nmc0204 | wecouldbe postgame CMO

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game: wcb

wecouldbe postgame CMO

WCB R3 Postgame CMO

all the 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim spoilers I didn't already spill in game lmao

Headed back to 1985 in her home world with Serizawa, Majima, Harumi and Claptrap. Their (and the others') presence sort of lightly derails the finale of 13S, though not in a hugely meaningful way – the kaiju are defeated, the kids are all saved, that all stays the same.
13 SENTINELS SPOILERS: (highlight to see!) With the reveal that Ryoko's original world is a VR simulation and that the 'real' outside world is an empty terraformed planet, she immediately starts pooling together people and resources from other worlds to help rebuild her own.
She spends a lot of time hopping between the others' worlds during this time, mostly to hang out with the Teen Girl Squad and be a regular-ass teenager whenever she gets the chance.
At some point about three-ish years after the end of WCB, she and Harumi finally realize that they're a couple. They are the last people to figure this out.
Ryoko eventually carries on down the path she started on the station and starts studying medicine, wanting to follow through on what she'd said about wanting to help people. She eventually (like, ten or fifteen years down the line) becomes a full-fledged doctor, specializing in neurology.

[Its been another fun sleepover at Ryoko's place. Its not usually something that happens often in Ryoko's world rather than someone else's, but its known to happen from time to time.

Serizawa, being a very rigid person, tends to cook at precise time every single day. But he's being lenient today, away of how late the squad probably stayed up. So he's just making some pancakes around lunchtime, for anyone who happens to wake up.]

[ It's been a couple months or so, now, since Harumi tagged along home with Ryoko. And what eventful months they have been! Wow! The kaiju she expected, and was able to more or less brace herself for - even if Harumi absolutely tried to talk someone into letting her pilot a Sentinel, she could totally do it you guys - but the part that came after the kaiju is. A lot. It's been a ride, but! She's stepped up as much as she can to like. Help. It's... honestly a great help to even have a way to help, after how her last attempt to keep a world safe went.

But life goes on. They have friends, and they have each other, and that's what's important. Harumi... basically manages to forget her crush on Ryoko? Well, that's not right. But it gets mixed up in the admiration and the desire to help until it's hard to tell it's even there anymore. Ryoko makes her feel comfortable and safe. That's what she focuses on.

In three years she WILL kick her own ass about this, yes.

For now, though, it's the end of another long day of rebuilding humanity. Time to hang out and. Relax? ]

I gotta say, and I know I've said this before, princess training did not prepare me for actually helping plan things out like this.

[ Charming/negotiating people into providing resources? Harumi is... underselling, perhaps, how startlingly good she is at that part of things. But she is a little out of her depth at like. The urban planning of it all. ]

[ The funny thing about sleepovers with the Teen Girl Squad is that they're about 90% not sleeping in volume. Even when they all swear they'll be asleep before dawn one thing leads to another and the next thing any of them know, it's 3am and they're still only three quarters of the way through their movie marathon. Ryoko's the first to pass out this time – it's been a busy week and the familiar comfort of her room filled up with all her friends and the drone of the TV has her out like a light when she finally gives in. That means she's the first to wake up, though she doesn't exactly wake up early.

She carefully manuveurs her way out of the room so as not to wake the others and does the bare minimum of her morning routine – just enough that she doesn't feel completely like a zombie when she finally makes her way downstairs.

And jumps when she sees Serizawa in the kitchen. At least the near heart attack is a good way to wake her up. ]

Serizawa-san... [ Let her just. Breathe. for a second. ] I–it's... late for you to be cooking, isn't it?

[ She Knows when Serizawa usually makes food and 'the crack of noon' isn't it. ]

Ah. Good morning, Ryoko. [As casual a wave with the spatula as is possible for Serizawa. He's gotten better at calling people by their first names at least, but its typically a sign of fondness he only allows for survivors of Jack's bullshit.]

Yes, I've already cooked for myself. [He flips a pancake.]

[ As it turns out, saving the world isn't really a one-time deal. Even with the remains of Project Ark doing the heavy lifting and so many people pitching in with help and resources... well, Rome wasn't built in a day and neither is a whole world. Though if they could at least speed up the process, Ryoko wouldn't complain.

She's puddled on one of the sofas in the living room, looking for all the world like she might be ready to pass out then and there. Technically, fighting with her Sentinel is much more draining than the other work they've been doing, but also, she's an introvert and this much sustained interaction with people she doesn't know that well is proving to be the end of her.

Thankfully, Harumi's here to be a buffer and now they're done for the day, they can take some time to decompress. You know, in a heterosexual way, like homies do. ]

You could've fooled me. You've been a natural when it comes to handling the negotiations.

I see...

[ Serizawa cooking and eating food like a normal person is how you know this is the good timeline

She gives the clock a distracted glance at that, though – she's so used to him being on his strict self-imposed schedule that seeing him break it is a little bizarre. ... but that's probably her own fault for having an all-night sleepover with teen girl squad, so... ]

Um... could I have a pancake or two for breakfast, then? I'll make us both some coffee while you're cooking.

[He looks up at that, with only a mild sense of confusion.]

But of course. Who else would these be for at this hour?

I had breakfast hours ago.

[ Harumi offers a tired smile, moving to similarly puddle, except she doesn't quite make it to the couch and instead hits the fuckin ground. They aren't quite at the point where they just puddle together on one couch, that's for like... a year or two from now. ]

It's a fun challenge, asking for things instead of... demanding protection money.

[ At the end of the day, while Ryoko is an introvert, Harumi is... an extrovert? Maybe? At the very least she's very extrovert-passing, though that might just be the circumstances of her life to this point. Either way, this is enough to wipe her out, too. ]

It feels a lot like... you know, using my powers for good, and all that.

[ harumi it's called being nice you're being nice your therapist talked to you about this ]

At least we have someone who can. Not that I don't appreciate everything the others are doing to help, but I don't know if we'd survive siccing Parker and Avenger-san on everyone.

[ It sounds like a great way to not have allies anymore, either way. Not because she doesn't trust Parker to get the job done, but because she might do the job too well and scare them off.

She does hesitate for a moment before she continues, though, scooting a little further forward on the sofa so she can lean a little closer to Harumi. ]

We're not putting too much on your plate, are we? I know it's a lot to ask of you.

They'd get something done, anyway.

[ It's been... nice, being able to settle back into things like "smiling" and "telling jokes sometimes."

Harumi, for her part, sort of. Sits up and leans back a little to look at Ryoko. ]

I'm just happy to help. This place is my home too, now.

[ . . .

Oh, right, because Serizawa woke up in the morning and had breakfast like a normal person. ]

Right. Of course. [ ... but then that also means that Serizawa made a point of cooking for the rest of the teen girl squad as well, and that puts a little smile on Ryoko's face. ] Thanks, Serizawa-san.

[ She'll go ahead and start on the coffee, then, since she offered. ]

We didn't miss anything this morning, did we?

[ Her tired expression softens into something a little warmer, in the way it often does around Harumi that she would vehmently deny if anyone actually pointed it out to her. ]

I'm glad to hear it. I was worried things might not work out... it's a big change, after all. Even before... all this. [ She gestures vaguely with her hand, as if to indicate just... the whole state of the world at large. ] I'm just relieved you're feeling settled.

[ Harumi chuckles, in a slightly strained way. ]

I won't pretend it's easy, but... it's been worth it. I like your world.

[ It's been long enough now that Ryoko's reasonably sure that Harumi wouldn't have stuck around if she hated the place... but it's still reassuring to hear that it isn't the case. ]

It's got a long way to go until I'm happy with it... but things could be a lot worse. At least we have a roof over our heads and people we can rely on.

[ As she speaks, she reaches out and starts absent mindedly plucking at a few strands of Harumi's hair, trying to get an even separation of three. ]

And being able to sneak away to stay with Parker sometimes helps as well.

Yeah, exactly. We could be... living in a jungle, fighting off monsters.

[ Harumi... blinks once and pauses for a moment when Ryoko starts to touch her hair, but. It's Ryoko. It's fine. ]

It's true. Between my therapist and Parker, I can almost imagine what being a normal teenager looks like.

I know I probably have no place to talk but I feel like Parker is the last person you should be looking to for examples of what being a normal teenager is like.

[ Don't mind her if she starts carefully braiding Harumi's hair, then. ]

You have more of a place to talk than me, at least. But maybe. She at least seems to know what normal looks like, even if she isn't quite it.

[ Harumi internally has a very sudden spike of "oh this is happening isn't it" but like. She can be normal about this! She, similarly absentmindedly (at least in appearance), adjusts her hair so none of it is pinned against the couch. ]

I guess she isn't called an "exceptional" teen for nothing...

[ She gives a gentle, thoughtful hum as she continues to sweep back locks of Harumi's hair into the braid. ]

Then again... does that mean she's 'exceptional' at being a teenager, or that she's 'exceptional' because she's not like other teenagers?

Hm...

[ Harumi ponders that for a moment. ]

I'm not sure I like the idea of that contest either way. I guess she's more of a teenager than most teenagers? But then...

[ She had, perhaps, not put thought into this idea before now. ]

Parker is probably the most teenager-y teenager I've ever met. It's kind of her specialty.

[ And Ryoko knows, like, twenty entire teenagers, so she knows what she's talking about. ]

Then again, if the people qualifying that kind of thing are all adults then I'm not sure I trust their judgement completely.

It does seem strange to have adults judge what makes an exceptional teen... Perhaps they're worries about cliques or things like that? It's probably easier to bribe a teenage judge than an adult one.

Edited 2021-10-04 20:02 (UTC)

I don't know about that. I think you could bribe an adult a lot easier than a teenager... if you tried to bribe a teenager, they'd probably do the opposite just to spite you. Or I would, anyway.

[ Though that's less a teenager thing in general and more Ryoko being... Ryoko.

One loose braid done, she starts on another one. ]

Surely the adults have careers, though, right? More money and effort to manipulate.

[ that, meanwhile, is harumi being harumi. But it's more of a fleeting thought and less... Active Villainous Scheming ]

Edited 2021-10-07 17:22 (UTC)

Exactly. It also means they've got more to gain and more to lose.

[ Meanwhile, Ryoko seems to have gotten much better at Active Villainous Schemeing since she's been hanging out with Harumi. Can't imagine why! ]

[ truly they are Influences on each other ]

I suppose so. It's not really an exact science, is it?

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wecouldbe postgame CMO

Post-Harumi dating, setting wise

HAIR THREAD HAIR THREAD, 13s spoilers within

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