#joshua actually cares about neku

[xshinina]

I like to think that Joshua became kinda like a guardian angel to Neku and has been watching over him over his three years in Shinjuku and even after that to make sure he doesn’t get shot for a fourth time (seriusly Neku take better care), which is absolutely not at all what their relationship in canon is but let me be happy Josh dang it

[dj-of-the-coven]

The difference in energy between joshneku and beatneku is staggering lmao, like SUCH a vibe change. Beat & Neku r like that couple that's fucking sickening to be around bc they're yearning at the same time that they're literally all over each other, like stealing each other's drinks and buying each other flowers and holding hands even when it's severely inconveniencing. meanwhile I literally can't imagine joshneku as anything but hand in unlovable hand, I can make him worse also they divorce and get back together and divorce again like six times and each time Neku's like eating ice cream and sobbing on Shiki's well-adjusted lesbian lap while she's fucking sweating trying not to tell him she got engaged to Eri last month and Beat's just eating drywall from the pain of not killing Joshua with his bare hands  

[scramble-crossing]

ok ships for the ship bingo. you don't have to do all of these. sho x hanekoma, sho x coco, sho x beat (in neo obvs), sho x joshua (spicy), sho x nagi, sho x neku (also in neo obvs), sho x konishi, sho x megumi. + whichever other sho ships exist idfk. all characters 18+ in this question

Anon. I am so sorry to tell you that I am physically incapable of shipping Sho with anybody. Ever.

It's just a personal thing! Sho's one of my favourite characters ever and I project my aroaceness onto him HARD so shippy stuff with him is kind of a squick for me. This isn't to say that I think ships with him are BAD or anything they're just not my cup of tea!

That said! Sho and Neku are actually one of my absolute favourite dynamics in the series so I'm gonna do a platonic version of the bingo for them!

The fact that Neku's willing to give Sho a chance after everything he's done, choosing to believe that for all of his failures he is genuinely trying to be better is just so *chefs kiss* It shows how much both of them have grown since the first game. Not only has Neku become someone who can forgive Sho, but Sho's become someone who is worthy of forgiveness. I know neo gave up on the concept of them becoming partners in a new game, but I still love the idea of them being forced into Shinjuku and having to learn to work with and rely on each other as the city comes crashing down around them. I think them having some shared history where Neku actually saw Sho make a decision to change would be way more interesting than what we get in neo, which seems to be that Neku can just. Scan souls? Or something? Boring! Give me Neku and Sho enemies to friends arc or give me death

[catncore]

My personal headcanon is my Hanekoma acts as Shoka's guardian post NEO. Joshua knew Hanekoma was the safest place for her and who better to take care of a spicy kitten than a CAT.

She was resistant to him at first but over time she came around. He was extremely patient and didn't force her to do anything she felt uncomfortable with. He also showed genuine interest in her interests and would as her actual questions rather than vague questions about FanGo, sometimes even going with her on raids and doing trades with her.

It also helps that Neku and Shiki frequently would come by when he's properly situated back in the cafe. Shoka had some form of familiarity while residing in the RG and adjusting to being alive again and she was kept safe from living on the streets.

[mageknight14]

I made a whole Twitter thread about this a few months back but I figured that I might as well bring it here as well.

Today I want to take some time to make another NEO TWEWY analysis post on the Identity Crisis sidequest revolving around Eiru and how it actually provides extra insight into Nagi and Fret’s characters.

Basically, the main gist of the sidequest is that Nagi and Fret are debating on how to imprint confidence onto Eiru, who’s suffering with his physical insecurities, and this is where we see the differences with Nagi and Fret's philosophies on life.

Fret's response is to tell Eiru to ignore the haters and even more so, ignore confronting the insecurities; life is better when you don't have to concern yourself with anything or try; don't take anything seriously. Nagi, however, believes that insecurities should be understood and harnessed so that they can ultimately be turned into a strength that can be used as a tool for success; accept your weaknesses and come to terms with them so that you can weaponize your strengths better.

On a surface level, these might read to be the same thing. Fret’s advice can be read positively as "don't let others judge you for something you can't control" and Fret certainly thinks so, hence why he thinks that he and Nagi are on the same page even though she disagrees.

However, when you read between the lines and think about it some more, there are notable implications that Fret's advice is more of a dismissive approach to dealing with emotional struggles as opposed to Nagi's own methodology. It’s no coincidence that Fret used to be a fan of the Eiji "the Prince" Oji in his ennui/apathy phase. The Prince in the original TWEWY was beloved for his “don’t give a damn attitude” and how he expressed that both in person and in his blog “F Everything.” Fret claims to have grown out of it but with certain reveals about his character later on, there are some implications that Fret latched onto the Prince and aspired to his attitude due to his own struggles with feeling genuine and wanting to embracing apathy instead.

However, if you recall in the original game, Neku and Joshua came around and helped the Prince sort out his own issues and in the process, helped him to become more genuine and true to himself in the process. With all of this in mind, you can interpret Fret’s response as him seeing the process of the Prince’s reconciliation with his genuine emotions happening in front of him and didn’t want to confront the possibility of that happening to him as well so he "grows out of it." It also acts as a neat parallel to Neku and his own thing with CAT. Whereas Neku latched onto his misinterpretation of CAT’s words in order to cope with his trauma, Fret turned away from the Prince changing so that he wouldn’t have to deal with his own trauma just yet.

To get back to the quest, if player had decided to choose Fret's philosophy, Eiru ends up doing just that, spinning Fret's stance on the situation into self-motivating positivity. However, there's a element of emotional responsibility lacking in Fret's way of processing struggles in that he doesn't seem to have the awareness to recognize the difference between overcoming adversity and just ignoring it (or maybe he does but refuses to confront that truth). In order for someone to truly not care what other people think, they need to do what Nagi suggested first, which is to find acceptance with their insecurities and build a stronger foundation for their character through that acceptance.

If the player chose Fret's approach to solving Eiru's issue, his dialogue afterwards shows how he feels about not having to face issues head on, with Nagi lamenting that her approach was not used despite being glad that Eiru's mood was visibily improved.

I also really like this moment here for how it subtly foreshadows what caused Fret’s attitude and way of thinking to happen in the first place.

Stuff like this is why I always tend to roll my eyes whenever I hear the claim that "Nagi is mean to Fret for no reason" when moments like these show why she acts the way she does towards him: their philosophies on life are complete polar opposites.

In Nagi’s eyes, Fret acting the way he did screamed to her that he seemingly had no regard for how his attitude and actions towards others made other people feel in service of his own self-interest and she fundamentally cannot get along with other people of that nature, as shown with how she dismisses Motoi entirely off the bat when the crew first meets him because she could tell that there was something off about his attitude. However, once it was revealed that Fret’s attitude was due to him trying to unhealthily cope with his trauma and not because he was seemingly unconcerned for the feelings of others, she’s far more understandable towards him and empathizes with his grief.

That’s when Nagi learns to understand that she does not need to dismiss people right away and that they, like Fret, might be going through struggles of their own and trying to cope with it via other means, even if she doesn’t agree with it at first. Hence the friendship they start up at the end of the convo.

The characters in NEO have a lot of internal flaws they need to work through, some that might not be immediate obvious at first compared to the original, but when you look back at it all, the game goes through a lot of painstaking detail to flesh out their struggles and mindset and aspects like these is what makes the game a joy for me to replay whenever I go back to it.

[pastel-twilight]

✨ An Analysis of Shiki Misaki ✨

Neku, Beat, & Josh were all bitter towards the world because they felt like they couldn't be understood. Shiki stood out from them in that she outright wanted people to perceive her in a different way than she actually was.

It's interestingly ironic since she's the most accepting & empathetic out of the whole group. She's more than willing to encourage others to open up so she may understand them, & yet, she's very unwilling to show her "true self" out of fear that she's not good enough to be cared about in return. It shows how unworthy she feels in comparison to those around her. She even puts herself down at several points, subtly or not.

She was patient with Neku, gentle with Beat, & she'd likely be kind with Joshua. But she believes she's not like them. She shouldn't be herself. If she were, it'd expose just how unimpressive she truly is. Nobody would like her & her friendships would fall apart.

However, as good as her intuition is, she's very incorrect about that. Eri, who's apparently a large source of her self-hatred, adores Shiki. Claims to be nothing without her. Neku, a guy who hated humanity & pushed everyone away, warmed up to Shiki in a matter of days because of the cracks in her façade revealing someone he could have better respect for. He outright says he likes her as she is & to discard the notion that she has to be like Eri.

Shiki - insecure lil Shiki - caused a domino effect that led to the city she dreamed of basing her future in being preserved. It was Neku who proved Joshua wrong in the end, but it was Shiki's influence that inspired Neku to become better to begin with. She's simply that amazing.

Sadly, being able to change & befriend the previously uncaring Neku didn't fully clear her doubts. This led to the telling question, "Once you see the real me, will we still be friends?"

"Count on it. You'll always be Shiki," wasn't something she expected to hear in return.

I theorize that during the ending, she was only mostly shown & not completely because her arc wasn't finished. It symbolizes that her journey towards self-love has not yet reached its conclusion. We can't see Shiki at her (literal) fullest until she's ready to accept herself.

NEO is where that changes. She's living out her dream, being herself down to a fashion sense that might seem tacky to others, but feels cozy to her. It's what she feels about herself that matters, after all, & she's finally acknowledging it. This is why I like her new design.

Shiki used to base too many of her feelings on how others may or may not feel about her, but now that she knows she's good enough, she can be confident in whatever she does. Wear sneakers with a dress & oversized cardigan, then top it off with large, nerdy glasses? Sure, why not! She even succeeded in starting her fashion brand with flying colors. Now she can simultaneously make herself & others happy! Sad as it is that Eri didn't show up alongside Shiki, it goes to show that the seamstress can be iconic even if her bestie('s appearance) isn't involved.

Also, contrary to popular belief, Shiki's not shy. She was awkward when it came to herself & her needs, but was loudly eager to befriend & aid others. She was mostly super capable of putting her foot down when she felt disrespected. That strength can't be faked. It's no persona.

Shiki Misaki's bountiful optimism & compassion already helped her stand out. She never needed to be someone else to shine bright.

When we finally get to see her eyes, we note that they're big, beautiful, & brown like Eri's, but with a different hue. Shiki's hue. 💚

[blond-jerk-tourney]

Champagne Bracket: Round 3, Poll 1

Propaganda from submitters Under Cut

Yoshiya "Joshua" Kiryu

He’s a bitch and a hate (love) him. I will now quote him below: "Sigh... I don't do the whole sweating thing, Neku." "Very impressive, Neku. Show those fifth graders who's boss." "Who needs other people's values? It's easier to just live by your own rules." "Oh! I can't say I'm particularly interested, but... I'll go ahead and ask, for the sake of convenience. Do you have a name?"

Smug asshole. Always playing mind games with the player character. Has many secrets but never shares them. Also did a bunch of spoilery shit.

Byakuya Togami

Very elitist, constantly calls others "commoners", talks about how he is gonna kill someone and get out of the killing game, hangs up a corpse and writes a message with their blood on the wall because he already knows the murderer but wants to see who is smart, complains the other students left him out even though he made sure to tell them every time that he wants nothing to do with them, pretty sure he screams in the 4 chapter " How can you know something I don't know?!", the only reason he doesn't qualify as a villain is cus he doesnt kill someone and in the end works with the rest of the survivors. He also constantly wants the protagonist to tell the rest what he knows

he's mean and self-centered and sees himself as above everyone else.

such a cunt 😭 doesnt eat breakfast w everyone and spends all his time in the library. (also he tampered with a crime scene but spoilers)

His title is literally, get this, "ultimate affluent progeny" Fucking look at him /hj Treats everyone as inferior in every way, even when they're trying to solve a murder he goes "how did YOUUU figure this out before MEEE???? >:0" Constantly has an "Me vs. Them" mentality about everything so he feels the need to prove himself to be superior - Messes with crime scenes because it would "make them more interesting" (purposefully incriminating someone else, who he didn't like) Actual quotes by him: "I'm only here to get breakfast. I have neither need nor desire to talk to you. Now withdraw." "You're like a child lost in the woods, you know that? A total waste of space." "You know, I still just can't believe it... That an uneducated, brain-dead, useless piece of garbage like you has survived this long." "You have only yourself to blame—you came to me with your tragic little story. I didn't ask you to. This is the real world, not some romantic fantasy fairytale."

This rich mf… He spends the entire game being a snobby, condescending, uncaring asshole. He becomes relatively nicer by the end but never stops being a dick. He also desecrated a corpse once for funsies. He’s also stupid but he doesn’t know that. I both like and hate him. It’s complicated.

He's an heir to a wealthy family corporation and he sure does act the part. He acts like he's better than everyone else and thinks they're not worth his time. He's just a huge asshole. (SPOILERS) He tampers with a murder scene just for fun and outs another student's secret alter, knowing full well it was irrelevant to the case. He also has a small breakdown about being wrong in another trial. By the end, he becomes a bit more likeable and kinda a tsundere that pretends like he doesn't care about the other survivors (but he totally does). Still very much an asshole though. He's a fucked up lil guy and something about him draws me to him. I would kick his rich bastard shins IRL given the chance, however.

He is emotionally detached from his classmates…

why you should vote byakuya "tell em naegi" thanks for watching like and subscribe

[harley-style]

VBS fans i offer for you an AU : VBS in the Reaper's Game aka TWEWY.

Ok ok SO. This is before their RISE event aka Kick It Up a Notch and shortly after Find A Way Out. The four of them are heading to weekend garage before BAM they die

They dont know HOW they died is the thing. That was wiped from their memory.

The one who personally puts them in the game is Neku but Joshua supports this decision (neku is the conductor in this au nc shinjuku fucked with his existence blah blah handwavvy canon). Theyre both personally interested in this group (and WxS but theyre still alive) bc the group is breathing life into Vivid Street and shibuya by extension.

Such important souls should not die so early so like, yeah, theyre given a chance to fight for their lives.

Neku goes to them in a reaper outfit and explains to them (patiently bc akito firmly goes into denial for the first half) that they are DEAD and they will be given a chance to be ressurected (incorrect but vbs are kind of not in the right mental space to brain their way through this) by playing a weeklong game.

Toya is immediately suspicious and asks why specifically them.

Neku doesnt answer bc honestly confidential, and kinda just says its a whim even tho its rlly not, VBS needs to be alive. Joshua personally sees into a potential future where VBS doesnt exist and its kinda bad.

How are our beloved street musicians doing you ask? Well.

Kohane is scared, but she handles her terror well. She asks the right questions and quickly adapts. She thinks Neku is hiding something (he is) so she has the most questions about this 'game'. She doesnt want An, Akito or Toya to be dead, so shell do her best to ensure that isnt a permanent reality. No matter what price she has to pay.

Toya is very skeptical about the Reaper's Game, but atp he doesnt really have a choice. Its not only his life on the line here, its the people most precious to him as well. So he squares up. But the poor boy reverts back into his cold facade when neku meets them. He only softens when he notices An (Akito can tell how he really feels on the inside so he doesnt feel the need to soften around him)

An is literally two seconds away from a total mental breakdown. Out of everyone she is handling it the worst. Shes thinking about vivid street, her family, her DAD...nearly works herself into a panic. Toya and Kohane hold her hands to keep her grounded, but only barely.

Akito is similarly not handling it well bc goddamnit, why did it have to be his team? They dont deserve this. Hes angry and accusatory towards neku, but his senses have sharpened to a point that he notices a few holes in neku's explanation. But the bastard doesnt seem intent on actually explaining, so once again, akito has to piece things together. Similar mindset to kohane-- he will do ANYTHING to get them out of this fucked up game.

Neku himself is pleasantly surprised by the fire in VBS' eyes and feels kinda guilty about whats about to be done. He explains the entry fee and it doesnt go well.

Kohane needs to lose her voice -- its something she feels brings her to VBS so she considers it very important. Her personal challenge will be to connect to her teammates without the power of her voice

An will become an Eri-Shiki situation and will have Nagi's appearance for the duration of the game. She needs to face her issue about being reminded of Nagi, and wanting to be like her when she doesnt need to-- An needs to find value in herself first.

Akito loses his passion and this hits VBS hard. Akito, i consider, is the literal backbone and foundation of VBS that keeps it working, yanno? Hes very meticulous when it comes to his teammates, his value and the most important thing that kept him going is his burning desire to chase his dream. IG he's like rhyme? He cares about his VBS, but he no longer understands why they chased after...what was it again? (Throughout the game he mostly just likes hanging around VBS and having fun with them. He would still very much like to leave the game but like...yeah

Toya is tricky, bc its not actually explicit what he values most. The entry fees are also meant to help the players in a way, so i cant just take his love for music bc there would be no point lol. His entry fee is...probably the ability to express his love. I feel like he needs to be able to show he loves his team despite it being taken from him.

Ofc, in true TWEWY fashion, they lose memories about their meeting with Neku, so they wake up confused and something missing

Kohane is with Akito near Hachiko. An and Toya land somewhere near Main Street. They all quickly realize something is wrong. Akito panics when he realizes Kohane cant talk. Kohane has to keep an arm on him at all times to keep him from spiralling and to prevent him from leaving her behind. Bc of his lost passion, akito comes off a lot nicer, which is weird, but kohane doesnt know why it unsettles her until later

Toya is a lot colder, this time, but he cares a lot about An (his entry fee wasnt his love for his teammates but the ability to express it ig) so he holds her hand all the way once he recognizes her. An initially doesnt realize she looks like Nagi until Toya points it out...by being a dick lol

An: Toya! I found you!

Toya: ...who are you?

An:...its me? An?

Toya: You dont look like An.

An: wtf do you mean *sees reflection* WHY DO I LOOK LIKE NAGI-SAN????

Theyre accosted by a mean-spirited Reaper who tells them they are dead and they have 1 week to win to be revived. Toya quietly points out that akito and kohane had been there before they ended up here. So begins the search.

They all instinctively form pacts bc theyre stupidly in love with each other and they trust each other. They are In Sync!!!

They do struggle though -- kohane has to act a lot bolder to attract akito's attention. Kohane quickly loses her shyness in the determination to survive and drags akito along, whos confused as to why kohane is trying this hard. Kohane slowly realizes why akito is acting a lot more subdued -- his fire, its gone. Hes not passionate anymore.

Akito rlly only cares about reuniting with VBS. Hes not thinking about how to get revived immediately, thinking he can just take his time. They work better as a team, yadda yadda.

So kohane has to struggle being the only one determined to get out

VBS reunites chaotically bc Akito sees An and is like Toya what are you doing with Nagi-san? And An is like akito its me tf! Surprised mf is he. Kohane explains (with limited vocab) that they need to survive for one week and complete missions etc...or face 'erasure'. None of them want to be erased to like yeah might as well.

An is having a TIME as Nagi. Bc as it turns out, some reapers are actually big RADder fans! They keep asking her to sing when she comes across them and she tries to oblige but ppl can tell when youre pretending to be someone youre not. Poor An has to live with the fact that shes barely like Nagi, even if she looks up to her so much.

Im sorry but we r also going thru an AkTy divorce arc 2. Toya resents akito's current situation bc wtf happened to his partner??? Akito is worried about Toya's sudden attitude and can tell hes mad but doesnt understand why. Akito is FINE. But stupid Toya doesnt see it that way.

Poor Kohane actually needs to wrangle these idiots bc akito cant muster up the willpower to, An is a little distracted and Toya isnt helping. With her voice out of the picture she really needs to try, with them. It forces her out of her shell more.

An slowly realizes that its not fun being seen as Nagi, bc shes quite proud of herself. Akito actually helps her make this conclusion bc he is attuned very well to VBS. No i will not shut up about how much attention akito pays VBS. Anyway An cries abt wanting ppl to love her for HER and not NAGI. VBS tells her shes being stupid, they already love An Shiraishi and no one else.

Toya is a lot less positive, sometimes even bitter, especially towards AkKh. He still very much loves them with all his heart, but you can resent a part of your loved one's character, yknow? He doesnt like that Akito is a lot more chill now, almost following along with Kohane. He no longer has his sights set forward and that fucks Toya up a bit. Where do they stand now, if his partner looks so lost? And man, Kohane. He appreciates that shes stepping up, but theres an ugly feeling thats welling up inside him. Its kinda like the feelings Akito had for kohane pre-main story ish.

AKITO. man akito. Akito starts off strong, willing to take the heat with Kohane and VBS, but on day 6 he practically doesnt give a shit. Kohane has to drag him everywhere, to get him to do anything. He has to be bribed. He just doesnt see the point, plus they figure out that they can just come back as reapers. He and Toya get into a fight about it -- toya pointing out that reaper duties would interfere with practice, and akito getting confused as to why theyd need to practice. They discover that akito no longer recognizes rad weekened and thus has no desire to surpass anything. Rather than his passion (honestly at this point theyre the same thing), they took his DREAM. Ouch. Its a good thing he still likes being a musician with VBS. But he thinks its just a fun thing. Kohane and Toya get really mad. An tries to mediate.

They all nearly die on the sixth day but Akito finally gets out of his funk and helps them. He may not understand why theyre trying so hard, but he loves them (he is a kind and caring boy fight me) and hes willing to try for their sakes

Kohane struggles with inferiority issues, but most of her struggles are physical. She really just needs to recognize that her value isnt just her voice, she is valued as KOHANE. She also becomes a good leader (not that VBS has a leader, just someone who takes charge in certain situations) bc she is willing to do anything she can. If she cant be a good singer for VBS, shes going to damn well shine in other ways.

Same thing with An and needing to be Valued as An Herself, though there are a lot of angsty stuff that happens throughout the week. An breaks down a lot, its not pretty. Especially when a reaper lets it slip (hes a part of the Vivid Streed community) that nagi is Dead DEAD and cue An not wanting to return to her old self bc she desperately wants Nagi. So she is also resistant to the idea of ending the game which doesnt sit well with kohane or toya. Eventually she does admit that she wants just to be AN, not Nagi despite how much she wants to see her again (but she cant). She learns acceptance!

Toya is desperate to leave the game, and is almost harsh for it. He feels so fucking hollow and depressed and he hates it. He wants out. He pushes them a lot and its only akito getting angry that hes acting like his father that toya gets a reality check. It nearly breaks him. He loves his father, but he doesnt want to end up treating his loved ones the same way his father has treated him. He apologizes after a minute of self reflection.

At this point, in the seventh day, theyre all in agreement that the goal here is to find a way out of the game. By the seventh day, they have to fight neku and its an extremely difficult fight. Neku hits hard and he hits home, both physically and emotionally. Its more of a test on his part, he needs VBS to truly shine, and they do. Akito, even without his passion/dream, displays that he loves, and he loves fiercely. He loves VBS, and thats all he needs to fuel him further and further.

Kohane learns to shine and impact others even without her voice. She is a heavy presence on the battlefield and demands your attention, giving her friends time to whittle away at the enemy

An does things her own way, and she does so by riding the momentum of her teammates. She dances to the beat of her own tune, and even though she wears the appearance of Kotaki Nagi, its clear that she is An Shiraishi and no one else

Toya learns to channel all of himself. He has a distinct ugly side, and with it he learns to wield it without hurting others, but instead support them. Just ok im losing words for this but he is there he learns to accept himself yeah thats how he fights

Neku deems them good enough and shifts down the plane and explains to them, finally, why they specifically have been chosen to play this game. Its very ominous, his warning of "Shibuya needs you. It needs VBS" bc YEAH NO PRESSURE RIGHT. Anyway, they learn Neku is like chill af and they get his card. Akito bugs out bc. CAT???? WTF??? neku doesnt explain but invites them to Mr. H's cafe instead.

They wake up in hospitals. A week has indeed passed since they got killed lmao. A worried ken visits An, Ena is sobbing over Akito, Kohane gets piled on by Minori and Emu, and Toya gets worried Tenmas lol.

VBS goes to the SEKAI (previously being unable to in the UG) and tells the VS about their troubles. MEIKO doesnt let them out of the cafe for HOURS. Miku Len and Rin hover over them, and even KAITO and Luka seem worried. But theyre gonna be ok.

VBS, after getting out, are a lot more cohesive as a unit. Now youll catch akito referring to kohane and an as his partners along with toya. Toya has a bit of a mean streak and his vocals have gotten more powerful. Kohane gains a hell of a lot of stage presence and An begins to defy expectations, bc everyone always was like "just like nagi, just like ken, just like taiga" to her but now shes unapologetically An to everyone.

Thats not the only thing thats changed with VBS. Now theyre able to identify Reaper aligned stores and mostly hang in there. They meet Shiki in Gatto Nero and become instant fans (especially akito. Hes delighted when hes offered a flexible job from her lmfao)

An is a little uoset that her town hid a big secret from her, but mostly doesnt dwell on it bc like, hell, shes been through the wringer. She DIED, and came back to tell the world she LIVED, BITCH.

vbs meets hanekoma and honestly mr h doesnt know why secrecy is a thing anymore and exasperatedly tells them highly edited accounts of neku and joshua. And their world. Vbs realizes that, yeah, they really are THAT important, and while they are pressured, theyre just all the more incentivized to practice and become the best musicians. RAD WEEKEND is now just another stepping stone for them -- they have their sights on bigger and grander things.

Which is why, during RISE...things happen a bit differently. Kotaro, Arata and Tatsuya are in for a big shock bc Kohane KILLS it from the get go, white lines and all. An is so fucking proud (and she went through the nagi angst already so no "she looks like nagi :(")

things calm down with EVER and Kotaro and Arata. And then VBS comes on stage and blows the crowd away. Wheeee.

Taiga still does the thing where he challenges a bunch of teenagers and young adults but is absolutely thrown for a loop when, after revealing the secret, an goes "i know. Youre a dick for keeping it secret, btw"

VBS nearly matches Taiga and that serves to shock all of them even more. Where the hell is this fire coming from? Taiga begins to doubt his intial impressions of VBS. He thinks they could actually surpass rad weekend, but doubles down and slams them with his full strength

And Vbs. Doesnt even. Flinch. (Well, yeah, compared to fighting a 24 story tall monster who can absolutely toss you at a building, an intensely singing middle aged man is significantly less terrifying. Like. Noise is based on emotions, negative emotions especially. So like, theyre pretty intense, you gotta fight them with your full soul.)

Vbs loses only bc their voices cant properly convey their passion, but the fire in their eyes dont die out. Theyre steady, and more than ready to take on whatever bullshit the world decides to throw at them.

So when Ken finds them hes surprised to see them all just chatting quietly. An asks him to explain why vivid street lied calmly. An finalizes her resolve -- she wants to take nagis dream as her own, and fulfill it in her own way, with VBS.

Oh yeah, ken still trains them, but VBS also gets in contact with a bunch of the reapers who want to give them a hand. 777, especially, takes an interest in them. Vbs expands their community to all around shibuya. Everyone is like, why is vbs running around shibuya like all the time without looking tired???? (Bc they went through 7 days of exactly that. Running around shibuya without looking tired.)

Anyway more fun HCs their pin powers: kohane gets puppy (forgot the brand but its happy puppy? Puppy? The paw brand one fuck) pins and pins themed around spring. An gets star types and ones that let her move around the field heh. Akito has fire based ones and minor telekinesis. Toya somehow has a basic ice pillar, lightning, and the healer pins. He was their angry healer.

Joshua meets them at one point and Akito immediately susses him out. Neku tells them joshua is his boss and vbs is like Oh. 🧍‍♂️ (they are legit terrified of him. Joshua thinks theyre cute.)

Vbs also starts dating shortly thereafter, but their dating lives are a mess. They dont know what to call each other! Bc atp girlfriend and boyfriend feels too shallow. They default to partners but its rlly more than that. Kohane starts calling them her soul, akito follows with his heart, an calls them her lights and toya gets rlly sappy and calls them his everything. They dont know what theyre doing. Someone help them.

Like genuinely theyre not sure if theyre dating or just really really clingy, and theyre not interested in exploring it either. Theyre just happy being together, yanno?

Kohane starts up her solo shows again but this time shes experimenting with styles. She missed her voice a lot and is a lot more self assured so she makes more mistakes but gets a lot farther with making her voice a unique tone.

Akito no longer has that filter holding him back and just pours his whole soul out. Ken is so fucking proud. He refines what akito has and lets him loose

An also works on her stage presence, starts upgrading more than just her voice. She gets lessons from haruka! And her charm shoots through the roof (shes a quick study lololol) she nearly gets scouted by a label but is like nah sorry ive got a music group? Im just doing this for training 😊 she and kohane also go to WxS for lessons on acting and stage presence!

Toya, in a surprising turn of events, dives into classical music (patiently explaining to his father that he still wants to pursue his music career with vbs) bc now...now toya wants to devour EVERYTHING. All music. Because every music is valued. He expands his repertoire and truly comes up with some of the most unhinged demos for VBS (some are unreleased bc vbs only does the best but they keep the unreleased ones bc its just plain fun, they realized along the way that they dont HAVE to sacrifice what is fun for what is exceptional)

Overall VBS just gets a major upgrade and joshua is as pleased as pie bc shibuya is once again thriving. Now if only he can get the other units to thrive too... thats only if they die, like vbs did, and get put into the game ofc.

[lapinparka]

the wewy hot take. share one.

(barnacle boy meme) the wewy...

Okay I'm going to confess a lot of my hot takes are about NEO (and there are many of them). However I think one of my biggest ones is that the ideal sequel to OG TWEWY would've had Joshua as one of the focal characters, because he's the only playable character from the first game whose arc wasn't actually finished. The big questions at the end of the first game were basically "What will he do now? Will he go meet everyone? What happens to him in the aftermath of the Long Game?" and the Secret Ending was pretty much TWEWY's sequel bait before Solo Remix existed (not that poor Tsugumi was treated any better). NEO's new writer deciding those questions weren't that important after all and shoving him off screen for 95% of the game (ostensibly because he was too powerful and would overshadow Rindo, according to that one interview) and then them declaring that all the OG characters' stories are done despite literally nothing changing for Joshua was... certainly A Choice that makes me feel many things. All of them negative. Even KH3D realised his story was the one that needed continuing, which is why (to me, at least) it actually felt satisfying for both him and the Hachiko Gang as a whole.

But now instead we've got Neku who was forced into isolation, away from the people he cares about, after coming to appreciate the world around him and change as a person which was... exactly the same situation Joshua was in at the end of the first game, but again I guess the writer just decided Joshua's version wasn't as interesting or something. And now they're both just stuck there mid character arc, forever. Definitely not bitter.

My original answer was going to be that I feel like people's approach to UG lore has got a lot less creative ever since NEO came out and it makes me sad, but that's more about the fandom than the game.

For a probably less divisive hot take: I think Junk Garage is a good song

[yoshiyakiryu-archive]

for the kiss prompt,,, joshneku 13

13: “That was… Interesting?”

Joshua has to respond. Neku's eyes are searching his when he pulls away, blue as the midday sky: an expanse he could fall into, the ocean he struggles to surface from. He didn't expect to be kissed, didn't ask or prepare for it, caught off-guard as much by the spontaneity as the teenaged enthusiasm of it. Warm hands, an open mouth and chapped lips, Joshua's back and head colliding with the wall now responsible for holding him up. He barely had time to get his hackles up noticing all Neku's thoughts had aligned in his direction; until this moment, that served to indicate there was about to be a fist waved in his face. This wasn't what he'd braced for.

He has to respond. Neku's making an embarrassed hum in the back of his throat, thoughts crowding each other with doubt, teenaged enthusiasm meeting teenaged self-consciousness. The bricks behind Joshua are warming to his body temperature, snagging on his shirt like his fingers snag in the folds of Neku's hoodie. Neku looks like something Joshua might like to photograph, framed by sunset and the skyscrapers rising behind him, hair set alight in the headlights of passing cars, his expression a twist of concern.

The hum becomes words, a record-scratch nervous hopscotch of a sentence: "Uhhh, was that—was that okay? How was that, um, for you?"

Was that okay? Joshua runs back over the kiss in his mind. There'd been a paralyzing sweetness coursing from Neku's at the gesture, spilling over into Joshua, numbing and fizzing at once, bubblegum hues and loop-de-loops and the paradoxical weightlessness of free-fall. A electric charge focused wholly on impressing adoration into the softened, vulnerable medium of his psyche, branding him with Neku's fondness. Intoxicating. Dizzying. Impulsive and intrusive.

He'd tasted like mouth.

Joshua touches his lips, confused by how Neku had surged past all his barriers, sure nothing he'd done had warranted it—he'd been talking about the construction of the building he was now propped against, trivia on the city they both cared for, nothing out of the ordinary.

There's a crease drawing itself between Neku's eyebrows, growing longer as his grip loosens on Joshua's shoulders. He still has to respond, and goodness, he doesn't actually want Neku to let go. He wants Neku to hang on, to stand in this alcove with him for the week it'll take to analyze this event correctly, every faucet of the memory, every passerby on the street and hair follicle on Neku's head, every minute observation Joshua plucks from his consciousness. There's a stray hair in front of Joshua's eyes that's bothering Neku more than it's bothering him. He leaves it.

“That was… Interesting?” Joshua tries, lurching towards Neku's retreating touch as if hooked, stepping forward in the same instant Neku steps back, the two of them moving in sync, drawn into motion by the same puppeteer. Nostalgic.

"Interesting?"

Neku's face forecasts several different emotions before settling into bewildered hurt, thoughts swirling into an overcast resignation.

Ah, messed this up already. Good going.

"Yes, Neku," Joshua snaps, confused and wrong-footed, which he never likes to be. "Interesting. So good to hear you can repeat basic words. Maybe we can use those new skills the next time we want to slobber over someone else's face in public? Hmm?"

Worse. Worse. He's made this worse. He holds his ground as the hurt in Neku contorts into anger—

And then fizzles out.

Oh.

Well that's disappointing. He'd been hoping. He's always hoping. It may be his worst trait.

Neku kicks the ground, hands finding his pockets in one smooth, practiced motion, apologetic. He turns away.

"Yeah," he says quietly. "That bad, huh?"

"Like being suckled by a fish."

Neku cringes. Joshua's satisfaction in this is dwarfed by the wailing chasm that has spontaneously torn itself open deep in his chest, the sting of loneliness once more rising as he throws up wall after wall. It's habit. He can't help how he is.

He can't help but think it wasn't so bad to be kissed either, that another jab of whatever Neku had hit him with would suture it shut again. Neku could fix it. Neku had fixed himself, and Neku could fix Joshua, if fixing each other was something people were capable of doing.

He wants to try again, hand on Neku's forearm before he realizes he does, urging him to follow Joshua back to the wall, less for the physical sensation of Neku clumsily placing his mouth and more for the tumbling cascade that came with it. Oh, to get Neku's hands on his wings. He wouldn't still be standing. Not that he would dare have them out with so many people around, but such is the way things go.

This was how it worked, he reminds himself, this is how Neku had done it. One admission and then another, concession and a request.

Joshua opens his mouth, cutting Neku off, and around the lump in his throat and the defensive reflex screaming that this was bad and wrong and dangerous, he tells Neku "this could be the next time, if you want to slobber on my face again."

Incredulity. Neku is awash with it, from his face to his posture to the slack hang of his fingers and the flatlining landscape of his mind. Joshua feels the scream inside him grow, ready to burst, when Neku grasps his elbows, throwing him a lifeline.

"Rephrase that for me."

"No."

They stare each other down. Neku's thumbs press into the soft skin of Joshua's upper arms. He knows it's soft, because Neku is thinking about it, then he's thinking about how it's not as soft as Joshua's lips, and there he goes hoping again.

"Fine," Joshua spits. "Ask to kiss me, fishboy."

Neku laughs. A bloom of fondness tinging his embarrassment like the bleed-out from a gunshot wound, sticky and warm and Joshua's doing.

"Can I kiss you, Josh?" he asks, following up by miming the slack, open mouth gasping of a fish, aimed threateningly in Joshua's direction. What a delight Neku is. What a catch.

"Hee hee, yes sir."

Neku keeps his mouth closed this time, rough lips carefully brushed over Joshua's, the accompanying spillover from Neku's psyche into Joshua's own more a slow, hesitant embrace than the sucker punch from before. Loved. He's loved.

That's sickening, he thinks loud enough he's sure Neku's heard it too.

"You're such a bastard," Neku confirms through his teeth, words slurred from the way he won't move his lips from Joshua's to say it. There's no weight to it, no bite, only more of that heavy, bubbling fondness, knitting shut the rift in Joshua's stupid little awful heart.

Joshua just hums, eyes closed, and lets Neku's affection suffocate any other response he had to give.

[tea-of-destiny]

hi friend I meant to send you this ask a couple days ago I think but. I know it isn't really (twewy) canon, but I'd like to hear about the TWEWY characters in KH3D, if you'd tell me about it? I don't have any intention of playing KH myself, I don't think it's my kind of video game in general, but I'm still fairly curious 👀

ajlksjdfhalsjkd I think this is normally a question where I'd go back to the source material to confirm what I'm saying, but this has been sitting in my inbox too long so I'm just going to write off the cuff and pray something worthwhile comes out

Um, as a whole they're pretty fun! Maybe not totally accurate to the canon of their own game, but they're presented in a way that makes you (or at least me) want to check out TWEWY to find out what their story is. I am so determined to play TWEWY for real eventually, but I don't know how soon that will happen since there's... so much else I want to do aha.

Neku's personality is more that of his first week in the Reaper's Game--he's still kind of standoffish and self-centered, which makes him a stark contrast to a protagonist like Sora, but Neku is already in the process of learning how to trust and befriend other people. He evidently cares about Shiki a lot. I don't remember if he's shown to have much attachment to Joshua or Beat yet in KH canon.

Shiki is a part of one of my favorite interactions in the series; it's actually where the quote in my header image comes from! Riku defends Shiki from a swarm of Dream Eaters, and then he's ready to just run off again to finish his mission, but Shiki says something to the effect of "Hey, you can't chat a girl up and then just ditch her! Aren't you supposed to be my knight in shining armor?" To which Riku kind of panics and says, "Knight? You've got the wrong idea!" aro king So they make for an entertaining pair of companions.

I love Beat. He and Rhyme have a great sibling dynamic. Beat makes some rash decisions that put people in harm's way, but he really means well and has a big heart. There's another scene where Beat's acting tough to Riku like, "We don't need your help!" But Rhyme pipes up like, "Really? 'Cause not five minutes ago, you were whining, 'Where's Riku? We gotta find Riku!'" And Beat gets really flustered like, "Gwaah! Don't say that in front of him!"

All I can really say about Joshua is that he's not enough of a bastard in KH canon lmaooo I need him to shoot the ancient embodiment of Darkness or something

One other thing I'll mention is that as of the Kingdom Hearts 4 trailer, Sora has gone to an alternate reality, and he wakes up in a city resembling Tokyo. There's been speculation that he's specifically in the TWEWY version of Shibuya and we'll see Sora reunite with the cast. Some fans are really excited by the possibility of extended TWEWY lore; others don't want it to be the case because they worry that TWEWY will get subsumed into KH instead of standing as its own thing. I'm not sure how I personally feel, except that I really hope whichever path the developers take, they spend the necessary time to make the game compelling and enjoyable.

I hope this kind of answers your question, even if it's been a while? And thanks for asking!

[regallibellbright]

WIP Sunday! In the hopes that posting something about it forces me to get back to this one sooner rather than later.

—

“I suppose not,” Joshua says, back to his normal smirk. “And if I said ‘oh, that’s the only reason’ and left, what would you do then? You already knew about my ‘evil plan’ when you called me here.”

“I wanted to know what you wanted,” Shiki says. “That doesn’t mean I’d take any offer you made. Some things aren’t worth selling your soul for.”

“But apparently, some might be?” Joshua fiddles with his hair again. “We don’t actually do that, you know. It’d be a waste of a perfectly good soul.” Like Shiki cares? But Joshua just laughs and continues. “I admit, you have me curious. What kind of deal would you sell your soul for?”

She should tell him to knock it off. She should run. She should forget this whole stupid plan and tell Rhyme she was dumb for even considering it. (But Yamasaki’s Partner thought he should put the jacket back on. But even if it was cheating, it might be worth it, for Neku. But a favor for the evil plan just doesn’t feel right, after this many months.)

[scramble-crossing]

Yknow what after thinking about it for a little bit I actually love Neo Joshua. He's really come into his own as a Composer, and by that I mean he's totally discarded every last shred of humanity that clung to him and made him who he was in the first game: jaded and misanthropic and so miserable in his isolation and his perceived impossibility of human connection that he was wiling to take the whole damn city down with him just to escape it, but still having enough of heart left in him to let Neku change his mind, to hurt when he sees him with his new friends and his new life, something he will never have, knowing it's by his own design.

And yeah, you can totally read him as still having those traits in Neo if you want! I'm not against it. It's certainly a fun interpretation.

But you can also read him as being way, way worse than before and that's just so fantastic thematically. Of course he was going to end up like this! That's what being the Composer does to you! Of course he would let Neku and his friends and his own proxy's friends die so long as he secured victory in his little inter-planear chess match and kept his city intact. Of course he would see Shoka's entire existance as nothing more than a way to settle his debt to Rindo. These people are ants to him! It's a Sims game! It's goddamn Pikmin! He doesn't care. He can't care. He's a God and he gave up the right to be anything else a very long time ago.

Now even Neku, the person who was shot by him and forced to fight tooth and nail for his life for no greater crime than being at the wrong place at the wrong time, who said he would trust him even if he couldn't forgive him, doesn't trust him anymore. He saw Joshua and the person he'd become and was quicker to believe that he'd stuffed him in Shinjuku for his own gain. He did it! He finally broke the camel's back!! You really fucked that one up didn't you Jotchy boy!!!!

[thehoodedneku]

Ayo! I just finished watching the TWEWY anime (dub) and it was fun! It had enough changes that you can enjoy it separate to the game! And it was a good refresher because I haven’t replayed the game for ages! It’s a shame that they didn’t have much of the original voice actors but the crew did fine, so the dub gets a pass!

Anyway, getting back into TWEWY, has made me realise that my opinions have changed since I played the actual game. Like, I didn’t used to care as much about Sho (I liked him but not LOVED HIM), but then Neo TWEWY gave me an awakening and made me adore him. To the point that he easily rose above my old fav, Joshua. And through this watch of the anime, I’ve completely shifted a few opinions. And am a lot less forgiving towards Joshua and Mr H, and their actions. I could never hate them, of course not, but I’m cheering for Sho. Like if there’s a sequel to Neo then I’m on Sho’s side completely. Not just because of his cat boy energy or charisma (they’re factors as to why I adore him yes ok), but because I kinda agree with what he had been trying to do—to stop the Composer from destroying Shibuya. Sho’s methods were violent but not worse than what the Composer intended to do. Still bad though haha. All my favs tend to be a bit awful. I love the spice!

Anyway, it’s just interesting how opinions can change. Is it my age? I played the DS game in high school. And maybe revisiting it as an adult has given me a new perspective. I kinda shrugged off Joshua’s actions as a teen. But now I can’t just ignore them and the fact that Sho truly was an anti hero until the end.

This series is so important to me (duh I even stole Neku’s name—though it was more due to liking the sound of it than it mattering about where I took the name from), so I like that I’ve grown alongside the series. And have changed.

It’s a shame that this series isn’t advertised a lot or mainstream, but hey, I’m glad to have found it when I did all those years ago :3

[mageknight14]

I loved how NEO pulled the rug out with Rindo’s character. At first, he generally seems much more sociable and outwardly friendly compared to Neku and then the game quickly goes "yeah, nah, he’s a huge fucking mess too." He’s a good kid fundamentally at his core but he can also be whiny, hypocritical, passive-aggressive, and kind of insensitive at times. He has a tendency to be judgemental and harsh to the people around him while not acknowledging his own faults, like when he complains about Beat joining the team even though he saved their lives beforehand because he’s not Neku or when he gives Fret shit for fawning over Eiji Oji and Kanon while falling for Motoi’s BS. He’s so pessimistic about himself and others that not even a death game that heavily emphasizes the value of teamwork can get him to fully come out of his shell, which is where his time-travel powers come in AND EVEN THEN it’s a double-edged sword since on one hand, it forces him to actively step up to the plate and survey the situation to find the best possible solution, which leads to him slowly growing out of his shell, but on the other, it also leads to him becoming overly reliant on his time travel so that he can walk back from potentially life-changing decisions without having to worry about it since he has a magic reset button. Which ends up biting him in the ass. Hard.

He’s one of those types of people who is ultimately a thinker and planner instead of a do-er, but his being young and overly impressionable takes this personality quirk to such an extreme that he's foundationally useless to most groups. He’s the type of person who you have in a group project who sits around and does nothing, but then complains with the project does poorly because he couldn't be bothered to speak.

He's so unconfident and directionless that he uses effectively Instagram as a means to listen to someone who sounds like some 2deep4u philosopher post dumb flowery bullshit that effectively has all the meaning of "Drink water when you're thirsty." and he admits to finding such "deep" meaning in these posts that it supposedly helped him through life. Because he's 15 and doesn't know anything.

However, all of this makes him interesting as a character because he’s, again, still a fundamentally good kid at his core. While he’s shown to have a fuse, he is also the kind of person who has the ability to think his emotions through. That's what we ultimately see when he and Fret finally talk and drop their beef. The game depicting Rindo's capacity for self-awareness and emotional reflection is a positive revelation of his character strengths. He proves that he's capable of recognizing when he's in the wrong and knows how to apologize, a trait he shows quite a few times throughout the story, while also doing everything he can to set things right as well as be more understanding toward how his friends feels.

He’s kind of the guy who will drop everything to help a little kid out, even when there’s no tangible benefit to doing so and he and the others are shown to be on limited time, shows empathy to his friends/fallen enemies, and feels massive amounts of guilt for his actions, even if he didn’t know better at the time.

Hell, the entire endgame is fueled by his selfish yet understandable desire to save the people he cares about most from total erasure, to the point that he’s willing to risk thousands of lives to do so. But not only is he shown to be internally grappling with himself regarding his decision but he’s also willing to take responsibility and ensure that EVERYTHING goes right not just for himself and his friends but the people of Shibuya in general, in a parallel to Neku’s own selfish if understandable decision to put the bonds he formed in the original game (particularly with Joshua) over the actual city.

Characters aren't interesting simply by switching between 2 different character traits. They're interesting when all those traits are being expressed at the same time for reasons that are consistent within their internal logic. You gotta be a good writer to pull that off and you gotta know when to show off these dimensions during your story to achieve proper dramatic effect when the time calls for it and NEO I feel does this pretty damn well.

[protect-namine]

the syllables melt away (chapter 5)

fic summary:

In which Neku learns how to cook, lands a stable enough job, rediscovers old friends, resolves a dispute he has with an important partner, falls in love, possibly gets married, and becomes a father. But not in that order. Or: it’s eight years into the future, and Joshua talks Neku into adopting a baby in his place. They may or may not fall in love along the way.

chapter five excerpt:

He doesn't really care about the UG, he swears he doesn't, but he's still a hundred points away from getting a new pin from his favorite konbini to check if it actually, really does anything at all. He sort of remembers Joshua nudging his brain with pin-related updates in the past, but they were never as insistent as the other topics they try and fail to telephone to each other. It's not music, or street art, or ramen. Neku doesn't know if his memory of how pins work is reliable — it's been years since his own Reaper's Game. Maybe the rules have changed? But it's not his place to decide or learn the rules, so he does the next best thing. Neku picks up an issue of Pinhead Weekly. Joshua writes under the pseudonym Pink and his op ed is… a lot more passionate than Neku expected, which is probably his appeal as a writer. For all his cynicism, Joshua loves Shibuya. He likes to talk about Shibuya, can drone on and on about its history and its evolution. He can list facts in rapid fire if Neku will let him. His Tin Pin writings are not as factual. They are opinionated, persuasive, and — Neku is starting to realize — personal. Personal means vulnerable, and Joshua cannot handle vulnerable in long stretches. When Neku finishes the article, he's absolutely sure of it. This isn't a Composer thing; this is a Yoshiya Kiryuu thing. This revelation excites him more than learning that konbini pins can shoot lasers.

---

🔗 read on AO3