Fanfic / On Strange Wings

"That's... gotta suck." He leaned back and stretched. "So, do I get to know your name, or do just I just say 'hey you'?"

"...I'm Tsubaki. And your tact is appalling."

"Hey, I'm trying, dammit. I ain't exactly used to this social crap."

Tsubaki fought back a smirk. "If this is your attempt at being polite, I'd hate to see what you're like normally."

On Strange Wings is a fanfic by Velvien. An alternate time-loop for BlazBlue: Continuum Shift, the story begins with Tsubaki Yayoi's chance encounter with series protagonist Ragna the Bloodedge at a Kagutsuchi diner and follows the mismatched pair's adventure through Hot-Blooded Ninja, irritating children, Unresolved Sexual Tension, heroes of the past, and the other comedic tribulations of the BlazBlue world (not necessarily in that order). But the wheel of fate is still turning, and the sinister plot of Yuuki Terumi (better known as Tsubaki's superior, Hazama) edges towards completion...

The fanfic spawned a direct sequel, At Fate's Hands, which picks up Ragna's rebellion against the NOL where the original left off, with allies new and old coming together in a grand effort to derail Terumi's schemes. By comparison an Actionized Sequel and towards the heavier end of BlazBlue's famed Cerebus Rollercoaster, Fate's' wider character focus gives more of the cast time to shine while introducing newcomers Gesshoku Yayoi, Voivod, Lord Tenshin, and Belioz Mutsuki.

The story concludes with the third part, In Time's Eyes. Sadly, it appears that it is a Dead Fic, as it hasn't been updated since December 2017.

Also related are the first two chapters of Of The Sun And Moon, a drabble/one-shot collection dedicated to the pairing. The first chapter falls between chapters 5 and 6 of OSW, focusing on Tsubaki's feelings toward Ragna. The second chapter follows shortly after OSW's conclusion. Also another short, This Must Be The Place, taking place between chapters 34 & 35. Finally, while not set during the stories, a one-shot entitled Went Down to the Crossroads covers Azrael's origins in this universe.

Popular for their Original Flavor characterization, central Crack Pairing, and strong writing style, both fics are listed on TV Tropes' Fanfic Recommendations page.

Tropes associated with both fics

• Anti-Villain: Every NOL member not named Terumi and Relius ( or perhaps Belioz).
• Badass Boast: Tsubaki's actually quite fond of attempting these.
  • Ragna in AFH 19: "This all you got? I've faced Kusanagi, the god damn godslayer. And kicked her ass. You? You're nothing. Gauntlet Hades!"
• Berserk Button: Don't insult and/or hurt Tsubaki unless you want Ragna to kill you right there. And Jin'll still cut you to ribbons too. That goes for both of him.
  • Do not mock Tsubaki for her family's "blood purity" policy
• Deadpan Snarker: Tsubaki has more of this trait than in canon, while Rachel and Ragna keep their form throughout. Nearly everyone has their moment.
• Derailing Love Interests: Jin gets an odd form of this, absorbing a Mind Rape that flanderizes him down to his brother obsession - and then a whole subplot dedicated to snapping out of it. Though this happens after Ragna and Tsubaki are together, it's clear that his ties to the latter have been pretty much ripped out of his mind for good.
• Determinator: Jin has strong shades of it. However, it and his utter refusal to allow others to help him, even when he's getting his ass handed to him by Hakumen, is a fairly disastrous combination.
• Did You Just Flip Off Cthulhu?: Luna doesn't care whether she has the power to back it up, she will taunt any she opposes - up to and including mocking the "God-Slaying Sword" for her figure. In the sequel, Makoto and Taokaka both manage the seemingly impossible and troll Terumi (though whether the latter is doing so on purpose is left an open question).
• Fangirl: Tsubaki's Six Heroes obsession is why she travels with Ragna in the first place
• For Great Justice: Tsubaki, naturally. Providing her main reason for fighting against the Librarium
• Master of Illusion: One of Phantom’s most debilitating attacks is an illusion that locks up the victim through sheer terror. An example: Ragna sees himself become the Black Beast and kill Tsubaki. Very few people have been able to escape it so far.
• Morality Chain: Tsubaki being one of the few precious thing in Ragna's life make her this when she fell to her supposed death, causing Ragna to almost lose himself to the Black Beast. Turns into Morality Chain Beyond the Grave case when Ragna decides to keep fighting as a human due to his promise to her while thinking she's dead, before eventually reuniting.
• Morality Pet: Tsubaki serves as this to Ragna, being someone he's comfortable being around, and he also agrees to tone down his unsavory traits because of her, such as Body-Count Competition.
• Oblivious to Love: Ragna either cannot or will not put two and two together about Rachel's behavior.
• Opposites Attract: Ragna's and Tsubaki's chemistry is of this sort.
• Real Men Wear Pink: Ragna's cooking hobby receives quite a bit of attention.
• Red Oni, Blue Oni: Ragna and Tsubaki, respectively
• Shipper on Deck: Makoto, twice over. First for Ragna/Tsubaki in OSW (most prominent in a side story from Of The Sun And The Moon), then for Jin/Noel in AFH.
• Troll: Besides the obvious, Luna at the very least borders on this in OSW, serving no purpose other than to irritate Ragna.
• Valley Girl: Nu-13, like, is so depicted as this in all of the author's fics. And Ragna, like, totally treats her better than in canon.
• The Worf Effect: Rachel tries her hand at directly challenging the major threats in both stories and has yet to win (though she does go out in style).

Tropes associated with On Strange Wings

• Armor-Piercing Question:
  Hazama: Why don't you tell her who you really are, and how you failed her?
• Big Damn Heroes: Jin and Valkenhayn at the end of chapter 5
  • Lampshaded by Hazama two chapters later
• Blowing a Raspberry: Luna in the first chapter.
• Bookends: Ragna and Tsubaki having lunch at the restaurant in Orient Town at the beginning and end of the story
• Break Them by Talking: Hazama attempts this (naturally) on Tsubaki in chapter 5.
  • By chapter 22 of AFH, she knows full well that he leaves out important information and is thus largely unaffected by his words. Her lack of response is effectively Tsubaki ''trolling Hazama'', and he doesn't like it one bit.
• Butt-Monkey: Ragna all through the first three chapters, to the point of losing to Bang
• Continuity Nod: Chapter 3, while Tao is recovering from having her leg mangled by Arakune:
  Litchi: "I'm sure that someone will take care of it while you're gone. But in the meantime…I can have you study. I'll teach you everything I can."
  Taokaka: "Ooh! Teach me, boobie lady!"
• Despair Event Horizon: Tsubaki nearly crosses this at the end of chapter 5 after failing to drag a half-dead Ragna out of the Librarium after losing to Hazama.
• Deus Exit Machina: Ragna is something of a mess without his sword. His attacks backfire magnificently, leading to him losing to Bang.
• Early-Installment Weirdness: The first two and a half chapters can be seen as such, due to their heavy focus on humor and the author not being fully comfortable with the characters yet.
• Everyone Can See It: This is actually one of the recurring reader complaints - some reviewers note that characters are remarking on relationship developments that don't seem to have actually taken place at that point in the story.
• Everyone Has Standards: Despite her hatred for Ragna, Tsubaki views him preferable over Luna to take her to Jubei, as even she knows that Ragna doesn't hurl insults as much as Luna.
• Fighting from the Inside: You just don't brainwash Jin and expect him to take it. Too bad he can't fight off Hazama long enough to become a Spanner in the Works.
• Flat "What": Bang manages to get this response about three times in less than a minute
• Flanderization: Arguably Jin after having his memories eaten by Hazama
• Foreshadowing: Ragna talking about his Grimoire: "What, would it turn me into another Black Beast or something?"
• For Want Of A Nail: Nope, subverted. Terumi predicted this, too. Hence driving Jin Brainwashed and Crazy in Tsubaki's stead.
  • This is carried over to the sequel: Thanks to Tsubaki's actions, it's inferred that the formerly rebellious House Mutsuki becomes more obedient and pulls a Face–Heel Turn.
• Ham-to-Ham Combat: Tsubaki and Hazama during their fight.
• Heel–Face Turn: Tsubaki
• Hope Spot: For a few moments, it looks like Tsubaki actually defeated Hazama in chapter 5. Turns out she didn't even hurt him.
• Idiot Ball: Ragna decides it's a good idea to slam his sword point-first into the street while talking to someone doing her best to annoy him. Naturally, it leads to Luna stealing Blood-Scythe.
• I Owe You My Life: Ragna insists on it to Tsubaki
• Knight of Cerebus: Jin's appearance cues the end of the wacky early section of the story. Amusingly, he's also channeling a Knight in Shining Armor, not a typical trope for a Jerkass like Jin to cover.
• My God, What Have I Done?: Luna's reaction when her seemingly harmless prank of stealing Blood-Scythe from Ragna nearly gets Ragna killed by Terumi.
• Oh, Crap!: Tsubaki gets a bit of one when she realizes just who Hazama really is
• Punctuated Pounding / Punctuated! For! Emphasis!: “This is for Tsubaki. For Noel. For Nu. For every! God! Damn! Person! You've! Ever! Screwed! With! You! God! DAMN! BASTARD!”
• Shell Game / Doppelgänger Spin: Used by Makoto to flee her battle with Jin
• Shut Up, Kirk!: Hazama really isn't impressed by Tsubaki's justice speech at all.
• "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Tsubaki gives Bang a rather mild one about his methods of justice. In At Fate's Hands, it's shown she actually got through to him, too.
• Too Fast to Stop: Ragna when Platinum steals Bloodscythe. He crashes head long into a wall when attempting Gauntlet Hades.
• Unresolved Sexual Tension: Once things get going, this happens an awful lot (however, it's Tsubaki so it's lighter than M-rated stuff.) It's done more or less expressly to tease the ship in a very effective manner.
• Villains Never Lie: Hazama claims this. And tries to tempt Ragna and Tsubaki with the truth. He receives a boot to the head from Tsubaki for his trouble.
• Wham Episode: In-universe, chapter 8. Not only does Ragna learn that his sister is the Imperator like in canon, Hazama also reveals to him and Tsubaki that Ragna could become another Black Beast to make Tsubaki break up with him
• Wham Line: "Tsubaki? I've never heard that name in my life."
• What If?: Some unexpected encounters can create so much
• What Happened to the Mouse?: Every Blazblue character made an appearance...except Carl Clover.
  • Word of God: Carl almost made it into chapters 7 and 8, but the idea was nixed as his presence felt too forced.
  • For that matter, lifelink or no how did Hazama get up from having a Power Nullifier sword stabbed through him into the ground?
    • Partially explained in a light revamp of the story: Relius played a role in it.
• Worf Had the Flu: Ragna puts up some pretty poor fights, but losing his sword and later his arm played a huge part.
• You Are Worth Hell: “If you want me to, I'll follow you wherever you go, help you with whatever you need to do, do everything I can to protect you...like you've protected me. Hell, I'd walk with you into the goddamn Boundary if you wanted me to. I mean it."

Tropes associated with At Fate's Hands

• Armor-Piercing Question: Similar to the one in On Strange Wings
  Tsubaki: "Sir Hakumen. I appreciate your concern for my well-being, but I must ask...why do you seem to know me?"
• Ascended Extra: Most characters, but especially Carl (who never even appeared in OSW) and Valkenhayn
• Axe-Crazy: Terumi, possibly even more so than in canon. Part of the reason Relius is trying to demote him to The Dragon instead of being on equal grounds in their Big Bad Duumvirate
  • Azrael as well
• Battle Couple: Ragna and Tsubaki display much more of this than in the first story, even managing to team up to beat Phantom without recourse to the Azure Grimoire.
• Big Badass Battle Sequence: The main cast and the people of Ikaruga versus an army of Brainwashed and Crazy NOL soldiers.
• Blackmail: Hazama keeps Litchi working for him after the destruction of Yabiko by threatening to kill Arakune if she left the NOL
• Blatant Lies: Belioz claiming he had a hand in the nuclear attacks. In general, these are among his favorite tactics.
• Blood Knight: Azrael
• Body-Count Competition: Ragna attempts to hold one of these with Tsubaki. She's not having any of it.
• Brainwashed and Crazy: In addition to massive army of NOL soldiers, Litchi and Gesshoku have fallen victim to Phantom's Mind Eater spell. She tried to pull the same on Tsubaki, but failed.
• Broken Tears: Ragna in chapter 15
• Call-Back: In chapter 2 of On Strange Wings, Tsubaki says she'll talk to her father about the Kaka clan's plight. Cut to chapter 11 of At Fate's Hands when she and Ragna finally meet with Gesshoku...
• Calling Your Attacks: Bang. Jin advises him his attacks might be more effective if he didn't do this.
• Cliffhanger: Terumi possessing one of the heroes, but who? Chapter 1 of In Time's Eyes implies it's Noel.
• Curb-Stomp Battle: Nu curbstomps seemingly everything in sight throughout. Chapter 19 changes the pattern as Ragna uses terrain to his advantage, and she pulls one off for the heroes one chapter later - against Unlimited Hazama, no less!
• Despair Event Horizon: Ragna breaks down crying after he thinks Tsubaki is dead due to the events of Chapter 13.
• Deus Exit Machina: Ragna is unable to fully use his shiny new Idea Engine throughout due to the strain it puts on Nu's trapped soul, and some wounds from Hakumen's sword handicap him further in the later stages.
• Fate Worse than Death: Voivod; after washing up outside Torifune (read: the city he nuked), Izanami bumps into him and removes his ability to die. He is forced to spend the rest of eternity looking at his own hubris.
• Five-Man Band: Forming a little differently from canon and intentionally or not heavier on the girl power:
  • The Hero: Ragna
  • The Lancer: Tsubaki, with some Smart Girl characteristics, especially where strategy is concerned
  • The Big Guy: Makoto, sharing with Tager
    • Although she tries to be The Smart Guy
  • The Smart Guy: Kokonoe, with Rachel as a somewhat more action-oriented version this time around.
  • The Heart: Noel
  • Sixth Ranger: Nu-13
• Forgotten Phlebotinum: Justified - Ragna is just that poor at planning ahead - but ultimately defied when Tsubaki makes use of Ragna's concealment Ars Magus to infiltrate the war zone.
• Handicapped Badass: Tsubaki's eyesight is getting worse the more she uses Izayoi; she's been told to dispose of it for this reason.
  • Hazama, after Tsubaki removes his right arm in chapter 28.
• Heroic BSoD: Averted. One would expect that Bang wouldn't take Litchi being in NOL very well... instead, he tried asking without breaking down and starts to understand her plight while keeping his spirit of justice. Even if Tenshin somehow doesn't approve (at first).
• Indy Ploy: Oh, Makoto. Her inability to remember who can do what derails her actual plans, so she's constantly forced to make things up as she goes along. So far she's bluffed Terumi into a stalemate and exposed the NOL's plans on national television while referring to herself as Secret Agent Stripper Squirrel.
• Irony: Ragna finally displays some tactical sense (maybe he learned from Tsubaki after all), just in time to have Taokaka as his teammate. Then he overcomes that, only for a Hazama ambush and Nu's soul to send it all careening to hell.
  • Ragna noting that Hakumen's eternal pursuit of him is just like Jin's
• Kick the Dog: Brainwashed!Gesshoku's plan for Tsubaki: "Captain Hazama's plan is to subjugate you to Phantom's will. You will be the one to end Ragna the Bloodedge's reign of terror; the last thing he sees will be the one he loves taking his life. And then, once that's done, Phantom will cast your soul to Hell for your treason." Somewhat crosses into Nightmare Fuel as well.
• Kick The Son Of A Bitch: Hazama straight-up revels in revealing exactly what Voivod had done, including telling him that the rebellion he nuked Ikaruga to stop never even existed. Note: This doesn't make Hazama look awesome for kicking an SOB, and in fact makes him even more depraved.
• Killed Off for Real: Hakumen, after killing Take-Mikazuchi, has his soul ripped out by Izanami. He knew he going to die anyway.
• Love Redeems: Played with. Tsubaki gets better, of course, and breaks the curse of Izayoi in the process while Noel seems to be at work on Jin and then there is Nu, but Hakumen's Knight Templar traits turn him into a deadly example of the Clingy Jealous Guy and Ragna briefly turns into a monstrosity out of heartbreak. It seems The Power of Love is quite potent but not automatically a good thing.
• Mood Whiplash: Chapter 8 begins with Taokaka shenanigans...before switching to Nu absolutely curbstomping Hakumen and Noel
• My God, What Have I Done?: It takes the destruction of Yabiko to make Litchi finally realize the mistake of accepting Hazama's offer. Unfortunately for her, at that point, she can't just quit unless she wants to get Brainwashed.
  • Tsubaki gets hit with this during the battle of Yabiko when she realizes all of the soldiers she had been killing were slaves to Phantom
  • Voivod gets a heavy dose of this after learning that he destroyed Torifune instead of Akitsu.
• No-Holds-Barred Beatdown: Delivered to Ragna courtesy of Hazama. As it triggers Nu's Berserk Button, this doesn't end quite as well for him as planned.
• No One Could Survive That!: Azrael laughing off TM's best shot
• Oh, Crap!: Noel and Makoto earn a hard-fought, draining victory against Azrael...only to see him get back up laughing a few minutes later. Luckily for them, he concedes his defeat and leaves
  • Makoto's initial reaction to seeing him also counts
  • Tager's reaction to Voivod's railgun.
  • Ragna realizing he had just left Tsubaki to fend for herself in chapter 13, despite Jubei’s warning from OSW
• "Reason You Suck" Speech: Hakumen and Kokonoe trade them in chapter 23
• Retcon: At Fate's Hand started before CS Extend was released. However, as of canon, House Mutsuki is actually rebellious towards NOL, while in here, they're loyal and the only known member so far, Belioz, is thus far confirmed as a possible villain. The fic's sticking with the latter.
  • In chapter 24 of AFH, it was heavily implied that Bang’s Nox Nyctores, Phoenix: Rettenjou, was either his belt or his gauntlets. The very next chapter changed it to his nail to fit with canon.
• Roaring Rampage of Revenge: Ragna after Tsubaki falls into the underbelly of Naobi due to Carl
• Running Gag: A small one, but Taokaka multiplies the number of meat buns Ragna owes her by ten every time she thinks about them.
  • Someone, usually Platinum, cutting off Bang as he starts speaking. Because he'll never stop.
• Sixth Ranger Traitor: Voivod, who did not want to be resurrected, ends up avenging himself by launching Sector Seven's nukes to destroy the organization's credibility.
• Snark-to-Snark Combat: Rachel vs. Terumi, when the former attacks Nu-13 on her own.
• Shout-Out: Relius quotes Faust, the original Devil Dealer.
  • "Engineering has vapor for brains."
  • "Die, monster! You do not belong in this world!"
  • Trinity’s fightstyle is a deliberate shout-out to Mami Tomoe.
  • "Just who the hell do you think I am!?"
• Soul Jar: Ragna's Grimoire is this for Nu.
• Stealth-Based Mission: Tsubaki's attempt to escape from house arrest, complete with her hiding under a cardboard box
• Super Mode: Izayoi; Phantom's cursed it to try to pull Grand Theft Me on Tsubaki; she wins and proceeds to give Phantom a pasting with the help of Trinity and Bang. She later beats Hazama singlehandedly, chopping off his arm in the proccess.
  • Also something of a Superpowered Evil Side; she feels she is much more sadistic when using it...
  • Speaking of Bang, he activates Fu-Rin-Ka-Zan in the same battle; this troper thinks his ninja lackeys should've brought a sound system so they could play 'Beat A Nail With Your Hammer' when appropriate.
  • Azrael's Enchant Dragunov, and Noel's going to learn how to become Mu again.
• Take Up My Sword: Jin inheriting Okami
• Tempting Fate: “I promise you, nothing's gonna happen to you. Not a god damned thing."
• The Atoner: Hakumen has a bit more of this going than in canon.
• The Bus Came Back: Carl has come back from his absence in OSW. He now has a fairly significant role in the plot.
• The Trickster: Makoto at points.
• This Is Unforgivable!: A variant - "If you're lying, I will never forgive you."
• Took a Level in Badass: Noel finally grows a spine after the nuclear attacks
• Tragic Monster: And then Ragna was the Black Beast. Valkenhayn and Nu got him better.
• Transformation Is a Free Action: Averted in glorious style.
• Trap Is the Only Option: Rachel knows full well that the “meeting” in Yabiko is a trap, but decides to spring it anyways.
• Tsundere: LUNA.
  "Don't you dare die on Luna, okay? Luna will never forgive you if you do."
• Understatement: Rachel's reaction to hearing that Ragna and Tsubaki were ambushed by Phantom? "Somewhat problematic, I'd imagine."
• Unspoken Plan Guarantee: In the first chapter, Makoto ends her section by asking Noel if she knows a concealment Ars. The next chapter reveals that no, Noel did not, and that was the lynchpin of Makoto’s entire plan.
• Wham Episode:
  • Chapter 13. Tsubaki falling into the depths of Naobi after a fight with Carl. Cue Ragna's Roaring Rampage of Revenge
  • Chapter 20. Sector Seven finally fires the nuclear warheads.
  • Chapter 21. Those nuclear warheads? Kokonoe didn't launch them. Voivod did, and he's a traitor.
  • Chapter 28. Tsubaki vs Hazama round 2. Tsubaki wins. Jin one ups her later
• Wham Line: The end of chapter 22.
  Tsubaki: “What happens then?”
  Hazama: “Your execution.”
  • Near the end of chapter 24.
  Soon enough, the assault ended and Trinity Glassfield was no more.
  • Harsher in Hindsight when you know what happens in Chronophantasma.
• What the Hell, Hero?: He's called out for losing Tsubaki, going insane against a defenseless Carl who's begging for life, and beginning to turn into the Black Beast due to anger. Given the source, it also qualifies as Irony.
• Who Wants to Live Forever?: Rachel briefly touches on this in an early conversation with Hakumen. Hakumen dies at Izanami's hands after slaying Take-Mikazuchi.

Tropes associated with In Time's Eyes

• Big Damn Heroes: Mai's Dynamic Entry saving Makoto and Kajun from Relius.
• Chekhov's Gun: As mentioned in Super Mode above, particularly the bit about Superpowered Evil Side: Tsubaki goes Ax-Crazy with grief over her father's death, in spite of warnings from Amane about the possibility.
• Emotionless Girl: Nu's clearly very out of sorts; even Ragna can't perk her up...
• Killed Off for Real: In chapter 3, both Tsubaki's dad and Valkenhayn fall. Cue Inelegant Blubbering from Rachel and Tsu at the end of Chapter 5 when they find them.
• Revenge Before Reason: Tsubaki goes after Belioz for the above. Kagura tries to calm her down when she storms into the family mansion. She tries to kill him even though he has nothing to do with it.
  • Knight Templar: Acts just like CP era canon Tsubaki, with a generous helping of Ax-Crazy and Blood Knight to boot. Even Ragna is freaked out.
• Take a Third Option: Unwilling to let Kokonoe do the job and unwilling to wait for Rachel, Makoto suggests handing Nu over to Kajun; Tsubaki hasn't seen her since the academy, and had no idea she was working for Sector Seven.
• Was Once a Man: Relius is More Machine Now Than Man.

Tropes associated with side materials

• Buffy Speak: Ragna describes his makeshift grill as a “stick cooking thingy”
• Did They or Didn't They?: Despite their claims to the contrary, they did.
• Mundane Utility: Ragna needs to catch fish in chapter 2 of OTSAM. He uses Dead Spike to accomplish this. And then has Tsubaki transform Izayoi into a short knife to gut them.