#verse / post shinjuku

[vesselmade-a]

they've been through so much together. the scarring on yuji's face, the marred skin at his lip and brow, they're only outward proof of the internal fight. in their first year of high school, saying goodbye to the old and ushering in the new was a painful process. this time, the wounds are not so fresh, but the mood is still somber. it's so cold that megumi can see his breath turning to wisps of condensation with each slow exhale, the frost tinting his nose and ears pink. as the first fireworks start, it only feels right to take his boyfriend's hands into his own. "happy new year, yuji." it's painful, but they have each other. he's still shy about it, always is, but presses his lips to his boyfriend's in a chaste kiss.

just  a  year  ago , itadori  had  been  ringing  in  the  new  year  alongside  his  grandfather , back  when  life  was  simpler  and  filled  with  warmth. now , as  he  stood  gazing  up  at  the  vibrant  fireworks  painting  the  night  sky , a  sigh  escaped him. his  life  had  dramatically  changed  in  such  a  short  span , and  the  stark  contrast  struck  him. the  festivities  around  him  felt  hollow , a  reminder  of  the  void  left  by  those  who  wouldn’t  join  him  as  they  moved  forward.

yet , amidst  this  upheaval , one  constant  remained - megumi. itadori  turned  to  look  at  his  boyfriend , finding  solace  in  his  presence. while  the  holiday  season  seemed  less  joyful  without  some  faces , having  megumi  by  his  side  was  a  comforting  certainty. he  knew  he’d  go  to  great  lengths  for  him , having  traversed  through  hell , facing  adversity  just  to  stand  here  today  with  him.

a  faint  smile  crossed  his  lips  as  he  felt  @fshguro’s  hands  in  his  own. he  reciprocated  the  soft  kiss  without  hesitation. it  was  these  moments  that  felt  the  most  vulnerable , but  itadori  welcomed  the  feeling , understanding  the  depth  of  emotions  shared  between  them. drawing  his  hands  away  momentarily , itadori  pulled  megumi  close , wrapping  his  arms  around  him  in  a  warm  embrace. he  rested  his  head  against  megumi’s  neck , the  closeness  grounding  him  amidst  the  thoughts  swirling  in  his  mind.

“happy  new  year , megumi. ”

[dailydemonspotlight]

Backbeard - Day 61

Race: Foul

Alignment: Dark-Chaos

July 1st, 2024

ZEHAHAHA- wait, no L. Unfortunate. Today's Demon of the Day is, strangely, a modern version of a classic type of monster, and one that originates from a very specific source- a manga. Yep, we have another one that leads you in circles in research, though in this case, it's because it might not even exist. Enter Backbeard, a yōkai that originates from GeGeGe no Kitaro. Before I start digging into what little there is to offer, I'd like to give a huge thank you to @kanekocribs 's fantastic post about this subject, which also had a great delve into Porewit, which you all know my very... intense feelings about.

For the most part, Backbeard's origin is incredibly hard to trace; the purported origin of the yōkai in the book "100 Ghosts and Hauntings of the World" seems to have just been made up by the SMT fandom wiki, as the closest thing I can even trace to that name is the series of woodblock prints from the 1830's called "One Hundred Ghost Stories" which can be further traced back to a set of parlor games called "Hyakumonogatari Kaidankai." In these sources, though, I can't find any reference to Backbeard or even just a single-eyed entity, which appears to be the primary trait for a lot of depictions. Even going back and trying to find anything related to an August 1965 edition of Shonen Book, which the wiki page cites...

Sends you right back to GeGeGe no Kitaro. Please get some sources cited Megaten wiki. Regardless, though, what on earth is GeGeGe no Kitaro even about? It's about yōkai, of course! In the story, Backbeard appears as a major antagonist, leading scores of the 'Western Yōkai,' effectively meaning groups of classical horror movie monsters such as the Wolfman, Dracula, Witches, etc. He's seen as the main antagonist of several of the stories, but in most adaptations he's cut for more personal antagonists. I'm not well versed in GeGeGe no Kitaro, especially because I haven't read it, but the design says all it really needs to say.

Later on, it's attributed and believed that Backbeard may have taken inspiration from several sources conglomerating together, though I could not find a source for the LIFE OF ME regarding the first one. TW for body horror and bugs below, but some people purport that Backbeard may have been based on the 'Eye Bugs' from the aforementioned magazine '100 Ghosts and Hauntings of the World,' though again, I have no idea where this picture comes from, and searching is turning up diddly squat. The second picture, though, I can attest to existing- a piece of art called the Shinjuku Phantom Chimera by Masatoshi Naitō.

Ironically, I pulled this from another blog! Special thanks as well to @littleeyesofpallas for this post about Bleach that ALSO goes into Backbeard. Finally, we can trace the inspiration for Backbeard and Shinjuku Phantom Chimera all the way back to the 1800's, wherein we have this painting by French artist Odilon Redon, simply called Eye Balloon.

So, cool! What do I do with this? I have no idea! There isn't really a moral at the end of this, or any grand message, and my hours of digging have dealt me many, many headaches with not much else in return. I guess, at the very least, I satisfied my curiosity, and also found out that Bleach has a GeGeGe no Kitaro reference in it.

[aliensupersyn]

Shibuya to Shinjuku: Gege's Use of Disparity

My analysis will be centered around Gege's use of disparity between his characters to drive a high-stakes narrative.

TLDR: Both Shibuya and Shinjuku involve hopeless battles that the cast majorly struggle through. Victory will only come after an uphill battle that favors the remaining villain. I implore you to read the first section, as that's the heft of the comparisons between the Shibuya Incident and Shinjuku Showdown. The other sections offer context for the "Sukuna Cycle" and the despair it causes for both the heroes and the readers.

In Shibuya, characters were heavily underpowered and majorly unable to fight the disaster curses. Stakes were at an all time high, especially after Gojo's imprisonment, and still, the heroes mostly failed to defeat their respective enemies. Mei Mei failed to defeat Kenjaku off screen; Nobara struggled against Haruta; Yuji lost to Choso; and Dagon bodied Maki, Nanami, and Naobito.

For the most part, the jjh forces lost the majority of their match ups. Yuji's final showdown alongside Todo was an uphill battle that mostly favored Mahito. Similarly, Sukuna has dominated in Shinjuku and has gotten more advantages than the cast. As put by Technical_Oil_8868:

Mahito hit a black flash, pulled a 0.2 domain expansion and a transformation while Yuji got nothing and moreover I think the black flash on maki is more or useless because Gojo needed 4 bfs to gain RCT output to recover his arm

Sukuna received Mahoraga and Agito via Ten Shadows; he transformed into a body that gives him inherent advantages via an extra mouth and limbs; Sukuna developed a new overpowered cursed technique that's defeated three cast members; Uraume returned one of his ancient cursed objects; he survived Yuta's maximum output Jacob's Latter; and Sukuna hit a black flash. Sukuna Kaisen has set a disparity that resembles Mahito's seemingly endless power as he continued evolving until his final moments.

Before the last enemy's defeat in Shibuya, multiple casualties occurred: Naobito whooped Dagon before the disaster curse evolved, then Maki nearly died, and Mahito later finished Nanami; Nobara gained an advantage against Mahito, then died immediately after; Todo came to help Yuji, and then lost boogie woogie.

Gege has made overt parallels to Shibuya already. It began with Gojo's defeat after an isolated battle against multiple opponents, then characters began to fall one by one. Higuruma's death was a direct reference to Nanami's.

When all hope was lost, Gege brought back two of the verse's heaviest hitters to save the cast. The strongest without cursed energy, and the strongest sorcerer (did this suddenly become a Gojo return post? Place your bets I guess?)

Toji saving Maki's group has parallels to Shinjuku already:

I've spoken extensively about my theory that Maki will return to face Sukuna yet again. She's the last of the heavy hitters and suffered the least damage between her and Yuta. She obviously parallels Toji within the story, and this link between them further supports my connection between Shibuya and Shinjuku.

When Gege needed a character to take out Jogo, who would have surely swept the cast at the time, Sukuna was brought back.

Yuji foils Sukuna the most within the story. In essence, they're twin spirits, having lived in the same body and sharing an appearance; Sukuna's Heian era form still has Yuji's pink hair for example. Sukuna himself admits that Yuji's the only person who he knows can match his own unbreakable will. Their parallels support my argument that Yuji satisfies Sukuna's role within Shibuya; he will act as the second force that saves the remaining cast from the enemy who can and will kill everyone left.

I argue that Maki and Yuji will return to face Sukuna in the end, just as all hope seems to be lost. Kusakabe and Miguel will likely act as plot devices to buy time for Maki and Yuji to make a grand entrance of sorts. Likely, the soul striking duo will struggle through the battle, as they'll no doubt face Sukuna's full cursed technique, and it will be an extremely stressful fight for them and the readers.

The Chips in Sukuna's Armor

Although he still has yet to use his full CT, Sukuna has taken serious damage that has left him with an obvious weak spot now. He may have played around with Kusakabe and allowed himself to get hit for fun, but stopped Kusakabe immediately once his heart was targeted. Now, even Sukuna has limits to how much damage he can suffer.

Sukuna suddenly stopped healing against Maki, and notice how his major wounds remain despite the black flash boosting his output.

Yuta took out his arm, extra mouth, and left a scar along his face that can be seen in the panels above. Maki's attack still has not healed, and will likely stay for the remainder of the battle due to how long soul wounds take to heal; this wound also slows down Sukuna's ability to heal his brain, which inhibits his domain expansion as well.

Sukuna still has a missing arm and has a weak heart. He played with Kusakabe, but as soon as he aimed for his heart, he stopped him. All variations of cleave and dismantle have been overcome twice now. Sukuna's armor is chipping and Gege's introducing characters who can force Sukuna into straining situations by avoiding his usual CT via Maki, Kusakabe, and now Miguel (check notes). I have already argued how Sukuna uses cleave and dismantle to test his opponents' strength. He did the same to Kusakabe in 254 by saving World Dismantle as the overwhelming ace (just as he did with Higuruma who neutralized cleave and dismantle as well). Sukuna's black flash kept him from having to revert to fuga since slash attacks were not working. Maki and Kusakabe both exposed Sukuna's current weaknesses.

Same as the readers', Sukuna's patience is wearing thin. He allowed Ui Ui to save the cast for a while, but suddenly set a trap for him by leaving Kusakabe out in the open while he hid. The conflict's stakes continue to rise, slowly but surely. As Sukuna defeats more of the main cast, the less combative forces become more endangered of being wiped out. Even Sukuna's tired of this same song and dance.

Kusakabe has exposed the fact that Maki's attack created an incredibly vulnerable wound that can be exploited. I argue that Maki and Yuji will use this gathered information in their final battle. Maki can dodge all forms of cleave and dismantle, which will force Sukuna to use his full cursed technique.

The Kind One

Here, I will focus mainly on Kusakabe's role within the narrative, and how he satisfies a similar role as Gojo and Nanami in Shibuya.

Kusakabe and Nanami came to similar conclusions in their final moments. They both share narrative similarities in reference to their power, and Nanami even appeared in 254. Kusakabe can't do a whole lot, but he's willing to stop running and put his life on the line like the younger generation has.

Thematically, Kusakabe specifically represents the meeting point between the young and older generation. The flashbacks reflect how he's been the main one coaching the kids through the fight until now, cause his superiors are dead (or just chilling in Mei's Mei's case). Kusakabe has been left in charge of everyone else's students, and he's taken that role especially seriously in his last moments. His monologue suggests he felt guilty for failing to save not only his friends, but their students as well. Therefore, he's deemed the Kind One. In his last moments, he's not thinking of himself, but everyone he's lost or possibly let down.

Similar to how Nanami thought of Haibara in his final moments, Kusakabe refused to let down Yaga. Both thought about what Haibara and Yaga would think of them, and this informed Nanami and Kusakabe's motivations as they died.

Kusakabe's fate also resembles Yuji after he switched with Sukuna in Shibuya, but he's not giving up like Yuji did. Kusakabe instead gives himself the Todo speech. He already knows that as the seemingly remaining fighter, he must put everything on the line. He didn't need a Todo to come and tell him, because he himself has been the coach.

The motif that Nanami, Gojo, Higuruma, and Kusakabe occupy exists in other shonen titles as well. In Naruto, the five Kage and Might Guy had a similar motivation for putting their lives on the line against Madara; the youth are the first in line on the battlefield, and as adults, they must step up and protect them if they can.

The Shibuya Incident featured largely disproportionate power gaps between the heroes and the villains, similar to Shinjuku Showdown. Gege prefers a narrative where the heroes face a seemingly endless uphill battle against opponents who gain more powerups than them. Sukuna's advantages will ramp while Maki and Yuji face him in the final showdown. Yet, in the end, their teamwork will prevail, just as Yuji and Todo's did against Mahito.

Notes:

Both Toji and Sukuna were returned more or less after being absent. Maki and Yuji will also return after a more brief absence.

I acknowledge that Sukuna didn't mean to "save" the rest of the cast, except Megumi, but in the end, that's what happened.

The last two pages of 254 suggest that Miguel's faster than a point blank cleave/dismantle, which is wild. The scars on the ground suggest that Sukuna definitely cast his attack, but Miguel avoided it without a scratch.

I absolutely love when the older generation in shonen titles admit that the youth are often unfairly sacrificed in war. It never fails to move me when the adults say it's time to put their lives on the line for the youth in an effort to finally give back. Ohnoki's speech and Guy's final words before the eight gates activation have to be two of my favorite moments in Naruto. It's a great motif.

[consumable-clots]

Wilco. Enterprise

This post gives some worldbuilding information that's relevant to my Alien-verse synthetic OC, Arcade Kento. This company is one that I made up based on information from the Alien RPG core rulebook and various other sources.

About Wilco.

Founded by Akio Kento in 2018, originally under the name 'Wilco. R&D'. The company specialised in metallurgical research and small scale manufacturing of patented industrial alloys. In 2020, the discovery of several new, presently undisclosed, ores allowed Wilco. to become the pioneering developer of super-thermal insulation technology which revolutionised the company's approach to product design.

The company's monopoly on these vital materials has allowed it to secure a seat at the table of technological giants alongside household names such as Weyland Industries and Seegson despite its comparatively small reach. They needed Wilco. to supply the parts for that future plans to build atmospheric generators to terraform their new colony worlds, develop more durable equipment, and more advanced ships to get them there and back. Moreover, Wilco. is also the supplier for the various governments that quickly came to rely on its ores, granting the company and its territories protection against annexation by private entities and any single governing body.

Company overview

Affiliated characters

Arcade Kento - Current CEO

Akio Kento - Founder and former CEO (Deceased)

Gerhart - COO

Overlord - Central AI mainframe

Products and patents

Atmospheric processors

Machine parts

Synthetics

Engineered materials

Locations

Head office - Nishi-Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan, Earth, Sol-System

Operational HQ - Wilco. owned system outside of human space, precise location undisclosed

Subsidiaries

Shipping and logistics

Fortress Logistics

Coronis Interstellar Express

Manufacturing

Hephaestus Industrial

[ao3feed-nanago]

Again

by lazyalchemist Being an omega, Gojo Satoru faced mistreatment from his clan alphas, fostering a growing resentment toward alphas in general. Despite his prowess as a sorcerer, his interactions with alphas had left him with a pessimistic view about alphas in general. However, everything takes a turn when he encounter Nanami Kento, an alpha underclassman, who completely alters his perspective. Both Satoru and Kento feel a mutual attraction, yet external circumstances separate them. Undaunted, they work towards overcoming obstacles, striving to draw closer, rekindle love, and ultimately, walk together hand in hand once again Words: 7222, Chapters: 1/?, Language: English Fandoms: 呪術廻戦 | Jujutsu Kaisen (Manga), 呪術廻戦 | Jujutsu Kaisen (Anime) Rating: Mature Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Categories: M/M Characters: Gojo Satoru, Nanami Kento, Getou Suguru, Haibara Yu (Jujutsu Kaisen), Yaga Masamichi, Gojo satoru's grandfather Relationships: Gojo Satoru/Nanami Kento Additional Tags: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Omega Verse, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alpha Nanami Kento, Alpha/Omega, Omega Gojo Satoru, Unplanned Pregnancy, Top Nanami Kento, Bottom Gojo Satoru, Canon-Typical Violence, Intersex Gojo Satoru, Childbirth, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Smut, discrimination against omega, Angst with a Happy Ending, Vaginal Sex, Pregnant Sex, Domestic Bliss, Soft Nanami Kento, Family, The Shibuya Incident Never Happened (Jujutsu Kaisen), Pre-Star Plasma Vessel | Hidden Inventory Arc (Jujutsu Kaisen), Star Plasma Vessel | Hidden Inventory Arc Spoilers (Jujutsu Kaisen), Post-Shibuya Incident Arc (Jujutsu Kaisen), Shinjuku Showdown Arc Spoilers (Jujutsu Kaisen), Post-Culling Game Arc (Jujutsu Kaisen) via https://ift.tt/p7Jqri2

[privateeye-cj]

Tag Game: First 10 lines

Over the Rainbow        dcmk/egscomics crossover WIP

Susan unobtrusively tried to stretch her spine. She had asked Nanase and Ellen out on a walk in the park because she wanted to breach a … delicate topic and just couldn’t imagine talking about it while sitting down.

You’ll always have my back            dcmk/NOIR crossover Sentinel/Guide AU WIP (worked a bit on it last month)

Sonoko sees Ran fall and crumble. Her opponent stops in mid-kick and looks at the referee in confusion. He hadn’t touched her? Sonoko jumps up from her seat and runs to her best friend who has curled up into a tight ball and starts to shiver. The referee tries to talk to the karateka but she doesn’t react. A paramedic runs up while the audience starts to talk agitatedly. Sonoko reaches Ran even before the paramedic. As she touches Ran, wraps her arms around her shivering friend, she is suddenly flooded with panic, an incredible feeling of too much, too loud, too many smells, … just too much.

Best-laid Plans   Raumpatrouille Orion, Yuletide Madness fic

General Lydia van Dyke woke up from her doze as the shuttle engine’s sound changed. A quick glance out of the window revealed the sun rising above tree-studded mountains. Half a click away, a city’s lights spread out. The Northern Rocky Mountain training grounds near Red Deer Calgary seemed to be their destination. As training grounds went, she rather liked the setup.

But… NOT RIGHT NOW!

A Phantom Thief for Ran      dcmk/Cat’s Eye crossover, aged-up character (dcmk), WIP

Chapter 1: Hitomi and Nami sat at the Sunday breakfast table drinking their last tea.

Chapter 19: Kaito studied the photos he made of the temple during his weekend visit. If his measurements where right–and they were–his idea would work. Even if someone managed to deploy helicopters directly above the temple–and he didn’t think the monks would agree–he would be able to sneak in without being noticed, make a sudden appearance, and vanish with the gem.

 

Cold or Warm    dcmk short fic

Kaito found Aoko in the crowd round the Christmas tree in Shinjuku square.

She held her usual “Catch KID!” placard folded under her left arm, a dejected line to her shoulders.

Dreams       dcmk, post canon, WIP unpublished

Ran didn’t open her eyes when her alarm clock went off. She couldn’t remember when she last felt his relaxed. She wanted to enjoy the feeling. Lazily she stretched. As she turned to where she expected a warm body next to her, there was none. Confused she blinked, looked around and found herself in her room at the agency, not some love hotel. Love hotel? What in all the world had she been dreaming?

Unnamed dcmk WIP   dcmk unpublished

“Oka-san?” Nisa’s voice was quite behind Ran. “Do you have a minute?”

Ran nodded.

Without another word, they took a few dishes and moved to the kitchen. Nisa was 14 now, already starting to be beautiful. She was never flirting, as far as Ran knew, and she sometimes wondered how her daughter would fit into the world if it stayed a topic she wasn’t interested in.

Unnamed JodEri fic       dcmk

Success at last! Jodie felt the sounds of the party recede into the background. Vermouth had moved into a dead-end corridor and Jodie was right behind her. Pulling her SIG-Sauer P226 from her swashbuckling belt, she turned the corner at a jump and brough the gun up. “Freeze!”

Unnamed Fragment from Phantom Thief for Ran verse         dcmk/Cat’s Eye, unpublished

The unease had been growing since Akako replenished her energies on the full moon. Harvest moon could bring strange things into being. With a shudder, Akako remembered Halloween five years ago, when Aoko discovered that KID and Kaito were the same person.

Slice of Coast – unpublished dcmk WIP

They walked out of the hotel and Ran turned around to look back at the building. It had been dark when they arrived, and she had only vaguely registered 'mansion', too tired to enjoy the artistic lighting of marble columns, statues and window details. Now her steps halted as she took all of it in.

@taliya-writes tagged me with this. First 10 lines of your last 10 fics (I chose the last ten fics I worked on)

Who do I tag?

@beedok, @raventhekittycat, @timetohop

No pressure, just in case you have fun doing this.

[hehosts-moved]

the main locations that this cast are involved in / were involved in are for ‘my dad is a host?!’ 

RP + COMIC CANON:

tokyo, japan - specifically in the red-light district, known as kabukichō, and a sector of shinjuku. most threads are set here in the entertainment districts of tokyo.

shining! - the host club in kabukichō that ren manages under goro’s leadership. shining! belongs to goro, and is a major setting for the story. there are 10 hosts total, including ren (#1).

the white lotus - the hostess club in kabukichō where miss hina is the #1 hostess / princess. the white lotus is a traditional hostess club. no touching is permitted. some of the story takes place here, often when pertaining to hina. there are likely 10-12 hostesses on rotation, though hina’s spot in a permanent fixture. she has no plans to retire early. she was working here when she got pregnant with kyosuke.

the pink pearl - of the same name of bioshock 2′s pink pearl in siren alley. hina’s former place of employment in kabukichō, her first gig as a hostess, and under a different category of club than the white lotus. it is a “seku-kyabakura”, in which “patrons are permitted to touch their host/hostess above the waist and engage in sexual conversation topics or kissing, although this type of establishment is not common.” hina worked at one other hostess bar briefly between the pearl and the lotus. she got pregnant post-pearl, pre-lotus. she met ren right as she leaving the pearl, but got pregnant right when she started at the lotus, having quickly made her way up.

goro’s office - located ?? at ??. it changes based on need, or is a place of multiple locations. it is always close to where you are.

RP ONLY:

brilliance - the eventual rental service ren begins to work for with his former #2 host “sho” after leaving shining!. this is rp canon only. 

the red rose - the hostess club ren opens in his post verse. he opens the club with goro as an investor, finally starting to pay back his debts. hina is a manager. 

[hehosts]

THE MAIN LOCATIONS:

RP + COMIC CANON:

tokyo, japan - specifically in the red-light district, known as kabukichō, and a sector of shinjuku. most threads are set here in the entertainment districts of tokyo. 

shining! - the host club in kabukichō that ren manages under goro’s leadership. shining! belongs to goro, and is a major setting for the story. there are 10 hosts total, including ren (#1).

the white lotus - the hostess club in kabukichō where miss hina is the #1 hostess / princess. the white lotus is a traditional hostess club. no touching is permitted. some of the story takes place here, often when pertaining to hina. there are likely 10-12 hostesses on rotation, though hina’s spot in a permanent fixture. she has no plans to retire early. she was working here when she got pregnant with kyosuke.

the pink pearl - of the same name of bioshock 2′s pink pearl in siren alley. hina’s former place of employment in kabukichō, her first gig as a hostess, and under a different category of club than the white lotus. it is a “seku-kyabakura”, in which “patrons are permitted to touch their host/hostess above the waist and engage in sexual conversation topics or kissing, although this type of establishment is not common.” hina worked at one other hostess bar briefly between the pearl and the lotus. she got pregnant post-pearl, pre-lotus. she met ren right as she left the pearl but got pregnant right when she started at the lotus, having quickly made her way up.

goro’s office - located ?? at ??. it changes based on need or is a place of multiple locations. it is always close to where you are.

RP ONLY:

brilliance - the eventual rental service ren begins to work for with his former #2 host “sho” after leaving shining!. this is rp canon only. 

the red rose - the hostess club ren opens in his post verse. he opens the club with goro as an investor, finally starting to pay back his debts. hina is a manager.

[vesselmade-a]

❛❛   see ! it's your own cellphone ! my number is already on it so you can get ahold of me anytime.  ❜❜ / @diaboelic

[falseapostle]

✥ Verses ✥

TW: Religion, cult activity, implied abuse, emotional manipulation

✥ Pre-Incident Verse ✥

This verse takes place from the time Haruto first appeared in Decaf's universe after his disappearance to the time right before he hurt Decaf and ran away.

At this time Haruto is in various states of regaining his humanity and clings to his angelic nature through the hivemind. He has a sporadically difficult time fighting his emotions.

Haruto tends to be rude upon first meeting unless he's in Decaf's company at the time. When Decaf is around he tends to try to be polite and suck up.

Early in this verse Haruto is simply around. Later in this verse Haruto is in a romantic relationship with Decaf.

Tag: #✥ i was always meant to serve the higher plane ✥ ➺ pre incident verse

✥ Post-Incident Verse ✥

This verse occurs right after Haruto tears Decaf's feather and runs away, but before he enters Queenie's universe.

Haruto is heavy with grief and shame and will often try to run and hide instead of interact.

Joshua has attempted to exorcise him, and so in this verse Haruto is completely severed from the Higher Plane. It tortures him.

Haruto is trapped in the UG and therefore cannot interact with the RG or living muses at all unless they have a sixth sense and can see him.

Tag: #✥ i cannot continue to hurt him. . . ✥ ➺ post incident verse

✥ Repentance Verse ✥

In this verse Haruto has been moved to Queenie's universe and served under that universe's Hazuki. He is the Producer of Shinjuku and runs both a church and a cafe.

Haruto is granted the power to access all planes in Shinjuku only, and therefore he cannot be seen or interact with RG or living muses in other cities at all unless they have a sixth sense.

Early in this verse Haruto is still heavy in his depression and shame. He has a hard time dealing with his lack of true religion and the abandonment he faces from the HP. Later in this verse he is much healthier, having found some comfort in interacting with book forums and running tabletop rpg sessions on chatroom servers.

Haruto is often a lot friendlier in this verse and will be polite to those he meets.

Tag: #✥ purebreds are the superior angels ✥ ➺ repentance verse

✥ Pokemon Verse ✥

Haruto was raised in a very strict household, literally born for the sole purpose of serving the original dragon, and subsequently the three legendaries that split from its form. It was a small and secretive cult, but Haruto was raised for absolute devotion.

Once Haruto was old enough, he took over as leader of the cult, and he began making changes within the structure to allow them to work more freely. He also found that their organization struggled with finances, and so he built a cafe to help support his religion. He worked only to protect the history of the legendaries, and to pray to them, and once he had gotten older he began to scout for a successor to his position.

He found Sanae Hanekoma on the streets, and he took him in, much to the other's disdain, and soon Haruto had him back on his feet. Though, once Hanekoma had recovered, he set up his own café and left Haruto entirely. While he couldn't use Hanekoma as he replacement, Haruto found he felt fulfillment in helping him to his feet and saw him off happily.

After Haruto lost Hanekoma, he moved away to a more remote area and continued his business, and it was then that the main events of Unova took place. Once the dust had settled Haruto found himself questioning his life, and he passed his work off to one of his congregation to isolate himself.

These days Haruto lives alone away from most people, full of the devotion and love that he was taught to have for his deities and nowhere to pour it. He still worships the legendaries privately, but he refuses to talk about the events surrounding them.

Haruto's team consists of:

Volcarona (shiny) Rattata (Kantonian) Absol Gardevoir Audino Shedinja

Tag: #✥ i wanted to see the face of god ✥ ➺ pokemon verse

[akashicmuses]

“Do I hear...”

“Cows?”

[tricksheart]

I got to write this down but here’s a rough draft of another NEO: TWETY verse with Akira being trapped from going home to his own world 3 years ago.

Right after the events of the original game, Akira finds a blue butterfly shimmering around him. Thinking this as his way home, he follows the sparkly trail until he steps into the city of Shinjuku, which is on the verge of collapsing due to Shiba’s, Kubo’s and Haz’s plans to wipe out the area. Due to a glitch coming from the butterfly suddenly because of the fusion and inversion of Shinjuku, Akira gets turned into a reaper and is a new recruit but blasts past being just support like Beat had did in the game before. 

However, he gets put into a sleep induced coma because of the plains of fields not existing anymore and is carried from Shinjuku to Shibuya, where all of the remaining reapers go after the city is destroyed for good and is wiped from everyone’s mind in the RG. Hishima Sakazuki was supposed to show him the ropes and be his role model but with everything going on with Shibuya witnessing the same fate almost as Shinjuku did and Akira refusing to even wake up, makes this close to near impossible. Not to mention the fall out between Shiba and Hishima three years ago also put a damper on things. Akira finally wakes up at the end of week 3, even after Neku appears. While not doing much of anything to help, he does smile at the fact the team had been using the pins he designed 3 and a half years prior, aka the bunny themed pins. Akira’s appearance is his 3rd semester after school outfit, as the one with the scarf and long gray coat. Nicknames for him include; Sleepy, Narcolept, Bunny-Boy, Curly, and Aki-chu.

He himself can shape-shift in a Black & White Lapin / Rabbit based noise monster during an optional boss fight. Using various sizes of carrots as dagger weapons and using the giant front teeth to either pierce the ground or push Players into the out of bounds place and squish them. Also uses a lot of trip wires while in battle as well, making it hard to navigate while fighting him. His flame aura that surrounds him when preparing to go at full power is bright blue instead of the normal dark purple that the other reapers since he’s technically from an alternate universe than the world of TWEWY. He still obtains his abilities as when he does when being an actual player instead of a reaper, such as: Charming ( can make anyone fall in love / admire him, making the selected person let out secrets and the like ) and Distort ( secret ability, can revamp reality at will to make an area different from before ). He loses the Imprint ability but that isn’t as useful as the other two and doesn’t feel anything different by not having that skill.

At the end of the NEO: TWEWY game, he helps the other Shinjuku reapers that are left rebuild the city, with the help of his Distort ability as he is the only real one that knows what Shinjuku looked like before it was destroyed. Of course, his version of city isn’t what it was like in the TWEWY world as places are different but everyone isn’t picky about how accurate it looks and after it gets done, he finds the blue butterfly again after a few years while he’s still helping in Shinjuku’s reaper’s game. He makes a choice to either stay with the people he’s grown to know or leave. It gives him a heavy heart but he finally decides to go home, becoming a persona user once again even if he still had the 300 unsuccessful attempts to get past the interrogation room scene, Akira makes a vow to make things right in the Shinjuku, Shibuya, and Tokyo as whole as he decides that he won’t die or lose to Goro Akechi ever again. Little does he know that his story is only 1/3 done and will take all the willpower he has to save the entire world from complete destruction and ruin.

[sho-cah-toa]

This was originally just going to be what Sho has been/is planning, but it turned into a huge (like 11-paragraph) analysis of his actions in NEO as well as potential post-NEO verses, so uhhhhhhhh:

WHAT’S SHO BEEN UP TO? When Sho comes back after the events of TWEWY, he feels an even greater burden to set things right in Shibuya. During the Long Game, he believed that the Composer was the top dog in the UG, and that assuming that role would allow him to run things as he saw fit.

However, the Shibuya he returns to is different; the Composer is gone, as is Hanekoma. He does some digging (maybe even finds a few Secret Reports) and learns about the Higher Plane and their influence over every part of the UG, even the Composer. Suddenly, it’s not just one person he has to take down, but a cadre of literal Angels.

He lays low and stays in the 2-Year Game as a player, keeping above the threshold for erasure while staying solo and gathering more information about the Angels and the overall hierarchy of the Higher Plane, and also learns about Shiba’s gambit. After a while, the number of players starts to slow to a trickle, and the teams get harder and harder to keep up with. Sho puts together that the Game is searching for stronger and stronger players, and decides to align himself with the next group of players that wind up in the UG to prevent Shibuya’s erasure. That’s where Fret and Rindo (and later, Nagi) come in.

SO WHY DOES SHO TURN ON THE TWISTERS? Once Sho catches wind that Neku is back, he immediately ditches the Twisters to go looking for him, but finds nothing. He realizes that his time to act is running out; Shibuya is on its way to the same fate as Shinjuku, and the Replay pin is playing right into their plan. In a final act of desperation, he attacks the Twisters and tries to steal the pin to throw off whatever plan Shiba and the angels have, as well as to use the power of the pin to stop Shibuya’s destruction himself. We all know how well that goes.

As he recovers from this fight, he sees what the Twisters are capable of as a team, and for the first time in his stupid life, realizes that there’s strength in numbers (ironic). He aids in the battle for Shibuya (I could write a whole other text post about this, the fact that no individual person saves Shibuya but that the entire city both RG and UG contributes is beautiful and I cried) and his current plan for taking on the Higher Plane begins to form.

OKAY ZANDER WHAT’S THE PLAN ALREADY Sho is making sure that everyone in a high-ranking position in the UG is someone who cares deeply about Shibuya and its people. This includes the Conductor, the Game Master, the Composer, and the Producer. He believes (and will try to convince these positions) that the Higher Plane has turned its back on Shibuya and will try to destroy it again before long.

The solution, according to Sho, is to break all ties with the Higher Plane and fail to comply with their rules. A new game begins, with only one goal: defend Shibuya at all costs. Fail, and face purification. All new arrivals to the UG are recruited to fight for the city they love and live in; much like the Reaper’s Game, those with exceptional Imagination and devotion to Shibuya are given Reaper status and abilities.

Now, the one thing Sho has been unable to learn at this point is exactly how strong the Higher Plane actually is, which is why he’s recruiting everyone he can to defend Shibuya once they go AWOL. The way he sees it, the worst case scenario is they “purify” Shibuya, which he believes they are going to try to do anyways. His hope is that an army of Players, Reapers, and a few fallen Angels will be more trouble than they’re worth, and the Higher Plane will eventually come to an armistice with the newly liberated city.

FUTURE PLOT STUFF The way I personally see this going down plays out in a few different ways, each of which could probably be their own verse to play in. One is that Sho’s plan goes exactly as he expects, and the Reaper’s Game becomes one of defending Shibuya from the Higher Plane. Reapers lead teams of Players, research weapons/methods of defeating the Angels, and refine Noise for various battle purposes. Sho would remain a Reaper, becoming a decent tactician and always leading from the front.

Another is that Sho cannot convince the Composer to choose Shibuya over their duties to the Higher Plane, and he once again has to fight for the role to enact his plan. This is, admittedly, an incredibly selfish timeline, because what Sho RPer doesn’t want to do a Composer Sho verse where he realizes what a bummer the position actually is. In this timeline, I don’t think the city has a chance of succeeding, due to Sho’s insecurities and other negative traits trickling down into Shibuya’s inhabitants.

There is a third option, which is that everyone calls Sho out on how crazy his plan is and tells him to kick rocks. He decides that if he must, he will take on the Higher Plane himself, because damn my boy is stupid. He obviously fails, but hmmmmm say the Angels, what a shame it would be to waste such zeal and power, what if he just had a more righteous direction? You’re probably ahead of me already so I’ll just say it: Executor Sho. If you can’t beat em, join em, and if Shibuya’s going to fall, let it be the first domino of many, and let that be its legacy. Darkest timeline, I’d probably hate writing for it, but it’s there as a possibility.

[blackghost137]

I HAVE to ask for the man himself, Hifumi😌

HOW COULD I SAY NO TO HIM (sorry it took long for me to respond but you know i appreciate this ask <3)

What I love about them: literally. every. single. thing. he's so cute for once. all of his actions make me smile which means to me a lot in this miserable world. he's my comfort and love MY SUN. he's one of the reasons i can sense good in things. he's so fucking strong, idk it gives me strength too. he's a malewife and i think that sentence was enough itself lol he's so charming in host mode i forgot to breathe sometimes. HIS VOICE GIVES ME LIFE. also he's really pretty i love looking at him for hours

What I hate about them: i'd say nothing but... i hate his shoes a lot ok

Favorite Moment/Quote: (this part is REALLY long i'm sorry)

starting with songs:

"Not interested in guys" ...it's freaking hilarious

WHOLE SHINJUKU STYLE VERSE OF HIS, HIM SEXY AF

"Don’t worry, we’re right behind you" this always makes me cry (tomoshibi fuck you /lh)

also that time he says "I'm a real God in the flesh, haha!" during his fight against saburo

continuing with drama tracks:

WHY IS HE SO FUNNY LMAO

him🥺 so supportive🥺

THIS LINE MADE ME CRY WHEN I FIRST READ IT AND AFTER THE LAST MTR CHAPTER IT FUCKING HURTS OMG HIFUMI

and manga (i post it because my blog is really small but if it's a problem to show panels fully pls let me know!):

...adorable

the fact that he literally couldn't stay at home and came to help

d-domestic hifudo

that scene is my forever favourite idk it makes me feel things i cant describe

What I would like to see more focus on: his ACTUAL mind state and feelings maybe? Also his family. And MORE HIFUDO STUFF TY♡

What I would like to see less focus on: nothing give me more hifumi kr (i hate seeing him upset tho...)

Favorite pairing with: doppo. they are soulmates no one can say otherwise

Favorite friendship: HE'S CANONICALLY BESTIES WITH DOPPO and ofc i cherish sensei&hifumi friendship a lot. they both have respect and love for each other. the fact that hifumi likes to hang out with sensei and pay attention to him a lot that he notices when he acts off. also sensei loves hifumi (and doppo) so much he always stands by them and supports them with his words and actions🥺 I LOVE MATENROU

NOTP: if it's not problematic i cant say i have a notp but i really dont like his ship with rei...

Favorite headcanon: i actually thought of this today so i never told you about it and wanted to answer here lol what if hifumi had a doll which was given to him by his sister. and he finds a lot comfort in it because she's the only "woman" he's not afraid of (and reminds him of his sister). so he keeps her right beside his bed.

[skullreaped]

  ・   beat rejoins the reapers : misc. headcanons           ↳ his previous experience as a reaper means he knows what he’s getting into this time, whether he likes it or not. spoiler alert, he doesn’t like it. beat intentionally keeps his point score low, earning just enough that he can stay alive and accomplish his goal but not enough to come anywhere close to anyone even thinking he cares enough for a promotion. he doesn't want to work his way up the chain of command. he doesn’t want to erase players.           ↳ the mask stays on while erasing players. typically the hood stays up, too. given how prone he is to wearing his heart on his sleeve and giving himself away, it's a very literal metaphor for wearing a mask to hide his true face / feelings.           ↳ he’s (obviously) not really Team Reapers, but he is Team Shibuya Reapers. at the very least, he has a some trust in uzuki and kariya. out of all the shinjuku reapers, though, he does have a bit of a soft spot for kaie. kaie is too good. ): plus he was likely the one in contact with rhyme before her meddling landed her in the UG again.           ↳ this verse opens up options for three possible rhyme routes: reaper rhyme, noise rhyme, and Good End™ rhyme goes back to the RG. anything taking place post-ntwewy within the reaper au defaults to noise rhyme and operates under the assumption that beat remains a reaper in order to keep rhyme ‘alive’ as a noise.           ↳ this verse also opens up the option for beat to partner up with various other reapers and / or reaper AUs. looking at you, neku and shiki.

[unmeihaa2]

i’m still on my twewy bullshit except i’ve actually been thinking about a proper twewy au for koharu the basic idea i’m toying with right now is neo twewy/post neo twewy being the focus of the verse.

koharu dying at 19 as a kind of parallel to this being when she joined the doman liberation front in xiv canon & the start of her major canon personality changes essentially being the metaphorical ‘death’ of her as a child.

she comes from a family of politicians (a parallel to being from a samurai family), which is why her honor and sense of justice are so important to her, thus her entry fee is her morality (which affects both). because of their political leaning and the changes they were pushing for in government, koharu’s parents — and koharu herself — were murdered in a fire (a parallel to the razing of doma + her parents’ deaths) that was disguised as an accident. when she wakes in the reaper’s game without them, she seeks justice for their deaths (literally her motive for stormblood) — until her entry fee is taken, anyway.

her psych is a positive-aligned shockwave-type that manifests as a bokken. during the events of her game(s), she primarily utilized the kanesada pin. during neo she primarily uses the tenka mikazuki pin. jotm shockwave pins are named after famous katana, so her affinity for them is a nod to her main class being samurai. as a nod to koharu’s favoring traditional clothes, her clothing brand preference is ryugu.

her game participation takes place post-twewy but during the year before the shinjuku reapers take over, around 4 months or so after the events of a new day

she plays and wins three games*, a parallel to the wol fighting three primals in ARR. she forfeits the same entry fee each time (it’s returned when she wins and then is re-collected when she enters again). each time, she and her partner win but her partner’s score is higher than hers so they get brought back to life and she does not

* her games are not consecutive weeks the same way neku’s were, but she did play the game three times consecutively. in the og twewy, two consecutive game weeks was implied to be weird and three in a row was unheard of, so this is under the assumption that uzuki was running the game on a one week on/one week off schedule, thus koharu’s games took approximately a month and a half to get through

though she wins her games, koharu’s score in each game gradually gets worse (another parallel to her character development in xiv canon) and at the end of the third game she opts to become a reaper, having given up on coming back to life and getting justice for her family and herself

cue the 3 years between twewy an neo twewy! reapers don’t age so koharu stays 19 both physically and mentally

she starts as a support reaper and gradually works her way up to harrier reaper by the time the events of neo occur. her noise form as a reaper takes the form of a dragon, in reference to her being an au ra in her main canon.

she has never met the og twewy players, at least not until the events of neo, but is well acquainted with what’s left of the shibuya reapers as well as the refugee reapers from shinjuku. she has heard of the legendary player neku, knows that the chaotic state of shibuya’s ug is because of him, but isn’t familiar with any of his partners

where she goes from neo is still kind of up in the air. i haven’t decided if she stays a reaper, comes back to life**, or even goes to shinjuku with the shinjuku squad at the end**

this would have her go the route of either voluntarily giving up her reaper wings or outright having them revoked for betrayal in neo, resulting in her going back to being a player and helping win the game à la twewy beat and neo twewy shoka

* this would be because she might technically a shinjuku reaper, even if she gained her reaperhood in shibuya, based strictly off the fact that it was likely shiba, shinjuku’s conductor, who made her a reaper in the first place. uzuki as game master probably wouldn’t have had the power to do it and the next one up in the shibuya heirarchy is joshua (given all the officers & shibuya conductor were erased) and he was on time out from the higher plane and likely couldn’t. shiba may have been the only one with the power level high enough to do it at the time