Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Ren stumbles into professional acting like most things in his life. Because of the fucking Metaverse.

Okay, technically only partially true. The metaverse went hand in hand with personas and shadows and that went hand in hand with conspiracies and secret organizations. The Kirijo Group isn’t the shadiest billionaire funded organization in the world, but it’s certainly one of the ones out there.

Ren had spent all of his last year of high school being stalked by men in suits, and not the fun kind, but as long as they weren’t dragging him to prison he didn’t really care when they went from government entities to private ones. So he really shouldn’t have been surprised when, a day after graduating high school, he’s approached by Kirijo CEO Kirijo Mitsuru herself with a recruitment pitch.

Between offering to pay for his university tuition, a generous salary, and the chance to get back into the thrill of destroying shadows again, it’s a no brainer. Ren signs the papers and within the week he’s officially a Shadow Ops agent.

None of his other friends have signed up, content with their own lives, though Futaba is likely to be a shoe-in once she’s done with high school herself and Zenkichi is constantly waffling about switching careers for good, so it’s only a matter of time for him too. But it’s fine, Ren has Morgana and his new coworkers aren’t that bad either. He’s sometimes paired with Narukami Yu but two wildcards can be a bit overkill, so usually his partner is Amada Ken.

Ken is… great, really. It takes a second for Ren to get used to him, the other boy too reminiscent of his own Justice confidant sometimes, eerily so, and it makes Ren’s heart hurt a little thinking about Akechi’s dead-or-alive status quo. 

(Ren had asked Kirijo and Narukami if they ever heard of, about, or from him, and while Ren still carries distrust over adults, especially ones with authority over him, he’s willing to believe that they’re sincere in their condolences over their lack of info on the second Detective Prince.)

Anyway, Ken easily becomes one of Ren’s best friends. It’s hard not to be, seeing as they have to trust each other with their lives, but it began with some coffee blends and the rest was history. They even move in together eventually.

At some point, after a particularly rough mission that left them both groaning on the floor of their shared apartment, Neo Featherman R starts playing on the television. Ren makes a life changing comment.

“You know, I’ve never really seen a full season of Featherman,” he says idly. “I know some people who are really into it though. Is it any good?”

Ken looks at him, appalled. “You’re joking.”

“What?” Ren blinks at him blearily. “I’m not?”

“We need to fix that now,” Ken hisses, looking more impassioned than Ren has ever seen him.

Featherman is fun. It’s obviously a show more for kids, but honestly, after all the Horrors Ren has seen and experienced and continues to do so, it’s a nice little thing to turn his mind off and just enjoy. Ren gets invested enough to follow all the plots, look at some fanfic and fanart, and learn some of the weapon tricks the characters do for fun.

“If you could be one of them, which color would you be?” Ken asks as they clear through a shadow world pocket dimension. 

“Red,” Ren says without hesitation. He looks fantastic in red, for one, and he thought he did a bang up job being the Phantom Thieves’ leader, so, obviously. 

“Your favorite is Black though,” Ken says. “You know his moves the most.”

“Yeah, but that’s for a different reason,” Ren doesn’t say that Black typically reminds him of Akechi during the third semester that was reset and that does a lot to carry his own delusional headcanons over the character. “Why are you asking? Are we gonna go cosplay the team?”

Ken snorts, “I guess we can complete the roster, since we have Featherman Pink Argus in our reserves already.”

Ren chuckles. “Imagine though, if we got another one.”

Damning words, when just a few weeks later, Takeba Yukari is called into action despite being literally days from shooting a TV special. 

“I haven’t had time to rehearse much,” Yukari frustratedly says as she knocks her bow and shoots an arrow through a shadow’s head. “I have a bunch of scenes with Black Condor, but Takashi’s been busy with his new movie, so we haven’t been able to run lines together.”

“Ren could do it,” Ken says, mostly as a joke. “He’s dramatic enough to line read.”

“Hey,” Ren protests mildly as he summons a persona to send a Maeiga into the fray. “I mean, fair, but.”

“They spent half the last mission role playing some scene from one of the specials,” Akihiko helpfully tells Yukari with a snort. Ken makes an affronted noise back.

“It was from the Neo Featherman 2013 movie, senpai—“

They take a break at one of the safe room-esque areas of this shadow world pocket, and Yukari sheepishly takes out the script from her uniform jacket with a pleading look at Ren’s way. Ren, in true Wildcard fashion, can’t say no to that.

It’s been a while since he was able to do theatre, his dramatics as Joker notwithstanding, but it’s just like switching masks. Black is usually the loner, the outcast, and sometimes even the traitor of the series, and, well. Ren has enough inspiration for characters like that.

They run lines a few times during the downtimes of their cleanup mission and Yukari seems to be impressed by him, judging by how at the end of it when they’re back in the real world, she asks if he ever considered going into acting.

“Just a thought!” She says with a smile. “You’re really good. I really felt like I was talking to the real Black back there.”

“It was just line reading,” Ren says, a bit self consciously. “But I’m glad to have helped.”

Yukari hums. “Can we do it one last time then? With Ken recording, so I can look back at myself later tonight.”

“Sure.”

(Would he have still agreed, if he knew just where that recording would end up?

Maybe. But it worked out either way.)

Ren considers it done and over with, a one time favor for a coworker/friend, when Yukari leaves for the day. Not a big deal at all, and next week he’ll be back to making stupid impressions and jokes with Ken when they’re bored out of their mind during shadow world patrols.

So consider him shocked when not even a month later, Yukari physically kidnaps him to take him to the television studio, Ken as her accomplice. Are Justices predisposed for betrayal, he wonders.

“I’m sorry for springing this on you all of a sudden,” Yukari is hardly apologetic despite her words. “But, well! It’s important, okay?”

“Uhm,” Ren eloquently says when he’s presented to whom Yukari introduces as the director of the next Featherman series.

“Amamiya, was it?” The director peers at him, looking at Ren from head to toe. “Nice, very nice indeed. Good height, excellent face… Why, I’m surprised you aren’t a model already at least!”

Considering the last time he was almost recruited to be one, the man in charge got poisoned, Ren isn’t really surprised. He elects to say, “That’s more of my friend’s thing, really. I’m sorry, what am I here for?”

“Takeba-san showed us the video of you rehearsing with her a few weeks ago,” the director explains. “I must say, even from just some line reading, your Black characterization is quite compelling. And while we’re still in pre-production, we’ve been on the market for some fresh faces for the series.”

“What?” Ren says weakly, looking at Yukari, who playfully winks at him. “You can’t possibly mean—“

“Feather Black has always been a bit of a, well, black and white character the past few series, metaphorically.” The director continues on. “I wanted to do a fresher take on his arc! And so I thought, well, why not make him a proper two faced member! He’ll be Feather White and Feather Black!”

“What?!” Ken is the one to voice Ren’s surprise. “You mean you’re going to make them the same person?!”

The director puts his finger over his lips in a shushing motion. “I may have said too much!” He laughs. “But oh, Amamiya-kun, you’d be perfect I think! You have the face of a pretty, pleasant boy and I think just this once we’ll be forgiven if White isn’t the usual beautiful woman archetype. The duality of a person… oh yes, very good—“

“Wait, hold on, let me get this straight,” Ren says hastily. “You want to cast me , an unknown amateur, as one of the main characters of a highly beloved show?”

“Don’t worry, you’ll be well supported if you need acting lessons before we start filming. But from what I’ve seen, you’ll hardly need them!”

“That was one video,” Ren looks at the man, baffled. “And… and I have a criminal record!”

Ken coughs. “Technically, Mitsuru-senpai had that completely expunged when she took you on as an employee.”

Ren stares at him. “The…?” He waves his hand in a card flicking motion. Ken nods with a sheepish smile.

“Well, it doesn't seem to be a problem,” the director hums, pleased. “It wouldn’t have been, anyway. People love a good parallel, or redemption story!”

“Come on, Ren-kun,” Yukari nudges Ren as he slumps. “I dove into being Pink Argus with little experience myself, and I haven’t regretted it since. Maybe you’ll feel the same.”

Ren thinks about it. His life really couldn’t and shouldn’t revolve completely around the shadow world, he supposes. And he’s not obligated to do any more than this if acting doesn’t agree with him after all. 

Ann’s going to freak. Futaba is going to lose her shit . 

“You remember the Phantom Thieves of Hearts business a few years back?” The director asks. “It won’t be a complete one to one, but I do have to admit that this series’ plot is loosely based on it.”

Okay, now that’s just unfair. Now Ren has to take the role.

So that’s how Ren becomes a Featherman Ranger.

FIRST LOOK: “Neo Featherman: Phantom Cast List Revealed!”

[photo of the cast all in full costume with helmets on, posing on a rooftop at night with the city skyline illuminated behind them]

Red Hawk: Fujikawa Kane

Pink Argus: Sasada Aika

Yellow Owl: Hirose Kenji

Green Parakeet: Yukawa Emiri

Blue Pheasant: Ueno Shoji

White Swan: Amamiya Ren

Comments:

“OH ITS HAPPENING!!!! FEATHERMAN PHANTOM IS REAL????”

—“omg is the leak about it being phantom thieves based RIGHT”

——“ew I hope not”

———“don’t be a hater!!! It’ll be a fresh take imo”

 

“AIKA AND EMIRI IN A SHOW TOGETHER WE WILL BE WATCHING!!!”

—“YESSS LETS GO LESBIANS LETS GO”

 

“WHITE RETURN???? Omgomg it feels like FOREVER since we got white on the main cast”

—“more importantly, that silhouette has to be a MALE feather white… interesting choice when white has usually been the quintessential ‘oujo-sama’ type…”

——“I looked up Amamiya Ren and got nothing? Literally no actor credits for this guy, not even a picture online…”

———“newcomer I guess? Though it would be crazy for them to cast someone who doesn’t even have a commercial to his name. And there was no open call casting either, so he must be something.”

————“I’ll die if it’s a nepotism hire lol”

FIRST LOOK: “Neo Featherman: Phantom Cast Official Promo Pics”

[headshot of Ren with his hair carefully styled on one side, leaving the rest of his front fridge naturally tousled over his forehead. He’s wearing what looks to be a gray uniform blazer with a navy and white diagonally striped tie. His eyes have a gentle look to them, his lips quirked in a warm yet secretive smile as his black gloved hand cradles his chin.]

Featherman White Swan - Hakuro Ryouki (白狼両希)

played by Amamiya Ren (雨宮蓮)

Comments:

“Okay but why do amamiya kinda be lookin….”

—“same girl same”

 

“Oh. Oh THATS why they’re letting amamiya be white swan. Ok. OKAY I GET IT.”

—“mfs two weeks ago: white can’t be a dude, white has to be a beautiful elegant woman

mfs seeing amamiya ren: ok understandable good day”

 

“God im so gay”

—“LMAO???”

“Ann,” Ren despondently says as notifications light up his phone screen. The phone keeps buzzing in place against Leblanc’s counter. “I’m twitter trending .”

From where she’s perched at a booth, Futaba snorts. 

“Oh, Ren,” Ann sympathetically pats his hair like some kind of fluffy cat. “You’re a relative nobody who just got casted in a show Japanese children have been watching for decades. Of course you’re trending.”

“They’re really all about your face card,” Futaba chirps as she taps on her phone. “Ooooh, hey, you already have a fan page up on Twitter.”

“It hasn’t even been a day,” Ren bemoans, laying his head on the counter. “Yukari said I’d get attention, but I didn’t think it would be this much.”

“Please, stop acting like it’s too much for you, Joker ,” Ann teases, tugging another lock of Ren’s curls and making him pout at her. “It hasn’t gotten as bad as it did at the height of the Phantom Thieves’ popularity.”

Futaba perks up. “Speaking of…” 

“No,” Ren firmly says. “I signed an NDA. I’m not spoiling anything to you. And my script is paper only, and it’s Ken’s room.”

“Aw, dammit,” Futaba whines. “Hey hold on, Ken’s room? Gasp , Ren, are you sleeping—“

“ No .”

“How are your social media accounts?” Ann redirects the topic somewhat, mercifully. She and Futaba have helped him set up his “official” accounts just earlier, not wanting to leave it all to his new acting agency’s PR. “Wow, 20k followers on Instagram already, and you’ve only posted your headshot!”

“This is insane,” Ren says, watching the number go up in disbelief. “I haven’t even done anything. For all they know, I’m going to suck.”

“Well, I think right now it’s more of they want to suck you—“

“ Futaba .”

“Just relax, Ren,” Ann soothes him. “It’s really not gonna be that bad. It’s just like another one of your Joker masks, right? And if Takeba-san said you were good, you must be.”

“Yeah, I suppose,” Ren hesitantly says. “God, filming starts on Monday. Wish me luck.”

The past few months since his… recruitment, Ren’s only had to do line readings with his cast mates, with a chemistry test with the main lead playing Red since he’s the one Ren’s character will interact with the most. He’s aware that BlackRed is one of the fandom’s most popular and long standing ships, and he’s a little wary on how the reaction would be at the WhiteRed misdirect. Oh, well. Couldn’t be any worse than being hated so much he disappeared from existence itself.

There’s also a reason why he refuses to tell Futaba anything about the plot, NDA or not. He had read the first few episodes’ scripts, and while he was well aware that the plot is Phantom Thieves’ inspired, there were enough similarities to the actual events that it was jarring. 

‘Hey, you didn’t like… sell out the PT story, right?’ He had messaged Mishima just to be sure.

‘No?’ Mishima had texted back. ‘Wait, why? Is someone doing something similar??? We can copyright it before it’s too late—‘

Ren doesn’t elaborate any further, and when in doubt, he asks Morgana.

“Maybe it’s a collective unconscious thing?” Morgana muses. “The metaverse is a mysterious thing. Maybe all the Phantom Thieves’ actions leaked into someone’s brain!”

“That sounds like a lot of bullshit,” Ren says but then thinks about how they had to use codenames in case the palace leaders subconsciously identified them in the real world, and okay maybe there is a point to that. 

“Perhaps the writers slipped into the shadow world somehow at the time of your activities,” Mitsuru tells him when he brings up his concern. “It’s not unheard of for civilians to retain some memory or impression of events when they accidentally go between worlds.”

“This is definitely more than just an impression of events,” Ren says. “They know about Akechi . They literally wrote in the Black Mask .”

“Well,” Mitsuru purses her lips. “It’s a good thing you’re in the cast then, isn’t it? You can keep an eye out, Amamiya. And if anything else is cause for concern, let me know.”

Sure, fine. That’s his job anyway, even though he’s more concerned about how he should be acting as White/Black without channeling Akechi completely, because even he thinks that’s a little weird. He wants to be with Akechi, not be him.

“They’re friends, but they’re also rivals,” the lead writer enthusiastically tells him and Fujikawa, the actor for Red, during a session with just the two of them, the writer himself, and the director. “They know each other intimately, more than anyone else, and yet misunderstand each other the most.”

Ren is actively trying not to have a crisis . “It says they’re childhood friends?” He asks, grasping at the one thing he can’t draw a parallel to him and Akechi from.  

“Yes, though the viewers won’t know that for a while,” the director says. “There’s an assumption that they first meet in the show, and if you go to episode 12, your character Ryouki laments over wishing he and Akira had met sooner.”

Ren is losing his mind.

It doesn’t help that when they start filming, Ren becomes increasingly self aware of how Fujikawa acts Red like a more outgoing version of Joker. Ren’s memories of that year may be both starkly clear and worryingly fuzzy depending on the time and events, but he doesn’t think he was that show off-y.

“You did backflip a lot,” Morgana mercilessly points out when he sulks at dinner. “The unnecessary dagger twirls. The Showtimes .”

“He still does two of those,” Ken helpfully says and Ren is tempted to take his plate of food back from him. “Ren, you’ve always been rather dramatic. That’s kind of how you got in this position in the first place.”

“I got in this position because of you and Yukari ,” Ren sniffs. “I keep being accused of nepotism online because of her ‘recommendation.’”

“It was nepotism, technically,” Ken simply points out. “Besides, I’ve seen your instagram and Twitter pages. You’re at 150k followers already, and the show hasn’t even started airing yet. I highly doubt that kind of comment actually bothers you.”

It doesn’t, but it’s the principle of the thing. 

Amamiya Ren News and Pics @AmamiyaDaily

[picture of Ren, as civilian White, walking alongside Fujikawa, as civilian Red, along the path of a park. There’s a fond smile on Ren’s face as he looks at the laughing Fujikawa.] 

Amamiya and Fujikawa filming a scene at Inokashira Park!

Replies:

“Oooooohhh the way White is looking at Red 😭😭😭 can it be… new ship???”

—“hide this from the blackred shippers omg”

——“GET BEHIND ME AMAMIYA”

 

“boy why u looking at red like that”

—“yeah and why isn’t red looking at white back like that”

 

“crying Amamiya is so BEAUTIFUL”

—“they really cooked with White’s casting this time 🙏”

——“the naysayers are allowed to have doubts about how his acting is going to be, but it can’t be denied that Amamiya is one of the best embodiments of White’s elegant beauty archetype in modern Featherman”

 

“NOT the WhiteRed agenda 🤢 you’re delusional if you think it’ll happen”

—“found the blackred shipper LOL”

aikasasada

[instagram reel of Ren in his Feather White bodysuit flawlessly walking down a room in high heels, Blue and Green ooh and aah-ing with applause in the background]

“that moment when you find out your male co-actor walks better in heels than you ever have, LOL #nfpcast #amamiyaren #featherman  #whiteswan”

Comments:

“HELP LMAO HE ATE”

 

“oh my god those LEGS…..”

—“down, boy”

 

“WHATS THE CONTEXT????”

—“the context is that it’s hot, next question”

 

“God I never understood the Feather White simping from the previous series’ before but. Amamiya!White can step on me, please.”

—“REAL”

—“GET IN LINE LOSER”

shiro @basedshiroaka

“Guys NF:P hasn’t even started airing yet but there’s already dozens of fics in the WhiteRed tag lmfao”

Replies:

“GOOD”

—“it’s finally OUR TIME to shine, WhiteRed era GO!!!”

 

“Delusional. It should be RedWhite, there’s no shot White is a top.”

—“boohoo WE LITERALLY DONT KNOW THE CANON DYNAMICS YET”

—“it’s just a catch all ship name rn chill bro”

—“RedBlack fixed shipper yeah of course you don’t want anything touching Red’s hole”

 

“has anyone checked on @/thecrowprince lmfao”

—“why? Isn’t he a BlackRed/GreyRed?”

——“oh he’s been having a MELTDOWN over whitered since those filming pics got leaked”

———“more like since the cast list got confirmed. he’s hyper fixating on amamiya/white HARD”

Unfortunately for Ren, the best way to portray White really is to adopt Detective Prince Akechi’s mannerisms. Historically, White is the most graceful and elegant character of the rangers. Ken and Futaba had insistently drilled into him the past incarnations of White and he can get the gist of what’s expected of him. 

The thing is, Featherman Phantom’s White Swan is a carefully manufactured image according to the storyline. Hakuro Ryouki had been orphaned at a young age, abandoned by his parents for some reason, only to be adopted by a wealthy couple using him to boost their social image. From there, he was crafted to be the perfect “spare heir,” expected to be above and beyond his peers while remaining to be seemingly humble and developing a prince-like image because of it. He secretly despises all of it, and from that resentment is born Feather Black.

It makes Ren vaguely uncomfortable, how reminiscent of Akechi it is. And how utterly sympathetic Ren is to the character, even if he is the one playing him.

“Wow, you’re really good at this,” Fujikawa compliments him during their first filming session together, where Ryouki is introduced as Akira’s new senpai and the school president. “Like I knew from the line readings that you knew your character, but seeing you act him out really is different.”

“Thank you, senpai,” Ren bows lightly. “That means a lot coming from you. I’m still a newbie, after all.”

“A very popular newbie,” Sasaki, who plays Feather Pink, says with finger guns shooting his way. “I’ve seen you blow up on social media, Amamiya-kun! At this rate, you’ll be winning the Newcomer award this year!”

“I wouldn’t go that far,” Ren hastily waves off. “This is the only acting gig I’m doing, after all.”

“For now,” Ueno, Feather Blue, says almost ominously.

“I just know you’re going to get a lot of knocks on your door once the show is out and people see your many sides,” Fujikawa winks. As the only other cast member that knows about the White-Black twist, Ren can be a little comforted with his senpai’s apparent faith in him.

Despite Ren’s continuing personal crisis over the character he’s playing, he can admit that Yukari was right. Being a Featherman is fun, and since this is ultimately a show for kids, albeit this season is a little more mature than usual, no one takes themselves too seriously. His acting senpais help him out when he needs it, and he’s never really left alone to do promotional interviews or stuff like that by himself.

He does fine with the photoshoots, comfortable enough after seeing Ann do her own modeling over the past few years. It’s weird to know that his face is going to be plastered on some merch,  though thankfully most of it would be with his helmet on. Feather Black continues to be a closely kept secret miraculously enough, but Ren’s done a few photos of him in the suit and admittedly, it looks far better on him than White or even Red’s suit does. 

A lot of promotional material has him partnered with Fujikawa, which makes sense as the series hinges on Red and White’s relationship. There’s a lot of… intense eye contact. And two sides of the same coin imagery. And metaphors. Ren knew they could get a bit generous with fanservice, but isn’t this a little much?

“Oh,” the director looks at him when he brings it up casually during a break one day. “Haven’t gotten to that episode yet, have you? Hah, it’ll make sense later, Amamiya-kun!”

What does that mean , Ren wonders. He’s read a few episodes ahead to get a better gist of how White and Red’s relationship develops and mostly it’s been this strange flirty UST. He wonders briefly if that’s the kind of impression he and Akechi gave off, especially during that brief time teamed up together in Sae’s palace, but he’s almost afraid to ask anyone to find out. 

He gets his answer when he reaches the script for Episode 35 of 48.

***

WHITE disarms RED with a swipe of his rapier and kicks RED down to the floor. RED raises his hands, conceding. 

RED

You got me, Swan. You won this round.

WHITE

(Walking closer to RED.)

Admitting defeat so easily?

RED

(RED smirks.)

Hardly. I’ll get you next time.

WHITE looks at RED with a neutral face for a moment. Then WHITE scowls uncharacteristically, his face shadowed.

WHITE

I truly… despise you.

RED looks surprised.

WHITE

Nothing ever truly knocks you down, hm? You’re content in being imperfect. Why wouldn’t you, when people are fine to accept you as you are?

RED

Swan… Ryou—

WHITE puts the tip of his rapier under RED’s chin, dangerously close to RED’s neck. RED gulps, his breath heavy. They stare at each other.

WHITE

To be honest, all this time, I thought myself better than you. Everything points to it being the truth. And yet, why does it keep feeling like I’m always one step behind you?

WHITE truly looks angry. It’s the first time he’s showing his true colors.  

WHITE

I refuse to lose to you, Red Hawk. You may be my leader and I may have some respect for you, but you’ll never be my superior. 

RED

…I hear you, White Swan.

WHITE nods and retracts his rapier, sheathing it to his side once more. WHITE holds out a hand for RED to take, helping him up from the ground. Before WHITE can let go, RED pulls him closer until they’re chest to chest. 

WHITE is caught off guard. RED smirks.

RED

Just one last thing, Ryou.

WHITE

(wary) What?

RED

You’re even more beautiful when you’re angry.

WHITE’s jaw drops. His face turns red. He abruptly shoves RED away from him.

WHITE

Are you an idiot?! Who goes saying that to a guy?!

RED laughs.

RED

Hey, it’s not just any guy. It’s you.

***

Ren screams into his pillow for a good five minutes after reading that scene.

Still, despite him slowly going insane from all the eerie similarities between his real life and the show, no one can ever say he doesn’t give it his all for every scene. And it’s… cathartic, in a way, putting himself in Akechi’s shoes. Years later, there’s still things left unanswered about Akechi’s time as Shido’s assassin, and Ren may be projecting a lot but he likes to think that being White/Black lets him understand the lost boy a little better. Wherever he is, he’ll probably be fuming if he ever catches an episode of this show, but well . It’s not his fault the script is like that.

They’re over halfway through filming the series when the first episode drops, and Ren finds himself having a watch party at his and Ken’s apartment. It does little to quell any nerves he has and Haru has to hold his hand to calm him down when the opening credits, a pop-jazzy riff off of the usual Neo Featherman theme, starts playing on the television.

“Oh my god, Ren,” Futaba cackles when his character shows up. Post production had added a dreamy filter with subtle sparkles to his introductory scene, and Ren feels his face flare up when his friends ooooh when TV!him smiles at the camera. “Are you playing some Akechi-Makoto fusion?!”

Makoto takes offense to that going by her appalled face, but even Haru can’t hide her giggles at the image. Ren throws a pillow at Futaba’s head.

“They made you very sparkly,” Morgana comments incredulously, while Sumire says “I think it suits you, senpai,” which only furthers Futaba’s hysterics.

“Oh dude, you’re totally trending right now,” Ryuji tells him during a commercial break, Twitter pulled up on his phone. “Daily Amamiya posted screenshots within a minute of the scene.”

“Why are you following Daily Amamiya, when I’m right here?” Ren does not grumble but it’s close. 

“Yeah, but you have like two jobs and university, we rarely get to see you in person anymore. Also LMAO their follower count totally just skyrocketed,” Futaba snickers. 

“Ren’s is too,” Ann says, scrolling through her own phone. Ren dreads opening his apps to see the damage. “I think you jumped 3k on Instagram in the fifteen minutes since you were on screen. And still rising.”

“This is all your fault,” Ren tells Ken, the real reason why he even got into Featherman in the first place. It really snowballed from there.

“Guilty as charged,” Ken says with an unapologetic grin. Bastard is just smug because he got the good spoilers, since he kept the scripts away from Futaba’s grubby hands.

“I bet if I post a photo of us right now, Daily Amamiya will have it up within a minute,” Ann says with a mischievous grin, already prepping for a group selfie with her camera. 

“I used to be your respected leader,” Ren laments as he’s shoved to the middle of the group, everyone trapping him in place. “Does that mean nothing anymore?”

“Oh, we still respect you,” Yusuke serenely says. “But as you lifted us up for our own accomplishments, it’s time for us to return the favor, is it not?”

“He’s right,” Haru smooths Ren’s unruly hair with a smile. “Let us brag about you for once, Ren.”

“Fine,” Ren huffs, the defeat easy. “Let’s take the picture.”

anntakamaki

[group selfie taken by Ann, with Yusuke, Ryuji, Makoto, Haru, Sumire, Futaba, and Ken surrounding Ren, who has Morgana on his lap]

“one of our best friends @amamiyaren makes his TV debut!! We’re so proud of him 💕💕💕 #amamiyaren #whiteswan #featherman “

Comments:

“OMG I WAS RIGHT, IT IS THE SAME REN!!”

—“HAHA IKR?? It feels insane, we knew him before he was famous!!”

—“I can’t believe the same renren ann has been posting about since high school is FEATHERMAN WHITE”

 

“sorry but how is everyone in your friend group attractive?? Wtf”

—“dude they have OKUMURA HARU in their group like?? Ok just casually have a billionaire friend”

 

“Wait wdym the infamous Shujin delinquent transfer student of 2016 is a TV actor now 😭”

—“GIRL WHAT”

——“DEEP SHUJIN LORE”

—“and he even still has that fuckass cat he used to hide under his desk im DYING”

 

“who’s the brunette loser boy beside ren ://“

—“who’s the loser commenter getting jealous of Amamiya’s actual friend lol”

maki @sushiroid

“WhiteRed nation how we feelin’ about the new birds”

Replies:

“girl I am FUJO-ING OUT”

—“SAME”

—“making White a boy might actually save this ship”

——“making White be played by Amamiya will actually save this ship”

 

“Ooooh baby it smells of queerbait but call me a fish because I am BITING”

—“maybe this is the year we get canon gays in this homo ass IP 😭”

——“LMAO white maybe, but golden boy red???? NAAAH”

 

“I need the heterosexual explanation as to why Akira saw Ryouki with that filter 😭 wdym he gets the shoujo sparkles while the girls get normal intros”

—“they’re just going to be really good friends”

——“historians will call them…”

 

“BlackReds on sui watch”

—“LMAO”

—“first the feather black snub, now the WhiteRed meet cute?? Pls check on your blackred oomfies in this trying time…”

——“fuck em let them cope and seethe lmao”

———“^^^ I hope a certain crow is MALDING rn”

Chapter Text

Detective Prince Akechi Goro’s fall from grace should be studied, Goro sometimes thinks unkindly while he’s rotting in bed. Gone are the days when he had a routine, waking up at 5 am for a 13 step skin and hair regiment and going home at midnight after another assassination or mental shutdown. Nowadays, Goro can wait until lunch time to crawl out of bed if he so desires and while his skin isn’t bad, his hair has seen better days, now that its cropped shorter to his ears. He misses his longer hair, but part of having any anonymity is discarding his old style. Plus, shorter hair is easier to hide under a wig for his job.

He lives off instant ramen and konbini bentos, which isn’t too different from how his diet was years ago. His old swanky Kichijoji apartment was traded off for a more humble LDK in Osaka, where he exists in for most of the day before he goes to work at a cosplay bar a stone's throw away from Universal Studios Japan. It’s not the most glamorous job but playing a part and pretending he’s something he’s not is all part of the Akechi Goro marketable skills, so what’s the difference, really? If he has to dress up as fucking Yagami Light from Death Note for a payday, that’s fine.

It’s fine , everything is fine. He doesn’t miss Tokyo, he misses the people in it even less, and he does NOT think about Amamiya Ren and cry about what if ’s after jerking off to the scant few photos he has of him. Goro has a normal job, a therapist with no access to god powers, a comfy nest egg of Shido’s blood money, and no one knows he’s alive. Goro is healing .

It’s an unfairly sunny morning when his new normal is disturbed. He’s on his laptop, writing the next chapter of his newest BlackRed fic to kill time before his next shift, when there’s activity in the one Featherman Discord server he hasn’t been banned from yet.

(Goro thinks the fandom has gone soft these recent years. No one can take a good KYS joke anymore, it’s pathetic.)

#announcements

Green Parakeet’s Mom [MOD]

GUYS GUYS GUYS

ITS HAPPENING

ITS OUT

https://mainichi.jp/articles/4729381093/first-look-neo-featherman-phantom-cast-list-revealed

[❗️1]

#general

professional redussy slayer

we got white back but at WHAT COST

[😭1]

supermassive black’s PEANITS

omg NO BLACK??? crow is going to be so mad HAHAA

RedWhite defender

IDC WHITE IS HERE AND IT LOOKS LIKE HE IS A MAN

ITS MY TIME TO SHINE

WE FUJOING OUT BOYSSSSS

professional redussy slayer

anyone recognize the actor for white?? I’ve never heard of amamiya ren in my life and google ain’t giving me shit

RedWhite defender

Nope but he better be pretty OR ELSE

Crow, yes THAT crow 

WHAT

Goro almost spills his cup ramen all over his lap as he scrambles to open the damn article link. Because there is no wa y. Surely Ren isn’t—

But the name kanji is the exact same. And how many Amamiya Ren’s young enough to play a young adult/older teen are there? Goro’s mind runs wild.

Crow, yes THAT crow

Nonononono

This can’t be happening

supermassive black’s PEANITS

Dude u ok lol

It’s not a big deal if blacks not in u know

Crow, yes THAT crow

I don’t care about black rn

RedWhite defender

>i don’t care about black rn

Who is this and what have you done with crow

Crow, yes THAT crow

Sorry but im fucking LOSING MY MIND

I KNOW WHITE

HE WAS MY HIGHSCHOOL CRUSH

professional redussy slayer

LMAOOO NO CAP????

ARE YOU SRS

RedWhite defender

oh my god

If this is true then this is the FUNNIEST thing

Green Parakeet’s Mom [MOD]

LOL WAIT

you can actually feel positive emotion towards a human!??!!

Crow, yes THAT crow

I wanted to kill him

How is that in ANY way POSITIVE

supermassive black’s PEANITS

white being crow’s highschool crush is the funniest timeline

[💯4]

RedWhite defender

No dude

It would’ve been 100x funnier if he played black

[😂2]

Crow, yes THAT crow

I hate you all

[❤️4]

Goro’s worst fears are confirmed when they release the character photos, and he’s staring at a polished looking Ren with his molten silver eyes and secretive smile and oh, fuck this guy . How is he still able to make Goro’s heart race and throat tight and fill him with the desire to go back to Tokyo just to see him in person again? To hear his voice say his name once more?

Over two years on and he’s still pining. It would be pathetic, really, if Goro isn’t already rock bottom. Of course he can’t get over the one boy that truly mattered to him, the one that made Goro feel like he mattered. 

Goro would spiral back in his melancholic thoughts, if he didn’t have a realization about how Ren’s character looked and how the series would be based on the fucking Phantom Thieves.

“Hold the fuck on,” Goro says out loud incredulously into his empty apartment. “Is he fucking going to be me ?”

Crow @thecrowprince

“I hate him”

[QRT of Daily Amamiya, the WhiteRed park picture]

Replies:

“lmao chill, let the WhiteReds have this”

—“ikr it’s one series, the blackreds have had the last three”

 

“Knowing the hidden lore of this is sooooo funny IYKYK”

—“laughing at ppl immediately assuming he’s anti-white”

——“??? Wdym, he’d never hate red”

Crow @thecrowprince

“Fuck this fuck him why is he so pretty”

Crow @thecrowprince

“Why couldn’t you have been RED??”

Crow @thecrowprince

“Amamiya Ren when I get you”

Replies:

“LMFAOOO”

 

“ok what”

 

“I was here for the beginning of a downward spiral”

—“remind me!5 months”

Crow @thecrowprince

“Chessboard” PRFR!Black/NF:P!White, rated E, one shot 10k

Tags: fusion au, corruption kink, gratuitous amount of morality debates, anal fingering

🔗: https://archiveofourown.info/works/174927492

Replies:

“I’m losing my MIND crow the first episode isn’t even out yet”

—“yeah but are we really complaining LOL”

 

“Oh he’s using black condor oooh he wants to fuck white nasty so bad”

—“crying I’m glad we all can tell how he feels depending on which ship/version of black he uses”

The wait until the series airs proves to be agony. Goro tries to keep himself busy between his job and fandom, but even through the screen Amamiya Ren’s allure is too captivating to ignore.

Goro follows Ren’s new official social media accounts on his fandom main because amidst the thousands of followers his old rival amasses a day, he is just a drop in the bucket. Sakura hasn’t tracked him down yet despite his rather infamous presence in the Featherman fandom, one that he knows she dabbles in at the very least, so he’s confident he can continue to blend in with the faceless mass of admirers Ren has acquired.

Maybe once upon a time he had a chance to be more than just another boy in Ren’s life, but he squandered that long ago. If it wasn’t the bullet to the head, then surely it was Goro’s second death that he had made Ren pull the trigger on.

It’s probably psychotic of him to dive deep into stalking Ren after all these years of staunchly avoiding him, but distance makes the heart grow fonder and all that bullshit. He’s been living on an Amamiya Ren deficit and it’s time to stop punishing himself and let himself yearn for him properly again. It’s the least Goro deserves after all the personal growth he’s gone through.

As the series premiere date nears and the series promotions are in full swing, Ren appears more and more around Goro’s everyday life. Infuriatingly almost always with the actor for Red, since he is still the main character, and if Goro’s theory is right no matter how improbable, they’re going to make Red and White’s relationship a focal point. To what extent he doesn’t know, but the surge of WhiteRed shippers makes him seethe with jealousy. Most of fandom had initially thought it was because of his disdain for White, but they quickly catch on that it’s because of his desire for White. Those who were there for his initial Discord freak out find it hilarious .

Yet no amount of behind the scenes photos, pre-premiere interviews, magazine spreads, and Daily Amamiya tweets is able to prepare him for the first episode of Neo Featherman: Phantom.

Akira turns the corner of the hallway and practically runs into another body.

“Oh! I’m so sorry,” a softly deep voice says, and Akira looks up to see a literal incarnation of Snow White, if she was a boy, in front of him. “I should have been paying attention. Are you alright?”

“I’m… I’m fine,” Akira almost stammered, clearing his throat. “It was my bad too.”

There’s a glowing, almost sparkling effect when the boy smiles with his perfectly pink lips. His silver eyes soften as he helps Akira up to his feet with little effort, his hands warm against Akira’s despite the black gloves he wears. “I haven’t seen you before… Are you possibly the new transfer student?”

“That’s me,” Akira nods casually, trying not to be self aware of how he compares to the other, with his neatly pressed uniform and carefully styled hair in juxtaposition to Akira’s more haphazard style. 

“Ah!” The boy beams. “Wonderful! I was hoping to meet you today. I’m Hakuro Ryouki, the student council president. I personally want to welcome you to your school, and if there’s anything you need help with while you’re here, don’t hesitate to ask me, okay?”

“Oh, thanks,” Akira says, surprised at the enthusiastic reaction and relaxing at the sincere welcome Ryouki gives. “I’m Kurusu Akira. I’ll be in your care then, senpai. Hope you won’t find me to be too much of a handful.”

Ryouki laughs, and it’s like angel bells ringing in the air. “It’ll be my pleasure either way, Kurusu-kun.”

Daily Amamiya tweets the close up screencaps of Ren’s smile and Goro wastes no time retweeting it. Then he saves it on his phone and makes it his wallpaper and lockscreen, replacing the promo pictures of Ren from months ago. 

He’s such a loser. Yet he’s never been more true to himself than ever before.

#watch-party

Green Parakeet’s Mom [MOD]

Asking for totally different reasons but how are you holding up @Crow, yes THAT crow @RedWhite defender

RedWhite defender

Idk about crow but I am LIVING

It’s like all my namedays come at once!!!

RedWhite my BELOVED ❤️🤍❤️🤍❤️🤍

Crow, yes THAT crow

I want to die

professional redussy slayer

Nothing new then

Crow, yes THAT crow

And disrespectfully, red can FUCK OFF

RedWhite defender

LMAO

COPE AND SEETHE CROW

Crow, yes THAT crow

IT SHOULDVE BEEN ME

[🤡12] [😂6] [L 1] [ M 1] [ A 1] [ O 1]

Crow @thecrowprince

“WHY IS HE SO”

Crow @thecrowprince

“amamiya ren the wife that you are”

Crow @thecrowprince

“MOVE RED HES MINE”

Crow @thecrowprince

“It’s pink I KNOW it’s pink”

Replies:

“CROW AHELAJDAKJDS OH MY GOD LMAO”

 

“unhinged horny crow era is one of the funniest things to come out of NFP”

 

“you KNOW it’s pink???? 🤨🤨🤨”

—“knowing amamiya was his real high school crush really recontextualizes this LOL 😭”

——“amamiya was his WHAT”

peaches @peachycreams

“Hey can we gatekeep white/amamiya from THAT crow guy”

Replies:

“PLEASE… he already ruined PRFR blackred for me, he doesn’t need to get his hands on white as well…”

 

“idk it’s been pretty funny watching him devolve into amamiya simping”

—“AMAMIYA DOESNT DESERVE THIS 😔”

——“god don’t let crow be amamiya’s introduction to his crazy fans lmao 😭”

 

“can we really gatekeep him tho lol… word is that crow knew amamiya before he became famous”

—“‘knew’ as in talked to him or ‘knew’ as in stared at him from afar… highschool crush doesn’t mean much… how do we know crow isn’t some NEET obsessing over some boy at school he thought was pretty but never interacted with”

——“im pretty sure crow is employed, he’s talked about pulling late shifts before”

———“THATS the only part you’re going to defend????”

————“listen I may be a crow fic enjoyer but I can admit he gives off problematic af vibes”

Takamaki posts a picture of their little ragtag group and Goro tries not to be bitter over the fact that there’s that Ken guy acting so familiar with Ren, practically pressed up completely to his side. He shouldn’t be jealous, really, shouldn’t feel replaced or anything when they think he’s dead and he’s made no efforts to correct that assumption. Ren is allowed to make new friends, date other boys. Goro doesn’t expect him to keep holding onto his memory, much less his glove and promise. Ren deserves to be loved properly, in the way Goro couldn’t when he had the chance.

(A kiss in the snow, once upon a time in January, is all Goro has and that’s more than he deserved.)

His therapist would call this progress, growth. She doesn’t need to know Goro is sending hate comments on a burner account to cope.

Episode two and three, while focused more on Red’s other companions, isn’t scarce on Ren’s character at least. Though Goro is discomfited to admit Ren mirrored his Pleasant Boy Detective Prince facade rather well. Hakuro Ryouki smiles a lot and is pretty for every one but it’s an empty thing, nothing like the small sincere gems Goro had been privy to under the warm light of Jazz Jin or Leblanc. He wonders if it’s a part of Ren’s acting, or if Goro just knows him well enough to be able to tell between them, or if this show knew far more about the real Akechi Goro than they should.

Despite the common knowledge that the Phantom Thieves first started as a response to Shujin’s abusive coach driving a student into attempting suicide, Goro is sort of relieved that they tone it down. A bully teacher that’s secretly an alien looking to harvest student organs is a little more out there, but well. They can afford to spare the children a few more years from the horror of the higher Japanese school system.

“Haven’t you noticed anything wrong?” Akira corners Ryouki during lunch break, after another student collapsed in class following a ‘disciplinary’ session with Kamakiri-sensei. “I’ve been here for only a week and even I can tell something is seriously fishy.”

“I don’t appreciate your tone, Kurusu-kun,” Ryouki reprimands him lightly, frowning. He looks to the side, clearly uneasy. “And… I’m not sure what you want me to say.”

“So you do suspect something,” Akira accuses. “Why haven’t you done anything about it, Mr. Student President?”

“I’m only one student, Kurusu-kun,” Ryouki reminds him sharply. “Even if I did have my concerns, I don’t have the power to be the judge, jury, and executioner here. There’s only so much I can do without the teachers—“

“When we first met, you said if I needed help, to ask you,” Akira crosses his arms, tilting his chin up in challenge. “Do you or don’t you mean that? I’m asking for your help here, senpai. Not the teachers’.”

It’s clear that Ryouki looks conflicted, even a little frustrated by the faint furrow of his eyebrows. His gloved hand cradles his chin as he thinks intensely. Akira, despite the seriousness of the moment, can’t help but be distracted by Ryouki’s long eyelashes. 

“Very well,” Ryouki finally relents. “I suppose you have a point. I have been complacent… This might be the only way for something to be done about Kamakiri-sensei.”

Akira grins roguishly and Ryouki can’t help but return the smile, turning a bit bashful. “That’s the spirit, senpai! Come on, we can talk more with the others. With you on board, I really feel like we’re completing the team.”

strike @lonelystrike

“the closeup to white’s eyelashes was soooo necessary thank u team for making that happen”

Replies:

“it truly is amazing like no one asked but red fixated on them anyway”

 

“There’s NO WAY they ARENT setting up for some romance subplot between them, right??? Like two episodes in and that’s more blatant RedWhite chemistry than the last two decades altogether”

 

“RED IS A HOMO CONFIRMED”

birb @feyrea

“someone somewhere out there is having their sexual awakening via amamiya ren on god we trust amen”

Replies:

“It’s me, im the someone”

“it’s that crow guy lmfao”

 

—“LOL”

Crow @thecrowprince

[screencaps of White’s first transformation scene, the closed caption showing his final declaration: “ With this rapier, I’ll show you the proof of my justice! ”]

“they took the proof of justice gun….. and turned it into a rapier for this series…….. for HIM…”

Crow @thecrowprince

“They made the suit tighter than in the promo pics”

Crow @thecrowprince

“I wish I wasn’t such a coward”

This post has been deleted.

Crow @thecrowprince

“SUICIDE POSTPONED”

[QRT: “Neo Featherman: Phantom scale figures and other merch announced!”]

Following Shido’s confessions and arrest, all his assets were seized and eventually released to pay reparations to various victims of his corrupt crimes that weren’t also implicated in the Conspiracy. Goro still isn’t clear on how the fuck Shido had managed to arrange so that Goro received more than a fair share of the money, especially when he was assumed dead or missing, but when Goro had woken up from his coma he had found a fat check waiting for him, giving him more than enough money to live unemployed for a while. And that isn’t even touching on the bit of funds he embezzled from all those rich assholes he took contract metaverse jobs for. 

Still, Goro had promised to himself that he wasn’t going to use those funds for anything short of an emergency. He is a new, changed, and slightly more moral man now, after all, and it’s all dirty money. It deserves to be used only when dire.

Featherman White Swan Kotobukiya ARTFX J 1/8 scale Figure pre-orders open three weeks after the record breaking series premiere, and it’s dire .

Goro gets it, really. Neo Featherman: Phantom is a step above Featherman’s usual productions. The studio has clearly milked Neo Featherman Again enough that this series saw an obvious increase in budget. Advertisements have been in full swing since the cast was introduced and they had teased the series on being a bit more mature than usual. Not too mature, it’s still a kid’s show after all, but they’re evidently aiming for a specific demographic among the teenagers. Those who were in elementary school during the Phantom Thieves era are now in middle school, those who were in middle school are now in highschool, and those who were in high school are now in college or working adults with disposable income. 

Goro is a working adult with disposable income, and he will not lose to some brat to get the exclusive version of the figure. He wants both the Maskless Headpiece (Regular version) and the Maskless Headpiece (Charm version) because how else is he going to see Ren’s smile in his own home?

(‘ Actually go and fucking tell him you’re alive, you dumbass ,’ a voice that suspiciously sounds like an exasperated Hereward says in his head. ‘ And maybe you’ll actually get to kiss hi— ‘)

“Hey, Osamu Dazai,” his coworker, who is dressed up as one of those volleyball anime fuckers tonight, calls to him while he’s staring intently at his mobile phone and furiously wishing his checkout screen would load faster. “Stop reading your Featherman yaoi fanfic and start making some drinks for our customers! Don’t you think it’s rude to make these lovely ladies wait!”

“Just give me a minute,” Goro grits out. The circle loading animation taunts him.

“It’s okay, Oikawa-san!” One of the girls simpers at his coworker. “We don’t mind spending more time with you~”

“Plus can you blame him?” Her friend giggles. “The new Featherman is suddenly all the rage now! Sentai usually isn’t my thing, but I was big into the Phantom Thieves when I was in high school, so I had to check this out and there’s definitely an appeal to it. Which one’s your favorite, Dazai-san?”

“Black,” Goro automatically says as he wills his credit card to go through, while his coworker says, “I think it’s that White one.”

“He’s literally your lockscreen!” His coworker says defensively with his hands up when Goro glares at him. “Also I follow your Instagram, I saw you liking all of that actor’s photos—“

“Amamiya Ren,” the second girl sighs dreamily. “He’s the appeal . I hope White and Red get together in this series.”

Goro gags reflexively. His coworker and the girls stare at him. “Sorry,” he says, not sounding sorry at all. “I don’t know what came over me.”

Finally, a ping on his phone signals that his order went through. Feeling a bit better now that he’s secured the treasure, he can go back to being a functional human being. Work mode, on. “Apologies for the wait, ladies,” Goro finally smiles, “Now, which one of you would be willing to commit a double suicide with me?”

yuritron 2000 @femhawkes

“hey tell me I’m not crazy, isnt Hakuro Ryouki in the new featherman literally just Akechi Goro”

Replies:

“omg I haven’t heard that name in agesss… now that you mention it though…”

 

“whatever happened to him anyway? :’((( I had such a crush on him in highschool”

—“pretty sure he got silenced or tweaked out after the fake news that the phantom thieves leader unalived himself”

——“nooo 😭 I hope he’s just living his life somewhere!! he was 18 and dealing with the justice system, he shoulda been in the club!!!”

 

“wait OP hold on, I need to see something”

le petit bitch @fightmecowards

[pictures taken from a distance of teenage Akechi Goro playing billiards with a very familiar black haired boy]

“Am *I* crazy or is that not Amamiya Ren?????”

Replies:

“holy shit, no way”

 

“oh my god the plot thickens”

Ren Amamiya Answers The Web’s Most Searched Questions | WIRED

WIRED • 150K views • 16 minutes ago 

“How did Amamiya Ren become an actor?” Ren reads out loud, looking at the board he’s holding through his thick framed glasses. He looks different from his character, more cozy, but still heartstoppingly handsome with a devastating smile. “Uhm, by accident, actually. Well, *I* didn’t mean to. My roommate is long time friends with Takeba Yukari, Featherman V’s Pink Argus, and it just so happened she needed help rehearsing and it snowballed from there.”

“Is Amamiya Ren dating anyone?” Ren laughs, shaking his head. “No, still single. Those who know me can attest that I’m a bit of a busybody, and besides, I’m still—“ He cuts himself off, seemingly catching himself before he could say too much. His ears, peaking from his unruly hair, are a faint red color. “Anyway.”

“Was Amamiya Ren friends with Akechi Goro?” This question stops Ren in his tracks. His lips may have quivered and he swallows a lump in his throat, clearly affected by the question. “…I like to think we were,” Ren says quietly, somber. His smile is fond yet sad. “I haven’t heard from him since he… disappeared, but I cherish the time I had with him all the same. It’s probably obvious to anyone who knew about him but I took a lot of inspiration from him for Ryouki, you know? I mean, he was in the thick of the Phantom Thieves phenomenon as well, after all, so it seemed… natural. I also just,” Ren clears his throat, voice just a tad thicker than before as he continues, “I wanted to do something to honor the memory of the boy I knew.”

“Sorry, Akechi,” Ren grins wryly at the camera. “I know how you feel about my brainless sentiment. If you’re out there and you see this though, I hope you’re doing well.”

Crow @thecrowprince

“Eden’s Promise” NFA BlackRed, rated E, one shot 17k words

tags/warnings: not a fix-it, hurt maybe comfort, ambiguous ending

🔗: https://archiveofourown.info/works/68492921 

Replies:

“hey crow wtf I can’t see through my tears rn”

 

“oh god, crow sadfic? Let me get my tissues ready”

 

“I’m honestly speechless. Black’s feelings for Red in this one is like a super punch to the gut. Holy hell, Crow, this is my new fave from you.”

Crow @thecrowprince

“I need to know how cismpreg can happen I need to fuck Amamiya pregnant”

Replies:

“LMFAO NOT YOU POSTING THE MOST HEART WRENCHING BLACKRED OF THE YEAR AND THEN FOLLOWING IT UP WITH HORNY POSTING 😭😭😭”

Who needs therapy when one could just watch an approximate recreation of the worst year of his life through the eyes of another person? Himself being played by the one boy who knew him the best? As if he didn’t have enough trauma from facing his own double once.

“It makes me feel sick,” Goro tells his therapist, a lovely and incredibly patient woman named Nitta Io. She’s probably the only person in the world that knows Akechi Goro is alive and well and serves cocktails in cosplay for a living, and also she doesn’t remind him of goddamn Maruki so that’s always a plus. “But is it bad that I miss it?”

“You crave acknowledgement and find comfort in being a step above others,” Nitta reminds him. “Your life as Akechi Goro ‘peaked’, as you’ve said, when you were trying to pursue the Phantom thieves. It’s understandable that you would miss it.”

“Hm,” Goro hums, fingers tapping the armrest of the sofa chair he’s sitting on. “I also just kind of wish Ren wasn’t playing my equivalent. It feels weird, like I’m attracted to myself.”

“Should we psychoanalyze what it means for your attraction to him?” Nitta asks sympathetically. “I’m sure there are articles about how to deal with inadvertent emotional narcissism.”

“Oh no need,” Goro says easily. “I don’t think anything in the world could change my desire to wife him, improbable as it may be. I’m more concerned about how I’ve started having a hard time projecting the Ren in my head onto Feather Red, because I fucking hate the cunt this season and he doesn’t deserve White and it’s bleeding into my feelings for the other incarnations and that is making things difficult .”

“Ah, yes. I’ve been watching the series and it’s clear they’re favoring RedWhite heavily,” Nitta nods. “Well, why don’t we start with some writing exercises then?”

#general

Ryouki’s whimpers (affectionate)

hey @Crow, yes THAT crow

this u?

https://archiveofourown.info/3628292144

ao3-linker ☑️APP

if I am the fool or what not

by Anonymous

Rating:

🟥 Explicit

Warnings: 

No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories:

M/M

Fandoms:

Featherman Series, Neo Featherman: Phantom

Relationships:

Reader/Feather White Swan | Hakuro Ryouki

Characters:

Feather White Swan | Hakuro Ryouki, Original Male Character(s)

Additional Tags:

Bottom White Swan, Bottom Hakuro Ryouki, Top Reader, Male Reader, Anal Sex, Romance, Angst with a Happy Ending, Public Sex, Getting Together, Not RedWhite friendly

Summary:

Left at the altar earlier that day, Ryouki resigned himself to a lonely night of drinking at the nearby jazz club. 

The bartender happened to be an old friend. There were worse circumstances to reunite under, but Ryouki would learn to appreciate the company.

Words: 6,273 | Chapters: 1/1 | Language: 日本語| Published: 20XX-08-12

Crow, yes THAT crow

what

no

the fuck makes you think that

im not a yumedanshi

RedWhite defender

first off

>im not a yumedanshi 

LOL liar

Ryouki’s whimpers (affectionate)

secondly: not redwhite friendly tag

you’re the biggest redwhite hater we know that wants to fuck white so bad 

[💯16]

Crow, yes THAT crow

OH FUCK OFF

[🤡18][😘5]

Chapter Text

“Excuse me,” a nervous yet excited voice says and Ren looks up from the pastry case he’s staring at to turn to the speaker. It’s a young highschool girl with two of her friends, all of them wearing Shujin’s distinctive uniform. “Are you… Amamiya Ren?”

“Yeah?” Ren smiles and one of them makes a gasping squeaky noise. He politely pretends he doesn’t hear it. “That’s me.”

Behind him, Ken snorts. Ren subtly jerks his foot backward to kick his shin. 

“Oh my god, we’re huge fans,” the first girl says brightly, gaining confidence with Ren’s encouraging expression. It’s the same face he used to pull to get his confidants to tell them their troubles, and it works just as well as a default for unexpected fans accosting him in public. “White is my new favorite!”

“Me too!” Another chirps, moving her school bag to her front to show off a nui keychain of White Swan hanging from the side, along with a photo card holder framing Ren as Hakuro Ryouki’s headshot. Ren feels a little weird seeing his own likeness staring at him from a Cinnamoroll frame. Does that sticker say ‘BABYGIRL’? “Kawakami-sensei said she was your homeroom teacher for one year and we didn’t believe it until she pulled up pictures! That’s so cool!”

“Oh, are you in her class?” Ren relaxes. “Hope she’s doing well, it’s been a while since I talked to her.” She had sent a congratulations via text when the cast list was announced, but almost all his older confidants led much busier lives, so he isn’t surprised at the scarcity of much else. Hm, maybe he could suggest a school trip to the tv station he films in for her students? It would be kind of poetic in a way, since that social studies trip in his second year was how he and Akechi officially first met after all.

“Ren,” Ken nudges him after a few moments of entertaining the schoolgirls. “We should order and go.” He sends Ren a look and then points at their surroundings with his eyes.

There’s a few more eyes on them, some of them even with their phones out, and Ren is starkly reminded that he’s sort of famous now. The last time he got stared at this much at a cafe he was with Akechi, and this time it is all because of him and not because of his companion.

“Amamiya-senpai,” one of the girls rushes before Ren could excuse himself. “Before you go, can we get an autograph and picture?”

Their faces are so earnest. And everyone is looking at them. So what’s Ren supposed to do other than smile and say, “Of course.”

An hour later, Ren and Ken finally make it out of the cafe. Ren can feel his phone vibrating in his pants pocket and he can only assume it’s his friends telling him he’s Twitter trending again, but two months into the season airing, Ren trends on social media every week.

It’s a little embarrassing, even if it’s flattering. He never really considered himself exceptionally attractive, physically, his eyes always being a point of self consciousness for being “too intense,” but apparently now that he’s older it’s “striking.” It’s still weird logging into twitter or Instagram and seeing his face every few posts, some people even using it as a profile picture, but he’s able to separate himself since most of them are of him as Ryouki.

The fancams though. He’s not sure he can get used to those anytime soon, even when Futaba keeps sending them to him with a mad cackle.

“This will open the floodgates, you know,” Ken tells him ominously as they walk towards the station. “Now your fans know you’re receptive to being approached.”

“I don’t think I ever indicated otherwise?” Ren says unsurely, twisting his fringe. “Still weird though.”

“Just make sure if you get any edible gifts to get the lab to test it first,” Ken wryly advises. “Yukari used to get very unsavory substances in ‘homemade cookies.’ There’s a reason why she has a no food policy for fan gifts now.”

Ren blanches. “Okay, no edibles. Got it.”

Thankfully, as the days go and he gets caught outside doing his everyday life when he’s not shooting episodes, most gift givers present him with little trinkets. He’s received a fair share of bead bracelets and keychains already, most of them in White Swan and Hakuro Ryouki’s colors, though there were a few outliers that had a fair amount of red in them.

(“RedWhite shippers,” Futaba sagely nods when she sees them. “Manifesting canon, boysssss.”)

A new trend starts though after his WIRED interview, the one where he pathetically moons over Akechi for a segment and has been clipped to hell and back since, goes viral though.

“Amamiya-san,” a female fan approaches him tearfully in Akihabara, where he, Fujikawa, and Sasada are in a tokusatsu specialty store doing a casual meet and greet event. She’s holding something small in her hands, close to her chest, cradling it like something precious. “I saw your interview online about Akechi-kun and I felt really moved! I was a really big fan of his and I think you’re doing his memory justice! But, well, since you miss him I really want you to have this!”

She thrusts her gift to his direction and Ren reflexively accepts it, his polite and confused smile dropping when an innocent embroidered face stares back up at him. “Oh,” Ren shouldn’t feel this emotional over a little nui doll of Akechi, but it’s the principle of the thing. “This is… I can’t possibly…”

Also, the doll is a limited edition run Akechi Goro merch, which is niche enough already. Ren would know, he tried to buy some during his peak grief time the months after Maruki’s world collapsed. If he remembered correctly, this plush was valued at 30,000 yen at least in the secondhand market alone, and it’s not even the most expensive one. The Akechi Goro tax is no joke.

“It’s okay, Amamiya-san!” The fangirl passionately says. “I have five more! And I’m buying five White nuis today so they won’t be lonely!”

Ren struggles to keep his face straight. “Oh… thank you, then.” He looks back down at the Akechi doll, with its tiny curved smile and okay, yeah. Fine. He tucks it into his blazer’s breast pocket, the big round head poking out of it. “I’ll make sure to take good care of him.”

The fan’s blinding smile is almost worth the shutter snap of a dozen other phones going off to take a picture of Ren with his new little companion.

sakura @cherriblossoms

“crying I can’t believe someone actually gifted him an akechi nui”

[candid picture of Ren patting the head of plush Akechi snug in his pocket]

Replies:

“wish that was me”

 

“SOBBING ISNT THAT A RARE ITEM NOW”

—“all Akechi Goro merch is rare wdym 😭”

 

“AMAMIYA PLS ILL BE YOUR POCKET PRINCE(SS) IF YOU JUST LET ME”

Crow @thecrowprince

“I think we should kill Akechi Goro actually”

[QRT: AmamiyaDaily’s post of Ren holding the Akechi nui plush to his cheek in a picture with a censored fan]

Replies:

“oh that jealousy JUMPED OUT”

—“crow would be jealous of Amamiya’s cat given the day 😔”

——“god knows how jealous he already is of Amamiya’s roommate LOL”

“Did you make an Akechi shrine?” Ryuji squints at a corner in Ren’s bedroom, where the top of his dresser is covered with Detective Prince Akechi Goro paraphernalia. “Dude.”

“It’s from fans,” Ren defends himself, flushing a little. “And it’s not like I can just… refuse them. It’s fine, they get checked for anything suspicious.”

“ Dude ,” Ryuji repeats, eyebrows raised knowingly. Ren slumps.

“Okay, I don’t actually mind that much,” Ren admits. “It’s… cute. And a lot of this stuff is hard to find online.”

“You’re so down bad,” Ryuji says sympathetically, patting his back. “And everyone can tell. Have you seen the stuff Futaba’s been sending in the group chat? You’re a champ for dealing with all this and that.”

“The fancams aren’t that bad,” Ren shrugs. “Though I still don’t get the babygirl thing.”

“The fancams?” Ryuji looks at him confused. “I’m talking about the fanfic about you and Akechi.”

“The what.”

Futaba

anyway fanfic drop

https://archiveofourown.info/works/11202200609

this one has them getting freaky in the tv station lmao

Ren

Futaba

Please don’t tell me that’s fanfic of me and akechi

Futaba

its called akemiya you heathen

its like u dont even know the ship smh

Ren

IM LITERALLY HALF OF IT???

1 - 20 of 64 Works in Akechi Goro/Amamiya Ren | Akechi’s Shujin Boy (RPF)

Sort by

[ Kudos ]

Under the Blue Light by Anonymous

Celebrity RPF

No Archive Warnings Apply , Akechi Goro/Amamiya Ren | Akechi’s Shujin Boy (RPF) , Akechi Goro , Amamiya Ren | Akechi’s Shujin Boy , Secret Relationship , Fluff , Oral Sex , Public Sex , but not too public its the restroom , Idiots in Love

An aquarium date, redux.

Language: 日本語   Words: 4,502  Chapters: 1/1  Comments: 138  Kudos: 1,982  Bookmarks: 923  Hits: 14,023

The series is just picking up full swing on television, with the equivalents of Kamoshida and Madarame arcs having finished and the storyline right in the middle of the mafia boss arc. The Medjed episodes are well way into post-production and they had just wrapped up filming what would have been Okumura’s story, had the writers not taken massive creative liberties with it.

“Makes sense,” his coworker Hirose, Yellow, had mused as he and the rest of the Feathermans went through the script together. “Ain’t risking getting taken to court against that Okumura money.”

“Haru’s pretty reasonable,” Ren was obligated to argue. Haru had actually pulled Ren aside to talk to him about the possibility of her late father being portrayed once the pattern of the show became clear and told him that while she didn’t mind per se, understanding that most people were not sympathetic to the death of an exploitative billionaire CEO, she would appreciate a warning first. So it’s not like she would’ve sued the production team. But also he knows very well how scary she can be. “But better safe than sorry.”

With the Not-Okumura arc done, they’re setting up to shoot the final arc. The public didn’t really know about Sae’s palace so it makes sense that they jump right to “the prospective prime minister’s” story, but Ren still feels completely unprepared to take on the bits that will truly test his acting chops. Or his ability to channel Akechi.

God, he prays he doesn’t have his own breakdown in the middle of filming. That would be so cringe.

Speaking of cringe.

“AHAHAHAHAHA!” Ren cackles in front of his bathroom mirror, trying to sound as insane as he can. The days of filming the Big Black Reveal come closer and Ren feels like everything hinges on this specific moment. No one among his friends really brings up Akechi’s Engine Room Breakdown, but he knows it was a turning point for many of them understanding Akechi’s circumstances. Haru and Futaba may not have forgiven him for killing their parents, but they get it, somewhat. 

The laugh though. That damn crazy ass laugh.

“You’re trying too hard,” Morgana says from his perch on the toilet tank. “Just laugh like an insane person naturally.”

“Do you even hear what you’re saying?” Ren gripes at Morgana, taking a swig of his water bottle to soothe his throat. “It’s not like I’m crazy.”

Morgana gives him a dubious look.

“ Not completely ,” Ren insists, because sometimes he forgets that Morgana was the sole witness to Ren’s personal existential crisis during his year back in his hometown.

(In his defense, how does one adjust from being a vigilante god-killer with multiple near-death experiences back to a normal third year high schooler in a hometown where people staunchly pretended he didn’t exist? 

Not easily, is the apparent answer. He’d almost dialed Maruki multiple times for advice, on the account that he was the only therapist Ren knew at the time, much less one that knew about the Metaverse. And then the whole Jails thing happened over the summer of his third year and for a little bit it was fine, but there’s a reason why Kirijo snatched him up the first moment they could. He was probably a ticking time bomb at some point, only mitigated by the Shadow Ops giving him a way to stretch his wings again in addition to Narukami Yu being a godsend in untangling the mess that was his Wildcard Fool’s Journey.)

He knows the anticipation for the Feather Black reveal is high. He tries not to look too hard into the theories and speculations online, though Futaba and Ken keep him in the loop just enough. The big spoiler still manages to be kept hushed even with the scant appearances Ren’s made through the episodes as the dark shadowy figure, though Sasada does get the fandom in a tizzy when she, with the instruction of the director, posts Feather Black’s helmet from the backside with only a mere eyes emoji caption on Instagram right after the mafia boss’ defeat episode.

“W-wait!” The half-transformed monster pig of a mafia boss hastily calls out after the rangers have knocked him down with their finishing move. “What about the Black Bird?”

This causes everyone to pause. “What do you mean… the black bird?” Feather Green hesitantly asks.

“Oh,” the mafia boss looks at the confused body language of everyone and starts to giggle. “You— you brats don’t know!”

Red and White exchange uncertain looks. “Matsuhino… didn’t he say something about there being another one of us?” White recalls the disgraced painter’s rambles. Blue tenses in realization.

“Yes,” Blue corroborates tensely. “And he was afraid.”

“What do you know about them?” Red demands the mafia boss, keeping his saber pointed at the cackling villain.

“That compared to him, you’re just children playing dress up,” the pig monster spits. “He’s been running around for years, making things *easy* for my kind, even if he isn’t one himself. Willing to shed his kin’s blood for power… hah!”

White clenches his fists. “That tells us little of who that is,” he says with evident dissatisfaction. 

“I don’t care, once my failure gets back to my master, I’m a dead man walking. But I’ll tell you one thing for sure,” the pig grins smugly, “if you ever end up facing him, I only have one piece of advice.”

“And that is?” Red asks through gritted teeth.

“Run.”

grey dove @evendeaderdove

“#NFPspoilers ITS REAL FEATHER BLACK IS REAL I KNEW IT I KNEW THEY WERENT GONNA SNUB HIM I KNEW IT VINDICATIOOOOOON”

Replies:

“WHY WOULD THEY YANK OUR CHAINS ALL THIS TIME LIKE THIS”

 

“PPL SAID WE WERE DELULU WHOS LAUGHING NOW”

 

“HONEY WAKE UP FEATHER BLACK IN NFP CONFIRMED”

r/featherma n

u/flightlessfeatherman

[EPISODE DISCUSSION] NF:P - EP 22: SWINE FLEW

Comments:

“My prediction is that ryouki’s older brother is Black. He’s one of the few recurring side characters that has a direct impact on one of the rangers and is close to their age, plus we can insinuate so far that ryouki has some repressed inferiority complex over him. Plus white/black dichotomy and all…”

—“makes sense actually! plus we know historically red would go god mode when his love interest is in danger, so this would be a perfect setup ❤️🤍”

Crow @thecrowprince

“Headshot” NF:P gen Red&White, rated M, one shot 2.3k

Tags: up to ep22 compliant, canon divergence for legal reasons, ambiguous ending, implied MCD (spoiler specific tags next tweet⬇️)

🔗: https://archiveofourown.info/works/20161120444

Crow @thecrowprince

Spoiler tags: white is black, betrayal

yes, you read that right, white is black and no I will not be taking criticism, and in this essay I will—

Replies:

“CROW WHERES THE REST OF THE ESSAY!!! TELL US MORE YOU COWARD!!!!!”

—“omg pls it WAS an actual essay… he went OFF on discord after the episode, i swear everyone needs to read it”

 

“WHITE IS BLACK CONCEPT OH YOU ARE WILDIN FOR THIS”

 

“wait if white is black and black is white and you ship blackwhite but only top black and bottom white then who is driving this car”

—“cloning exists in the featherman universe, we can work with this”

——“if we cloned amamiya ren then crow will actually take both of them”

“Are you ready?” Fujikawa slaps his shoulder with an encouraging smile. “Shit’s about to get real, isn’t it?”

They’re filming the betrayal scene today, the show’s 11/20, and Ren wants to throw up.

“Yeah,” he croaks, returning the smile more confidently than he felt. “I can do this.” Never mind the mild panic attack slash PTSD nightmare he had just two nights before. It’s fine, he’s fine now.

Thankfully this isn’t going to be as traumatizing as getting beaten and drugged up by a group of cops, sanitized as it was for the younger audience. Making the villains aliens really makes it all a lot more palatable.

Perhaps if it had been any other role, if he wasn’t putting himself in Akechi’s shoes, he’d be more well adjusted. As it was, he thinks back to the long nights spent staring at Leblanc’s ceiling, contemplating of why’s and what if’s and I wishes , and it all comes pouring back into him.

Akechi had smiled when he shot Ren’s cognitive self. But it had been a pained, manic, grief stricken thing, soothed only by the hate he had clung onto. Ren gets it, always had, but maybe it’s the first time he finally gets closure on it.

“The traitor has always been me,” White says, letting Red get tackled by the grunts as he walks to the side of the monsters. A few of them salute him even, recognizing his authority, that he’s one of them.

“White!” Red screams as he’s pulled to his feet. He’s disarmed, his saber picked up from the floor by White, and they lost communications with the rest of the team long ago. “You don’t have to do this! We can help you!”

“I’m sorry, Red,” White sounds tired. Resigned, even through the helmet. But it only lasts for a minute before he hardens himself and he’s back to the cold voice and even colder heart.

“White,” Red pleads one last time. “Ryouki—“

“Akira,” White says, “This is where your justice ends.”

And stabs Red with his own saber, clean through the heart.

“Am I in trouble?” Ren half heartedly jokes when he’s called into the director’s office after filming is done for the day. The director, Matsuda, laughs. The lead writer for the series is also there, as is his manager, smiling reassuringly at him as he takes a seat.

“Quite the opposite, I would think,” Matsuda says. “How are you getting along with the job, Amamiya-kun? You seem to be doing quite well settling into it, in my opinion!”

“You’ve made quite an impression among viewers these past few months, Amamiya-san,” his manager Inoue says. “You’re practically trending every week on social media. I have brands clamoring for partnerships, you know? I really wish you would consider taking some of them.”

“Haha, yeah, I’ll think about it,” Ren says sheepishly, trying not to sink in his seat in embarrassment. He’s still not sure about making acting a long term gig like Yukari did, or even transitioning as an all around idol like Rise (which is insane to think about). But as the months go by he has to admit that there is an appeal to it, despite his distaste over the inner workings of the industry and his continued emotional turmoil over his debut role. Still, he doesn’t get why Burberry wants to dress him up anytime soon.

“Which is why we wanted to talk to you before you end up getting busy!” Matsuda exclaims. “I’m sure you’re already thinking about your next role prospects—“ Ren is not, actually. “So we have a proposal for you!”

The informal proposal pushed towards him is a barebones summary of a plot, but the title is what catches his eye. “Neo Featherman: Phantom the Movie,” he murmurs. He’s not surprised, it’s expected that if the series was a success that they would make a movie, but… “But Ryouki dies at the end of the series.”

Ren… has a sneaking suspicion about this movie’s plot.

“And what an uproar that’s going to cause,” Matsuda sighs. “You’re by far the most popular character of the series, Amamiya-kun. You even outsell Red, though if that continues after the big reveal remains to be unseen, I still have a good feeling about it.”

“We can’t do this movie without you,” the lead writer earnestly says. “A key point of the plot is Akira’s wish to have Ryouki back, not realizing it’s at the price of the world’s freedom of choice.”

Ren opens his mouth, then closes it on account that what might come out may just be a loud scream. What the fuck , actually. They want a movie of the shitshow that was Maruki’s world? Has Maruki been the snitch all this time? He needs to make a call to his wayward ex-therapist. And probably punch him in the face again if he’s been monetizing Ren’s year on the trauma train.

“Red and White’s feelings for each other are confirmed in the movie,” Matsuda hints, sweetening the pot. Ren, still unable to let go of the heartache brought upon by one kiss years ago, pauses. Dammit .

“Okay,” Ren concedes too easily in the end. “I’ll be in the movie.”

“It wasn’t me,” Maruki earnestly insists when Ren drops by his workplace to ask questions. “I promise you, Ren-kun, that my days of invading your privacy have been long over.”

“Right,” Ren sighs in defeat. Maruki could be lying, of course, but also he should probably trust that Maruki has straightened up since getting knocked on his ass by a group of teenagers. Ken pats him in the back consolingly. “Sorry, it’s just… have you been watching the show?”

“Lala-san puts it on every week,” Maruki beams, his glossy lips stretching wide. “It works out for us, since it airs during our pre-opening prep.”

“So you must get why I was suspicious,” Ren dryly says. Maruki deflates with an understanding sigh. 

“I understand,” his former therapist nods. “But I really don’t think I have answers for you, Ren-kun. The only people that have retained their memory of my idealized world should only be the ones that managed to break out of it in the first place.”

“Or Persona users,” Ken coughs. Because yeah, it was real fun explaining to the Shadow Ops why they all had memories of a timeline that never was, especially when it had brought back some very dead people for a brief moment.

“But they know about Akechi,” Ren despondently says. “And practically everything that happened between us, even the…”

Maruki puts his hand on top of Ren’s in sympathy. “I’m sure you’ll find your answers. You’re a tenacious man, Ren-kun. Surely I’m not the only omnipresent person you’ve known in your life.”

Ren ignores his last words and instead squints at Maruki’s hands. “Are you wearing purple nail polish?”

“Does it suit me?” Maruki suddenly frets. “I’m still trying to learn what colors flatter me best so Lala-san’s been letting me try out—“

“It looks fine on you,” Ren interrupts before Maruki could ramble further. “You’ve got that autumn tone about you anyways. I just figured you’d be more of a gold or blue kind of guy.”

Maruki makes a face. “Too much gold gets gaudy,” he seems to begrudgingly admit, which means he’s also thinking about the same thing as Ren: his Metaverse costume. 

“I think the purple suits you and your outfit,” Ken affirms him. True enough, the nails go well with the dress Maruki is wearing tonight. “Is that one of Lala-san’s as well?”

“Thank you, Amada-kun,” Maruki flusters, “And uhm, no, actually—“

“His new beau got it for him,” Lala chimes in as she finally comes out from the back. “The airsoft shop DILF friend of yours, Ren-chan. My, what a catch.”

“Lala-san!”

“You’re dating Iwai ?” Ren asks incredulously. “Are you serious? How did you manage that?”

That can’t be fair. How is Maruki’s love life fairing better than his? Meanwhile Ren’s still pining for someone who may or may not be dead all the while pretending to be the TV version of said person because Ren’s life is fucked up that way.

“Your confidence in me is humbling, Ren-kun,” Maruki, a man over a decade older than him, sulks.

“I hope they make your character in the movie a jackass,” Ren says in return.

canary @YellowCanaryCEO

im gonna say it

white be having death flags 🚩🚩🚩

Replies: 

“NOOOO… I REFUSE TO ACKNOWLEDGE THEM”

 

“gen curious becoz I only watch the show casually, but what makes you say that?”

—“RedWhite relationship is hyper focused, the setup of white’s family and his dynamic with them, the most recent white solo scenes, now the feather black confirmation… idk it’s giving me a gut feeling”

——“you’re overthinking it 💀 this is still featherman, it’s not that deep”

———“maybe but mark my words, I think black is going to kill white”

Amamiya Ren News and Pics @AmamiyaDaily

[photo taken straight from Ken’s Instagram, of Ren meticulously arranging his Akechi “shrine”]

Caption: “Fellas, is it gay to have a dresser top full of merch of your ex-situationship?”

Replies:

“EX-SITUATIONSHIP??? HELLO????????”

—“YEAH HOLD UP WDYM”

—“AKEMIYA REAL LETS FUCKIN GOOOOOO”

 

“dying 💀 the former Akechi girlies really just banded together to give him a full collection”

—“what can I say some of us are a girl’s girl 💅✨”

 

“I can’t believe Amamiya’s roommate really just exposed him like that LOL”

 

“someone hide THIS from crow omg”

Crow @thecrowprince

what do you mean situationship

Crow @thecrowprince

KILL ME NOW

Crow @thecrowprince

akechi goro is the biggest idiot if he fumbled amamiya ren like that

Ren doesn’t speak with his parents nowadays, ever since he graduated high school and moved back to the city. But the sparse communication had already been going on for even longer, even long before Ren got arrested the first time, so the silence between them isn’t necessarily a surprise. He’s aware that he had merely been an obligation for them while under their care, their lives too busy with work and social climbing to pay any mind to their quiet little boy unless they needed something more human to brag about.

His mother had made efforts once in a while, paltry as it was. His father… Well, the Phantom Thieves may have well named themselves the Daddy Issues Club is all Ren is saying, for good reason.

Even years later, the echo of Akechi’s shouting in the engine room still sticks to his mind. If Ren thinks about it, if Ren digs deep enough into his own insecurities…

They really were two sides of the same coin. 

“Remember, Amamiya-kun,” Matsuda tells him gently as they set up for the pivotal scene. “As important as this scene is, there’s no pressure to get it right immediately, alright? We can do a couple of takes, no problem.”

“Thank you, director,” Ren says as he stares at his reflection on Feather White’s visor. “I’ll give it my all.”

“Right,” Matsuda grins at him, patting his shoulder. “Let’s get to it then. Everyone, positions!”

Ren breathes deeply as he waits for his cue. He puts himself back in character, imagining himself as Ryouki finding the other rangers having just defeated the second to the last General of the villain army, Red leading them as if White hadn’t killed him just a few episodes ago.

(How did Akechi feel when he found out he didn’t shoot Ren after all? Angry, for sure, but was he also disappointed? Upset? Relieved, even? Or was it everything at once?)

“I don’t get it,” Ren says, his voice dull as he stares down at his teammates, the grip on his rapier tight. His White helmet is half shattered from his fight against them, revealing half his face. “How do you keep coming out on top? What makes you so special?” He spits, his usually gentle eyes piercing into a glare. 

“White…” Pink whispers. 

“Ryouki,” Red calls out gently, stepping forward fearlessly. “Please, it doesn’t have to be this way. We’re a team, aren’t we? You’re my best friend.”

The laugh Ren lets out is as manic as it is derisive. “A team? Your friend ? Don’t make me laugh!” He clutches the intact side of his helmet in frustration. “You think you’re on the same level as me?! I spent almost all my life perfecting myself!” He shouts at them, voice raw with anger. “I worked myself to the ground making sure there was no one better than me! So that people would want me around! But they never have—“

Ren’s voice cracks, just a little. Thinks about his parents. About Akechi. 

Again, same coin.

“I did everything right,” Ren says, quieter. Hurt. “I got perfect grades, I had the perfect image, I was the perfect son. And yet,” he snarls, thinking about the empty house he came home to for years. About the easy abandonment after one mistake. “It wasn’t enough, it’s never been enough, I’ve never been enough.”

“That’s not true!” Red shouts back at him, passionate and true to his feelings. How Ren wished he was, years ago. “You’ve always been more than enough for us, Ryouki. You’re twice the person I am—“

“Don’t lie, Red,” Ren laughs harshly. “It says a lot about me when some attic trash like you has more in his life than I ever would. Besides, it’s too late for me. There is no path to redemption in my future,” he sweeps his arm, the hand not holding his rapier pressed to heart as he takes a mocking bow. “Haven’t you realized it yet?”

The smile he gives them is half crazed, half resigned to his inevitable ill fate. 

“I’m the Black Swan.”

“ Cut! ”

r/featherman

u/GreyPigeonussy

[LEAK/SPECULATION] possible episode titles for NF:P eps 35-40

Reminder to take leaks with a grain of salt.

That being said, this is from a source in 2ch that’s been pretty accurate this season. They also say something BIG happens in these eps specifically. (Black reveal, methinks 👀)

E35 - My Goal, My Faith, My Virtue

E36 - Your Heart, Your Sword

E37 - Live One More Day

E38 - Memories of You and I

E39 - Swan Dive

E40 - The Last Ace in a Lost Hand

Comments:

“> Swan Dive

NOPE. NONONONONOPE. REAL ONES KNOW WHAT IT MEANS WHEN A TITLE HAS THE BIRD IN IT AND ITS NOT A JOKE”

—“IF THEY HURT WHITE, WE RIOT”

—“IKR looking at this was a MISTAKE”

Crow @thecrowprince

⬜️=⬛️

betting all on it

Crow @thecrowprince

if I'm wrong, I’ll do face reveal 

[QRT: “and if you’re wrong??”]

Crow @thecrowprince

and if I'm right you guys can SUCK IT

Chapter Text

Goro squints at his phone screen. First at the image thumbnail, which is an anime stylized version of Ren-as-Hakuro Ryouki laying tantalizingly on fake bed sheets printed on a dakimakura. He then looks at the account that posted it on Twitter. ‘@goemonfox’ is the account handle. He squints harder. Did Kitagawa seriously design a body pillow of his beloved friend and leader? The audacity .

“How many are you buying, Crow?” Someone asks in the Discord voice chat with a snicker. “Five?”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Goro sniffs. “I don’t have that much space in my apartment. Two will do, one for each side.”

“You know,” another voice chimes in, “you may have the most expensive NFP White collection in the country, Crow. How can you even afford all that? Aren’t you just a bartender?”

“I get tipped well,” Goro says with a smirk, which is true enough. Only, said tips come from Shido’s estate. He clicks through the online shop to put four pillow covers in his cart, just in case. 

“That’s a surprise considering you have shit manners.”

“Fuck off,” Goro says back as he hits purchase. “Customers love it when I’m a little mean.”

“Speaking of, who are you cosplaying next?” A third voice jumps in. “Have they let you do Featherman yet?”

“No,” Goro grumbles. He goes back to the game window he had open on his laptop, where they’re still stuck in queue for the stupid 24 man raid Goro got roped into doing. He makes his character, a catboy with wavy black hair and a flashy black and red outfit, jump around in circles as he talks. “There’s a sentai bar across the street from us and our boss agreed not to overlap with them. So I’m stuck doing Lelouch next week. Bleh.”

“Aw, shame. What about for the fan festival though? You’re going, right? We can do a meetup in group cosplay!”

Truthfully, the thought of meeting up with the closest approximation of friends he’s had since he was 18 makes him want to throw up. Especially ones from a fandom that has single handedly brought Detective Prince Akechi Goro back into the public eye. Damn Ren and his sentiment. Goro still hasn’t been recognized yet, having taken a page out the thief’s book by keeping himself unassuming with a boring haircut and actual prescription glasses whenever he goes outside of his apartment, but with the resurgence of old pictures of Goro, the risk persists. 

“We’ll see how the lottery goes,” Goro eventually says. “USJ is fucking expensive. And crowded. I don’t want to bother if I don’t get a ticket to the main event itself.”

“You mean if you don’t get the meetup ticket with Amamiya,” someone teases, making the rest of the call howl and catcall. Goro hates them all.

“Come on, Crow,” another coaxingly says. “We’ll do NFA, and you can be Black!”

“God knows we can’t do NFP because he’ll get prissy over who gets to be White,” mutters someone else. 

“Fuck off,” Goro says again, even though it’s true. “None of us can live up to Amamiya Ren.”

And isn’t that another truth, albeit an even more painful one. Weeks in on watching Ren on the screen has been nothing short of an emotional rollercoaster for Goro. What does it say when he thinks Ren plays the role of himself better than he ever did? Goro’s seen the posts. Ren’s portrayal of Hakuro Ryouki is universally beloved, and even the critics can agree that the writing aside, Ren can act. He makes the fictional boy someone worth sympathizing with, even turning some of the former Detective Prince naysayers into begrudging fans.

It used to be that comparing himself to the Phantom Thieves’ Leader made him angry. Now it just makes him feel depressed, knowing that if back then as the Detective Prince he wasn’t good enough for Ren, he’s less so now as a 22 year old otaku bartender writing pining fanfic based on their months long friendship. God, is he a creep?

Oh well. That’s what therapy is for. The retail kind, especially. That’s why he now has a White Swan collection worth more than a few months of his rent.

“Queue’s dead, fellas,” someone sighs as their queue timer in game keeps ticking on without a pop. “New ep is on in 15 mins. Group watch?”

Ugh. Sure, why not.

“What kind of casino only accepts couples?” Akira grumbles as their team sulks after being denied entry into their target’s base. They just wanted to scope the place out.

“One run by the mafia,” Ryouki dryly says. “It’s all appearances, Akira-kun.”

“Well it’s homophobic too!” Akira cries out. Midori, or Green, snorts. “Only a man and a woman together allowed, the nerve! It’s the 21st century!”

“We could always just break in the old fashioned way?” Midori suggests.

“Are you trying to get us all killed?” Ryouki sighs exasperatedly, always the voice of reason. “This is the mafia. ”

“Well, how do we do this then?” Yukito, Blue, asks the group. “With Midori-chan and Hana-san the only women among us, that leaves only two pairs possible.”

 “Ugh, leaving two guys behind is gonna suck if we end up fighting the boss,” Hinata, Yellow, groans. “This’ll be easier if we just had another girl.”

Ryouki laughs lightly, and as always, Akira turns to him entranced like he was hearing a siren call. “If only one of us had the ability to transform,” Ryouki jokes, and Midori and Hana slowly turn to each other with a look on their faces. 

“Or,” Hana, Pink, slowly begins to smile. “We can do it the old fashioned way.”

“Huh?” The four boys blink, but the two girls’ mischievous grins are pointed straight at Ryouki. One by one, lightbulbs ping in Akira, Hinata, and Yukito as they join the girls in staring intently at their prettiest member by far.

“Hah,” Ryouki smiles back nervously, “why are you all looking at me like that?”

Ryouki’s #2 Fan @femmeswan

[ screencaps of Red and White in a suit and dress respectively, Red’s arm around White’s waist, almost as if they’re a couple ]

im gonna throw up WHY IS THIS SHIP SO GOOD thank u showrunners for the food 🙏

RedWhite CEO @rw-writes

legit in tears from laughing, crow tweaking out on VC over Amamiya crossdressing in the new ep is the funniest thing all MONTH

Replies:

“PLEAAAASE THE WAY HE STARTED MAKING DYING NOISES AT THE REVEAL”

—“OKAY BUT CAN WE BLAME HIM FOR THAT??? AMAMIYA’S LEGS IN HEELS AND THAT DRESS LORD I WOULDVE BEEN ON MY KNEES IRL”

“tfw amamiya makes a prettier woman than me, an afab 😭😭😭”

—“god he’s so gender goals I swear”

——“HE NEEDS TO SAVE SOME GENDER FOR THE REST OF US!!!”

Crow @thecrowprince

STOP @ING ME I KNOW I WATCHED THE EPISODE I SAW HIM LEAVE ME ALONE

Replies:

“FAKE DISTRESS YOURE LITERALLY RTING EVERY DRESS!WHITE FANART WE’RE LINKING IN DISCORD RN”

Crow @thecrowprince

WATSON. SAVE ME WATSON SAVE ME.

Replies: 

“???????? WHAT DOES THIS MEAN….”

Crow @thecrowprince

ok i’m normal again

parker @mischieflatte

lmao you’ve never been normal in your life

[ QRT: @thecrowprince: “ok i’m normal again”]

Crow @thecrowprince

STOP RATIOING ME

[ QRTS @mischieflatte: “lmao you’ve never been normal in your life” ]

blue’s left hand @pheasantpainter

akechi goro stronger than me, if I saw that amamiya ren is still lowkey pining for me I woulda dropped everything and ran for my LIFE back to him

Replies:

“girl that’s what I’ve been saying… like, he has to be dead otherwise it makes no sense why we don’t got the akemiya wedding bells yet”

—“well if he’s dead then he needs to come back to life like omfg lock IN king”

It’s not like Goro was completely opposed to reuniting with Ren. In fact, he wanted nothing more. And he knows that Ren must feel some semblance of longing for him or at least how he remembered Goro, if the little shrine Amada posted online is anything to go by.

(As if Goro had any room to talk, considering his own apartment was half filled with White Swan merchandise.)

But Goro’s always been a little bit self-punishing, a little bit hateful of himself. He’s working on it, obviously, therapist and meds and all, but. Well. For some reason the thought of picking up his phone and messaging the all too familiar number feels like an infinitely daunting task. It takes him an embarrassingly long time to pull the trigger even just signing up for the fanfest ticket lottery and is still torn between praying for a rejection or a win. He’ll consider it a sign on what to do either way and if he’s (un)lucky he’ll die alone at least five years older than whatever age Shido ends up dying at.

Watching Ren on television helps, somewhat. He mentioned to his therapist that it was strange, seeing an approximation of his life through a different lens but… as the episodes go on, it’s also strangely healing. As much as he resents Red’s actor, he has to admit that if Ren had felt even a fraction of the way Red seems to feel for White then… he can feel a little better about himself.

It is incredibly insane though, when he clocks in the direction they’re going with White’s storyline. He doesn’t know how the fuck they know about the Black Mask and it better not have been because of Ren’s fuckass therapist, but he knew the twist as soon as Madarame’s fictional equivalent warns the rangers about the mysterious “other one” and it’s only confirmed when Kaneshiro’s equivalent rants about the “Black Bird.”

What’s even more baffling is how they get this far without anyone else thinking that the mysterious Feather Black is obviously Feather White . Even without literally having lived out the twist, the set up is so blatantly obvious that Goro feels kind of crazy seeing everyone speculate otherwise.

#nfp-spoilers

supermassive black’s PEANITS

sorry youre telling me they gave NO promo to feather black ALL THIS TIME

and i’m supposed to believe its gonna be some no named side character

ITS HALFWAY THROUGH THE SEASON

IT HAS TO BE EITHER SENSEI OR ANIKI

professional redussy slayer

we’re just considering all the options

Crow, yes THAT crow

oh my fucking god

you’re all stupid

RedWhite defender

oh there’s crow

Crow, yes THAT crow

Feather Black’s usual role is to be the antithesis to Red’s thesis, which is why Black never exists without Red. They’re meant to be two sides of the same coin in most cases, two parallel paths and what if’s.

In NFP, this role has been given to WHITE, even if it doesn’t seem as obvious at first. But the clear rivalry he and Red have, the natural connection between them, and we’ve already surmised from the episodes thus far that there is something deeper in their relationship that neither the viewers or even the characters themselves even realize. (See: “I wish we could’ve met earlier” convo and how sus that was.)

We already know something suspicious is going on with White’s family, the power dynamics between him and his adoptive parents, the secrecy of his biological parents, and then that whole complex with his older brother. This gives him ample motive to double cross either way, and we all know betrayal is Black’s middle name.

Not to mention the clue was RIGHT IN FRONT OF OUR FACES all this time. Hakuro Ryouki is a name, when dissected, tells us everything. The kanji for “Haku” used is for “white” specifically, but it’s also part of “hakucho,” the term for swan. Though as a whole, “Hakuro” in his kanji is “white wolf.” HOWEVER, breaking it down to simple alphabet, HA-KU-RO, “KURO” is fucking “BLACK.” Then there’s his first name, Ryouki, which uses the kanji for “two/dual” for “Ryou”, and “wish/hope” for “ki.” “Ryouki” can be read as “two/dual spirits” though, which lends to the dual nature of Hakuro Ryouki. Putting all that together, it tells us that Hakuro Ryouki is a two faced wolf in a white swan’s clothing…

SO IN CONCLUSION, WHITE IS BLACK

NO I WILL NOT BE TAKING ANY CRITICISM

[😮25][🤪21][🤡15][⁉️13]

Several people are typing…

#general

Neon Genesis EvanPUSSYon  

okay headcount

how many of us won the fan fest ticket lottery

[👋 7]

professional redussy slayer

oof that’s not a lot….

oh lottery system how I love and hate you so

Green Parakeet’s Mom [MOD]

hm damn

anyone win the meetup tickets of the actors they wanted??

Ryouki’s whimpers (affectionate)

My gf got a Fujikawa photo op 🎉

[🎉4]

YURI on the floor

me me!! I got a Sasada autograph one 💕💕💕

[💕3]

RedWhite defender

😔 no luck for me…

@Crow, yes THAT crow you’ve been awfully silent…

Crow, yes THAT crow

://

guess why

[😭14] [😢7] [💔5]

professional redussy slaye r

oh now im actually SAD sad

if anyone deserved to be able to go, I think it would’ve been you crow 😔

RedWhite defender

maybe there’ll be some left for general sale?? :((

Crow, yes THAT crow

it’s fine

maybe it’s for the best lol

I’d just make an ass of myself anyway

vibrantgreen [AKA] Green Parakeet’s Mom [MOD]

vibrantgreen

Hey sorry for the dm but I didn’t wanna say anything in front of everyone

Since I’m a mod and all and didn’t wanna look like I was showing favoritism or whatever 

But like

Do you want to have my other ticket?

thecrowprince

What

vibrantgreen

my 2 friends and I all signed up for the lottery and 2 of us won

So we have the chance to buy 2 tickets each

But there’s only 3 of us so

1 free

Just cover the cost and we’ll be gucci 

thecrowprince

It can’t be that simple

I’ll pay market price

You know money isn’t an issue for me, right?

vibrantgreen 

NEITHER IS IT FOR ME BITCH

take it omg

go see ur crush live

my only caveat is that you have to buy me a drink at the park okay

give me that overpriced USJ character themed cocktail

thecrowprince

bitch I’ll make you the cocktail myself???

what the fuck actually

vibrantgreen 

LMAO

thecrowprince

…thank you though

Seriously

Tell me where’s the nearest package pickup for you

vibrantgreen 

What

thecrowprince 

I’m buying you that vintage Green Parakeet figure you’ve been chasing for fucking ever

vibrantgreen 

WHAT

CROW NO

THATS 100,000 YEN ON MERCARI?????

CROW STOPPPP

maskedcrane [AKA] Ryouki’s whimpers (affectionate)

maskedcrane

hey crow

do you want a ticket to the fanfest?

thecrowprince

UHM

it’s fine

Someone else got me

maskedcrane

oh cool cool!

ok second question

do you want a ticket for Amamiya’s autograph line

thecrowprince

okay now I know you’re joking

maskedcrane

Nope

100% serious 

thecrowprince 

YOU like white

You can’t tell me you don’t want to meet him

maskedcrane 

oh I do

But don’t worry about it

Like I said in the server, my gf got a photo op one with red

And we both decided we’re fine to do just that one 

And give you white’s autograph ticket

thecrowprince 

I’m starting to feel like I’m being pranked

maskedcrane

Look

if I end up scamming u

Feel free to make a callout thread on Twitter about me

But I’m legit serious

[autographticket_confirmed.png]

Go meet ur wife ;)))

thecrowprince

what the fuck is going on

maskedcrane

hey crow wtf

HEY CROW DID YOU JUST SEND ME A STUPID AMOUNT OF MONEY THROUGH PAYPAL

CROW????????

Crow @thecrowprince

how the fuck did i get any good friends actually

Crow @thecrowprince

I’m here to report that unfortunately my inner child is healing

It’s a sunny day when the betrayal episode airs. Goro still remembers November 20, 2016, perhaps not as clear as he used to, but the sentiment stays the same. He remembers the cloudy morning, his inability to swallow anything more than just tea for breakfast. How he slipped the gun suppressor into his jacket’s inner pocket while ignoring any and all messages from the outside world after he reflexively checked his app for any from Ren before he remembered what had happened the day before. How he pushed down every single warning in his heart and mind when he pulled the trigger on what he thought was the real Ren.

They say trauma affects one’s memories. Goro may have not remembered much of the haze between killing Ren and finding him alive again, but he remembers the emptiness he felt. Remembers thinking, “Well, this is it. There’s no turning back now.” when he put the gun in cognitive Ren’s hand. The sole comfort of his being that he’ll at least be able to join Ren in death after it was all over.

Jokes on younger him though. Now he’s sitting in the dark, pillow to his chest, as he watches White throw Red to the wolves. 

“Oh, White,” he whispers to his dakimakura. Ren’s smiling face is the only thing keeping him from spiraling. “We’re really in it now.”

Everyone online goes crazy over the reveal of course. That White would be the traitor is unprecedented in the history of Featherman and Goro feels vindicated when people start considering his “crackpot theory” of White being Black more seriously. His Reddit post finally gains the proper amount of upvotes it deserves and his betrayal fic is even more of a hit. Well if they’re already reacting like this, then they’re in for a real hurricane when Goro is proven right once again.

AND YOU KNOW WHAT?

“ White is 100% going to die lmao ,” he types in Discord and revels in the chaos that follows.

r/featherman

u/flightlessfeatherman

[EPISODE DISCUSSION] NF:P - EP 38: MEMORIES OF YOU AND I

Comments:

“I hate featherman so much oh my god i cant breathe through my crying what do you MEAN RED AND WHITE MET AS CHILDREN AND PROMISED EACH OTHER FOREVER OH MYYYYY GODDDDD IM GONNA KMS”

—”THIS IS ACTUALLY WORSE THAN NFA BLACKRED TRAGIC YAOI WHY DID THEY DO THIS TO US”

——”PRACTICALLY CANON MLM REDWHITE BUT AT WHAT COST????”

 

“Ship redwhite they said, it’s a cute dynamic they said, it won’t hurt you like redblack they said, BITCH THIS IS WORSE? SECRET CHILDHOOD FRIENDS TO REUNITED UNKNOWINGLY TO BEST FRIENDS TO BETRAYAL? WHATS NEXT HUH HOW ELSE ARE THEY GOING TO HURT US”

—”GIRL DO NOT MANIFEST ANYTHING”

 

“im afraid that THAT crow guy will be right when he said white is going to die because if he was right about white being a traitor then what else does he know…”

—”omg please no… he also said white=black and i refuse to think ahead of that if its true…”

 

“guys I’m actually scared about the next episode… that episode preview, narrated by ryouki this time instead of akira, the title “swan dive”.... HOLD ME”

—”THE DEATH FLAGS ARE INSANE FR 😭😭😭”

Ren is beautiful when unhinged, Goro thinks as he watches him break down in character. It’s a lot more graceful than his own freakout, with the rising orchestral track and the higher quality than usual CGI when White’s suit transforms from its ivory into a midnight black in a bleeding effect, ebony feathers falling gracefully once the transformation is complete. 

“I’m the Black Swan,” Ren declares as the new Feather Black, his mercury eyes piercing through the screen. 

How apt, in a way. Ren was Goro’s black swan event, for better or worse, one simple yet extraordinary boy that had irrevocably changed Goro’s life from the moment they met.

Okay, maybe he’s becoming too pathetic and sorry for himself. Ren is out there giving tribute to him. Goro should match that energy in any way he can, because what kind of rival would he be if he didn’t? Even if it is cringe.

Crow @thecrowprince

[picture of Crow’s apartment, sort of, except its all focused on his Feather White collection. There is. A LOT.]

beating the broke NEET allegations because I do have a job, I’m not in debt, and I paid for all of this in cash, mfs

Replies:

“crow really bought every single white merch in existence”

“I THOUGHT YOU SAID YOU ONLY BOUGHT 2 PILLOW CASES LOL”

“amamiya ren needs to RUN from you omg”

Crow @thecrowprince

#NFP39 ALSO I WAS FUCKING RIGHT ABOUT WHITE, EAT SHIT NAYSAYERS

Crow @thecrowprince

“Swan Lake” NFP Red + White, rated M, one shot 6.5k #NFP39 SPOILERS

Tags: hurt/no comfort, White POV, complicated feelings

🔗: archiveofourown.org/works/9234832905

Crow @thecrowprince

this is the closest thing to redwhite as a ship i’ll ever write, never ask me for it ever again

Replies:

“CROW ITS BEEN 30 MINS????? EITHER YOU HAD THIS DONE ALREADY OR YOURE A WRITING MONSTER”

“oh ok just add more tears to the lake im already forming from my face OKAY FINE”

“you really said ‘i’ll write redwhite just to dig the knife in deeper, peace’ im crying LMAO”

Scene from Neo Featherman: Phantom - Episode 40: The Last Ace in a Lost Hand

They’re running for their lives as the ship breaks down around them. Akira can feel his heart trying to thump out of his chest from adrenaline and panic, praying to any god that all of them make it out of this goddamn place alive. 

“There’s an escape pod near here,” Ryouki tells them, though its subdued. Akira can still see the blood drying from his temple, his Feather Black—not White—helmet long gone and his suit in practically tatters. Out of everyone he’s the most battered, having to have gone back to back fighting against the rest of them and then his older brother as well, taking the other man just long enough for them to make their mistake. From the sounds of it though, Hakuro Ryoma is still hot on their tail, an emotionless machine hellbent on killing all of them. “To the left.”

They don’t question him even with his betrayal still fresh on everyone’s minds. And it’s not like Akira has forgiven him completely, not really, but he gets it. He understands, and he wants to understand more, once this is all over.

“Oh thank god,” Pink gasps when the escape pod is in sight and the relief permeates through everyone. Ryouki opens the airlock door with a code and Akira makes sure everyone else manages to stumble into the escape pod amidst the sounds of explosions that rock the floor beneath them. They don’t have much time, really.

“Come out, come out, little birds!” They hear from nearby. Ryouki’s brother is too close. Ryouki looks at Akira, and Akira looks back at him. Does not step in to join the rest of the team, because he knows, as soon as he turns his back on Ryouki…

“I’m not stupid,” Akira says to Ryouki. Ryouki manages a smile, and a huffed laugh.

“No, you’re not,” Ryouki whispers, and Akira should’ve known the other boy wouldn’t play fair, would resort to a dirty trick like kissing him on the corner of his lips to catch him off guard so he could shove Akira to his back on the other side of the airlock and stabbing the control panel, causing an automatic closure of the door.

“Ryouki, you’re the idiot!” Akira screams at him through thick glass. He slams his fist against it, though they both know its futile. From behind him the other rangers are trying to find another way to open the door, but it’s obvious why Ryouki destroyed the panel instead. 

“I never said I wasn’t,” Ryouki has the gall to smile. Tiredly, he slumps forward, resting his forehead against the glass. Akira’s own forehead meets his. “But the pod only seats five, you know. The pilot and four passengers.”

“You’re a better driver than I am,” Akira says. Ryouki’s smile grows wider, and it hurts Akira that this is the moment where he finally sees Ryouki stripped to his bones.

“Consider this my penance,” Ryouki whispers, looking at Akira eye to eye. “Besides, someone has to hold off my brother until you guys can make it out of here.”

“We should’ve made it out of here together ,” Akira fervently says. “You owe me a rematch still, remember?”

“Hah, of course,” Ryouki laughs. “Maybe one day.”

They both know there likely won’t be a ‘one day.’

Another explosion that rocks the entire ship makes them more aware of the ticking time, and Ryouki’s head snaps to glance behind him. Akira pales when he sees, amidst the burning and broken metal, the silhouette of Ryouki’s brother coming closer. 

“Akira,” Ryouki starts but the other boy cuts him off.

“It’s not fair,” Akira says with a wobbling voice. “I just got you back by my side.” Ryouki looks back at him with heartbreak. 

“I know,” he says quietly back. “I’m sorry, Akira.” 

#nfp-spoilers

RedWhite defender

who in the featherman team decided that THAT was okay

i just want to talk

and maybe scream at them

CANON REDWHITE KISS BUT AT WHAT COST

professional redussy slaye r

crow

CROW WHERE AR EYOU

COME IN HERE YOU BASTARD

YOU DID THIS DIDNT YOU

Crow, yes THAT crow

:))))

I did nothing but predict the likely outcome based on the foreshadowing and hidden clues

[🤨13][ D 4][ O 4][ U 4][ B 4][ T 4]

professional redussy slayer

ur so full of shit omfg

[💯25][⬆️23][😂20]

Swan Dive becomes the highest rated episode of the season by a mile, The Last Ace in a Lost Hand following a close second. Goro isn’t really surprised, not when Ren tugs on everyone’s heartstrings with his acting. The pain he expresses on screen felt visceral, and even Goro’s chest hurt as he watched Ryouki’s eyes close with a smile as the ship explodes around him, the body of his older brother by his feet. The community is abuzz with fix it fics, tribute fanart, and crying. A lot of crying.

(Goro did NOT cry, thank you very much. His eyes may have stung a little and maybe he sniffled, but those were probably allergies.)

He sees on Instagram how Ren is practically mobbed by distraught fans the first time he makes a public appearance after the episode airs, and part of him does wonder if people would’ve been just as forgiving of him if his crimes had been exposed. Likely not, considering he was a real person whose actions had real life consequences, but. Ren had forgiven him, hadn’t he?

(It was January 29th, sometime past 8 PM, and it was snowing. It was a Sunday so neither of them wanted to stay out too late but a visit to Jazz Jin always settled them both, even at the face of the world being insane around them.

“When will you stop punishing yourself?” Ren had whispered after Goro had made another snide comment about Ren wasting his time with him. “Don’t you get it, Akechi? I’ve forgiven you long ago.”

“You shouldn’t have,” Goro said back. Ren sighs, looking disappointed and melancholy as he stared up at the falling snow, his glasses fogging in the frigid winter air. 

Goro had firmly believed he was dead then. That was probably why he did what he did, cupping Ren’s face to tilt it towards him, barely taking in the surprise on the younger boy’s face before he kissed him on the lips.)

The fan festival is set to take place the week after the last episode airs. Goro has just a bit over two months to prepare to face Ren, if he doesn’t chicken out first. Optimistically, he’ll be happy to see Goro but realistically, Goro is expecting a punch in the face.

Well, Ren had always been a little hotter when he looked like he wanted to kill Goro. Thank you, Metaverse Rage ailment. You will always be famous in Goro’s fantasies.

r/featherman

u/oraganic-red40

[LEAK/SPECULATION] NFP MOVIE?

for legal reasons this is “speculation”

Our 2ch source tells us Amamiya’s Featherman contract has been renewed/extended, and considering his character very implied to be very unalive, but continues to be unparalleled in popularity among modern feathermans, there’s no shot they’re letting go of their new golden goose just yet. Plus, with NFP’s success, a movie HAS to happen. Hell, they may have already started filming since they finished filming the series weeks ago and it’s speculated that they would want a movie announcement ready by the fanfest coming up in USJ.

Plus they completely blueballed all the redwhite fans with that little kiss. WE KNOW WHAT YOU ARE, REDWHITE. NOW COME BACK HERE AND ANSWER FOR YOUR CRIMES.

Comments:

“never going to forgive them if this isn’t true. or if ryouki ACTUALLY is dead. JUSTICE FOR RYOUKI!!!!”

“manifesting timeloop storyline for the sole purpose of red saving white”

—”REAL LET HIM MADOKA MAGICA THAT SHIT”

On the day of reckoning, Goro shows up at Universal Studios Japan in a custom tailored Neo Featherman Again Black Falcon cosplay, complete with the canon accurate helmet. He’s ready. He’s going to see Ren again.

“I regret coming,” he flatly says when another child gawks and points at him to his parents, the inevitable request for a picture incoming. He’s not even the only person in cosplay, not in a certified Featherman nerd fest, and yet.

“Shouldn’t you be used to this?” Mami, or Green Parakeet’s Mom in Discord, snorts. She and her two friends are all dressed up in casual costumes of different Feather Pinks in the series, none of them Takeba Yukari’s version who is objectively the best one which shows Goro the quality of their tastes. “Mr. Cosplay Bartender.”

Well, yes, Goro technically should be between his job and his past as a local teen celebrity in Tokyo, but that doesn’t mean he likes being accosted by children. If it was his and Ren’s children, however—

“Hey, come on guys!” Minoru, the guy who gave him the autograph ticket for Ren, waves at them from beside his girlfriend. “We need to get good seats at the auditorium!”

They’re a sizable group, everyone from the same Discord server, and Goro honestly feels a bit awkward at first. He’s used to being in the fringes of social groups, Phantom Thieves included, so it’s a bit startling at first when they all start ribbing at him playfully over his Ren crush and they only laugh when he cusses them out in return. It makes sense, he supposes, since they all know him as Crow, the controversial problematic BNF who to them is all bark and no bite.

He only sort of hates his decision to wear a helmet with his cosplay, because it does make visibility worse and he has to be conscious not to accidentally knock someone out with his own head, but Goro is paranoid about being recognized still. It also gives him an out if he decides not to show his face to Ren at all, letting him slink away with an autograph as a faceless cosplayer like a coward if it comes to that. He’ll see. He has a few hours to decide, with only a small desire to hurl.

They don’t have to wait long for the show to start. The big screen plays the show’s opening theme at first and the crowd sings along, only breaking into excited cheers when Fujikawa, the actor for Red, pops out of the stage first. One by one, the rangers step onto the stage with a booming introduction from the emcee, the audience meeting them with enthusiasm. Following Red is Pink, then Yellow, then Green, then Blue, and finally…

Goro watches as Ren finally runs onto the stage to the deafening cheers of his fans, the loudest the crowd has been thus far, the screams only growing louder when he smiles his devastating Joker grin at everyone. Unlike the rest of the cast who are head to toe in their respective color schemes with only a few accent colors here and there, Ren is fully wearing an ensemble that’s an even distribution of black and white. A color block shirt, split color pants, and white bodied boots with black soles and laces--Ren wears what could’ve been an eyesore extremely well. But nothing else really matters when Goro notices a detail that would be innocuous if it didn’t stir a long, never-forgotten memory.

“I’ll hold on to your glove.”

Ren is wearing a fingerless white glove on his left hand. On his right is a full black glove, one Goro can recognize anywhere even years later. Oh, his stupid sentiment. He’s lucky he stubbornly is keeping his helmet visor down, no one is allowed to see him get misty-eyed at the sight of Amamiya Ren, otherwise he’s never beating the allegations.

“You good, Crow?” someone asks him.

“I think I’m going to have a heart attack,” Goro manages to choke out.

The opening show itself is standard, the actors playing off each other and gassing each other up. Ren is obviously considered the baby of the crew, if not by age then definitely by experience, and everyone eats it up. Goro is fascinated by the dynamic, another side of Ren he greedily takes in even from a distance, and it almost feels like he’s eighteen again and wanting more, more, more.

The movie announcement they hype up at the end of the hour is no surprise. There’s already a trailer, though still bare bones with actual character scenes, but Goro doesn’t need much to figure out it is based on Maruki’s reality and lowkey wants to kill the guy, regardless if its his fault or not.

The trailer ends with a long pause on a black screen, before it shows Hakuro Ryouki in a heavy winter coat and scarf, his back to the camera before he turns to face everyone with a somber face.

“I will carve my own path for myself,” Ryouki says, before the screen cuts back to black and the title screen is shown. The excited yelling that follows after is particularly deafening.

“ Oh my god ,” Goro thinks to himself in mortification. “ Was I really that dramatic? ”

He’s still reeling from his self introspection when his friends begin pulling him towards where people are rushing to line up for the photo ops and autographs.

“Come on, Crow, we gotta get you to your wife,” Mami cackles. “Amamiya’s autograph line is only open for half the afternoon!”

“Maybe I want to go throw up instead,” Goro distantly says. 

He’s allowed to have one companion with him even if the ticket is only for one autograph, so Minoru volunteers himself as the person who won the ticket originally, and also so that he can make sure Goro doesn’t make a break for it midway. And maybe emotional support, but that’s never really worked normally for Goro, so.

“So like, are you going to show your face to him, actually?” Minoru asks while they wait in line and Goro doesn’t want to say he’s sweating in his suit, but he is. But it’s because of the warmth, not from nervousness.

“Killing myself would be fucking easier,” he says, and the woman in front of them gives him a dirty look and covers her young son’s ears. 

All too soon they’re near the front of the line, and Goro can hear Ren talking to the fan he’s currently preoccupied with  and he almost bails then and there if not for Minoru’s preemptive grip on his shoulder.

“Hey! Cool Black Falcon costume!” Ren’s smile this up close and personal is even more devastating years later, and Goro almost falls to his knees in front of him. “That has to be the best one I’ve seen today.”

“Thanks,” Goro roughly croaks, and Ren grins at him as he takes another one of his photo prints to sign.

“So who should I address this to?” Ren asks and Goro could say Akechi or Goro, or even his current public alias, but the former might feel teasing considering the extensive rumors about their relationship and the latter felt disingenuous, and so… it could only be one thing, couldn’t it?

“To Crow,” he says, and watches as something in Ren’s expression falls just minutely and his smile turns just a bit wistful and sad.

“To Crow,” Ren says softly as he signs the words on the picture along with his signature. “You know, I used to know a Crow, once. I hope he’s flying free, wherever he is.”

Oh. Oh fuck. 

“Oh my fucking god,” Goro hisses in distress to the alarm of everyone within earshot. Ren’s head snaps up in surprise and recognition . Minoru chokes a laugh that quickly dies when Goro hastily fiddles with the straps of his helmet to pull it off himself. His head feels sweaty and he definitely has helmet hair, but there’s no mistaking his honey brown locks and auburn eyes and the pained expression on his face. “I can’t do it. I can’t fucking stand here pretending I’m still dead when you’re here looking sad and pathetic and you’ve been mooning —” 

“Akechi?” Ren weakly says, the marker falling from his limp hand as he stands up slowly. Shaking. “Goro?”

Goro swallows hard. “Yeah,” he rasps. Around them, the sound of camera shutters and shocked whispering may as well fade away for how they only had eyes for each other. “It’s me, Ren.”

And then Ren does something that was not in the plan, the absolute worst option of reactions he could’ve had in seeing Goro: he starts crying.

In response, Goro starts panicking. “Oh shit—”

minoru 🤍 @maskedcrane

OOMF IS AKECHI GORO?!?!

Chapter Text

#announcements

Green Parakeet’s Mom [MOD ]

@everyone IMPORTANT‼️‼️

Okay word is spreading fast (because SOMEONE is an idiot) and I’ve talked to Crow personally before he got swept away by the men in suits and can officially confirm that @Crow, yes THAT cro w is missing Detective Prince Akechi Goro. Yes, the same Akechi Goro he’s been threatening to kill for the crime of being pined for by Amamiya. Yes, this is funny as fuck.

The server is currently on lockdown because we have the dubious honor of being the only featherman discord server to not have banned him by now. lol, lmao even. So all invites are frozen until further notice, and as the head mod I’d like to ask to not share screenshots from this server related to him. I know it’s a riot and you can gain a lot of clout rn, but please respect his privacy as he respects everyone else’s. He’s still Crow, at the end of the day, and there’s no doubt in my mind that he’s been his authentic self with us since he joined 5+ years ago.

THAT BEING SAID. Please PLEASE feel free to send funny and iconic Crow related screenshots to #crow-receipt s, especially the Amamiya/White and Akechi Goro related ones. He’s locking his twitter as we speak so we need to preserve his crash out tweets in case he deletes it pls and thank you. And hopefully we get to show Amamiya LMAO.

Thanks all. Crow is fine btw, even tho he looked like he wanted to kill himself after making his beloved CRY in public. @OOMF IS AKECHI GORO?! (Formerly Ryouki’s whimpers (affectionate) ) and I are taking turns keeping him company along with Amamiya’s roommate until Amamiya gets out of his duties. Also probably to remind him he’s not on his burner account so he can’t talk shit about Amada in front of him. Or maybe he will anyway. Damn, who knew Akechi Goro would be a jealous bitch.

Will keep you all updated as much as possible!

[🖤62][⁉️53][😱49][😂45]

“Maybe I can run away to France,” Goro blankly says as he stares at the ceiling of the dressing room he’s trapped in for the foreseeable future. He’s still in his cosplay suit and it’s starting to get stuffy, even with the air conditioning on, but maybe Goro shouldn’t be curled up on the floor pathetically anyway. “I’m bitchy enough to be French, I think. I can build a new life there, and maybe never embarrass myself in front of Ren ever again.”

“Ren knows some French,” Ken helpfully informs him. Goro is disgusted to note the boy is prettier in person than in pictures, but he’s still a Daiso version of Goro in his opinion. “Arsene and all, remember?”

“Fuck, you’re right,” Goro despondently says. “Now I actually have to take accountability for my actions. Goddammit.”

“Must be a new thing for you, Crow,” Mami teases as she taps away on her phone. Goro very eloquently flips her off. “Hey, how’s your social media?”

“My Twitter app keeps freezing,” Goro scowls at his phone, which is constantly lighting up with notifications where it lays on the floor. “It’s a miracle I even managed to put my profile on priv.” 

“Are you fandom famous?” Ken asks curiously. “I mean, obviously as the former Detective Prince you were pretty famous in your own right, but…”

“It’s none of your business,” Goro sniffs.

“He’s thecrowprince on socmed and AO3,” Mami helpfully informs Ken and Goro gives her a dirty look for snitching. “He writes primarily BlackRed and GreyRed slash fic, but he has this pretty famous Grey Pigeon time loop NG+ fic—“

“Oh!” Ken perks up. “It doesn’t happen to be called ‘Butterfly on My Shoulder,’ does it? Ren and I both enjoyed that one—“

“Yeah, that one! Oh my god, haha!”

“Ren has read my fic?” Goro groans, burying his face in his hands. “I should’ve stayed dead.”

omega ryouki canon @shiroheats

im sorry but infamous toxic blackred BNF thecrowprince is WHO????

Replies:

“IKR?? Like am I TRIPPING what is this timeline”

“YEARS OF CONSPIRACY THEORIES AND IT ALL COMES DOWN TO FEATHERMAN????”

—“akechi got bricked by the yakuza this, akechi left the country to live in the canadian wilderness that… NO!!! AKECHI WAS KNEE DEEP IN BLACK CONDOR DISCOURSE AND WRITING DEAD DOVE SMUT!!!!”

——“PLEASE I JUST REALIZED AKECHI GORO TOLD ME I HAD THE MEDIA LITERACY OF A GOLDFISH FOR SAYING BLACK FALCON CAN BE A SUB”

Daily Akechi Goro @DailyAkechi

WHAT

Replies:

“HELPPP IT REVIVED DAILYAKECHI AFTER YEARS OF INACTIVITY”

“WE ARE SO BACK?????”

mpreg redwhite @slvttyred

in hindsight thecrowprince turning out to be Akechi Goro makes a whole lot of sense I fear 

mpreg redwhite @slvttyred

Also reminder that crow admitted to Amamiya being his high school crush which means he was 100% pining for him even as the detective prince and maybe those hangouts were actually dates 

mpreg redwhite @slvttyred

akemiya is just a whole 200k, slow burn, friends to lovers, identity porn fanfic oml 

“What if he leaves again?” Ren frets on his way back to his dressing room, where he knows Akechi is waiting. “Oh, god, I think I’m gonna throw up.”

“He came to a Featherman event and specifically went to your meetup line, and then revealed himself in front of hundreds of people for you,” Yukari reasonably tells him. “He must have had a reason to do that, right?”

Futaba, from Ren’s other side, snorts. “You can never tell with that guy,” she sniffs as taps on her phone. Ren can see that she has Twitter up, and he groans when he notices another video of him in front of Akechi pathetically crying. “But LMAO people are out for his blood for making you cry, btw.”

“Can’t you scrub that video from the internet?” Ren sulks. “That was embarrassing.”

“Nope!” Futaba grins. “Hey, did you know he’s been simping for you publicly this entire time? His episode livetweets are just him having a meltdown over how pretty you are every week. God, he’s so gay. Gross.”

Ren cannot possibly get any redder. But he still can’t keep his curiosity down. “…Really?”

Futaba gives him a look and then reads out something from her screen. “‘Fujikawa stronger than me cause I would’ve sat Ren on my face and showed the casino a real incident.’” 

Ren presses his lips together and says nothing, just twists a lock of his hair instead. Yukari desperately tries to stifle her choking laugh.

“I hate to say it, but he’s kinda funny online,” Futaba says, pressing ‘like’ on a few of the tweets on her screen. “Oh, this one is soooo down bad. ‘Dying of thirst and the only thing that can cure me is the bathwater Amamiya sat in on Ep 28, timestamp 15:32.’”

“I truly don’t know if I’m creeped out or not,” Yukari says as Ren’s brain slowly breaks. 

“Don’t be,” Futaba scoffs. “It’s mutual. Ren doesn’t look like it, but he 100% matches Akechi’s freak.”

Ren has no defense for that, because Futaba has seen his browser tabs. “By the way, how come you didn’t know about him?” He asks, purely curious. He knows Futaba isn’t omnipotent by any means, but it can’t be that they haven’t encountered each other at least once after being in the same fandom for years, right?

“We run in different circles,” Futaba explains matter-of-factly. “BlackRed and GreyRed are legit and all, but the doomed yaoi ain’t really my main OTPs. Also, we had each other mutually blocked apparently. It was probably because of the Great Red Ship Discourse a few years back. Not that a mere block or locked account is gonna stop me now that I have reason to really snoop, mwehehe.”

Ren lasts another few seconds before he asks another question. “Can I see his account?”

Futaba holds her phone farther away from Ren. He frowns. “Depends.”

“On what?”

“I’ve seen his likes,” Futaba patiently tells Ren as if he’s a young child to be coddled. “Do you know what ‘bussy’ means?”

Yukari nearly trips, bracing herself on a nearby wall as she wheezes.

“Futaba,” Ren slowly says, adopting the same tone as her. “Two months ago you replaced my jogging playlist with RedWhite smut podfic.” Of course he knew what bussy meant. 

“Damn, I did, huh?” Futaba mutters. “Fine, but don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

“It’s just Akechi,” he says. “How bad could it be?”

Ken’s phone chimes with a text message. “Oh, it’s from Yukari,” he says as if he’s not talking about the best Featherman Pink in existence. “She says Ren found out about your twitter.”

Goro sits in silence for a moment before standing up. “Where do you think you’re going?” Mami grips his cosplay by the jacket, stopping him from leaving.

“To hang myself out of embarrassment because what do you mean he knows my twitter— ”

“It’s not that bad!”

“Don’t lie to my face, you know what I fucking tweet, and don’t think I don’t know about the Crow receipts channel you just made—“

“Okay, it is that bad, but!!”

“It’s so bad,” Futaba’s voice cackles into the room. “How do you even know Ren’s three measurements?”

Goro freezes, and his head slowly turns to the doorway. Not only is Futaba there, but so is Takeba Yukari and most importantly, Ren.

Aw, fuck.

“Futaba,” Ren scolds, red faced and pained as he looks at everywhere but at Goro. He still does his nervous tick where he twists a lock of hair between his fingers and oh my god it’s Ren, in front of him, in the flesh and not through a screen, tangible and there for Goro to touch and smell and whoa, there, buddy—

“I think you broke him,” Ken peers at Goro blue screening in real time. “Did he use all his bravado taking his helmet off in front of hundreds of people earlier?”

“Fuck off,” Goro manages to choke out as he shrugs off Mami’s hold on his jacket. His friend mercifully steps back with nothing more than a knowing look.

There’s a bit of an awkward silence for a few moments.

“We should leave,” Yukari mouths at Ken behind Ren’s back. Ken gives a thumbs up in response and gestures to a starstruck Mami so they can leave the two men alone. Futaba rolls her eyes with a whispered good luck to Ren, and just like that Goro and Ren are on their own in the dressing room.

[Video of the line to Ren’s autograph session, taken from the sideline. The video pans from the distant end to the front where Ren is seen greeting a Black Falcon cosplayer. The OP catches the moment the cosplayer rips off his helmet and Ren stands up in shock, and a commotion of noise surges once people recognize the cosplayer as Akechi Goro and Ren starts crying.]

amamiyaren_news

Amamiya’s autograph line at the Featherman Fanfest this afternoon! #featherfest #amamiyaren #whiteswan 

Comments:

“IS THAT AKECHI GORO?!”

—“this ain’t about him”

“ok but apparently Amamiya rushed off as soon as his autograph line was done and Akechi has been MIA since security took him to the back… 👀 “

—“oh my god they killed him out back didn’t they”

——“tbf if I was Akechi Goro and I made Amamiya Ren cry in front of thousands of ppl I also would like to be executed”

———“LMFAO”

“You’re here,” Ren murmurs awkwardly, part of him still half convinced he’s in the middle of a really good dream or something. But he doesn’t think his brain could come up with Akechi in cosplay, older than when he last saw him. 

“Yeah,” Akechi says, just as unsure, scratching the back of his head. His hair is shorter now, Ren notices. He also notes the lighter makeup on his face, not completely hiding the sparse freckles on the bridge of his nose anymore, and the faint shadow of eyebags that somehow strikes Ren as the most adult thing about him. It suits Akechi and it also makes his existence in front of him so much more real than anything. 

“But,” Ren fumbles for words, his normal eloquence gone as he takes staggering steps towards his once rival. “Why now?”

Why hadn’t Akechi contacted him sooner, is what Ren wants to ask, but he doesn’t think he’s entitled to Akechi’s existence in the first place. He knows the value of peace, of starting over away from everything, so he can imagine…

“Because I wanted to stop being a coward,” Akechi says honestly with a sigh. “I thought that you’d be better off forgetting about me, that you could move on in peace, and yet… You showed up in my goddamn favorite series in the world and dedicated yourself into showing that you haven’t forgotten, that you still… miss me, and you didn’t even hesitate to let people know of that fact and I… I was kidding myself, running away. The world seemed determined to make me never forget about you.”

“…You’ve always been a bit of a sore loser,” Ren smiles slowly, wryly. Akechi looks at him with surprise before huffing, rolling his eyes at Ren and making him grin wider in response.

“Yeah,” Akechi admits, “So I couldn’t let it be.”

“I’m glad,” Ren whispers, taking another step, and then another, and another, until he is mere inches away from Akechi. Ren had grown a few centimeters since that fateful February, but it seems like Akechi had too, Ren having to tilt his head up to meet him eye to eye. “You’re such a jerk for kissing me and then disappearing just a few days later, you know.”

“What can I say?” Akechi has a dimple when he really smiles, Ren had learned ages ago, and it reassures him to see it up close now. “I’m a real bastard.”

Ren laughs and pulls Akechi in for a kiss.

akemiya RPF CEO @detextiveprinx

AYO UR TELLING ME AKEMIYA POSSIBLY ACTUALLY CANON????? 

akemiya RPF CEO @detextiveprinx

akechi x amamiya wedding when…..

“By the way,” Ren says after pulling away, while Goro’s brain reboots from kissing the only person he’s wanted in the whole world. Maybe this is the closest thing he’ll ever get to heaven. “You have a lot of fanart that emphasizes White’s ass in your Twitter likes, did you know that?”

Nevermind, he’s in hell, actually.

“I’m deleting my account,” Goro says seriously, which only makes Ren laugh again. “I’m deleting everything , scrubbing my digital footprint from this wretched world—“

“Hey, I still have to read the rest of your fanfic,” Ren argues. “I liked Butterfly, and Eden’s Promise made me bawl like a baby, you know? That one actually felt familiar, actually. Did you write it based on your feelings during—“

“I can’t go on like this,” Goro grits out, pained as he interrupts him. “I can’t look you in the eye knowing you’ve read my fanfic. Oh god, please don’t tell me you’ve read the explicit ones.”

“I didn’t actually realize it was yours,” Ren sympathetically tells him. “You have fics in a lot of rec lists, you know? Especially the spicy ones. It’s actually impressive.“

“I’m never living this down,” Goro groans pathetically. “God, if my friends knew… Fuck. Never tell them, okay? And if you ever get any suspicious invites to a discord server, decline.”

“Friends like that girl with you here earlier? And the guy with you in line?” Ren asks, perking up. Always the advocate for bonds and friendship and whatnot, Goro thinks fondly.

“…Yeah,” he huffs. “They’re the reason why I was even able to make it today… I… They knew I wanted to see you, but I didn’t win any of the lotteries, so…”

“So they helped you out,” Ren’s grin turns fond, wistful. 

“I’ve been trying to, you know…” Goro says, feeling a bit self-conscious, “Be better. Have normal relationships. Be a functional member of society, without the murder.”

“Oh?” Ren blinks up at him with wide eyed wonder, and Goro looks to the side awkwardly.

“I didn’t do it for you,” Goro grumbles, probably half lying but Ren didn’t know that. “I just figured that if fate won’t let me die, then I might as well keep living. And I don’t want to spend the rest of years wallowing in self pity—well,  not completely. I know what I did when I was younger was fucked up and wrong, but what’s done is done and it’s a tall order to make up for it considering how many lives I helped ruin for that man. The best I could have done is just… find peace with it.“ Or killed himself, but he’s failed twice at that and he’s not entirely sure the third time’s the charm. So whatever. 

“That’s great,” Ren says fervently. “I’m so happy for you, Akechi. Seeing you like this, content and healthy and supported… it’s all I could’ve asked for, for you.”

Goro bites his bottom lip. “It’s not… I’m not completely satisfied though.”

Ren’s face falls minutely. “Why is that?”

“Because,” Goro strangles out, and his hands reach to hold Ren by the hips. “Because I was missing you. And the reason why I came here today and revealed myself to you… it’s because I want you back, if you’d have me.”

Ren looks at him with his devastating mercury eyes, his lips flapping open and closed soundlessly for a few moments before he slowly goes, “Goro. I kissed you barely five minutes ago. Of course I want you.”

“Are you sure ,” Goro asks almost manically. “You’ve seen my Twitter account. And my fanfic account. Good lord, what is wrong with you.”

“I’m sure,” Ren says, sounding more amused than anything. “If anything, I’m kind of intrigued about some of the stuff you wrote Black and Red do in bed, on the couch—“

“ Amamiya, you deviant. ”

“Please, I’m not the one who projected our rivalry and sexual tension onto Featherman fanfic,” Ren points out, which Goro will acquiesce to. “Besides, I think your fandom activities are less worrying than you trying to kill me and I forgave you for that, so.”

Goro pauses, and then says, “You know, my apartment isn’t too far from here.”

Ren raises an eyebrow at him.

“I… can show you my Feather White collection?” Goro offers.

Ren’s lips twitch into an amused grin. “It better be an impressive one. After all, he’s your waifu, isn’t he?”

“No,” Goro fervently says. “ You’re my wife. ”

#crow-receipts

RedWhite defender

i knew these screenshots would come in clutch one day LMAO

[First screenshot, Crow’s twitter bio pre-NFP:

Crow // 20+ // 🔞 adults ONLY
Featherman fanfic writer. Yes, I’m THAT Crow guy they warn you about.
BlackRed/GreyRed🔄❌ BTM🖤/TOP❤️DNI

Second screenshot, Crow’s twitter bio post-NFP:

Crow // 20+ // 🔞 adults ONLY
Amamiya Ren is my WIFE. Featherman fanfic writer. NFP!🔴hater, his ass does NOT deserve 🤍or🖤.
Only Bottom NFP!🤍/🖤 has rights. Otherwise, die.]

supermassive black’s PEANITS

HELPPP THE SWITCH UP IS SO REAL

professional redussy slayer

im crying akechi goro really went from sweet teen detective heartthrob to toxic yumeship wifeguy aklsdjlaksj

Neon Genesis EvanPUSSYon  

this is really so funny like

akechi goro is the guy they’re making threads about like this:

[Screenshot of a now deleted twitter thread:

“Callout post: @/thecrowprince is a serial harasser and idk how he has 32k followers. Just because he writes good fic doesn’t mean he’s allowed to bully people out of the featherman fandom. /🧵” 

Comments: 

“lol. lmao even. New here?” 

“imagine thinking crow being a dickhead is news to anyone who’s been here for over a year LMAOO”

“‘serial harrasser’ and its just him fighting back at ppl who are dicks to him for no reason FIRST ijbol dont hate the player, hate the game </3”

—”people just wish they can hate as brutally as he can 💔💔💔”

“ok but can we at least admit his fixation with Amamiya is super weird. Like that’s an actual person and he’s giving stalker vibes.”

—“yeah you know shits serious when he went from fixed blackred to publicly liking bottom black”

——”ASDSAKLJDS his switch shipper fans prayed for times like this tbh”]

Ren still has the closing ceremony to perform in at the end of the day and he’s responsible enough to not ditch his fans in favor of canoodling with Akechi in his apartment, as tempting as it was.

His castmates give him knowing grins when he rejoins them for the finale, Fujikawa ribbing him playfully for “reuniting with his crush.” Its embarrassing, sure, but nothing can really dampen the shy yet pleased smile plastered on his face, knowing that Akechi is back and waiting for him and wanted him .

“We can sneak you out of the park, I guess,” his manager sighs when Ren asks him about leaving discreetly to go to Akechi’s apartment with pleading eyes. “Just make sure to check in with someone later so we know you’re safe.”

Ren is tempted to make a joke about Akechi failing to kill him twice before and is unlikely to try again, but figures that may be in poor taste.

“Enjoy your honeymoon,” Futaba says to him seriously when he tells her the plan. “Because you know the others are gonna wanna be all up in your business as soon as you get home. And use protection! He talks about knocking you up online way too much to not be suspicious—”

“ Futaba .”

“I’ll hold down the fort at home,” Ken says. “And I can talk to Mitsuru if you want a few days off…”

“I’m only going to be catching up with Akechi,” Ren tells him, and frowns when Ken gives him a dubious look. “What?”

“Catching up… or catching up ?” Ken raises his eyebrows at him knowingly. Ren gets the hint and his cheeks flare red as he smacks the other man’s shoulder. 

“What kind of guy do you think I am?” He hisses. 

“The kind of guy who’s about to go to the apartment of the man he’s been pining over for years ,” Ken shoots back. “And I know I only spent a bit of time with the guy, but from the sound and look of it, he’s on the verge of begging for your ho—”

“ Ken, please do not finish that sentence. ”

His friends’ insinuations rattle in his head even as he and Akechi sit side by side in the private car provided to take them to Akechi’s apartment. At the very least Ren is not alone in the bit of awkwardness, Akechi fiddling with his helmet or his costume in silence, neither of them wanting to air anything out while there was a third wheel within earshot. It’s a relief when they make it to their destination and the hour was late enough that it had gotten dark, and they were able to sneak up the building without any issues.

“Well,” Akechi says as he lets Ren step into his home. “This is me.”

It’s mostly clean, Ren notes. There are a few empty ramen cups and disposable bento containers in the open kitchen and on the coffee table in the living area, which is sort of expected, and there is a clothes rack of what looks to be costumes against a wall, a pile of various other clothing on the floor by it. But what really, really catches the eye is the corner that is decorated with various paraphernalia in white and gold.

“Oh, you weren’t kidding about the White Swan collection,” Ren comments. Because wow. He didn’t even realize that much merchandise of his character existed. 

He watches Akechi’s face go through various stages of emotion. Ren bites back a smile when Akechi painfully says, “...That’s not all of it. There’s more in my bedroom.”

“Huh,” Ren mildly says. “Can I see it?”

Instead of replying, Akechi distracts him by shoving him against a wall to kiss him breathless.

r/HobbyDrama

u/OnclavedMacrostate

[Hobby Scuffles] Week of X March 2022

Welcome back to Hobby Scuffles!

Please read the Hobby Scuffles guidelines here before posting!

Comments:

“if anyone is following jp fandom for featherman, they’re in shambles right now. Fanfest happened today and two of the most notable things that happened are: 1. movie is hard confirmed and spoiler ||white was in the trailer and is back, despite having died. Of course now it’s causing debate on if he died or not fr but I think the movie is meant to answer that question and we all just have to wait.|| 2. goro akechi--MIA teen detective from a few years back during the phantom thieves era, the guy the current feather white is based on, and more importantly ren amamiya’s alleged situationship--is revealed to be alive and well and reunited with amamiya lining up for his autograph line. there’s multiple videos of it and i am invested in this development.”

—”The fact that Featherman fandom and Akechi Goro fandom is going from confused screaming to demanding when the wedding is gonna happen is so iconic. I’m DYING to know what happens next.”

—”OP you forgot the best part of the akechi goro saga. It’s been revealed that he’s a prolific fanfic writer in the featherman fandom and has been recorded to have been around since he was in MIDDLE SCHOOL, and he’s been publicly simping for amamiya since the cast list was announced. His online persona is a complete 180 from his old detective prince one its so funny.”

——”THIS is how I find out @thecrowprince is GORO AKECHI??”

——”update on the simping, but people have dug up tweets on his account from 2016 of him venting about a “megane-kun” that can be translated into expressing a poorly repressed crush so. LMAOOOO.”

They make it to Goro’s bedroom anyway, Goro sitting on the edge of his mattress with Ren straddling him, but mercifully Ren is more preoccupied with swallowing Goro’s tongue than looking at his collection. For a time.

“Sorry, hold on,” Ren says, pulling away from Goro to squint behind him with a befuddled frown. Goro resists the urge to whine. “Is that… a body pillow of me?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Goro immediately refutes. Shit, he forgot about that.

“It’s on your bed behind you, Goro.”

“You should be asking why Kitagawa was selling it,” Goro petulantly says. “He sold out within a day, you know.”

“Huh,” Ren makes a curious noise. “Now that you mention it… I think I posed for him for that.”

Something ugly called jealousy curdles inside Goro’s stomach. “Of course you did.”

“To be fair, he asks me to model all the time, so I didn’t think much of it,” Ren sighs, and Goro’s bitter feelings ease a little when he slumps forward to rest his head on Goro’s shoulder. “That’s not fair though… I couldn’t get a dakimakura of you.”

That’s… “You tried to get one?” Goro says, touched. 

“It was an event exclusive though, so it’s one of the hardest of your merch to find,” Ren almost sounds like he’s sulking, and doesn’t that completely erase any negative thoughts from Goro’s head at that moment. “Well… I guess the real one is better.”

Goro is in heaven , and its name is Amamiya Ren on his lap. 

Ren wakes up to a specific sequence of piano notes that haunts his most repressed dreams.

“Aw, come on,” Ren says when he opens his eyes in a familiar prison cell bathed in blue. At least the door is open and he’s in his regular clothes instead of the striped prisoner garb. Also…

“What the fuck,” Akechi curses in bafflement as he sits up from the other cot. 

“Welcome to the Velvet Room,” Igor greets them serenely and Lavenza is in front of his desk, looking a little… sullen? “It’s been a while, Trickster. And it is a pleasure to finally meet you, Akechi Goro.”

“Please don’t tell me we have to kill another god,” Ren gets in before Akechi can do something like flip off an omnipotent being with the power of Personas. 

“Alas, you are safe,” Igor says in amusement. “We summoned you here because someone owes you both an apology.”

Lavenza sniffs with a stubborn pout, clearly disagreeing. Ren raises his eyebrows at his attendant. Akechi squints.

“It was for the betterment of my Trickster,” Lavenza says imperiously, looking away from Igor with her nose turned up and clutching her grimoire to her chest. “As his attendant, his well-being is my priority.”

“She is the reason why the humans have written out your experiences into a script for entertainment,” Igor dryly explains to Ren and Akechi.

“Lavenza did what ,” Ren asks in bewilderment. “You— Is that why the show has been eerily accurate, or close to?”

Akechi’s eyes fly to the young girl. “How?!”

“I only projected the events into the human’s dreams,” Lavenza is a touch bit defensive, and for once is looking and acting like the age of her physical form. “ I didn’t force him to write it out and make it into a show.”

“You encouraged it,” Igor sighs.

“Elizabeth told me humans are able to connect through various media. That they are able to form emotional attachments and experience self discovery through stories that resonate with their soul,” Lavenza insists. “Is it wrong to wish for the same for my Tricksters?”

“Hey, hold on,” Akechi says, “Since when was I—”

“Damn, and here I was still blaming Maruki,” Ren comments. Sorry, Maruki.

“...I was too,” Akechi grumbles. “But fuck him anyway.”

“Lavenza will meddle no more,” Igor tells them, giving his attendant a stern look. Lavenza pouts, and Ren honestly wants to take her out for ice cream, as thanks. “But I suppose it worked out well in the end. Congratulations on your reunion, Tricksters.”

Ren and Akechi share a look. “Thanks, Igor, Lavenza.”

Crow @thecrowprince

[selfie picture of Akechi Goro look smug as fuck with Amamiya Ren beside him, smiling at the camera with a peace sign. There’s a very possessive arm around Ren’s waist.]

Nah, I win.

Replies:

“CRYING LMAO TWO WEEKS PRIV, TWO WEEKS DEACTIVATED, ONLY TO COME BACK PUBLIC LIKE THIS… KING BEHAVIOR TBH”

“GOD I SEE WHAT YOU’VE DONE FOR AKECHI GORO AND I WANT THAT FOR ME 🙏🙏🙏”

“omfg i cant believe crow went from yumedanshi simp to ACTUAL BOYFRIEND????”

—”calling literal akechi goro as just a simp is wild behavior 😭”

——”I SAID WHAT I SAID”

“I can’t fucking believe the man who instigated redblack/blackred dynamic discourse of 2018 is the same man as akechi goro who is the same man as amamiya ren’s new boyfriend, LIFE ISNT FAIR???”

“AKEMIYA WEDDING WHEN!!!!!!!”

—”PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE”

Crow @thecrowprince 

count your days fujikawa its on sight

[QRT of DailyAmamiya: a gif of Akira kissing Ryouki under snowfall, a scene from the NFP movie]

r/HobbyDrama

u/blackwhitebirds

[Tokusatsu/Sentai][Japanese Celebrities] The AkeMiya Saga - how a fandom BNF turned out to be a missing microcelebrity and lived the self insert fanfic plot of his dreams

In celebration of recent news regarding our main characters in this story, I figured it was time to detail just exactly how batshit insane this saga was for the Featherman fandom. I’m mainly focusing on JP fandom as the epicenter of these events.

The Main Cast:

AkeMiya refers to the relationship between Akechi Goro and Amamiya Ren. Akechi Goro was a Japanese microcelebrity during the events of the Phantom Thieves in 2016-2017, also regarded as the second coming of the Detective Prince. He disappeared from the public eye in December 2016 and many had speculated that he was either deceased or in witness protection over the years. (We now know otherwise.) Amamiya Ren, on the other hand, grew to fame for his role as Feather White Swan in Neo Featherman: Phantom. It was his first role and had won him a TV Newcomer Award and a Best Supporting Actor for TV Award, and thus cemented his ongoing acting career. 

(...Read More…)

The Finale:

A year out of that fateful fanfest day, we’re hit with the latest big news. 

A week ago Akechi had posted on his twitter account (@thecrowprince one, not @AkechiGoro LMAO) a new set of photos. It’s of him and Amamiya, in Black Falcon and White Swan cosplay respectively. They went all out it seems, with background explosions and canon accurate props (of course) and fake fighting poses, all culminating into the final photo: Amamiya showing off the shiny, very impressive rock on his finger.

Guys. I cannot understate how much this broke the fandom. The post reached 50k likes within an hour and it kept going up each time I checked so I gave up keeping track. This was just a dream fanfic come to life and it’s just insane thinking about it. 

We’re so so happy for them though, and I wish them the best! 

(ALSO PLEASE LET THAT KIND OF LOVE FIND ME)

((ALSO STREAM NEO FEATHERMAN PHANTOM AND NFP THE MOVIE NOW!!! TRUST ME YOU WONT REGRET IT))