A/N: Yeah, a Persona crossover with Outlaw Star of all things. Those who are familiar with me and the sort of stories I both read and write probably won't be surprised in the slightest. That being said, while I do know of people who are fans of or at least familiar with both properties, I can't recall having ever seen a fan work incorporating both series together, be it in a piece of art or a story. But last month, this idea took shape in my head and refused to leave. Two days later, I started typing said idea out…mostly to try to get it to shut up. I managed to get about 7 pages down in a single two hour sitting, so I hoped it would start to calm down and let me focus on other things. It did not.
But even though I've already got a bunch of other stories in progress I wish I could be focusing on instead, I'd be lying if I said I regretted starting this brand new tale. As for why? Well…sit back, relax, and get ready to find out!
Originally a mining colony built into an asteroid by natives of the Sentinel system, Blue Heaven would quickly develop a reputation as a place of refuge for outlaws and civilians fleeing from Ban pirate attacks following several raids by the pirate guild. Out of a lack of trust in the space forces to come to their aid, several outlaw families took it upon themselves to provide the security themselves for their new home. Overtime, several businesses would feel comfortable enough to set up shop in Blue Heaven, transforming the former colony into what it is today. While considered a free town by the residents, several rules were established with the intent to prevent the station from being depressurized or worse. Surprisingly, even some of the more notorious troublemakers adhere to these few regulations without complaint, though likely more for practicality than out of respect. With so many volatile personalities regularly frequenting Blue Heaven and no real form of government established, it is considered by some social analysts a miracle the station hasn't been destroyed from within yet. Regardless, Blue Heaven is considered by many to be a necessary place to visit if an aspiring outlaw wishes to establish a reputation for themselves, locate a crew to join or recruit, or find somewhere they can proudly call their home.
Desiring Bonds
Gene really didn't know what to think when Hilda took him to a run down apartment complex on the outskirts of Blue Heaven. Personally, he'd been hoping the two of them would go to a bar when he suggested that Jim go clothes shopping with Melfina instead of himself. Still, Hilda knew the town better than he did, so he figured he'd go along with it for now. That being said, she had tried to shoot him back on Sentinel, so he wasn't going to let his guard down just yet.
The building in question was narrow in width and three stories tall, but sandwiched between two much larger buildings that were in slightly better condition. On the front door was a placard with "Shadow Phoenix Operatives" in stylized font along with some listed office hours. As Hilda made her way up the stairs, Gene couldn't keep his curiosity in check any longer.
"So Hilda, what's the deal with this place?" the redhead asked.
"The people here helped me craft the Rachel persona I used back on Sentinel, and they asked for in-person feedback once the job was done. Plus, compared to most of the outlaws here at Blue Heaven, they've managed to develop a reputation for being both competent and reliable despite only being around for a short time."
"So you're looking to hire them as well," Gene muttered. "Are me and Jim not enough for whatever this job is?"
"There's no denying that you've got some serious skill on the ground and that Jim is one hell of a quick study," Hilda admitted as she went inside. "But the two of you might want to think things over a bit more before going with me any further."
"Well, you still haven't paid us for the last job yet, so like it or not, we're sticking around," Gene remarked. Hilda just smirked in response.
As he stepped into the building and entered what was likely the front office, he quickly noticed that the interior was in much better condition than the exterior. There were a few sealed cardboard boxes lying around, but the walls, floor, and ceiling were free of dust and stains. A small couch and glass coffee table were placed near the front window and towards the back was a desk sitting near a door leading to what Gene assumed to be the kitchen, if the heavenly aroma wafting out of it was any indication. On top of the desk was a large computer, and currently typing away on it was a teenage girl who looked to be around the same age as Melfina. She had short, extremely dark purple hair with a pair of yellow oval hair clips on either side of her head, reddish brown eyes, and a simple yellow dress. As a wind chime over the front door echoed, the girl looked up from her to work to greet the visiting duo.
"Hello, how may I…?" she trailed off before her eyes widened in surprise. "Ms. Hilda! You're back much sooner than I expected!"
"First of all, don't call me 'Ms.' I'm not that much older than you," Hilda chided the young girl before smirking. "Second, the ID you gave me bought me some time, but the pirates saw through it pretty easily."
"Oh no," the young woman lamented. "I guess I've still got some room to grow when designing those…"
Hilda just shook her head before walking over to the young woman and ruffling the nervous girl's hair. "No, it worked just fine for fooling officials and civilians, including Gene here and his partner," reassured the outlaw before taking her hand off of the young lady's head and pointing over her shoulder at Gene, who frowned at her comment. "I bet if the pirates didn't have as many scouts out as they did, I probably could have kept them off my trail a bit longer."
"I see," the girl acknowledged, still flustered.
'Damn, she's cute,' observed Gene, who now found himself grinning.
"Well, is there anything else I can help you two with?" the girl continued, trying desperately to escape and return to business. At this Gene perked his ears up. Would he finally get some answers as to what the hell Hilda was after?
"Truth is, I'm looking to retrieve a ship I left behind in a rather dangerous location while escaping from the pirates," Hilda revealed. Gene narrowed his eyes in suspicion.
"What kind of ship? Isn't Horus good enough for you?" Gene asked
"Horus is large and able to do well in a fight, but this ship is special," Hilda explained. "This ship is a grappler ship, one capable of sailing through even the worst ether seas in the galaxy."
"A grappler…spaceship?" Gene asked in shock, memories unwillingly flashing across his eyes.
"You're welcome to come with me if you think you and Jim can be its crew, but you seem like quite the space hater, to be honest," Hilda wryly remarked.
Gene just scoffed at the reminder of his…less than impressive behavior during takeoff.
The young girl ('Seriously,' Gene thought, 'I really need to ask her name before we go,') had been clearly listening to all this with a frown on her face. "This…is a big, long term job, isn't it? I'm honored that you've come to us about it, but we're still just starting out, and I don't know if we've got the resources and experience yet that you would need to have it done right. I'll need to check with-"
Who she needed to check with would remain a mystery, because at that moment the front door swung open and three men walked inside. The leader of the trio, a rough looking man with a thick beard and bushy eyebrows stepped forth, a wide grin on his face.
"So this is where you were, Hilda," the man remarked, observing the office with a sneer. "Wasn't expecting to run into you here instead of at the usual bar. But did I hear you right that you were short-handed?"
"McCoy, you bastard," Hilda growled. Gene scrunched up his eyes in thought, the name sounding familiar. "I'm looking for people who I can count on in a pinch, not a chicken with no skills."
"Wait a minute," interrupted Gene. "McCoy? Didn't Swanzo say someone by that name had already backed out because pirates were involved?"
McCoy's eyes briefly flared with rage before resuming their previous easy-going twinkle. "Well, rumor has it that this job of Hilda's is so big it's actually worth the risk. So don't be so greedy, Hilda. Let us have a piece of the action!"
"Yeah, Hilda," one of the other guys chimed in. "With Pioneer McCoy and us on your side, you'll be in much better hands than some no-name brat and some wet-behind-the-ears crew."
"We've got way more skills than these chumps put together!" the third member of the trio bragged.
"So how about it, Hilda? What do you say?" McCoy asked, placing a large hand on Hilda's shoulder.
'You trying to start something, you idiot!?' Gene mentally snarled, reaching for his dagger. Hilda herself looked like she was getting ready to perform some defenestration.
But fortunately for the office's window, there proved to be no need. Suddenly, a hand grabbed at McCoy's wrist and tore it off Hilda's shoulder. Everyone looked to see that the hand belonged to a newcomer: an intimidating teenage boy just barely shorter than Gene with messy brown hair, a red beanie, maroon peacoat, and an extremely unimpressed glare. The young girl, meanwhile, looked somehow both relieved and nervous simultaneously.
"Mr. Shinjiro!" the girl called out.
"I was wondering what all that racket was, and what do I find but a bunch of nitwits saying we're not qualified to shovel shit," the identified Shinjiro observed with an incredibly dry voice. "Well, 'Pioneer'? If you're so skeptical of our qualifications, how about we take this outside and I give both you and our prospective clients a demonstration?"
McCoy glared at Shinjiro before adopting a sinister smile, one his two compatriots quickly gained as well. "I gotta say, that sounds like an excellent idea. Let's show Hilda exactly what she's missing out on!" As the trio made their way back outside, the young girl let out a sigh of relief.
"Thank you, Mr. Shinjiro," the girl said. "I was worried."
"About what, Kanaru?" Shinjiro asked with a raised eyebrow, with Gene both mentally thanking the young man for giving him the girl's name and feeling bummed he couldn't ask for it himself later. "That those clowns were gonna hurt these two here? They could have easily handled them. I only stepped in to make sure the office didn't get trashed."
As Shinjiro made his own way outside, he looked over his shoulder back at Hilda and Gene. "You coming? You'll get a better view from the front steps than the window."
"He's right, you know," Hilda agreed with a grin. "This is going to be one hell of a show."
"If you say so," Gene shrugged before following, not sure what to make of this all yet. This Shinjiro guy was pretty tall and seemed to have a strong grip for someone his age, so for all Gene knew, the teen could hold his own in a fair fight. But something about the McCoy bastard and his two flunkies knowing where to find Hilda when they did was not sitting well with him.
As the red head made his way to the front steps, he could see Shinjiro staring down the trio and vice versa. The teenage boy still had nothing more than an annoyed look on his face, his posture unperturbed with his hands in his pockets whereas McCoy and his two pals didn't even bother hiding their wicked smiles while cracking the knuckles. There weren't too many other people out and about right now, but those that were had begun to stop and stare at what probably looked to be quite the one-sided slaughter.
"All right, brat!" McCoy shouted, drawing in even more onlookers with his bombastic voice. "I'm feeling generous, so I'll let you go back and grab whatever you think you'll need to stand a chance."
"I'll pass," Shinjiro scoffed. "My usual tools would be overkill for you wimps. What I've got on me is enough."
"Your funeral, kid!" The punk to the left taunted, drawing a switchblade before charging straight at Shinjiro. The young man didn't draw out a knife of his own, or any kind of weapons. Heck, he didn't even attempt to dodge. Shinjiro simply shot out his arm, grabbed the attacker's wrist, and began to twist while holding the man in place. The older outlaw tried kicking at Shinjiro with what appeared to be a lot of force while crying out in pain, but Shinjiro didn't so much as flinch from the blows to his leg.
"Is that guy made of concrete or something?" Gene asked in bewilderment. "I've seen cyborgs at least grimace from hits like that."
"No, Mr. Shinjiro's completely human," came Kanaru's voice from inside. "Mr. Shinjiro! Should I go into the kitchen?"
"It's fine for now. I turned the burners off as soon as I heard these morons walk in," Shinjiro confirmed. "We'll be done here before it becomes a problem."
"You're seriously more worried about cooking dinner than fighting us?" McCoy shouted angrily, any of his twisted amusement from before completely gone.
"We've got someone in our company with a black hole for a stomach, and right now it's my responsibility to keep her fed," Shinjiro confirmed dryly. "Hell yes I'm more worried about her than you assholes."
'Hold on,' Gene thought with shock. 'HE'S the one responsible for that great smell?!' Shinjiro sure didn't look like the type to cook, but he wasn't about to question the guy taking on a trio of armed men with his bare fists without breaking a sweat.
"You're dead, you snot-nosed kid!" McCoy's other companion tried charging in from the side, but Shinjiro still caught his wrist and began bending it backwards like his friend's. Suddenly, Shinjiro had an evil smile that sent shivers down Gene's spine.
"Gotta say, I'm curious to see if your heads are as empty as they seem to be," Shinjiro taunted before letting go of the wannabe thugs' wrists. Before either had a chance to recover, he grabbed them by the back of their skulls and smashed them together like a pair of cymbals. The pair collapsed to the ground, disoriented.
"Guess there's something passing for brains in there after all," Shinjiro remarked disappointedly. "But clearly you aren't used to using them."
"I've heard just about enough from you!" McCoy snarled before charging at Shinjiro like an angry rhino, his knife raised high above his head. Shinjiro waited until McCoy got close before stamping down hard on the man's foot, swatting the arm with the knife away like a pesky fly, and delivering a brutal headbutt to the outlaw's noggin. Like the two before him, McCoy crumpled to the ground.
"How's that for a job interview?" Shinjiro snarked as he turned back to face Gene and Hilda, the crowd that had come to observe stunned into silence before erupting in laughter and applause. Clearly, McCoy and his cronies weren't all that popular around here. Gene himself was cackling right alongside them.
"Shinjiro, right?" Gene said with a grin as he and Hilda made their way over to the victor. "You just trounced three grown men wielding knives using nothing but your bare hands, feet, and head, and you're asking if you're hired?"
"I'm with Gene here," Hilda confirmed. "Even I would have had to use a taser on them. You may be the new kids on the block, but you definitely know your way around a fight. Give me a reason I shouldn't hire you."
"Damn you, brat," rasped McCoy as he uneasily rose to his feet.
"Must be losing my touch if you're up for another round," Shinjiro grumbled.
"How the hell did someone this pathetic get a title like 'Pioneer'?" asked Gene.
"My guess? He 'pioneered' new ways to make himself look like a complete fool," Shinjiro said with a shrug. Gene let out a snort at that.
"Mark my words, brat! You'll pay for what you've done, and Hilda? You'll regret not hiring us!" the older outlaw snarled as he grabbed his two compatriots and slinked out of sight.
"So guys like that are outlaws, too?" Gene asked.
"Well, it's like it is with the stars: there are bright ones, and there are those that are dim," said Hilda.
"Well, it's pretty clear which kind he is, but how about you?" Gene said, briefly looking at Shinjiro before giving Hilda a teasing smirk.
Hilda gave Gene a coy smile, but Shinjiro interrupted before their flirting could go any further. "There's a hotel down the street if you can't hold it in," the hat-wearing young man said with annoyance as he looked back towards the office doorway. "Kanaru, how much of that did you get?"
"We'll still have to run this by the head of the company, Mr. Shinjiro, and we don't have a whole lot of staff or resources we can provide right now," Kanaru replied as she also made her way over to the group from within the store.
"Kanaru, the boss knows that we need to get our company's name out there more as much as possible, and taking a big job like this will definitely help," Shinjiro responded without missing a beat. "I don't see why I can't go with them."
Kanaru looked like she wanted to say something, but the purple-haired girl kept opening and closing her mouth. Shinjiro scrunched up his eyes for a moment before they widened in realization.
"If this is about looking after the store in case something like this happens again while out on a job, Zen is more than enough to fill in for me," Shinjiro brushed off her concern.
"And Rei?" Kanaru asked.
"All the more reason," Shinjiro responded, waving a hand in front of his face. "Rei needs more practice handling the front desk, and I almost pity anyone that makes Zen think Rei's in danger. Hell, when he realized I wouldn't always be there to feed Rei, he wasted no time asking me for cooking lessons just so she wouldn't die of hunger."
Kanaru nodded slowly before her eyes widened with realization at what Shinjiro was implying. "You mean…!"
"Yep, I'm taking you and Metis with me," Shinjiro confirmed.
"But I-!" Kanaru began.
"-need to get out of the office and stretch your legs? I couldn't agree more," Shinjiro finished for her with a wide smirk.
Kanaru could only hold her head in defeat. "I'll go let Big B…the boss know that you've agreed to a new job," the young woman sighed.
"And I'll let Metis know what's up. Hopefully, the Lunar Hierophant is ready to go," Shinjiro said as he turned to face Hilda and Gene. "How soon will you need us to be ready to ship off?"
"Had it not been for that fight, I would have said tomorrow afternoon," Hilda said. "But McCoy was clearly looking for me, even after rejecting my initial offer."
"Cowards like him only change their minds that quickly if someone gives them an even better deal," Shinjiro agreed.
"Think he was hired to spy on you?" Gene asked.
"At this point, I'd be surprised if he wasn't," Hilda confirmed. "Shinjiro, McCoy and his goons will likely be looking for some payback, but hopefully, he'll prioritize whatever job he got over you."
"He might just be dumb enough to try splitting his forces and go after both groups at once," Gene remarked.
"Either way, he'll probably try something at night, when he thinks we're all asleep or at least too exhausted to fight back," Shinjiro pointed out. "Hilda, reach out to us if they try attacking you tonight, and we'll do the same if they send anyone after us."
"Hey Hilda, think they might try doing something to Horus as well?" Gene asked.
"If they do, that'd mean picking a fight with Swanzo and Mikey," Hilda chuckled. "They might not look like it, but keeping the ships of all kinds of outlaws in top condition pretty much requires that you know how to look after yourself."
"I guess I'll take your word for it," Gene said with a shake of his head. Considering the two he was talking with, the red head was starting to realize he really couldn't judge a book by its cover around here.
"Do…do you really think they'll try attacking us tonight?" Kanaru asked, the anxiety clear in her voice.
"Knowing McCoy, he and his friends will want to strike as soon as they've had a chance to regroup," Hilda confirmed, before walking over and ruffling Kanaru's hair again. "Relax, Kanaru. Gene and I can more than look after ourselves, and do you really think those punks stand a chance against Shinjiro here?"
"W-well no, but…" Kanaru stammered.
"I'm used to staying up late, anyway," Shinjiro reassured the young girl as well. "They could try striking right at midnight, and I'd be more than ready to kick their asses."
"Well, I guess that's that, then," said Gene. "Hilda, we should head out so we can get ready for any 'unexpected' guests we get tonight."
"Sounds good," Hilda agreed. "But let's not tell Jim and Melfina until we're all ready to go. They'll need all the rest they can get for tomorrow."
"Works for me," Gene said before turning to the pair of teenagers. "Try to get some rest as well, just in case they do decide they want a rematch."
"We will, Mr. Gene!" Kanaru said with a bow of her head.
"Geez, I know we just met, but you really don't need to be so formal around me," Gene flinched, really wishing such a cute girl wasn't so uptight around him.
"Gene, right? You'd better give it up," Shinjiro sighed. "Kanaru's not the type to drop the formalities around people all that quickly."
"Even if I treat her to dinner?" Gene asked with a teasing smile, causing the girl to have her eyes widen and blush profusely.
"T-hat is…I…" Kanaru struggled to form a coherent sentence.
"Seriously, just throw in the towel," Shinjiro covered his face with his hand. "She's already got the hots for someone else."
"Mr. Shinjiro…" Kanaru moaned, covering her face with both hands.
"Well, that's a shame," Gene said with a small smile. "But I won't push her any further. Hilda, let's head out."
"W-well, before you go, would you at least like to join us for dinner?" Kanaru asked politely, having managed to regain some of her bearings.
"You sure about that?" Hilda asked with a raised eyebrow. "McCoy did come after us here."
"Why not?" Gene cut in. "We did tell Jim and Melfina that they could try finding somewhere to eat after they finished shopping before heading to the hotel, so it's not like we shouldn't get something to eat ourselves."
"Works for me," Hilda permitted. "Thanks for the invite, Kanaru."
Now it was Shinjiro's turn to groan. "I just hope we have enough for you two on top of Rei and Zen."
"Come on, what have you got to worry about?" Gene said with a laugh.
(Outlaw Star / Persona)
"I gotta ask…just how much of your budget goes towards food?" Gene wondered aloud as he watched a young blonde teenage girl in a yellow cardigan happily devour her fourth helping of okonomiyaki on her plate. The four of them had been joined by an additional pair back in the office: the blonde Rei and her companion Zen, another teenage boy like Shinjiro but with a dark complexion, a black button-up shirt and cape, and a spiked collar. The group of six were now scattered around the office, with Gene and Hilda on the couch by the coffee table, Rei and Zen sitting in folding chairs set up by the table, and Shinjiro and Kanaru eating by the desk, the beanie-wearing young man in a folding chair propped between the desk and the kitchen door. The redhead had initially been skeptical that the tiny girl was the one who supposedly had a bottomless pit for a stomach. Yet again, he found he really needed to stop making assumptions before it bit him in the ass.
"A lot," sighed Shinjiro as he refilled his glass of water with a pitcher on the desk. "But it's nothing we aren't used to at this point."
"If it makes Rei happy, that's all that matters," said Zen. Gene couldn't really see the tanned man's mouth behind that spiked collar of his, but he had a hunch it was hiding a soft smile.
"You say that now, but how about when me and Kanaru leave?" asked Shinjiro with a raised eyebrow.
"The grocery store isn't far away from here, you showed me how to use all the different tools and devices in the kitchen, and the recipe book you gave me has simplified instructions for many different meals," Zen stated in a matter-of-fact tone. "I probably won't be able to make anything that complex like you just yet, but for now I should be able to keep Rei content until you return."
"Wow, that's the most you've said during this entire meal," Hilda teased.
"I-I see," Zen said with a blush. "It has…been a while since I have had to interact with new people, so it takes some adjusting for me."
"Don't worry about it," assured Hilda. "It just goes to show how much your friends mean to you."
Zen silently nodded his head, though Gene couldn't tell if it was in confirmation or gratitude. Maybe both?
"Mr. Zen and Ms. Rei are very close, so I'm not surprised he opens up like that whenever she comes up," said Kanaru with a hint of admiration in her voice before taking another spoonful of her own meal. Gene could only sigh with disappointment at that.
'So much for asking her out on a date,' Gene silently grumbled. 'But I think Jim might actually try to kill me if I did, just for the possible restaurant bill alone.'
"Thank you, Shinjiro!" cheered Rei as she wiped some food from her mouth. "May I have dessert now?"
"We still have some ice cream in the freezer," Shinjiro said. "That work for you?"
"Uh huh!"
"I'll go get it, then," the tall teenager said with a nod as he turned back around towards the kitchen.
"So Zen," asked Hilda. "Are you good in a fight like Shinjiro?"
"Shinjiro is better at fighting face to face than I am," Zen admitted. "But I am quite skilled at fending off foes from a distance."
"So you've got short and long range covered between the two of you," Gene considered. "But what about mid?"
"No one currently here has that covered," Kanaru answered sadly. "Rei and I are more suited for support than anything. "
"We really do need to make more friends," said Rei as Shinjiro returned with a large bowl of ice cream.
"That's one way to put it," Gene smirked. Suddenly, a beeping sound came from the computer by Kanaru. The purple-haired girl quickly checked the screen, her eyes scanning whatever was displayed before turning to Shinjiro. "Bi-I mean Mr. Ryo responded back. We have the all clear to take Ms. Hilda's request."
"Told ya, Kanaru," Shinjiro nodded.
"He also said that he's leaving Heifong soon and is on his way to Blue Heaven," Kanaru added. "Ms. Rei? Mr. Zen? Will you be alright until he gets here?"
"Sure, Kanaru!" "Of course," the pair confirmed.
"We should be leaving ourselves, Gene," said Hilda as she stood up and made her way towards the entrance.
"Guess that's that, then," Gene said with a shrug as he followed suit. "Thanks a lot for dinner."
"Don't mention it," Shinjiro brushed off the gratitude. "Just let us know if those meatheads try something funny."
"Will do," Gene confirmed before leaving through the front door.
As he and Hilda made their way down the street towards the hotel, Gene couldn't help but turn around and glance back at the Shadow Phoenix office, a soft smile on his face.
"Well, that's a new expression," Hilda noted with bemusement. "And here I was starting to get used to you being grumpy."
"I mean come on, we got a free meal out of this whole situation," Gene pointed out. "There's no way Jim isn't going to blow his top with jealousy at that."
Hilda shook her head and smirked. "If I didn't know any better, I'd think the two of you were actual brothers," the eye-patch wearing woman admitted.
"Seriously?" Gene scoffed. "Yeah, we've been working together a while, but it's not like we're family or anything."
Hilda said nothing, but the look she gave Gene said volumes.
"Whatever!" Gene glared at Hilda before turning around again and stomping back down towards the hotel. Even so, the red head couldn't help but think back to that meal they'd just eaten. If he was being honest with himself, he felt kind of bad that Jim and Melfina weren't able to join them. Maybe depending on how this job with Shadow Phoenix turned out, they'd get the opportunity later. But the fact that McCoy had probably been hired to keep tabs on Hilda somewhere even the Ban pirates avoided left Gene feeling anxious, especially since according to Swanzo, he'd previously turned Hilda's offer down.
Speaking of the Corbanite, didn't he mention that some brothers were looking for Hilda as well? That did not bode well for this job of hers.
'I've got a bad feeling about this,' Gene thought sourly.
Little did he know just right on the money his intuition was.
To be continued
Preview: Geez, what is it with that McCoy bastard? We didn't even lay a hand on him, and his pals try to jump us in our sleep. I may fight dirty, but even I've got standards! Though from the sounds of it, he sent even more of his cronies after Shinjiro and his friends. Whoever's after Hilda really doesn't want her getting any help. That's a lot of effort just to alienate someone who already doesn't care how many enemies she makes. But it just goes to show that whatever she's after is just that impressive. Jim, my friend? You and I may finally be on our way to the big time!
Next time on Shadow Phoenix: Into a New Headspace! You better get ready!
A/N: And that's the introductory chapter. Honestly, there have been a LOT of different stories out there that deserve credit for inspiration, but in the end, all of those pieces of inspiration culminated in this concept popping into my head while at work and I became desperate to get it out, because it WOULD NOT LEAVE ME ALONE. It's so weird to me, because this sort of thing hasn't really happened to this extent since I was in high school. These days, I've been trying my best to prioritize finishing some of the fics I already started, but I've been so drained by events in both my professional and personal lives that when I have the time to actually work on those stories, I'm too mentally exhausted. Hopefully now, though, I have managed to come up with a work around. As for whether this, Flower of Fate, or Vampire Hunter will be updated next? I'll guess we'll just have to wait and see.
Oh, and to those reading this on ff . net? Yeah, I'm not getting email notifications of any kind for this site anymore. They keep insisting they can't reach my email address, even though I put a bot in my approved contacts like they ask me to in my settings, something that HADN'T BEEN NECESSARY BEFORE. So if you leave me a review here, there's a real chance that I'm not going to see it right away. And after reaching out to another author here on the site about this scenario, turns out I'm not the only one this is happening to. So for this and MANY other reasons (seriously, this site has seen much better days), going forward this won't be my primary place to upload stories anymore. I still will, but Ao3 will be getting them first. Plus, on that site as well as others like Space Battles and Sufficient Velocity, it is CONSIDERABLY easier to make edits post-upload. I apologize to those of you who primarily use ff . net to read and comment on fanfics over other websites, but as far as me and a significant number of other authors are concerned, the writing is on the wall. It sucks, because I've devoted so much time to this site over the years, but clearly something has gone wrong and I don't see things improving any time soon.