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newspropaganda · 2 months ago

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Zexal: Why It's not good after 11 years later.

Oh, here we go—2025 is right around the corner, and we still have people proclaiming that Zexal is "peak fiction," as if it's some holy grail of storytelling. Yeah, sure, it's peak alright—peak fanboy delusion! And don’t even start on the guilt-tripping. Because apparently, if you have the audacity to say you’re not a fan, you’re branded as some kind of villain, as if you’re about to start building walls of Zexal DVDs to keep yourself safe from all these so-called enlightened "fans." The way they act, you’d think critiquing it was some unforgivable sin. But no, sorry, disliking a Yu-Gi-Oh! spinoff doesn't make you the second coming of an internet troll.

Exactly! People should have the right to dislike that dumpster fire without getting roasted for it. Criticizing Zexal should be as normal as calling out 5D's for the clunky Fortune Cup arc or ripping into GX Season 4 for that top-tier lousy writing. But no, some people act like it's blasphemy if you even dare question Zexal’s so-called greatness. It's like they’re convinced that the only way to boost Zexal is by throwing 5D's under the bus—like we’re back in some Star Wars prequels-vs.-sequels debate nightmare.

Look, not everyone’s going to love 5D's, but they sure as hell don’t need to bash it just to keep Zexal afloat. We’re allowed to point out the flaws in both without being labeled heretics. So, yeah, let's keep those critiques coming and stop pretending Zexal is untouchable.

The problem with Zexal? Oh, buckle up, because it’s mostly a mess because it tries so hard to be all about story but completely forgets to make the characters actually worth caring about. Yuma? Too dense to develop in any meaningful way—he's like a perpetual toddler who needs Astral to babysit him every five seconds. Astral’s entire job is basically to say, “No, Yuma, don’t touch that, that’s not how it works,” while Yuma fumbles around like he’s never held a Duel Disk in his life.

And as if the story wasn’t bad enough, it’s like a sludge pipe burst all over the script. Just when you think they’re about to clean up this narrative train wreck, more plot gets dumped on you, like you’re drowning in bad decisions and cringe-worthy monologues that refuse to end. It’s exhausting, honestly. The “story-driven” approach only works if the story’s actually good, but in Zexal, it’s just...a constant, unfiltered deluge of plot puke that never stops coming.

Ratings—that’s the real kicker, isn’t it? People love to throw around this nonsense about 5D's being canceled because of "bad ratings." Total myth, but it became the go-to excuse back in the 2010s. Meanwhile, Zexal got split into two parts because, let’s be real, Zexal I was a hard sell. Fans were lukewarm at best, and that’s putting it kindly. But then along came Zexal II, and, boy, did it crank up the "Saturday morning cheese" to max—like we were back in 2007 watching every cartoon getting mangled by cheap slapstick and shallow twists.

Zexal I was at least...bearable, if uninspired. But Zexal II? It just couldn’t stop piling on the fluff, the clichés, the endless padding. It’s like they thought, “Hey, let’s double down on what wasn’t working!” And somehow, that’s what got propped up in ratings, while 5D's got dragged through the mud for no good reason. Makes you wonder if Zexal was just a victim of that era’s worst habits.

Anyway, Zexal can't save itself out of a paper bag let alone be a so called ''masterpiece'' as these dick fanboys claim it.

#yugioh #ygo #yugioh zexal #ygo zexal #zexal

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dialovers-translations · 4 years ago

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Diabolik Lovers GRAND EDITION for Switch ;; More, Blood ー Yuma Ecstasy [Prologue]

Monologue

By the time I was finally released from the punishment room,

I had made two more comrades,

aside from Kou.

One smart and dependable guy,

and another fellow who’s kinda creepy and always covered in scars,

but somehow I can’t bring myself to ignore him.

It felt somewhat different from my relationship with Boss and the others,

but strangely enough,

I genuinely thought of these dudes as my companions.

I’m sure it’s because we all had the same goal.

The four of us gathered together,

and came up with a plan to escape this Hell.

And one evening,

we finally made up our minds.

Bear: When are we putting this plan into action?

Ruki: Tomorrow evening. We won’t take any luggage with us. Leave everything behind. Understood?

Kou: Yeah!

Bear: Roger.

Azusa: If you guys…say so…

Bear: ( I don’t know if my luck is good or bad, but I survived till now. )

( Boss, I’ve made up my mind. I’ll take your dream upon me instead. )

( I’ll change this country, so please wait just a little longer. )

( ...To fulfill said dream, I’ll definitely escape this place. )

( Don’t worry. Right now, I have comrades who are just about as reliable as you guys were. )

( I’m sure...It’ll go well. )

*TIMESKIP*

Bear: ( ...In just a few more hours, the night will fall. )

( We can’t get our timing wrong. We won’t get a second chance if our plan is exposed. ...We only get one shot. )

( Right, I should prepare to set the fiーー )

Youngster: ...! Oi, you!

Bear: ( ...Che, did he find out!? )

Youngster: I knew it! Thank god, you survived!

Bear: ...? Who are you?

Orphan A: It’s me, Leo! I lived in the village next to yours! We often went fishing in the past, remember?

Bear: Leo...?

Orphan A: Well, we were still children, so I guess I can’t blame you for not remembering. We’ve both changed as well. I didn’t recognize you at first glance either.

But I was worried about you this whole time. After what happened to your village...Your home was burnt to the ground as well.

Bear: Burnt...?

( What’s this? It rings a bell... )

( ...Right! That dream! When Boss had only just picked me up, I would often have dreams about fires! )

( Don’t tell me, this is a guy I knew in the past I can’t recall...!? )

Say, Leo! There’s something I want to asーー!

*THUD*

Orphan A: Guah...!?

*Thud*

Bear: ...!? Oi!

Orphan A: ...Uu...

Bear: Fuck...What do you think you’re doing, bastard!?

Gang Boss: Excuse me? ...Isn’t that my line? Right, Bear?

Bear: ...Che, look who’s back. You’ve made your return earlier than I expected.

Gang Boss: Thanks to you, yeah. (1)

Bear: What do you want now? Have you come to get beaten to pulp?

Gang Boss: Yeah, exactly. Howeverーー

You are the one who’ll end up beaten and bruised!

Bear: ...You’ve gathered some comrades because you know you can’t win by yourself? Whether you bring nobody or a whole gang, the end result won’t change.

Gang Boss: ...Per usual, you know how to run your mouth.

Anyway, your prolonged life ends right here. It’s been quite a while since your Boss died, but time has finally come.

Bear: You piece of shit...Why today out of all days!? You’ve got shit timing.

Gang Boss: Enough talking! Your beloved Boss is waiting for you in the afterlife!

Bear: Che...!

Kou: ーー Bear!!

Bear: Kou!?

Ruki: We were wondering what was taking you so long, but what are you doing!?

Bear: Don’t blame me! They’re the ones who started this!

Kou: I’m pretty sure you take some blame too though.

Ruki: That doesn’t matter! Hurry up and finish your quarrel! If we let this chance slip by, we’re done for!

Bear: Oh, I’m well...aware!

*THUD*

Ruki: In that case, we’ll use this commotion to our advantage. Kou, you light the fire instead!

Kou: Roger!

Ruki: I’ll lure in the guards from one side. You guys make as much of a fuss as you can! However, make sure they don’t get the upper hand on you!

When I give you the signal, we’ll dash through the gate at once! Understood!?

Bear: Piece of cake!

Azusa: Can I be the one getting punched...?

Bear: That’s no option! We’re gonna be the ones doing the punching! ーー Let’s go!!

Monologue

ーー In the end, the plan we spent days setting up,

did not go as planned.

However, luck was on our side,

and we succeeded,

at making our escape from that Hellhole.

ーー Spread out in front of my eyes once outside,

was an almost transluscent blue sky.

Seems like it is sunny out today.

It has been a while since I gazed up at the sky.

Perhaps that is why, the usual blue sky and white clouds,

seemed extremely beautiful for some reason.

I couldn’t help but think,

that the world is beautiful.

We may have escaped prison,

but the world we would have to live in now,

is most definitely rotten.

I will change this country, change the world.

For that reason, I desperately kept on running.

Regardless, the clear blue skies,

were so beautiful, every time I raised my head,

I somehow grew emotional.

ー The flashback ends as the scene shifts to the living room

Ruki: How have things been going as of late?

Yuma: ...No change, really.

Ruki: You’ve been sucking her blood, no? Have you not been experiencing any signs? Of Adam?

Yuma: ...Don’t think so? Not sure tho.

Ruki: ...Yuma.

Yuma: Shut up, I know! Stop remindin’ me over and over, it’s annoyin’!

Ruki: ...Are you rushing?

Yuma: ...

Ruki: Rushing will not make you Adam. That is up to Eve’s blood to decide.

Yuma: ...I know that shit.

Ruki: Then don’t rush. Even if you are in a hurry, it will not benefit the situation.

However...I am sure you are aware that things cannot remain like this forever?

Our objective is not to become Adam. It is to return our favor to that man by doing so.

If you continue to not show any signs of awakening, then we’llーー

Yuma: Don’t say that!!

Ruki: ...Judging by your reaction, seems like you have realized as well. Yuma. ...That we are unable of becoming Adam.

*TIMESKIP*

Ruki: ...Either way, I’m glad you seem to understand at least. Either way, I am not asking you to act upon this right away.

However, as soon as we receive an order from that man, I will take action as well. Do not forget that.

ー Ruki steps away

Yuma: ...Givin’ her to those Sakamaki’s? Don’t be kiddin’ me.

...I will become Adam.

No way I’ll let those damn rich people steal Boss’ dream as well...!

ー The scene shifts to the kitchen

*Chop chop chop*

Yui: ( ...There we go. Now I just have to put all the ingredients inside and let it simmer. )

( Ah, right. I’ll add the cabbage we got from Yuma-kun’s garden the other daーー )

*Rustle*

ー The screen suddenly fades to black

Yui: Eh!?

( W-What!? Things suddenly went dark...Hold on, somebody is covering my eyes!? )

Yuma: Keep still.

Yui: That voice, Yuma-kuーーNn!

( He covered my mouth as well...! )

ー Yuma bites her

Yuma: Hah...Nn...

Yui: Ah, ow...!

( W-Why did he suddenly bite me...!? )

Yuma: Nn...Nn...!

Haah...This side’s up next...Don’t ya dare tense up.

Yui: ( N-No...What is he doing!? I can’t tell since I can’t see a thing!. ...I’m scared...! )

Nn, nnnn...!

Yuma: ...Che, you’re so noisy. But it’s no use. Stay like that.

A humans’ remainin’ senses grow more sensitive when one is lost, right?

So by taking yer vision like this, I’ll make ya focus on only my fangs.

I’d love to take yer hearing too but...Nn...

Yui: ...! Nn...!

Yuma: I’m pretty sure it’ll be more effective...If I let ya listen to the sound of me devourin’ ya, mixed in with yer own sounds.

*Rustle*

Yui: ...Hah...Hah...!

Yuma: There ya go. I’ll release yer mouth. ...Cry out all ya want.

Come on, concentrate. Focus on only yer ears and body.

My fangs are the only thing you’re allowed to feel.

If ya feel it with yer whole body, ya should figure out that I’m Adam already. Right...!?

*Thud*

Yui: ...Ah...!

Yuma: ...Hurry up...Hurry up and realize, Eve...!

Hurry up and make me Adam...!

Monologue

ーー Ever since that day,

Yuma-kun became more aggressive than ever.

His irritation continued visibly growing,

and all of said frustration was pointed directly,

at my skin.

The bite marks which increased with each passing day,

made me experience his impatience first hand.

ーー TO BE CONTINUED ーー

Translation notes

(1) おかげさま or ‘okage sama’ is usually used to thank someone for their help, but in this context, it is obviously meant in a sarcastic way.

→ LIKE MY TRANSLATIONS? SUPPORT ME ON KO-FI!

<- [ Maniac Epilogue ] [ Ecstasy 01 ] ->

#diabolik lovers #dialovers #yuma mukami #more blood #diabolik lovers translation #mbyumaecstasyprolog

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sugar-petals · 5 years ago

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Can u introduce yuzuru to us the caro way?👀

so you want to know about the one and only. ♡😌

yuzuru hanyū (25) of sendai, japan: the most beautiful ice prince with a heart of gold.

….an artist clearly not of this world, he’s been sent to us from another realm. 19 world records, two olympics won, dubbed the greatest figure skater of all time. and the most precious bean on top of that.

but let’s start from the beginning, shall we ♥︎

so, want to spot yuzu on the ice? use this checklist. slender silhouette, an even slimmer waist, feather-like outfits (he sketches those himself; the fandom lovingly calls him swanyu), soft blushy face. he has great androgyny.

outside of performances, you see him either with a deer’s gaze or the brightest, biggest eye smile. also, he’s usually found sitting with his wife:

which is the ice 😄 these two are together forever. you can discern yuzu from a mile away by how he treats his working ground.

there is a purity to him. you’d not guess that this is one of the most ardent athletes if you didn’t see what’s around his neck after competitions. the guy’s cuteness is as compelling as his skating technique.

look for it: yuzu’s face is super suave and rosy up close, even after his most energetic performances. some men are handsome, others pretty, he is both.

even acoustically, he’s hard to miss. applause is all around, and he’s highly expressive. if you see a crying young man getting the high score, that’s yuzuru hanyu. you’ve not seen more beautiful happy tears.

and score reactions, anyway:

so, aye loves, the rumors are true. a cutie-pie off the ice, animated, a real unabashed meme — yuzu is easy-going, talkative. cheery, cheeky, one of a kind. his facial expressions are a league of their own.

if you thought this is the sort of guy who watches cat videos, you are correct 😄

yuz-uwu hanyu, everybody:

his undoubtedly feline behaviour is often unexpected, it stands out with its adorableness, too. a sweetheart par excellence.

and, how else could it be: vice versa, the big beast on the rink. he’s cutesy, dorky, very well-spoken in daily life, but when it comes to skating, his seriousness escalates. you blink once and suddenly hanyu is a bedazzling, strutting lion :’D his performances stun with confident elegance.

he becomes full of ardor, drama, and focus. you’d never suspect so much fire burns in him. a showman and ambition icon, hands down.

his skating is dynamic, perfected, and emotional. if you want to see art and the extra mile, tune in when hanyu competes.

the downside is; more light, more shadow. it leaves him crawling on the ice afterwards. yuzu performs so hard, it’s worrying.

he delivers it all. you won’t believe it:

this guy is an asthmatic.

the symptoms aren’t as bad as they used to be, but there are still regular attacks. he said that he’ll never take it as an excuse and often recalls how he started skating because of it. he’s a badass, extremely inspiring. yuzuru defies all limits, including gravity. his jumps have legendary status.

off the rink, you guessed it: he turns into a wholly different person.

it all dissolves completely when he’s dorking around again.

don’t let it deceive you, he’s the no other option than first place type. he could not be any more decorated with titles, he achieved the grand slam in all competitions as of 2020. and still, king of sportsmanship hanyu is respectful and smiley towards all colleagues and never lets anyone feel left out. especially when it comes to his juniors (e.g. yuma kagiyama, 16, below) which says a lot about him.

he bows in every direction before an audience, too. lower than a 90° angle, even. this is more polite than any existing formality in japan.

talk about audience: i introduced fellow japanese skater shoma uno last week, who’s more uncomfortable with social contact and aggression. yuzu, extrovert he is: the exact opposite. he withers away with no people and competition. he’s befriended rivals, had crises over not having someone who could challenge him. when a competitor retires, he’s the one crying in their arms (e.g. with team mate and bff javier fernandez from spain below).

beside his competitive spirit and princely wow factor, hanyu is popular for his winnie pooh tissue box that he caresses, squeezes, and carries everywhere. he loves good luck charms & rituals, pooh is the most important one.

fans throw pooh plushies on the ice after his performances because of it. since it’s gotten so intense, yuzu recently started cleaning them up himself on top of the flower girls for the upcoming skater who could get delayed otherwise. (more about what happens with the piles of plushies later.)

so, the burning question is.

what made yuzuru hanyu emerge so outstanding an entertainer? how does someone causing so much uproar become like that? it’s not just what kind of appearance he was given, although he really looks his part to a T. you don’t have to be an insider to see it right away.

like literally to a fault. and you can tell the way his blades sound on the ice is different. it’s soft even if he does the most hardcore quadruple jumps. i think it’s because his drive to do this is a higher one, hanyu has an altered relationship with the ice. where his devotion comes from has a more severe reason so, massive trigger warning.

this is no exaggeration: yuzuru is considered a hero to the japanese. a survivor of the earthquake 2011, he narrowly escaped the collapsing rink in his hometown on that very day. he’s often talked about how the ice shattered underneath his feet and it was the moment that defined his life forever. he could have been dead by the age of 16. his motivation has been set ever since. this man is compelled by something bigger, that’s why you hear it and you feel it. he wants to skate not just for himself but others and seize every day.

youtube

much of his copious charity work — that’s where all the pooh plushies go — went to mend the consequences of the tsunami ever since, he’s looked upon as a great hope in japan. the minister gave him the people’s honor award in 2018.

now you know why yuzuru has such a fanbase and treats the ice as sacred, you see it in every gesture. his manners are without a single flaw, he helps staff repair the ice after performances.

you might think it’s odd, but he honors the ground. he’s invested in the integrity of it. that’s why he’s the best skater. it’s gratitude and the will to live fully.

he hates to fall on the ice, he hates to damage it. alongside his feathery weight, that’s why the sound he makes while gliding along is so tender.

i think that’s also why hanyu’s signature element is the ina bauer. it doesn’t rely on brutal force, instead this element slides across the rink like a swan. yeah, oh my god.

it’s his most well-known dramatic move. the way he surrenders into it.

hanyu’s back arch and perfect split allow him to do elements no other male skaters can. his biellmann spin, for instance. i know, it’s ridiculous.

and those are just two elements of dozens and dozens. hanyu is a kinetic wizard. i highly rec this record-breaking delivery of his olympic program. in front of his home crowd! he’s just… mind-boggling. i live for his smiles here.

youtube

exceptional skater, exceptional mentor: it’s time we look at another puzzle piece that made yuzu the way he is. the masterful brian orser is hanyu’s beloved coach. missing gold by just one mistake at the olympics 1988, brian is now committed to give others what he couldn’t have— successfully so.

orser took the ice prince to gold twice, this hasn’t happened in 66 years. brian is the nicest and most supportive pooh carrier and yuzu’s utmost rock. hanyu’s talent rests safely in these hands.

he gets strict about punctuality lmao! but other than that, his guidance is gentle. canadian he is, brian’s courteousness mixes well with yuzu’s politeness. their bond is strong. as. hell.

brian picked up yuzu from rock bottom several times. most fateful being hanyu’s accident with a fellow skater during competition warm-ups nov 2014. they collided at a high speed, it was unspeakably nasty. yuzu got knocked out for half a minute and had grave breathing problems but still decided to skate on with what later turned out as an almost-concussion. brian was the most worried ice dad in the world that day.

yuzu cried and crouched and bled like mad and my heart has been broken ever since. i hope he never suffers like that again. promise me you don’t search up the video, it’s a harrowing watch like a stab to the chest. sadly enough, hanyu’s body has still been a notorious wreck, esp. ankle issues regularly give him a hard time 😔

it hurts like a bitch with every jump landing but he takes meds and still manages to win, god knows how. sometimes even with crutches on the podium. at his worst, he’s still the best, it’s a tragedy.

he’s been recovering, or always is, but he pushes himself through injuries. his ambition and perfectionism are boundless. the cause is more important to him than his well-being. this is not an easy guy to stan once you see how he sacrifices and self-destructs. so, it’s good someone protects him.

mostly from himself because nobody has profoundly surpassed hanyu. he has let himself no choice than to contest himself. not even health, only age can stop yuzu. i think that brian understands this ‘curse of a genius’ effect. his mere presence can make hanyu say these rare words:

his two other coaches contribute to that. tracy wilson (left) has proven to understand his playful side the best while ghislain briand (right) helps yuzuru deal with his fears. so you got 3 people taking care of the golden boy. brian once said: “he is very sheltered” and you can see it’s true.

yuzu eased into learning english and communicates well with his coaches. like with everything, he studies hard and often forces himself to speak during interviews to practice. his skills are astounding. his speaking voice is also very soothing, very amicably low and high alike. yuzu is highly intelligent. he always says something eloquent and interesting.

now, privately, hanyu is very much like you’d expect someone so devoted to skating would be like. he doesn’t go out, has no social media, can’t eat nor sleep very well. no cameras allowed during practice. it figures he is attached to winnie pooh, think about it. in the cartoon, pooh is someone who sleeps, eats, and engages with friends plenty.

these are the things hanyu can’t do, doesn’t have time/energy/incentive for. he is barred from balance in life but can at least admire this little carefree plushie for it. especially because pooh represents eating lots while yuzuru doesn’t have a good relationship with food (he says it doesn’t go well with jumps etc.), hanyu lives vicariously through him.

what’s more, you have to see how he throws himself onto others and never wants to let go, yuzuru is extremely cuddly.

to the degree that mere social customs can’t meet how much he really needs. so, what else can he resort to, he loves mascots and plushies. it’s how the tale goes in japan generally, tough work ethic, high responsibility, high pressure, so people turn to cute fluffy things.

he always fondles pooh’s head, even pretends he’s come to life so he has someone to snuggle with. i think that his isolated lifestyle doesn’t help. so, he gets his affection at least there, you can see how happy it makes him. and again: he does this all for charity.

that’s why fellow skaters are so important to hanyu. it really brings out his social spirit and comforts him best, it’s so wholesome. i’ve not seen someone react so relieved to being embraced, like he’s not been touched for months. skating this, skating that. at the end of the day, hanyu wants love.

as he once said, what motivates him is to express himself in the first place. hanyu is a romantic. it’s written all over him. it reflects in his music choices, his elegant motion, how he designs his outfits:

… and how thoughtfully he talks about marriage. he has big plans for starting a family and coaching after he retires. i won’t be the only one squeezing lucky charm pooh in my imagination so it turns out well for him. please make this heart of gold heal and see all his wishes come true ♡🐻

#thank you for attending this talk ❄️⛸#i need a moment this was emotional #figure skating #yuzuru hanyu #brian orser #anon #cub mail 🐅#long post #team japan

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wu-sisyphus-gang · 4 years ago

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Motion Sickness Chapter 44

pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq

(Neo POV)

Jaune Arc was a bit like Roman. Not much but it was there. They both had a similarly loose moral code. One I found I'd be able to live inside of.

They were both smooth with their heists. Jaune Arc had proven that, in and out, nice and easy. He got what he needed. He got what information he needed. He got the job done.

Jaune Arc, or Cloud Strife if he prefered, it didn't matter to me, had shown that he knew the stakes when he tortured and killed people to get what he wanted. That proved he was trustworthy. He knew what the world was like.

It compelled me to follow him, more than the money had and as much as the promise of revenge against Cinder Fall, the woman who had set up my Roman Torchwick. Who got him arrested. Who undermined his authority. The list went on.

She'd set up Roman to die and for that I needed my vengeance. Cloud Strife got that. He understood. So even with this little detour if he still got me in a position to watch her die, then I could live with it. Hell, I'd even help with it. He made it sound important, even necessary. What with tales of how he was being mind controlled by Cinder's own boss.

There was always a bigger fish. Everyone always had a boss.

I watched him smoke. Roman Torchwick had been a heavy smoker, too. Nicotine, instead of Marijuana. Same-same but different.

What was with me and metrosexual men? Cloud Strife's piercings were as bad as Torchwick's mascara. It was a good look though. There was no denying that.

They both tried to control me. Which was fine, I guess. Cloud Strife played things fast and loose unlike Torchwick. Cloud was also a tad mad. He spouted about his mother controlling his thoughts. His mother being Cinder's boss. He was a touch insane, he rode sanity like a knife's edge and I wasn't sure whether he was going to end up cutting himself on it. He was on board with my more sadistic pleasures. He even, dare I say it, appreciated them. Roman never did that. Roman preferred to leave all the torture to me. Cloud got his hands dirty with it. It was like a change in scenery. In the end it was not so different.

I held close to him as he rode. The trees slowly went by to the steady beat of the horse's hooves.

Unlike Roman, Cloud Strife was a competent warrior. In fact, he was mostly a fighter first and a criminal second. It had been the reverse under Roman.

Cloud clicked his tongue and the horse came to a slow stop.

"And who are you little lady?"

I thought he was talking to me for a second. I peeked out around him. There was a little girl in the middle of the road. She might have been thirteen, maybe fifteen. What? I didn't know kids' ages. She was armed though. A massive shuriken in one hand and a sort of shield-gauntlet down the other arm. Her posture was one that indicated imminent violence.

"I'm a dust thief."

"I'm sorry," Cloud sounded bemused. "We don't use dust." I knew he had some pure crystals on him and that he knew how to use them. He was lying. He did so easily enough.

"Yeah right. A couple hunters like you. I bet you're loaded with it."

"You're mistaken, little lady."

"I'm not a lady."

Cloud tapped his pipe out and dismounted. He pocketed the pipe at his belt near the blue and gold lamp he carried. I watched from my seat, even this was giving me flashbacks to another little girl and another criminal mastermind. He took calm steps towards her with heavy boot falls. "You're a bandit, then?"

"Yeah. So what?"

"Couple a huntsman types like me are supposed to get rid of bandits like you. You got support in these trees?"

"No it's just me. I'm going to take your dust."

"Just you," I heard the frown in Cloud's voice. "I don't buy it."

"It doesn't matter. I'm robbing you!"

"Seriously, where's your back up? I'm not playing around, kid."

"Neither am I. I'm a huntress, I don't need back up."

Cloud rocked on his heels. "I'm being pranked."

She let out a battle cry and rushed him and he swiped her shuriken to the side and knocked her into the dirt. He didn't even draw his weapon.

Tan aura flared over the little girl when he swept her leg with one of his. I just watched from where I sat sidesaddle on the horse.

"Look kid I'm looking for a place called Wutai, you heard of it?"

She rose back to her feet with a fire. "Shut up. I'm not a kid. And of course I've heard of it."

"Good, you can lead us there."

"I'm not doing that. We-we're fighting!"

"At best I'm fighting you. And I feel bad the entire time I'm doing it."

"I bet you're scared of me!"

"I'm petrified."

"What?! I'll show you!"

She flung the shuriken at Cloud but he just spun so it bounced off his shield on his back. The little girl caught it again when it rebounded.

"Come on kid, I'm trying to take it easy on you. Don't make me get violent, now. What's a helpless kid like you doing this far from civilization? There could be bandits out here."

"I'm a bandit out here."

"You're really not," Cloud said, pityingly.

She tried to swing her shuriken at him but he stepped in and caught her by the arm. He kicked her legs out from underneath her again.

He ripped the shuriken out of her hands once she was on the ground.

"Hey! You spikey haired jerk!"

"Let me guess. You got aura so now you think you're invincible. You think you're hot shit." Cloud was teaching her a lesson it seemed. Well, he seemed sane enough for the moment. Cloud had moments where the crazy in him shone through. Moments where I wasn't sure he'd kill me just for the sheer pleasure of it.

"I have a semblance!"

"Everyone does."

She tried to rise and he put a heavy boot in the middle of her back.

"Hey-yuh!"

"Give it up, kid," Cloud said calmly. He watched her struggle for a few moments.

It was like watching a pinned ant. And I thought I was cruel.

I'd never tortured a little kid before. Some young people sure but never anyone as young as this girl seemed to be. I'd killed some pretty young people too but again not as young as her.

Not that what Cloud was doing was violent or even torture. He was just holding her down until she gave up. He was sparring her life because he was strong and she was weak.

"Neo," he called out. "Catch." He tossed me the shuriken. I caught it easily enough.

"Ugh! Fine!"

"What was that?"

"I said fine! You win or whatever!"

Cloud took his boot off her back. "You'll take us to Wutai, then."

"Um-" she glanced over at me where I held the weapon. My parasol was propped against my shoulder to ward off the sun. "Can I have my weapon back."

"Ask me nicely and I'll consider it."

"Ugh! Can I have it back, please?"

"After you take us to Wutai, sure. You can even think of it as payment."

Cloud walked over and grabbed the horse's reins. The whole confrontation had been so nonviolent the horse hadn't been disturbed.

He began to lead the horse beside the kid. "Well go on. Lead the way."

"It's not like it's far or anything. I'll show you."

The girl began to stride alongside Cloud.

"Have you been a hunter long?"

"Just a couple of years," Cloud answered her. I filed that information away. Cloud really hadn't been at this all too long. Some people's semblances and powers developed even more. Cloud's was definitely the type that was nebulous enough to do so.

I took the girl in now that she was closer.

She wore a white headband with a green sleeveless turtleneck which showed her stomach not unlike my new clothes. She wore orange fingerless gloves and bright orange shoes.

She watched me lash the shuriken to the horse's side. I wasn't going to carry it the whole time and Cloud didn't seem to mind in the slightest. He was pragmatic, like Roman.

"You're really strong. Like my father."

"Your father eh?"

"He's the leader of Wutai."

"It's a good thing I didn't rough you up too much, then. You got a name kid?"

"It's Yuma. Yuma Kisaragi. Not kid."

"Sorry Yuma. Well, you steal from hunters often?"

"Not really. I try and it never seems to work."

"Probably for the best."

"That's what my dad always says."

Unlike Roman, Cloud had a way with kids, it seemed. Some women liked that but I couldn't really get it.

"So what's your name?"

"I'm Cloud."

"And who's the lady with you?"

"This? Oh this is Neo. She doesn't talk much."

Ever. She doesn't talk ever.

"What kind of weapon do you use?"

"Just a sword and shield."

"That's pretty plain."

"I'm a pretty plain guy."

"I use that shuriken."

"I saw. You're not so bad with it."

"You really think so?"

Cloud nodded. "A few more years and you'll be in a pretty good place."

"That seems like forever."

"You'd be surprised how fast time goes. Keep at it."

"Ugh, you sound even more like my dad. Do you have a semblance.

Cloud gave her a slow nod. He seemed wary of talking about his semblance. That was wise of him. To prevent anyone from figuring out his weaknesses.

"Can you show me?"

"I wouldn't. It's pretty lackluster."

I snorted. Cloud had won the superpower lottery. Limit Breaker made him damn near unstoppable. I had yet to see him really use it in force. He beat me by standing still and his weapon had another form. I was sure of it though he had yet to use it against me.

"She doesn't seem to think so. I bet your semblance is pretty great."

"Well thank you kindly." Cloud did a southern Vale accent. "But you know a semblance is only as good as it's wielder."

"Then I'm going to have the best semblance."

"I thought you said you had it already."

"I well-" the kid stammered. "I haven't quite unlocked it yet."

She didn't have it, then. Didn't have a clue. Damn, kids were a bother.

"Bluffing, were ya?"

"Maybe a little.

The kid was annoying. I wish he'd dump her already. But I guess he must have some kind of plan in mind for her. Maybe for getting in the leader of Wutai's good graces.

"You ought to be more careful. If I was somebody else I might have hurt you."

"Yeah, yeah. I'd have managed some way or another. I'm a huntress," She repeated.

"Even hunters die."

"Hunters like my dad always seem so strong, though."

"Until they fight another hunter. The matchup could be bad for them and when they lose it's for keeps."

"Really?" She sounded like she couldn't believe it.

"Only all the time."

pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq

"Dad, dad!" Yuma went running out into the village.

"Oi! I thought you wanted your weapon back!?" Cloud called out to her.

"Oh that's right."

Reminded, she came running back in those bright orange shoes for her shuriken. An elderly fellow came out from the largest house to see us. Middle-aged and with the gentle thrum of aura and nothing to prove.

Cloud handed her her weapon back, unstrapping it from beside the horse.

"Payment done. A pleasure doing business with you."

She beamed up at Cloud.

"Hail stranger. What are you doing with my daughter?"

"She tried to ambush us on the side of the road. Something about taking our dust. I'm not really sure." Cloud smiled easily.

"Yuma…" The man growled. He bought our story easily enough to make me wonder about the young girl's habits.

"Dad this is Cloud. He's a hunter. He's really strong!"

The kid didn't know the half of it. Cloud was cunning and he was brutal. I remembered him snapping that guy's fingers like pretzels. Plus he shattered aura and killed without hesitation. Roman wasn't like that.

"Hush now Yuma. I apologize for the trouble my daughter caused you."

She loudly humphed but did as her father bade.

"No harm, no fowl," Cloud replied easily.

"I appreciate you taking it easy on her. I am Godo Kisaragi."

"I'm just glad I found her before some bandits did," Cloud said, an easy smile on his lips. "I'm Cloud Strife. This is Neapolitan, just Neapolitan," he introduced us to the Dono of the town.

"I must ask since we don't often get strangers this way, what brings two young hunters out here?"

"I'm looking for Merlot's laboratory. Do you know of it? Do you know where it is?"

"I do. It's a place of true abominations. I must ask what ever for? No one has been out to see the laboratory in years. What business is it of yours?"

"He and I have unfinished business. I'm looking for him and I have to start somewhere. I got wind of this lab and made it a part of my agenda."

"What of the little miss on the horseback, Neapolitan was it?"

"Oh, she doesn't talk." Cloud went on with that same relaxed smile. I suppose he and Roman both had a way with people. "I've been her mouth piece, I suppose."

It was a good skill to have in our business.

"Indeed, you treated my daughter well. That's reason enough for me to like you. Why don't you come in for tea and we can discuss Merlot and his laboratory. Yuma, go get tea started for our young guests."

Cloud tied the horse off and helped me down off the horse's back like a gentleman. He left his weapon at the door meanwhile I folded my parasol neatly and attached it to my waist such that the blade of the sword-stick was in easy drawing distance. Cloud gave me a warning look but said nothing about it. No doubt he was slightly happier with one of us armed but he wanted me to start no trouble.

Fine by me.

Godo led the way inside and Yuma disappeared into a kitchen to put water on to boil.

"What do you intend to do with his laboratory?"

"Destroy it, probably. Along with the Grimm he left behind."

"No mean feat. There's a reason the laboratory is mostly abandoned and left alone by us. We tend to skirt the edges of it when we need to go near it at all."

"I take it he's no longer here, then."

"No one has seen him in months. It's likely he left some time ago, leaving only augmented monstrosities behind and a building."

"He augmented the Grimm?"

"Some. Others are vaguely human, creations of his laboratory that were deemed failures in his eyes. He set them loose on the landscape. We've been dealing with them for years now."

Cloud's eyes narrowed. Yuma came in with hot water and poured some tea.

"Sorry," she murmured after she spilled some. She wiped it down with a spare cloth she was using to hold the kettle.

"You're doing fine," Cloud returned.

I drank some of the sweet tea. It tasted fine, even if tea wasn't quite my, well- my cup of tea.

"I need to get in there and find out where he headed next," Cloud said. "Know thy enemy and all that jazz."

"Why? If you don't mind me asking."

"I- he hurt me. His work did me harm. It's a touch personal. He got some of my friends killed, it was in a roundabout way but he's still at fault."

"Ah- forgive me then."

"There's nothing to forgive." Cloud took a sip of his own tea. "It's good. You did well, Yuma."

She blushed like a school girl under his praise. Cloud was good looking I suppose. And he didn't even need Roman's makeup to pull off his looks. The earrings made him look a little effeminate but it was countered by his wide shoulders and arms. His frame simply wasn't that of a woman's. With wide shoulders and narrow hips.

He cut a dangerous figure.

"Well, I never thought hunters would come out to help us with our little problem."

"Don't get my motivation twisted."

"I shan't," Godo said. "You are out for vengeance. At least your motivation is understandable. And who better to be the target of your rage than Merlot? At least in my eyes. All the same, if you can remove this looming threat, I shall sleep better at night."

"I suppose. Tell me about the laboratory."

"It's built to withstand punishment. It's crawling with green Grimm. Modified by Dr. Merlot. The humanoid Grimm lurk deeper into their territory. They are fast with wicked claws and a sort of malicious intelligence."

"Are they self aware? Do they plan and communicate?"

"No. And not to my knowledge. Anything is possible with old Grimm but I do not see them as capable of such."

"Always good news. I'd hate to fight them if they were truly person-like."

"They are not. They are wretched, desperate things. Could you imagine a human Grimm?" Cloud took a long drink of tea. He'd mentioned the possibility that he had Grimm to his nature himself. Talk of this lab only seemed to back that up. Well, it certainly explained his psychosis. "Capable of walking amongst us? Of talking?"

"Terrifying," Cloud agreed. "It's what I had been afraid of when you mentioned human Grimm."

"They are nothing like that. Though they are dangerous. They are more like Grimm in the shape of a person rather than person-Grimm." Some Grimm took on attributes of the creatures they looked like. Cloud seemed content that this wasn't the case with these artificial Grimm.

"It sounds like they're monsters all the same. I can destroy them if that's all they are."

"I would warn you not to be arrogant but I can tell you are confident in your abilities. Many people have underestimated their speed and suffered for it. They occasionally make their way North here to the village."

"Just wandering? Or in real groups?"

"Sometimes one and the other."

"I can't promise to kill them all, just to cut a path through them to the lab."

"That's more than I could have asked a sane person for. I'm not as fit as I once was. I was slowly dwindling their number as they splayed out and little more. Your presence and assault will be a great boon to us. Wutai will be in your debt."

"I wouldn't sweat it. You don't have anything I want. Except those directions to the lab."

"Of course."

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-WG

#rwby #ffvii #ff7 #jaune arc #cloud strife #neo #neapolitan #yuffie kisaragi #cloud!jaune arc #sephiroth!Jaune arc #motion sickness #war of the roses #white rose #whiterose #whiteknight #white knight #lancaster #ruby rose x jaune arc x weiss schnee

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mythicamagic · 5 years ago

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Mirror image: Yui Komori oneshot

Another writing commission for @s-e-kwan

Yui’s personality drastically changes, to the point that Ruki takes it upon himself to find out the reason. Even if it means confining her to a darker cage. NOT a Cordelia fic. Mild RukiYui vibes.

Rated T for the usual darker themes in DL such as abuse.

The bathroom had become a welcome reprieve, her own personal sanctuary from the Mukamis. Were she still in the Sakamaki mansion, Shuu would probably be lounging in the bath, but right then Yui leaned against the sink alone, sighing.

She inspected the bite marks on her skin, wincing tiredly.

Lately she’d been stretched a little too thin. Every inch of clothing scraped over the raised bumps of past marks. There were too many, to the point that her body didn’t even feel like it was hers anymore.

Yui swayed on her feel, quickly gripping the sink tighter. Tears strung her lashes. “I’m so tired.”

Her reflection stared back with surprisingly hard, apathetic eyes, “No, not tired. Pathetic.”

“But what can I do?”

The mirror Yui’s lips curved up into a sneer, tilting her chin up to gaze down at her. “Anything is better than nothing, worm. Oh no, wait. You’re Livestock, aren’t you? A Sow, a bitch, a slut. That’s exactly what you are if you’re just going to roll over and take it like a good girl.”

“B-but I’m powerless against them. And everything…hurts, I don’t want any more pain that would come from fighting. I’d rather…” she trembled, the tears finally escaping to roll hotly down her ashen cheeks. “I’d rather just stop existing.”

“…That can be arranged.”

------

It started out with minor things. Small snips in her voice, a slight sharpness in her eyes that wasn’t there before.

But gradually it worsened, or perhaps she’d been holding back.

“She bit me! All I was doing was taking some blood and she bit me! What the hell is wrong with her lately?” Kou snapped, gripping Yui tightly by the hair while turning to glare at Ruki, waiting for his input.

The elder Mukami looked on levelly. “Normally I’d encourage punishment, Kou. But the Livestock is looking frail. Allow her time to re-cooperate and then act.”

Kou tsked and flung the girl down to land hard on the floor, before leaving. Ruki observed her carefully, blinking slowly when her body shook with quiet laughter.

-------

“I’M GONNA KILL HER!” A voice thundered through the mansion.

Glancing up from his book, Ruki watched as Yuma stormed in, looking around the room frantically.

“Problem?”

“Yeah there’s a fucking problem, she DESTROYED my garden!”

Blue-grey eyes widened marginally. The book closed with a sharp snap as he stood. “I’ll take care of it. You’ll kill her as you are now. Call Azusa to help you salvage anything.”

“Tch, I saw him not too long ago. She scratched him up pretty good with his knife. Least he was happy about that…”

Ruki’s eyes darkened.

Yuma didn’t have time to protest as he disappeared, filtering through the scents in the air and finding her fairly easily in Kou’s room. The idol happened to be out working. When he finally appeared, Ruki stopped, taking her in.

She was hunched forward before the vanity mirror, applying a sultry red to her lips. Her dark clothes were unsubtle, exposing a ridiculous amount of skin. He scented blood and pinpointed it on her ear, noting she’d forced an earring in through the skin.

“Whatever possessed you to attempt this cheap shot at rebellion, Livestock, it ends now.”

Yui shifted, blonde hair sliding back as she glanced at him coyly over her shoulder.

Ice briefly chilled his spine. “…Cordelia?” He quietly guessed.

She giggled airily, eyes dulled. “No. She died a long while ago, when the Sakamaki’s still had me.”

“Then there is no reason to be acting out so childishly. As your Master, it falls to me to punish you now-“

“You are not my Master.”

The low, bitter words from that voice, that mouth, made something snap. Ruki seized her chin in his hand, grabbing a wipe and pressing it hard to her lips, swiping the rouge roughly. It smudged the colour over her face, making it resemble dried blood.

He then materialised them into a deep, dark space.

“W-where are we?”

“A place where Livestock go to be rehabilitated.”

-----

A few weeks in solitary confinement changed nothing. Though he’d tucked her away in a room beneath the house, more specifically in the dungeons, she stared back at him with those dulled, mocking eyes. Depriving her of food and water only weakened her, so he eased up on such extremes.

Her words were no less biting.

“You’re disgusting.”

Bite!

“I hate you!”

Bite!

“You enjoy this, don’t you? You like hurting me just so you can feel…gn, in control.”

Pause.

Ruki’s lips hovered over her skin, fresh bite marks blooming. No discipline softened her to complacency either.

“What was that?” He asked lowly, tugging her up to look at him. Sitting on her plain, sad little bed, the two observed each other. As her sole provider, he’d expected Yui to start softening for him.

“Heh,” she shivered, skin pale. “You’re a coward. You place yourself as ‘Master’ just so you can forget about-“

Steel fingers wrapped around her throat. “Say one more word and I will end your pathetic existence, Eve,” silken tones hissed, fire and brimstone churning the dead sea in his veins, igniting a blood lust like no other-

Rose-pink eyes brightened marginally, and Ruki stopped.

His mind clicked, and slowly, carefully, that tight grip slackened, releasing her.

“What are you doing?” She snapped, voice straining a little. “Y-you’re a coward! Like I was saying, you used to be Livestock too! You still are!”

He did not respond, only moved her off his legs, standing.

“Now I understand.”

Yui glared, hugging her arms. “Understand what?”

Ruki did not answer, disappearing from sight and leaving her entirely alone.

----

Raising a hand to shield her eyes, Yui winced at the brightness of the sun. With treacle immediacy, she adjusted, blinking and glancing around.

Ruki had taken her out of her cage, only to get in a car and drive. They’d been on the road for hours, to the point that she’d nodded off, arms curled loosely around her thin body. Eventually she’d been roused to wake, now standing before an old, worn down church.

She recognised it immediately, jolting.

This was the place where she’d been raised.

This was home.

Or at least it had been. In just two years it seemed to have fallen into disrepair. Weeds overrun the front garden, and ivy now burst through shattered windows. Even the walls looked tinged grey, dulled.

“It was abandoned shortly after you left,” Ruki uttered, hands in pockets.

“…What happened?”

“The Vampire King made good on his word. In exchange for you, the nuns here received whatever they wanted.

“I don’t believe y-“

“But they ultimately changed their minds, They did…want you back, Livestock.”

Her frame jolted, as though she’d been slapped. Some old tendencies came back as she held her hands close to her chest. “Even Father?”

“He knew nothing about it, apparently. However, the Vampire King couldn’t allow them to interfere. They either had their memories erased or lie dead. I don’t know anything else.”

Fragile shoulders shook, and her voice softened into one he recognised.

“Why…why are you telling me this?”

His heavy attention slid to rest on her. “You want to die. That’s where this shift in behaviour has come from. You’ve been trying to anger us enough so that we’d snap and free you from misery. Isn’t that it?”

Limp, blonde hair fell forward her head bowed, trembling.

He continued in his usual calm, serious tone. “I can’t pin-point if your personality has split into two, or if you’re merely unstable. Either way, it was obvious you needed a reminder of why you’re alive.”

Yui gave a weak chuckle, turning to finally look up at him, her eyes completely dry. “You’ll just say I’m alive to awaken Adam.”

“Such a thing clearly won’t motivate you. No, the girl I know is sentimental enough to still carry a rosary long after she’s been damned.” He uttered, grasping her chin gently. “You must live for your own pride. Just as I did. If you can’t right now, then live for the ones who tried to save you.”

A choked sound escaped from the back of her throat, the sun catching dulled rosy eyes enough to give them a brief light. “Oh…I-I don’t…” her voice wavered, tears collecting and rolling free finally. “I don’t even know who I am anymore,” she admitted softly.

Ruki blinked, releasing her. He thought for a moment, sliding pale hands into his pockets and wandering towards the small gate at the front of the church. “Oi,” he called, glancing over his shoulder.

“Show us around this place, Yui.”

She stared, something subtly changing in her expression that transformed her entire face, as though only just hearing her name for the first time.

“U-us?”

He nodded to the area behind her, and Yui turned on her heel, breath hitching at the sight of the other Mukamis, who padded out of the dark of the surrounding woods.

Yui swallowed, blubbering. “Oh Yuma, I’m so sorry for-“

“Quit ya crying, Sow,” he tsked, uncomfortably rubbing the back of his neck.

“But I owe all of you an apology.”

“Hehe~ well we sometimes get carried away with things too,” Kou hummed. “How about in exchange, do as Ruki says and show us around, kay?”

Yui nodded, clutching her hands close to her chest and squeezing the rosary, wiping away her tears with her free hand.

“O-okay.”

#Diabolik lovers #yui komori #ruki mukami #mukami brothers #diahell #dialovers #diabolik lovers fanfiction

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mukamibabe · 5 years ago

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Hey sweetie! I absolutely love your blog! Could I get headcanons for: Ayato, Laito and Yuma. How would they react to their s/o being a dragon queen? Like an anime dragon girl if that helps a bit. With horns, dragon wings, a tail and being able to actually summon dragons. But they could revert to a normal human form whenever. THIS IS PROBABLY SUPER DUMB IMMA YEET MYSELF INTO THE TRASH NOW

OMG no this wasn’t dumb at all thank you!!!! i got really into this one,, so it’s kinda longer than usual lol i hope you enjoy!!

and another thing!! i don’t know what i was initially going for, but until i finished this, i actually realized you said s/o being a vampire queen, but i’m dumb and forgot but it still works!!

also.. kind of nsfw warning?? thanks laito!!

Ayato: “Dragon queen? ..Okay. …As long as you don’t think you’re better than me, then.. I don’t care.”

• lol.. lie

• he’s actually really impressed and he thinks she’s really cool,, but he’s too proud to admit that

• also he thinks that’s extremely hot and that they should get married and have children because vampire prince x dragon queen?? hell yeah also.. he really sounds like karlheinz-

• but he’s not going to act on that- clearly he inherited something from him father i guess??

• anyway..

• SHOOT FIRE!!! BRING HIM A DRAGON!!! LET HIM RIDE YOU AS A DRAGON dsfkdskf

• he’s actually very excited over this, he just.. tries super hard not to let it show because.. ouch! he feels like she’s a lot more cooler than a vampire,, so it hurts him

• but then his mindset just changes and is like: well look,, i have a dragon queen!!! hah!! beat that, losers

• no seriously, i can see him trying to actually marry her or something

• also… you know those pictures of like.. monster anime girls and it’s literally just.. boobs- yeah i feel like that’s what ayato would wish for

• either way,, he’s still really impressed by this woman but he plays it off cool

Laito: “Oh? A dragon queen, hm~? Fufu… I bet all the things we can do are very…- The possibilities… Ah..~ I’m getting turned on just thinking about it..”

• like his brother,, he’s expecting giant boobs and just like.. generally a bigger woman, i guess?

• boobs are good, but you know what intrigues him even more? the fact that she’s a queen and could probably kill him

• and usually that would mean to back off, but that only makes him want to get in her pants even more

• so yeah, he really doesn’t treat her too different from other girls, like he still wants to play his ‘oh i love you so much!!!’ game, but he treats her like a queen-

• it’s a little degrading, but laito has no shame. he wants to ruin this woman and the fact that she’s so powerful motivates him even more

• yeah,, he really doesn’t care about the dragon part,, i mean it’s cool, but he doesn’t care

• he really only cares about her status and causing a ~scandal~

• and if she tries to kill him,, he just laughs and is like oooo thanks i love you too!!

• he only looks at her as a challenge, and he is determined to break her

Yuma: “Hah? No way- I don’t believe ya.”

• i mean.. he doesn’t think it’s impossible because he never thought vampires were real but a dragon queen??? he never mentioned anything like that…

• he’s not as excited as ayato, but i feel like that’s mostly because yuma just.. isn’t too interested in it.

• if he were still human, and a child, then yeah that’d be cool as hell but he doesn’t really care

• also.. a queen? :(

• he doesn’t want to be so judgmental, but.. she’s a queen. he’s just some half-blood who pretty much just serves the vampire lord

• he tries to block those feelings out and not let them get to him, but occasionally it does, and he’ll just avoid her

• as long as she or her dragons or whatever can help him with his garden,, and not eat/ruin his plants, then he doesn’t care

• not even gonna lie though,, at first he was kinda intimidated because yuma’s used to being so strong,, and to know that this is a dragon queen and it’s possible that she can beat his ass?? uh yeah he’s not too happy

• but like i said, he doesn’t let his thoughts get to him. as long as they still act the same and is nice to him, it’s not a big problem.

#thewhitelotusdemon #Diabolik Lovers #mukami #sakamaki #Yuma Mukami #ayato sakamaki #laito sakamaki #diabolik lovers headcanons #Diabolik Lovers reactions #my post

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wonderouslilith · 6 years ago

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So, during some boredom time, this happened.

Me and @kaos-m decided to make a Hunger Games with our favorite Idol Games (and Dream!ing... Should I count it as an idol game? I don’t know.)

That’s the entire cast for this game feat. Me, Kaos and Mimosa because we had 3 slots left. This shit will be long as hell so, rest of the game under the cut!

So, we started the game, and already during the bloodbath

Shy and Teruma already killed Kaos out of the fight and Ren... Somehow!

YANAGI. THAT WAS BRUTAL. YOU KILLED TWO OF MY FAVES + CAMUS’ SERVANT! HOW DARE YOU!

Yuma saved all of us from a horrible end.

Also Touji killed Senri, but I didn’t saw it until I noticed Senri was missing from the game. So, I didn’t screenshot it but OMG TOUJI WHY.

So first day roll around and I took Otoya and Shinya with me to hunt Yanagi, Rintaro tagged along since Yanagi needs to be stopped and Camus just want to avange Cecil because there is no one who is better servant than him lol

Kaito is probably searching Kureha who is right now having an identity crisis.

Minato still being a fucking precious baby.

Jin, you are fucking rich, why are you stealing from others?! AND WHAT IS GOING ON?! HOW TOUJI ATTACKED SHIGURE AND SURVIVED?!

First night now and Ai already is being a little bitch

I’m laughing by the coincidence that two shorty blondies with tsundere complex who doesn’t like being called cute are having the exact same problem... like... WOW. And Chizuru... Yeah, you should start to question your sanity.

Somehow Mikage joined two cuties to sing cheerfully????

I was laughing imagining Rintaro convincing Tokiya to hold hands with him until I saw that KUREHA IS NOT OKAY! SOMEONE PLEASE HELP THE CHILD!!

L probably confused Yuhi for R?? AND YANAGI YOUR BITCH!!

Am I the only one who doesn’t trust those two talking?

SATSUKI defeated Ranmaru or it was Natsuki himself?! If so, goddamn Ranmaru, how?

YUMA SHOULD TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF

AND NOW ALL THE REDHEADS ARE NOT OKAY!! OTOYA PLEASE NO!!!

So, Second day! Yuhi is not innocent as he looks.

Okay so... I was first surprised that Mama Masato could do this to a depressed baby BUT THEN TOYA KILLS CHIZURU?! LIKE EXCUSE ME WHAT THE FUCK?

I’m just fangirling about the fact Reiji and Ranmaru tagged along fauiwehwafuih and then AI!! NOT YOU!! NATSUKI WOULD NEVER KILL YOU AI!!

Night two started! Toma simply doesn’t like the dreaming cast. That’s it.

Masato is being awaken by the nightmare of having his husband being killed by Teruma while Teruma is passing out of exhaustion.

Yoichi was being a little bitch to the guys and Reiji is starting to go crazy.

Fucking day three. And Masato kills Minato and Takaomi. I’m just like “POOR MINATO! HE WAS JUST SINGING AND PICKING FLOWERS!!! WHY!!” and while that, I would like to say that Yoichi is not pleased with Toya’s decision of stealing his place as the mother of stirRhythm because is the SECOND TIME he fights Toya!

Somehow, Rintaro ran away from Syo (Did you call him cutie?), Rui ran away from me, Otoya is being a cutie and Kureha and Aoi found new parents.

AND I SIMPLY WANT TO KNOW WHO HAD THIS IDEA?!

NIGHT THREE, EVERYTHING WAS DOING WELL! NATSUKI AND SUBARU WERE TOGETHER, AND THEN I LOOK AWAY FOR THREE SECONDS TO TREAT YUUHI AND OTOYA JUST KILLS HIMSELF! OTOYA!! WHY!!! MOMMY LOVED YOU SO MUCH!!!! AAAAAAAAA

Okay so, Rintaro saw a fire and stayed hidden and I was like “Hmm... But there is no fire, Syo didn’t do it... Rintaro are you okay?!”, the fact CAMUS is CHEERFULY singing makes me want to hear this. And Kasuka, is better you do.

So, Masato with explosives is Dangerous??? and AOI ALSO IS STARTING TO GO CRAZY, OH MY GOD NO.

And I wonder how much it took for Kaito to stand up and go away while talking with Yanagi. This is a legit Question.

FOR THE LOVE OF GOD. WHAT IS GOING ON.

Also now I know WHICH fire Rintaro saw.

DAY FOUR AND. THIS HAPPENED. LIKE. OKAY. I HAVE SO MANY QUESTIONS.

WHY KASUKA WOULD KILL YANAGI, AND HOW R STARTED FIGTHING WITH SOMEONE?!

Besides this, nothing much happened

The fact that Shinya is receiving medical supplies makes me laugh because accurate. AND IS THE SECOND TIME SYO IS FAILING, SYO, WHAT THE FCK

Reiji found another baby to take care of and Rintaro convinced Touji somehow that it is a good option to do it.

NATSUKI. NO.

AND KUREHA WHY YOU HAVE EXPLOSIVES!?

WHY ALL THE CUTIES ARE WANTING DEATH?!

TOYA. WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU.

Here comes Day 5 and we start on the GODDAMN SURPRISE THAT KASUKA KILLED RANMARU OF ALL PEOPLE. Kureha is stealing from riches which it’s okay.

And take a moment to imagine a 159cm little child with no muscles trying to defeat a 179cm man that even if he has the same amount of muscles as Shy still stronger than him. TOKIYA WHAT HAPPENED?!

Teruma ran away from Shy because he remembered the day he and Shy killed Ren and Kaos and now he is afraid of being killed.

SHIGURE FINALLY SHOWED WHAT HE IS HERE FOR, AND HE KILLED TOYA AND AI... Mikage did too but.... I DUNNO. I STILL FEEL LIKE IT WAS MORE SHIGURE’S DEEDS.

“YOU’RE NOT MY OTOYAN” -- Said Reiji while running away from Atom for some reason.

Rintaro hunting is quite accurate, Aoi and R working together for the day was extra cute, but then, how I defeated Issei in a fight? Like.... I have no strength. What happened Issei?!

So, Night Five rolls Around, but no Deaths occur... HOWEVER, HERE ARE SOME HIGHLITGHTS

Mikage and Shigure are... Doing an alliance... I see... And me and Tsubasa climbing trees to sleep... Great.

Touji wants his quiet life back, Issei is now depressed and so is Atom. MY GOD.

Kureha and Rintaro together looks cute

Yuhi and Toma together *sniff* my ship.

DAY 6!!

REIJI PLEASE DON’T. And Somehow Yuuhi was able to scare Touji.

Twins are finally together. And KASUKA IS IN A RAMPAGE.

NIGHT 6 AND JIN KILLED MASATO. OH MY GOD. AND CUTIE R ASKS CUTIE KAZU TO KILL HIM WHAT IS GOING OOOOON

New game, everytime Reiji begs someone to kill him you take a shot

Day 7.

Kureha and Kaito are finally together, Syo is questioning his Sanity, Toma is done with the game and I think I came back to the times where I didn’t used to like L because Im running away from him.

and Atom does this.

So, Night 7, Day 8 and Night 8 nothing happened.

But Day 9 rolls around and L killed Kaito, and he gained a spot on my heart again and ISSEI!! NOOO!!

Also the amount of people begging to die is intense. (”Everytime Atom begs someone to kill him you take a shot” as well.)

Night 9, Rintaro is feeling competitive and KASUKA FUCKING KILLS TOKIYA.

THIS GAME IS GETTING MORE INTENSE AROUND DAY 10.

LIKE REALLY INTENSE.

IT’S NIGHT 10 AND WHILE RINTARO IS STAYING AWAKE AND I’ WITH YOICHI AND KAZU, AOI AND SHINYA JUST DIED IN A FIGHT WITH TOUJI AND L.

AND EVERYONE THAT REIJI LOVES IS GONE SO HE IS CRYING.

Since Mimosa is finally back to the game at day 11 he tries to attack Shy

AND TSUBASA DECIDED TO SHOW TOMA WHO IS THE BEST CHARACTER WITH SHOUTA AOI’S VOICE. “There is only ONE place for a Shouta Aoi Voiced character and that’s me bitch.”

Yoichi received food and someone thought it would be a good idea give L explosives.

While that Teruma killed someone else.

Arena event, where I thought tons of death could happen, but...

It was just those two.

Yuuhi avanged Kazu and... Shigure??????

Night 11, Yuuhi now is going in a rampage and L beated Atom for killing his brother

And then this happened.

And this.

And Two days with nothing happening passes after so many deaths, when...

Reiji dies at day 14.

Nothing more happened again until...

Yuuhi dies at Night 16 still in his killing rampage.

More two days with nothing happening and Syo falls in a frozen lake while Shy is trying to forget everything and Mimosa for some reason is crying?????

After day 19, an Arena Event happened and Touji is out, there isonly Mimosa Shy and Jin alive.

At day 20 Shy finally kills Jin.

And during the night, MIMOSA, WHO WAS AN EXTRA CHARACTER IN THIS GAME AND WENT TILL THE FINALS, dies.

Makishima Shy is the fucking winner, this bitch is the best Idol.

Thanks for reading this entire shit.

#marginal 4 #mg4 #utapri #uta no prince sama #starry palette #dream!ing #cocktail prince #hunger games simulator #diva things #kaos-m #Self Insert

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kaycha1989 · 6 years ago

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The Right Partner

My Hero Academia Fanfic

Characters: Katsuki Bakugou, Kia Hales (OC)

Rating: Mature

Tag List: @rageyoudamnednerd @cobblepottantrum

Chapter 16

The four heroes helped the police gather up the captured and unconscious villains, delivering them one by one into the iron maidens the police had at the ready. Thankfully, Uyeda had shrunk back down to his normal size and the police were able to carry him easily.

Kia stood next to Bakugou as they watched the police load up the last of the villains. Kia turned to him while holding up her fist and smiling. Bakugou rolled his eyes before giving her a fist bump.

“See? It worked!” Kia said, crossing her arms.

“You could have gotten hurt,” Bakugou said, grabbing her chin and turning her face to see where Yuma had hit her.

“You know I can take a hit, B,” Kia replied.

“You are lucky you’re tougher than hell,” Bakugou told her.

“I’m going to go find that shop owner and tell them about the clothes I borrowed,” Kia said. “Unfortunately, they were not as fire proof as my costume,” she added before walking over towards a group of people talking to a policeman.

Bakugou watched her go, shaking his head about how reckless his partner had been.

“Dude, she is totally hot,” Kaminari said, walking up and putting a hand on Bakugou’s shoulder.

“Why won’t you give me a fist bump?” Kirishima asked, walking up on his other side.

“Both of you can go to hell,” Bakugou growled, shrugging Kaminari’s hand off.

“Seriously, man how did you score a partner like that?” Kaminari asked. “Oh, how I wouldn’t mind staring at her all day. I might just have to ask her out.”

“She’s more than something to stare at, and I doubt she would like to be treated that way. Besides, she is out of your league,” Bakugou warned.

Kaminari and Kirishima exchanged looks of surprise. “Ouch,” Kirishima winced. “Guess you don’t have a chance then,” he said as he gave Kaminari a shove. They watched as Kia talked to a middle-aged woman who must have been the owner of the shop. “So, are you going to introduce us?” Kirishima asked.

“Why would I do that?” Bakugou said, turning toward his friend.

“Come on, man! I have wanted to meet her,” Kirishima whined.

“Introduce yourself, then,” Bakugou retorted.

“Here comes our chance,” Kaminari said, nudging Kirishima.

They all looked up to see Kia walking back towards them. “Well, she wouldn’t let me pay for the clothes I borrowed.” Kia told Bakugou as she walked up to him. “She said that saving everyone and keeping the villains from burning down the place was enough.” Turning to look at Kirishima and Kaminari, she gave Bakugou a questioning look before sighing and introducing herself. “Hi, I’m Wildside,” she greeted.

“Hey, beautiful… how would you like to grab a bite sometime?” Kaminari flirted.

“You must be Dunce Face,” Kia said, raising a brow.

Kirishima snorted and laughed out loud at his partner’s crestfallen face. Bakugou grinned at Kia’s retort.

Clapping Kaminari on the shoulder, Kirishima introduce himself, “Don’t mind this idiot, he is harmless. They call him Chargebolt, and I’m Red Riot.”

“You are the one who caught me earlier, thanks for that,” Kia said, bowing to Kirishima. “So your name is Red Riot? That must mean you are B’s best friend.”

“Did he tell you that?” Kirishima said in disbelief.

“No, a lady at a restaurant did, actually,” Kia confessed.

“I should have known. There is no way he would outright admit that,” Kirishima laughed. “It is nice to finally meet you. I’ve heard some stories.”

“I’m surprised to hear that. Hopefully they have been all good stories,” Kia smiled.

“So far so good,” Kirishima grinned. Bakugou rolled his eyes from where he stood behind Kia.

“Hey, let me treat you to dinner,” Kia offered. “It could be my way of thanking you for catching me, and we can see if the stories do me any justice.” Kirishima blinked in surprise, as did Bakugou and Kaminari.

“Really? You don’t have to… just saying thanks is enough.” Kirishima blushed.

“I’m serious, you pick the place and I will pay. You seem like a really nice guy, and I haven’t gotten to know anyone except B since I got here. Maybe you could show me around the city sometime?” Kia asked.

Kirishima’s face was almost as red as his hair. “Alright, why don’t we exchange contact information, then?” He suggested. A deep frown overtook Bakugou’s face.

Kia pulled out her phone and gave Kirishima her e-mail and phone number. “I’m Kia by the way… Kia Hales,” she said, holding out her hand.

“Eijiro Kirishima,” he replied, shaking her hand.

“Eijiro… that’s a nice name. Do you mind if I call you that?” Kia asked.

“S-sure! Can I call you Kia?” Kirishima asked.

“Of course!” Kia beamed.

“I’m Denki Kaminari!” the electric hero butted in. “You can call me Denki if you want,” he said, wiggling his eyebrows at Kia.

“I think I might prefer Dunce Face,” Kia replied.

Kaminari’s face fell as Kirishima burst out laughing. A small smile graced Bakugou’s face before it slipped back into a frown.

A reporter walked up to the group. “Can we get an interview with all of you?” he asked. Kia, Kirishima, and Kaminari stood there talking to the reporter and filled him in on the details of what went on in the building. Kia kept looking over at her partner, who stood a little ways off his with his arms crossed and a deep scowl on his face.

Kirishima noticed Kia’s confusion at Bakugou’s sour mood. Catching her eye, he gave her a questioning look but Kia merely shrugged in response.

Looking back at his friend, Kirishima wondered what had put him in such a bad mood. The reporter asked Bakugou a few questions and the hero answered them without any problems, much to the surprise of Kia and Kirishima. Bakugou seemed as though something was on his mind.

“Hey, B, are you ok?” Kia asked after the reporters walked away.

“Yeah man, your acting weird,” Kirishima added.

“I’m fine!” Bakugou snapped.

In Kirishima’s experience you left Bakugou alone until he was ready to talk. Otherwise, his short temper tended to flare up. So he was surprise when Kia walked over to his friend. Stepping in front of Bakugou, she looked him in the eyes.

“What pissed you off? I know you well enough by now to tell when you are angry. It feels like you are mad at me,” Kia confronted her partner.

“Back off and leave me the hell alone,” Bakugou warned.

Kia crossed her arms as she stared down the intimidating hero. “I have to fly the both of us back to the agency. I’d rather not have a pissed off grenade hanging from me while in the air.”

Kirishima watched as Kia and Bakugou argued. He still couldn’t believe the way she confronted him. Kia wasn’t backing down at all, no matter what Bakugou said.

Kaminari leaned in to whisper to Kirishima, “I think Jeanist found someone just as stubborn as Bakugou.”

“No kidding,” Kirishima whispered back. He had never seen anyone stand their ground against Bakugou’s rage and not even flinch.

“I’m not going anywhere until you tell me what I did to make you angry,” Kia told Bakugou.

“I’m not angry,” Bakugou growled.

“Could have fooled me… then what are you?” Kia replied.

Bakugou’s scowl deepened as looked at Kia. “You’re not going to let this go, are you?” he asked.

“Do I ever?” Kia replied.

What happened next had Kirishima and Kaminari’s jaws hitting the pavement. Taking a deep breath, Bakugou stepped closer to Kia and looked down at her. “I’m not mad at you,” he said in a calm voice.

“Ok then what is bothering you? Did we miss something?” Kia asked, concerned.

Bakugou mumbled something under his breath that Kirishima and Kaminari couldn’t hear. Shock appeared on Kia’s face at whatever Bakugou had said.

“You don’t have my number?” Kia repeated. Choking back a laugh she smiled up at her partner. “You could have just asked. Don’t tell me you are jealous?” Kia accused with a smirk.

“Jealous? Like hell I’m jealous of Kirishima!” Bakugou sputtered.

“I don’t know, B… it looks like your blushing a little,” Kia teased.

“GO TO HELL!” Bakugou bellowed, turning away from his partner. Looking up, he saw the other two heroes watching the whole scene with identical looks of disbelief on their faces. “WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TWO LOOKING AT?!” he yelled at them.

“He is blushing!” Kaminari said in awe.

“Dude, you really don’t have her number?” Kirishima asked.

“SHUT UP!” Bakugou stomped off down the street. They could practically see the smoke rolling out of his ears.

Giggling, Kia moved to stand next to Kirishima and Kaminari, “Sometimes he really surprises me…” Looking at the other two heroes, she bowed. “It was nice to meet you both. I would like to talk more, but I better catch up with him.”

“It was nice to finally meet you too,” Kirishima replied, bowing.

“I don’t think I have ever seen Bakugou actually blush,” Kaminari said, amazed.

“Sounds like you two have known B for a while. We will have to hang out sometime,” Kia said as she took off after her partner. “See ya!”

They both watched as Kia ran off in the direction Bakugou had gone. “She is something, isn’t she?” Kaminari offered.

“You don’t think that he…?” Kirishima dropped off as he looked at Kaminari.

“Bakugou has never shown any interest in anyone before, so how are we supposed to know?” Kaminari replied. “But a guy would have to be blind not to be a little interested in her.”

“I wonder if she is interested in him?” Kirishima thought out loud.

“Bakugou’s good looking, which makes him popular with the ladies, but he usually runs them off with his shitty personality,” Kaminari replied.

“She doesn’t seem to mind. She really was worried about him being mad at her,” Kirishima added.

“I don’t know Red… she did ask you out on a date,” Kaminari said, winking.

Kirishima blushed. “Yeah, but it isn’t really a date.”

“You are going to have dinner with her. It’s a date,” Kaminari declared. “If Bakugou does have a thing for her I would hate to be you. That is some serious breaking of the bro code.”

“Maybe I can find out what she thinks of him?” Kirishima wondered.

Ch 1 | Ch 2 | Ch 3 | Ch 4 | Ch 5 | Ch 6 | Ch 7 | Ch 8 | Ch 9 | Ch 10 | Ch 11

Ch 12 | Ch 13 | Ch 14 | Ch 15 | Ch 16 | Ch 17 | Ch 18 | Ch 19 | Ch 20

#bnha #mha #my hero academia #My hero academia katsuki #boku no hero academia #Boku no hero bakugou #katsuki bakugou #bnha bakugou #mha bakugou #fanfiction #mature #OC #TRP #kaycha1989

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itsclydebitches · 6 years ago

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RWBY Recaps: Vol. 5 "True Colors"

This is a re-posting from October 4th, 2018 in an effort to get all my recaps fully on tumblr. Thanks!

Guess who’s back, back again

Clyde is back, tell a friend

How long will my focus and work ethic last? Who knows, but with Volume 6 on the horizon and a fantastic new poster out, I’m feeling like it’s time to dive back into RWBY Recaps. Never too late to guiltily dust off an old project, right?

Right.

We’re back in Volume 5. Yes, I did a bit of Volume 1—extreme illusions of grandeur and productivity there—but we should really round out 5 before 6 comes knocking on the 27th. I’ve got almost a month. Let’s see how well I do, starting with “True Colors.”

We open on an image of Qrow and Ozpin together, notably Ozpin given the prim posture and ever-present coffee mug. Qrow makes the comment that things “aren’t looking good” and really? No shit, bird boy. We’ve gone from “Oh no, Ruby is having trouble becoming a leader!” to “Oh no… Weiss is trying to overcome a racist upbringing…?” and are now firmly in the territory of “OH NO a bunch of our faves are dead and Ozpin is forced to possess a child??” Things haven’t looked good for a while.

Ozpin is ever the optimist though. He points out that yeah, things are bad, but they could also be worse. “Humanity is a resilient force” he says, which oddly enough, sounds a lot like the kind of thing someone not a part of Humanity would say. Jury’s still out on whether Oz was the lowly farmer unfairly cursed by the gods, or a god himself justly punished for some sort of hubris… or something else entirely. It just strikes me as significant that he often distances himself from others in not just actions but speech as well. Could be a glimpse into his true nature, aka someone literally not human. Could also just be the result of spending thousands of years reincarnating while everyone else around you suffers and dies. That’ll make anyone feel subhuman…

Qrow challenges Oz’s happy-go-lucky attitude, reminding us that a huge number of pro huntsmen have been murdered and Salem couldn’t have achieved that on her own. She’s had help—and plenty of it. But Ozpin stands firm that it “doesn’t take a great number of people to cause harm” and there are “far more people in this world willing to prevent it.”

Enter our protagonist.

Subtle!

Ruby is adorable, as always, hesitantly approaching the two of them and awkwardly accepting the invitation to chat. It’s a striking difference in how she acts when it’s just her and Qrow, which is expected. Ozpin remains a much more distant authority figure and now he’s inhabiting the body of a boy her own age. I’d be a little unsure about how to act around him too.

Ruby finally asks what we’ve been worried about since the beginning of this Volume: if Cinder defeated Oz then does that mean Salem now has the Beacon relic? Luckily, no. Oz says he made finding the Beacon relic “a bit more challenging than at the other schools.” So Ruby asks the second question that’s been on our minds…

Ozpin: “No, my cane is not a relic.”

Ruby: “I have no more questions :)”

Okay now wait. I'm calling bullshit lol. That cane is 100% a relic. I mean could I be wrong? Absolutely. But it’s way more fun to be confident so I’m calling Ozpin out on this. For a number of reasons:

1. He’s absolutely the kind of guy to do what no one else expects. “The cane is so obvious!” Yeah, which means everyone will be looking for the relic elsewhere, hidden away like the Haven relic. Who the hell would have it out in the open? Ozpin. He would. Expect the unexpected.

2. He’s alsothe kind of guy who might lie to someone about it. Ozpin has been playing this game a long time and he’s not above a few smiles and carefully placed words if he thinks it’ll keep things on track. The Haven relic is the one currently in danger—no reason to announce the Beacon relic’s location and shift the team’s focus just because a former student asks him for the truth. It’s too dangerous and Ozpin is very adept at, as he says, playing things close to the chest. And I don’t blame him. That’s how you keep humanity alive.

3. The scene doesn’t show us Qrow at all who is a lot less adept at lying, to say nothing of the fact that—if he knows about the relic—he wouldn’t feel good lying specifically to Ruby.

4. Ozpin’s previous comment about how this relic is a “bit more challenging” seems significant. That is, why ONLY make the Beacon relic so difficult to find? All the relics are important so why not give them all the same precautions? Well, the answer is simple if your precaution is something you can only do for one of them: keep the relic with you.

5. Qrow, arguably Ozpin’s closest friend (husband-friend), was entrusted with getting the cane back to him and it’s used as the introduction between Oscar and Qrow. Seems like a pretty damn important object.

6. We’ve seen this cane fend off crazy powerful attacks and it never takes any damage. Granted, all the weapons in RWBY are pretty hearty, but Ozpin’s cane seems particularly indestructible. Almost like there’s something similar to magic surrounding it.

7. We’ve still got those gears. That cane transforms into something…

8. The fact that Ozpin immediately homes in on Ruby’s question, quickly counters it, and then tells her to leave (go gather the others). He’s in charge of the conversation here.

9. The fact that the scene suddenly turns light-hearted and humorous. We’re meant to shrug this moment off and not think too hard about it. Well, too late now.

Granted, Oz has a good explanation here. He states firmly that the cane is indeed precious, though only to him, and that it still “has a few tricks up its sleeve.” Nothing he says counters what we already know, yet it doesn’t reveal any of his cane’s secrets either. We’re still in the dark. So until we’re not I remain suspicious about his claim that it’s totally definitely absolutely not a relic.

(The headmaster doth protest too much.)

(Edit Feb. 2019: I was so wrong, folks!!)

But we’re moving on. Qrow gets a call from Lionheart asking them to meet up with him to discuss potentially going on the offensive against the bandits. Ruby is ecstatic and runs off. Ozpin? Not so much. He and Qrow both comment on how strange it is that Lionheart has suddenly changed his tune and the addition of some creepy music all but beats us over the head with, “It’s a trap!!” This time when Qrow says that things aren’t looking good Ozpin’s only response is, “I know.” So much for the pep talk.

We cut to Lionheart himself, having just finished up that call, and as we pull back who should we find but Raven. She makes blunt what we already know, “I never expected that you would be the one with the guts to betray Oz” while we get a nice crane shot so that we can see Raven circling him, standing while he’s seated—a predator stalking prey.

Though of course it’s not actually courage driving their actions here. It’s cowardice. At least Lionheart is willing to admit it. He says straight out that he’s terrified of Salem and doesn’t think anyone can beat her, so why not join the winning side? Raven, meanwhile, is still firmly in denial. “I’m not scared,” she says. “I’m smart.” Please, girl. You’ve spent your whole life running and you don’t know how to stop now. “Man up,” Raven continues (god that’s a terrible phrase). “You did what you needed to do to survive. There’s no shame in that,” which is where we see the divide between their morals and everyone else surrounding Team RWBY. They’re scared, but they fight despite their fear because they know it’s necessary to help both others and themselves. Raven is only out for herself and her selfish actions hurt family (Qrow), children (Yang), friends (her tribe), and allies (Ozpin) in the process.

“Who are you trying to convince?” Lionheart asks her. It's great seeing a villain who knows exactly where the line is even as they can’t help but cross it. RIP the complex ones.

We move back to Menagerie where Ilia and the others are still leading the attack on Blake’s family. Kali if BAMF here, snatching up a tray as both defense and weapon when her gun runs out of ammo. We get to see her clocking Yuma before we catch up with Blake and Ilia—and I enjoy the contrast in colors between these two scenes, from full blown battle (cold) to friends-turned-enemies (warm):

Ilia spouts the same arguments as Raven: she doesn’t have a choice about her actions. Violence is the only way to survive. Despite the rhetoric Blake is willing to let her go, but Ilia has other plans. The fight, while not spectacular, does showcase the clear parallels between them—both in their arguments and the use of long/short range weaponry. When asked why she doesn’t leave Blake responds that she runs away too much. Beyond the obvious theme from our title—everyone showing their “True Colors”—the focus of this episode is quite obviously who’s willing to fight for others and who’s only out for themselves; who’s able to distinguish between when a literal fight is necessary and when another avenue can be taken. We see time and time again that Team RWBY is leagues ahead of others in terms of that kind of maturity.

From a world building perspective I appreciate Ilia’s use of her camouflaging skills. It’s rare that we see the Faunus actually using their animal abilities (beyond Sun swinging around on his tail) and that’s definitely a useful one in battle… though it's undermined somewhat by having a weapon that lights up with electricity. Gotta think that one through…

And then Blake sETS THE HOUSE ON FIRE? Damn, girl! This isn’t even a real battle—at least not between the two of them. Ilia says two seconds later that Blake isn’t taking this seriously, neither of them truly wants to kill the other, so is burning down your house really the best option here? I always knew Blake was secretly the most dramatic of the bunch.

(That’s a lie. I'm sorry. The most dramatic is clearly Weiss, but she’d be proud of Blake’s ridiculously over-the-top strategy here, I’m sure.)

Blake manages to pin Ilia and keeps trying to talk her down. It works. Sort of. Ilia starts to cry as she admits that she doesn’t know what else to do, but at that moment Ghira comes crashing through the wall with another fight at his heels. (This family is rich enough that they don't care about the property damage.) And then we get this,

This is a sharp reminder that though Blake and Ilia might be fighting more with words than fists, the same can’t be said for her parents. They are, notably, in very real danger. The fight picks back up with Ilia clearly torn now between her loyalties. She defends herself though when Sun joins the fray, pausing only when Blake begs the two of them to stop. However, their fighting has already cracked the pillar holding up the second story and Ilia gets caught underneath. Surprisingly, she’s saved by Ghira (which tells us more about his character than all his bickering with Sun ever could) and there’s a nifty bit of teamwork used to get him out—Sun’s copies hold up the balcony; Blake uses her weapon to pull her dad to safety. The brother (Fennec) who tries to attack him from behind is justifiably crushed under the rubble.

Kali is safe and joins the gang. The fight is basically over, but Corsac attacks out of pure grief and rage, allowing Ilia to stun him from behind. Now I’ve got a lot of feelings about Ilia, most of which boil down to just plain not liking her. I already explained in depth my issues with her being the (so far) sole queer character on the show and this is now compounded with her supposed “redemption.” There are problems inherent in making the (again, only) queer character an antagonist, but there are more problems in making them an antagonist and then refusing to stand by that. Rooster Teeth had her as a complex villain and then the moment she was revealed to have feelings for Blake it’s, “Never mind! She’s good now!” in the span of half an episode.

And how does this redemption occur? Ilia attacks Blake and goes after Blake’s parents. She continues to attack them after being given numerous chances to walk away. She turns on her allies… only after the fight is won. If Ilia were a different kind of character her stunning Corsac could have easily been seen as a survival strategy rather than a true change of heart. They’re now outnumbered four to two, so—like Lionheart—why not quickly join the winning side? I honestly wish Ilia was out to double cross Blake if only because that would be consistent with her loyalties up until now. It would make sense.

In the grand scheme of things though these are minor points. What strikes me as far more significant is 1. that Ilia and her allies could have killed Kali and Ghira. I admit that she wasn’t fighting Blake full out, but the purpose of this attack was to assassinate her parents and the fight did lead to at least one death. That’s not just something you bounce back from. Maybe I’m an asshole, but I couldn’t wave that away as a “bad decision” like Blake does. They could have died. And 2. the most important of all, we’ve yet to see any true change in her thinking or ideology! Ilia joins the gang because she lost and she's left standing around awkwardly with Blake—the girl she’s in love with. Would Ilia have second-guessed her actions if they'd succeeded in their mission? I doubt it. In the aftermath of failure she's contrite, but Ilia was pretty damn adamant about killing humans---and the Belladonnas---just a few minutes ago. If her redemption is based on circumstance and her one-sided crush… that’s not a redemption I can get behind.

But it’s what we’re rushed into. Blake gives a rousing speech about how no, they can’t just use humans as a scapegoat for this attack. They can’t allow figureheads like Adam to speak for them. She says that they’re all “looking for simple answers to a very complex problem” and that despite it not being what they want to hear, she doesn’t know how to just “make hate go away.” That’s a huge development from the girl who went to Mountain Glenn and said passionately that she was going to change the world, but without any concrete ideas as to how to do that. Now Blake can admit her own ignorance and knows at the very least what not to do. They’re not going to change the world through violence like this—they won’t change it for the better, anyway.

I’m with her through all that, up until Blake agrees to take Ilia to Haven. The guard yells out, “You’re just going to forgive her? After all she’s done?” and Blake says only, “Yes.” You know what that is? It’s a simple answer to a very complex problem. It’s painted as admirable on her part—Ghira says she’s learned the lesson of how powerful forgiveness can be—but I think this is RWBY’s fairy-tale simplicity shining through and it doesn’t fit with the heavy material we've been tackling the last few volumes. There’s a big difference between forgiving someone and making sure that they face consequences for their actions. There’s a difference between forgiving them and thinking practically about whether you can or should trust them with your safety and the safety of others. Hell, forgiveness usually takes more than five minutes and often times doesn’t happen at all! Ilia has done none of the work to justify Blake’s forgiveness and though having forgiveness handed to you might read as a beautiful ideal, it doesn’t work well in the gritty, complicated, racially loaded storyline that Rooster Teeth keeps trying to pull off. It feels cheap in the face of all that Blake suffered through this volume, especially when they turn Ilia’s actions into a literal joke. She stabbed Sun? No big deal! He pinched her and now they’re even! How much of a joke would this be if Ghira had suddenly collapsed from his own wound? Or Kali hadn't casually rejoining them entirely unharmed? Maybe I’m more bitter than I thought, but Ilia’s redemption feels like an unintended smack in the face.

The townspeople buy into the happy picture though and we get a chorus of them agreeing to join Blake in the fight to defend Haven. Plans are made to arm, train, and transport the people of Menagerie in two weeks time. Getting civilians into fighting shape that quickly might be a challenge, but at least Blake knows a ship captain who owes her a favor.

And that’s where we end this episode—forging a path for the future. Stay tuned for the next episode “The More the Merrier” as we count down to the Volume 6 premiere!

Other Details of Note

In that opening shot we have what looks like a pretty generic print on the wall—who doesn’t like sunsets?—except that it also shows a crescent moon without the broken pieces. Artist’s interpretation? Time before the moon’s demise? Animator’s forgetting about it while drawing the random painting that viewers are only going to see for about two seconds? You decide!

I really appreciate that Ozpin praises Ruby for being the first to realize the potential implications of the Beacon relic. She’s praised for her skill with Crescent Rose and for being one of the youngest to attend Beacon, but it’s rare that people comment on Ruby’s intellect. She’s smart as hell with one of the more strategic minds of the group—that’s partly why she makes such a good leader. It’s good to see someone, particularly her headmaster, acknowledging that.

After Qrow gets the call from Lionheart he immediately reaches for his flask… despite still having a steaming drink beside him. Apparently working with this guy was tough even before they knew he was loyal to Salem.

Edit Feb. 2019: Lionheart says that “I’ve done things Ozpin will never forgive” and that’s one hell of a loaded line after hearing Ozpin’s thoughts on Lionheart in Volume 6.

“Sorry, Dad” Blake says right before she burns down their library. Somehow I don't think 'sorry' cuts it in this situation...

#rwby #mymetas #RWBY Recaps

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darkzorua100 · 6 years ago

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My thoughts to episode 70 of Vrains.

Before watching the episode: Soulburner better do his fire tornado thing to save Playmaker or else I’m going to be very disappointed with this episode.

After watching the episode: Well...uh...that escalated quickly. Yeah never mind about the whole fire tornado thing, what the actual f*ck just happened here?!

I walk into this episode expecting the basics. Revolver to Synchro Summon Borreload Savage Dragon, Soulburner and Flame rescuing Playmaker and Ai, Windy getting out right murdered. I did not expect us to get two more Lost Children/Ignis pairings, that gorgeous freaking Synchro Summoning being so technology heavy, and Windy getting out right murdered like that. Yeah, have fun censoring that one, dub.

Just like episode 68, where do I even begin with this? Again, I guess at the beginning where it is revealed that Windy is actually an out right psychopath. He literally tried to murder his kid in a car accident. Of course, we don’t know his actual condition now because of this. His kid could very well be dead but I highly doubt that. The Lost Children are to important to the story for the writers to just have killed any of them off like that before we even had a chance to meet them all, similar to the whole Aqua situation where some people thought she was dead after episode 66 airing with the way Earth was speaking about her. At the very least, he’s in a coma, physically disabled, life support if we want to get that dark, or heck his whole body could have been replaced with an artificial one. Geez, and we talk about how Jin couldn’t catch a break after the Hanoi Project. The Wind Child probably has mental and physical problems to boot because of his little sh*t of an Ignis. Also, what is this? The third car accident now? God, I knew I was onto something about this being sabotage. Of course, this could all be different car accidents, and the writers really have no creative ideas when it comes to terrible backstories (yeah there are boundaries they can’t cross because this still is a kid show after all) but this has cross the line of just being just a coincidence.

First time is an accident (Aoi and Akira’s parents) Second time is a coincidence (Blood Shepherd and his mom) Third time is a pattern (Windy’s Lost Child)

And this isn’t even factoring in Takeru’s parents, who we still don’t know how they dead. If it was also a car accident, we definitely have something more then just a pattern. We saw in Blood Shepherd’s backstory that his car started to glitch out which to me looked like something was interfering with the signal but if it was Windy taking over it to hit his kid’s car, that would explain a lot. Blood Shepherd really was just at the wrong place at the wrong time and his vehicle was just a means to a end for Windy. The Zaizens, and Takeru’s parents, if they were also involved in this, might have just been caught in the cross fires. Also keep in mind, if this all happened in the same accident, the Wind Lost Child would have only just been freed from the Hanoi Project when Windy decided to kill him based on the fact that Aoi and Takeru were both little kids when they lost their parents. Heck, the Wind Lost Child might have been on his way to the hospital, like Takeru was after he was freed, when Windy decided to play some Grand Theft Auto with him. Windy claims that he did this because he didn’t need his partner but at this point, I’m pretty sure that Kogami might have put in a Fail-Safe program in the Ignises that can only be activated by their respective kids that can destroy the Ignises for good. After all, it can’t just be a one way relationship between the two. All of the Ignises know who they were based on and have shown the ability to be able to find them instantly. If Windy knew about this Fail-Safe, he might have went after his kid to make sure that he never would have had the chance to use it. Same could probably be said with Lightning.

Oh and then there’s Lightning to talk about here who I think just became my favorite Ignis at the end of this episode because he’s a literal sociopath. At the end of this episode, Revolver actually tries to murder Windy and it is brutal. Like holy crap, Windy is screaming his head off and Lightning is just standing there, watching the whole thing so emotionlessly, as Windy is begging him to save him. He does, but only at the last second, and when he does, Windy is almost completely destroyed. Like we know he can repair himself, but geez, Lightning is just...wow. I mean, we all knew Jin was messed up because of the Hanoi Project but how messed up do you have to be to create that? Oh and yeah, Jin was confirmed to be the one Lightning was based off of and sh*t, I was kinda right about him being who the silhouette character was. Maybe not the actual character, because it was Lightning, but as for the silhouette itself, yeah I was right. Lightning actually stole Jin’s consciousness to use him as a weapon. It is even creeper when you remember that Lightning already had the silhouette of Jin created before he got his consciousness's data. Yeah...uh...crap...well...we might have to put Yusaku, Takeru, and Spectre into Witness Protection now because if Lightning could do that to Jin, if he can hivemind Ai, Flame, and Earth (because yeah, Earth is basically confirmed to be Spectre’s now if there was any doubt before between him and Windy), then we are going to lose them to the Light Side (I seriously love how they are making Darkness (Ai) good and Light (Lightning) evil again for this series). Spectre who knows with him, since Earth doesn’t seem to want anything to do with him (not that anyone could blame him), Yusaku possibly since Yu-Gi-Oh isn’t afraid to make their protagonist evil for some time (looking at you Judai and Yuya (though if they do do this to Yusaku, I see it more like what happened to Yuma and Astral with the whole Dark Zexal moment), and as for Takeru, oh he’s definitely going to get brainwashed for sure because we can’t have a Yu-Gi-Oh series where the best friend character doesn’t get brainwashed, possessed, or turns out to be evil all along sometime later during the season.

Oh and we haven’t talked about Kusanagi’s reaction to this reveal. My god, the opening foreshadowing is coming soon. He is so going to flip when Yusaku and Takeru return. Lightning is going to manipulate him so hard through his brother to get what he wants. Or Kusanagi might just try and murder Ai and Flame instead, blaming them for what has happened to Jin. Either way, Kusanagi is definitely not going to be in a good place in the upcoming episodes.

As for the conclusion to Revolver vs Windy, yeah Revolver out right destroyed him with his new Synchro Monster and my god, the animation for the Synchro Summon was freaking amazing. They went all out on this one like damn. The Knights also got to show up the end too, after out right destroying all of the Echos, watching as Revolver proves to everyone again why he is the leader. Spectre stayed behind and we got the meeting between him and Soulburner (hell yes to this! Though I have to wonder if Soulburner actually does know if Spectre is a Lost Child just like him) and the dialogue was just amazing between them. I loved how Spectre just flips on a dime like that like one second he is being friendly to Soulburner and asking him to view for himself if the Ignises can be trusted or not and if he still wants to work with Flame after all of this, he would destroy him personally himself. Soulburner vs Spectre foreshadowing? I hope so because my god, that would be amazing.

Soulburner and Flame save Playmaker and Ai from their spheres but not before Revolver has the best reaction to Soulburner and Flame’s appearance.

“Oh? Four Ignis in the same room.” Just the way he said it got me hyped because yeah, as long as Takeru has Flame, we are getting Soulburner vs Revolver and I want this match up so badly. I need these two to fight to the death. It would be fantastic.

A few last things I like to note about this episode on the top of my head is that Windy used Storm Access during this duel and I seriously wish this wasn’t a thing. Having the people in Lightning’s group have Storm Access as a Skill would be one thing, even though that would be annoying to begin with because that is Yusaku and Ryoken’s thing (they are called Datastormshipping for a reason) but for them to just continue to screw the rules and use it during a Master Duel just will continue to irritate me since they shouldn’t be able to do that. Sure, they are advanced A.Is that can break the system but the system should still be able to say “no, you can’t do that” and automatically give the opposing player the win, or at the very least give the people in Lightning’s group a penalty, such as in ARC-V where we had the intrusion penalty whenever someone should join in on a already ongoing duel. Like if they can just break the rules like that, why not just screw the rules entirely and play with Duelist Kingdom logical? Seems kinda stupid to just break the rules and not take full advantage of it. And they are supposed to be the smart ones here.

Also, during the duel, Windy does what I wanted him to do since the beginning of the duel and out right taunt Revolver, using his father against him, saying stuff like he’s a failure and that if his father believed in him, why didn’t he use him as a test subject for the Hanoi Project, and that Ryoken’s true reason why he wants to kill the Ignises is because he is jealous of them for being the “chosen ones” in his father’s eyes. Revolver has a flashback to when his father died, saying how he never wanted to involve him in this, which Revolver fully believes, and honestly, I think at this point we can all agree that Kogami is full of crap. Never wanted to involve Ryoken in this is out right bullsh*t. Windy does bring up some good points with this though. Ryoken has ever right to hate the Ignises, not just because of his father’s goal, but because like Windy said, they were the chosen ones in Kogami’s eyes, not his own flesh and body. Kogami said it himself, he viewed the Ignises as his own children to his own son. Ryoken has ever right to hate them out of pure jealously. And since I fully believe that Kogami is full of himself when he said he didn’t want to involve Ryoken in any of this, why didn’t he use his own son for the Hanoi Project? I talked about how Ryoken is basically an unofficial 7th Lost Child of the Hanoi Project but he seriously might just be. He’s Dr. Kogami’s son after all. If the Lost Children are the keys to destroying their respective Ignis with some kind of Fail-Safe built into their program, Ryoken might just unknowingly hold the instructions to activating those Fail-Safes hidden somewhere deep inside his consciousness. Or if we are to believe the major plot twist done the line that Ryoken might actually be an A.I. himself like some people theorize he could be, Windy might just mean this literally. Ryoken might have actually been the chosen one, the first successor to humanity, or a simple prototype to the Ignises that wasn’t what Dr. Kogami wanted, a failure as Windy claims him to be, and was effectively replaced by the Ignises. That’s why he wasn’t used for the Hanoi Project. He had no free will to take to use to create the Ignises. If anyone has seen or played Detroit: Become Human, Ryoken’s case could be something like that. He was reprogrammed to be Dr. Kogami weapon but he started to gain a free will of his own after witnessing the torture of the Lost Children and speaking to Yusaku and especially after coming to his own decision to save them. Interesting thing to look back on if the “Ryoken is actually an A.I.” theory does actually turn out to be true.

But yeah, I think that about does it for episode 71. As for the preview for 72 and the cast list, Playmaker and Ai seem to be chasing after Jin and Lightning which is what I guess leads to the Playmaker vs Bohman rematch since I figure Bohman is trying to stall for time for them to get away and do whatever it is Lightning is trying to do in the preview at the end. Looks like he’s trying to rise someone from the dead or maybe this is a flashback to him giving Bohman new memories once more? He could also be creating more minions to shall for him as he prepares to attack the real world or also be trying to fix up Windy since in the preview, he has seen better days. SOL Technologies people are back (Akira, Blood Shepherd, Hayami, and Go’s goons) and here in this fake Cyberse World to destroy some Ignises from what we see of BS in the preview with him destroying copies of Bit and Boot. No Emma or Aoi (is anyone surprised at this point though?) so who knows if we actually are going to find out what happened with that stand off between BS and Ghost Girl. No Go either so I really want to know now what kind of special mission he is on if it is more important then this mess right now. Faust and Baira aren’t speaking so I wonder what happened to them? Kusanagi is more then likely going to be losing his mind in the real world over the whole Jin situation so that just leaves Soulburner, Flame, Revolver, Spectre, and Dr. Genome speaking. Revolver is probably going to send Spectre and Dr. Genome after Lightning, Jin, and Windy so I wonder if he’s actually going to try and take on Soulburner to try to destroy Flame? Soulburner has to do something during the Playmaker and Bohman duel, same with Revolver, and I don’t see the writers just having them destroying Bit and Boots during this time being. Honestly, I have no idea what’s going to happen at this point. We have a lot of characters in one area so a lot can happen in these upcoming episodes. This is going to get good for us as the viewers, and bad for the characters, is all I can say.

#vrains #vrains spoilers #Thoughts #theories

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tobiasdrake · 1 year ago

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We understand the What. But there's still much more ground to cover.

Oh shit, that's a good point Yuma. I can't believe I didn't think of that. That means we can eliminate Iruka from the suspect pool entirely, since she made the fucking thing.

It can only be Icardi. No other killer is possible.

I didn't get the impression that it was his idea. I don't think he ordered a custom gun. I think Iruka made him a gun and he as like. "Uh. Yeah. Thanks." in that civil tone you use when you don't want to hurt someone's feelings.

It was pretty clear from his behavior that he wanted nothing to do with the thing.

Yuma knows what's up. Iruka designed the gun for Shachi because she's a gun nut and thought it'd be a great present for him. Given that it was then used to shoot him, this was a terrible mistake. Gun culture, amirite?

This, in turn, proves that Iruka - One of only two people of the appropriate height and location to have fired that gun - is out-of-the-question as his killer.

Bestie, we are solving a case here. You can ship the Persons of Interest once we've cracked the mystery.

Roof of the hideout, of course. We already talked about this. There's only one place it could have happened. As difficult as it is to believe that a person was up on that roof with Shachi and then mysteriously vanished, it is the only thing that can be true.

This is basically a freebie. The important question isn't, "Where was the killer?" The question is "Where did they go?"

That means they had to vanish fast. They couldn't go down the emergency stairs or through the door.

Unfortunately, we never got a chance to investigate the rubble behind the building, from where the potentially evidence-concealing bombing took place. And I didn't remember to get a peek at the space between buildings. So it's possible there was a body of water for Icardi to dive into. But we can't just make up evidence like that.

Oh good, an opportunity to rectify my mistake. You can even see the blood spray I was talking about, and how it could only have come from "southwest".

Yuma, do me a solid and look down between the buildings real quick.

There is a body of water down there. You can reach the flooded city below from here. But it'd be a hell of a trick to pull off with that giant pipe in the way, even for a professional diver.

What's particularly interesting about the method of escape isn't just that they didn't use the emergency stairs. It's that they didn't intend to use the stairs. They didn't know we were coming. When they shot Shachi, the next course of action should have been to run to the stairs, bump into us, and go, "WHOOPSY DOODLE I'm busted!"

It's possible they didn't do that because they heard us clambering up the emergency stairs, though. But either way, they had a third avenue of exit already planned out in advance. They knew, going into this, that they couldn't trust the stairs or the door; That they couldn't just leave and had to instead vanish. Probably because they anticipated the place swarming with Peacekeepers after that bombing stunt.

Since I think we can safely assume they did not leap between the buildings and then break their collarbone on the pipe, that leaves only the rubble behind the building as the key to our mystery.

Without knowing what they destroyed, we can't solve the escape method. I guess we do have a use for Shinigami's Revisit Crime Scene ability.

I want to go back to when we first showed up on the rooftop. To see what the back of the building looked like then.

Nothing that's visible from the rooftop. That's because the key to our mystery isn't on the rooftop.

And there's the smoking gun.

Icardi removed the grate from the storm drain so that he could make a high-altitude dive into the hydro-electric channels below. He shot Shachi and then made his great leap. Then he swam through the channel into the power plant and disappeared into the flooded Marunomon District.

And that is the truth behind Who and How. Though Why remains unsolved. The most plausible reason is that Icardi (and Servan, who had to be in on the terrorism plot with him) was working with the Peacekeepers. But if Icardi was a pig in a blanket then he wouldn't need to premeditate an elaborate escape method like this.

The alternative is that Icardi and Servan killed Shachi because they didn't want his pacifism holding them back. That they were more violent revolutionaries trying to strike a spark.

But then it's weird that they'd play Terrorism Minigames with Yuma instead of, like, carrying out real bombings. Still can't make heads or tails of what that was about.

We should note here that, since they planned to intentionally provoke CTU, it's conspicuous that Margulaw excused himself and left the district before it could become flooded with cops. That doesn't necessarily mean he's a co-conspirator but it's a bad look.

And we all know the one person who could make that dive.

Don't worry, bestie. Only two, maybe three of them.

Ha! They're standing in Most to Least Suspicious order right now. Servan isn't the killer but he had to be involved in the bombing plot. Margulaw has no reason to suspect him of conspiracy but it's suspicious that he left. Iruka is totally clean; She wouldn't have let Icardi make that stupid right hand/left hand mistake.

In what sounded very much like Icardi's voice, giving him away.

That would explain why Shachi didn't go out the front door, yeah. It was super weird that he went to the roof when he was trying to flee the police.

Maybe that's why he left the key in the lock? It might make the lock sturdier somehow? I dunno. That's still weird to me.

It's funny that I finally pegged the right killer on the mystery I had the most trouble piecing together.

#master detective archives: rain code #drake plays rain code

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theotomemaiden · 6 years ago

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A Blank Number 1-10 Character Meme That I Replaced With My Top 10 Diaboys

Number 1-10

1. Carla Tsukinami

2. Shin Tsukinami

3. Azusa Mukami

4. Subaru Sakamaki

5. Shu Sakamaki

6. Kanato Sakamaki

7. Laito Sakamaki

8. Ruki Mukami

9. Ayato Sakamaki

10. Yuma Mukami

1. 9 (Ayato Sakamaki) wants to play a video game.

Ayato: “Watch as Ore-sama gets the new highest score!!!”

Me: “Yes...I mean, I thought you asked me to play with you, not just watch you win...”

2. At the market, 10 (Yuma Mukami) takes the last item you need on your shopping list.

Me: “Yuma, I need to buy some su-”

Yuma: “TCH, NO. NO SUGAR-CHAN FOR YOU.”

3. 1 (Carla Tsukinami) gives 7 (Laito Sakamaki) "classified information." You decide to investigate with 4 (Subaru Sakamaki).

Subaru: “Ha?! We have to go to that pervert's room?!”

Me: “SHH!! I saw him put the info folder in his dresser drawer..”

Subaru: “I'M NOT TOUCHING HIS DRESSER! TCH!”

Me: “Please Subaru, I can't reach it! I need to know what Carla gave him!”

*Subaru quietly opens the drawer and gets the folder out*

Subaru: “Tch, here.”

Me taking the folder and looking inside expecting something super secretive: *Gasps*

Subaru: “What?! What is it?!”

Me: “IT'S A HAM RECIPE”

*dies laughing*

Subaru: “Tch! How ridiculous!” *punches hole in wall and walks away*

Me: *still laughing*

4. 2 (Shin Tsukinami) and 9 (Ayato Sakamaki) take you out on a vacation.

Ayato: “Hey Chichinashi, can you guess where we're going?”

Shin: *Grinning evilly*

Me: “UNTIE ME THIS INSTANT!” *Muffled grumbles behind the tape they shut my mouth with*

Shin: “Don't worry, you'll be so hot and wet you won't even care...”

Me: *Eyes open widely*

Ayato: “Hahaha! Chichinashi looks so terrified!” *Laughs mockingly*

Shin: “Calm down, what are you thinking you dirty girl...?”

Ayato: “We're going to the water-park!!!”

Me: “NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!” *Screams in terror*

5. 6 (Kanato Sakamaki) is holding 3 (Azusa Mukami) hostage.

Azusa: “Kanato-san....I...didn't take...Teddy....”

Kanato: *Holding knife to Azusa's throat*

Kanato: “You think you can fool me?! You can't fool me nor Teddy!”

Azusa: “Please....hurt me....won't you...Kanato-san...?”

Kanato in his head: Why did I think this would turn out any other way...

6. 5 (Shu Sakamaki) and 10 (Yuma Mukami) are role playing and want you to join.

Me: “So boys...anyone interested in fire play?”

Shu & Yuma: *Kills Emily with death glares*

7. You're asked by 2 (Shin Tsukinami) to go skinny dipping.

Me: “Alright, why the hell not?! *Strips naked*

Shin: *Transforms into wolf*

Me: “HEY THAT'S NOT FAIR..!”

Carla: *Walks outside just in time to see Shin pounce on Emily into the water*

Carla: *Walks back inside like he saw nothing happen*

Me struggling underwater: “CARLA, WHY?!” ;-;

8. 9 (Ayato Sakamaki) has claimed her/himself to be more awesome than you.

Me: Big fucking surprise there...

9. 1 (Carla Tsukinami), 6 (Kanato Sakamaki) and 8 (Ruki Mukami) are locked in a closet from the inside. You go in and the door shuts behind you, meaning that you're stuck in there too.

Me: “Uh...What's going on..in here...?”

Kanato: *Crying*

Ruki: “EMILY, NO!”

Me: “Huh?!”

Carla: *Sighs heavily*

Ruki: “The door....”

Kanato: “I JUST WANT SWEETS!”

Me: *Tries turning the door handle* “Ohh...fuck.”

Ruki: “Yeah...”

Carla: *Sighs even deeper*

Me: “Carla, can't you use your magic???”

Carla: “No. Not in a confined space like this....”

Kanato: “I CAN'T SEE ANYTHING!” *Continues to whine*

Me: *Puts hand on Kanato's shoulder* “No need to cry, we'll get-”

Kanato: “DON'T TOUCH ME!” *Pushes Emily backward and into Carla*

Me: *Falls back on Carla and onto the floor*

Carla: “Grrr.....”

Me: This....is not looking so good....

Me: “Okay....well, I can't see a god damn thing...”

Ruki: “Me neither...”

Kanato: *Cries*

Me: “Carla-san, can you see?”

Carla: “Of course I can. I see perfectly clear. I'm far superior to all of you.”

Ruki: “If you're so far superior why can't you do anything about this situation?”

Carla: “Care to repeat yourself, you lowly vampire?”

Ruki: “I'm sure I was clear enough...”

Me: *Stands up slowly* “Now guys, calm do-”

Carla: *Growls*

Me: Uh-oh..

Me: *Is pulled against Carla quickly* “Gahh!!”

Carla: *Raises hand and blows up the walls instantly*

Kanato: *Runs away quickly*

Carla: “Want to repeat that, vampire?” *Gives Ruki death glare*

Ruki: “Not at all. Just testing you.” *Gives Carla a mocking grin*

Me: *Is let go from Carla* “Wow Carla, that was amazing!”

Carla: *Crosses his arms proudly* “I know” he smirks.

10. 3 (Azusa Mukami) and 7 (Laito Sakamaki) are acting like 5-year-olds.

Laito: “Hey! Hey Azusa! Want to see who can jump higher over that fence?”

Azusa: “Hehe....okay...you go...first...”

Laito: “No, I dare you to go first!”

Azusa: “...I...double-dare you...to go...first...”

Laito: “Hmph. Fine! Haha!” *Jumps high over fence*

Azusa: “Haha...wow...that was....high....” *Is impressed*

Laito: “I know! Now, it's your turn!” *Giggles*

Azusa: “...okay...”

Azusa: *Runs and tries to jump over fence but fails miserably*

Laito: O_O

Azusa: …....

Laito: *Runs away*

11. You are forced into training exercises by 4 (Subaru Sakamaki) and 10 (Yuma Mukami).

Me: “Haven't...I done enough?!” *Panting and out of breath*

Yuma: “Not until you surpass that NEET's little brother! Work harder!”

Subaru: “Tch....this is ridiculous. She's never gonna lift more weight than me, stupid! She's only human!”

Me: “Yuma...please! I'm a human!” *About to pass out*

Yuma: “I don't care! I was able to lift more weights than that when I was human! She has no excuse!”

Me: *Dies*

Yuma: O_O

Subaru: “See. I told you.” *Walks away*

12. 4 (Subaru Sakamaki) and 9 (Ayato Sakamaki) took over your house.

Ayato: “This is Ore-sama's kingdom now!”

Subaru: “I'm only here to avoid the rest of them.”

Me: “Guys, what the hell?! What did you do to my house?!”

Ayato: “Since this is now Ore-sama's place, I replaced your ugly furniture with Ore-sama's things. Be thankful, Chichinashi!”

Me: “GET OUT OF MY HOUSE!”

Ayato: “Blah blah blah. Make me some takoyaki!”

Me: “Subaru!”

Subaru: “........”

Me: *Leaves*

13. 5 (Shu Sakamaki) and 8 (Ruki Mukami) need your help with something.

Ruki: “Kachiku, come here.”

Me: “Huh? What...”

Shu: “....”

Ruki: “Let's settle this.”

Me: “Settle what?”

Ruki: “Shu is trying to tell me that the violin is superior to the viola, but surely it is not.”

Shu: “Of course it is, the sounds it produces are of greater range.”

Ruki: “That is irrelevant to the depth the viola has and the smoothness of its sound.”

Shu: “The violin is far superior, right Emily?”

Ruki: “Kachiku, you know the viola is greater, don't you?”

Me: O_O *Has no clue what the difference is nor finds it interesting*

14. Somehow your phone is receiving 3 (Azusa Mukami) and 4's (Subaru Sakamaki) text conversation.

Azusa: “Hi...Subaru....It's Azusa...”

Subaru: “???”

Azusa: “I wanted....to ask..for...your silver....knife”

Subaru: “No.”

Azusa: “Please....I just...want...to...borrow it...”

Subaru: “No. Leave me alone.”

Azusa: “...please...”

Subaru: “NO.”

15. You're at the beach with 1 (Carla Tsukinami) and 6 (Kanato Sakamaki).

Me: *Is sitting on a black blanket over the sand with a huge black umbrella in a black sweatshirt, black sun hat and black sunglasses*

Carla: *Stole Emily's beach chair under the umbrella*

Carla: *sighs* “How did I even end up supervising...?”

Me: “Technically I'M supervising...”

Carla: “Yeah Kisama, and I was sent to supervise you.”

Kanato: *Is building a sand castle by the ocean with Teddy*

Me: *Gives Carla a death glare*

Carla: *Gives an even scarier death glare back*

Me: “Hmph.” *Looks away*

Me: “Ugh. Would you move over some? The last thing I need is sun burn and you took my chair!”

Carla: “Listen Kisama, learn your place. If anyone is going to be sitting in the chair, it's going to be the king.”

Me: *Smirks at Carla*

Carla: “???”

Me: *Moves to sit on Carla's lap*

Carla: “WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!”

Me: “Sitting in MY chair!”

Carla: “GET OFF OF ME!”

Me: “THEN GET OUT OF MY CHAIR!”

Carla: “NO!”

Me: “YES!”

Carla: *Pushes Emily off*

Chair: *Breaks*

Carla: *Falls*

Me: “LOOK WHAT YOU DID TO MY CHAIR!!!”

Carla: “THIS WAS YOUR FAULT!”

Me: “That's it, I can't take this anymore.”

Me: *Stands and looks for Kanato*

Kanato: *Nowhere to be found*

Me: “Oh?! Shit! Look, you made me lose sight of him! Oh my gosh, they're gonna kill me when they find out!”

Carla: “...Not if I kill you first.” *Eye twitching angrily*

I was bored and was laughing pretty hard at myself thinking of these scenarios.

What is my life.

#diabolik lovers #diabolik #dialovers #diahell #scenarios #character meme #bored #sorry for cursing

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pxiao · 8 years ago

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5 reasons I love Arc-V

Today as I was bored, I kept reading metas of why some people loved Arc-V or their favorite moments of the show and I decided to analyze why Arc-V is my favorite Yu-Gi-Oh! show and honestly one of my favorite shows period(this honestly shocks me today still) Also in this piece I’ll generally talk about the previous series and I don’t mean to insult them(well most of them) but I’ll have to talk about what I found about them lacking and how Arc-V fixed that for me, sorry if anything I say is offensive.

Lessons

I’ll be blunt, most of the franchise’s “lessons” are generic lessons like believe in yourself and your friends will help you do anything stuff, especially when Yoshida is writing, that you can find in any show for kids. While yes it’s important for kids to learn this but when that’s the lesson for nearly everything it gets old fast, especially for a franchise that’s 2 decades old. That’s not to say there aren’t some good lessons in there as well like the past makes who you are and by trying to ignore it, you’re not doing yourself a favor but it’s soooo overwhelmed by the generic lessons.

In comparison Arc-V gives some really unique and interesting lessons. Like when Yuya was scared of not being special because Reiji was cracking Pendulum monsters, instead of the generic “everyone is special” stuff, Shuzou gave Yuya a great goal, become the pioneer of Pendulum Summoning thus everyone will remember and look up to you. That’s not something you hear regularly if ever.

The best example of this is how Jack continually called Yuya out on using his father’s dueling and we all expected this would be Yuya breaking free of his father’s influence and “be himself” whatever that means. But Jack gave a rather interesting spin on it, that people are influenced by others and you know what that’s FINE. To be yourself doesn’t mean everything has to be original but that you’re able to understand the influence that others had on you and use to it explain your will. And that craziest thing is, Jack’s right. People are ALWAYS influenced by others, no matter what you say, we always look up to others and use them as examples whether it be our parents, friends, celebrities or fictional characters. A strong example is writers, every writer will tell you that there are no more original stories, every possible story that can be told has been told, but if so why are some stories seems original while others feel bored and generic. Easy the writers of original stories take the story elements of well known stories/genres and put their own spin on it, they make it their own. While generic stories are the result of writers lazily copying what was done before and hoping it works. For example Game of Thrones takes the basic fantasy tropes and then takes out the part where the heroes somehow survive and actually face the consequences of their honorable but stupid actions

Standing

I’ll admit watching people duel is fun and if I didn’t like that I wouldn’t like this franchise. But at the same time, you have to admit it gets OLD having two or more episodes, DM sometimes took FOUR episodes on 1 lousy duel, of two people yelling at each other, pointing and smirking.

5D’s riding duels were an attempt to fix this by having the duelists and the monsters in motion and giving the characters something to do beside react. But if I have to be honest, Action Duels are the perfect way to fix this. By having Action Duels, we get to see the characters in motions and show off their agility or showing their monsters helping them. Who didn’t enjoy seeing how agile Sora and Shun was when they dueled in episode 34. It gives a sense of suspense and the previous series generally lacked cause if they were in trouble, we thought, oh they have an face-down, that’ll save them.

Predictability

Yu-Gi-Oh! is many things but unpredictable it is not. We generally knew the result of every duel and every twist before it ever started. Sure there are some twists like Atem playing the seal, Kaito dying despite winning, Carly dying and the whole Supreme King thing in GX. But this was more of the a treat in a LONG, LONG WHILE.

And lets face it, whatever you felt about Arc-V it was always unpredictable don’t try to deny it. In plot development, characters and even duel results. A great example is Yuya vs Yuri. We knew they were going to duel because of course they were, they were the counterparts that represented the greatest extremes. But when the episodes finally came out, NOBODY was sure if Yuya or Yuri was going to win, it was a literal toss up. We questioned, argued and were shocked that Yuya did win. The day when we have a duel with the protagonist and the fandom is literally split 50/50 on the result shows the writers were great at surprises.

Main Characters

Ok this is going to get me in the dog house but Yuya is a fucking breath of fresh air in modern anime. It’s so nice to have a sympathetic main character that gets continuous character development and has flaws, like HONEST to god flaws that aren’t there to make him look good. That’s not to say there aren’t good protagonists in recent anime like Kaneki from Tokyo Ghoul or Yato from Noragami just they’re more and more rare due to the many, many harems or how many shows are more or less power fantasies. And Yuya as a character is even more amazing especially this compared to Yu-Gi-Oh! protagonists, not to say I hate them, except one, but that Yuya just blows them out the water.

For Atem got the short end of the stick as he did get character development but the anime started at the start of said development so we didn’t get to see how he changed. DM started at the end of the Death-T arc where Atem was starting to get more kind. His mind crush is literally the nicest punishment he’s given, he literally drove people crazy and set a man on fire before. And for Yugi, look the anime also shafted him, he rarely got focus and most of the time that was for exposition. By the time we saw his development, it had occurred off-screen and well that’s one of my pet peeves in terms of writing.

Judai, Ok I admit out of the protagonists before Yuya, he got the most development. But he got it in his third year and that’s it. He spent his first and second year more or less unbothered by the events around him and then said third year broken him into a million of pieces and tried to put him together in time. But at the same time, his development bothered me too, it most or less came down to this phrase, “Children card games aren’t all fun and games, it’s serious”. Yeah that’s ridiculous.

Yusei, oh this is hard to admit as he’s either my second or third favorite protagonist(it’s tight race with Atem) but he has the least development of the protagonists or more than Atem in the anime. I admit, he rarely changes and that’s sad, especially when Yoshida got his hands on him. But luckily Yusei was interesting enough to work as a character but the issue remains he’s pretty static and a bit too perfect.

Yuma ....... You know how I said Yusei’s issue is he’s a bit too perfect, yeah Yuma’s the exact opposite. And Yuma fans look away, I’m going on a fucking rant here. Yuma’s issue is that he does have flaws but his series continually pushes it’s head up it’s ass to convince us that said flaw is actually a strength despite showing yes it is flaw. And then there’s how he gets everyone to fall in love with him, the show bending it’s logic so he’s always right and the biggest annoyance is that he remains the fucking same. Just as stupid, just as naive and just as flawed and we’re supposed to support that. HELL NO.

While Yuya is this guy that wants everyone to be happy and well he has flaws that stop him from doing this. He can be selfish, stubborn, lacks self confidence and hesitates. And this just makes him all the better, Yuya has flaws like real people, he suffers like real people, he questions his ideals like more people should but he changes and we get to see it in front of us for three years. No matter what people say Yuya will always be one of the best characters Yu-Gi-Oh! has ever produced.

Suspension of Disbelief

Look I’m not going to mince words here to watch this franchise, you need to turn off your brain. This happens for every show where all conflicts can be solved by using consumer goods that are for some reason connected to magic.

And the BIGGEST reason I love Arc-V is well they do a great job justifying everything. Why are card games dangerous, holograms with mass are awesome to kill people with. Why use holograms with mass, cause it’s awesome and people will pay to see it. Reiji’s being a dick, Yuya tries to punch him. Police lose a duel, they still try to catch the “criminal”. With Arc-V, you get the sense of what happens if you take Yu-Gi-Oh! and put in in the real world and watch the chaos as the rules we know and love are twisted by reality.

And some of you reading this might wonder if I even like Yu-Gi-Oh! beside Arc-V and I do besides Zexal but I can admit that Yu-Gi-Oh! as a franchise has many problems, how it handles the female characters for example ..... and I can admit Arc-V has issues too, pacing and sadly how they treated female characters in the end too. But again just because you like something doesn’t mean you should believe it’s perfect.

#arc-v

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worstpossibledokis · 8 years ago

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Shoaling

A collection of short prompts from random words I did last night because I got slightly distracted from my normal stuff. All loosely connected, all Ryoga centric after the tend interactions. And tbh nearly all of them can be read as slightly shippy but yeah.

Prompts: Parasitic, Blackmail, Blabbermouth, Herd, Divinity and Sentinel

“Shoal. A social group of fish is a shoal.”

Parasitic

No one else seems to get it. Not even Yuma. He says he does. They’re not really sure.

Ryoga hates IV.

Thomas hates Nasch.

And that’s the basis of this friendship. IV’s first true friend and Ryoga’s… something. He’s not sure right now. He’s not sure he’s ever been sure.

They lie in the middle of the room in silence. It’s some old museum thing. A white castle in the middle of a lake. Stain glass windows, broken statues and sort of churchy, from what Ryoga knows about churches at least. Apparently Tron - he’s never not going to be Tron in Ryoga’s eyes, and any hypocrisy on the matter be damned - owns the place. Apparently they’d once duelled Kaito and Yuma here. Apparently they’d drained Haruto’s power here. Ryoga wonders where he was for all this sometimes but doesn’t voice it. Back then, the less time spent in IV’s company, the better.

Even now. The less time spent with sneering, jabbing, cruel IV, the better.

Just like he knows the less time Thomas sees Nasch, the better.

Lying next to IV in silence, everything is forgotten. His friends - and he Don Thousand help him, he loves them even so - remind him of who he was, what he’d done. Yuma, Kaito, Rio, even Vector for goodness sake. He still sees Nasch reflected in their eyes. But not next to IV.

In IV’s eyes he sees Ryoga. Kamishiro Ryoga.

Just like in Ryoga’s own eyes, IV sees Thomas.

They hate their alter egos. They see the pain the other caused them. The fire in IV’s eyes, the Barian World in Ryoga’s. They can live with themselves, they can be in peace together, because together, they don’t have to hate themselves. There’s someone else to do it for them.

Blackmail

Don’t punch him. Don’t punch him. Dont punch him.

It’s a mantra. Over and over and over.

Don’t punch him.

Oh, but it’s hard. It’s so hard.

When he smirks like that. When his hands go to his hips. When he looks at him with those sharp, clear, all too knowing eyes.

Do not punch him.

Ryoga refuses to even think his name right now. He’s disowned him. They’re not friends. They’re not even enemies. He’s just an asshole taking way too much pleasure in getting his hands on another soul.

(Or is it the same soul twice? Ryoga isn’t really sure about where he stands with souls right now and thinking about it will probably give him a headache anyway. So he doesn’t.)

The asshole who doesn’t deserve a name takes out the pendant and Ryoga’s soul shakes. He’d better not have been messing with it. Ryoga’s eyes narrowed furiously and his smirk somehow gets wider. Ryoga wonders if he has any expressions between pissed, smug and yelling for Haruto.

Right now it’s definitely far too smug and the urge to punch his is rising again.

(And the urge to do something far worse that he’s never going to admit to. At all. Ever.)

“Nasch.”

Ryoga shudders, something uncomfortable churning inside him as his name - his other name - rolls off his tongue. Why he’s saying it like that is beyond Ryoga. He’s not getting anything from Ryoga, even if he does have-

Why the hell had Yuma left a piece of their souls in those dumb gems when he used the Numeron Code?!

“I wonder, Nasch,” he says, slipping Nasch’s soul around his own neck. Bastard. “What will you do to retrieve you sou? Yuma’s not here to do if for you this time.”

Blabbermouth

“You guys will never guess what I saw last night!”

Ryoga stiffens, turning to glare at Yuma. It should be a clear message. Shut the hell up. Vector was sitting right there! Right next to him. There’s no way Yuma can’t have noticed him.

And, perhaps even worse that Vector, Rio is there too.

“Yuma,” Ryoga says, his voice low and threatening. “Think very carefully before continuing with that sentence.”

“Huh?”

Of course, now they all know it’s about him. And they know it’s something he doesn’t want them to know. So, of course, Vector and Rio are staring up at him expectantly. He’s put himself in a position to get harassed and pestered and who knows what else by two of the greatest foes he could ever hope to face (no, it’s not weird to think of his sister like that, he knows she owns his ass) but it’s better than letting Yuma blab.

“But, Shark-”

“Yuma. You saw nothing.”

“No but, you- I- last night-”

“No.”

Yuma pouts and Ryoga is almost impressed by how close to a glare that is. He must be rubbing off on him. He’s learning. Good. It’s about time he stopped being such a naive excitable idiot. It’s nice to know the rubbing off isn’t entirely one way.

“What did you see, Yuma?” Vector purrs.

“Rio was on a date with IV!”

“We weren’t making out, he started it and I wasn’t enjoying it at all, it was just he had my-” Wait. Rio and IV? That isn’t what he thought Yuma was going to say at all. “She what?!”

“It wasn’t a date!” Rio snapped. “We were just talking and you can’t just say things like that, Yuma. Ryoga’s right there. You’ll give him a heart attack.” She pauses and turns. “Who weren’t you making out with, Ryoga?”

Herd

The Kamishiro mansion is full of life again. He wonders if Ryoga - the real Ryoga - and his family would be glad their beloved family home and Rio and Ryoga have gain a new loving family.

They do drive Ryoga to despair sometimes. Like that time Durbe, for some odd reason, seemed to take personal offense to their suit of armour. Or when he caught Vector glaring down a portrait of their family, muttering about his mother. They are family though.

“You’re all going to be late!” Rio bellows through the house. Is that directed at him? “Ryoga!” Definitely directed at him. “You have five seconds before there are peppers in your lunch!”

“I’m up!” Ryoga yells back.

Alit and Mizael are preening in front of the bathroom mirror as he brushes his teeth. Mizael hands him a hairband and Ryoga pulls his hair up. Alit hands him a tie. It’s the wrong colour. They swap.

Vector nearly trips him up in the hallway. Ryoga picks up Vector’s navy and red cardigan and throws it at him. How Vector got into a private academy is beyond him but it’s the same school as Thomas. Maybe that’s it.

Gilag hands a slice of toast and his bag as he hurries down the stairs. He smiles and nods gratefully, taking a bite as Durbe slides a book over. Durbe goes over his homework for him. Ryoga hands at least a day after the due date (he’s had his reputation damaged enough by all these sudden friends) but he does read it Durbe’s notes.

Ryoga grabs his lunch from Rio as they head to the door. Ryoga frowns. They’re waiting for him? Even Vector is hanging around as they head out the gates. Despite his school being half an hour’s walk further.

“You guys could leave without me, you know?”

They laugh and shake their heads and Ryoga frowns, left trudging at the back with Vector, who elbows him in the ribs.

“Don’t you get it? You’re like an alpha wolf or something, and they’re your pack.” Ryoga doesn’t point out Vector is here with him too. “Or your school of fish, as it were.”

“Shoal,” Ryoga says. “A social group of fish is a shoal. Schooling is when fish move together in the same direction.”

Divinity

Ryoga had started wondering just what a god really is. It came from that time he noticed something Thomas has been doing for a while.

He fumbles with a cross around his neck. Near constantly around Rio. It digs into his palm around Kaito. It’s tucked away around Yuma to avoid questions and tied on a belt loop when he’s in the lab.

So Ryoga, being as it was Thomas he was dealing with, grabbed Thomas by they collar and tugged at the pendant, asking him what it was and demanding he stopped playing with it because it was distracting as all hell.

(That last part is more to save him the embarrassment of admitting he’s curious about Thomas’ habits.)

It’s a surprise someone like Thomas, after all he’s done, believes in a god - maybe it’s because of all he’s done. It got Ryoga thinking though.

Thomas explained his god is a creator and father. He forgives their sins if they repent and punishes them if they don’t (sounds like Kaito). Ryoga finds himself rather fascinated to hear Thomas talk about his faith. Even if Tron and Chris sigh about him believing in something so irrational.

Michael explains gods through history when he hears Ryoga is curious. The other Barians explain what they remember of their culture’s gods. Ryoga vaguely remembers his own. Another race that doesn’t pay much attention to humans (sounds Astral or Barian). Or divine beings that watch over the humans and can be grouchy when wronged. They have their own dramas and interactions.

Ryoga considers Abyss. The deity who’d been bound to Vector. Who’d followed him and served him.

And then, naturally, his mind wanders to Don Thousand. The Barian god. What does that even mean? Their creator. He defied death with Barian Lords. Isn’t that just how Astral’s are though? Kaito’s stupid dragon not only created the universe but helped rewrite it. Kaito had lived.

“I think it’s a matter of what you believe in,” Yuma says, swinging his legs in the air. “Everyone believes something has answers. Like Kaito, V and Tron believe in science. Although Kaito kinda believes in dragons too. You believed Don Thousand was a god, so he was. Like I believe in my kattobing. You believe in something too, right? Even now.”

Ryoga just smiles, leaning his head down on folded arms. Idiot.

Sentinel

Ryoga doesn’t sleep well anymore. Even less than he used to. He sits on top the roof of his home, gazing up at the moon - well, the sky in general but the moon always seems to catch his eye and tug at his heart - and wondering if this really is it. It seems too quiet. Too peaceful. Maybe that’s because all he’s known all his life is pain and war.

He doesn’t need to look to know the footsteps behind him are Durbe’s.

Ryoga tilts his head slowly. Durbe looks ghostly in the moonlight. Pale skin, pale hair, pale eyes, even pale pyjamas. (He’s out here in his pyjamas?) He almost glows. The soft breeze ruffles his hair and Durbe smiles a little, pushing his hair from his eyes.

There’s glint of red. Durbe’s lapis still settled around his wrist. Even if it’s just a fragment of their power that still remains within them, Ryoga understand the need to have it with him. There’s a comfort about it.

Durbe sits silently, his back pressed to Ryoga’s. So Ryoga does what feels right, laying his head back, leaning on Durbe’s shoulder and gazing up the sky once more. This world they’d nearly destroyed is so peaceful now. So quiet and still. It’s accepted them back so readily. As if everything is forgiven.

Ryoga has promised he’ll never let that happen again. He won’t let anything threaten this world, that welcomed them home so warmly, ever again.

He tilts his head as Durbe nudges him. Durbe’s offering him an earbud. Ryoga smiles and takes it slowly. Durbe likes classical and traditional music, befitting his slightly bookish human appearance and past as a pure, honourable knight. He always wrinkles his nose at Ryoga’s guitar and the music he plays on it.

So it’s a surprise to find they’re actually listening to modern versions of classical pieces; played on modern instruments and remixed and rearranged.

Ryoga smiles, leaning his head back on Durbe’s shoulder once more, continuing his silent guard with his hand laid over Durbe’s.

#zexal #Ryoga Kamishiro #durbe #Thomas Arclight #kaito tenjo #way too many others to bother tagging them all #but those are the ones who get a focus #my zexal fics #random word ficlets

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