask Ace for an advice, he'd only get teased.

The surprising bit of advice came from Michinaga.

"Tch, just be yourself, Na-go's already liked you, no need to make a spectacle out of it."

Keiwa was stunned at the advice, he didn't think Michinaga would just give out advice like that.

Neon Side

Neon was giddy with excitement when 12:00 MN March 14 rolled around. She was excited about what kind of chocolate she would receive from Keiwa.

To be fair to her, she was cautioned by Sae not to expect too much as some men would forget about White Day at all.

But Neon couldn't help herself, last Valentine's was her first time giving someone, anyone, homemade chocolates that she asked Sae to teach her to make one.

She was going to admit that she had a lot of unrealistic expectations as March 14 approached.

But she also knew that there was a possibility that Keiwa would just forget, as Sae warned her so she tried to calm her expectations.

Not before long, she was able to sleep.

The day went about normally, but suddenly Keiwa stopped in front of her, dressed casually like it was just any other day.

Keiwa might have forgotten what today was.

She forced her disappointment down and attempted to enjoy her day with her boyfriend.

Not before long, her disappointment was forgotten as she was approached by a lot of people and some had even asked her to teach them about some of the dance steps she uses on her page.

Keiwa volunteered to be one of the teachers alongside Neon, citing how his sister forced him to learn the dance with her.

Soon night time rolled around as the people who approached her earlier in the day soon left feeling satisfied.

The actual giving.

"I hope you didn't think I forgot about today."

Neon was greeted with a thin box wrapped in black and yellow with a green ribbon.

"B-but how?"

"I had nee-chan bring it here not that long ago. I didn't want the chocolate I made to melt during the day."

But, but...

"I figured a leisurely stroll that turned into an impromptu dance lesson was right up your alley instead of having date at a fancy restaurant.

"Oh Keiwa!"

Neon jumped into Keiwa's arms and kissed him, in public.

"So how'd you like my leisurely stroll as a gift?"

"I enjoyed it" Neon smiled. "Better than what I expected."

The next day...

Neon's kiss of Keiwa's lips went viral.

Ace: *whistles* Way to go Tycoon, Na-go!

[acequinz]

Now that I have already stepped into omegaverse. Allow me to share a non smut au.

Ace being an omega and no one picking up on it, Keiwa being an alpha and no one picking up on it.

So basically ace thinks Keiwa is a fellow omega and Keiwa thinks Ace is a fellow alpha.

Chaos.

You can add in some funny angst because Ace is all like , oh Keiwa might want a big strong alpha or something and Keiwa thinks Ace would actually want a pretty little omega.

And they would match description if it was not for the stupid alpha and Omega label.

It's funny because everyone else just thinks they are an alpha and Omega couple, obviously they also have the dynamics wrong..

I want Keiwa crying to Michi like, "I wish I was an omega so Ace would look at me" and Michi is just like "you are not?" And Keiwa thinks that's a joke.

It's not.

On the other hand Ace is complaining to Win that he is big and strong so Keiwa should be able to ignore the omega part and date him regardless right?

So we have Ace acting more like an Alpha and Keiwa acting more like an omega to get the other interested.

They don't even know what that means but they are doing their best.

Everyone else eventually figures out but no one corrects either so it just goes on until, Keiwa sees Ace and Michinaga whispering something, maybe it's plans for his bday or whatever and thinks Ace wants to court Michinaga and gets really upset to the points he's very snappy and rude.

The next time Ace is in close enough range he pulls him down by the collar and demands that Ace court him instead because he's not giving him up to Michinaga, even if he's not an omega.

And Ace is just So confused because "what?” he has been courting Keiwa for weeks now but the idiot never noticed and the fuck does he mean he's not an omega.

But the thoughts empty out fast because Keiwa's tone had a raspy growl to it and Ace just wants to claim his apparently alpha lover.

And he does exactly that. They are now boyfriends and Michinaga hates his life because seriously Keiwa share those graphic details with someone else.

"And no it does not matter that I am the only experienced person you know. I don't want to hear it!”

[chancellorxofxtrash]

AO3 Fic Meme

Was tagged by @rosemirmir and this is gonna be soooooo skewed

Rules: Go to your AO3 account and find the following:

What ratings do you write most of your fics under?

Teen And Up Audiences (477)

What are your top three fandoms?

僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia (Anime & Manga) (69)

越佐大橋シリーズ | Etsusa Bridge Series - Narita Ryohgo (67)

仮面ライダーギーツ | Kamen Rider Geats (51)

What is the top character you write about?

Midoriya Izuku (55)

What are your top three pairings?

Bakugou Katsuki/Midoriya Izuku (44)

Inui Hayato/Kugi Seiichi (33)

Azuma Michinaga/Kurama Neon/Sakurai Keiwa/Ukiyo Ace (29)

What are the top three additional tags?

Polyamory (95)

Canon-Typical Violence (61)

Implied Sexual Content (59)

Does any of this surprise you?

Nah. I had a big BNHA phase and it's still floating around there, but I do very much plan on catching up with Etsusa Bridge, it WILL be my Nr1 again I swear to god

And then the Geats illness kicked in so uhhhhhh yeah.

I'm tagging uhhh @flaim-ita @backupmiyuko @insertimaginativenamehere and whoever wants to do it toodaloo

[asknarashikari]

…Please write a full rant on why Racules and Minato’s redemptions work better than anything done in Geats

Wow, you're really asking me to go off huh. Putting this under a cut and turning off replies because I am not stupid enough to invite assholes into my askbox even if I turned off anon

For Minato, it was who was forgiving him that mattered to me. Houtaro forgiving Minato was in line with his established personality.

This was consistent with how he acted with Spanner, for example: despite Spanner treating him horribly for his views of the Chemmies- even to the point of even physically assaulting him- he never once acted like he hated Spanner, or treated him terribly in kind. He never even called him out on what he did. The most unkind thing he ever did was be irritated about him being a better alchemist despite his attitude and that didn't last long either.

Compare this with, say, how Geats has us believe that Ace- the same Ace who was so resentful of Neon after the Dezastar arc, the same Ace who called Keiwa out because his plan to save Sara during the Kick the Can round was selfish- was so benevolent as to forgive someone who knowingly colluded with the JGP, had a hand in Neon's trauma, and was complicit in a game sacrificing hundreds of civilians, Keiwa, and Ace himself for his wish.

For Racles, his story was simply more compelling, more convincing and more sympathetic. We saw how loving he was to Gira before he started his whole plot. And we see him actually accepting the consequences of his actions, as in the end he's serving out his sentence in Gokkan, seemingly content with only having Gira forgive him and accepting the other's indifference.

In Geats, pretty much anyone who did anything short of being directly involved in the DGP didn't get any sort of consequences befitting their actions, even when it was entirely feasible that they could've.

Neon's parents could've had a kid who resented them for their abuse, or at the very least wary of reconnecting with them, but what they actually got was Neon forgiving them after they told her they loved her after all, and she was back to regarding them as her parents as if nothing happened.

Daichi could've had to deal with those injuries Keiwa gave him in his well-deserved beatdown, but instead he's living his best life as the new Jyamato gardener.

And of course Buffabutt didn't have to live with the guilt of killing anyone despite what happened in the Heaven and Hell round, and the one person he did feel quilty about killing was revived.

[tokudocu]

With the conclusion of Keiwa’s Dark Arc. I can say that I fucking hate this arc.

This is a character arc that is so forced that you can see skid marks on the story’s floor. 

Why is it forced? I don’t know, maybe because it was so late into the series?

Why is it forced? How about it being so unnatural that the only conclusion was to go this route?

Why is it forced? Because Ace and Neon could have prevented this arc from ever happening if they had just visited Keiwa in his time of need! 

But I’m not blaming the characters for their inaction, rather this is the fault of the writer’s fairly inconsistent character writing.

Yes, Yuya Takahashi’s character writing is lacking. Keiwa’s hatred for Mitsume was really unnatural especially after the Grand End happened because the goddess is dead. He keeps blaming the goddess when in fact, if the character writing had been consistent, he wouldn’t have just said “the goddess is dead so there’s no point in joining in”

If the real aim of Keiwa’s Dark Arc was to showcase how weakwilled he is as a person, then killing Sara during the heaven or hell arc would have just done the trick and maybe as he tries to save his sister, he’s blocked by Michinaga.

This would then give chance for Kekera to poison Keiwa’s heart and mind into believing that the goddess was at fault and make him join the Desire Royal, we would then be shown how ruthless of a fighter Keiwa’s become despite not having access to his final form.

I am of the opinion that the Dark Keiwa arc should have happened during the Desire Royal arc because it is the perfect stage. Maybe, Suel could even have givin Keiwa a secret mission to defend him as he tries to enact the Grand End plan.

That is merely an example on what we could have gotten had the character writing and plot coincided and is consistent to how the characters have been written so far.

Really, the only consistent thing in Yuya Takahashi’s writing is his world building. and his fetish at redeeming villainous characters, like if Takahashi was writing for Ryuki, he’d have most definitely redeemed Asakura even after the guy fed his younger brother to his contract monster.

[new-haven-psych-ward]

Kamen Rider Geats episode 31 poorly summarized via memes with as little context as possible:

[iristial]

Keiwa's a resolute good boy with huge visions and minimal planning, which the DGP glorifies in their engineered heroics, and he experiences very human reactions, which the DGP turns up their noses at and mock him for because they have the privilege of eugenics and being viewers outside the situation who "know better". That being said, they lost me at the he wants to turn Tsumuri into the next goddess part. Actually, what got to me was Ace trusting Tsumuri to Keiwa without a second thought. He's seen Keiwa fall and crack but never truly break. Even when he tricked him twice, even when Girori and then Chirami tried to manipulate him, even when everything took a turn for the worst. For someone like Ace who's experienced countless centries of pain and soldiered on for his desire, someone like Keiwa would stand out. Maybe it'll have that ancient soul believe Keiwa will suffer and rise above it as per usual. Except he won't. At least for now

[flaim-ita]

There’s something oddly tragic about Ace losing his mother and immediately thrusting himself into a reinvention of her role because the goddess as a CONCEPT only functions bc she has no will. A god who can say yes and no and what THEY want is going to be hated even more bitterly. And that is exactly what happened with Keiwa and I don’t think Ace is surprised by it.

And it’s just. Really sad. This is genuinely Ace’s idea of finding happiness but I don’t think he knows how to truly do it for himself, so yeah, he’s say having fun with his sister while he can. If he stops fighting and planning then that grief he is covering up with his wish will become harder to hide from.

I do think he is handling the loss of his most important person better than anyone else in this show but like it’s very clearly affecting him and I hope when the show ends he has the time for a nap.

[pulaasul]

Sharing His Luck - Kamen Rider Geats X Persona 5

Haru planned a surprise birthday party for her boyfriend, which he really liked but an uninvited guest rears his ugly head.

Shoutout to @rainixdra for the brainstorming session we had pushed this fic into existence lol.

A/N: Funny thing, the whole inspiration for this fic was Garnet's line of "This was supposed to be my day" during the Rupphire wedding of Steven Universe... but adding that destroys the flow of the story it got cut.

FFN I Ao3

---------

"Sorry to call you today of all days, Keiwa-kun." A lady apologized to Keiwa as he entered a building.

"It's alright," Keiwa shrugged the apology. "From what I heard, you're understaffed for the whole day, right?" He set his bag down and gave the woman his full attention. "Has anyone taken the kitchen?"

"Unfortunately," The matron nodded. "Would you mind watching the kids? They're still sleeping."

"I won't," Keiwa smiled.

It had been a year since Keiwa and the others had defeated Sueru and the Desire Grand Prix as a whole. It had been a grueling fight, but they won.

In the months since they defeated Sueru: Ace went back to his celebrity life, just modeling for a few brands; Michinaga-san was 'found' by some of his former co-workers and was convinced to return to his old job in the construction business; Neon-chan went on to live in the condominium unit she had bought with his sister but remained in contact with her parents.

And Keiwa found a job in Okumura Foods, specifically its main office.

Everything was peaceful.

Keiwa couldn't ask for anything more if he was being honest.

Before, he'd have wanted – no, he shouldn't be focusing on the past.

Two days from now would be the anniversary of them defeating Sueru. Ace had suggested a fancy dinner at one of the clique hotels but was vetoed almost immediately by Tsumuri-san and Michinaga-san.

As he went inside the orphanage's dining area, he didn't think it was weird for the area to be so dark and empty. The matron did tell him that the children were asleep.

As soon as he turned on the lights he was startled by the sudden loud noise that erupted.

"Happy Birthday!"

Keiwa turned around and saw everyone in front of him holding out a banner that said 'Happy birthday'.

He looked around the room and the dining area was decorated to have a birthday party from the buntings on the ceiling to the balloons that was scattered around the room.

"H-ho-wha-?"

"Looks like our tanuki is speechless." Ace spoke up with a smirk.

"Oh let him compose himself." Neon elbowed the celebrity.

"Happy Birthday, Keiwa-kun," A woman with curly auburn hair approached the birthday boy and kissed his cheeks. "Did you like your surprise?"

"H-haru-chan," Keiwa gulped and composed himself. "D-did you do this?"

"Everyone helped," Haru gestured to the people holding the banner. "Did you like it?"

"Yeah!" Keiwa nodded. "Thank you, thank you."

"Ready Set –" Neon exclaimed.

"Happy Birthday To You!" Everyone in the room began to sing.

As everyone sang the song, Haru pulled Keiwa to the center of the room, where a lone chair was placed. Haru placed him before the chair as the song concluded.

"Happy Birthday, Keiwa." Haru greeted once more before planting a kiss on his lips.

"Thank you, Haru-chan." Keiwa smiled

--------

A lot of things happened since everyone sang happy birthday to Keiwa, that was when a gaggle of children came rushing in, in a hurry to greet their Keiwa-niichan a Happy Birthday.

The kids continued to play games as the adults enjoyed the day and looked after the rowdy children at the same time.

Some of Haru's friends came over and wished him a happy birthday, affirming their threats if he ever hurt her.

"I don't think any of you could even make good on your promises if that ever happened."

"You're right, she'd make you beg for your life," The male blond, Ryuji, shrugged before slinging his arm onto Keiwa's shoulders. "No, seriously man, Haru's life wasn't all rainbows when we met her, I would hate if she'd go back to the way when we met her."

"It's fine, Ryuji-san, Ren-san has already made that clear."

"Man, when will you drop the honorific? "

"But I'm younger than you." Keiwa insisted.

"Don't mind him, Ryuji, Keiwa-kun just like that." Haru chuckled before planting another kiss on her boyfriend's cheeks. "It took me months before he even addressed me as Haru-san."

"Fight with him side by side and he'd drop the honorific in a heartbeat." Ace joined the conversation.

"Fight?" Haru questioned.

"Ace, could you not?" Keiwa groaned. "I don't want anyone to think that I just look for fights."

"But you became one of the most seasoned fighters after you joined," Ace smirked. "Are you saying you regretted joining the fight?"

"No, but I would appreciate it if I get to tell my girlfriend things on my own terms."

"True, if you're worried about keeping the rule of keeping it a secret, you can tell whoever you like, it's not like they can still enforce their rules."

"That is nice to know." Keiwa nodded.

"Dude, you were involved in fights?" Ryuji grinned.

"When you feel ready, Keiwa-kun?" Haru assured before sending a glare at her blond friend.

Sometime later, Keiwa's sister arrived at the venue. She made a beeline towards Keiwa as soon as she saw him and greeted him with a Happy Birthday.

"Did you know that Haru-chan planned a surprise birthday party for me, nee-chan?"

"I did," Sara smiled. "Instead of joining, I decided to be at work today because if I didn't it'd ruin the surprise."

"Thank you, nee-chan." Keiwa hugged his sister, who hugged him back.

--------

"So how's the birthday boy? Did you enjoy the presentation the kids gave to their beloved Keiwa-nii-chan?" Ace smirked as he approached Keiwa.

"Don't tell me, you guys planned this in advance?" Keiwa asked.

"We did," Neon joined in the conversation. "We had to secure the place for this event after all."

"And the matron was all for it, even asked the kids about it."

"Hence the presentation." Keiwa nodded.

"So, how'd you like their presentation?"

"It was really good, as I said to them before." Keiwa smiled.

"They were good." Neon agreed.

"Where's Win-san and Michinaga-san?"

"You're not going to ask where Tsumuri-chan is?"

"I would…"

"She has forgiven you," Ace shook his head. "But she should be arriving later with PunkJack, they volunteered to monitor the place today so that there won't be another incident like XGeats or the one that Na-go and Buffa responded ever happens again."

"Michinaga-san?" Neon inquired this time.

"Buffa felt weird attending your birthday party considering he did end your life once."

"He's feeling weird about it." Keiwa pouted.

"Kinda like you with nee-san." Ace smirked.

"Fine, fine." Keiwa rolled his eyes.

---------

As the party was winding down, the kids tired out from all the activities they did, and a lot of people were starting to pack everything away.

That was when an uninvited guest decided to show his ugly mug. It was someone whom Keiwa was familiar with but not really know.

"Haru, my darling, what are you doing in this disgusting place?" A loud haughty voice was heard. "I heard that you had broken up with that delinquent, Haru, why don't we renew our engagement so we can I make sure your business will prosper."

"This disgusting place, as you call it, Sugimura-san, is the place where people like you throw children like me to steal their inheritance," Haru's amicable demeanor can still be heard despite the heavy words she's uttered. "This orphanage helps make children feel wanted again after people like you discarded them."

"Keiwa-nii-chan, Keiwa-nii-chan," The gaggle of kids who had been outside rushed back to the dining area, surrounding Keiwa. "There's a bad man outside trying to hurt fluffy onee-san!"

"A bad man?" Keiwa raised an eyebrow.

The kids merely nodded.

"Ace?"

"Go, I'll look after them."

While Keiwa knew that his girlfriend could handle the situation, he's witnessed it a few times, her friends from when she was in high school were still around, so he knew she was safe from anyone.

He decided it couldn't hurt to show up and offer support to Haru.

---------

"Years too late for that news, Sugimura," Haru smiled. "Could you please leave, you're upsetting the children."

"Children? These unwanted bastards? Who cares about them?" Sugimura scoffed.

"You're a bad man!" A child from inside the establishment rushed to Sugimura and rushed at the intruding man.

The child pounded on the man's leg as Sugimura sneered.

Sugimura unceremoniously whisked his leg away from the child, causing the child to stumble onto the concrete floor.

"Shut up, you brat." Sugimura growled at the sobbing child.

"Are you so heartless, Sugimura, that you're willing to hurt an innocent child?" Haru couldn't hide the disgust in her voice even if she was still smiling.

"Innocent? You saw what happened, Haru, that child dared to touch me with their dirty hands."

"Does not warrant for to hurt a child, does it?" Keiwa growled.

Keiwa had rushed to the front of the establishment upon learning that a child could be hurt.

"Keiwa-kun, I'm sorry for this."

"It's okay, Haru-chan." Keiwa smiled at his girlfriend before he tended to the hurt child.

"Is that the plebian that you replaced me with?" Sugimura scoffed in disbelief.

"First off, he's not a plebian and secondly, what if he was?" Haru challenged.

"Him of all people? What trash can did you pick this street rat from?" Sugimura sneered.

"Taichi-kun, is anything hurting you?" Keiwa merely ignored the insults coming his way as he tended to the hurt child.

The child continued to sob but he nodded in response to the question.

"We will be talking about what you did earlier, okay?" Keiwa smiled at the child before ruffling his hair.

"I can bring carry him back to the building." A black-haired man offered.

"Please do, Ren-san." Keiwa nodded.

"Boys, let's teach this plebian a lesson of not interacting with people above their stations."

Men in suits suddenly appeared and got a hold of both Keiwa's arms.

"Tycoon." Ace said before nodding.

"Tycoon?" Haru questioned.

Keiwa sighed before he stomped the feet of one of his captors, freeing his right hand in the process, before using it to sock the other guy on the face, freeing his other hand.

"Wha-"

Sugimura was speechless at what happened. The biggest bodies he brought in order to intimidate the delinquent and Haru's high school were easily brought down by some no-name nobody.

"For real?! When Ace said that you fought, he wasn't kidding." Ryuji whistled.

"You can't do that! This is assault."

"I believe what you did, Sugimura-san was assault, Sakurai-kun merely defended himself." A black-haired woman stepped forward. "Make no mistake, had Sakurai-kun not fought back, I would have made arrests here and now."

"Mako-chan."

"What are you, a cop?"

"Not yet but Section 213 of the Code of Criminal Procedure allows anyone from civilians to firefighters witnessing any crime in progress to make an arrest." Makoto stated.

"Section 220 talks about illegal imprisonment." Sugimura smirked.

"Those would only apply to defamation accidental injury, illegal assembly, and the like," Makoto responded.

"Shouldn't you be arresting him, then?" Sugimura pointed at Keiwa.

"Why? He simply defended himself after you had your men assault him."

"Sugimura-san, was it?" Keiwa let out a long breath. "I suggest you take your men and get away from this establishment." Keiwa glared at Sugimura as he cracked his fingers with his thumb.

"Okay, this has gone on long enough." Ace showed his face to the trespassing group.

"You know, I don't really like it if anyone hurts my friends." Neon stood beside Ace.

"I assume you know us judging from how pale you look right now." Ace spoke.

"I think I have some capital to spend and buy the company out from you, Sugimuira," Neon smiled.

"That's a good idea, maybe he'll learn some humility."

"So I suggest before I really call someone to buy your company's stocks and demote you to janitor." Neon glared at the man.

Sugimura gulped before he scampered off to who knows where.

As soon as Sugimura left, Sara immediately fussed over her brother. She checked if her brother was hurt by the men Sugimura used to attempt to cause an injury to him.

Keiwa had reassured his sister that he was fine.

As soon as Sara was satisfied, Keiwa was approached by Ryuji who simply put an arm over his shoulders, grinning.

"I totally did not expect you to beat up Sugimura's men, I was about to rush in myself."

"Yeah well, if you have to fight for your life for a whole year, you learn a thing or two about defending yourself." Keiwa shrugged.

"It was that bad, huh?"

"It's all in the past." Keiwa smiled.

"Ryuji, can I talk to Keiwa-kun?"

"Go right ahead, I need to find Renren anyway." Ryuji grinned as he offered his seat to Haru.

"I'm sorry you had to be introduced to him on your special day." Haru apologized for what happened.

"It's fine, I would have been fine to let you handle him and it looked like you could have handled him but he went and hurt a child."

"Understandable." Haru nodded.

"Were you hurt?"

"My hand hurt a little after I punched that one guy flat," Keiwa chuckled. "Other than that, I'm fine."

-------

It came time for Keiwa to leave the orphanage with Haru. They had just succeeded in making every child sleep for the night after the whole afternoon party they had.

"I'm sorry you had to meet Sugimura like that." Haru apologized to the matron of the orphanage.

"Think nothing of it, it's a good thing you have a dependable boyfriend, huh?" The matron teased.

Keiwa and Haru blushed at the remark.

"Obaa-san!"

"You both should be off, it's getting later."

"Thank you for the surprise, obaa-san."

"Anything for you, Keiwa-kun." The matron smiled.

As Keiwa and Haru left the orphanage, Haru looked at her boyfriend.

"Did you like your birthday surprise, Keiwa-kun?"

"I did, Haru-chan, I really did," Keiwa kissed Haru's cheek. "Thank you."

"You're welcome."

"Where did you get the idea to surprise me?"

"It was Neon-chan's idea," Haru revealed. "She told me that she has always wanted to attend a surprise birthday party, and I must admit, I do too."

"That's understandable."

"It was Sara-san who suggested that we use the orphanage you volunteer your time to as the venue."

"Typical nee-chan," Keiwa gave a fond smile. "She knows me too well."

"She mentioned how you'd rather have a birthday party at the orphanage rather than in a private venue so that the kids could also enjoy your special day."

"Yeah," Keiwa nodded. "I know the feeling of losing parents, I feel so lucky that nee-chan was there to support me and I really like to share the luck I enjoyed with them."

"That's so sweet, Keiwa-kun."

"I really love the surprise you gave me, Haru-chan." Keiwa cupped Haru's face. "And I've got a surprise of my own for you."

Keiwa kissed Haru on the lips, which Haru reciprocated.

"Did you have a Happy Birthday?"

"I did"

The couple resumed kissing under the moonlight.

------

A/N: Haru X Keiwa is a ship that's really out there lol! But I kinda love it.

[innerpeacebarbarian]

KR Geats' production conflict

There are some who said that the final quarter of the show feels cramped/rushed, and I was also worried when Geats is ending, not due to wanting it stay or have "season 2" or such, but because it never gave me the feeling that the series is almost done wrapped even at ep. 38 (so extended series after ending/"season 2" won't work on this either).

Well, I know dwelling on it won't do anything, but I guess I've found the likely reason that it feels that way, so at least there's closure for me. The reason seem to be this decision (from this link):

Takebe wanting to Sara's screentime as the beacon of light, which primarily affects how pushed forth Keiwa's heel turn was, which Takahashi planned earlier. But I think the series as a whole got slowed down in the middle for this, in Yearning arc that focuses on Sara's stint as Hakubi in DR, and the first few episodes of Genesis arc.

So overall, ep. 34-40 of the series (it's said too above Keiwa's heel turn is pushed to forties). May also explain why the primary Rider (by extension the others) gets final form really late compared to usual.

The series did get concluded without being left hanging much, thanks to Ace's powers despite the stakes, and the cast do get closure, which dispelled some of my worries, but there are handful moments I want to see in the series listed in link below:

Looking forward for these in KR Geats if it has more/enough time

Though after all of this, don't get me wrong, this isn't a hate for Sara. Reject Kekera's view of her as an expendable story element instead of a person, and fans who wished the same "for Keiwa's sake" (e.g. going dark for his "success").

By filling in Sara about the DGP (as Hakubi), she did become a beacon to raise the morale of the conflicted Keiwa and Neon, fighting for the latter's happiness to encourage her believing in her fans and her authenticity as a person. I think this'd be some of my suggestions to keep her role but not taking too long in middle:

(KR Geats) Suggestion to keep Sara's role but more concise

Though dunno if the initial plan will still have Yearning DR created or not, but to instead kill Sara off at the end of JGP. There are required plot progression done in Yearning arc like Ace and the DGP team figuring out the Goddess. Keiwa's next schemes and Bujin Sword debut also needs Tsumuri's role to be known, as his means to the end, his "shortcut".

To wrap it off, I'd accept and want for Geats to be acknowledged as breaking Reiwa KR's curse (quality wise), but I do have personal disappointments that there's still a conflicting decision after a strong start where it's a complete package of a season that excels in what not much seasons can pull off like the mystery building, plot point, its action (IMO), and how there are no outright bad episodes generally, which I felt it was consistent due to how it feels planned from the beginning to me (like Build), rather than making last minute decisions.

Decision change can be something well-received like Hiromi's extension (I liked it as a build up for Vail plot twist), and there can be cancelled decision that likely turns out better like Gaim-esque ending for Geats planned before Battle Royale movie.

But for Sara one, Geats is already very tight, not enough room even with Geats' fast pace - it already only focuses on what matters for the story (only featuring Mitsume as Ace's family, said below), without extending those that served their use, even small roles (like the quick death/departure for extra Riders... Kanato in Gang Riders or even Yukie/Letter):

Still duration management needs to be taken into account, with this being a yearly franchise that has limited set of episodes. Guess this is a case when the yearly episode format is too little for a KR season, instead of too many (much padding to go to 40+) - same reason to better have KR not restricted to yearly format

Though ofc, not taking things too long in middle for Sara still depends on how those other stuff would be executed. And the show itself may only care about giving necessary conclusions for the plot and characters (which it did), my additions above are for more extra enjoyment.

[tsuki-sennin]

We've survived the highs and lows of Jyama Ball, but we're only a little bit closer to discovering who the Desaster is. If they go undiscovered to the final round, they win the game outright and get their ideal world. And with the mysterious executives, Keiwa, Neon, and Ace's respective sponsors, Archimedel, and Buffa all making their moves, something tells me the real game is only beginning.

...more importantly than any of that though, where the Hell are we headed now?! Why are there BOMBS everywhere? What do the Jyamato even have to gain from these constant invasions other than food and conquest?

All these questions and more... probably not answered today, but like, important to keep in mind.

Spoilers, I guess...

-Neooooon!

-Neon, baby, if you're the impostor I'm gonna cry.

-Good morning Chirami.

-Oh okay, we're supposed to become fan favorite. I see.

-Well, from what I've seen from the fandom as of yesterday, a number of folks have taken very kindly to Sae-san (rightfully so), so if this were the real world she'd probably win this. Doubly so if she's the Desaster.

-Oh shit! Sara-neesan!

-...oh, she's... she's fine, seemingly.

-Can't cut a pineapple smh.

-Bomb Pineapple!

-Ohhhh, we're dead.

-Jyamato Express!

-Fruit!

-Bombs!

-Fruit Bombs!

-Ooooooh, even more Jyamato ciphers.

-I imagine a lot of folks are hard at work.

-Blowing up an entire city block.

-I see Creepy Garden Daddy Archimedel's very proud of his little Freedom Clubbers.

-Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes!

-Damn, Takahashi's Steam list must be wilding.

-Secret Mission Clear!

-For you, fox man!

-Awwww, spider phone cute :)

-First Blood!

-The Gun!

-Magnum!

-It's back!

-Ringo?

-There's just something so funny to me about how minimal the Jyamato Pawn costumes are. Head, limbs, uniform, that's all you need.

-"OHHHHHH MY SISTER'S GETTING BOMBED"

-"Oh hey little bro, I got tied up. Can you do me a solid and get the kitchen knife?"

-Sae-san's very cool and collected under pressure. Can see why she was picked for this.

-Oh hey, Mrs. Kurama~! I'm still pissed you slapped my homegirl Neon, just so you're aware.

-"Neon's a big girl, she can handle herself. She'd never be able to achieve her dreams"

-Ohhhh, Papa Naoto. You're extremely sus.

-"Time to go to work. See you around."

-I see Mama Kurama's not an entirely heartless lunatic.

-You tell her, girl!

-I'm gonna be honest, I'd be proud of Neon if she were the Desaster.

-There's the Buffa Core ID.

-No doubt there's gonna be a lot of Zombie DNA in that mutant.

-Oh?

-Oh, hello.

-Sponsor-sama!

-So, she's got big plans for ol' Michinaga.

-Beroba...

-Ohhhhh, he's got an infection.

-"You wanna beat the shit outta all them dirty Kamen Riders, huh~? How about you let me pay for everything, no strings attached!"

-A proper sadist, this one!

-Takahashi's giving us a lot of interesting female characters this go around.

-Well, Beroba-san. You're obviously a cold-blooded murderer, you've got a killer fashion sense, your first appearance is accompanied by scary organ music, you're friends with Papa Archie, you got jelly beans...

-Yeah, you're totally trustworthy. I hear you're played by an idol?

-Sae-san... you care a hell of a lot about your family, huh?

-Oooooh, Okinawan.

-Keeping yourself in peak condition for your family. I happen to know a dude in a bathhouse who'd be very impressed with you, Sae-san.

-Neon...

-Who threw that bomb?

-"Did somebody say BOMB~!?"

-Gotta save Onee-sama!

-Ohhhh, sunset is fast approaching.

-I'm surprised we haven't seen lemons yet.

-At least, I don't think so, the picture quality I have ain't the best.

-Michinaga!

-Jurapira!

-Buffato!

-Oooooh, he's pissed!

-"Fuck the bull! Go get pineapples for our Hawaiian barbecue!"

-Can't get in!

-Ooooooh, Zombie Tycoon!

-Damn, Keiwa's playing hard!

-Red Wire.

-HOLY SHIT BUFFA DODGED POINT BLANK

-Goddamn, these stunts are sick every time I see 'em.

-OHHHHH MY DUDE JEAN GOT A GUN

-Okay I checked, it seems it's Gene, okay.

-Hello, Beroba-chan. Guess the dweebs are fighting.

-"I'm betting all my money on that buffalo guy."

-...seems that Gene's okay with this.

-OH GOD NEE-SAMA

-Red wire!

-Nut up man, do it!

-We did it!

-No more pineapple for ever.

-Sibling banter

-Oh man, it's dark out.

-Seems Michi's in no shape to kill anyone today.

-Compass!

-Snacc

-Well, gotta keep the sponsors happy.

-Oh, the producer's coming in.

-...wonder if this is a metaphor of some kind.

-Ah yep! Sae-san was the sussiest baka all along!

-Lone wolf Lopo played nice for so long.

-Oooooh, that's a Glare retool. ...I suppose Gazer's our new "coming in hot and spicy".

-I wonder if we're gonna see a new DGP higher-up come kick ass every new arc?

-...fuck, what if we have to beat up Mama Mitsume? I don't think poor Ace can handle it.

-Shit seems to be getting real now.