#leryngitis

🫰3.) In what ways do you like to participate in your ship? Do you have a favorite piece of merch/art/writing featuring your f/o? Do you engage with your ship IRL by taking a token of them along on outings?

Obviously I engage with this ship by playing the DOA games, which helps as it’s a hyperfixations atm. I’m always trying to strive at being better at playing Ryu and Hayate/Ein, trying to execute crazy combos against the CPU, and also trying to pull off their more ridiculous command throws. I have a similar philosophy with the Ninja Gaiden Games even if Hayate doesn’t actually appear in those games, I try to use the Dual Katanas which is the combo of the Genshin’s Sword and Hayate’s Sword. 

Another way to engage with this polyship is… putting together silly video game music videos of them which is extremely fun to do. I’m not good with editing but golly it’s so fun when the footage you’ve put together flows seamlessly.

Regarding the actual DOA/NG fandom there is some fanworks of the two. I’m do believe that Hayate and Ryu work more as friends, but I don’t mind them being paired together either. But the following writings I do like are the following.

Crippled and Crossroads by Calico Kat.

Valleys of the Dead by Lonewalker, which is NG II but Hayate doing the remaining fiend clean up after Ryu’s carnage :P

The Spring Gathering by WonderlandSyndrome. Sadly there’s only two chapters but god they have Hayate and Ayane’s sibling relationship down to a T (hayate is a bad influence on ayane lmao)

IDK if this counts as fanwork. But shout out to the DOA6 blood effects mods, especially the Hayate one, since well… I don't think he’s ever going to physically be playable in a Ninja Gaiden game :(

My favourite pieces of art of Ryu and Hayate, is literally しんじ@デブ’s entire DOA/NG art collection on PIXIV. If I had to pick specific artworks, it would be any work with Ryu covered in blood, the DOA Xtreme Gaiden Art Parody, and the sketch of Hayate plaiting Ryu’s Hair (it’s sooo cute). Shoutout to the gorgeous illustrations of evilwizardval who’s transfem!Hayate art unlocked a part of my brain that made me go ‘OH. Oh I can totally see that’ (which I mean it’s now my headcanon ahshshhs) and this piece by Iulia Crimson on Artstation.

I don’t necessarily have an irl token of them/or an item that reminds me of them, but I do have two pieces of hand created merch, in which I screen printed the Mugen Tenshin Symbol on a black shirt and a pair of white jean shorts (to mimic Hayate’s Deluxe Outfit in DOA6).

I have worn the shirt a few times (I wore it at a recent convention!), but I have yet to properly wear the jean shorts. I plan on making a print with the Hayabusa Clan emblem but just haven’t found the appropriate clothing item to put it on yet.

🫰8.) What are some common tropes you could use to label your ship at a glance?

You are opening a big Pandora’s box, you know that right? /jks. 

A pretty straight forward trope for this ship is the whole 'Forbidden Secret Polyamorous relationship’, at least to the Mugen Tenshin and Hayabusa Clans until post-DOA6.   Ridley is eventually slowly introduced to each clan, but that’s not without controversy in these communities.  These ninja clans have survived colonization due to their isolationist policies.  So you know. It’s not a very warm welcome at all for Ridley.  It does take time for them to warm up to her and even then there would be reservations but they would never be malicious in their hostility towards such an unconventional relationship. 

On the flip side at least Ryu and Hayate are like the perfect folks to take home to meet the parents.  Other tropes include childhood friends to lovers (Hayate and Ryu), acquaintances to friends to lovers (Hayate and Ridley) and strangers to lovers (Ryu and Ridley).

If we’re talking about extremely specific tv tropes for this ship, then the ones that appear the most are ‘longing looks’, ‘hands-on approach’, ‘enter stage window’, ‘I didn’t mean to turn you on’, ‘love confessor’ and ‘after action patch up’.  This is just a shortlist, and of course there’s more nuance to this triad’s relationship with each other, but these tropes show up the most when I think about the trio.  I would have liked to include the ‘battle throuple’ trope but unfortunately none of the warriors games feature a playable Hayate and nor has DOA given the opportunity to fight Victor Donovan in hand-to-hand combat yet. So this trope gets left on the cutting room floor sadly.

More of a… NSFW-ish answer but also. so much implied threesome subtext. To the point it becomes actual text…. sorry.

If the ship was canon, DOA6 would absolutely lampshade it in the ‘Trivia’ side content, which is really just character vignettes that are written like script format fanfiction.  The article would be titled ‘Tag Team…?’ It would specifically go like this:

Helena Douglas: So Ridley, would you prefer taking on Hayate or Hayabusa in a fight? Ridley Rosé: Oh, Helena, you should know me better! I can take on both! Helena: Helena: You mean in a fight right? Ridley: ;)

Yeah um.... Feel free to hit me with the 'go to horny jail' bat.

💌 9.) Who was the first to say "I love you", and what were the circumstances? Did it happen innocuously, or was it terrifying for the one to say it (maybe even the one to hear it)? Was the sentiment mutual?

I know QP relationships don’t involve romance, but I feel the time when Ryu and Hayate verbalise/define their relationship is when Hayate sees Ryu off for his revenge against Doku, just as he dons the legendary black falcon armour for the first time. The exchange is sentimental, a shared confession of “I love you and I will help you carry the burdens of the world that rest on your shoulders.” Just something sappy like that.

Hayate was the one to tell Ridley “I love you”, after telling her his plans of taking down DOATEC before the events of DOA4.  The build up towards this is all the times they’ve been hanging out, and Hayate knows he’s breaking clan rules by doing so, but Ryu knew it would ruin Hayate emotionally to cut out a person like Ridley who was in his corner during the events of the second tournament, when Ryu himself couldn’t be there. In the time spent sparring and just generally hanging out to get to know each other, Hayate appreciates that Ridley has no expectations of her.  For once she can put aside clan responsibilities and live in the moment.  Ridley sees her as human, more than just a tool for violence.  That’s why Hayate fell for her. 

Ridley is taken aback by Hayate’s confession, and when the pro-wrestler doesn’t say anything, Hayate thinks she doesn’t fully reciprocate those feelings, and as he turns to leave, she grabs him by the arm and kisses him.  I know it’s cliche as fuck but I am not immune to the trope of grabbing your love interest by the arm and kissing them. Let me have this one /lh.  But yeah um Ridley isn’t sure how to express her feelings (zero romantic relationship experience lmao), but she is so grateful to have met Hayate because she doesn’t have to pretend to be someone else.  She can be her true more introverted self around Hayate, as opposed to the loud character she plays in the squared circle.  (FYI, Ridley has been told prior by Hayate that he has a QP relationship with Ryu and that it’s also an open one, and Ryu does know Hayate has feelings for Ridley as well, and is okay with them seeing each other). 

Explaining Ryu’s feelings and messy confession to Ridley is going to need some set up, but essentially hours after DOA5, Hayate, Ayane and Ryu stop by Ridley’s apartment as a temporary rest stop, because really they’ve spent at least a whole week or more chasing down Victor Donovan’s old loose ends of DOATEC (now M.I.S.T.). Before this, Ryu started gaining feelings for Ridley because of her bond with Hayate, and since she’s special to Hayate, by extension she’s important to Ryu.  Initially back in Post-DOA2 and DOA3 Ryu just thought it was a good thing to allow Hayate to see Ridley, and in the times he and Hayate meet up, xe does talk about her.  

Ryu didn’t think much of this, brushing it off as more immense respect and reverence for the Australian being in Hayate’s corner as support when he himself could not. It isn’t until DOA4/Ninja Gaiden 3 that he realises he is attracted to Ridley.  But he buries those feelings down because it just feels… wrong to pine for the same woman his other partner is in love with, even with the agreed upon open relationship.  It probably doesn’t help that he was trained to be a ninja from birth, and there is emphasis on suppressing your emotions to be a more ‘effective warrior’. There is an additional baggage that associating with Ryu kinda puts a target on your back, so there’s extra reasons why Ryu doesn’t let Hayate know about his feelings for Ridley.

Back on track, Ryu and Ridley do have a conversation over some food, it’s the first time Ridley has seen the Dragon Ninja with his helmet and mask off.  She mentions she’s never seen him without it on, and they have a back and forth about it, which is detailed here.  At some point, the topic of Hayate comes up, and Ridley, nervously, brings up the whole ‘open relationship’ thing, and asks Ryu if he’s ‘okay’ with her and Hayate seeing each other.  Now for as much as she knows they’re in an open relationship, and that “Ryu is okay with this arrangement”, she’s never really been told by Hayate what Ryu actually thinks, and takes this opportunity to hear what the Dragon Ninja thinks/feels in this moment.  She wants to avoid conflict, and the only way to do so is by actually communicating as Hayate’s partners.

She never expected to hear the following from Ryu Hayabusa, who states “I’m grateful that you have been there for him when I could not. With all the things she’s told me about you, and how you see her as more than a shinobi, it’s fair to say it was only a matter of time for you to get together.” Ridley is taken aback because to her this is like THE ultimate ninja.  Who has known Hayate since childhood, is their ‘life partner’, who should for all intents and purposes should at least have doubts and has a right to be jealous, but isn’t. 

Ryu’s confession of love is… vague?  He doesn’t directly say ‘I love you’, but he does use his confession as a way to ease Ridley’s concerns of potential conflict or jealousy, saying: “If you fear competition for his affection, then you’re mistaken,” after that he lifts her chin up, and states: “You’re important to Hayate, and by extension, you’re important to me.” Should mention that he’s sort of a little close to Ridley, and from a certain angle it looks like Ryu is close to kissing her.  Which makes it even more awkward when Hayate walks into the kitchen and interrupts such a moment, and even then xe is taken back by Ryu being a little too close to Ridley, and he would quickly realise that Ryu’s maybe been keeping some secrets from them.

Ridley doesn’t reciprocate Ryu’s feelings at the start. Now she is physically attracted to him upon finally seeing what he looks like under the mask.  But she can’t really comprehend why Ryu would take an interest in her.  It kinda throws her perspective of Ryu’s and Hayate’s relationship through a whole other loop, she genuinely feels she’s intruded upon it and potentially ruined/tainted their QP relationship too. 

Hayate does reassure her that she’s done nothing wrong and that he is going to seek answers for Ryu’s behavior.  Ryu and Hayate talk it out afterwards, and Ryu does somberly confess he’s gained feelings for Ridley Rosé.  Eventually after some back-and-forth, and a brief kiss as an apology, both come to the conclusion that they’re fools for not being more communicative with each other.  That Hayate should have allowed more space for Ryu to vocalise his feelings, and at least made it so that Ryu could feel comfortable in telling them he had developed feelings for Ridley too.  Ryu should have been more honest to Hayate, even if he didn’t feel comfortable in harboring an interest in their life partner’s girlfriend.

The trio do eventually sit down and take time to iron out the relationship boundaries and dynamics with each other, and all mutually agree to at least give polyamory a try. It isn’t until the events of Warriors All-Stars in which Ryu and Ridley are dragged into a whole different world. It gives the two time to get closer and Ridley develops proper romantic feelings for Ryu. It’s mostly discussed in  this post here, but after a good chunk of time after that whole adventure, Ridley does gain the courage to say “I love you” to Ryu, which catches him off guard and causes his stoic exterior to melt for a moment while in her presence.

Um.. for a final joint confession, there is an exchange between the trio after the events of of the sixth tournament, where Ridley is given an unexpected phone call from Helena Douglas to go to a specific hospital, as Hayate’s sister Ayane had to be hospitalized, as conventional Mugen Tenshin medical resources were not working, as Ayane had lost a lot of her blood via transfused into a cybernetic abomination that was a resurrected Raidou. Ryu is there because he tagged along with Helena, Bayman, Marie Rose (no relation to Ridley) and an unconscious Honoka to the hospital, who went through the same thing as Ayane. Ridley ditches whatever post-tournament celebrations are occurring that night, and instead heads for the hospital via motorcycle. 

When she makes it and meets the shinobi duo who are anxiously awaiting a briefing on the purple kunoichi’s health status, she embraces them in a very brief group hug. Ridley does eventually hold each shinobi’s hand intertwining her fingers with theirs, and simply says "I'm glad you're both okay, I know its silly to be worried for both your safety due to your capabilities as shinobi, but I love you both so much I can't help but be worried for the both of you." They appreciate this, Ryu responding in tow giving her a forehead kiss and Hayate kissing the back of her hand that's holding theirs.

There is an inverse version but i want to make that it's own post, plus answering this question has gone on for a long while so i have to cut it short here sorry. but yeah um Hayate and Ryu are quite devoted to Ridley, in a way that brings them kinda closer actually. sorry for such a long section like. god. writing this part was a struggle. /lh.

🌹1.) What terms of endearment do you and your f/o use for each other? Are there any particular nick/petnames that get used depending on specific contexts?

I had to do some research into this and it turns out that in Japanese culture there really aren’t exact terms of endearment like how in the West we use ‘darling, baby, honey, beloved’ etc. It’s more about language and social cues, and even then the closest thing is using honorifics, but as a white person I don't exactly feel comfortable having myself or even my self insert be referred to with such honorifics. Idk it just feels weird. 

That said, I do believe that since the Hayabusa and Mugen Tenshin Ninja Clans have isolated themselves for so long without colonisation, that I think they would have their own dialects and terms of endearment in their own respective cultures. It’s just that I don’t have any proper ‘demonstrations’ of such but know that they do exist! Aside from that Ryu and Hayate would also use usual western terms of endearment for Ridley, like ‘darling’ (big fan of this word!), ‘dear’ and ‘doll’ (it’s a little old fashioned, and only used in a private setting).

Another headcanon I have is that Hayate knows a little bit of German (due to his time in Germany as Ein), and so Hayate would use some Germanic terms of endearment for Ridley and Ryu. She mostly defaults to using the term ‘Leibling’ (meaning Darling) when referring to both Ridley and Ryu, although sometimes she refers to Ryu as ‘Schatz’ (meaning Treasure). 

Ridley uses the Irish term of endearment, ‘a rúnsarc’ for both of them which means ‘beloved’ or in some cases ‘secret love’. She does also use ‘dear’, ‘honey’, beloved’ as well for both shinobi. Many of these are used in private settings, simply because it does visibly identify to rival ninja clans and enemies that these are weaknesses of the shinobi and Ridley to some extent that they can exploit.

🌹8.) Do you and your f/o enjoy kissing? What circumstances do you most often share a kiss? What spots do either of you like to kiss the most? If kisses are a no, how else do you two show affection?

So.. the trio do like kissing, although most of the time it’s usually in more private settings, like morning kisses or kisses at breakfast, late night kisses on Ridley’s apartment balcony before the Shinobi leave to return to their respective villages. 

The most common places where Hayate and Ryu kiss Ridley are the neck, behind the ear, cheek, forehead, shoulder, the knuckles and the back of her hand. They also kiss on the parts of her body that have tattoos on them. I know tattoos are taboo in Japanese culture but anyone with critical thinking skills can tell that Ridley isn't a yakuza. That said she's usually responsible enough to cover them up in public settings anyways. But in a private, more intimate setting? Both shinobi are unapologetically affectionate when it comes to kissing Ridley’s tattoos.

Ridley kisses them in similar, almost the same places as previously listed, but sometimes she will include kissing them on the bridge of their nose, their back (in more.. ‘intimate’ settings), their stomach and just below the collar bone. There are also scar kisses, but that’s mostly in relation to the scars on Ryu’s body (mostly a very large yet faded scar on his back, but there are smaller ones too.)