[legendaryplayer]

LEGENDARYPLAYER - independent private sakuraba neku - 18+ post game canon divergent - written and drawn by Willow! this account is dash only for the time being.

this blog covers the events of both the original TWEWY and NEO TWEWY, but with canon divergence at the ending where instead of returning to the RG with everyone, he chooses to stay within the UG. he accepts he cannot go back to living a normal life; instead taking up the mantle of being Shibuya's Champion.

neku's age has also been raised to 20 instead of 17, just for personal comfort. i do not feel comfortable writing a teenager and am instead focusing on neku tackling life as a young adult.

RULES.

I. i reserve the right to curate my experience with the dash and that comes with the power of blocking / soft blocking. on that note, this account is MUTUALS ONLY. i will not rp with people to whom i am not following.

II. there is sensitive topics such as death and violence represented in this blog. if you need something tagged, please let me know and I'll be sure to make sure it happens. because of that, this blog is 18+.

III. i prefer plotted threads for heavy subject matter or long term plot, but i am fine for the most part when it comes to easy threads with no heavy commitment. please be patient with responses.

this blog is heavily under construction.

[legendaryplayer]

"Phones, jus' who is that blond guy from Shinjuku? Not Flutters, but the other guy. He's, uh... got an earring and a big jacket, yo." Beat is rubbing the back of his neck, his gaze turned upwards as he chews on the inside of his cheek.

"Tha' guy's vibes is all kinds a' weird. I'unno what his name is, but I been callin' him Birdie in my head cuz he's got a bird on his jacket."

that.... was a wildly complicated answer. one that neku wasn't entirely sure he was ready to say out loud fully. not because he didn't want to acknowledge it- rather, it was due to him not having a clear picture of how everything fell into place.

❝ his name is hazuki.  ❞ is what he really settled on to say first. start with a name. try not to get too deep in nostalgia. they weren't kids anymore. they weren't attending school. there was a boundary of death between them and things got so much more difficult to elaborate on.

he hadn't really told beat much of anything about his life before the game. it was a really dark portion of his life. he was sure that the other could figure out that things were bad back then because of how he acted towards him, rhyme and shiki. grief and anger clouded his world a lot back then.

❝ we went to school together before....  ❞ he trails off for just a heartbeat, ❝ he died. a little before i did. i still don't know entirely what happened. i was trying to find out when the whole thing with minamimoto and joshua happened.  ❞ he had been going to each of their haunts, thinking maybe hazuki was at the udagawa mural. hazuki had loved that place. he'd introduced him to CAT. he wouldn't have the friends he does now if it wasn't for him.

❝  haz ended up becoming composer outside of shibuya, somehow. that might be why he feels weird to you, too. ❞ he couldn't put his finger on why that fact bothered him so much. he had also been put in a position where he could have been composer once. joshua held him at gunpoint for a second time and shot him, again. the difference between he and hazuki was that he had to have done something irreversible. whoever he was now.... being composer changed him in a lot of ways. he could still see small glimpses of his best friend in there but it was shrouded in something else.

❝ anyway.... we knew each other a long time ago. same class for most of school since we were kids. he's actually the one who showed me CAT.  ❞

[legendaryplayer]

"YOOO!!" Beat is going to throw his arm around Neku's shoulder, giving him a firm squeeze that doubles as a self-proclaimed "manly hug".

"Phones, you gotta check this out. It's a CAT-original, jus' for me. Check this shit out." He's going to take his headphones off and slap them over Neku's ears. He beams at Neku while the music begins to play.

It's.... indescribable.

the force in which beat collides with neku when he's excited is always enough to engage a full body reaction. sometimes, it's enough to completely throw off his balance completely and he stumbles a couple steps. today wasn't so bad. beats arm around his shoulder is a place of comfort now that he was reaching adulthood properly. a few years ago, beat was lucky if he could touch him remotely close to this.

❝ no way? i didn't know CAT was making headphones again.  ❞ he remembered how excited for the collectable pair that was a collaboration with Jupiter of the Monkey. his first real important item besides the MP3 player he'd worn. the moment beat put the headphones on him and turned the music on; he let the music and sound quality wash over it.

CAT's headphones were always good. always. the sound quality was above average and it felt like the music was running through you, rather than just surrounding you. these did both. neku was willing to bet that mr. hanekoma had been working on these for awhile to help make beats latent abilities more proficient. sound surfing wasn't just about the music. it was finding the rhythm and the full body rhythm to enhance motion. at least, that's what he'd pieced together watching beat speed off with. mr. hanekoma must have also understood that for headphones of this quality.

also, it was CAT and no one caught CAT slipping.

❝  not gonna lie, i'm pretty jealous. i never got anything like this from CAT himself. ❞ he teases gently, though it was true. there was a small bit of envy about the fact that beat got something so personalized. not so jealous he was going to do or say something about it. he was mostly happy that beat got something so specified to him that it could help him in a positive way. that, and, he liked seeing beat happy.

❝ how long is the battery life? my old pair could play for about six hours without needing to be recharged. it's probably less now, but theyre still good quality.  ❞ but not as good at beat's pair evidently. it just meant he needed to keep an eye out for the future releases for new items.

[legendaryplayer]

neku couldn't help but sigh exasperatedly at the mention of cleaning duty. ❝ kinda. i'm on th' sheet for it this week.  ❞ it usually wasn't too bad, but it still sucked to have to do. haz never stuck around for it. it usually resulted in them going from school to the train station. they'd been going to shibuya a lot lately. there were a lot of good claw machines lately.

❝  i mean.... i shouldn't, but.... ❞ there were other classmates already starting to get ready to get the supplies out. the class rep wasn't in here either so.... ❝  maybe i could just do extra chores tomorrow? if you wanna head downstairs and wait for me by the shoe lockers, i could try talking to Sato-san into doing my half today. ❞ he'd go plead his case to get out of it, somehow.

[ruinouspath]

"Ugh... But if you have to do extra chores tomorrow, we'll have to wait even longer to get out of here." Hazuki lets out a big burdened sigh and drops his hand back down onto the desk, as his eyes are turned away, he watches their other classmates getting started.

"Um... I guess I can deal with that, though." Hazuki gets up from his desk and stretches as big as he can before dropping his arms with a huff, "Okay, I'm outta here, see you at the lockers. Try to be fast? 'Cuz I wanna do more than the arcade if we're heading for Shibuya."

[legendaryplayer]

❝  i'll try. ❞ try was an awful big word when it came to cleaning duty. no one actually enjoyed having to do it in their class, but it had been something instilled in most of them (except hazuki) since starting school how important it was. once the other had left to go downstairs towards the lockers, neku got himself up from his desk and started putting some items away until he knew for sure he could track down the class president.

it took a lot more pleading than he anticipated. maybe a bit of a white lie to follow about there being an emergency and having to leave as soon as class was over. before he knew it, he was rushing down the hallway down the stairs towards the lockers. nearly tripping and running into other students, he clipped the wall and held onto the edge of the row of lockers that he and hazuki were assigned at the beginning at the year. the teen needed to catch his breath, leaning over his knees, panting heavily like he'd been in P.E.

❝  w....e're good... let's.... go..... ❞

[ruinouspath]

@legendaryplayer

❝ dude, i got some of my allowance yesterday. do you want to go to the arcade?  ❞ he's leaning on hazuki's desk after class let out. neku had been chosen to help with cleaning duty today so he'd be stuck cleaning for at least thirty minutes before he could go to his lockers. he wanted nothing more than to have his own shoes back. uwabaki were always so uncomfortable at the end of the day. he probably needed to buy a new pair for school soon anyway. maybe on the way home.

"Duh! Like you even have to ask?" Hazuki plants his chin in his hand as he rests his elbow against his desk, peeking up at Neku, "Hey, wait... aren't you stuck on cleaning duty today?" He doesn't want to wait that long, and he could very easily just leave Neku to do his work and wait for him at the arcade, but... he wouldn't ever do that to him.

Hazuki's grin widens and he gives Neku a little poke to his forehead, "Sooo... does that mean you're ditching?"

[legendaryplayer]

neku couldn't help but sigh exasperatedly at the mention of cleaning duty. ❝ kinda. i'm on th' sheet for it this week.  ❞ it usually wasn't too bad, but it still sucked to have to do. haz never stuck around for it. it usually resulted in them going from school to the train station. they'd been going to shibuya a lot lately. there were a lot of good claw machines lately.

❝  i mean.... i shouldn't, but.... ❞ there were other classmates already starting to get ready to get the supplies out. the class rep wasn't in here either so.... ❝  maybe i could just do extra chores tomorrow? if you wanna head downstairs and wait for me by the shoe lockers, i could try talking to Sato-san into doing my half today. ❞ he'd go plead his case to get out of it, somehow.

[legendaryplayer]

❛  nothing from the past ever happens quite the same.  ❜

❝  is this your way of saying don't expect the events to play out the same twice. ❞ it sure was cryptic but it made sense, at least. nothing in the UG was as easy as it seemed. at least he was getting a feel for things a little more in terms of pacing.

❝  go figure. here i was hoping for something quick and easy. ❞

[lollipopsandgunshots]

"It's not a perfect system by any means, but it works," she shrugs. "We've had to make some tweaks here and there, given...events. I think some of the changes have been for the better, but that's also because I've been advocating more and more for the well-being of the Reapers. Not like we were treated poorly or anything before, but... Well, lets just say there's things I'm not going to let happen again."

She was determined to never let anyone else go through the things she has.

She pauses at his question, though. Was that...really something he'd thought about all this time? Of all things?

"Uh... Yeah, it's still there. Lots of Reapers will go hang out there when they don't have a lot to do. Sometimes we'll have meetings there. There's some other areas connected to it as well, there's a few hallways, I've got an office down there since they let me be GM again. Gotta have somewhere to get my paperwork and stuff done. I could...show you around, if you want?"

This was so awkward for her. Not just the fact that this was the kid she had terrorized a few years ago - but just socializing in general. Hanging out with anyone but Kariya was... Not exactly something she was good at.

[legendaryplayer]

❝  i guess that makes sense. ❞ he'd never really considered it a base of operations until now, but it lined up perfectly based on what he understood for things. the reapers game management had to happen somewhere and if mr.h could have a cafe, then it was as normal as anything that the reapers would have a bar.

❝  i'd like that- if you're okay with it. i don't exactly know right now what i am and am not allowed to know, but no one has said i can't go there. ❞ he was feeling awkward in his own right. uzuki used to terrorize him and his friends years ago. she was different now. so was kariya, sort of. it wasn't bad by any means.

❝  if it means anything, based on what ive heard. you do a good job with managing the reapers. you have a real skill in it. they are lucky to have you as an advocate. ❞

[poohsources]

🐝  *  ―  𝑩𝑹𝑶𝑲𝑬𝑵 𝑰𝑹𝑰𝑺 𝑺𝑬𝑵𝑻𝑬𝑵𝑪𝑬 𝑺𝑻𝑨𝑹𝑻𝑬𝑹𝑺.  (  all of these are taken from the album ‘the eyes of tomorrow’ released in 2007 and 'x lover' released in 2021.  feel free to adjust to better fit your muses.  )

❛  you're attempting to bore me.  ❜ ❛  maybe we're all insane?  ❜ ❛  i see you enjoy this.  ❜ ❛  i'm feeling much better, my friend.  ❜ ❛  never again will i give in.  ❜ ❛  now fight, unless you're willing to die.  ❜ ❛  this is the moment i've been waiting for.  ❜ ❛  no doubt or fear, my view is now clear.  ❜ ❛  i've never felt so alive.  ❜ ❛  i still remember the way you said goodbye.  ❜ ❛  no matter how hard i try, i can't forget about love.  ❜ ❛  until the end of me, you'll be the death of me.  ❜ ❛  i dare you to cross the line again.  ❜ ❛  i'm waiting to be broken inside.  ❜ ❛  nothing from the past ever happens quite the same.  ❜ ❛  but i never expected that i'd underestimate my love for you.  ❜ ❛  i guess i'll spend another lifetime searching for a new hope.  ❜ ❛  it's impossible to look away.  ❜ ❛  i'm astonished by your absolute beauty.  ❜ ❛  set all your fears aside.  ❜ ❛  is this the part where we start our lives?  ❜ ❛  here comes the part where we start our lives.  ❜ ❛  i feel i've already been here.  ❜ ❛  so why does nothing make us wanna try?  ❜ ❛  just one touch, you can change my mind.  ❜ ❛  i can say the process is painless. that'd be a lie.  ❜ ❛  i don't have the strength to let you go.  ❜ ❛  deep within my soul, i've always known that you're everything i've ever needed.  ❜ ❛  just say the words and i'm all yours.  ❜ ❛  i'm scared to death of living this life without you.  ❜ ❛  how can this be wrong when it feels so right?  ❜ ❛  would you give me one more night?  ❜ ❛  i'll show you everything that you've ever dreamed of.  ❜ ❛  will you find your way home?  ❜ ❛  don't give up on me, i'm giving this my everything.  ❜ ❛  i still believe in you.  ❜ ❛  i'll fight any war with you and for you.  ❜ ❛  i wonder why i waited for you.  ❜ ❛  there's not a harder thing a man can do than pretend he's not in love with you.  ❜ ❛  i've been lost for a little while but i feel free.  ❜

[lollipopsandgunshots]

"Neku, we wouldn't still be here if it weren't for you. And your friends. They're just as important, and I think some people forget that part. But you've done a lot that the rest of us could never do."

She sighs.

"I know you're just a kid underneath it all. And I think you deserve a lot better than living in the UG with the rest of us." She wished she could send him home. But that was far beyond what she could do. She was just a Game Master, only able to adjust rules as they pertained to the Game itself, and only able to send home the Players she felt had done well.

She shakes her head, trying to not dwell on that. She could definitely start rambling about why she thought he should have gone home if she did.

"But, I guess a lot of us were kids when we came here and chose to stay. So, welcome to the club of dumb kids that didn't know what they were getting themselves in to, I guess," she chuckles. "Not that I'd ever give it up now. But we were all dumb kids too, once upon a time."

[legendaryplayer]

❝  i'd argue to say they did most the work. i wasn't exactly easy to deal with back then. ❞ or now. he'd grown (supposedly) but even then, a lot happened and he had to learn how to cope with his emotions. shinjuku forced him to compartmentalize things. he was still upset. still angry about being killed by coco. still angry about being lied to by so many people but.... he wouldn't let it cloud his judgement. it was merely his perspective given what he lived. he didn't have the whole picture. there were still moment he'd get angry and yell, but it took a lot more to get him to that point.

❝  i guess so. the more mr. h tells me about the UG, the more i wonder how everyone gets anything done. it sounds like a real pain of a system, even if it makes a weird amount of sense. ❞ he shoves his hands into his pockets, looking over the reaper to whom he was formerly at odds with. in this weird way, he was sort of like estranged coworker to her.

he wasn't a player. he wasn't a reaper either, but he was still involved in the UG's dealings.

❝  is that bar still at the underpass. the one with the fish in the floor? when i was in the RG, i wasn't able to get there because it was blockaded but..... i realized that it was only accessible when in the UG. the former conductor. kitaniji. he was waiting for my friends and i there. ❞

[the-composer]

❝ ... ❞ The silence, albeit brief, processing Neku's words and the predicament he's put Joshua in concludes with an exaggerated sigh. Resigning himself to the fact Neku is probably not going to budge, lest he stray from his idol's instructions (and Joshua knows Neku would sooner drag him out himself than go against CAT's orders). He creeps into view, flicking lights as he approaches, violet eyes locked on and sizing his former partner up. What could he do... manipulation? Seduction? Violence? No, any of those options would end disastrously, and in him getting chewed out. Fine. He'll pick his battles. ❝ Didn't take him for the kind of guy to exploit his apprentices by making you his errand boy. ❞ With a devious titter, he's back to his default mode, all smirks and coquettish wiles. Hooking his curl with his pointer finger as he slowly walks circles around Neku.

❝ It's alright, dear. Take a load off on the couch. I'll be quick, unless... I don't need to be. ❞ No doubt Joshua would prefer to take his sweet time. He pauses behind the boy to inspect the collar around his neck.

❝ Does he have you on the clock right now? Is he actually working the cafe today? ... you know... perhaps this apprenticing arrangement will be good discipline for him as well. ❞

[legendaryplayer]

his body tenses under joshua's gaze as he sees the shift in the room and he makes his approach. he felt like a prey animal right now, but rather than have a fawn response, he stayed in place to show joshua he wasn't going to let himself be intimidated by him.

he didn't know what joshua was thinking. he didn't really need to either with the look on his face. what he wasn't expecting was the subtle difference of his former partner. joshua was older.

by at least a decade the more visible he was and slightly taller than the last time he saw him. more mature, at least physically. emotionally he'd shown to be the same prick. neku wasn't able to really hide the surprise in seeing him like this in a robe- but this day had already been full of surprises.

he was in CAT's apartment with joshua-- the composer, in his bed who was closer in age to his idol than he ever looked as a presumed teenager.

a plethora of questions ran through his mind all at once. just how much about joshua did he really know? was this his real age? was he older than this? was it like this all the time?

❝  he was busy with something important, according to him. so he sent me. i wasn't expecting this. ❞ he says in his own defense. he didn't even want to be here doing this, but mister hanekoma had told him it'd really help him out. he wanted to help- but now he was second thinking that..... okay, no he wasn't. it was just not what he expected.

❝  he was there when i left. you can ask him yourself when we get there if you ever hurry up. ❞

[lollipopsandgunshots]

@legendaryplayer asked “ I’m not about being analyzed, like it’s some kind of test. I'm so over beings thrown to Garage Wolves. ”

hilary duff sentence starters

"Yeah, well... Join the club. At least you're everyone's favorite around here," she chuckles, trying to offer a smile. "Pretty sure you couldn't do anything wrong even if you tried."

[legendaryplayer]

❝  i dont know about that. ❞ being the favorite or doing things wrong. it felt like everything was still nucellar. the situation might be different but it was still shibuya in panic mode since the first time this happened with him. he felt like if he breathed wrong, it'd trigger something.

❝  i don't get this whole.... favoritism thing with people towards me. it's weird. i dont think i did anything worthy of the praise people give me- it's not like i really knew what i was doing. i just.... ❞ he wanted his friends to be safe and to go back to the Real Ground. he wanted a normal life but- how was that possible for someone like him at this point. every time he went back to the RG, something in the UG pulled him back in. now, the RG feels too mundane for him. he wouldn't be able to live a normal life even if he wanted to.

not with everything he knows now.

❝  but i'll manage. i always have. i just have a better feel around now and mr. hanekoma has been helping me with learning how the Game works. ❞

[legendaryplayer]

❝ No. ❞ The draconian twink had just left its lair, having roused to the sound of the door. He's propped up against the bedroom's doorframe, wrapped in layers of silk, which he's pulling snugly by the sash to preserve his modesty. ❝ Did he give you a key? ❞ He'd be snorting smoke out his nostrils about now, if he could, in exasperation of being disturbed like this. Looking like this. ❝ Unless you're offering coffee or a blowie, you can consider me out of bed and leave so I go back to it and we say I didn't. ❞ / @the-composer (bounced.)

❝  obviously, or i wouldn't be able to get inside, stupid. ❞ he wasn't going to break into mr hanekoma's apartment. it was weird that joshua was even here in the first place like this. he didn't get it but clearly their relationship was a lot more involved than he was aware of. he might not be able to see joshua well in the dark bedroom, but that tone was everything he needed to know that his former partner was still inside of whatever it was the composer was.

it felt like a scene out of a movie with the predator watching from the cover of the dark, ready to pounce.

❝  i didn't want to come here either, but he told me that it was my job to do this today. ❞ there was a loophole. joshua was actually out of bed. he did come here and deliver coffee. he could technically leave.

❝  look, take it up with mr. h. i'm doing what he asked and i brought you coffee. i'm going to wait in the hallway, but he insisted that you head back to the shop with me as soon as you are 'up'. ❞

[groovepawn]

Ah, she can practically feel him scowling on the other side of the screen, and what an accomplished feeling it is. He makes it too easy. Never change, Neku. 

[Text 11:40]: slacking off hmmm??? heheh jk! caramel macchiato pweaseee w/ extra whip. [Text 11:40]: & extra caramel  [Text 11:40]: & you have to share some donuts w me 🍩╰(▔∀▔)╯

It’s not exactly the most nutritious meal, but her sweet tooth was relentless in life as it was in death. (Plus, this way, she could make sure he didn’t skip lunch either.)

[Text 11:41]: thank you partner! ♡♡♡

[legendaryplayer]

he reads the message first before going to look to see how many donuts were left. even if they weren't technically supposed to eat the shop goods until after hours, both he and mr.h did break the rule occasionally. it wasn't like the cafe was overly busy. most of the clientele would he showing up in the evening anyway, after he himself was off.

the morning was very slow, but there was still some of a dent in what was available. they had a couple glazed and old fashioned and some that had cat prints with chocolate icing. he was learning to draw the prints today before the icing set so while they weren't the best, they definitely weren't impossible to figure out.

██ │which donuts you want? ██ │im gonna set the donuts aside for my lunchbreak and come see you.

he looked up to the man typing at the counter, writing something down on a piece of paper. it was wild, seeing CAT at work. it wasn't street art, or music, but another facet of the mans work and it was interesting to watch him work. if customers came by, they didn't bother him unless he initiated it.

while he waited, he went to go get everything together for her drink after putting the right amount of yen in the register. no matter what neku was doing, it was like mr.h could sense when money was involved. he'd gotten more than one 'double check your amounts' and 'put yer cash in the register first'. he'd seen him do the same thing before making anything that wasn't the house blend. which was weird. why would you exclude that one item from payment when you drank it all day?

[groovepawn]

🌻Uno reverse reverse!🌻

She's giggling and smiling at her phone. Cut to Eri beside her, smirking and rolling her eyes.

To: @legendaryplayer

[11:36]: then you're getting a hug (whether u like it or nottttt!) ヘ(^o^ヘ) [11:37]: i owe you some nuggies! [11:37]: .................or a tuna roll (╹∀◠)

[legendaryplayer]

still with those nicknames. he considers for a moment, glancing across the cafe where hanekoma was typing away at the red laptop working on some coding project. hanekoma didn't care if he texted during work hours, so long as he wasn't on his phone with customers around unless it was an emergency. today the music in the cafe was a little louder than usual so he must be a little more focused on the thing he's working on.

██ │(￢_￢;) ██ │fine i guess ██ │if you tell me what you want for lunch i'll put the order in ██ │mr. h is busy but im not doing anything.

[legendaryplayer]

[ 📲 message sent: ]  you know what's beautiful? read the first word!

⋆▼ MESSAGE SENT ⋮ SHIKI ↘↘ NEKU SAVED THE MESSAGE RECIEVED ↘↘ NEKU ATTACHES FILE : uno_reverse_card.jpeg ██ │ no, you are ██ │ i'll bring you lunch from mr.h's and tell you that in person

[legendaryplayer]

A new Game, huh? Don't worry—I'm here to help.

an independent, canon divergent post game sakuraba neku, written and drawn by willow. oc and crossover friendly. non rp-accounts dni

[legendaryplayer]

❛  how are you holding up?  ❜

❝ kind of a weird thing to be asking me, dont you think?  ❞ but the point was that joshua was asking and that in itself was leaps and bounds more than he'd been given in the past. there was a lot that happened. a lot of gaps he was still filling in and coming to terms with. his life in the RG wasn't going to be the same, but neither was the life he was going to have the UG. mr hanekoma had put it in a way that he was essentially carving out a place in the city, like the Composer, but without most of the responsibility.

❝ i think i'm holding myself together. for now at least. i have a lot of questions and you owe me a lot more answers; but i'm not going to press for them right now. as far as im aware, we've got nothing but time so..... yeah. i'm here. that's enough.  ❞ it wasn't about if he was good or bad. CAT taught him that it was okay to have the bad days. that the good and bad were fluid and both needed to have something be whole.

damn if it wasn't hard though.

❝ i'm gonna be working with mr. h in the cafe as an apprenticeship. he said theres a lot i gotta learn and that a players perspective is only a part of the trade, whatever that means. i guess that means you and i are going to be coworkers.....  ❞ theres a moment of silence that neku takes to look at joshua, studying him and seeing the changes in his physical appearance as well as how he carried himself. this was the Composer. or at least, half of him was. his former partner was still in there, hes sure of it.

❝  it's nice to see you again, given what we've been through. i... ❞ missed you. because there was a part of him that did. he'd reached out to him repeatedly and got nothing back. no matter how many times he'd got to hanekoma, he was always given some excuse to why joshua wasn't answering him back. he knew it was bigger than he was saying, but it didn't make things easier.

❝  i'm am glad you are still here, josh. i thought.... maybe you hated me or something and you wanted to keep your distance. but i get it. it's none of my business. i'm just glad i got to see you again. ❞