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grandguignols · 3 years

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Shiba Miyakaze: An Analysis

Shiba Miyakaze is an interesting character to me because I think his overall “redemption” was done very sloppily the first time around. You don’t actually get to see a lot of what he was like “before” Kubo apparently started manipulating him, only having what Shoka and the other Shinjuku reapers say about him as fact. Taken at face value, it’s hard to believe there was anything good about him at all, let alone enough to warrant going to such lengths to save him. It’s only in a second run through that more and more pieces of him become obvious, and it’s by putting together these pieces do you get a sense of what Shiba is like as a whole- and what became of him. So I will try my best to explain these aspects of Shiba as a general analysis of him, his personality, what became of him, and why it all happened. Spoilers will abound, obviously, so fair warning for that.

First off, there are 4 major pieces of information that the game gives us:

The hierarchy of reapers and angels, and the subsequent dehumanization that comes with going higher up the ranks

Shiba and Hishima being put forth as a direct parallel to Uzuki and Kariya

Shiba being stated to be a charismatic and social person who is deeply lonely during the course of the game

That Kubo, as an angel, has the ability to warp lower being’s ‘vibes’ just by being around them and Shiba was affected by this more than anyone else

First off, let’s talk about the hierarchy of angels and reapers. While it’s not information that’s directly relevant to Shiba himself, it will inform most of the context related to these other points. The secret reports in both the original game and NEO talk about how Players with strong Imaginations can become Reapers, who then go up the ranks to become Game Masters, then eventually Conductors, with some even getting to go up Higher Planes than that. The entire point of the Reaper’s Game is just that- to find the most “talented” and “capable” of the dead, and appoint them as caretakers and custodians of the UG, RG and beyond.

However, once you analyze both the original game and NEO, you’ll find that this hierarchy is also inversely related to a person’s humanity, ie, the further up you go, the more detached you become, and the less you see people beneath you as “human”. The original game’s Reapers were all what “ideal” Reapers were: they challenged players and tested them to their limits, but were also always in danger of being overthrown themselves. Even one of the lowest of the named Reapers, Uzuki, was blithely unconcerned with how she erased players, as that is simply part of her job description. And as you go further up the ranks to Higashizawa, Konishi, Sho then Megumi, you’ll find that they all get worse and worse.

NEO showcased the Reapers in a slightly more sympathetic light, because under Shinjuku rules they don’t HAVE to actually test humans directly. This is stated to be a bad thing in the Secret Reports, as it puts the Reaper hierarchy “at a total standstill”. Shinjuku rules in general are considered to be bad by Hanekoma (an Angel’s) standards, because it “neither encourages nor allows for personal growth or change.” But if you compare the Shinjuku Reapers and their relationship vs the Shibuya Reapers, you’ll find that the lack of such a dog-eat-dog setup actually allows them to be closer, to the point that Shoka considered them a family.

But even under Shinjuku rules, Reapers have jobs. A job that requires them to erase players and be fine with it. And the higher up you go, the more players you have to test, and the more players you have to erase. It’s a system that necessitates detachment and cruelty, and it can be seen most obviously in Shoka who had to ‘help’ Rindo and the others through sarcastic quips, cruel words and discouragement, while dealing with Rindo and the others calling her and her family monsters, etc. We know through her Swallow identity that that is her “true” self, and the front she has throughout the game is just that- a front that was forced to exist because she was a Reaper, and one she willingly cast away even though she knew she would die for it.

In relation to Shiba, he is a Conductor. A Reaper one step away from the Higher Plane, but sits the Highest among Reapers in the UG. The Conductor of the last game- Megumi- gives insight to just how detached a job that is, as even if he loved Shibuya and wanted to protect it, his “protection” required the complete elimination of free will. Shiba, by necessity, has to completely disregard the people around him for the sake of his position. He has to make decisions that involves the erasure of Reapers and Players below him. And even though he didn’t get this job until after he moved to Shibuya, he was still well on his way to promotion there, as it was stated he became Game Master in Shinjuku beforehand.

This brings us to the next point: how Shiba and Hishima parallel Uzuki and Kariya, respectively.

This was a point that could be considered kind of minor, but upon thinking actually gives both characters a great deal of insight. It’s shown most obviously in Final Day’, where Uzuki and Kariya both immediately hone in on Rindo mentioning the relationship between Hishima and Shiba, and then Uzuki calling Hishima to yell at him to talk to Shiba. She says to him: “if [my partner was getting played] I wouldn’t be able to bear it” and then sympathizes with Shiba when talking to Kariya:

This is notable for a few reasons: Uzuki HATED Shiba up to this point, and constantly complained, either directly or indirectly about him to the Wicked Twisters. The fact that she’s so easily able to sympathize with him means that on some level she understands his situation.

Secondly, she does actually go through something similar, being the Game Master and Conductor of Shibuya, who got played by Shiba into giving up her position to him. But unlike him, she still had Kariya to support her through it and prevent her from becoming too ruthless and uncaring- to still be human. Kariya’s support is part of the reason she was willing to go against the rules of the Reaper hierarchy and to protect Shibuya even against orders.

And lastly, a major motivation of Uzuki’s was to work up the Reaper hierarchy, and eventually become a Game Master or even a Conductor. In the original game she was INCREDIBLY single-minded in regards to this, and was willing to do almost anything to go up the ranks. Considering every other parallel drawn between them, it’s safe to assume that Shiba has a very similar mindset, and probably puts great importance on the hierarchy. This is backed up by how Shoka and Rindo talk about him in one of their conversations in w3d2, where Shoka talks about the Reaper hierarchy.

(As a side note, both unpainted- his boss theme, and butterflies- his Noise motif, are very very tied into the concept of transformation, metamorphosis, and changing yourself. The lyrics of unpainted, however, seem to be almost sorrowful and unsure about this change, and still consider themselves ‘unpainted’ or incomplete.)

Kariya and Hishima are both the emotional rocks for Uzuki and Shiba. Neither of them care (or seem to care, in Hishima’s case) about the Reaper hierarchy, and because of that, they are the perfect partner to rein in and ground them. Hishima being the sole person Shiba was willing to listen to, and Hishima being comfortable enough to talk to him so bluntly despite Shiba’s position as Conductor shows that even after 3 years, that familiarity is still very present between them, and Shiba missed it dearly, because...

Shiba is an incredibly isolated character, and is stated to be as such during the course of the game. Susukichi, Shoka, Beat and Nagi all comment about it in various times during week 3, which Susukichi explicitly saying “part of me wonders if he’s just lonely” and that he always stood at the scramble crossing to wait for someone. While this is obviously in reference to Hishima, it can be said that Shiba is aware, to some degree, of every other Shinjuku Reaper’s reluctance to be close to him.

The Secret Reports state that “judging by the Shinjuku Reapers’ unflinching devotion to him, [Shiba] must have been exceptionally charismatic”. And why wouldn’t he be? He wasn’t in as high a position as he was 4 years ago, and Shinjuku’s rules allowed an environment where Reapers could be incredibly close to each other. The actual situation that led to Shiba overthrowing the previous Conductor is implied to be seen as him “saving” the Shinjuku Reapers (because they thought the Conductor was the one who wanted the Inversion) and by the time they realized that was not the case and that Shiba himself was most likely responsible, they couldn’t bring themselves to break up the last thread they had to their hometown. This is a topic that could be an entire analysis in and of itself, but Ayano and Susukichi in particular both could never fit in properly in Shibuya, and so they clung to the last vestiges of familiarity they had. And with the Reaper job description requiring Reapers to be uncaring to those below them, it was easy enough for them to blow off and subsequently enable Shiba into becoming worse and worse, while distancing themselves from him emotionally.

As stated before, Hishima is his emotional rock. And according to Shoka who didn’t even know about this relationship, he had been absent from Shiba’s life for at least 4 years, well before the Shinjuku inversion and everything that came with it. This is a decision that damn near everyone in the cast calls him out on, with Kaie calling Hishima a hypocrite, both Shoka and Rindo being unimpressed with him, Uzuki calling him a coward, and even Shiba himself getting visibly upset at him for “leaving him” which Hishima couldn’t deny. Hishima’s thoughts and feelings on this are also a topic that could be a whole other analysis but suffice to say, he still very much cares about Shiba, and his constant inability and hand-wringing about going to confront him is a manifestation of that. Or rather, as he is Kariya’s (shadow) parallel in much the same way Shiba is Uzuki’s (shadow) parallel, his decision to not act comes from resignation and inability to take responsibility, which becomes harder and harder to overcome and confront as Shiba gets worse.

With absolutely no one to keep him ‘human’, so to speak, it was easy enough for Shiba to put all he had into his workaholic tendencies. Kubo’s “vibes”, put together with every other information here, simply exacerbated all the issues Shiba had.

I actually resent the idea that Kubo simply mindcontrolled him into being “evil” because I think that’s a very boring way to read the situation, and takes responsibility away from Shiba about what he has done. If anything, I think it’s meant to be a metaphor on emotional isolation, and how people without human connections can become horrifically inhumane themselves. Kubo simply planted the seed that would force Shiba to want to take the last step into being “inhuman” (ie, being an Executor- an Angelic position), while also taking advantage of his crumbling social connections to convince him to pursue such a position wholeheartedly.

In the end, what saved him was rebuilding his human connections. Rindo stated in w3d6 that unlike the Twisters who all have each other, Shiba has no one, but ironically, leaving Shiba alone only ever ends with further tragedy.

It’s only through rebuilding his connection with his partner, as well as confronting and making amends to the girl who (arguably) suffered the most under him (as Tsugumi’s brother was the previous Conductor, and her Soul’s entrapment was one of the results of Shiba’s actions) that he could break out of his cycle of tragedy, as well as becoming “human” again. Human enough to recognize every mistake he's made, as well as taking the steps to make amends for it.

As Nagi stated, “Humanity is the difference between being fraught with fear when facing others, versus being blithely unconcerned with others altogether”

#neo the world ends with you #neo twewy #Shiba Miyakaze #Character Analysis

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stillunpainted · 3 years

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Fuck it theoretical twewy 3 protag Sho essay I am incredibly bored

First, let me get my justifications for this out of the way. I really like Sho, but that’s far from the only reason I think he could be a fantastic protagonist for a third twewy game. Obviously the fan favorite factor would be a thing if this were to actually happen, but I think he works as a protagonist for more than just being a fan favorite.

Taking the “hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil” thing (I apologize if I got the order wrong I’m just writing my thoughts out a fast as possible) Sho’s design can work for this, as in Neo his eyes were often shadowed, letting him fit the theme. He thematically fits the “see no evil” part as well, as his worldview is based entirely around his own goals and motives, and he doesn’t even consider the worldviews of others around him. His calculations only make sense to him, to the point that even the Wicked Twisters, who spent a considerable amount of time with him, don’t ever really understand what he’s on about, making the “see no evil” also fit him when taking the context of others, as nobody can ever see what his true motives are unless they find out explicitly that he wants to become Composer. So Sho both cannot see the viewpoints of others, nor can others understand him, therefore making them unable to truly see him.

Another reason he works fantastically as a protagonist is because, in stark contrast to Neku and Rindo, he actively refuses to change. Neku’s initial self imposed isolation most likely started due to the grief he felt over losing his best friend, and Rindo had to become more confident in his own decisions to effectively lead the Wicked Twisters. Sho, despite the fact that his refusal to work with others to any extent beyond receiving help from Mr. Hanekoma has led him to death multiple times, has not changed in the slightest. While he is definitely a little more low key in Neo, his refusal to work with others for longer than it is beneficial to him has not changed at all. He even avoids Coco even though she literally brought him back to life, and her goal ultimately would benefit him in the long run (he can’t take over Shibuya if there is no Shibuya yknow.) There are two directions I can see a theoretical twewy 3 taking this trait.

The first direction I can see this trait being taken is retaining it. As whatever story goes on in twewy 3, it becomes increasingly obvious that Sho should either abandon his plan and try to actually understand the people around him, or take the opinions of others into account to avoid his plan from inevitably ending in his death, again. But as he has before, he refuses to change. This leads to things going horribly wrong for him, and he either dies for a final time or simply gives up. I see this as the less likely plotline that twewy 3 could take, as it would be decidedly more pessimistic to make a story about a protagonist undergoing a downfall, even though it matches thematically with the other games.

The second direction that I believe would be more likely would be that the game could take is Sho goes through a significant portion of the game trying to go about things his own way as usual, but the odds become increasingly stacked against him. So he has no choice but to look in the mirror and realize that he can’t do everything himself, and maybe figure out why exactly he even wants to become the Composer. As far as I know, his reasons for this are never explicitly stated, but I think the best guess I could make would be wanting to make Shibuya reflect his version of some kind of ideal world. During his boss fight, in the first game, along with his math based battle cries, he also says “the world is garbage!” while fighting you. Because of this, it’s not too long of a leap to say that his motivation to become Composer is to take the garbage of the world and make it art, like his trash heaps. And in that ideal world, he would be sitting on top of it. Obviously, this goal is incredibly self centered, so in the direction where he begins to take in the views of others, I imagine he would lose motivation in this goal, as his ideal world would likely conflict with those people’s worldviews.

This would also be a good way to expand the lore. Sho is already a character who is heavily wrapped up in UG politics, most obviously due to his interactions with Mr. Hanekoma and his goal to defeat the Composer. Since the Higher Plane has been shown to not really mind if Shibuya is gets “purified” due to their turning a blind eye towards Kubo’s shenanigans, it’d be interesting to see if they would be against or for Sho’s plan to take over Shibuya. Maybe they’d think that he’d be more likely to finally go through with the purification that they wanted Joshua to do.

So yeah that’s why Sho protagonist would be so good. Square Enix should hire me.

#twewy #ntwewy #ntwewy spoilers #sho minamimoto

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sage-nebula · 3 years

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I started typing up a post on my opinions of the characters in Neo TWEWY, but when I got to Neku's segment it got so long that I realized it needed to be its own post. So if you want me to elaborate on how I feel they did my favorite boy dirty, head below the cut.

First of all, to get it out of the way: his English voice is absolutely atrocious. Given that he has the same voice actor here as he did in the original, I really don’t know what went wrong. Was Mr Corti mentally checked out and only doing this for the paycheck? Was the voice director high on cough syrup on the days Corti was in the office? Who the heck knows, but it’s bad. Not only is Neku’s voice way too deep (he was fifteen in the first game, he’d already been through puberty, his voice shouldn’t have broken again, it’s not like Beat’s did!), but there was pretty much 0 acting to be found. The closest we got to an actual performance is when Neku yelled Beat’s name a couple times during the chaos that went down at the end of Week 3. That was it. Otherwise, it sounded like Corti was just reading his lines with zero surrounding context and zero effort into actually acting them rather than just reading them while either half asleep or bored out of his skull. It’s supremely disappointing and an honest disrespect to the character. Again, I don’t know if this was because of the voice direction or what, but whatever it was, I hated hearing Neku actually talk and that kills me considering he was my favorite of the main cast in the original game.

Which brings me to the bigger issue, which is his characterization. Neo!Neku has zero personality. I’ve said this on multiple posts, and I’ll say it again. He has no personality. It’s gone. I think that when Coco shot him at the end of “A New Day” she not only killed his physical body, but also any semblance of personality he once had, and honestly it kills me because, again, he was my favorite of the original cast.

To elaborate:

Over the course of the original game, Neku goes from a closed off, snarky, trauma-ridden jerkass to a more open, snarky, loyal friend and defender of those who need it. By the end of Week 3 Neku is open to meeting new people (though he’s not completely open either; as he tells Joshua in his ending monologue, it’s still hard for him, but he’s trying), he’s more patient with those around him, he sees more value in the people and the world around him and he’s learning to open himself up and actually enjoy the moment, rather than just saying he does. Moreover, whereas he was fully ready to kill in order to escape the Game at the start (thank god for Hanekoma stepping in), by the end he breaks down crying over . . . well, everything, but in that exact moment it was because Joshua was hinging Neku’s own life on Neku’s ability to pull the trigger on Joshua, and he couldn’t. Neku underwent remarkable change over the course of the original game and I would never, not even once, say that I’d want Neku in Neo to be characterized how he was at the start of (or even in the middle of) the original game.

However.

There is no semblance of Neku, period, in the character that we get in Neo. The closest that we get to any kind of snarky humor from him is when he asks Beat if Beat died again, and that’s why he’s in the UG. Despite being fiercely loyal to his friends (and despite knowing that Minamimoto is a shady bitch out for himself first and foremost), he says with a smile that Minamimoto has ~changed~ or is ~trying to~ despite having absolutely no evidence of that whatsoever, and walking in on Minamimoto literally trying to murder Beat. He’s BFFs with Coco despite the fact that Coco killed him, purely because her motivations were good, and he chastises Beat for not trusting her even though Beat witnessed that murder and has had to live with it for the past three years. Many of his voice clips don’t sound like him (“well done,” for example, just sounds too proper for him, it doesn’t sound like the way he talks; “nice one” or “good job” would be more appropriate), he’s perfectly fine and not awkward at all with everyone calling him a legend, he seems to have no issue whatsoever with the fact that he’s been trapped in Shinjuku’s UG (or in-between the UG and the RG) for the past three years, and overall it feels a whole lot less like Neku-as-a-character and more like Neku-as-an-exposition-mentor. Like he wasn’t here to be himself, he was here because a.) it was expected because this was the sequel, and b.) he’s the closest to Hanekoma they could get, even though he’s not acting like Hanekoma either.

Here’s the thing.

Yes, it’s expected that Neku would have matured even more by the time this game rolls around than he had by the end of Week 3. It’s expected that, much like Beat, Neku has grown up and changed as a result of that maturation as well. However . . .

1.) Beat is still noticeably Beat despite his maturation, and

2.) Neku didn’t get to grow up in the same way that Beat did, by virtue of being dead and stuck in hell for the past three years.

Neku’s life for the past four years has basically been a rollercoaster of trauma. First, his friend dies on his way to meet Neku, which Neku blames himself for (and I’m pretty sure this takes place about a year before the original game, though I could be wrong on that). Then, while he’s still struggling with processing his grief, he’s murdered by Joshua and put into the Reapers’ Game. He has to go through three extremely difficult weeks with his life on the line, during which he learns to process his previous trauma in a healthier way while getting a bunch of fresh new trauma dropped on his plate. He escapes that Game with his new friends, but then less than a year later he is murdered again, and this time he’s locked in a hellspace where Shinjuku used to be, and not only that, but he is trapped there with his murderer, who is not sorry at all that she killed him and instead believes that it was the right thing to do despite the fact that Shinjuku has already undergone the Inversion and Neku is just stuck there now with the thoughts of the nonexistent swirling through his head. Presumably his powers, which were already incredibly powerful, grow exponentially during this time as a result of the space he’s in, but that’s not really the point. The point is, Neku went through a trauma conga line with no time to really breathe or process any of it, and while I can believe that he came to trust Coco enough so that they could both get out of Shinjuku, I can’t believe that going through all that trauma without any chance to live a normal, happy life would produce a smiling mentor figure who’s just here to blithely exposit without any real emotion, or any of his trademark snarky humor. It’s not realistic maturation, especially because maturation isn’t supposed to stamp out aspects of your personality that make you, you. Just as Beat is able to still recognizably be Beat while also being more mature, Neku should have been recognizably Neku, and he isn’t. If you were handed the script with all the names blacked out, you would never be able to tell his lines were his. And honestly, that absolutely crushes me, especially since I was so excited for him to come back since I love him so incredibly much.

Honestly, I’m tempted to rewrite that last portion of the game so that Neku acts more like himself—so that we can actually hear him instead of this bland exposition fairy they put in his place. But whether I do that or not, just know that I found Neku to be incredibly disappointing, and I think he deserved better on just about every front. The only really good thing about him was his design, and the fact that he still did the fingers-to-temples gesture when he reached out to the minds of Shibuya during the end segment. (I was literally chanting, “do the thing, do the thing!” so I was very happy when he did, in fact, do the thing.) And considering how important he is as a character in this series, that was just . . . so incredibly disappointing.

#neo: the world ends with you #neo: the world ends with you spoilers #ntwewy spoilers #neo twewy spoilers #sakuraba neku #my boy deserved better #he deserved SO much better #hate that they did him like this. i really do.

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voicefromthecorner · 3 years

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Shoka Sakurane. When this is over, I need to check out these names to look for hidden meanings. I’m seeing the “Sakura” in her name, which I know from various anime and JP video games (yes, like the geek that I am) is a flower that has symbolic connotations to life and death, which makes sense, with her being a Reaper and all. I have a vague recollection of what the names from the last game indicated, Neku, Shiki and Joshua in particular, but I could always do with jogging my memory with those too. I’m horrible at coming up with names, so I love it when stories like this do it so well.

Nice to meet another member of the front cover squad! Speaking of that, I’m embarrassed to say that for a few lines of dialogue, I looked at this girl, who I have seen a couple of time in promotional materials, wiki side tabs and the front cover of the darn game, and I was like “Guess she’s got a weird affinity for cats or something.” Took me way to long to realise that she is weaRING MR MEW! SHE SKINNED HIM!

Actually, this is something I’d sorta heard but sorta not. Keeps slipping my mind, but I believe Shiki (and Eri?) have gone on to start their own clothing line, which is the “Gatto Nero” one that I’ve seen a bit of? I mean, seeing a Mr Mew hoodie gives away that they’ve gone on to do SOMEthing pretty major with their fashion. I’ll await further revelation on how they’re doing but for now, good for them! They’re already in their industry at whatever age they are right now! That’s awesome!

Speaking of the passing of time, I can’t remember how much time it’s supposed to have been since the original, which I’m fine with not knowing for now, but I know it’s only been a couple of years or so. And yes, I know the anime had other ideas, but as far as I’m concerned, the flip phones of the first game are canon so I quite comfortably live in this amusing reality where the world developed very modern and advanced smartphone tech with a couple of years of flip phones still being standard. You can tell me I am wrong, and I will just laugh because I am having fun.

Getting back to Shoka, I have to say, it’s interesting that someone who’s indicated to be a main character is a Reaper. Not only a Reaper, but like, a customer service Reaper. I can practically hear the symphony of voices around the world who saw this bit and said “relatable” or “mood” or something like that. Which is completely fair. Mood.

But it’s really funny! Because before, Neku had no memories and needed to get info on the game from players around him, like Shiki, or Hanekoma, who’s presence was kind of a one-in-a-million circumstance. Reapers he came across were completely just out to get him and gleefully gave him no answers. Now Rindo and Fret get themselves into what seems to be a Reaper’s Game that’s become much more accommodating and civil, with Reapers like Shoka filling a Hanekoma-like role in observing procedure and providing information. And does she help them? No. Because her shift is over and she just doesn’t care.

The more things change, the more they stay the same!

#twewy #neo the world ends with you #neo twewy #gamefromthecorner #playthrough #liveblog #rindo kanade #twewy fret #tosai furesawa #shoka sakurane #neo twewy week 1 #neo reapers

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jesstielle · 3 years

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okay i have Feelings about NEO: TWEWY and nobody to shout them at because literally nobody else I know plays it which is truly a crime; the original twewy remains one of my favourite games to this day. but anyway. massive NEO TWEWY spoilers inbound:

First of all it truly is a miracle that this game even exists. I never once actually believed we’d get a sequel. Let alone one this good!! It is really, really good!!!

Things I Enjoyed:

- The gameplay. Whoo boy. Up to about 4 team members, anyway. It’s fast paced, button mashing satisfaction, that manages to keep elements from the original game while still being fresh and fun, if not entirely chaotic, which is why after 4 characters, it was a bit like, ‘okay, chill, let us switch out or something’ lmao

- The new characters. Although I feel like we leave the game not knowing as much about them as I would like, the new team are really great, and Nagi in particular really shone in terms of character grown. Rindo.. I feel like I know as little about him now as I did at the start :|a Maybe I just missed something.

I honestly found the teams and their leaders kinda forgettable >>;; Although the heel-face turn on Motoi was pretty great. I needed more from Kanon to feel anything when she, yknow.

The new reapers were... a mixed bunch. Shoka was fantastic, Susukichi was... a bit much in English, great in Japanese, Tsugumi was great but didn’t get enough screen time (unless she gets more post game, I dunno yet) Shiba annoyed the fuck outta me, Kaie was alright.. the others... meh. They don’t hold up to Kariya and Uzuki. And obviously Kubo sucks ass pfft

- The reappearing characters. of course i loved them. i got a hit of serotonin every time one appeared on my screen. neku my son. josh the reapers. i was never a huge minamimoto stan lmao but he was fun. even curry don. but some were DIRELY underutilised which i WILL COME BACK TO

- THE MUSIC. twewy cannot fail on its music, it’s amazing, it’s glorious, it’s multi faceted, it goes hard. and adding in Beat’s psyche, a rhythm mini game acting as the fast walk button???? yes. yes yes yes yes. yessssssss.

- The graphics. Mostly. Everything looked beautiful, and HD, and the character designs were great - not toooooooooo Nomura but Nomura enough, yknow? And the occasional chibi faces were great lol. The chaotic battles sometimes caused lag which... I mean, they coulda given us the option to turn off some of the animations or damage graphics lmao but hey. the forced perspective on shibuya was a bit off occasionally but it was how the original game did it and it’s all for the ~aesthetic~ so hey. And it was great seeing some of the original locations looking so much more fleshed out

- The Localisation. Personally, I think the translators struck a perfect balance that made the kids seem like they’d fit right into today’s culture. It wasn’t forced, it wasn’t ‘look at us we are Teenagers’, it was right on the mark. And it was really, really interesting hearing just how different the Japanese VA lines were compared to the English translations. They really went all out and it paid off, imo.

Dislikes: (i haven’t read the secret reports yet tho)

- UNDERUTILISATION OF THE ORIGINAL CHARACTERS - now, look, okay, I’m biased. I admit it. I’m a Josh and Neku stan lmao, so I was looking forward to seeing them the whole game. And as it went on and on and I realised I wouldn’t be until much later, it bummed me out. The bait n’ switch with Beat was funny at first, and I enjoyed it a lot, until I realised that yeah, that’s what they’re going with. Beat’s probably my least favourite partner from the original (sorry) but even disregarding that, it annoys me that they gave him like 10,000x more screen time than even Neku.

Not to mention Shiki and Joshua! Josh in particular I could write a whole essay on how pissed I am. The lost potential. Nobody mentioning him, ever, once. Until he just sorta shows up and says a few things. It makes NO SENSE, he’s the fucking composer, Neku and Beat worked with him, why aren’t they questioning his whereabouts when Shibuya’s turning to shit??????’ I just?????? I had low hopes for Josh content tbf but I am still disappointed :( And naught but one singular Hanekoma mention, as well. Sigh.

Shiki, it’s a shame she doesn’t appear more, she certainly could have - I can think of like 5 ways off the top of my head - having her as a partner would have also been extremely good.

Neku at least we got..... half a week with. and as a PC. And like, I know it’s not supposed to be about them, but throw us a bit more than cheap fanservice, yknow. And Kariya and Uzuki were great too.

- why, oh why, was every single team lackey male???? they couldn’t be arsed to make female designs????? it baffled me.

- SO. MUCH. SHIBUYA. TRAVERSING. I don’t remember if it was that bad in the original?! But oh my god lol. I think a lot of it was padding. Sure felt like it. Paired with the slightly hand hold-y mission progression cutscenes, they coulda cut a bunch of those out.

Other Stuff:

- The voice acting - fantastic in Japanese, okay in English, except for the returning characters?? didn’t sound great??? in english??? I was hyped to turn English back on for Beat but.... nah. Nahhh. Nagi’s English VA was absolutely the best imo.

- They nailed the feel of the old game without totally copying it - the food, clothes, general aesthetic, music. That said, it still felt a little too tied to the original. Ironic considering the rant above I know lmao but... yeah. The player psyches were a nice touch but I feel like it needed something to set it apart a lil more from its predecessor.

- I didn’t realise A New Day existed until literally today and I wish I had seen it before I played Neo. Now I know who Coco is lmao. And Shinjuku’s erasure was part of that too! arghhhh. Nomura stop burying plot points in other things. I’m a DS OG dont do this to me

- Rindo’s time travel power was cool but jumping back to the same point like 3 or 4 times in some cases got old

- You could really feel the KH3 energy of ‘play 30 hours until something or someone pivotal finally appears’ lol. Nomuraaaaa.

... anyway.

TL;DR good game, needed more Josh, also needs more fans please

#twewy #neo twewy spoilers #neo twewy #yoshiya kiryu #neku sakuraba #spoilers

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just-absolutely-super · 3 years

Text

Okay so I wasn’t gonna do this but I changed my mind because I just really wanted to talk about why it upset me

I decided since I wanted to revisit TWEWY, I could watch the anime as I play

Wasn’t gonna be anything big, just me experiencing the series again and making comparisons and noting contrasts

Well, halfway through and I pretty much lost my shit

Before getting into it, I’m making some things clear:

I was watching the anime in Japanese because my salt for Funimation is real

That being said, I tried keeping an open mind about it, as I’ve seen some people say that the localization did change some things about the characters (particularly Neku)

This wasn’t gonna be a big deal to me because even if 2007 America decided to make Neku extra in his emoness, the core of his and the other’s characters are still there regardless

Another thing, I didn’t realize until I was watching that they made the anime 12 episodes long (seriously 12 episodes??? Okay I know you can beat the game pretty fast but DAMN!)

So I knew they were going to trim some stuff off in order to meet those requirements. I get it, JRPGs are long and you can’t cram every little thing in. P4 was an excellent adaptation and it managed to adapt everything splendidly. Believe me, I had high hopes for this, but.....

Well, I’ll get to that eventually. Without further ado here are my thoughts on the first episode of TWEWY the Animation

Skiki Day 1

The beginning isn’t...bad, but it definitely doesn’t capture just how closed off Neku is to the audience

Ow The Edge memes aside, the opening movie of the game really hammers in just how much Neku does not care for others. He doesn’t like people, he doesn’t want to be around them. You need to know this because the entire game is his journey of learning to open himself up to people who care about him.

The anime pretty much just jumps into him being in the Game. While it captures the confusion of the Reaper’s Game thus requiring Neku to learn along with the audience about what it entails, we’re still lacking just who Neku is at this point.

also he seems more open to Shiki, not wondering off without her and actually telling her his name which didn’t happen until Day 2 and I don’t know if Neku was actually more polite in the Japanese game or not so I’m just gonna nitpick and be slightly upset he’s not more of an asshole lmao

The beginning battle with Shiki was really nice though. I enjoyed the silhouette of the pins Neku uses as he fights the Noise. It’s a nice touch and shows off how he’s a psych genius.

Nothing else really offensive. Uzuki and Kariya are introduced to Neku and Shiki earlier than expected, and they don’t even show off Uzuki throwing Noise at them to beat up--Neku just automatically passes out; but like, I can live with that.

Not a terrible way to start things off. Wonder how the rest of the episode fairs--

Shiki Day 2

holdupholdhupholdupHOLD UP

WHY ARE THEY AT THE SCRAMBLE CROSSING????

THEY’RE SUPPOSED TO BE AT THE WEST BUS TERMINAL

DID THEY NOT WANT TO FOOL WITH THEM WALKING ALL THE WAY TO HACHIKO AND LEARNING ABOUT THE INVISIBLE WALLS???

OKAY ANIME WHATEVER MOVING ON

Oh ffs

They gave Shiki Hanekoma’s explanation of the RG and the UG

I guess they wanted Neku and Shiki to bond as much as they could because of their limit on episodes but it kinda ruins the fact that while all the players know of the Game and the purpose (except Neku because memory loss), they actually don’t really know everything

Even though Hanekoma did the exposition for Neku’s sake, you could see clearly that Shiki was learning just as much too

And if this is their way of showing Neku and Shiki interacting, it doesn’t really feel organic

The thing about Shiki and Neku’s relationship is that it starts out rocky. Neku visibly and unapologetically doesn’t like Shiki and doesn’t want to be around her. He’s confused about everything because of his amnesia and is forced to partner up with a stranger and all poor Shiki wants to do is make a friend and try win the game and come out alive.

She tries getting to know him but Neku doesn’t want to get close because he’s not a people person. The fact he doesn’t know or understand anything going on puts more strain on the partnership. Neku doesn’t trust Shiki, even when he learns he needs her to survive.

But okay whatever, they’re at Hachiko and the Bito siblings are here, so they can do their mission and move on--

OH FFS

THEY DIDN’T EVEN CLEAN HACHIKO????

THE NOISE JUST DECIDE TO SHOW UP AND NEKU GOES AND GETS ANGRY AND CURBSTOMPS THEM JUST LIKE THAT?!

UUUUUUUUUUUUGH

AND APPARENTLY THE NOISE ARE FEEDING OFF OF HIS NEGATIVE EMOTIONS???

WTF

THAT’S NOT A THING! THAT’S NEVER BEEN A THING! THE NOISE CAN’T EFFECT PLAYERS LIKE THEY DO THE PEOPLE FROM THE RG

SMH

Brief intermission as Uzuki and Kariya (who appears more in this first episode than he ever did in the first week in the actual game...) show up and decide to cause problems on purpose. They know everyone’s names...which I guess makes sense???? idk their game versions never struck me as the type to really care one way or the other who they were trying to erase

But onto Neku not knowing his last name...

Okay at first I was mad, but then I remembered that the anime kinda skipped over Neku lamenting over the fact he doesn’t remember anything

So this might be the anime’s way of letting the audience know, hey, this guy has amnesia

So you get a pass...this time

BUT YOU DON’T GET A PASS FOR THE NOISE POSSESSING NEKU

THAT’S NOT WHY HE WANTED TO STRANGLE SHIKI

THEY CUT OUT SHIKI LOOKING AT HER PHONE. THEY CUT HER BEING JUST AS CLOSED OFF ABOUT PARTS OF HER LIFE TO NEKU AS HE IS TO HER

THIS CAUSES DISTRUST WHERE THERE ALREADY IS A MOUNTAIN OF IT

NEKU DIDN’T TRY TO KILL SHIKI BECAUSE OF HIGH EMOTIONS

HE DID IT BECAUSE UZUKI PREYED ON HIS WEAKENED STATE AND MANAGED TO HELP NEKU CONVINCE HIMSELF THAT SHIKI WAS THE ENEMY

HAVING NOISE POSSESS HIM MAKES IT OUT LIKE NEKU WASN’T IN HIS RIGHT MIND WHEN THE POINT WAS THAT IS FAR FROM THE TRUTH

EVEN IF IT’S DAY 2, NEKU ALMOST KILLING SHIKI WAS PRACTICALLY A ROCK BOTTOM POINT

IT’S AFTER HANEKOMA INTERVENES AND ENFORCES THE “TRUST YOUR PARTNER” LINE THAT NEKU ACTUALLY STARTS TO GROW AND DECIDE THAT HE NEEDS SHIKI IF HE’S EVER TO MAKE IT OUT OF THIS ALIVE

IT’S PART OF HIS GROWTH

OH AND BTW

WHY HAS NOBODY TOLD NEKU HE’S FUCKING DEAD?!

THEY EXPLAIN THE UG AND THE RG AND THE GAME AND THE REAPERS AND ERASURE BUT NO ONE EVER ACTUALLY SAID THE WORDS, “OH YEAH YOU’RE HERE BECAUSE YOU DIED!”

UUUUUUUUUUUUUUGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH

EDIT: So I realized Neku doesn’t realize he’s legit dead until Day 5... When they tell him he’s stuck in Shibuya at the beginning of the game, I likened it to the implication that they told him he died. So whoops, that’s my bad. Sorry anime........i’m still pissed tho

Shiki Day 3

Anime I am quite literally begging you to let them wake up somewhere that isn’t the gosh dang Scramble Crossing!

AND THE TECH ISN’T A REAPER

HE COULD NEVER SEE OR INTERACT WITH SHIKI AND NEKU

THEY HAD TO IMPRINT ON HIM AND PRETTY MUCH SPOON FEED HIM THROUGHOUT THE MISSION

WHY DID YOU MAKE HIM A REAPER THIS TIME AROUND???

ALSO WHAT ABOUT THE QUEST TO GET THE FUSE??? AND LEARNING TO IMPRINT???

THIS NEVER SHOULD HAVE BEEN A 12 EPISODE SERIES OTL

ALSO THE GIANT ASS BAT NOISE WAS NOT THE MASTER OF O-EAST

IT WAS A TINY ASS BAT THAT BEAT AND RHYME DESTROYED

I’M LOSING MY SHIT AND IT’S ONLY THE FIRST GOSH DANG EPISODE

AND MINAMIMOTO SHOWS UP IN THE CREDITS AND I DON’T SEE ONE ALGEBRAIC TERM IN THE SUBS GUYS YOU HAD ONE JOB

*sigh*

Conclusion

This episode...did not make me happy

I can forgive a lot of things when you are pressed for time. I can understand cutting things out or not using something. You have to make sacrifices.

Character growth should not be a sacrifice though

Yes, Neku is not the emo asshole the West knows and loves, and I’m okay with that because at his core Neku is a closed off, socially awkward dude who doesn’t care for people or interacting with them.

He doesn’t get them. Never has. And was convinced he never would.

You see shades of this here and there but it’s drowned out by the plot. They had to move the story along and as a result our characters suffer for it.

Well, Neku and Shiki mostly. Beat and Rhyme and the rest of the Reapers are there too, but in-game you don’t learn more about them until later so that’s fine.

But as I said before, Neku's personality--at least in this episode--is overshadowed by the plot. And his relationship with Shiki is really rushed. Neku is just mildly inconvenienced by her. She’s just a bubbly presence, she doesn’t try to get him to open up as fervently as she did in the game.

And she was also made into Miss Exposition, giving Neku all this info that should have been explained by Hanekoma

Like.....we’re supposed to learn that this dude, while mysterious, is on the Players’ side. He’s that cool mentor type of dude and we had to push it aside for time and give it to someone else.

It’s just....not a good episode and I don’t really want to continue with it for fear of what else they’ll rush (I know for a fact they don’t do Joshua justice)

Okay that’s it. I’m done. Review/rant over. Thanks for reading!

TLDR; TWEWY anime sucks and you should play the game instead byyyyye

#personal #twewy anime criticism #if people like this that's fine it's whatever #but i did not enjoy this at all

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memcaked · 3 years

Text

send him home in a limejuice tub!

Source: Subarashiki kono Sekai | The World Ends With You

Relationships: Kiryu “Joshua” Yoshiya & Sakuraba Neku, Kiryu “Joshua” Yoshiya & Hanekoma Sanae, Sakuraba Neku & Honjo Sota

Characters: Kiryu "Joshua" Yoshiya, Sakuraba Neku, Hanekoma Sanae, Honjo Sota

Additional tags: Alternate viewpoint, Mostly canon dialogue, Week 2 Day 6, Introspective, Character study, Gift fic, TWEWY Secret Valentine, Not beta read

Summary: Joshua looks down at his hands for the first time. Almighty, almost a month and he forgot what it was like to be physical. Instincts, skin, nails - unchipped, rounded, inch-long keratin buried into the heels of his palms, threatening to break his skin.

Beginning notes: This was made for ShibuyaPharmacy as part of the TWEWY Secret Valentine event. She asked for art or writing with Joshua, Minamimoto, or Fret, so obviously it meant I had to enact one of my TWEWY ideas rolling around in my brain for this. Inspired by a tumblr post which I can sadly not find written by @/shadnoise analysing Joshua's body language in this scene, and pushed out today for my headcanon birthday for Joshua. Happy birthday to this anime game guy who hasn't left my brain for years I think its because we share a star sign

Body:

No matter how Joshua’s beams of light should be vaporising the Taboo noise the sound of them being Erased is always the same: screeching, scraping, like the coalescing of Shibuya soul and the something Minamimoto put into the refinery sigil roiling in its soul code. It's the same discordant chords striking their way across Shibuya this week. They’re awful, through and through - Joshua hacks on their smoke-and-oil stench, whether it's a horn or a kick or quills they leave his skin stinging and red. Taboo noise were nothing, a mystery untold until this week and it doesn’t do anything to convince him that this place can be saved when it's able to foster the frenzied supernoise brainchild of some young Officer with a usurper fantasy. Sanae would tell him J, you always think everyone’s out to get you, and he didn’t believe Joshua when he cited his evidence. As he feels himself falling out of the Noise plane he argues with Strawnae that his attempted murderer has learnt how to breed the dark arts and if he’ll even let him go he’s meant to be doing it thinking he shouldn’t be so negative and everyone he meets is an angel.

They drop back into the UG, or only Neku as he floats in the air. Down on the ground he’s planted to his feet, looking expectantly on wounded, Erased-to-be Sota. He should’ve put the unpartnered timers on their hands before he gave up his powers and his clairvoyance, has to count it by himself with one mississippi, two mississippi, three mississippi, four, without any ticking clock that he can see or divine when it’ll happen. “You OK?”

“Yeah... you saved my ass,” Sota cracks a half-smile, the muscles on the left side of his face going limp. His chuckle is half-hearted, a little pained. He knows his erasure is inevitable to be genuine about it, Joshua thinks along with eleven mississippi. “Heh, for now, anyway. I lost Nao... I don't have much longer.” He groans, body shaking as his voice cracks and a second of static courses through him.

Neku droops, his hair falling under his eyes, head buried in collar, spine slumped. “If... if we'd gotten here sooner--” Twenty two mississippi, twenty three mississippi.

“Ain't your fault, dawg. I wasn't strong enough. End of story,” He wheezes, gags a little trying to get the air back. The static flashes repeat, repeat, the pauses closing in. “Neku and Joshua, right?” Joshua lifts his head up, makes eye contact with Sota.

“Yeah.”

“You two survive,” The right side of his face falls. thirty nine mississippi, forty mississippi, “Get your old partner back,” He painfully clings to the last happy face he has, static almost falling out of his screwed-up eyes. “I hope all three of ya get back safe.”

He’s Erased with a buzzed heave, gone in a flash and a crackle. Sota Honjo, small-time criminal, Nao’s partner(-in-crime), joins her in Shibuya’s soul. Sixty mississippi. Neku runs into his spot, the crest of a building’s tall shadow, squinting towards the silver-lined rooftops. He shakes his fist, voice crashing up an octave, “Fucking reapers!”

“Angry, I see,” Joshua lowers himself down, huffing when he scuffs his sneakers on the pavement. When Neku whips his mink-lithe body around Joshua almost hears cracking bones.

“Hell yes, I’m angry!” The vessels in his eyes look swollen red, like if he has to feel for any moment longer they’ll burst into blood and tears.

“So what?” Joshua isn’t particularly interested in making eye contact with Neku - he runs the stopwatch in his head again. “At least you’re still in the game.”

Neku lunges two steps forward, the same shaking fist maybe two inches from Joshua’s nose. “Yeah, and what about those who didn’t? Screw the game!” He stomps his feet on the pavement and makes Joshua forget what he was going to say before he opened his mouth. “They’re people, not toys!”

Neku Sakuraba himself, grandstanding about people? People? The ones he was bemoaning a few days ago, the ones he hated so much Joshua chose him. He was such a rugged survivalist - knew how little time Beat and Rhyme had and only caved when they thought it was a good idea - and suddenly when he echoes Neku, Joshua walking away from this with a bruised bloody nose seems to rest in the balance of his outburst. The adrenaline of his thoughts distill into a slow cool-tongued mumble. “Why the sudden interest? I didn’t think you cared about other people.”

“No…” The taut muscles in Neku’s knuckle strain, his voice run ragged by his screaming? His crying? His energy?

The trail-off’s a chance for Joshua to load bullets into his barrel. “No what?”

Neku clears his throat and backs away, opens the sore fist into a palm. “Sure, other Players are strangers. Not just Players. Everyone,” Joshua looks down at his hands for the first time. “I don't know who they are, where they're from, what they care about,” Almighty, almost a month and he forgot what it was like to be physical. “But... since I came to the UG, I... I've talked with them a little.” instincts, skin, nails - “Got to know them a little. Felt them a little…” - unchipped, rounded, inch-long keratin, “Felt my world grow. Just a tiny, tiny bit,” buried into the heels of his palms, “It's different now. They're not just some strangers. I can't shut them out like that.” threatening to break his skin.

“My my,” He’ll understand, Joshua keeps assuring himself. Neku wouldn’t exactly be joyful but he’ll agree Shibuya needs to be shut down, die off with him. He’s - and a lump forms in Joshua’s throat - sounding like now, he won’t back down. “This isn’t like you at all.” He doesn’t even want to make eye contact. How does he get through to Neku? “Well, don’t get your hopes up. You’ll never really understand the people around you.”

“Enjoy the moment.” It’s what imprinting does to people but he only realises how wrapped Neku was around Sanae’s middle finger to Joshua’s crisis of function. Neku’s eyes shine, he mourns the Erased, he thought they’d walk together hand in hand but Joshua feels more and more like he’s reaching an arm out for someone crossing a threshold he can’t.

“Hmm?” Joshua imagines Sanae sitting on Neku’s shoulder, adjusting his halo and sitting in the white flowy robes he hates. Frustration shoots up his fingers and digs harder into his hands.

“Enjoying your world means making it bigger,” Joshua remembers how Neku told him of a girl who’s grip floated up and away from him. “I finally get that.” Joshua remembers that erased couple, arms linked in life, death, erasure, the erased couple who would hold Neku, Joshua, Shiki, everyone in their hands if they didn’t only have two. “The world as one person sees it is tiny.” Joshua remembers Neku, every day in his solitude admiring the mural, rubbing and caressing the wall of paint. “You've gotta... gotta reach out to other people.” Joshua glances back at Neku’s shoulder. He can’t see anything. His hands unfurl, hang free and limp at his side.

“...... Hee hee.” He doesn’t feel anything in his throat. “Maybe so. Only by allowing strangers in can we find new ways to be ourselves.” He wrings his body, one he needs to get used to. “It's possible. This mission looks like it’s up to us.”

Neku silently starts moving towards Q-Heads before stopping, staring over his shoulder while his partner stares at splayed hands. “Joshua?”

"Hold on,” he picks at his fingers, “I’ve broken a nail.”

Ending notes: Not exactly sastified with this but its been a busy lead-up to Valentine's offline and online, I'm glad this is done, and I'm happy if at least one person enjoys what I've wrote. Happy valentine's day, Jordan!

#twewy #the world ends with you #neku sakuraba #joshua kiryu #yoshiya kiryu #sanae hanekoma #fanworks #writing

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composeregg · 5 years

Note

5hcs AUs : how about one in which Neku becomes Composer ? starting from "how did it happen ?" and then going wherever you want to take it

Send me an AU and I’ll give you 5+ HCs about it! (accepting)

Okay I’m getting to this first but rest assured the ask/essay about Hanekoma is gonna happen

SO twewy spoilers obvs lol, and also suicide tw

Also this got long it’s basically a bulletpoint fic OOPS

I have multiple fics where he becomes Composer!!! The series Feels More Like a Memory has a bunch of Composer Neku hijinks and more planned! Alternatives a 400 word one-shot Take Your Place Dear which is what this is gonna expand on!!

“How did it happen?” With the duel. Neku pulled the trigger. He didn’t mean to pull the trigger. He was going to lower the gun, but thoughts pound in his head, he’s tired, and the force of a Composer’s strongest Imprints hit him as he starts to drop his arm. He flinches. The gun goes off. And Josh does not stop it. Josh lets it hit him, lets Neku kill him, as he always intended.

He’s absolutely distraught over this. He didn’t mean to shoot, but there’s always a part of him that thinks “you wanted that. You wanted to do that. Him Imprinting me is just an excuse. I shot him and it’s my fault.”

He actually has to cope with becoming Composer first, though. It takes a toll, becoming connected to a city. Mentally, it exhausts him, becoming everywhere at once.

But he deals, and he brings his friends back to life. His Entry Fee was his friends, yes, but he won. The winner becomes Composer, he gets his fee back. Josh, in the canon, just gets to decide what to do with it in canon and doesn’t hold onto it.

So he has a meltdown, this autistic boy, breaks down and is overwhelmed and screams, but he manages to get it together enough to do that. And then he passes out for three days.

He manages to drag his ass to Hachiko, and he tries to keep it from his friends. Hanekoma says he shouldn’t go at all, he’s Composer after all now, that requires secrecy, isolation. That’s just how it’s done. But Neku insists, and goes, and keeps his Composer Title secret.

It works, kinda. Rhyme knows something is up, they can tell it instantly. They sense it, residual Noise instinct. Beat and Shiki don’t quite realize, but they know something is wrong with Neku. Eri is there too but she doesn’t know shit.

Rhyme asks, one day, about a month after the Game. Neku breaks down, and explains. The first Game week he’s overseen has just ended, no Players made it to the end of the week, and he s h a t t e r s.

In front of Rhyme, and Shiki, and Beat.

He breaks. He cries. He tells them everything, tells them about Josh, about what he did. What he doesn’t know if it was his own will or not. He’s so terrified that they’ll reject him, freak out because he’s still tied to the Game, and what if they’re afraid of getting dragged back in?

They all just fuckin pile on top of him and hug him and comfort him and give him all the love and affection he deserves, he needs.

“Neku, it’s okay. It’s not your fault. You said he was imprinting on you, you didn’t want to do it.”

The thing is.

Josh lingers.

His soul. It still exists. The code is strewn through Shibuya, but sometimes. It whispers.

Neku can feel the impulse, Josh’s thoughts and feelings, or at least what he would’ve felt, thought, and he doesn’t know if he’s imagining it or if it’s there.

He also never realized a city could be sentient, or that he’d never get to sleep again. It takes a bit to deal with that. But Shibuya loves him. She loved Josh, so much, even under the threat of Erasure she loved him, was sad for him, but accepted his choice for his replacement. But she. Holds onto him too.

Neku learns, and grows as a Composer. He’s so powerful, but he refuses to be recruited by the HG. He’s no Angel. He can shape the Game here, make it better, heal the broken cracks. Find himself in Shibuya, her power, his friends adding to his own power. He expands his world, pushes those horizons as far as they’ll go.

Decides to believe the that Joshua whispering in the back of his mind might be something more than just wishful thinking, when it shares facts about Josh he never knew. Little details, at first.

“Hey, you’ve got more friends than I’ve ever had.” Makes sense, he could extrapolate that.

“Oh, that game came out the year before I died.” Does not, especially not when it’s whatever pokemon game was just 3 or 4 years old at the time of the Long Game.

Another Josh visits from a different universe, and between the infuriating conversation and a breakdown, and finding out a lot.

Neku realizes. that these Notes, this Music strewn through Shibuya, the tune stuck in his head, is actually Joshua.

Long story short he finds a way to bring Josh back by reconstructing that Music into being a person, using Alt!Josh as a basis.

And Joshua is alive again. He’s a living, breathing, human being. he sees the UG, but he has life. A second shot.

Josh moves into the back of WildKat and gets to try being a normal boy! Who has friends!

Shiki throws something at him the first time she meets him, Beat threatens to wreck his shit if he ever pulls anything so fucked up ever again. But Neku wanted this. So they respect that choice. And grow to care about him

Neku is also big pissed at Hanekoma for the Taboo Noise thing. And gets Uzuki to be his Conductor. Josh may take that role from her later but that is unknown.

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subasekabang · 5 years

Text

Limited Perspective

Rating: Teen

Word Count: 7800 (part 1 of 2 (part 2 in-progress))

Pairings/Characters: Eventual Minamimoto Sho, Minamimoto Sho/Sakuraba Neku

Warnings: Implied/Referenced Suicide/Suicidal Thoughts, Canon-Typical Discussion of Death, Swearing

Summary: Minamimoto Sho is a villain. That’s obvious.

Minamimoto Sho is a hero. If you look closely.

The truth is somewhere in between.

Sho knows there’s no such thing as truth; just perspectives and interpretations. He doesn’t give a shit about the past–he just wants to figure out how the hell he’s supposed to work with the fucker who tried to flatten everything Sho holds dear.

Partner: Roxas/Neku

Author’s Note: This is a companion fic to my 2018 entry Death of the Author, but it also stands on its own.

Sho swears under his breath as he scurries through back alleys, trying to regain the Composer’s trail.

Boredom. That’s what the soul of Shibuya was worth to the fucker who held all their fates in the palm of Their hand.

The little shit got bored, and so decided to flatten everything. And Megumi, little ass-kisser that he was, didn’t try to take the fucker out.

That was the fucking Conductor’s job. Carry out the Composer’s Vision–and take Them down when their Vision faltered.

But noooooo, Megumi drank the fucking kool-aid, thought the Composer could do no wrong.

So the fate of Shibuya rested on the outcome of a fucking game.

Not unsolicited second-chances–the fate of Shibuya.

Fuck that.

Sho jumped used an abandoned crate to get enough lift to climb over the wall separating him from the next alley.

Just in time to see the Composer raise Their weapon of choice at some oblivious kid.

Fuck that.

But before Sho could raise his own gun, violet eyes cut toward him, and the barrel at the other end of the alley twitched.

A line of burning hot pain shot across Sho’s arm, and he nearly dropped his gun.

Nearly.

Shitshitshitshitshit

“…I blew it…”

No.

No!

Not today, ass-wipe.

Sho raised his arm, ignoring the agony in his bicep as he squeezed the trigger six times, calculating the odds that at least one would hit their target.

But the Composer just raised Their hand, and the bullets froze in the air before falling to the ground, one tinkle after another.

Sho booked it.

The Composer wasn’t supposed to have access to Their higher powers in the RG! This was supposed to level the playing field–

Three weeks left.

Back to the drawing board.

The Pre-Game meeting was always a bit of a joke. All the major decisions had always been meticulously crafted long before this point. It was just supposed to be a way to make sure everyone was on the same page and knew their roles.

Sho had to hand it to that crafty sneak Megs, though–he made himself the absent variable instead of the Composer.

‘Oh please, Higashizawa, won’t you run this game for me?’ Cue batting eyelashes behind the ever-present shades. Barf.

And Higashizawa was so much of a lickspittle, he didn’t even question the breach in protocol–the lack of time to craft a truly cohesive plan.

None of the other Officers questioned it.

Sho had enough. He bounced.

His bicep, bandaged under his coat, throbbed.

Megs really screwed the pooch on this one. Higashizawa was going to hyperfocus without a playbook to keep him on task–then the Composer’s proxy was going to win, and then what would Megumi do?

Hachiko was crawling with Noise when Sho passed through, picking off Players that hadn’t found Partners yet. Absently, Sho cued a few frogs after a couple that were about to make a Pact.

He may not be a Harrier anymore, but old habits were hard to break.

Stumbling across the Composer was a complete accident.

Sho’s pulse kicked up and sweat beaded on his forehead. The bullet crease, until now a background throb, rose to a sharp pang.

Nonononono

The Composer was supposed to be hands-off.

That conniving little cheat–!

For just a moment, the two locked eyes.

“Just shut up and form a pact with me!”

Sho watched the Proxy get claimed, and when he looked back, the Composer was gone.

Well, at least if the Composer was cheating, so was Megs.

Sho almost couldn’t believe it when Yashiro nearly convinced the Proxy to erase his own partner.

Did she know? She was a little… untempered for Megs to have taken into his confidence, still only a Harrier…

But… no. As the beat-nik interfered and stopped the Proxy from suiciding, it became clear Yashiro had just lost her freaking mind.

What. The. Fuck.

Harriers direct Noise and lay traps. Yashiro wasn’t new; Yashiro knew better–!

Sho nearly followed after her to reduce her to Noise-food herself, when he stopped.

Beat-nik?

His eyes widened.

He turned back to the Players and their little saviour.

Their little saviour who wasn’t a Reaper.

Their little saviour who wasn’t a Reaper, but was in the UG.

Their little saviour, who was explaining the rules–who had just enforced the rules.

A sharklike grin crossed his face.

‘Well. Hello there, Angel.’

Angels were the boogiemen of Reaper tales. A group of beings at an even higher frequency than the RG. They said that Composers were low-level Angels, and that even higher ranked ones supervised all their Games.

Of course, all of that was hear-say, officially denied. The Composer was the ultimate authority within each district.

Sho was well-travelled. He’d been traded from district to district before coming full-circle back to Shibuya.

The rumours were strikingly consistent no matter where you went. Which didn’t guarantee they were true.

But it did greatly increase their likelihood of being true.

So Sho watched Higashizawa’s week carefully. Watched the “Game Master” hyper focus just as Sho knew he would (at least it was on the right pair, if the wrong partner). Watched this “Sanae Hanekoma” save a Player who lost his Partner by sealing that Partner’s soul into a Noise Pin (for fuck’s sake, that was torture). Watched the Proxy receive regular help from the Angel.

None of it made sense.

Did… did the Angel not know? Did he not realize that the Game he was working to stabilize would destroy everything? Why save a Player who failed to grow so much that he essentially got himself and his partner erased in the same way they’d died?

This is why Sho hated working with others. They didn’t make sense!

Whose side was the Angel on?

A week with three winners, huh? That had to be a new one. Sho’s hands twitched. But Megs had handled it, cool as a cucumber–and passed the buck.

'Oh no, only one can be restored. By the way since you’re playing again your partner is your fee. Teehee.’

It was a stroke of genius. Megs couldn’t count on none of them being the proxy, so he managed to keep all three under his thumb.

And by assigning the new Reaper to destroy the other two, he kept the survivors on a route of mutual destruction.

The hidden variable in it all, though? The thing that made Sho want to grind his teeth down to dust?

When Megs asked Sho of all people to be his next patsy.

“Ah, there you are, Minamimoto. I’m afraid I don’t have any special projects for you this week; I’m sure you’ve heard about the Composer’s little… twist.”

Sho rolled his eyes. No memories to alter; no documentation to forge. Restoring someone to life required a deft touch and artistic flair–and an ability to calculate all the ways it can go straight to hell. It was an art-form he had a certain specialty in. It made him a Reaper in high demand, even considering his universally known bad attitude.

It was an art-form that should have still been needed. No reason the new kid couldn’t recapture some of his old life–except of course that Megs hadn’t told the fresh-meat about that little perk. Megs had no intention of the little idiot surviving the next two weeks; Megs couldn’t take that risk.

“I’m busy,” cleaning up your mess. “What do you want, Megs?”

A pause. Sho could hear Megumi’s lips thinning, before he forced himself back into that genial air that made him such a good people person.

“Of course, of course. Your attention to detail and dedication to your works is an inspiration to us all, Minamimoto. But I think it’s beyond time for you to stretch your wings a little–broaden your horizons so to speak.

“We’ll be running a second consecutive game, and I’d like you to act as Game Master this week.”

With Higashizawa–who’d taken his assignment so far he’d gotten himself erased–, Megumi had made the offer a genuine request. But Sho could hear the steel in the Conductor’s voice now. This was a thinly veiled order.

Carrot vs. Stick.

Shit. Megs was good. Different approaches for each of them. Why the fuck couldn’t he use his brain against the fucker who wanted to wipe them all out?

“Whatever. Any special instructions from the Composer?”

Fucker didn’t even flinch.

“Our newest Reaper will be given a special assignment, but otherwise consider things business as usual. It’ll be a smaller Game than usual due to the lack of time to collect Players, but that’ll just mean fewer excuses not to have a clean-sweep.”

There it was. For Higashizawa, the clean-sweep was a goad–a goal he had to reach to please his idol. For Minamimoto, it was a challenge to his competence.

And if Sho didn’t know exactly why a clean sweep was so important to Megs, he might have even fallen for it.

But, no. Sho didn’t care about taking out the Players. Not this round.

No, Sho had bigger fish to fry.

But if he didn’t at least put in appearances, Megs might get suspicious. And while Megs might want to win his little bet, Sho doubted he’d be on board for Sho’s more… permanent solution.

At least Day 1 was always a breeze; give Sho some breathing room to create a workable plan. Unless the harriers acted out again. Or were in league with either the Composer or the Conductor.

Ugh.

Happy miscalculation, indeed.

Sho couldn’t believe his luck. The Composer formed a pact with Their proxy. Of all the stupid, hare-brained ideas the whimsical artist could have done, this was above and beyond all of them. They’d have to stick to Their proxy like glue to ensure the Player didn’t get erased in Their absence.

And since the Composer couldn’t know when Sho intended to send out mission notices, this meant They couldn’t fuck off between missions, either.

Which meant that Sho had time to track down that Angel.

To be fair, Sho had kept an eye on the proxy Player the previous week, so he already knew where this 'Sanae Hanekoma’ was based. Dropping into the coffee shop in the downtime between missions one and two was as easy as taking a stroll down the street.

Sho didn’t even bother changing his frequency back to the RG for this–the Reaper decal outside would do that for him.

The Angel was good, Sho had to give him that. Didn’t even twitch when a Reaper Officer showed up in his quaint little shop.

“Welcome to Wildkat.” A lazy drawl that Sho could respect, prices that Sho could calculate were over-inflated. He threw down enough yen for a black coffee as he sat on a stool at the counter. Spare caffeine never went astray.

“You do know about the Composer’s stupid bet, right?”

Sho took an obnoxiously loud slurp of his coffee, smacking his lips in satisfaction while the Angel froze.

Satisfaction.

Sho was right.

The only question was, would the Angel confess or attempt to throw Sho off the trail.

A look across the shop led to the sharp click of the door locking and the sign switching to “Closed”.

“You’re playing a dangerous game, Game Master.”

The Angel wasn’t looking directly at him, and even his eyes were obscured by the glare of the shop lights reflecting off the lenses of his glasses. If was a carefully calculated aesthetic, and Sho appreciated the effort.

“Life’s dangerous–and I happen to want life to continue. If that means crushing uninspired yoctograms who don’t know how to recycle what they have? I’ll do what I have to do. Or do you actually approve of the Composer’s gameplan?”

The Angel pushed his glasses up his nose, removing the glare and showing eyes as sharp as tacks–in direct opposition to the friendly smile spreading across his face.

“Well. Nice to meet you, Minamimoto Sho. You can call me Hanekoma. How can I be of assistance?”

Which is how Sho learned how to create Taboo Noise.

It sounds simple–draw these sigils and poof–Taboo Noise.

And. Well. It is that simple.

Except, not really. Creating the Noise is simple–sure.

Convincing himself it’s okay to create them is a whole 'nother story.

Reaper life is a little dog-eat-dog–especially as you get into the higher levels. Combat against both players and each other all feeds into the refinement of their Souls and so is encouraged.

Taboo Noise, though. It’s cheating. Especially since Hanekoma gave Sho a ward against them. They’d still attack Sho, but only if he provoked them first.

If Sho let too many loose and they took out too many Reapers, it could lead to the destruction of Shibuya as much as the Composer’s little bet.

It was going to be a careful balancing act–letting loose just enough to distract both the Reapers and the Composer himself, while making sure they can still be handled.

At least he knew how to keep tabs on the Composer.

Sho hit send on his phone.

Then he finished his first refinery circle.

Yashiro would be fine; she was usually hanging out with Koki, anyway.

And if she wasn’t, well.

Sho remembered how she went off the rails last week.

It wouldn’t be that big of a loss.

----

Shooter was a bit of a hero of Sho’s.

He understood geometry on an instinctual level that most people could only dream about. Shooter dreamed big, and lived his dream with every fibre of his being. He understood the beauty of precision.

Sending Sho’s Players to the Tin Pin play-offs was about pitting them against a challenge they were unlikely to pass, therefore increasing the possibility of the Composer’s proxy being erased.

It certainly wasn’t about spiting those fuckers and their bet that otherwise would have made Sho miss the event entirely.

Just so that’s clear.

Sho had no idea what the Composer was doing, though. It looked like They were just… tagging along?

Making snide remarks?

Letting Their proxy fail the challenge?

It was no skin off Sho’s nose if the Composer lost Their proxy this week and had to scramble to find a replacement for the final week before Megs’ timer finished counting down.

Hell, there probably wouldn’t be enough Players to start a third Game in a row, so this week was probably going to be the deciding factor.

All of this was still spinning through Sho’s head, so he almost missed the whisp of Imagination that tampered with Shooter’s equipment.

That. Little. Shit–!

Okay, so confronting the Composer–undercover or not–probably wasn’t the smartest idea Sho ever had, but Sho did learn a few things.

First, he learned that They weren’t planning to follow the gameplan and try to complete missions. If his opponent wasn’t even going to play, Sho was going to concentrate his efforts on the spell he was crafting to take out the Composer entirely.

Second, something was seriously wrong with Their proxy. Kid spent almost the entire conversation after Sho revealed himself clutching his head. People weren’t meant to play two Games in a row like this. Who knew how it was affecting the kid?

Third, the Composer was a fucking hypocrite. Fucking hell, you can’t complain about being bored and not even put in the effort to put on a good show.

Sho was too angry to deal with this shit anymore. He returned to his apartment in Pork City and pulled out the reference text Hanekoma had given him.

It was supposed to give him the basics of refinery sigils so he could hone his Taboo summoning skills, but there were some interesting tidbits he’d gleamed while skimming through the rest of the sections.

Crafting a spell strong enough to take out the Composer would probably take Sho out too.

But, fuck, it would be worth it to wipe the smug smirk of Their face.

Sho wondered if there’d ever been a Game Day with no mission before. If anyone survived this clusterfuck, Sho himself would go down in infamy for doing something unique, at least.

Even if he doubted any of the higher ups would appreciate his vision.

But Sho didn’t have time to worry about crafting the little daily games to winnow out the Players. Sho only cared about one Player–the one who wasn’t a Player at all.

Everyone else was just collateral damage.

In the far deep recesses of his mind, part of Sho regretted the things he was doing to tear the Game apart–to break it down past recognition in pursuit of his ultimate goal to save the district as a whole.

The survivors could pick up the pieces and rebuild. And maybe the administration that would come after would learn from all of their mistakes.

Right now, none of that mattered. So Sho spent his free days wandering Shibuya, crafting Taboo refinery sigils to spread his seeds of chaos.

Since he didn’t want to be caught too early and erased by an irate Megs, he camouflaged his actual delinquency with monuments to the district he loved. Anyone who looked closely at the pieces of art would see that they weren’t up to his usual standards–but Sho reluctantly acknowledge (and took advantage of the fact) that very few understood his muses enough to tell the difference.

And in a back alley of Udagawa, Sho began to craft a different sigil from the rest. Something carefully prepared by his Angel ally. An escape plan of last resort.

Because let’s be real–Sho was up against the Composer. There was a 68.9% chance that he’d be Noise-food by the end of the week.

And that left a full week of the Composer running around unchecked in order to win Their bet with Megumi. A week for the Composer to guarantee the destruction of Shibuya.

The Angel couldn’t–wouldn’t–interfere directly. He was bound by rules and tradition to the will of the Composer alone. Sho was the last line of defense.

Sho’s hand slowed down on the last set of runes in the sigil. He rested his head in exhaustion against the rough brick wall.

Was it really worth it? If Sho’s master plan failed, was there any point in trying to come back for one last shot? Was there any guarantee that Sho himself wouldn’t be a worse option if he was half-Taboo? Wouldn’t bring about the destruction himself if left unchecked?

Tears of frustration sprang to his eyes, and he punched the wall with his injured arm. The impact made the bullet crease throb where it was still healing.

Being a Reaper wasn’t easy–it was a constant battle and those without the will to survive didn’t last long. Sho hadn’t just survived, he had thrived in their world–far more than he ever had in his life in the RG.

But after this last month, Sho was tired. None of this was about bettering oneself, or artistic potential. This was petty bullshit that was completely nonsensical. Why did Sho have to destroy himself over this? Why did Sho have to risk turning himself into a monster to save the world?

Sho wasn’t a hero. And Sho had never played well with others.

He leaned against the wall, his ragged breaths tearing at his throat as he tried to regain his composure.

Fuck this shit.

He finished the refinery sigil, then walked away without looking back.

If anyone survived this mess, they’d look at his escape plan and scoff at his incompetence–and the poorly placed lines on the last runes drawn; the smudge runes where Sho had hit the wall.

If anyone survived this mess, the sigil would be his only memorial–a testament to the final line Minamimoto Sho wouldn’t cross.

'I end it this week,’ Sho thought to himself darkly.

There was no “or”.

The one problem with his wanderings over the middle of the week, was that Sho actually got to see the results of his Players’ actions while they were left to themselves.

The Game often used their Players to effect dramatic changes in Shibuya. The changes may not last long–Shibuya was an ever-changing beast–but they often caused spikes in creativity and joy. They justified the action of running dead souls through a scavenger hunt to gain a second chance rather than just breaking them down for reincarnation immediately.

As an Officer, Sho was rarely able to see the reactions in real-time on the individual personal level. He got to review reports and feed that information into improvements for the next round.

That wasn’t the case this time. Even without direction, most of his Players seemed to be engaging in small acts of kindness.

Retrieving a lost puppy. Influencing decisions. Killing regular Noise to improve people’s psyches.

It was bewildering. It was inspiring.

It made Sho really fucking angry.

It wasn’t these Players’ fault that the Composer had completely screwed them over. That this wasn’t a real Game meant to refine their souls and give the worthy a second chance.

And there was one Player who had been shafted more than any other. The Composer’s fucking Proxy. Someone who wasn’t even supposed to be dead.

If Sho took out the Composer early with the Taboo Noise, sure the bet would be void, but the Proxy would still be Noise-food.

Shit. The kid didn’t deserve that. The kid deserved his life back.

But if he didn’t make it to the end, that meant no chance at all.

Sho was tired, and feeling guilty about this damn kid wasn’t helping things at all.

He hadn’t planned on saving the partners at the beginning of the sixth day–had sent out a mission to get everyone in the same-ish area so that the Taboo Noise could sow chaos and keep everyone distracted.

But when Sho had noticed that the duo weren’t paying fucking attention, he took out the Noise sneaking up behind them, a justification already forming in the back of his head.

If the Proxy could survive until the next day, Sho could lure the Composer to Pork City at the last moment, separate Them from his partner, and maybe give the kid a chance at surviving.

Afterall, Sho wasn’t likely to survive, even if he succeeded at this point. The kid would get his second chance, Shibuya would be saved.

Halle-fucking–lullah.

Sho spent the seventh day finalizing his nuclear option spell. The Angel’s repository had been very helpful. Learning to create Taboo Noise refineries had kept everyone distracted and off his back for the week. Taboo Noise existed on a plane of existence on a different frequency than their own. Pulling them in required being able to reach for that different frequency–and pulling apart the different aspects of the sigil meant he was able to figure out with parts performed that outreach.

That meant that Sho could take that part and reformulate the sigil entirely. Pull energy from multiple different frequencies–an exponential increase on his own powerful imagination. Special wards had needed to be formatted to keep the damage contained to Pork City both to eliminate collateral damage as much as possible as well as to keep the energy concentrated where Sho needed it.

Partners didn’t separate during the week, but Sho was pretty sure he’d come up with a fool-proof plan to get the Composer to shed Their mortal disguise and come gunning for Sho with all Their might.

Tattling.

Oh, Sho was positive the Angels wouldn’t actually interfere, if the Producer was any indication, but he was also sure that the Composer wouldn’t be willing to bank on that.

And if Sho left sending out that notice to the literal final minutes, well, the Composer wouldn’t have time to drag along Their murder victim with Them. They’d have to come and deal with Sho all on their lonesome.

How tragic.

Sho had just finished setting up the wards around Pork City when he was so rudely interrupted.

“What?! How the hell did you two find this place?”

It was strange, but the Composer’s disdain felt–real. Present. Not the lofty and light-hearted mockery that They’d been projecting all week.

'Oh-ho? Does somebody dislike an interloper breaking their toys?’

“Uh, hello? Final day of the week?” Proxy still had some pep in him at least.

'Sorry kid; can’t save you now.’ It was only a slight pang of regret. The kid didn’t deserve the fate Sho needed to bestow upon the Composer. But Shibuya was bigger than all of them.

“We got the mission mail: 'Erase the Game Master at Pork City’. Surely you can’t be surprised we showed up?” The Composer’s words fairly dripped with condescension.

Mission mail?

…

Megumi.

That little shitstain. Sho grimaced. Perhaps his monuments hadn’t covered his activities quite as well as he’d hoped.

How… unfortunate.

Time to roll with the punches.

“An inverse matrix?! Double-crossed by the Conductor himself.” Sho let a feral grin cross his face.

He’d been told more than once that it was rather unnerving.

“No matter. Just saves me the effort of hunting you yoctograms down. Not quite the dramatic irony of our last showdown, but maybe the different variables will lead to a more satisfying answer.”

Sho began to draw in the power of the sigils he engraved on the soles of his boots while simultaneously beginning the transformation into his Noise form. He’d need time to cast the Flare spell since his prep work had been interrupted. If that meant corrupting his Noise form with Taboo energy, he’d do what he had to do.

At least Sho wouldn’t be infected long enough to go on a rampage. This was all going to end here.

It was weird. Sho figured he’d have to fight off them off while transforming so he could fight them at his peak capacity–but the kid seemed to be having a fit of some kind.

“It was you… You killed me!”

What.

Oh, that was just going to make turning the Composer into paste all the sweeter. Fucking mind-fucking asshole.

Sho snarled.

“None of that matters now,” he locked eyes with the Composer who looked sickly satisfied. “Let’s end this Game–prepare to get crunched!”

Sho wished this were a normal week.

Sho wished this were a normal week, and that the kid was a normal Player with a normal Partner.

Because they fought beautifully together.

They carefully calculated their positions and resources in proportion to their opponent’s to achieve the maximum damage while receiving the minimum injury.

Few Players ever reached this level of competency.

Then again, few Players ever played multiple weeks–with one of those weeks paired with the Composer Themself.

This Sakuraba Neku has so much potential.

And he was going to be erased here and now because he had the misfortune of answering the clarion call of CAT’s Art.

What a fucking waste.

It didn’t even matter that they defeated him. He wasn’t giving their fight his full attention. He was creating runes out of pure Imagination and constructing the Flare sigil.

Sho’s Noise form dissipated as he fell to one knee, breath being torn out of his lungs raggedly.

“A for effort kiddies, but looks like we’ve reached the final conclusion.”

The Composer was sneering, but his proxy just looked…

Bewildered.

Satisfied that his enemy was down, but… Deep in his eyes was a grand confusion about what was happening.

'Sorry kid. I don’t got time to clear things up for you, and you don’t got time to hear it.’

“I thought you were going to crunch us?”

Sho snorted. Then chortled. Followed by a squeaky giggle.

A little hysteria at the end was good for the soul, right?

And if Sho could wipe that smug confidence from the Composer’s face, it would be worth getting himself erased in the process.

Sho began chanting the final calculations aloud, slotting the last few runes into place. It was too late to stop what Sho had carefully set in motion. Even if the Composer managed to erase Sho, the spell would still go off.

He had time to gloat.

“I’ve been telling you fools all along, but no one ever listens. This world is made up of numbers, and I’ve been reverse-engineering the solution to my problems–to the insurmountable obstacles in my path.

"I am victorious,” Sho spat, that feral grin firmly back in place, even as fear took root in the Composer’s eyes as They finally perceived what Sho had been doing under Their nose the entire week.

The Flare burned Sho from the inside out expanding rapidly, taking out all in its path.

Sho’s last sight was strange though–the Composer pushing Their Proxy away and through the wards, shielding Their Partner from the brunt of the blast until Sakuraba was clear.

It didn’t fit Sho’s perception of the Composer at all. Why sacrifice himself for the Proxy? Not even Megs was delusional enough to uphold the bet if the Composer Themself was gone.

But Sho didn’t have time to sort out what it meant.

He was already gone.

Minamimoto’s next memory is of agony.

It was strange, however, he only remembers the agony when he looks back on the moment.

At the time, everything was…

Jagged…

Blinding…

Nonsensical…

He pulled himself out of the refinery sigil in Udagawa and tried to piece himself back together.

He looked around, and wanted to

…rend…consume…destroy…

but everything in him rebelled and tried to smother that instinct

NO! Precious–Protect–Preserve–

and he was left at war with himself, huddled on the dirty alley-way floor until he was able to refashion himself into a semi-coherent whole.

Minamimoto was the last line of defense. The Composer was going to destroy the precious thing. The Composer must be destroyed.

As he rose from the ground, he took in the remains of the refinery sigil on the wall behind him. Every stroke perfect and in place–mathematically perfect and soothing to the eye even in its consumed format.

deep inside a part of him screamed defiance

It was satisfying to see the runes that had guaranteed his rebirth.

Minamimoto grinned and clawed through them, ensuring no one else could reverse engineer his rebirth. He would be the pinacle of Reaperdom–a superior being worthy of saving this pathetic realm.

He just needed access to the Shibuya River.

The Café was abandoned.

frustration anger rage

The Producer appeared to have bounced.

Did the Composer discover their duplicity? Had they run in fear?

except the Composer was erased

Minamimoto squat down the whimpering voice that tried to undermine the Mission. Minamimoto had Survived, therefore his Nemesis must have Survived as well.

And if the Composer had indeed Perished, well, someone must still be holding the reins if there was a Game running.

no players no game

Minamimoto scoffed. His Taboo Noise was still crunching down on Reapers, who were all up and active in the UG. The Game was definitely still on.

And eventually, he even managed to track down those pesky Players.

Sue him. He got distracted creating a new monument. His rebirth deserved a grand announcement–the plebes needed to see him and cower before his might.

And who should cross his path but the two idiots from the first week–the murder-victim-proxy and the reaper-who-should-have-been-erased. The Conductor was still hedging his bets, obviously.

fucking megs

The Players were not suitably impressed with his resurrection–did not even seem to care about the whys and hows.

And that caused the rage to swell up. He spewed everything out at them, trying to pound into their thick skulls that he was a force to be reckoned with and they should cower before him–

Perfectplanperfectexecutioneverypieceinplacesuperiorityadaptability

–and when they still didn’t show him the appropriate respect, Minamimoto trounced them.

It was the perfect test run of his new powers, and it worked beautifully. Not even the Composer would be able to stand up to him now. Minamimoto was going to get the top spot and rule like he’d always been destined to–everything in his image.

Filled with glee, Minamimoto left the morons eating his dust while he made for the River.

Only to find his way blocked.

Not even his new Taboo powers managed to eat through the barrier no matter how much power he blasted through.

no elegance no refinement

Claws as sharp as daggers gripped at his skull, pulling his hair with sharp tugs, trying to get that insidious little voice to shut up, ignoring the rents left behind on his skull.

look closely

strands like barbed wire

chainlink wards

konishi’s work

That’s right. The Iron Bitch had an attention for detail that rivalled his own, if not the artistic flair. But her wards were impeccable, it was undeniable.

Given enough time, Minamimoto would eventually be able to break through. But he was on a deadline.

He kicked a wall in frustration and began making a new monument to keep himself occupied while he waited.

If he’d known he’d need Konishi, he wouldn’t have left her with the twerps when he’d kicked their asses.

“…I want you to make me your Conductor.”

Holy shit.

Glee rose up within Minamimoto and he didn’t try to subdue the manic grin crossing his face.

“Double-crossing Megs? How delightful!”

And it was. Delicious and satisfying–loyalties and partnerships crumbling to dust around him. Acknowledgment of his power and glory.

fool me once

Oh, of course she’d ultimately wind up betraying him down the road, but that kind of malicious intent would keep him on his toes–keep him from getting as compliant as the Conductor or bored as the Composer. There would be no trust, no complacency. Desperation breeds innovation, and the court of Composer Minamimoto would be full of innovation.

Minamimoto was barely out of sight of the fools facing Konishi when he was suddenly crushed, both physically and spiritually. He frothed at the mouth, scrambling for a fraction of power, something, anything to fight back against the force constraining him.

And found himself cut off at every turn.

satisfaction

“A shame it’s come to this. But don’t fret, dear. I have the feeling that things are about to get very interesting.”

No footsteps accompanied the voice and its trailing giggle, but the howling rage of his dissenting feelings made clear who had bested him.

COMPOSER

“Be a good boy, now, and sleep.”

No matter how hard he tried to fight it, Minamimoto succumbed to the power in that voice.

Sho didn’t expect to wake up again.

That’s twice he didn’t get what he wanted.

(And if he ever found that pathetic excuse of an Angel–who must have been the one to fix the refinery sigil–he’d make the barista regret ever existing…)

It took days to sort out his feelings and memories, trying to figure out just who Minamimoto Sho still was, and if he was still the Reaper he’d been before his Taboo-resurrection.

(Close examination showed his appearance at least was back to normal, with the addition of a fully healed bullet crease on his right arm. His mental state though, well. He hadn’t realized how off his rocker he’d been while Taboo-ified. Who knew what his actual state was now?)

And just as he felt he had his head screwed on somewhat straight, he was summoned before the Composer.

Except…

Did he really want to stand before a Composer who lost his bet? Was there any point sticking around to be a punching back for the Composer’s frustrations?

Shit.

Because Sho knew he couldn’t leave without the Composer’s permission. That was one of the restrictions of being a Reaper–you didn’t cross district boundaries without all the i’s dotted and t’s crossed from Administration. It was a hassle. It was why so few Reapers bothered.

Sho was a master of the paperwork, he’d done it so often.

But he still needed Composer approval.

'And after this last month,’ Sho thought, glumly, 'What are the chances of getting that?’

Walking into the Shibuya River was eerie. It was supposed to be eerie. You were entering into the lair of a god of the dead. If you didn’t approach with some reticence and respect, there was something wrong with you.

At least, if you weren’t a Reaper Officer who was constantly in the Dead God’s Pad. Then it was old hat and reverence went right out the window.

But this time, Sho found it eerie.

It was… silent. The lights flickered off of recent battle damage, and rubble–including a badly constructed imitation of one of Sho’s own monuments–casting strange shadows that flickered in and out as the imprint of the area tried to reassert itself over the recent reality. That the Composer hadn’t just overwritten things back to normal was telling of Their mood.

There wasn’t any Noise.

Not that Noise was common in the Shibuya River, but there were usually a few hanging around–following Officers who wanted them available for quick errands.

No Reapers either–Officers or otherwise.

The area was barren–dead.

Entering the common area, where the Officers gathered to receive their assignments and plan out future Games, Sho was shocked to see the evidence of battle here, too.

Overturned sofas; smashed aquariums; broken bottles and glassware; slashed paintings and cracked statues…

It was a warzone.

And standing in the middle of it was the Composer Themself.

That brought Sho up short.

The Composer stayed in the Throne Room–creating Their vision. The Conductor traversed the boundaries between the two worlds, bringing that Vision to life.

Where the fuck was Megs?

“I’m pleased to see you’re recovering, Minamimoto.”

Unlike during the Game where They wore their mortal guise, the Composer now stood before Sho in Their true form–an ethereal being made of light whom Sho couldn’t even properly perceive. Even Their voice hummed at a frequency that wasn’t quite sound yet pierced the brain.

It all gave Sho a fucking headache.

“Bullshit. I’ve been a pain in your ass all month. Where the fuck is Megs?”

Higashizawa was gone; erased that first week for no good fucking reason. Konishi musta been erased by either the Players or Megs when he discovered her betrayal. That left Minamimoto as the only Officer, and he figured he’d be getting demoted any second now. Where the fuck was Megumi? Someone needed to start gathering new Officers…

“I’m afraid dear Megumi paid the ultimate price for his love of Shibuya.”

Sho’s brain froze.

Then rage filled him–almost as strong as when he was more Taboo than Reaper.

“Are you serious right now?! Megs jumps through your hoops, wins your little bet, and you fucking erased him?!”

It wasn’t that Sho was particularly fond of Megumi, but the fucker was a decent administrator when he wasn’t egregiously kissing the Composer’s ass–and UG’s needed administrators to keep running smoothly.

And what was to stop the Composer from just going ahead and flattening Shibuya on a whim, now?

The area that represented the Composer’s head tilted curiously, as if inspecting something interested.

“You misunderstand. Megumi lost, and thus paid the price. He Played well, and had no regrets at the end.”

Sho didn’t hear anything after the words 'Megumi lost’, though.

No.

Nononononono.

“BULLSHIT!” Minamimoto roared, and strode across the debris-ridden room to shake the ethereal being by Their lapels.

(Or what would have been their lapels if they weren’t a being made of light.)

“YOU wanted Shibuya destroyed. MEGS wanted it to continue. Shibuya is still here, therefore YOU lost and MEGS won so where is he?”

Gentle hands gripped Sho’s own, and removed them with careful but implacable force.

“I changed my mind.”

Numbness creeped up on Sho.

Changed Their mind. Like that was an option. Like destruction hadn’t been hanging over all of them like the sword of Damocles and why didn’t they all just sit down and have a nice little chat–

The Composer changed Their mind, shifted the goalposts to match Megumi’s own side and still erased him for it.

Force burst out from Sho, and all of the loose debris and broken furniture smashed into the walls. Electrical wires danced and sparked and Noise finally started floating in, drawn by the emotional upheaval.

“What the fuck is wrong with you? What gives you the goddamned right–!”

The chaos didn’t touch the Composer; not a single whisp of light was displaced by Sho’s tantrum. And that caused Sho’s anger to fizzle out. He thumped down onto the ground with growl, crossing his arms defensively across his chest.

“Fuck it. Just get it over with.”

An amused chortle, similar enough to Their giggles in that blasted mortal form that Sho was tempted to make a futile attempt at strangling the fucker.

“Get what over with, dear?”

Sho didn’t bother to look up. Would not give the fucker that satisfaction.

“My punishment. I tried to kill you. Multiple time. I unleashed Taboo Noise on the UG. I can’t stop you, you’ve proved that. So what’s it gonna be?”

There were no footsteps or other noise, no change in light quality to indicate movement; but suddenly the Composer was crouched in front of Sho, a hand gently stroking over Sho’s cap.

“There will be consequences from my bet with Megumi, to be sure, but you will not be paying them. You played the Game brilliantly, and will continue to do so.”

Scootching back out of the Composer’s immediate reach, Sho looked up incredulously, trying to figure out the angle.

“What the fuck is wrong with you?”

And it was impossible to make out individual features on the Composer’s face (face-area?), but nonetheless Sho got the impression of a wry grin.

“Many things, according to you and Neku. And you’re both probably right. But there are higher powers that I who are in charge of my conduct, and don’t you fret–I shall be censured most harshly for this mess. Why, it’ll be the perfect time for some enterprising young Officer to seek a promotion! Think of the possibilities!”

And there was that fucking giggle.

But Sho wasn’t going to rise to that bait. When not off his gourd on Taboo energy, being Composer was only a means to an end–a way to protect Shibuya. If the Composer was serious about changing Their mind, Sho was content to continue refining his craft within the boundaries of his Officer position. Promotion to higher positions could wait.

Although, now that the Composer had mentioned him…

“What did you wind up doing with that kid, Sakuraba?”

A wistful sigh, like some lovesick teen, and now Sho was going to be sick…

“Oh, my dear Neku was a treasure from beginning to end. So grumpy and misanthropic, yet somehow willing to help others. Desirous to save a world full of people he hated. A delightful contradiction.”

There was the impression of a mischievous grin.

“Why, I thought for sure that after faking my own death and revealing that I was the one who murdered him in the first place that he’d revel in the opportunity to shoot me back. Especially when I laid the fate of Shibuya on the line.”

Sho’s blood ran cold. How the fuck can anyone get off on causing so much mayhem and trauma…?

“But he placed the fate of Shibuya straight back in my hands, trusted me to do the right thing, even after all that I’d already done.”

A revelation steeped in a wounded childlike wonder. Sho just felt sick.

Sho would have shot the bastard.

“What the hell was the point of that?”

“Why, to save my own skin, of course.”

What.

“Oh, don’t make that face,” the Composer cooed. “As I said, I’m going to be in quite a bit of trouble for all of this, but killing someone to create a Player, why that would have meant an Annihilation far beyond simple erasure. So we played a final Game. And dear Neku’s entry fee was his time in the Game.”

It was brilliant.

Neku shoots the Composer and wins, Composer is not there to restore the entry fee; Composer gets around this Annihilation business with a standard erasure while Neku becomes the new Composer and inherits this fucking mess. Composer doesn’t have to deal with Their ennui.

Neku lets the Composer shoot him, the time in the Game becomes a valid piece of lost collateral. The Composer can’t be punished for it.

As long as the murdered Player is restored.

It was disgustingly self-serving.

“So, the kid’s alive then?” Because Sho doesn’t trust the Composer as far as he can throw him.

“Yes, yes.” Finally the Composer stands back up, a dismissive hand flapping at Sho, still on the ground. “Neku and his Partners all restored as reward for surviving the Game. And I even threw in that little Noise as a bonus for being good sports.”

Sho is exhausted, and he still doesn’t know what his own fate is going to be.

“So, you need me to make the appropriate memory alterations? Evidence tampering? The usual?” Maybe once he’s done, the Composer will let him leave.

Hands dancing through the air, the debris in the Dead God’s Pad finally begins to collect itself back together at the Composer’s whim. Order beginning to be restored.

“Oh, don’t you fret so, Minamimoto. That was days ago, while you were still recovering. Everything that needs to be handled has been handled. We need to focus closer to home.”

There’s something about that that tickles Sho’s brain, something that’s not quite right, but it’s overridden by a far more alarming issue.

“We.” Flat, disbelieving.

“Naturally. I’ve already started arrangements to borrow Conductors from adjacent districts on a short term basis, but we really need more than one officer to help run things, don’t you think? Be a dear, and look through the personnel files–surely some of our harriers distinguished themselves during these last Games and can be fast-tracked to promotion…”

And… the fucker just keeps listing out a multitude of different tasks that need to be done. And need to be done now. By Sho.

Sho, who is fucking exhausted. Who’s still shaky within his own mind. Who is still contemplating running the Composer through at the first opportunity that rises.

Sho, who is the only one left to help pick up the pieces.

And Sho does love Shibuya.

And Sho does want to be handy when it’s time to take down the fucker who played with all of their lives. He may not be powerful enough now, but he’s started from a more knowledgeable position this time, so maybe the next time he’s needed he’ll have a chance.

So Sho decides, without making any big issue out of it, to stay.

He notes the tasks that need to be done, and starts figuring out the steps to do them. Starting with the new Officers. Because fucked if he’s doing this alone.

Joshua feels the moment when Minamimoto decides to stay, a sharp note going back in tune. He smiles to himself, but makes sure it doesn’t seep out into his aura. There’s still work to be done.

(To be continued)

#TWEWY #TWEWY Bang 2019 #The World Ends With You #leasspell-dael #Subarashiki Kono Sekai #submission #fanfic

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