#goemon route

[my-current-obsession]

Tengoku Struggle: Strayside - Thoughts

I'm a bit late getting to this game, but I enjoyed it quite a bit! I definitely have some frustrations both minor and major, some of which I'll get into below, but overall it was a fun and engaging ride and one of few VNs where I can honestly say I like ALL the routes and romances - with the caveat that I have a bone to pick with one of them.

I think the premise of the story, the transient (amnesiac) daughter of the Lord of Hell being assigned to capture several escapees from Hell alongside four handpicked former prisoners (all of which are presumably heinous villains themselves), is very fun and creative. I was immediately drawn into the story and loved all the world-building relating to the Six Realms and Hell specifically.

It helps that in addition to the colorful main cast, the supporting cast in this game is fantastic. I particularly love Fujimori, King Enma, and Nono-sensei.

My play order was: Kiku -> Yona -> Sharaku -> JacK -> Goemon.

My thoughts and criticisms are down below. Beware spoilers if you haven't played/beaten the game yourself!

First off, while it's not necessarily a criticism, I do think it's an... interesting choice to clearly establish in the very beginning of the game that she knew and loved one specific love interest prior to her death, and then to further establish at the end of the common route that he remembers and loves her too. While I know most otome have a favored/intended canon route, pushing one guy this hard this early is kind of shooting itself in the foot, IMO. It's hard to really get into and love the other possible relationships when Rin is this obviously "meant" to be with Goemon and you're aware of it and imagining him quietly pining for her all while she gets cozy with another man. I can think of multiple other otomes which also have a similar conundrum, but at least in those cases you don't know about the history and connection with a specific love interest until actually doing his route, allowing you to fully enjoy all the other routes first.

But you could consider the early Goemon reveal more of a double-edged sword, because while it might dampen your enjoyment of the other romances, it would also encourage players to not give up early for any reason, wanting to make it to his route to get answers and resolution to what exactly his past with Rin is.

Kiku: I think his route was a good one to start with. Outside of his own backstory as well as his connected "villain", Azami, there are no major reveals here. There's also nothing I found particularly amazing OR frustrating. His route was solid, I liked it, but it didn't wow me either. His romance with Rin felt very light and fluffy. You could tell he was falling for her pretty fast and hard early in his route, and the two got along really well.

I also do really like Azami as a character and as the antagonist in this route, although if I have one complaint it's that the situation honestly could have been MORE dramatic and messy than it was. Maybe this is entirely on me for getting my hopes up, but I assumed there would be more to her backstory and behavior than there ended up being. I figured she was either gay, adding another layer to her general dislike of men and her immediate and enduring friendliness to Rin, OR... she might have secretly had incestuous feelings for her brother, further complicating THAT situation. Neither turned out to be true, which left me a tad disappointed. But I can't hold something that I created and wanted in my head against the story too much. Her backstory and behavior is perfectly understandable for what it is, I just wanted a bit more drama I guess.

Finally, I really like how Fujimori was incorporated into this route and I thought his budding friendship with Kiku was incredibly sweet.

Yona: I spent the first half of his route too frustrated to really enjoy it, to be honest. The story hammers home the idea that samurai are supposed to be honorable, yet Yona immediately fights dirty and nearly gets Rin killed as a result. And while the other guys (and Goemon in particular, which was a nice touch) were understandably furious at him, Rin herself WASN'T. If anything she blamed herself - the VICTIM - for letting things get out of hand.

What made matters worse is that while Yona IS overall a good, honorable guy, and he DOES actually have a good reason for his deep mistrust that led him to act out... we don't get it until literally the end of the route. We have to just sit back and forgive him and wait several hours to hear an explanation as to WHY he did what he did. It doesn't help that for me, his backstory just feels weaker than everyone else, which makes withholding it until the very end all the more unreasonable.

We got like 85% of Kiku's backstory in the beginning of his route, which helped in understanding why his relationship with Azami was so fraught. Sharaku opens up about his backstory a little over halfway through his route in a moment of emotional intimacy, which helps in understanding/justifying his outlandish behavior before and also significantly shifts the tone/feeling of his relationship with Rin moving forward. And we're drip-fed Goemon and Rin's semi-shared backstory throughout his entire route, like getting one piece of a puzzle at a time and finally getting to complete it near the end.

Even if you disagree that Yona's backstory of growing up an outsider, desperate for love and attention, ultimately getting deceived and dying before getting what he wanted isn't as compelling as the others... the placement of it (not even told to Rin as part of bonding and/or apologizing! told to Sansaburo to try and get through to him and keep things "honorable"!) still bugs me. We should have gotten some or even all of it early on in the route, so that we could understand and forgive what he'd done. Because personally without any context, I wasn't okay with how his fighting dirty nearly got Rin killed, and the fact that SHE was okay with it made it all the more vexing.

My issue with the beginning of this route then rippled out to impair the middle a bit. Because while I could definitely understand why Yona would like Rin so much... every scene of her being super into him just felt unearned. And the fact that it was discovering he read books that might sometimes have smut in them being what DID briefly turn her off from him? Ugh. It's fine if he's a dumbass who nearly got you killed for (seemingly) no good reason, but I guess liking porn is inexcusable. Priorities, girl!

IN ISOLATION, I think nearly all of their romantic moments are very solid. It's just that because their starting position was so poisoned for me, it was hard to reconcile Rin liking him at all at that point. All that said, the route definitely got better over time and the last few chapters were very solid. By then there'd been enough development that I could buy the romance despite my initial hangups, so I could fully enjoy their relationship when it finally blossomed. And Yona's confrontation with Sansaburo was pretty good too.

Once again, this route made good use of Fujimori. His dynamic was certainly more strained with Yona than Kiku, but the story used that to give Yona a necessary wake-up call, I think. I love that both guys got something valuable from the other, with Yona getting more accepting/comfortable around technology and how things are now compared to when he lived, and Fujimori being shown that looks and strength alone don't define a person or make them happy/successful, which encouraged him to be more confident in himself and accepting of others.

Sharaku: I'll admit that I had a bit of a bias going into this route since due to his VA and certain mannerisms, I already liked Sharaku a lot. He reminded me of Marius from Tears of Themis (same Japanese VA, similarly flirty and overtly manipulative in a childish way that I find endearing rather than upsetting).

That said his route is certainly... a lot. And I can bet he'll be a "love him or hate him" type for a lot of people. Personally, I love him, though I absolutely understand why he might turn off or really upset others. He comes on STRONG in the beginning, pushing for sex as a way to "bond" and "develop trust" with Rin.

That's obviously not okay, but for me it's enough that after Rin electrocutes him and sets a boundary, he doesn't cross it again (arguably. We'll get into that). Rather, while he still brings up the idea of having sex often, it's more playful/joking, and he physically keeps a safe distance. To me this reads as him making it clear that while he's still down for or wants it himself, he IS respecting her wishes by not pushing for it. He's just letting her know it's still on the table as an option if she ever changes her mind.

Personally I don't think the idea that he's "coercing" her into it holds water when, later in the route, she DOES decide she wants to have sex with him in a moment of desperation, but he TURNS HER DOWN. By then, he knows her well enough and CARES about her enough that he doesn't want to do anything she's not fully onboard with. Consent isn't enough. He wants her feelings to matter, too. For them, for the bond they now have, sex is no longer a means to an end, and he won't let her reduce it to that even when that was once what he wanted.

Sharaku is a very messy individual. His backstory is HEAVY. I might have a small corner of my mind permanently stuck ruminating on how he was forced to live as a prostitute for an unknown length of time just to make ends meet, and then eventually got OUT of that life and started supporting himself financially with art instead, just to ultimately die at the ripe old age of eighteen. Because he eventually got caught for the crime of mercy killing women who BEGGED him to do it. It's just... a lot.

All the characters' backstories inform their personality and behavior in the present, but I really feel it with Sharaku. He's been desensitized to sex, possibly as a coping mechanism for what he's been through. From his perspective, it's nothing more than a physical act at this point, and what better way to "get close" to someone? There's also the idea that prostitutes are trained/perceptive when it comes to romance. It's a trait that all the "prostitute" characters we see share, even Shinobikuni. While I doubt anyone would argue that Goemon knows Rin as a person best, it's definitely Sharaku who notices the budding romances on every route. He even took it a step farther and tried to play matchmaker for Yona! He's also the one to notice and call out that Goemon is softer towards Rin right from the start, even if he tries to hide it and act as uncaring/aloof as the others.

I think this also extends to his route though. When Rin really starts to fall for Sharaku, HE NOTICES. He's completely unsurprised when other people infer that Rin is in love with him. The "school uniform date" and his kissing her were prompted by him responding to her feelings. It's just that there's a miscommunication here. He hasn't let her know how HE feels (and to be fair at that point he might still be figuring it out, going along with things because that's what he's used to doing), thus she assumes he's playing with her feelings and gets upset.

Something I really love about Sharaku's route is that he takes it upon himself, multiple times, to try and change or open up to Rin, without being forced or prompted to. His most sincere, vulnerable moments are predated by him unintentionally hurting her, and then resolving to do better. Which he does! When he sees how their blood bond has barely risen, it's clear that it hurts Rin. And he KNOWS it's his own trust issues to blame, so he pushes through the discomfort to open up to her, at least a little, prompting the first big spike in the blood bond. When he takes their "date" too far by kissing her and Rin runs off crying, he finally opens up about his past to her once he finds her.

Rin herself ALSO makes an effort to change, after Sharaku calls her out for being overbearing and falling back on her training to mistreat the prisoners. This isn't really an issue in other routes, since she has a good relationship with the other love interests, but here, her initially strained relationship with Sharaku makes it harder to shake off her training and treat the men the way she WANTS to treat them. The struggle makes it more impactful than the other routes where she just decides to change and then... does, without effort, IMO.

Sharaku as a person and his relationship with Rin is just... so much more complicated and messy than the other routes. Outside of JacK where she's literally romancing the enemy, this is the only time she has any real conflict WITH her love interest as opposed to a conflict elsewhere. But it makes perfect sense that these two would butt heads given their near polar opposite personalities and his... wealth of romantic/sexual experience compared to her literal blank slate. If anything it's a miracle they reached a compromise!

This route COULD have been a disaster. With Sharaku's backstory and obsession with sex, it could have gone to some truly unpleasant, unforgivable places. But for me, this route was beautiful. This is a route where two VERY different individuals both decided, of their own volition, to try to be better for the other person. They weren't being forced to change by an outside party, nor were they fundamentally changing who they were. Rather they were allowing themselves to be vulnerable, exposing their soft underbellies to the other. To meet the other halfway. This was harder for Sharaku, naturally, but they both managed it and from their initial tense and distant acquaintance, a healthy and beautiful love bloomed.

JacK/Tetsunojo: This route had the misfortune to sit between Sharaku, who I clearly hyper-fixated on, and Goemon, who has a lot of "true/final route" reveals to dig into. Thus I admit I probably didn't give this route as much attention as I should have.

That said, from what I remember, it's solid. I appreciate that the more you learn about him, the more Tetsunojo comes across as just a chuuni. A total loser playing at being edgy and cool. His mostly one-sided vendetta against Goemon is also a lot of fun. It's hilarious to think about how Goemon didn't know or care about him at all until his own route, where he ultimately DID "beat" Goemon entirely unintentionally, by stealing his girl.

I was a bit miffed for a decent chunk of the route because it seemed the writing couldn't decide how much, if at all, Tetsunojo actually liked Rin or if he was just using her all along. He certainly turned HARD on her when he got what he wanted. But then the story slowly walked it back and he DID like her, he was just pushing her away. The execution was a bit sloppy and frustrating, but not terrible I guess.

I'm torn between liking and hating that this is the route where Rin finally gets to be proactive. In general I like it when the heroine is more assertive and goes for what she wants. But where was that in the other routes? You're saving it for here, the route where from a logical standpoint it makes most sense NOT to pursue him, especially once he's threatened your life? It feels like she's only proactive because this relationship would never get off the ground otherwise, whereas living with the other guys - most of whom are confident and willing to make moves themselves - gives plenty of opportunity for romance without Rin forcing it.

Ultimately while the romance was okay, this relationship was probably still my least favorite because it lowkey took Rin away from her other love interests. That's her found family! It's like Sholmes' route in the Code Realize FD. Even IF the route and relationship is solid, you don't take the girl away from her group of friends! Thankfully Tetsunojo joined the group at the end (even getting his own mug! Truly Goemon is a softie to do such a thing for the guy that stole his girl) rather than completely taking Rin away, but this route still felt removed from the group dynamic we see everywhere else.

Goemon: He was SO soft and attentive to her, in general but especially his own route. You'd think after a few hundred years he would at least start to move on, but no, he's clearly still down bad for her. VERY cute.

I loved getting little peeks of his jealousy in other routes. When he lost his cool at the manager asking if Rin is a virgin, wishing to himself that they WERE having a rendezvous when Sharaku caught them together, a lot of his behavior in JacK's route... It all got me amped up for his route, for sure.

I have basically no complaints about the romance in this route, or at least nothing too critical. The pacing is a bit wonky at times, but I think that can be explained as Rin is essentially starting at 0 for Goemon while HE is starting damn near 100 for her - as shown by the blood bond, even! He near fully loves and trusts her from the start, so the route is just getting her to the same place he is and revealing their shared backstory.

They have a lot of sweet moments together. I love how she made him "poison" onigiri which he then made sure to warn off others so he could keep them to himself. I love how for a good chunk of the route Rin was despairing over being in a love triangle with HERSELF. I do wish she had confronted him directly, told him it hurt to be compared to or a replacement for that girl. But we got something similar at least that FINALLY led to him telling her the truth.

As for their backstory, it really is a tragedy. Their own hesitations and insecurities kept them apart. He didn't want to drag her into his problems, she didn't want to tie him down since she was blind and he was a free spirit. And yet even though they never got together she was STILL killed just because of her association to him. Which meant he was right to blame himself for it, to an extent. The fact that her ONE sin that sent her to hell was telling a lie that hurt him is the cherry on top of this painful sundae. Oof.

The plot/conflict outside of the romance is where this route loses me a little. It just has a bit too much going on, including TWO separate twist villains! Surely one of them could have been used elsewhere? Personally I would say Sharaku's route because the idea of finding Oshichi's lost love is brought up there too and yet for some reason it's Goemon's route where they have the idea to have Sharaku draw the guy based on Oshichi's description.

I mostly liked Fujimori's inclusion in this route once again. The bond he and Goemon had in the past and start to form again is very sweet. That said, I don't really like how it's implied he was also close with Rin (to the point where he called her sister at one point and she also felt like he was a little brother to her) yet we NEVER got interactions between them in flashbacks. It's hard to buy that relationship when we don't actually see it.

I think both twist villains were done very sloppily. Kamuro's actions just don't seem to fit with what we've learned about angels and how they're basically stupid and useless and GOOD. How on earth did an angel with those kind of restrictions for getting into Heaven (remember, telling a SINGLE lie that hurt someone got Rin cast into Hell) end up even capable of evil? And Shiroku...

He was an incredibly weird combination of OVERLY foreshadowed and not nearly foreshadowed enough. He has a very distinct silhouette so it's clearly him we see in Rin's nightmare flashback at the beginning of the route, making him immediately suspicious. And yet in all his prior appearances and up until the end of the route, he does nothing to raise suspicion. If not for that one moment we'd have NO reason to doubt him. And then again, literal minutes before the reveal, we get the second piece of evidence against him. Which is... Sharaku - the MOST guarded and untrusting of the group - thinks he's suspicious and doesn't want Rin to go off alone with him. Again, a rather heavy-handed piece of foreshadowing, and yet it's potentially ruined or overlooked since it's coming from Sharaku.

In theory, I'm fine with Shiroku being a twist villain. Especially since Goemon's primary "flaw" is that he's too soft/trusting towards those he cares about. So having a trusted longtime friend stab him in the back makes sense. It's just the execution sucks. And Shiroku as a villain is not nearly as interesting or likable compared to the main five. His motivation is... feeling spurned that Goemon left so he decides to go full evil?

Meanwhile the five escapees are all seemingly GOOD or at least neutral people who just lived awful lives - or in Asaemon's case, he was a guy with a really bad job. But someone's gotta do it - and now want a chance to live happier, peaceful lives as opposed to continuing to suffer in Hell as if their lives before death weren't bad enough.

Compared to all the others, Shiroku taking over as the last minute true bad guy was disappointing. It made sense that Goemon wouldn't fight Shinobikuni since she seemingly wasn't a fighter, but what I really expected and felt outright ripped off not to get was a fight with Okuni. Of ALL the escapees, Okuni got the least development and time to shine. But since it was established she KNEW Goemon and she had a really cool power that COULD be used in a fight, I expected her to be the "final boss", as it were. Instead she literally never faces off against anyone directly, instead just retaliating against Yona in his route when he fights dirty against Sansaburo. She was SO cool and SO underutilized.

She was shafted in favor of a pretty shit twist villain though. In the end her "importance" boiled down to being the source of a popular legend that Rin secretly liked - after death, being cared across the Sanzu River on your lover's back. At least that concept finally got to come full circle when Goemon carried Rin home on his back after the final battle. That was a nice detail. He wasn't able to go to her in death, but they first reunited at the riverbank that she was staring wistfully at, and he got as close as he could to fulfilling her wishes in the end.

I suppose it was too much to expect a violent battle between a man and a woman in an otome, especially with the woman as a final boss of sorts. At least Rin got to contribute to the fight. Not directly, but her powered up ability was instrumental to the fight and the gang couldn't have won without her. So I'll take it.

Misc: A few random final thoughts/observations - this game is very punishing in terms of the choices. A single wrong choice will land you the bad end for a route. In fact, I noticed that a wrong choice early on will ensure a "bad" ending to the chapter and every chapter moving forward. Which is why starting with Yona I made the decision to save scum until around chapter 8 so even if I got a bad end I wouldn't have to redo damn near the entire route.

...Which accidentally led to me NOT getting Goemon or Sharaku's bad endings. I happened to get their final few choices right and haven't seen their bad endings. That said, based on the OTHER bad endings... I don't mind that you fall into those endings so easily. There ARE unique CGs and the endings are about 20 minutes of unique content. And it seems like the bad endings aren't even "bad" so much as bittersweet, stalling a happy ending that WILL still come in the future. Plus the music for the bad end movie is a BOP that I will GLADLY listen to.

One other thing I noticed that bothers me a tad is that the routes follow a very similar formula in terms of the romantic development. You can see this very clearly while looking at the CGs for different guys. All five guys have exactly 15 "unique" CGs, the difference being how many of those have variations, and how many of said variations there are. Exactly 2 of those unique CGs are for the bad ends, with another locked away in the bonus "Memory" content. ALL FIVE guys have their "happy" end with a CG that is just before the couple has sex. Kiku, Yona, and Sharaku all have Rin kiss their mark to take their pain twice, with the second time leading to another CG of the pair kissing. That kiss CG is even the 9th one for all of them, and it's the last CG before the happy/bad end split. Goemon only has one "kiss the pain away" scene, but his also immediately leads to a proper kiss as well.

While the specifics for the conflicts and the relationships are different in each route, I just couldn't help but notice this huge consistency in when and how the romantic beats happened. There are definitely minor ways in which routes are the same in other games (like tending to the needs of a Fury in Hakuouki), but I couldn't help but notice EVERY route ending in a sex scene. EVERY route having the first (mutual, in Sharaku's case) kiss after Rin took the guy's pain. It's a minor nitpick, but by the third route I was starting to really sense when things would happen and accurately predict incoming CGs. So it took me out of the story a bit.

In terms of my feelings on the routes as a whole, best to worst: Sharaku > Goemon > Kiku > JacK > Yona

In terms of my feelings on the romance/relationship with Rin: Goemon > Sharaku > Kiku > Yona > JacK

[catchyhuh]

CAMPINGG YAAAY

everyone look at this image and imagine a beautiful world with me

lupin:

the first to suggest it and the worst at it. there’s a difference between “we HAVE to camp for a few nights” and “we should TOTALLY camp out you guys!!” so sure, he can survive it easily… if it’s framed as a necessity. but when its supposed to be a fun thing, ehhhh

getting all the shit together, finding a safe enough spot to set up, struggling through dinner and how to get rid of the trash right AND how to pitch the tent…

it’s the little things that keep drawing him back to it though. he hates working with the tent, but after the initial wave of irritation, he thinks back on the others laughing before asking if he needs some backup there and he’s like. yeah that was probably funny. he loves the sound of a forest at night too-- usually he can’t sleep when it’s too quiet, but with the trees rustling and bugs chirping and all that, it’s a nice, consistent sound machine. so he tends to forget how grouchy he got last time they went all because he starts thinking about when they all laid down and just stared up at the sky for nearly an hour

jigen:

bitch is like a cockroach he can easily survive any conditions at all. but that doesn’t mean he isn’t complaining

despite his. jigenness, he’s probably the one that gets the most actual enjoyment out of it. every other vacation they could take kind of still feels like a job, in his head. he can’t fully, totally relax in some luxury hotel, even if he enjoys it, because subconsciously, his brain is figuring out where the cameras are, the quickest route back to the car from their room, etc etc. camping is different just because it's SO isolated, it's SO different from anything else. so when he pulls his hat over his face and leans back in a beach chair they took from some resort in miami, he actually does feel totally at peace

unfortunately though as the guy who specializes in taking apart and putting back together doohickeys (read: giant real life fucking guns) he always ends up being the guy to read the manual and go “guys its a solar powered lantern. there is no switch. you just let it sit in the-- you keep it in the box this WHOLE TIME?”

fujiko:

also has a bit of that jigen thing where she feels like she can actually, completely and totally relax like this. you’d expect her to be the fussy type with camping but-- no. she’s not sleeping in the damn tent if she can help it, but getting a camper and just enjoying their little opening in the forest is pretty sweet. fujiko (and this is the case for a lot of things) is really the main one who truly understands her own limits and just Doesn’t Care beyond that. who gives a shit if its “real camping.” she’s having a good time

secretly kinda loves packing for these things and imagining all kinds of one off freak scenarios that would happen to justify needing some of this shit. “be sure to bring the flashlight in case somebody has to piss in the middle of the night” bullshit. “be sure to bring the flashlight in case we find a cave with a huge mouth that somehow leads to a long forgotten crypt” NOOOW you’re talkin!! it’s all about the essentials-- sunscreen, long socks, backup snacks, and, of course, the cursed amulet that’s SO cursed it’ll just ward off anything else that tries to fuck with them. nobody handles it like fujicakes

despite all this she’s not often one to suggest camping because she, uh. kinda forgets how much she enjoys it until it’s like, actively happening. she’s like you guys WANNA camp….?? really? and then the minute they arrive she gets all smiley and happy about being so close to a lake and seeing all the frogs and stuff like she’s a little kid in science class

goemon:

goemon uh. kinda does this all the time. just for himself. they’ll be in a nice hideout and if its isolated enough to the point passerby won’t look up and go “is that fucking goemon ishikawa the thirteenth chilling on the roof” well. yeah he chills on the roof. you know he loves that

but when they actually go CAMPING camping, he tends to go in a bit too much. like, he won’t use the little portable stove, gets downright offended if he’s offered bug spray, sometimes he gets so stubborn he’ll insist he doesn’t even need a tent! 

when it’s all said and done he almost subtly picks fun at the others for so obviously not being the type of people to enjoy camping like normal humans do. he’s seen 7yos with more survival instincts. uh ignore the fact that he stayed outside of the tent on a cold night because he was “strengthening” himself and he got like suuuper sick ignore that f

zenigata:

ALL IN OR NOT AT ALL PUSSY!! if you want neat, easy camping GO GET A CABIN! this is all about the CHALLENGE baby this is all about ROUGHIN IT!! no hate if you arent cut out for it but… heh… maybe consider a cozier vacation next time. we’re cooking shit over a campfire here we’re preparing to fight entire goddamn bears if necessary THIS IS THE BEAUTY OF NATURE! THIS IS TOUGH GUY TIME!!!!

he didn’t sleep at all last night because he set up his sleeping bag wrong and the tent collapsed on him at 4 am. don’t worry though the others only laughed at him for twenty minutes before helping him out of his nylon prison

so yeah, if its a necessity, he doesn’t have a problem with it at all. but if you frame it as a special trip, good fucking god help you. he says he loves it! and maybe he does a little bit, buuut he. tends to get a bit overzealous. like immediately. like as soon as they arrive he gets all serious about trees n shit, and then just 8 hours in he’s bundled up in one of fujiko’s gigantic velvety blankets by the fire like “snnf… pass me the trail mix.” he eats all the reese’s pieces out of it. they hate him so much

[gavalaa]

Sketches of all my redone designs for my Phantom Thieves from my AU, Icarus! Lots of info down below on the cut, so if you want to know more about the details and inspiration, feel free to keep reading!

This includes Akechi’s design for his Princely/Robin Hood attire, BEFORE his Icarus attire you might have seen from my other posts! Check out the Icarus AU tag for more info! Icarus has a main focus on Akechi and his relationship to the thieves, but the AU is actually an entire rewrite with new designs, 3rd semester and epilogue/strikers/tactica stories, hence Zenkichi and Sophia’s inclusion.

Read below for individual info:

I decided to include more motifs towards their persona’s and general vibes; and also just my own personal touches haha.

AKIRA - Not much has changed, I really like his design overall. I raised his boots to be like Arsene’s and changed his neck area.

MORGANA - I hate the OG pill shaped head, his new design is based heavily on the shape of Palico’s from Monster Hunter. Added a little more nod to Zorro/His persona motifs and also just made him cuter! Little hamburger headed cat.

RYUJI - I made him a little bulkier and gave some more weight to his outfit overall. I gave him heavier boots and a slightly buffer build to relate back more to his sporty style.

ANN - honestly was never too big on her latex outfit, I wanted to call back to a personal favorite female lead; Christine Daae, and used one of the versions of her Don Juan costume as inspiration. I remember seeing Phantom live and in many stage versions of her character, the Don Juan scene was a pure moment of female control, and she was truly working the Phantom and controlling every movement on the stage. Her presence is commanding, and I thought it was a very fitting tribute to Ann’s character as feminine strength. (I’m absolutely not referring to the movie iteration of Daae btw.)

YUSUKE - I referred to some historical art and legend of Goemon to add more elements of design to his outfit. When I color them, I want to add some really strong pops of color to his clothing to really drive the aesthetics and artistry home.

MAKOTO - Another totally redid outfit, I opted to give her a design which relates back to Popess Joan, and also Anat. I gave her a clawed hand on her right side and an uncovered hand on her left as both a nod to Anat’s hand raised in iconography of her from art history, but also to show the duality of Anat’s title as both a goddess of war, and of love. It also relates to the mythology of Joan and her nature as both a leader and a martyr. I changed her mask to a Venetian Commedia mask as well.

FUTABA - ok. I’ll be honest. I never liked her skin-tight outfit, it just doesn’t match her personality at all. Also, the high tech Egyptian feel never really sold me. I totally understand the tomb thing, but I truthfully think a dungeon/palace which was more like… tech/nerd themed would have been much more “futaba” the inspiration for this new outfit relates back to her persona, the Necromomicon, as well as her nerdy personality, and her affiliation as Alibaba (Ali Baba.) I wanted to go more lovecraftian, long sleeves and patterning designed to look more like lovecraftian tendrils, and big baggy pants and her classic shoes to match. The patterning on her undershirt will resemble a rib cage, both as a reference to her deathly “tomb” iconography, but also to Lovecraftian and Necronomicon lore. I think she matches the description of a nerdy, techie DND dungeon master more than the initial outfit, so that’s the route I took personally.

HARU - relating back to some fashions from 17th c France, where Milady’s story (the three musketeers) takes place, I kept her design relatively similar. I just gave her a little more iconography relating to the three musketeers and that general timeframe.

AKECHI - in his pre-Icarus outfit, I’ve given him a princely sort of outfit befitting of his two faced nature, and edited it to relate to Robin Hood a little more. I tried to keep it sleek and just generally very concealing and layered.

SUMIRE - i gave her some iconography relating back to one of her personas, who is an inference to Freya. I also included some more nods to classic Cinderella, with fantasy gown elements. Overall, relatively similar.

ZENKICHI - again, relatively similar, I really like his outfit. I just opened up the face some to show more personality and spiced up the outfit generally to keep it matching. honestly, les mis/Valjean was a hard one, but I also think his character could be heavily related back to Edmond Dante (Monte Cristo.) so I gave some nods to that as well.

SOPHIA - I turned her into a FINGIE!!!! I made her whole dress as a nod to her persona/to pandora’s tiles around her/the pillars. I wanted to make her small and almost unnatural since she’s an AI, and I thought having a little guy on the team would add some more variation.

[moeblob]

Thinking about Goemon's route being a poly roadtrip to me like. what's better than Enju having a boyfriend who loves her? Enju having TWO boyfriends who love her.

[notanichan]

otome masterlist

Warning: May have spoilers.

🌕 - Routes I have finished. 🌑 - Routes I need to finish. 🌗 - Routes I have started but not finished. 🌟 - Games I have finished. 🕒 - Games' Developers/Publishers

-> Mystic Destinies : Serendipity Of Aeons 🌟

🌕 Shou Hatori 🌕 Shinji Hirayama 🌕 Takumi Arai 🌕 Tatsuya Yukimura 🌕 Hikaru Kazama

-> Amnesia : Memories 🌟

🌕 Toma 🌕 Ikki 🌕 Shin 🌕 Kent 🌕 Ukyo

-> Nightshade 🌟

🌕 Kuroyuki 🌕 Gekkamaru 🌕 Goemon 🌕 Chojiro 🌕 Hanzo

-> Seduce Me

🌕 Sam 🌕 Damien 🌕 Matthew 🌕 Erik 🌕 James 🌑 Suzu 🌑 Naomi 🌕 Andrew 🌕 Diana

-> Seduce Me 2 - The Demon War

🌕 Sam 🌕 Matthew 🌕 Erik 🌑 James 🌑 Damien 🌑 Diana

-> Demon Crashers

🌕 Kael 🌕 Orias 🌕 Akki 🌑 Mirari

-> The Men Of Yoshiwara: Kikuya

🌕 Hayabusa 🌕 Takao 🌑 Kagura 🌕 Kagerou 🌕 Iroha 🌗 Iroha 2nd Season 🌑 Tokiwa

-> The Men Of Yoshiwara: Ohgiya 🌟

🌕 Ageha 🌕 Utsusemi 🌕 Takigawa 🌕 Gakuto 🌕 Asagiri

-> Seven Boys 2 🌟

🌕 Vincent 🌕 Randle 🌕 Bevis 🌕 Kevin 🌕 Aaron 🌕 Clement 🌕 Rock 🌕 Julian

-> Soulset 🌟

🌕 Yvonne 🌕 Shira 🌕 Apris 🌕 Verin 🌕 Shirr 🌕 Marco 🌕 Feathor 🌕 'Secret'

-> Hustle Cat

🌕 Reese 🌑 Finley 🌑 Hayes 🌑 Landry 🌑 Mason 🌑 'Secret'

-> This World Unknown

🌕 Asa 🌗 Luca 🌑 Garett 🌑 Val

-> The Royal Trap: Confines Of The Crown

🌕 Callum 🌕 Oscar 🌗 Nazagi 🌑 Gaston

-> Let's Not Stay Friends

🌕 Frenz 🌕 Taf 🌑 Burain

-> Nameless: The One Thing You Must Recall

🌕 Red 🌕 Lance 🌕 Yuri 🌕 Tei 🌑 Yeonho 🌑 ???

-> Hakuoki: Kyoto Winds

🌕 Souji Okita 🌑 Toshizo Hijikata 🌕 Hajime Saito 🌕 Heisuke Toudou 🌕 Sanosuke Harada 🌑 Shinpachi Nagakura 🌕 Keisuke Sanan 🌑 Susumu Yamazaki 🌕 Hachiro Iba 🌑 Kazue Souma 🌑 Ryouma Sakamoto 🌕 Chikage Kazama 🌑 Independant

-> Hakuoki: Edo Blossoms

🌕 Souji Okita 🌑 Toshizo Hijikata 🌕 Hajime Saito 🌕 Heisuke Toudou 🌕 Sanosuke Harada 🌑 Shinpachi Nagakura 🌕 Keisuke Sanan 🌑 Susumu Yamazaki 🌗 Hachiro Iba 🌑 Kazue Souma 🌑 Ryouma Sakamoto 🌕 Chikage Kazama

-> Re Alistair 🌟

🌕 Derek 🌕 Travis 🌕 Shiro

-> Backstage Pass

🌕 John 🌕 Benito 🌕 Adam 🌕 Matthew 🌑 Lloyd 🌑 Independant 🌑 Nicole 🌑 Alvin

-> Dream Daddy

🌕 Joseph 🌕 Robert 🌕 Craig 🌑 Mat 🌑 Brian 🌑 Hugo 🌑 Damien 🌑 Joseph Secret Ending

-> Fashioning Little Miss Lonesome

🌕 Saito Shinjou 🌑 Miki Hiraizumi

-> Monochrome Heaven 🌟

🌕 Kamishiro Akito 🌕 Kamishiro Asuka 🌕 Kamishiro Riku 🌕 Touma 🌕 Misaki Ryuuto

-> Dandelion: Wishes Brought To You 🌟

🌕 Jisoo 🌕 Jiwoo 🌕 Jihae 🌕 Jiyeon 🌕 Jieun 🌕 Wizard

-> Amplitude

Katy's Route 🌕 Jon 🌕 Ari 🌕 Simon and Bunny 🌕 ??? Jon's Route 🌑 Michelle 🌑 Katy 🌑 Liz 🌑 Luna 🌑 Grace 🌑 Eric

-> Cinderella Phenomenon

🌕 Rod 🌕 Karma 🌕 Fritz 🌕 Waltz 🌑 Rumpel

-> Home For The Heart

🌕 Joshua 🌑 Philippe

-> The Letter

🌕 Luke x Rebecca 🌕 Luke x Hannah 🌑 Luke x Marianne 🌕 Hannah x Zachary 🌑 Hannah x Marianne 🌕 Ashton x Rebecca 🌕 Ashton x Isabella

-> Crossroad

🌕 Wolf 🌕 Hunter 🌑 Fox 🌑 Wizard 🌑 Main Route

-> Night Class: A Vampire Story

🌕 Rowan 🌕 Aaron 🌑 Both? I think?

-> Miraclr

🌕 Lucifer 🌑 Michael 🌑 Gabriel 🌑 Uriel 🌑 Raphael

-> Heart No Kuni No Alice

🌗 Boris Airay 🌑 Peter White 🌑 Blood Dupre 🌑 Julius Monre 🌑 Twins 🌑 Ace 🌑 Elliot 🌑 Gowland 🌑 Vivaldi

-> 7'Scarlet 🌟

🌕 Isora Amari 🌕 Hino Kagatsuchi 🌕 Toa Kushinada 🌕 Sosuke Tatehira 🌕 Yuzuki Murakumo 🌕 True Route (Toa Kushinada) 🌕 Bonus Character Route (Hanate Yatsukami)

-> Steam Prison 🌟

🌕 Eltcreed 🌕 Ulrik 🌕 Adage 🌕 Ines 🌕 Yune 🌕 Grand Ending 🌕 Fin

-> Destiny's Princess

🌕 Sanada Yukimura - The Twin Brother 🌕 Takenada Hanbei - The Fiance 🌕 Fuma Kotaro - The Ninja Reinforcement 🌕 Oda Nobunaga - The Father 🌑 Date Masamune - The Commander

-> London Detective Mysteria

🌕 Holmes 🌗 Watson 🌑 Akechi 🌑 Jack 🌑 Lupin 🌑 Kobayashi 🌑 Baker Street Boys 🌑 Grand End

-> Psychedelica Of The Black Butterfly 🌟

🌕 Real World Ending 🌕 Bud Ending 🌕 Happy Ending 🌕 Bad Ending 🌕 Kagiha Ending 🌕 Hikage Ending 🌕 Yamato Ending 🌕 Monshiro Ending 🌕 Karasuba Ending 🌕 Karasuba Good Ending 🌕 Kazuya Ending 🌕 Yamato Good Ending

-> Red Embrace: Hollywood

🌕 Common 1 🌕 Common 2 🌕 Randal 1 🌑 Randal 2 🌑 Randal 3 🌕 Randal 4 🌑 Randal 4 (Leader) 🌕 Randal 5 (S.E.) 🌑 Heath 1 🌑 Heath 1 (Leader) 🌕 Heath 2 🌕 Heath 3 🌕 Heath 4 (S.E.) 🌑 Markus 1 🌑 Markus 1 (Leader) 🌑 Markus 2 🌕 Markus 3 🌕 Markus 4 (S.E.)

-> Psychedelica of the Ashen Hawk 🌟

🌕 People 🌕 Heroes 🌕 Bad 🌕 Lord 🌕 Lavan 🌕 Heroine 🌕 Levi 🌕 Lugus 🌕 Hugh 🌕 Traveler 🌕 Links 🌕 Wolf

-> Dark Nights

🌗 Zeikun 🌑 Junoru 🌑 Sachiro 🌑 Kurato

-> Gods Of Love 🌟

🌕 Lysander 🌕 Helder 🌕 Exinious 🌕 Rhane

-> Re:Birthday Song 🌟

🌕 Yoru 🌕 Kairi 🌕 Syun 🌕 Ame 🌕 Nami

-> Ayakashi Gohan

🌕 Inushima Yomi 🌕 Serigano Manatsu 🌕 Hana Suou 🌕 Inushima Uta 🌗 Ibuki Haginosuke 🌑 Kimura Asagi

-> Bad Medicine ~Infectious Teachers~

🌗 Kuzuha Kakeru 🌑 Shido Kaname 🌑 Yanagi Ryota

-> Taisho x Alice I 🌟 🌕 Red Riding Hood 🌕 Cinderella

-> Taisho x Alice II 🌟 🌕 Gretel 🌕 Kaguya

-> Taisho x Alice III 🌟 🌕 Wizard 🌕 Snow White

-> Taisho x Alice Epilogue 🌟 🌕 Alice

-> Taisho x Alice Heads & Tails 🌑 Cinderella 🌑 Red Riding Hood 🌑 Kaguya 🌑 Gretel 🌑 Snow White 🌑 Wizard 🌑 Alice 🌕 Ryouishi

-> Ozmafia 🌕 Caramia 🌑 Kyrie 🌑 Axel 🌑 Scarlet 🌑 Caesar 🌑 Soh 🌑 Pashet 🌑 Robin Hood 🌑 Brothel 🌑 Hamelin

-> Fxxx Me Royally!! 🌑 Kaoru 🌑 Ryuusei

🕒 Cheritz

-> Mystic Messenger 🌟

🌕 Jumin [valentines confession|http://aminoapps.com/p/200ytad] 🌕 Yoosung 🌕 707 🌕 Zen 🌕 V 🌕 Ray 🌕 Jaehee

🕒 Voltage

-> Love 365

🌕 Yamato - My Forged Wedding 🌕 Yuma - Buter Until Midnight 🌕 Genji - In Your Arms Tonight 🌕 Sosuke - Finally In Love Again 🌕 Subaru - My Sweet Boyfriend 🌕 Eisuke - Kissed By The Baddest Bidder

🕒 Visual Wordplay

-> Locked Heart

🌗 Sol D'Lockes (Mama Bear) 🌑 Royal LeBlanc (Papa Bear) 🌑 Deon D'Lockes (Baby Bear)

🕒 Hunex Co. Ltd.

-> Ephemeral

🌕 Shiba The Werewolf (R) 🌗 Shiba The Werewolf (L) 🌑 Nagi The Invisible Man (R) 🌑 Nagi The Invisible Man (L) 🌕 Ray The Vampire (R) 🌗 Ray The Vampire (L) 🌕 Natsume The Mummy (R) 🌕 Natsume The Mummy (L)

-> On The QT 🌟

🌕 Hibiki 🌕 Keima 🌕 Akira

-> Ephemeral - Miniature Garden 🌟

🌕 Hisui 🌕 Rion 🌕 Yugu

-> My Lovey

(Secret Crush) 🌟 🌕 Soshi Kujo 🌕 Masaki Kirigaya 🌕 Kotaro Kurumi 🌕 Reo Takatsuki

(Fantasy Of The Mind) 🌟 🌕 Julius 🌕 Kay 🌕 Lucian 🌕 Diorca

(Shinobi Kakuran Musou) 🌗 Hayate 🌑 Mikage 🌑 Kugumo 🌑 Yukinojo

🕒 NTT Solmare Corp. Games

-> Story Jar

🌕 (Deluxe Ver. The Last Sacrifice | The Demon King's Desire) 🌕 (The Last Sacrifice | Forbidden Ties)

(The World Or You)

-> Ninja Love

🌕 Sasuke Sarutobi 🌑 Goemon Ishikawa 🌑 Saizo Kirigakure 🌑 Kotaro Fuma 🌑 Musashi Miyamoto 🌑 Munenori Yagyu 🌑 Rennoshin 🌑 Hanzo Hattori 🌑 Nobunaga Oda

-> Obey Me 🌟

🌕 Lucifer 🌕 Mammon 🌕 Leviathon 🌕 Satan 🌕 Asmodeus 🌕 Beelzebub 🌕 Belphegor

🕒 Hanabi Media Games

-> Love Magic 🌟

🌕 Minuet 🌕 Paris

-> Love Magic 2

🌕 Minuet 🌑 Paris

-> High School Love

🌕 Tetsuya 🌑 Naoki

-> Love Triangle 🌟

🌕 Tsukasa 🌕 Kazuya

-> Ghost Love Story

🌕 Kyle 🌑 Vincent

-> Vampire Love

🌑 Tom 🌕 Sam

🕒 Ciagram Co. ltd.

-> Princess Closet

🌕 Reo 🌑 Shuu 🌑 Kai 🌗 Akito

-> Nightmare Harem

🌕 Lucia 🌕 Kaim 🌕 Levy 🌕 Mikael 🌗 Noel 🌕 Ricardo 🌑 Mefy 🌑 Oswald 🌑 Lucas

-> Dateless Love 🌟

🌕 Soji Okita 🌕 Toshizo Hijikata 🌕 Shota Yuki 🌕 Yoshinobu Tokugawa 🌕 Akinara Aiya 🌕 Shinsaku Takasugi 🌕 Ryoma Sakamoto 🌕 Shuntaro Furutaka

🕒 Genius Inc.

-> My Twin Romance

🌗 Haru 🌑 Yuki 🌑 Both 🌑 Shizuki

🕒 Seec Inc.

-> Jimi-Kare My Quiet Boyfriend 🌟

🌕 Prince Ending 🌕 Arrogant Ending 🌕 Dark-Side Ending 🌕 Princess Ending

-> In Search Of Haru 🌟

🌕 Haruka 🌕 Takaharu 🌕 Bad Ending 🌕 Haruto

🕒 Day7

-> Miss Detective's Undercover

🌕 Sean 🌗 Jeremy 🌑 Walter 🌑 Mystic Thief

-> Love Signal: D-Mate

🌑 Simon Lane 🌑 Richard Upton 🌑 David Mason 🌗 P:Ure 🌕 Greg Odell 🌑 Tay Caden

-> Marked By King Bs 🌟

🌕 Ashton Griffin 🌕 Nicholas Rosada 🌕 William Kal 🌕 Zack Snyder 🌕 Joel Barret

-> Loved By King Bs

🌑 Ashton Griffin 🌑 Nicholas Rosada 🌗 William Kal 🌑 Zack Snyder 🌑 Joel Barret 🌑 Erick Blanche

-> Sleeping Delivery

🌗 Damian Kraus 🌕 Luke Morris 🌕 Julian Parker 🌑 Leo Reinhardt 🌑 Sebastian Weiss

-> Beauty Rental Shop

🌑 Toby Lowell 🌑 Lucian Vasilis 🌗 Soren Rayne 🌑 Kylar Xander

-> SECRET Fan Crush

🌑 Leon 🌑 Woobin 🌑 Haejin 🌑 Dohwon 🌑 Taehee 🌕 Parang Ki

-> Proposed by A Demon Lord

🌑 Penn 🌑 Hael 🌗 Laika 🌑 Riley 🌑 Vernius 🌑 Ren 🌑 Cornell 🌑 Isaac

🕒 Avocado Entertainment

-> Vampire Idol

🌑 Edgar 🌑 Kang Tae Jun 🌑 Ian 🌑 Lee Sun Woo 🌑 Baek Do Ha

🕒 DeareaD Inc.

-> Monster's First Love

🌗 Achille 🌑 Ibuki 🌑 King

🕒 StoryTaco.inc

-> Dangerous Fellows - Romantic Thrillers

🌕 Zion 🌕 Eugene 🌑 Lawrence 🌕 Harry 🌕 Ethan

-> Queen's Number - Jackpot is not my concern 🌟

🌕 Aaron 🌕 Freyr 🌕 Gon 🌕 Mo-wan

🕒 Nix Hydra

-> The Arcana : A Mystic Romance

🌗 Julian 🌗 Asra 🌑 Nadia 🌑 Lucio 🌑 Muriel 🌑 Portia

-> Storm Lover Kai!!

🌕 Kyosuke Mikoshiba 🌕 Yuto Uzuki 🌑 Mio Ikari 🌑 Rikka Toratani 🌑 Soya Tatsuhara 🌕 Takumi Mishiro 🌑 Tsukasa Sugai 🌑 Chihiro

-> Collar x Malice 🌟

🌕 Kei Okazaki 🌕 Mineo Enomoto 🌕 Takeru Sasazuka 🌕 Kageyuki Shiraishi 🌕 Aiji Yanagi

-> Code Realize ~Guardian Of Rebirth~ 🌟

🌕 Arsène Lupin 🌕 Abraham Van Helsing 🌕 Victor Frankenstein 🌕 Impey Barbicane 🌕 Saint-Germain

-> Piofore: Fated Memories

🌗 Nicola Francesca 🌕 Dante Falzone 🌑 Gilbert Redford 🌕 Yang 🌑 Orlok 🌑 Finale Route

-> Birushana 🌕 Noritsune Taira 🌕 Shungen 🌑 Benkai Mukashibo 🌕 Yoritomo Minamoto 🌕 Tomomori Taira

-> Cupid Parasite 🌑 Allan Melville 🌑 Raul Aconite 🌑 Gill Lovecraft 🌑 Shelby Snail 🌑 Ryuki Keisaiin -> Virche Evermore 🌟 🌕 Lucas  🌕 Mathis  🌕 Scien  🌕 Yves  🌕 Le Salut (Adolphe/Ankou)

-> Hana Awase New Moon Here I am considering each game as a single route. 🌕 Iroha Volume 🌕 Mizuchi Volume 🌑 Karakurenai/Utsutsu Volume 🌑 Himeutsugi Volume

-> even if TEMPEST 🌟 🌕 Crius Castlerock 🌕 Tyril I Lister 🌕 Zenn Sorfield 🌕 Lucien Neuschburn 🌕 Ish

To Play 1. Olympic Soiree 2. Butterfly’s Poison; Blood Chains

[pinkjacketorangetie]

Could you do a Goemon×Reader piece where the reader is cold and shivering? You could also do Jigen if you would rather/in addition to :)

warmth

goemon x reader, jigen x reader your man tries to keep you warm in the cold cw: lighters, smoking, mentions of drinking tags: established early relationship (jigen), pre-relationship (goemon) thanks for the request, anon. hope you enjoy <3 always happy to write for you!!

Goemon

He noticed you were shivering a while ago, but avoided addressing it. Not because he wanted to be rude, but the idea he had to help you crossed so many lines and would break so many boundaries. He was overly aware of your cold body next to his and watched as you wring your hands together. Goemon let out a long sigh, his breath being lifted into the winter air, and gently turned towards you.

"Can I help you?" He asked, almost curtly, but you knew what he meant. The connection you had was special. You had a degree in Goemon-ese.

"Yes, please," you whispered, looking up at him with snowflakes frozen to your lashes. Your face was read from the cold and he gently pulled his hands out of his pockets, cupping your cheeks in his palms. You leaned into his touch, letting out a sigh as he warmed you to your core.

"Listen to me, okay?" He spoke softly to you, the cold air almost sucking up the sounds he made.

You just nodded.

Goemon gave you a little smile, finally letting his inhibitions go. This was all to help you, and that was the most honorable intention, right? "I'm going to let go of your cheeks now."

His voice was as sweet as honey, but you still sighed defeatedly when his heated skin wasn't protecting yours anymore. You watched with a cocked eyebrow as he moved to untuck his hakama shirt, holding the panels out.

"Get in here." He instructed, trying to keep his face deadpanned.

You laughed as you began to tuck yourself into his torso. You snaked your arms around his waist, Goemon hissing softly as you planted your cold hands on his back. "Oh... sorry." You said as you began to pull them back.

"No, stay." He wrapped you up in his shirt, swaddling you to his chest and holding your arms still. Goemon looked down at you, gently thumbing through your hair as he began to sway as if he was rocking you like a baby. You shared a smile, your arms squeezing him a little tighter.

"Thank you, Gogo." You whispered. "You're very warm. I feel better already."

You felt a solid stroke across your head and down the back of your neck, flattening out your hair. You felt the ghost of a kiss press into top of your head. You felt his nose stay there for a moment longer and the silence that followed.

You laid your cheek flat against him, your temple subsequently resting on his collarbone, and closed your eyes. You felt him shiver, but you knew it wasn't because he was cold. You soaked in the moment with him, suddenly not minding that Lupin was taking longer with the escape route than expected.

Jigen

"Too bad we don't have any booze on this boat." Jigen grumbled, rubbing his hands together as he returned to his seat next to you.

"Why did we agree to do this?" You asked, resting your head on his shoulder. You were shivering at his side and Jigen cooed softly, turning to wrap his arms around you.

"Ohh... is my sweet baby cold?" He peppered kisses along your temples as he snaked his limbs around you. You never would have guessed that Jigen would experience an entire personality change after your first kiss, but it was a wonderful surprise.

"Of course I am," you pouted, but huddled in his chest nonetheless, "this blows."

Jigen couldn't help but chuckle, "I know, but at least we have a pretty view. In a few hours we'll be warm and cozy in a hotel room, just think of that, sweet thing." He placed a kiss on the shell of your ear, and you blushed from his affection.

Lupin had sent you two to scope out some museum in Italy for a few days, and he stayed behind in France to take care of some "loose ends", whatever that meant. The thought of a week alone with Jigen in Italy was the closest to heaven you had ever been, but the cold ten-hour ferry ride delayed the fun just a tiny bit.

"We have to more in Italy than that, you know," you sighed, turning your head and taking in the sights around you, "The stars do look pretty shining off the water."

"That's my girl," Jigen smiled and pulled you closer, if that was even possible. "Want a light?"

"I don't smoke," you looked up at him, disappointed he didn't remember.

"No, doll face," he leaned down and blew some warm air on your lips before kissing them, "We can huddle around our own little fire."

"Oh," you blushed, trying to stifle a giggle as Jigen held out and flicked on his lighter. You cupped your hands around it and leaned in, grateful for the momentary respite for your numbing hands. Jigen dipped a cigarette into the flame and lit it, laying his other hand over yours. He nudged his head a little closer together, giving you the smallest bit of room to hide your face beneath the brim of his hat. The heat that radiated off of his cheek mixed with the smell of his cologne. Just enough to make you swoon.

"Clever," you whispered, kissing the part of his lips that weren't focussed on holding a cigarette. "You're always my hero, Jigen."

"I'd do anything for you, you know that."

[stuffymcstuffsworld]

Favorite?

"I don't have one." You stated firmly hands on hips. "Oh, come on, everyone has a favorite. Even Kalego has a favorite." Orias pointed to the brooding demon who sneered at the accusation. "I most certainly do not have a favorite."

You raised an eyebrow and gave him a look. "Your mouth says one thing, but your actions say another." You watched as he stormed off. For someone who is so mature, he can throw so many tantrums.

"I don't have a favorite." You stated again. "That can't be true, what about baby-chan?" Raim asked. You gave her a blank look. "What about my little jellybean? I don't favor her over the others." Robin popped up from behind. "Wouldn't they favor Iruma more anyway he is their flesh and blood."

"That's not a very good reason to favor someone, Robin-San." You state calmly. "I have no favorite." You repeated. "Why, though? It must be hard to remain neutral, yis?" Suzy-san asked. You blinked. "Not really. They're all mine." The stern tone in your voice left no room for arguments.

"How can I not love all of them? Or think that each one has the capability to drive me insane? They are all my children, and I won't let them think that they are second to anyone when it comes to my love."

It wasn't a competition. How dare they try to make you choose. "Okay, but say the building is burning. Who would you grab?" Prompted Dali-San. You glared at him.

"Alice can control flames, Kerori has ice, which can me melted into water, dropping the temperature and slowing the rate of the fire. Goemon has the power of wind, which, if used properly, can help the flames die out or be redirected. Picero can smother the flames with his earth magic, I have personally made sure that Clara carries at least 10 full fire extinguishers with her everyday as well as med kits and other emergency supplies."

You began counting on your fingers while maintaining eye contact. "That's five capable children that don't need rescuing right there. Next, we have Soi, who is smart enough to always stick by at least one of his classmates at all times. But for the sake of the argument, let's assume he is separate. Soi understands that he can't remain invisible in this situation. Nor is he allowed to remain quiet. He'll have to make noise and be heard so that one of his classmates can reach him if he's in danger and they will come."

"Elizabetta is never alone. There is no scenario where she is, so don't try to convince me otherwise. She's smart enough to know she needs to help the others remain calm in this type of situation. Soi was kind enough to help me help her learn the entire school's layout and all possible escape routes, and both of them will be fine."

You tilled your head a moment. Seven down six to go. "Lied would be able to locate his classmates and figure out which zones are the most dangerous by using their senses. So he'll know which areas are safer for him to reach. Then there's Kamui who will not have the assistance of animals at this time. Kamui needs to find a safe area cause he's a burn risk with those feathers but that doesn't mean he's helpless. His classmates will most likely be using their familiars for help or to track others. Kamui only needs to find one and he's safe."

Nine, you smiled thoughtfully. "To be honest, Sabro is reckless and will jump through the flames without a thought. He'll most like find others while risking the most exposure to the flames. Then there's Allocer who knows about 40 different ways to put out fires, multiple flame resistant spells, has the entire place memorized to a T, and most likely knows where all emergency supplies are all while contacting emergency services on his phone cause I know out of all of them he'll use a brain."

Eleven... leaving iruma and Jazz. "Jazz knows all escape routes for any emergency before he even steps into a building. He has a good sense of magic and is not the kind to just overlook his classmates needing help. He's not gonna give up easily, especially if he thinks someone is counting on him. And as for Iruma." Taking a deep breath you just gave them a plain look.

"Do you honestly think after all that boy has accomplished a mere fire is going to be his downfall? I'd be more worried about the building than the kids." How dare they underestimate your kids.

"So no, I wouldn't save any of them." Folding your arms across your chest, you set a firm line in your belief. Orias whistled. "Little cold, don't you think?" You frowned.

"Cold is not having an ounce of faith that any of them would make it out alive. I don't have favorites. They all get 5 minutes, then I go and grab all of them. There is no only one crap."

You walked out of the room, still pondering. Maybe you should make the kids have backup walkie talkies in case their phones don't work. Kalego-San might take interest in watching them perform in safety situations. Who knows? It might come in handy later.

[cfstuff]

I WROTE A SPICY FUJIGOE FIC GO LOOK

Full NSFW Story Here (Introduction below)

INDULGENCE A Lupin the Third Story by CF 

Apparently Goemon hadn’t been back to the house in a while. It wasn’t like this was unusual. Goemon was always off on his own somewhere, steadfastly training in the nearest woods he could find to their safehouse or occasionally, on the other side of the planet doing his thing. Lupin had never claimed to be his keeper, and in between Lupin’s jobs there was always demand for someone with Goemon’s particular set of skills. Still, Fujiko hoped for her sake that he hadn’t up and left completely this time. The bento was getting cold, and her feet were getting tired, even in flats. In any case, she had a job of her own for him, if he could make time for it between meditation and whatever the hell else he did out here.

If he was out here. The tracker she’d planted on his sandal last time said he was, but they were always finding and removing trackers from each other, so there were no guarantees. Lupin himself had been vague when she’d asked after the samurai earlier, but that wasn’t unusual either. Goemon just hadn’t been home in a while.

At least it was a lovely day. Fujiko wasn’t much of a nature person, but even she had to admit it was a nice one; the sky was bright and gilded, the birds were singing, it wasn’t too warm or wet, and it was early enough in spring that the bugs hadn’t come out yet. She’d selected a yellow sundress and straw hat that she didn’t often get much use out of, and was overall quite comfortable, aside from an amount of exertion she simply was not very used to. This was the boonies, truly. Perhaps not far from Lupin’s place itself, but still in the middle of nowhere. She’d heard there were hot springs hiding somewhere in the valley, but she hadn’t found inkling of those yet. So far she’d stuck to a narrow footpath off the road, which drew her along a meandering route through the grassy hills.  She’d sighed and been about to consult her GPS forlornly when she finally spotted Goemon; or rather an indent in the long grass with Goemon sitting in the middle. She didn’t have to make her presence known as she approached. She could make out the pale of his face turned slightly in her direction long before she was close enough to read the irritated expression it bore. 

“What’s that face about?” she inquired as she stepped into normal-person-earshot, ruefully adjusting the bag on her shoulder. “No one said you’d be coming,” he said, parting one eyelid to look her up and down suspiciously. “Your phone is off, and it’s been days since anyone has seen you,” she pointed out. He looked every bit that way too; there was an uncharacteristic gauntness to his face and his hair and clothes were dirtier than she thought she’d ever seen them. 

“I am trying to train,” he said simply, closing his eye again and turning to sit straight again, as if he was considering ignoring her completely. Fujiko blinked, but she waited. 

“And how is… training going?” she prompted, at length.   Goemon sighed in a sort of long-tortured way, his posture slouching slightly, and furrowed his brow. Then he opened his eyes again, side-eying her from toe to head and biting his lip. “Unsatisfactorily,” he managed. “Hm,” Fujiko nodded, thoughtfully. She had no idea what he could possibly be talking about. “So. Would you like some food?” She lifted the handle of her bag in indication. 

He stared, blankly, not into her eyes. She was plenty used to that from everyone. “Food?” she tried, again. 

He blinked, then shook himself. “Ah… Yes,” he managed apologetically. She puffed amusement, then lowered herself to the grass in front of him, smoothing her skirts out over her legs. She produced the bento, chopsticks, and a thermos of tea and offered them to him. He blinked again, reaching, but then stopping himself. “Did… did you make this…?” “Don’t be silly,” snorted Fujiko. “Of course I didn’t. Store bought.” He hesitated, but seemed to decide that was satisfactory. She made sure he actually was eating before she took hers onto her lap and opened it.  

“So,” she started conversationally, deftly splitting her chopsticks. “What’s going on with your training, then?” He looked up, frowning over his too-large mouthful of rice, then swallowed harshly. “None of your concern.” She raised an eyebrow. “Don’t you think you’ve been hitting it a little hard, perhaps?” 

He refused to meet her eyes, pausing on his way to take in another huge bite. “Why do you say that?” 

She shrugged. “I guess they don’t have mirrors out here, huh? Because you look, ah…” Goemon looked down at himself in bafflement, a grain of rice clinging to his lip. “...Oh.” His shoulders sort of drooped, and he eyed her apologetically, but not enough to stop shoveling food into his mouth for long. 

She let him eat for a while. He clearly needed it. Goemon was eating more ravenously than Jigen did, and she was pretty sure she’d seen Jigen swallow a steak whole once. In the meantime, thoughts rolled about in her head.  

At length, she ventured a guess, “Are you having impure thoughts again?” Goemon almost choked on his last bite, but determinedly swallowed before speaking. “I said it was none of your concern.” “Baby, I know, but…” “Have you come here just to exasperate me?” Goemon clicked his chopsticks, searching the corners of the bento for undiscovered morsels. Fujiko gestured helplessly at herself, the tea and the food. “Do you really think I’d bother at all if—” “If you didn’t want something from me,” Goemon finished flatly. Fujiko almost laughed, having the grace to look a bit sheepish as she poked at her food. “That was before, though. This I’m more interested in.” “Hm,” he grunted. He tried reaching across with his chopsticks to try to grab a bite of meat remaining in her box, which she readily relinquished to him. He clearly needed it more than she did. 

“Have you cut anything worthless recently?” she prodded. He looked up at her helplessly, slurping in a bit of zucchini. “I have refrained.” She shook her head softly. “No wonder.” “It has not been necessary,” Goemon insisted. “It’s not a question of necessary, baby…” she sighed. “Don’t you ever just want to have fun?” “I am above frivolity,” Goemon said, stiffly. “And yet you’re fine with indulgences as long as it’s food, I suppose,” she pointed out. He paused mid-swallow, frowning. “The more you starve yourself, the less control you can maintain later, yes?” she continued, primly packing away the empty box, the untouched thermos and used chopsticks.

His brow furrowed. “What are you suggesting?” he ventured suspiciously. “I’m just saying… that there’s nothing wrong with a little indulgence from time to time, you know.” She prodded her temple. “We all have impure thoughts after all.” He puffed gently through his nose, chewing slowly as he thought. “It has been some time…” he finally relinquished. She smiled. “You’ve been good, baby. Too good.” He shut his eyes. “Perhaps. That is… the problem.” She put her fingers on his knee affectionately, drawing little circles in the dirty fabric as he thoughtfully munched down the rest of the food. Eventually he passed the second empty box to her with a grateful nod, and she put it back into her bag. 

He sighed softly, shutting his eyes for a moment, then tipped his head resolutely. “I want to show you something,” he said simply, and moved to rise to his feet.

[secretgaygenttomura]

A Life Worth Living - Chapter 6

(A/N: I really am in more of a writing mood than a drawing one, recently. Warning for emotional manipulation and hints of AFO/Kotaro Shimura)

“That seems to be quite an understatement, Shimura.” Goemon chuckled, “But, no need for thanks. This is just a friendly gesture.”

Kotaro Shimura drove to work the next day with a pain in his head and a tremor in his hands. The liquor didn’t help, as he thought it would. It didn’t prevent the nightmares. It didn’t numb him enough to not feel the dust from last night’s near-death encounter still clinging to his skin, fine, dry, and unbearably itchy, like fiberglass, though it was only his skin condition that he shared with his son that exacerbated the feeling that badly. Very early that morning, when he woke up in cold sweat from the image of his son charging at him with murderous intent, he did his best to scrub it from his skin, though it seemed to persist in a couple select spots.

As he flicked down his turn signal and mindlessly drove into the parking lot of his work building while rain pelted the windshield, he prepared for the monotony to follow. Sure, it was draining, and tedious, but it was familiar, and it was away from that house.

He was a project leader and organizer in an upstanding tech company. He’d worked his way up the ladder through his focus on prioritizing what needed to be prioritized. The other candidates focused entirely too much on heroes and their popularity, and prioritized marketing featuring them, while obviously, Kotaro did not share the same love for them. He almost strictly emphasized actual product improvements and audience approval outside of heroic context. Their more neutral approach led to a much wider appeal, and thus more profits. And Kotaro was proud of it, in a sense. He was glad to see something in the world not affected so deeply by heroes.

He pulled into his usual parking spot, and paused to collect himself, staring intently at the damp concrete pavement and the rain-streaked metal exterior of the building just in front of the hood of the car. Apparently, for longer than expected, because before he’d known minutes had already passed, he found a close friend knocking with concern at his window, an umbrella shielding him from his hair growing damp. Kotaro looked up to the man, and took that as his cue to continue his usual route.

The door clicked open, and Kotaro greeted, “Hello, Goemon-san.”

A smile was returned from Goemon, “My, Shimura-san, I was concerned you hadn’t prepared for the rain. Was I correct?”

The realization that he would’ve needed an umbrella hit Kotaro, and he helplessly glanced around his car. Nothing but his keys, a couple stray pens and pencils, a notepad, and some trinkets from his kids were in his car. Embarrassed, he sighed and climbed out of the car, “Seems so… Thank you. I seem to be out of it, today.”

Kotaro’s thoughts went to the worst assumption. His brows furrowed as he spared a wary glance to his coworker. Suspicion and paranoia had started to be etched into his consciousness, following last night, and the terrible sleep he got after it. “Why would you say that…? I’ve always come to work on the weekdays.”

The two walked into the building under their shared umbrella in peaceful science. Goemon was a close friend he’d gotten to know over the course of the last decade or so working at this tech company. Someone he’d gripe to about family issues, and more importantly, was a friend who shared his same disdain for heroes.

“Say, Shimura-san, I’m surprised you showed up today.” Goemon commented as he tapped his umbrella on the floor to shake the water off.

“What I mean by that, is,” Goemon came up behind Kotaro and firmly planted his hands on his shoulders, rubbing between the younger’s shoulderblades, “You look absolutely terrible, Kotaro. And not to mention, incredibly tense. Your eyebags tell the whole story. Did something happen recently?”

The relief Kotaro felt was palpable, taking the moment to stretch his shoulders, a solemnness coming over him that he couldn’t quite hide in his voice, “Ah, thank you… But please, it isn’t something you need to worry about.”

“Oh, but I insist! You’ve never hesitated to talk about things at home before, it’s got me so curious…” With a dismissing tap from Kotaro on his hand, Goemon pulled back. “Kotaro… Would it help if I said please?” He teased.

“Prepare extra wine tonight, and I might.” Kotaro turned away, stretching briefly, before starting down to the elevator. “Your place,” Kotaro paused briefly, considering the phrasing, and thinking back to his own house, accursed with a horrible feeling at the moment, “... For old times’ sake.”

Kotaro scoffed lightheartedly, shaking his head, “Tch, Goemon, you prying fiend. Save it for after work.”

“Do I dare have hope you might tell me?”

Goemon smiled, following him down the hall, “Of course…”

Goemon’s voice responded, snapping Kotaro from his sleep deprived stupor, “What an impersonal greeting, friend! Are you sure you’re alright?” The white-haired man stepped to the side of his desk, setting a stack of papers on the corner. “You do know it’s been half an hour since working hours stopped, right? Everyone’s gone home already.”

The work day passed both too quickly, and too slowly. Oh how Kotaro wished that time perception would just remain constant and predictable. There were too many people reporting to him today, too many knocks on his door, too many notifications on his desktop. But at least it meant everyone was getting their work done.

One knock, Kotaro mistook for another annoyance, and answered it with, “I understand, I am filling out the schedule for the next couple weeks right now, please let me finish it.”

“No it isn’t, you trickst-” Kotaro spared a look at the clock, he’d pulled the same move before just to mess with him, but… “Oh…” He looked up at Goemon, the other’s eyes expectant of him. Really, he didn’t want the day to be over already, he didn’t want to go home, or think about what was happening there. It was truly a shame time passed so quickly.

“Why would I ever pull a trick on you, when we have such important matters to discuss, Kotaro?” Goemon laughed heartily.

Kotaro sighed, stretching briefly in his chair, “I’m sure you have other important things to do for a minute. Let me at least finish this schedule.” Just as soon as he seemed to pull away, he returned, his eyes glazing over as he stared at the screen.

“Oh, I really don’t”

With a hint of sarcasm, “Then feel free to accompany me.”

Goemon pulled up the chair just across the desk to sit next to Kotaro, scrutinizing the screen. He was silent for a while before he let out a slight wince and griped, “Oh, I wouldn’t do that…”

Kotaro’s brows furrowed and a small patch of skin on his neck itched with annoyance, “Goemon-san, you’re pushing it.”

Goemon leaned back in his chair and raised his arms in surrender, “Sorry, sorry. It’s just that… That leaves very little time for the secondary team to finish that task. It would take a couple more days…”

“Just let me do my work, Goemon-san.”

“Trust me, I would really recommend it.”

Despite Kotaro’s grumbling, he wordlessly made the adjustment, and a knowing grin grew on Goemon’s face… He still had Kotaro completely under his thumb.

Around half an hour later, the two once again walked together out of the building, sharing the umbrella between them, as the sky was still dark with stormy clouds, though a sunset that was just about to fade away peaked over the horizon. Kotaro massaged at the bridge of his nose, in hopes it would keep him awake, and Goemon glanced over at him, “Well, you’ve been in a pretty sour attitude all day, haven’t you? That’s all right, the drinks will help.”

“I sure hope they will,” Kotaro griped, carefully suppressing a yawn as they approached his car.

“You go ahead and head to the place, I have to make a trip for that extra you requested.”

“See you there.” There was one good thing about this for sure, not having to immediately head home.

The drive to Goemon’s house was a rather long one, he happened to live in a large house, almost akin to Gatsby’s on the outskirts of town, Kotaro would often find himself feeling jealous. Either their pay gap was disproportionately wide, or he’d inherited a lot from older family members. But it didn’t particularly matter, because Goemon was generous enough to share a part of his lavish lifestyle for a friend in need. There was only so much progress one could make financially, coming out of the foster system, he had some help along the way.

Kotaro made do without his umbrella, covering himself with his coat, as he made his way through the gate and to the door. Usually, Goemon’s security system would alert to anyone approaching, but apparently, Kotaro had been put on a “whitelist” of sorts. What exactly that meant for him, he wasn’t sure, other than being allowed in the house with very little obstacles.

He opened the door, his shoes clacking against the marble flooring in the dark house. An odd sense of emptiness and unsettlement came whenever he visited, and often made him very hesitant to leave. Sure, it was pretty, almost sterile in its well-maintained state, but Kotaro could only imagine how lonely it must feel to live inside such a large home alone. He figured that it would do Goemon well to find a partner, or even adopt a pet; that was how Kotaro managed to fill his own home, while less than half the size in scale. He had to admit, though… After last night, he was starting to feel the same sinking feeling of isolation in his chest.

The door opened behind him at the same time thunder rumbled in the distance, which did not help Kotaro from being startled, causing him to jump and grasp at his chest in reaction to his sudden jump in heartrate as he looked back. For a moment, he was reminded of how Tenko looked that night, as he saw Goemon in the doorway…

“I see you’ve already found your way inside, Shimura-san.”

Kotaro let out an aggravated sigh, “Kami- Goemon-san, you scared me half to death! Hey, what are you laughing about? I’m serious.”

Goemon’s sigh was more along the lines of one pleased with themselves, “Oh, are you now? Come on, let’s head to the dining room, I’ll prepare something to eat as well.”

Kotaro shook his head, following behind the man begrudgingly, “I don’t particularly feel hungry right now.”

“Oh but Kotaro, you can’t drink on an empty stomach. It’s dangerous.” Goemon criticized, clicking his tongue.

“Er-” Kotaro, defended himself, “I’ve eaten today.”

The way Goemon looked back at him, his piercing red eyes and a deep, unsettling curiosity in them… It reminded him of Tenko, and silenced Kotaro. “We both know that’s a lie. Come on, now.”

They took a seat in his smaller dining room once a nice steak dinner had been prepared, they had used his larger one before, but Goemon preferred the long table in it to be used for people he didn’t know as well, with closer friends, he wanted to literally be closer. Kotaro took it as a compliment that he was “upgraded” to the smaller table.

“So, Kotaro, how’s life been? Anything fortunate happen?” Goemon started on what he assumed to be an easy topic, but Kotaro was showing hesitance.

Staring at his glass across the table beside Goemon’s that seemed to be off-limits until he’d eaten, Kotaro sighed, “No, really the opposite.” The look that he was given told him Goemon expected him to elaborate. “I… Things happened with the family. Nao and the kids seem to be unhappy with me.”

“Really? It wasn’t the rule about heroes again, was it? I’ve told you, you can’t stand for any resistance against it, it’s your household.”

“No, that-” Kotaro paused, then thought of the few days before last night, the look on Tenko’s face he only saw in his peripheral before that dreaded night, “Actually… That may be part of it…” 

Goemon’s eyebrows raised. “Part of it?”

Kotaro felt a sense of shame wash over him, instead trying to divert his attention towards his food, though he didn’t know whether it was in attempts to genuinely distract himself or to get to the wine faster.

Goemon gained a pleased smile watching him eat, finally, only by the time he was finished with something filling on the plate, did he slide Kotaro’s glass over within his reach. As much as Goemon knew and treasured the joys of indulging , he knew it was unproductive to do so recklessly. If anything were to go wrong, it would be purely due to his lack of attention to detail. “I see, then let’s go to something else. How is the food? I attempted to make it to your tastes, but I was worried about undercooking it. I do hope you appreciate how I’ve paired the wine with it, though.”

Kotaro couldn’t find a single thing about the food gripe over, it was… refreshing. “It’s perfect.” He said, with less inflection than he intended. His lapse in expression only reminded Kotaro about everything that happened, and the thoughts, the itches… They plagued him again.

Goemon was not surprised to see Kotaro not taking his time with the wine, not even a moment to savor it, and the effort he’d put in to matching the flavor profiles. It was displeasing. He quietly sipped his own. Goemon frowned, “I do hate to see you so downtrodden. I wish to help you, but I just can’t if you won’t tell me.”

Kotaro figured he might as well just get it over with, he took the chance. “Tenko… Developed his quirk, last night.”

Goemon suppressed a smile, as he intentionally made a false assumption, “So, he must’ve asked you about being a hero again now that it’s proved he’s not quirkless?”

“No, no. He…” Kotaro could feel his heart sink to is stomach just thinking about it, “It was a dangerous quirk, and he… he almost-” Kotaro contemplated his wording. He was about to make it sound like an accident, but… He couldn’t keep it hidden, he had to admit it to both Goemon and himself, the truth. “No, he tried to kill me with it.”

Goemon feigned shock, “Oh no, Kotaro… Why would that happen?”

Kotaro’s brows furrowed, “Why… I’ve been asking myself that. He didn’t try to kill anyone else- In fact, he… He knew to keep his quirk away from them. He only stopped when Nao stepped in the way…” A whirlwind of thoughts flit through both of the men’s minds.

“Oh… Did he now?”

Kotaro looked up to meet Goemon’s eyes, a carefully crafted gaze staring back, emulating empathy, while his own betrayed intense fear, “Do you think he’s going to try again? Try and kill me behind my back? Does he really hate me that much?” Kotaro hated this feeling that suddenly overcome him, that made him feel so weak. That feeling of fear.

Goemon’s eyes settled to a more hidden look, as he pushed himself up from the table, and gestured to Kotaro to follow. Confused, but desperate for guidance, Kotaro complied, to be met by the other with a warm embrace.

“Kotaro, you’re so distressed… No wonder you’ve been doing awful today. I understand.” Goemon could feel the other man tremoring in his arms, his grip back glaringly weak. “You must learn to grow past this, Kotaro, you’ve been so resilient in the past, you can do it again. You must turn that fear into something useful, into power, so that you can live peacefully again.” Though his sentiment seemed to be understood, Kotaro’s will still seemed to be too weakened by this at the moment to uphold it, as Kotaro only seemed to view it as an attempt at connection, gripping the older man tighter in the hug. Goemon sighed, it would have to wait, just a little while, until Kotaro could pull himself together. “I understand… You need rest, away from your troubles, so you can recover… I may have an idea.”

Kotaro’s red-rimmed, but hopeful eyes greeted Goemon’s as he pulled away, though Goemon still held his upper arms, encouraging him to stay just a little longer. The plan slowly growing in Goemon’s head grew only more and more satisfying as he thought about it. “Kotaro, how about we set something up with Nao, and you can stay the night and rest of tomorrow here. I’ll head over and keep watch of the kids in the morning.”

Confusion, yet hope filled Kotaro, “... But, you? No… What about-”

A consoling smile graced Goemon’s face, “Shh… I’ll handle everything. Have faith in me, Kotaro. When have I ever done you wrong before?”

[meebochii]

Goemon out here dropping the biggest bombshell at the end of the common route only for his route to be locked until you finish the other four 🙈

[mikia87]

I’m taking a break from Cupid Parasite to try this new game : Tengoku Struggle. Since it’s the same team that worked on Olympia Soirée, I’ll probably like this game. I can’t wait to learn more about it!😁

I finished Sharaku’s story. It was good and I liked him.😊

But I must admit I’m a bit disappointed with the game’s main story so far and the common route was long.🙁 Jack and Goemon are the ones that interest me the most but I can’t play their routes.

[dagmartoons]

LupinWeek2024 Day 4 - AUs

In a way, thieves and idols aren't really so different.

So I had ZERO ideas for this prompt aside from "do something based on Starlight Serenade" (which honestly just barely qualifies as an AU lmao) so I just decided to do a pseudo-poster featuring a scene from the AU in development

(As I was drawing this it occurred to me I've never actually explained what the fucking plot of this AU is so explanation under the cut!)

For those unaware, Starlight Serenade is a multimedia AU series project I've had in the works for a while now (there's a sideblog if you're interested: @starlight-serenade-project ) taking place after the end of Part 6. Basically everything in the final two episodes is the same except Lupin was snapped out of Tomoe's brainwashing manually by the gang instead of just doing it himself and he has no memory of the entire incident afterwards. The AU story takes place a few months later; Lupin's recovered well physically, but mentally/emotionally? Hell no.

The plot is basically Lupin III does Macross Plus by way of Evangelion. The gang are approached by pop star Lady Iris a few months after the incident and asked to steal two magical gemstones from secret locations along the route of her concert tour. Lupin, having been on hiatus the whole time and very eager to get back to some semblance of normalcy, eagerly agrees to her request. But just who is she? What are these gems for? Why does her manager/older sister want them so badly? What are Lupin's real motives behind helping this random singer? And what is with these bizarre dreams he's been having involving Tomoe? Find out whenever I get around to actually telling this story!

This drawing takes place in the middle of the story, after Iris has (spoilers) betrayed the gang and Fujiko and Goemon have gone missing (also Zenigata's been taken off the Lupin case for plot reasons so there's that too). Iris has appeared in front of Lupin again one night to patch things up and disclose a bit more info on what's going on, and the two mend their friendship. (They have sort of a Lupin & Clarisse-esque sibling relationship going on. Purely platonic)

[curl]

Otome “To Play” List:

I want to keep all the recommendations I got and anything else I find in one location. These are in no particular order, and I think I’ll put which LI I’d be most excited to pursue. And please if you have any more suggestions please let me know! 😭💕

Piofiore: Fated Memories (Yang, Dante, Gilbert)

Cafe Enchante (Ignis, Kaoru, Rex)

BUSTAFELLOWS (Limbo, Shu)

Nightshade (Goemon, Hanzo, Kuroyuki, Gekkamaru)

Virche Evermore -Error Salvation- (Scien, Adolphe, Ankou)

Cupid Parasite (Ryuki, Shelby, Allan)

Birushana: Rising Flower of Genpei [Apprehensive on this one cause there’s a brother/sister route?!???! But I’m reading it’s supposed to be familial instead of romantic but….] (Noritsune, Benkei, Tomomori)

Amnesia: Memories (Shin, Toma {seems genuinely unwell 😭})

[blerdyotome]

Tengoku Struggle Strayside Goemon Ishikawa Walkthrough

Official Website: Japanese | English Where to Buy: Nintendo Switch | Aksys Games Route Notes: Goemon‘s route unlocks after completing Jack’s routes. You don’t need to playthrough the common route again, just load the character select save file and choose Goemon! Each route has two endings, one Happy End and one Bad End. Goemon’s Memory-02 (viewable by selecting from the Memory menu) comes…

[symphonic-scream]

Yes, 100%

:D

Everyone has a pet that has the name of their persona (cause I'm sentimental) like. Morgana is just Akira's emotional support cat but he also has a little red bird names Arsene. Goro has two mice named Robin Hood and Loki, and Futaba has a ferret named Necronomicon

In the quad apartment there's Carmen the cat, Goemon the turtle, and Captain Kidd the snake

As for Makoto and Haru, there's M'Lady the large rabbit and Johanna the doberman. Hifumi doesn't have a pet yet, but maybe one day

The Okumura-Niijima apartment is right above the bakery and cafe, but they made sure to add an entrance at the back so they don't have to work through the shop front to get home (Makoto sometimes has an overwhelming day at her placements. Sometimes Haru's relapsing into her caged mindset. They wanted a safe route in and out without crowds)

M'Lady sometimes spends Haru's time working the cafe with her. They made a little throne for her at the far side of the counter. Regular customers like to bring her little veggies to snack on

Makoto is training Johanna to work as an EMA. She wants to give her future patients as much comfort as possible, like being able to offer sessions with her and her dog. It's a work in progress, she got the idea when she met Joker (and Morgana) for the first time

I have stories for everyone meeting Joker too so. Let me know if you want those

Hifumi is at first dumbfounded when she discovers Makoto is trans. Akira had told her one of the wives were and based on how they present themselves, she assumed it was Haru. She and Makoto have many long talks about how they define femininity and such. For Makoto, it's in her spirit of rebellion. Being a woman to her is refusing to conform, not to accept the hand she's dealt but to stand up and push for what she wants

And for Haru, it's more like a comfort. She's always felt, protected by her own inner view of the world. She sees her own femininity as like, frills and fluff and treating herself. Inner love. They balance each other well

Makoto: I notice you hunch a lot. Is your height something that makes you feel a little dysphoric?

Hifumi: ah, I suppose so. I'm taller than both you and Haru, and Akira too...

Makoto: I have a solution for that. Want to feel short? You should visit our other friends' place. They're all tall there

Haru: she's right! Ann and Yusuke are both, very tall!

There's lots of conversations about gender and sexuality between Hifumi and all the thieves, about how they found themselves and tips they have for being queer. Some are, awkwardly personal

Hifumi: did you. Have your surgeries yet?

Makoto: ...it's 9 am I'm- I'm not talking about this that early I'm sorry

Haru: just a tip, you don't have to have any to be trans! You can have one, or the other, both or none! Gender and sex are personal to you, don't let anyone else dictate your experience

Makoto is red in the face and sipping at iced water trying to ignore the Convo (it's the one topic she's nervous about. Only because she doesn't like hospitals.)

Hifumi: why do you guys have two spare rooms anyways? For family?

Makoto: oh, no

Haru: can you keep a secret? Don't tell Akira or the others, but... We're thinking of having a baby

Hifumi: ...am I your test run for parenthood?

Makoto: no, don't be silly. That was when we took care of Futaba when they were fighting with the boys

Haru's father isn't a fan of her relationship with Makoto, but he accepted he has no say in whether they're together or not and stays out of their hair. He's, working on being supportive. It's taking him time to learn

Sae on the other hand has been Makoto's number one advocate for years. She helped her sister find herself back when Makoto was just in middle school, and even set her up at a vastly different highschool to start fresh

Goro is horribly awkward around anyone but Akira or Futaba. He's. Like a stick. It freaks Hifumi out at first

Just. Hifumi experiences all sorts of love too. Seeing her friends who found their forever people, platonic love, the sort of familial love she forms with Makoto and Haru-

I have many many thoughts please keep talking to me about this I'm,

Also. Help me find a name for this au so I can make a tag for it! Send me suggestions

[femme-from-hell]

Since requests are open, I have one! I've been in the mood for some angst recently (who thought that writing non-angsty things during an whole month would make that happen? pfft), so I was wondering if I could request headcanons for the Lupin III main cast (the thieves and Zenigata, but feel free to do whichever characters you prefer, I don't know if you have a limit of characters): how would they react/feel about being in an unrequited love situation, or one where they know they can't be together (i.e, rivals or different sides in the law)?

Thank you in advance! 🥰

Sorry this took so long, I wanted to try my hand at making a custom banner for this bcs its my first Lupin post! I hope you enjoy :) Fair warning tho, this got a little long and its abit less of head cannons and more like story + some thoughts 

Lupin iii gang & Inspector Zenigata Angst

𓆩♡𓆪 Lupin III  𓆩♡𓆪

I feel like lupin sort of shuts down when he is heart broken. He is known for hiding his true emotions and thoughts from others, so that’s exactly what he’ll do. He won’t push to seem like is normal perky self, but he wont mope about. Lupin will just go silent, stone faced and continue marching on. 

No quips to pops,  no joking with Jigen and Goemon, not flirting with Fujiko

Lupin isn’t someone who falls easy, despite his more depraved habits when looking for a partner to keep cozy with at night.

That’s all it was really, just some one to squeeze until he found his next score and then off he went, a trail of hearts left in his wake. 

You, on the other hand, could never just be something to hold his fancy until some new painting, gem or priceless artifact. No, you were so much more. 

The two of you had crossed paths when he came crashing into your life, quite literally. He landed on top of your gardening shed and put an impromptu sky-light in the roof from his fall. Sure, it scared the living shit out of you, and sure, you also might have knocked him upside the head with a shovel from said shed, but after some first aid and apologies, the two of you had an unmistakable spark from the beginning.

You weren't a thief, or anything like the people he’s come across as he’s traveled the world, but you captivated more than anything or any one. It was like a pull he could never full describe, a pull that put him at your door step after every escape from the police or heist plastered over national news. No matter the distance, he would always have 2 feet on your door mat in the end. 

Lupin was a work in progress, he wasn’t someone that would just open up after a few hugs and kisses. It was a slow and gradual process, like a flower struggling to bloom but once it did, it was something miraculous that you couldn’t take your eyes away. 

Never in his life, from the first acts as Lupin III to his long years spent alone, had he ever imagined considering the idea of having a life with someone. At first he was elated! Spending the rest of his days with you, talking for hours, laughing so hard he struggled to breath, listening to you talk on and on about anything and everything, his heart would soar at the very thought. 

Ring displays in fancy stores and museums began to catch his eye as days go on until finally he made up his mind, he wanted you apart of his life now and forever. You deserved the best, so he was going to give it to you! For hours, he would spend researching the perfect ring, it couldn’t be just any ring either, it needed to be perfect.  Finally he decided on the engagement ring that Napoléon had used to propose to Josephine Bonaparte.

Everything was set, the card announcement card was sent, the route was planned, Jigen was in place, and you were none the wiser. Almost everything went perfectly, almost. This heist was a little too close for comfort, seeing as the authorities were more than willing to shoot at him and less than hesitant to aim for the head. Along side this, Inspector Zenigata was nowhere to be seen, which made Lupin more than uneasy. He pushed aside the strange feeling of uncertainty and focused, he had a proposal to do. 

Quickly, he evaded the authorities and once they were off his tail, he made his way over to you, parking a little ways from your home so that he could move undetected, hoping to surprise you. Only, he was the one to be surprised. Rather than your quiet block, usually still as stone in the night was light up with the flashing colors of the police. His first thoughts were of concern for your safety, slowly reaching into his chest holster inside his jacket. He creeps forward, ready to make his way over to your home, only to stop dead in his tracks at the site of Inspector Zenigata. So this is where he’s been.

Zenigata moves to the side, revealing your distressed frame. Lupin can hear the old man shout his name, pressing and interrogating you further. Every time pops insists, you deny harder ever knowing the thief. 

From the shadows, Lupin looks at you, frightened at this encounter and nearly in tears. Something inside Lupin clicked, something he secretly buried deep so that no one, not even himself would realize, and the weight of the ring in his pocket felt uncomfortably heavy. 

Quietly he turned, returning the way he came and climbed into his car. Turning off the radio and his phone, Lupin drove in silence. He drove, and he drove, and he drove until he faced the ocean at the end of a pier. Pulling out the ring and looking at it in his hand, he thought of all the memories he’s made with you, only for the image of your face in tears before the inspector overshadowed everything. 

Without another thought, he clutched the ring and cast it into the sea, praying it would sink to the bottom with what remained of his heart. In that moment he wanted to feel nothing, he wanted to feel nothing for a long, long time. after all, you deserved the best...so he was going to give it to you.

𓆩♡𓆪  Jigen  𓆩♡𓆪

For Jigen, he was more in denial than anything. The thought of loving someone was too much of a hassle, especially in his line of work. 

What he didn’t account for, is that his heart tends not to listen to his head. Which is what placed you in his hands.

Meeting was a coincidence, having met when you found his look out point while looking for a place to smoke. He threatened you, not wanting to risk someone exposing him to the authorities, only for you to shrug and ask if he had a light.

Jigen was taken aback by this and let out a sharp laugh in shock, but obliged and lit your cigarette before lighting his own. You stood there and talked with him while he waited for his signal. Not once did you ask what he was doing, hiding out on a rooftop with a scope and a gun, which he found strange but funny all the same. 

“I’m just some one who mind’s their business.” 

The more you spoke the more engrossed he got in your conversation, almost missing the light reflected at him from a casino Lupin was currently robbing blind. 

“Looks like that’s my signal too.” Jigen looks over to you from his scope, finger on the trigger as you shrug your jacket off and pull out a gun of your own. A grappling hook gun. 

Wordlessly, you shot the hook, shot him a wink, and swung yourself into a window to break through to the casino. 

Lupin was shouting at Jigen through his ear piece, asking for ‘a little assistance, please!’ After the botched casino heist and a grilling from Lupin about paying attention to his ques, Jigen began to come across you more frequently. From scoping out scenes, to coffee shops, to even on the street. In reality, rather than running into you more often, he subconsciously began seeking you out. 

Your alure was something he couldn’t fight no matter how hard he tried. From finding himself joining you when he see’s you, to finding himself helping you in heists, to eventually finding himself in your bed. Never again did want to pull away from you, or the comfort you brought. 

There was no label to what you two had, but that worked for you both. It was a balance that neither of you dared to break, well, at least he didn’t. You, on the other hands, had other plans. 

This balance you and him had so delicately crafted was shattered as you held a gun to the back of Lupin’s head, gently pulling an ancient scroll from the thief’s hands. Your eyes though, weren’t on Lupin, no, they were on Jigen. Watching, waiting. 

You hadn’t planned for things to turn out like this, really, you wanted to keep what you had with Jigen but the life of a thief is a lonely one. You couldn’t give up this score no matter what, the amount of cash it would bring in would set you up for life. You could even leave this life behind, make something of yourself. However, Jigen didn’t have any plans of being in that picture. 

Before he could even think on it, Jigen had drawn and pulled the trigger. The gun once pushed against the back of Lupin’s head, now clattered loudly to the floor along side your body. Never had he thought he would have to make this decision, and yet here he is. Neither he or Lupin said a word as Jigen made his way over to you, quietly collapsing onto his knees and pulling your body close to his own. He could feel the warmth he once knew so well fade from you along side any love he had left to give. 

Jigen was never quite the same after that night. He denies the change in behavior, brushing off any concern. He denies every caring over ‘some broad’. He denies the empty bottles of liquor by his bedside table, the long nights of aching in ways he didn’t know he could, and the tear stained picture he holds to his heart of you laying with him in bed, where he now sits alone.

𓆩♡𓆪 Goemon 𓆩♡𓆪

Finding your shop was like finding an oasis in the desert. After pushing the door open to your little tea shop, Goemon practically fell for you at first sight. 

Goemon is someone who fall quickly; gives his heart away without saying a word. He is the kind of person who loves from afar and you were no different. 

You captivated him, talking on an on about all the teas in your shop, things that would happen with customers, random or shared interests. He wanted to hear all of it, so he would sit silently at the counter nursing his cup, taking only small sips to make it last as long as he could. 

You would ask him about himself but he would fumble over his words, your attention flustering him. He could never give you the full truth in his answers but still told some

“What do you do for a living?” “I help my friends with various jobs.” “Why do you carry around that sword?” “I can’t bear to part with it.”

The more time he spent with you, the harder it was to leave after every visit. Some days, he considers stopping in more than once, but anxious thoughts quicky talk him out of it. 

With you, he felt a way he could never put into words. Just seeing you put him at peace, a calm that he craves like no other. At almost every moment of the day, up until he walks through your shop doors, he is thinking of you.

Though as the days passed, his time with you dwindled. Lupin’s heist plans were coming to fruition and he knew after things went down he would need to leave along side his friends. He felt conflicted, sure he cared for his friends and the life he had built but the thought of no longer being able to see you left a weird feeling in his stomach. 

He thought long and hard about what he should do. He can’t risk staying in fear of the authorities, much worse, involving you with them while he is still wanted by the local authorities. 

Ultimately, Goemon made the decision to leave. One robbery later and there was a note attached to the front of your store doors. Inside, the samurai detailed who he was, why you wouldn’t see him and a single request.

“Wait for me.”

Goemon doesn’t stop thinking about you, not once,  and that love for you bloomed even apart from you. When he did finally return, he wasn’t greeted with your smile, the chiming of the bell from the front door, or the tea displayed in the front window. Instead he was greeted with a cold, empty building. No sign of you anywhere to be seen.

He was in denial at first. You wouldn’t leave without saying anything, you would have left some note, right? Or, what if something had happened to you! Goemon would go to the nearby shops and ask about you, which always lead to the same answer, “She closed down shop.”

Goemon would still visit your shop, standing outside the old building and starring into the window, longing for you to walk behind the counter from the back and wave at him to come in. Except that wasn’t going to happen, you were gone, and nothing is really going to bring you back. 

Once more, the samurai had fallen for someone, giving away his heart without having said a word. He would eventually come to terms with things, but for now, he will mourn what was never really there. 

𓆩♡𓆪Fujiko 𓆩♡𓆪

Fujiko Mine is the kind of woman to never let her true feelings be known, not ever to herself sometimes.

She’ll whisper sweet nothing to you, trail her fingers up your spine with an unmatched raw intimacy, then leave you penniless by sunrise. It was nothing short of an art form in her beautiful hands

When she had met you, Fujiko was enamored by your presence. Originally, she was planning to nab the man on your arm, an heir to some company but plans quickly changed when you entered her world. 

First it was just basic compliments and pleasantries, the things you would expect from these fancy parties, then it went to witty back and forth banter to her even telling you about her exploits. It felt so natural to talk with you, to move with you, to exist with you. 

Sure, Fujiko was eyeing the nice pearl earrings you wore with necklace to match, she found herself thinking of what would suit you better than if they would suit her. 

After that party, she would seek you out regularly. She would find herself wanting to treat you to nice meals, pretty outfits she would like to take off you, even stealing precious things to see your eyes shimmer with wonder and astonishment. She wanted to see you smile at no one but her.

When you would find her on the job at parties you would attend, it would become a sort of game of cat and mouse. She’s target some treasure, you would try and distract her, and then you both would have your fun. 

The thrill you both had once sought from your relationship had never really faded, rather, it changed into something more. Rushed kisses in the shadows became soft and shared in the new light of the morning, Desperate touches became gentle caresses as you both would lay next to one another at night. Extravagant meals at fancy restraints became burnt eggs and bacon with waffles made just the way she liked. Though different, it was still all the same.

The longer this went on, the more Fujiko wanted more of you. When she had time alone with her thoughts, she would find her mind drifting to you...but she could never figure out why. Yes, she enjoyed being around you more than she could have ever imagined but its something more, she can’t place her finger on it.  

Even in the heat of the moment, as she hold you, asking you to come with her, she still can’t tell you what it is. No matter how much you beg her, saying if she wants you, she needs to tell you but she can’t. Fujiko Mine is the kind of woman to never let her true feelings be known, not even to herself.

You’ve never asked anything from her, but she would give everything to you if you wanted. Yet, despite this, she could never say the one thing you wanted to your face. 

𓆩♡𓆪Zenigata 𓆩♡𓆪

The inspector has never been the sharpest knife in the pencil box when it came to love, much less how to handle heart break. 

When Zenigata and you fell in love, it was long before his chase for Lupin began. He was a pretty well respected officer that had a heart of gold, something you had always admired. 

Koichi loved you with every bit of himself, so much so that sometimes he would find himself considering a different career just to stay beside you more often

His hours were long and hard with his job, not to mention dangerous. The both of you would be stressing about one another through out the day only to be finally reunited when you both came home. 

Your life with him wasn’t easy but it was something the two of you built together, it was yours

That was until the inspector’s encounter with Lupin after an over seas trip to the US. It began a change in him that you’d never seen before. He was passionate about his job, sure, but this was something completely different. Zenigata came home rambling on about the ICPO and his chance to apply. 

You wanted to support the person you loved in all that he did but this... it meant that he would be away for months on end.

Zenigata, in all his excitement and passion, failed to notice that your smile wasn’t quite all there. Nonetheless, he would hug and kiss you all the same, declaring his love for you and all the support you’ve given him. 

This job opportunity wasn’t without thought, he took a lot of deliberation and came to the conclusion that this was truly his calling. 

Thus, the journey toward catching the world renowned thief began. No matter where in the world he was, he would always find time to call you, even if he needed to stay up late or get up early to make up the time difference. He would always tell you about all the things he’s seeing in the world, gently thumbing a picture he had of you in his wallet. 

As time went on though, those phone calls became shorter and mre infrequent. Your home was now just yours alone, now absent of the boisterous man you had once loved. You knew deep down that if you asked him to come home, asked him to quit his pursuit, he would without question but you couldn’t bring yourself to do it. You loved him too much to ask him to give all that up. 

Instead, it would be you that would give him up. It broke your heart and his, more than you would ever know. After your last phone call with him, he sat in his hotel room in disbelief, the phone line had long since gone dead. A sob tore from him as he felt an ache like no other, a hole where you once were. 

For a while, Zenigata couldn’t even put his heart into his work, everything felt wrong. He felt sick looking at himself in the mirror, seeing the man who couldn’t even put his loved one before his career, too blinded by ambition. 

No more! He was tired of this shell he has become, Koichi will bring Lupin to justice, he will return home, and he’ll show you that you mean more than anything to him!