#aibou back again

[sualne]

that guy

[evilmafuyu666]

leo/need stories: the girls are about to perform at a live house but oh no!!! honami is scared!! they work together and in the end they put on a great show :)

more more jump stories: the girls are about to perform at some kind of idol festival but oh no!!! minori slipped on a banana peel and fell down the stairs and broke every bone in her body somehow!!! she thinks of how sad haruka would be if they couldnt perform together and heals her bones through sheer lesbian willpower. they put on a great show :)

vivid bad squad stories: an and akito convince themselves that the only way they can sing good enough to surpass rad weekend is if they lock themselves in the saw bathroom and have to saw off their own legs to escape. their aibous are forced to break into the building and talk them down from doing this. they put on a great show :)

wonderlands x showtime: tsukasa is visited by a sleep paralysis demon in the middle of the night that steals his lucky socks. he cant perform without his lucky socks and the gang has to track down the demon and get them back. rui constructs some kind of doohickey to kill the demon and they get the socks back. the demon is implied to be a manifestation of some horrific part of tsukasas psyche but they never elaborate on it again. they put on a great show :)

nightcord at 25:00 stories: mafuyu wanders into silent hill on the way back from school one day and is chased by pyramid head. she can leave at any point but she wonders if she can find her true feelings by staying in the town, and is willing to put her life in danger just to do so. kanade finds out about this and goes to silent hill herself but she is shit with directions and cannot find mafuyu so ena and mizuki also have to go in there. when they eventually find her shes just chilling with pyramid head and watching cars 2 in the meat room. kanade wonders if pyramid head is a manifestation of how mafuyu feels towards her mother. mafuyu is now oomfs with pyramid head on twitter. nightcord doesnt do shows so they just go to ihop

[project-sekai-facts]

How are we feeling about ensekai’s emu3 translation!!! (I’m mad)

(if you remember the 3 whole posts i made when asahi got de-gayed on EN you'll know i am mad too and that this is probably going to get long)

i don't like to be too cynical but it was so obvious that they were going to change that line, i had a feeling since the event first released on JP and after the incident with Asahi where I went through and tracked down multiple other examples of EN removing queer subtext it became clear to me that in no way shape or form was "emu-chan really loves nene-chan" making it to EN without getting changed. what i didn't expect was them changing Nene's line after Luka's comment, which actually makes this whole situation far worse than many of their other instances of toning down queer subtext.

for anyone who isn't aware of what happened, in chapter 5 of the current Emu event, there's a scene where Nene, Rui and the Virtual Singers are talking about what would cheer Emu up. The vsingers all talk about how much Emu loves spending time with Nene, leading to the following exchange

If you look for them, any fan TL of this scene will be something similar to this:

Luka: ...Fufu. Emu-chan really loves Nene-chan, doesn't she? Nene: Th-that's nothing special...

EN's official translation is this:

So what's the issue? I'll start with Luka's part. In the original text, she uses the word daisuki, which can mean to "like a lot" or "love". It's a word you will see frequently in the idol/idol-adjacent genre of games, due to its ambiguity in that it can be read as either platonic or romantic when used towards a person, and often will be used in ambiguous situations so that it's harder to confirm the writers' intentions either way. so here, fans of the emu/nene ship could view the fact that emu loves spending her time with nene as more on the romantic side, but people who don't like the ship could view it as platonic and move on.

while they didn't translate daisuki directly, Luka's line still works, and still contains the ambiguity that works as ship tease in the original text. it's a perfectly fine localisation that still conveys the original intent. despite that, there is something to be said about EN's consistent refusal to translate daisuki as love in most instances when it's not used on An/Kohane (but then again, EN has literally teased An/Kohane on their twitter account so is it all that surprising?).

Here's some examples:

Aibou no koto ga daisuki de / he loves his partner -> he cares about his partner very much (The Power of Unity chapter 7 when Kaito is comparing Arata to Akito and Toya)

HARUKA-CHAN, DAISUKI DAYOOOO!!! / HARUKA-CHAN, I LOOOOOVEEE YOU!!! -> You're the best!!! (Dear Me, As I Was Back Then chapter 4 when minori is at an ASRUN concert. this one isn't actually that great of a localisation)

Honachan no koto daisuki dakara. Kore de iinda yo. / I love Honachan, so this is fine. -> I want what's best for her. And this is it. (Leo/need main story chapter 14 after Saki tells Honami she won't bother her anymore)

Minna daisuki de - taisetsuna tomodachi na no / I love them all - they're my dearest friends -> They're all amazing, and very dear to me. (Leo/need main story chapter 17. this isn't good either)

What's particularly amusing about that last one is that there's a second official translation for it that I assume was done by JP staff (since EN never promoted doing the Journey to Bloom subs like they did back when they provided subs for Petit SEKAI) that actually keeps the word daisuki as love.

Yeah. I love all my friends - and they mean the world to me.

It's a better localisation than the official EN team one.

Questionable localisation choices aside, Luka's line is fine and is actually in line with the original. The issue with this localisation very much lies with Nene's part, because that is an entirely new line.

In the original text, Nene's "that's just normal" or "that's nothing special" or however you choose to TL it, is meant to be her questioning Luka's statement, since all the things that the other vsingers said that Emu liked were pretty normal things like going shopping and playing video games with nene. To Nene, these things are normal activities for them to do together, so she gets embarrassed by the fact that Luka concludes from that information that Emu loves Nene. When I dissect it like that I think you can really tell what the writers were going for here lol.

"That's just us being friends" does still convey the idea that Nene thinks these activities aren't anything out of the ordinary and she isn't sure why the vsingers are picking these out as some of Emu's favorite things to do, but it's very different from the original line. "But those are just normal things we do together" is something I just came up with on the spot, but it's a lot closer to the original text and still conveys the same meaning. The fact they changed the line to "that's just us being friends" is, honestly, not even subtle that they're covering up queer subtext. The original scene was very clearly written in as ship tease, and EN mentioning "friends" for no reason, especially since the word nor anything close to it was not used in the original, is instantly a red flag because it's like the go-to for queerbaiting and censorship. This was intentional. There was no need for them to specify that the relationship is platonic, Luka's part is ambiguous for a reason so that fans can view it how they like.

Just to top all this off, here's Rin's original line just before that Luka+Nene interaction:

Oh, and! And! She said that playing games with Nene-chan is also super fun!

And here's Rin's line from the official EN translation:

That's not the same thing, but even more weirdly, the incorrect part (super fun->really loves) is a correct translation for the part changed in Luka's line. So, they can do it, they are willing to say "really loves", just not in the right places. Maybe because Rin's part is less personal than Luka's part? It's strange actually, this isn't the first time they've done this either. Off the top of my head I can think of an example from Shiho's Varied Kindness 2* story where they translated the word "suki" as really loves, despite that being much stronger than the original word used (and the fact that daisuki is used a lot in the Leo/need stories and it's incredibly rare if not entirely unknown for them to translate it correctly).

It's not subtle that they're trying to remove implications of the characters possibly being queer, they did it in curtain call and they did it in walk on and on, and multiple times before then too. And considering some of the content in this year's events and the amount of times they say daisuki alone, it's gonna keep happening. honestly i hate the fact that i keep trying to justify the translations in these posts. these translations are intentional. what happened in the curtain call translation back in october says enough. when a character who uses explicitly romantic language towards another guy passes as a straight character in the translation you know they're doing it on purpose.

oh and once again, it's only the EN server that has this issue. The scene in question was translated almost word-for-word on the TW and KR servers.

read fan translations. they're better than what EN gives us and people put a lot of effort into them.

[kikokus]

Lucci and Kaku: An Analysis

I haven’t done long analysis/meta/essay-style posts in a while, but after seeing a comment that amounted to “every time Lucci’s shown an interest in something that doesn’t have to do with killing, Kaku’s involved” it made me think about whether or not that's true and, more specifically, whether or not there’s been sufficient build-up to justify what happens in Chapter 1111.

So let’s explore, shall we?

First of all, basic disclaimer that I’ve been heavily into One Piece since 2008 and Water 7 has been my favorite arc since the first time I read it that summer. Kaku, in turn, has always been one of my top characters in the entire series for various reasons…but this isn’t about him (at least, not entirely), so all of that is just to say that I’ve thought about these characters a lot over the years.

And I think what always struck me about them is that not only are they so fundamentally different, but that realistically Lucci should not tolerate Kaku at all. He’s pretty much everything Lucci’s not, and they’re more-or-less a perfect example of the ‘someone will die…of fun!’ meme in a lot of ways (and honestly it’s what I think of every time I see this card, but I digress):

At the same time, what happened in the latest chapter didn’t surprise me, because there’s been hints all along, and I’ve personally been waiting years for it to pay off…even though part of me thought it never would, or at least not in the way it did!

Still, how did we get here?

But First, A Bit About 相棒

So. Why is the fact that Lucci calls Kaku his “相棒” (aibou) so significant? Mostly because of the…individualistic meaning of the word. It literally translates to ‘partner’, but not in a romantic/life-partner way (not to say that it has never been used like that, but it’s not the inherent meaning of the word).

Unlike words such as 友人 (yuujin), 友達 (tomodachi), and of course, with Luffy, 仲間 (nakama), aibou generally only refers to one person. You can have many friends, teammates, crew members…but only one aibou. So by calling Kaku that, Lucci’s already placing him on a different level to anyone else in CP9 or CP0 and acknowledging openly that Kaku’s important enough to him to have earned that distinction.

Which is why a lot of us were very excited about it, since this is not a common occurrence where Lucci’s concerned.

That aside, let’s get to the actual canon content.

Water 7

Obviously at the beginning we find out they both work at the shipyard, but that in and of itself isn’t entirely significant…until you consider that, since Kalifa is pretty much with Iceburg all the time and Blueno’s running the bar, the two of them are working in much closer proximity to each other than to the other CP9 members in the city. 

The first real indication we get regarding their comfort level with each other comes in chapter 327 when Kaku gets back from examining the Merry and goes to sit down to explain what he’s discovered. Paulie’s the closest to him, but he actually ends up stepping past both him and Lucci in order to sit directly beside Lucci on the same level.

It’s quite a while before we see the two of them alone again, and it doesn’t happen until chapter 339 when they’re speaking with Robin. Of course at the time we’re not supposed to know it’s them, but there’s really nobody else it can be since this is happening at the exact same time that Blueno’s talking with Franky and Kokoro at the bar. So, as will become fairly common, the two of them are again acting as a unit of their own within the larger group.

And then, of course, we get the infiltration of the mansion prior to The Big Reveal (which I’ve spoken about before because for me it’s still the single greatest reveal in the entire manga because of how carefully crafted it is, right down to Kaku’s limited dialogue in this section being completely devoid of his usual speech quirks in the original Japanese text). Once again, Blueno and Kalifa are doing their own things while these two are working together.

This panel has always been interesting to me because immediately prior to this Lucci says he can’t let Paulie live, and then he decides to just restrain him instead. In Luffy’s case it makes sense because they gave their word to Robin not to harm the Strawhats, but he has absolutely no reason to spare Paulie, and the little lines of shock/surprise beside Kaku imply that he hadn’t expected Lucci to do that, either. The ‘why’ is still unclear, but it’s interesting nonetheless, and it’s also…noteworthy that it’s the only thing Lucci asks Kaku to do. All of the actual damage Paulie takes comes from Lucci and he never asks for or expects Kaku to harm him.

I never connected these two panels before but it’s obviously very deliberate to have Lucci telling Iceburg that feeling emotions is a sign of humanity followed immediately by Kaku…demonstrating exactly that and thanking Iceburg. It’s important to establish that part of Kaku’s character, but keep in mind Lucci’s lack of a reaction here because it’ll come back later.

Again, very tiny moment, but there’s a lot of examples of Lucci deferring to Kaku or letting him take the lead without any hesitation, and I like this because Kaku’s noticed something that Lucci hasn’t and Lucci just goes with it immediately.

I’d forgotten about this but Kaku’s also the one that decides to take Usopp with them, first by recognizing him as one of the Strawhats and then going through with it even after finding out he doesn’t consider himself a part of them anymore. And Lucci just…stands back and lets him give out orders to the others while doing so.

Okay so this is what I was referencing earlier. Kaku shows actual emotions with Iceburg and Lucci’s silent, but the moment Kalifa gets even slightly happy about completing the mission he’s berating her instantly. Kaku’s expression here is interesting too because he looks absolutely haunted and it’s very telling.

And also another visual representation of Lucci and Kaku being equal to/on the same level as each other.

I didn’t include the panel but Kaku was ‘sleeping’ when Corgi was giving them all of the information about Nero while Lucci was (seemingly) wide awake, and yet Lucci has no idea who he is and relies on Kaku to have all the information. Which he does.

Kaku being the one to take charge again and direct the others even though Lucci’s standing right there. They do this more than I’d realized at first, especially since Lucci always seems to be looked at as the unofficial ‘leader’ of CP9.

Enies Lobby

We’ve made it to Enies Lobby, which is the first glimpse we get of these two interacting with the full CP9 group outside of any sort of ‘mission’ environment.

Mostly it entails Lucci being more combative (especially with Jabra) and Kaku being more annoyed, but again I can’t really imagine anyone else taking this tone with Lucci and getting away with it while Kaku does it fairly often and Lucci never retorts or gets angry with him.

And while Kaku’s not immune to taking Jabra’s bait in the right circumstances, his typical tendency is to de-escalate situations if he can and here he’s refusing to engage despite being deliberately called out…and Lucci, without being asked, immediately takes his side and defends his choice.

This is practically the next panel and while both Lucci and Jabra are kind of equally at fault for this little display, Kaku only berates Jabra for it while Kalifa’s directing her comments at both of them.

Now that I’m actually looking for these sorts of things it’s becoming more obvious, but again we have Lucci and Kaku in an equal position to each other at the front of CP9.

This isn’t just to Kaku since Kalifa’s there as well, but Lucci’s still encouraging them to eat the fruits and I have to believe it’s coming from a place of good faith because he’d know whether or not being able to swim is that big an issue in their profession. I also want to note that Kaku echoes Lucci’s ‘it’ll be fun’ line when he actually does eat his fruit, so obviously that resonated with him.

I’ve put these two together because they both highlight the same thing, that being in both of these sequences we get almost all of CP9 giving out their individual thoughts/comments on what’s happening but Kaku’s statement both times is a direct reply to what Lucci says, so again the two of them are paired off in a way that doesn’t include anyone else there. 

The only other thing of note in this section is that while Robin’s talking about what happened during the Buster Call on Ohara, Kaku and Lucci are the only CP9 members to kind of…break formation and actually look at her while she’s speaking, which is interesting.

And for the rest of Enies Lobby they aren’t together so there’s not too much more to say here other than Kaku of course being the one to have the actual key to Robin’s cuffs, but it’s never made explicit who came up with that plan or handed out the keys so…if I ever actually do the thing and write a full analysis of Kaku’s character we can talk about it then Lark you’ve been saying you’ll do this for years IF I EVER--

Interlude - CP9’s Independent Report

Besides the fact that this is still one of my favorite cover stories, there’s a couple of noteworthy things here, the first of which is that Kaku again is taking the lead. Even though he’s the only other CP9 member other than Lucci to be injured badly enough that he can’t walk on his own, he’s still the one directing them where to go.

Other than that, I love seeing all of them just…interacting like friends and being very relaxed and casual, and pretty much every panel where Kaku and Lucci are together they’re directly beside each other so I’ve included a bunch of those here.

Dressrosa & Egghead

The next time we see Lucci and Kaku is at the end of Dressrosa, where they’ve been promoted to CP0 Oda can we please get some explanation of how this happened and let me tell you, I remember this vividly because the spoilers at the time just said that Lucci was talking to ‘someone’ and when the raws came out you can bet I went right to the dialogue to see if it was Kaku because his way of speaking is so telling.

But even in this little scene, we can see they’re having an equal conversation and there’s a major difference between how Lucci’s speaking with Kaku and how he addresses Spandam mere seconds later.

After this we have the Reverie/Levely/what-even-is-this-thing-called arc where they get all of a single panel together and while it’s the first time we actually ‘see’ Kaku after the time-skip, nothing really interesting regarding their relationship happens, so let’s move on to…

The end of the colored manga! And Egghead.

We start with a very familiar situation: Lucci asking Kaku what’s going on, and while Kaku this entire arc seems more outwardly annoyed with Lucci than he ever was in the past (which is never really explained but then again, Lucci spends a lot of the arc doing things he’s specifically been told not to do, so maybe it’s understandable…), he still has all the information and relays it.

Though Kaku’s also much more comfortable letting his real personality show despite them being on a mission while before he was always completely serious after the Water 7 reveal, especially around Lucci. It came through with Zoro and Jabra but during the cover story he’s smiling and laughing a lot with Lucci right there so it makes sense he’d be more willing to let his guard down even ‘on the job’ by now.

So here’s the first real instance of Lucci showing concern for Kaku, something which escalates pretty quickly throughout the arc. It’s subtle, and though he’s framing it as a suggestion to Stussy, if he didn’t care at all he wouldn’t have said anything. 

At this point it’s fairly obvious that Lucci and Kaku don’t really have any authority difference between them and Kaku spends a lot of time in this chapter especially telling Lucci to Not Do The Thing. Anyone that’s ever lived with a cat knows how well this works.

I’ve always found this bit of dialogue particularly interesting because Kaku’s very openly…praising Sentomaru for choosing his loyalty to Vegapunk over assisting the government, and there’s no way Lucci doesn’t hear him say this but he doesn’t say anything in return. There’s no real evidence that Lucci knows about Kaku willingly giving up the key to Zoro or how conflicted he was about Paulie and everyone else, but this seems to imply that at the very least, even if he doesn’t share those sentiments, he wouldn’t think less of Kaku because of it.

Putting these two together since they’re in the same scene but at this point it’s not even subtle concern anymore, Lucci’s genuinely worried for Kaku and you can tell this caught him off-guard.

Kaku’s the first one to suggest working together but Lucci immediately backs him up and goes with the idea. It’s logical in the sense that it’ll give them the biggest chance to survive, but willingly working with pirates isn’t exactly the sort of thing that Lucci, especially in the past, would have so easily done regardless of the situation.

So at this point it’s becoming clear that this whole 4-v-2 section is supposed to be the most…light-hearted thing going on right now and a lot of it is played to be comedic, including Lucci’s inability to lie, but yet again there’s almost nobody else that could get away with scolding him the way Kaku’s doing here.

…And then we skip ahead a day and things happen that I really hope get explained at some point because they seem important, but while Lucci’s never going to have impeccable bedside manner, he’s very concerned with getting Kaku to rest and while Kaku’s trying to justify what happened Lucci really doesn’t seem to care about that. It’s a big departure from him being willing to write off anyone he deems ‘too weak’ and it’s a nice character moment.

I’d mentioned on my liveblog that some of the things Lucci was doing after this point were confusing, but if you look at them through the lens of him wanting to protect Kaku, it makes a lot more sense. Yes, he’s deliberately keeping him out of the loop, but Lucci I think has decided that he’s going to throw caution to the wind and act alone since if Kaku can’t prove he knew about the plan, he’s probably safer being left with the Strawhats, and if the Marines show up he should be safe anyway or so Lucci thinks…

When this chapter came out, I’d said something about Lucci being a hypocrite considering what the rest of CP9 did for him when they could have easily just left him at Enies Lobby, but given what happens almost directly after and likely what he’s trying to do with this entire fight, these words feel even less genuine…

And that brings us to this. The moment that I’ve been thinking about for almost an entire week now. The moment that, looking back at…oh, wow…almost 3000 words of analysis maybe shouldn’t be as surprising as it was for most of us, but it does feel like the payoff for a long, long buildup that’s taken nearly twenty years to reach. Because really, there’s no other way to describe them other than ‘partners’, and probably hasn’t been for a long time…and I’m so glad that Lucci acknowledged it.

To summarize, I think what surprised me most about re-visiting all of this is how much the manga has framed them as equals since the beginning even though it was never explicitly stated between the characters themselves. Lucci’s always been far more lenient with Kaku than with anyone else, and Kaku in turn has never had any fear of Lucci even if he wasn’t really expressing his true self with him for a long time.

The cover story being the turning point makes perfect sense, and the progression throughout Egghead of Lucci being more outwardly willing to show his concern and Kaku not hiding his emotions at all seems like a natural progression of their relationship and their level of comfort around each other.

And the fact that Oda is never really…hitting us over the head with any of it until that final moment when Lucci says everything so plainly because Kaku’s life is the most important thing to him even when faced with a literal monster… It’s so effective. 

I don’t know where we go from here. To be honest, I’m kind of scared of where we go from here. But regardless of the outcome, I hope this little essay has been at the very least interesting and perhaps allowed you to look at these two in a different light.

Thanks for reading.

[lunrall]

[Poll #1 Results]

> Take refuge under its shade and sing.

> You both sat underneath its shade, both of you lilt melodiously as you watched the shadow slowly shift. You then beamed a smile to your brother, who grinned back at you. It's nostalgic. It's like all the bad things never happened and it's just you and him playing out in the garden again, with you and Tsukasa imitating a musical you've recently viewed, passing the time while waiting for Toya to join your family for dinner. This moment was short-lived, far too short-lived for your liking. Tsukasa looked away for a moment and his eyes now clouded in sadness. He opens his mouth to speak. 

"Have I mentioned that Akito had gotten lost in the desert before?"

You frowned at the mention of him, bits of guilt still plagues you, but you try to lighten up to not worry your brother. "I don't think I've heard of that one yet."

"It's a really amusing story," Tsukasa chuckled, his cracked voice a bit too hard to ignore but you both pretended to not ruin the mood. "There was one time where Aibou, Toya's dragon flew away for some reason, and Akito was tasked to get him back." He recounted, and you smiled at the realization. 

"Wait! Is it the time when you and Rui tried to get the dragon's scale but you scared him off?"

Tsukasa seemed to have paused for a moment, and you were starting to regret mentioning Rui, until he chuckled. "It was! However, I didn't tell you about what happened afterwards. I heard it from Mizuki after the whole ordeal since they used to be Akito's subordinate."

"So what happened?"

"They were looking around the desert for the dragon. Akito was first to spot Aibou off in the distance and he practically dashed to catch the dragon. Mizuki said they didn't even have time to pick up their bags and Akito was nowhere to be seen."

"Did he really spot Aibou? It could've been a mirage." You questioned, and your smile widens when you notice the mischievous glint in your brother's eyes

"The funny thing is that, it was." And you both can't help but giggle at this. Tsukasa had to compose himself before continuing, "So Aibou returned not long after, then Akito's squad came to report that they lost their commander. Toya heard the news and was worried sick. Good news was Akito managed to return to the capital by himself 2 days later. Rui and I had to buy Toya and him lunch for the next month until they thought it's enough to accept our apologies." Tsukasa concluded, exaggerating his gloom.

"Awwww, it's okay." You patted your brother's back, "You totally deserved it though."

He clenches his fist in jest. "Even my beloved little sister thinks I deserve the torment! I'm wounded!"

"It's not that serious, big bro!" You pouted, rolling your eyes. "I think we've been here for a while, should we continue on so we'll reach the sea faster?"

"As you wish, my little sister!"

As you both continued onwards, the uplift atmosphere around both of you started to fade away, replaced by unknown tension yet again. Though, you're glad you decided to rest and had that conversation. You can't help but miss everyone, but talking about them with your brother makes the pain more distant.

This will do for now.

[lupincentral]

Have you heard the news?

Lupin III is diving into the world of live action once again, with Jigen Daisuke ‐ a spin-off film releasing “worldwide” on October 13th, 2023, exclusively on Amazon Prime Video!

Tetsuji Tamayama, who previously portrayed the character in the 2014 released feature film, will be returning to the role of Jigen.

Yoshimasa Akamatsu (BD ~Akechi Tantei Jimusho, Corpse Party: Book of Shadows) has produced the script for the film, and Hajime Hashimoto (The Detective Is in the Bar franchise, AIBOU: Tokyo Detective Duo, Shimauma, Signal) is directing.

In preparation for his reprising of the role, Tamayama states in an interview with Natalie that he has watched the Lupin the IIIRD spin-off film Jigen’s Gravestone, and hopes to bring this cooler, more mature version of the character to television screens come October.

Details on the plot are currently scarce - however, the Natalie article mentions that it involves Jigen searching Japan for the world’s greatest gunsmith, after his trusty combat magnum is in need of some TLC (and said gunsmith just happens to run a rather curious watch shop)…

More details on the film are to be revealed closer to its release date. For now, you can check out the films first trailer embedded below, and its announcement over at website Natalie.

After Lupin ZERO wrapping up at the end of last year, and VS. Cat’s Eye releasing in January, a live action Jigen spin-off is not where I expected TMS to go next with the Lupin franchise. It is, however, in my opinion, a welcome diversion from the norm.

I would be lying if I did not first meet the announcement with some scepticism, though, mostly due to the series’ less than stellar track record of live action adaptations (the amazing 2017 Inspector Zenigata spin-off drama aside). Taking a moment to think back, I quickly realised that while the live action film directed by Ryuhei Kitamura did not win the hearts of fans back in 2014, it did do one thing right - the casting.

Shun Oguri as Lupin III and Tadanobu Asano as Inspector Zenigata were big gets for the film, and both appeared to take their appearance throughout it seriously. Meisa Kuroki played a gorgeous, cunning Fujiko, with Go Ayano trying his best to bring the stoic samurai Goemon to life. It was Tetsuji Tamayama, however, that best looked the part. Fans on social media were swooning over his Jigen as soon as the character portraits were revealed, with some saying he was made for the role.

Despite issues with pacing and its overall narrative, all of the main cast members represented their anime / manga counterparts well, and if there is one positive to take away from that film, it would be their performances.

This gives me hope for Jigen Daisuke - with fresh writing staff and a keen new director to the franchise on board, with an actor we already know can do the character justice, both Amazon and TMS may be on to something special, here. Now slightly older and more experienced, I have full confidence Tamayama will exceed that of his already good performance as Jigen from 2014.

I’m looking forward to finding out how this comes together. Keep an eye out for a full review of the film come October, which I will aim to post up on lupincentral.com a few days after its release.

[ferrocyan]

okay so. tart and estinien. at first their relationship was very normal, in hvw she agreed w estinien's pov on the dragonsong war but decided to put alphinaud at first priority, so they still got along well even w different goals. then in stb when tart's mental state spiraled after zenos' death, it was estinien (and aymeric) that snapped her out of it by rescuing her from elidizenos. so all in all they were friends even if they didn't interact much, and tart was very grateful to estinien for saving her.

now. keep in mind that i watched edw before the end of shb. so i saw that early edw there are things that make the wol as a role less exclusive, right. id heard of the tempering cure, then vrtra gave his scales to protect people from tempering entirely. so the way the wol's role has been defined as the only one who can withstand tempering, that's gone now. okay. so then i got to finish shb, then 5.4 onwards, when estinien started to join the scions. despite them only sharing a couple scenes i think estinien and krile have chemistry, alphinaud clearly adores estinien too, and g'raha idolizes him. right then an evil thought formed in my mind.

i wonder how tart would react to this? tart who defines herself by being the wol and is desperate to belong. who is seeing someone join her group and being welcomed by everyone. someone who is nearly her equal at her most valuable skill. and tart's advantages over him are slowly being eroded, while her detriments are only increasing. oh, tart fucking hates estinien.

it starts as petty jealousy over her favorite people liking estinien so much. then she becomes passive-aggressive at him. estinien thinks it's kinda funny, the hostility just bounces off him. but by the time they reach thavnair, tart snaps at him for the hairtie incident and estinien's like :/ wow ok and avoids interacting w tart more than necessary. he stays away until fandaniel's funny prank.

we all know in from the cold. best part of edw. the aftermath is lacking, though--right now tart has had all her wol privileges stripped from her, while her being targeted specifically by zenos is becoming a huge liability. just look at the mess fandaniel created... tart panics and runs away from camp broken glass.

the scions are alarmed bc what do you mean the wol is missing AGAIN, estinien volunteers to look for tart while everyone else prepares to storm the tower of babil. he finds her easily w the dragoon jumps, and

by the way, you know what stuck out to me when i played this section of edw? before setting out on the previous mission lucia told the wol that hot soup will be waiting for them when they get back. then we got the scene where jullus eats soup and cries about it, then like a glimpse of the wol before they got kidnapped by fandaniel. we never got to eat the soup guys. we never got the soup!!!

so tart never got the soup. she's starving and cold and in pain and has just had the worst dysphoria experience of all time earlier that day and now here stands the motherfucker, the guy poised to take her place as savior of the star effortlessly, confronting her when she's alone and weak. ohhhh it's so obvious what he's doing here. estinien is going to kill her. well not if he dies first

for years since learning the discipline of the warrior tart never let the inner beast take control until right then. she goes berserk and attacks estinien. who is just like, standing there, and suddenly the wol goes stark raving mad and tries to kill him. fortunately for tart he isn't insane, and it's easy to kick the ass of a tank who is at 25% hp and not using any mits or self-heals. so tart gets beaten handily

estinien lets her lay still in the snow for a bit, then sighs. "aibou, sound off if you aren't dead"

and the sound he hears is wailing sobs. bc its over. if the scions didn't intend to get rid of tart before, they surely do now that she's attacked one of their own. estinien picks her up to bring back to camp and tart struggles and begs to be left alone, until he shuts her up by grabbing her tail. tart gets quiet and lets him carry her like a sack of flour after that.

estinien deflects the scions' questions and dumps tart in a room to eat and get checked out by a chirurgeon. he stays to watch that she doesn't run off again. before he leaves, though, tart calls out to him, "i'm sorry."

"i tried to kill you, you tried to kill me. we're even."

"i'm sorry. i've been such a jerk."

"yeah, i really thought we were friends."

"i'm so sorry."

"hmph. get some sleep while you can. we're leaving soon."

and so things end in a.. clean slate. ish. tart treats him better from then on and estinien decides he does like friendship after all. their relationship recovers enough that by the end of edw estinien is the one tart asks to please carry her like a princess off the ragnarok bc she doesn't feel like walking* and he does carry her nicely this time www

and then in 6.1 they're back to teasing each other again! with friendly hostility this time! tart makes fun of estinien for getting ripped off again, then when finding out it's on purpose she's like "what you think that's cool or something? you think that makes you sooo cool? cause it doesn't and you're lame as hell estinien" (says this while doing the /wow emote bc she does find him so cool for this) and then estinien rolls his eyes bc "i told you to bring one guy and you brought four"

"that's 'cause i'm more popular than you! AHAHAHAHA"

"that's not even funny that's just true"

"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA"

they're best friends. they're my favorite. i love when i can make tart blow up at someone and make up w them bc without fail that becomes her strongest relationship. tart and estinien are truly aibous now i'm so proud of them

[bibookdemon]

Ugh there's this one fic of mine that I will go back and read and absolutely ADORE

Puzzlesmut btw

Anywho, Imma list some of my fav sentences/paragraphs below the cut (again. Smut. But cute smut teehee)

✨️

"What are ya doing?" He asked, rubbing his eyes tiredly.

"Ah!" The spirit knocked a Dark Magician Girl figurine off the bookshelf, then picked it up, stumbling to keep the silent connection between them from betraying them.

"Oh." Too late. Great.

"S-sorry," he mumbled.

✨️

"Um…" He looked away. "Ok. Well. I don't usually…do…this so often. Usually once a week, maybe a couple of times a week. But, uh. You just. You seemed really uncomfortable being in a body that didn't have a, you know, a um. You know." It was adorable how flustered Yugi was getting.

"A dick?"

"Yeah! Yes. Yeah."

✨️

He lightly scratched at his cheeks, as if trying to scrape off the blush there.

(This line is one of my favs. I cooked majorly here lmao)

✨️

"You can do it, baby." Yugi placed his hands on the other's knees, gently nudging them apart.

✨️

Yami curled his finger, moaning and letting his head fall gently against the back of the tub.

✨️

"Ah…you're so hot," Yugi muttered, and Yami felt another wave of heat bloom in his stomach. "Think you wanna try the vibrator?"

✨️

Yami nodded his head, incapable of coherent speech. After another moment, he held his hand out. "P-please. Please, Yugi."

Yugi took the hand and smiled. "You're so precious," he whispered as he pulled the bangs away from Yami's face. When the spirit's grip began to tighten, he kissed his hand. "It's ok baby, you got this." He noticed tears forming in Yami's eyes, sharp, sobbing gasps escaping him.

Yami used his other hand to claw at his thigh, overwhelmed. "I c-can't," he sobbed. "It's so much."

"You're almost there. Almost there. Come on Yami, almost there." And, without thinking about the spirit's earlier sensitivity, he moved his free hand to press down on the dark clit.

(Erm. I love all elements in this fic equally. [This is my favorite part])

✨️

"Mmmm." Yami opened his eyes, blinking lazily at his aibou. He watched the movements as if from far away, purring as Yugi toweled him off as if he was drying a tired kitten. He quite enjoyed being treated softly by his aibou. "Thank you," he mumbled.

✨️

In conclusion, the best 1887 words I've ever written. Would love you forever and ever if you checked this out :3

Also got lots of other ships!

Got some Wish, some Puppy, some Mobium, shit ton of Puzzle ofc, some Rival. God I need more Rival. And gotta toss in some Flare. Big plans chat, big plans. Gonna get some Klepto in there as well. (Klepto is Yugi x Y!Bakura right?????)

[blueeyesking]

Duel for the World! Finale!

Darkness spreads across the Dueling stage, roiling in thick clouds like the serpent that ate the sun of Atlantis. And what comes from that fog is exactly that:

Divine Serpent Geh (∞/∞)

A massive, monstrous serpent, mostly obscured by a portal into the void it came from. Dartz's LP are 0, he has no cards in hand, but as long as this monster is on the field, he can't lose no matter what.

Seto feels some sweat run down his back.

Dartz holds both hands out, as if supplicating to and showing off this new, horrible monster to his opponents.

"You see now, Nameless Pharaoh, Seto? When Orichalcos Shunoros is defeated, it summons my Divine Serpent-" Yugi thinks to himself that Joey would make a double entendre about that comment, then feels a renewed strength to fight, just a little- "And as long as my Divine Serpent exists on my field, I am guaranteed to have your souls as sacrifice! With infinite attack and defense, there is nothing either of you can do against it!"

Yugi and Seto stare down the emotionless Mirror Knights wearing the faces of Yugi's friends, and the monstrous serpent.

"...You are exceptionally lucky I cannot attack with it the turn it is summoned."

The Mirror Knights stare back, with Yugi's eyebrows struggling to lift into an expression. Before he can do anything, it's Seto's turn.

Pot of Greed. Well... it gets him a couple more options, but not much! He sets a spell and summons Different Dimension Dragon, keeping his LP safe from the Knights, for now... but not from Geh. He hopes Yugi has a bright idea.

Trying to clear the field, Seto has his dragons attack the Knights, jeering confidently to Dartz, "These may have the faces of Yugi's friends, but I know they're not real. You can't fool me with reprogrammed holograms- I invented this technology!"

Dartz would have let him, too, interested to see what happens to the souls inhabiting his Knights- but Yugi shouts to his Duel partner, "NO!!" and activates a trap: Soul Shield. It halves his LP to end the Battle Phase immediately. How uninteresting. Dartz pouts at the Duelists having their quarrel, crossing his arms.

"Too afraid to see what destiny has in store for your friends, Pharaoh? I would be, too- if I didn't know you all will be in the same place, in the end."

Seto glares at Yugi and passes his turn. Yugi draws, hand shaking.

Magical Space Typhoon. He can at least get the annoying Centaur out of play and keep Seto's monsters alive for one more round. The marble statue shatters into dust in the wake of the Typhoon, and Dartz is only getting less and less impressed. He taps his foot.

When his turn comes again, Dartz draws- but he has no real need. First, to destroy Seto's monsters--

"Go, my Mirror Knights! Remove their defenses, that my Serpent may devour their souls!"

The Knight wearing Mai's face leaps toward Seto's dragons, and is summarily executed by them... but the other two, Joey and Yugi, don't move. They struggle against their direction from Dartz, which is finally something interesting.

"Oh?" Dartz's tone drips with irony. "Well, if you won't attack, I'll have my Serpent end him right here-!"

This time, the Knights can move, and they move to block the great Serpent in its wormhole. Dartz can't order it to attack his own monsters, despite everything else he can do... Finally, a little sweat appears on his brow, as well.

"What...? Get out of the damn way!"

The Knights, with their outstretched arms, don't move an inch. Yugi turns his head to look over his shoulder at the Other Yugi.

"my... other me..." he manages to choke out around the restraints from the Card he's trapped in, and the Nameless Pharaoh's attention is instantly on nothing but his Partner. "we can't... hold it back forever... please, remember that card...!"

Yami Yugi's face is etched with confusion and anguish well beyond its years. "Aibou..." That Card?

"Tch." Dartz passes his turn. "Just one more useless turn to try and deny destiny. You're wasting your time, Chosen Duelists."

"Destiny can kiss my ass," replies Seto, as he draws. Then he laughs again. "Hahahaha! Speaking of Chosen Duelists...!"

The legendary dragon Critias rises from behind his Duelist, though Seto has very few options with which to fuse it... He decides on his unused Reflect Energy- surely, direct damage from a Legendary Dragon will somehow pierce through his loss prevention effect...?

Alas, it doesn't. Seto is down to Kaiser Glider and Critias, having had to sacrifice Different Dimension Dragon to Relay Soul's effect. "Damn it... Yugi...!"

Dartz laughs at them. It echoes around the hall of souls, even causing the flames to flicker in time.

"You call that a final move? It's your funeral, Seto Kaiba!"

Yugi has sweat dripping down his brow as he draws again, praying for something that will turn this duel around. All he can do is place a card and hope that his Partner and best friend can hold the snake at bay for a little longer...!

On his draw, Dartz grins, and raises the card above his head with the most drama yet. "This is the end! Truly! The final level of the Seal: Orichalcos Tritos!"

"It can get even more powerful...?" Yami gasps out, barely loud enough for Dartz to hear.

"Oh yes, Nameless Pharaoh- you are dealing with a force greater than the darkest shadows, and older than time itself."

The seal grows another layer, and Dartz gains another 2000 LP from Deuteros's effect, but he doesn't need it. Because he owns Tritos, his traps and spells still work, so he can activate the card he set at the very beginning of the duel: Martyr's Curse!

Seto's Legendary Dragon is dragged forward by the impossible snake's head, lashing out in an instant to grab it over the Mirror Knights, and crushing it in its jaws in a shower of hard-light dust.

Seto's eyes go wide as the Serpent strikes at him, next. Its massive fangs feel like they really pierce through him, and he chokes, stumbling back against the Seal's barrier. Dartz smirks, all teeth.

"Your soul will feed my God wonderfully, Seto Kaiba..."

Yugi rushes to Seto to catch him before his legs give out, only to see him still on his feet, barely holding up a hand to activate a set card: Wish of Final Effort. He had had a nagging thought in the back of his mind while they were building their decks together: what if he lost? What if Yugi, with his stupid protagonist syndrome, managed to outlast him and be their last hope? How could he ensure victory?

Kaiser Glider swirls into glitter on the wind, landing in Yugi's Duel Disk and bringing his LP back up to something manageable.

"don't screw up now, Yugi... the only thing either of us owes now, is to save the world from this lunatic...! make sure the revenge in my name is painful..."

Yugi catches Seto's body as his soul is captured by the Seal. The throng watch as it bounces around the room and lands in one of the two empty slots set aside for the final Chosen Duelists, standing strong and stuck about to pound on the face of his prison.

Dartz chuckles at the Nameless Pharaoh. "It seems you're the "soul" survivor, Pharaoh! But your ally has served his purpose, so I have no use for the chaff he left behind." He flicks a finger, lifting Seto's body out of Yugi's arms and against the portal; it shudders and twitches against the force of the magic, but Dartz forces it through, leaving Mokuba Kaiba to catch his big brother's (effective) corpse.

[nevertem]

@rpg-aibou

He liked sweets.

That was a new thing to discover, he supposed. Kaiba liked to drink coffee, black. No sugar. When he wasn't drinking redbull after redbull. Atem discovered that bitter food was quite terrible, actually. Kaiba had bought creamer, since Mokuba was too young for coffee, no matter how much the kid protested. Atem added two tablespoons of sugar, and stirred.

Three months had passed. Three months since Kaiba had opened up the gate. He'd spent a few weeks in a hospital bed, unable to speak Japanese. He'd spent a little while longer learning how to walk again, and learning how to navigate a physical world. He still ran into doors sometimes. He'd fallen headfirst into a couch, once. Mokuba laughed until he couldn't breathe.

Kaiba had given him an ID card, a birth certificate, and a family registry. It took some string pulling, mostly with Isis's connections. The Ishtars wanted nothing to do with him, thankyouverymuch, so they were happy to have him in Japan instead of Egypt. He didn't blame any of them.

He was just....not sure where to go from here.

Kaiba held him at arm's length, which was usual. Mokuba was amicable. He supposed he could maybe fake a GED and go backpacking. He'd always wanted to do proper travel, outside of some sort of adventure. Maybe take night classes. Maybe head to America, that was supposed to be a place people went to for some sort of new life. At least that was what Anzu had said.

He exhaled into the steam.

Kaiba hadn't pressed the issue, but he was kind of sure that was because Kaiba didn't know how to bring it up, either. Mokuba had been asking, though, and he'd always changed the subject. Speaking of....he hadn't seen the younger Kaiba.

So, in Kaibacorp branded sweatpants and a sweatshirt, he headed toward the parlor. He kind of wondered if Mokuba had accompanied Kaiba on the upcoming business trip, leaving him alone.

The knock on the door, however, had him wondering if one of the housekeepers had come back. Kaiba tended to keep food stocked for Mokuba when he was on a trip.

So, he opened the door.

And dropped the mug.

[sennenpharaoh]

Those that claim to be close to him. Those that claim to care about him. Answer me this.

Did any of you notice Aibou's change when he got his memories wiped? No? Because I do. It wasn't just his memories that were taken from him. Look at him, does his demeanor not look familiar? Remind you of a certain time? That timid, shy boy that solved the Puzzle and brought me into this world. Did none of you notice that?

No. Because you weren't there.

You weren't there to hear him apologize that he couldn't reciprocate your feelings for him back to you. You weren't there to hear him call you by you old name. Your old name. I wasn't Atem, I was the Other Yugi.

Aibou has sacrificed so much for me. His heart, his mind, his body, his soul. And I would do the same to him. In a fucking heartbeat. Not just to repay the favor, not just because he's my Partner.

Because I love him. I care about him.

Those that aren't lifting a finger. Those that are barely doing anything, or saying that they can't help...

That's bullshit, and you know it.

He did so much for you, the least you can do is the same for him.

I've said it before and I'll say it again.

He means more to me than my own life.

I know who's truly helping him, and who really cares for him.

I see you. And I thank you.

[game-weaver]

Wait.

What did he just say?

Memories? As in...

This was something he remembered???

Atem froze upon hearing that word. Oh he knew very well what that word means. And that's why his stomach was starting to twist into knots that was even being more noticeable than his side pain.

"A... Aibou..." He swallowed. "You don't mean to tell me that... he... attacked you...?" He brought his hand to his side again, trying to remember how it felt to him. It felt lile he waa being jabbed at... then twisted.

No.

Oh no.

"Aibou... don't lie to me now, please." He began to shake a little, both in fear and disgust, his eyes widened as he was again trying to piece it together. "Did he at one point come near you... put his hands on you... and stabbed you...?"

@sennenpharaoh

Yugi knew he fucked up.

But he fucked up long before this, hadn't he. He never should have kept it a secret.

He covered his mouth, trying to quell his own trembling. Not because he was afraid of Atem lashing out, he knew Atem would never hurt him, but because it was finally out in the open. How long had he kept that to himself? The only ones who knew were himself, Dartz, Silent and Doom and he knew his favorite magicians wouldn't say anything.

"I…" He swallowed thickly, watching the way Atem gripped his side, knowing he was thinking of what it felt like. Of the blade between his ribs, Yugi could only thank the gods he didn't witness the dream or hear Yugi's scream when he awoke. He looked into Atem's fearful eyes and he opened his mouth… But there was nothing he could say but the truth.

His shoulders sagged as he looked at his feet. "A long time ago… After I learned about Dartz's… Deal with you. After what he did to you, I…I went after him. I trapped him in a nightmare cycle, not caring if I got trapped too. I didn't. He got out eventually. B…But it was after the season change after that," his voice was soft. That showed how long he had kept this to himself. And if he was going to be truthful, Atem deserved to know the whole story. He turned to sit down on the couch with a sigh.

"He found me in the woods after, hunted me down and I… I couldn't fight back. I was sick. But I tried to get away, gave him a good run I think.." He let out a half hearted laugh, but the smile faded quickly as he rubbed his side. Lifting his shirt he gently unwrapped his bandages, the wound from his dream was smaller, inside the scar from what had happened.

"He caught me. I knew...I thought I was going to die before he sank in the blade. I called out for Doomstar and Silent. Everything was a blur after that, I just remember the sky going dark and waking up in Silent's arms far, far away from there."

[crehador]

i'm always a huge sucker for duos in anime where one of them really wants the other to call them by their name (or aibou or something else that's significant to them) like often it's played for laughs but usually it's at least kind of adorable and occasionally very impactful when the reticent one finally does call out the other's name

but hoooly shit onmyoji has done it better than i've seen it in a while

spoilers! major spoilers for ep10!

like for me it's the way hiromasa wants seimei to call him by his name so bad, bringing it up more than once even, and the way atsumi calls him by his name so much while hating him to the point of wanting him dead

hiromasa never getting to hear it from seimei until the very end, but hearing it so many times from the friend who betrays him

sinking my teeth into this delicious little morsel of storytelling tbh

like i do suspect (and hope lmao) hiromasa isn't like Dead Forever just yet, i feel like they're going to go back to lord taizan who i imagine at this point is like oh not these fucking gays again

but like even if he ends up being fine, the execution of this name thing especially in ep10 was just so delightfully devastating!!

[pocketsonny]

get a haircut, kaiba

this drabble was inspired by a convo with @prachelley and their art here !!

i haven't written for ygo dm in forever and this is mostly crack fic but i had fun JKASKJJKSA

-------

“When are you going to get a normal haircut?”

Seto paused. Did a double take. Turned around. Yuugi—the other Yuugi—blinked red eyes owlishly at him; somehow, if it’d been Yuugi, in all his gentle voice and mannerisms, Seto would’ve been doubly confused by the question.

Still, he looked between Yuugi’s face and his mess of blonde, dark and purple curls in the shape of a star. A normal haircut, he said.

“What?” he finally asked when Yuugi offered no further explanation.

“The back and fringe are long, but your side bangs are short…” he crossed his arms, cupped his chin, “I believe Aibou referred to it as a ‘mullet’—” Pause. He glanced to the side, at something, someone, that Seto couldn’t see. “Oh. I wasn’t supposed to tell him that…? Did you want to—ah,” Yuugi smirked, “I’m sorry, Aibou.”

Seto couldn’t even bark at Yuugi that he looked ridiculous talking to himself in the middle of the street. He touched the back of his neck with dawning horror.

A mullet.

“K-Kaiba-kun,” when he looked back up, Yuugi’s softer purple eyes watched him with concern, “Um, If you wanted, Honda-kun could help! He’s good at cutting hair…”

Even when his voice held no bite, Kaiba was startled into speechlessness again.

As if catching up with his words, Yuugi began to nervously wave his hands around, “No, I mean, it’s not that it looks bad! It’s just, I noticed it was getting longer, and I thought it must be getting uncomfortable to see with your hair over your eyes, but I wasn’t going to say anything! You’re always busy so maybe you hadn’t had time to go to a hairdresser…”

It’s another hit to his ego that his rival was trying not to insult him and yet was succeeding in doing just that. And Yuugi was aware of it, because his face paled and flushed in rapid succession.

“I mean, I mean you don’t have to go to—it’s not! Ah!” he looked to both sides in a panic, then in the blink of an eye, purple became red again and the other Yuugi resurfaced.

“Get a haircut, Kaiba,” he deadpanned, “For you and Aibou’s sake.”

At long last, Seto regained his voice. He clicked his tongue, flashing Yuugi a fierce glare.

“Shut up,” he swiveled around on his feet, “My hair is neither of your concerns.”

He rapidly left. Damn you Yuugi. He wouldn’t forget this insult to his pride.

-------

“Why did you do that.” Yuugi cried, hovering next to him; had it been possible, he would’ve been shaking Yami right about now,

“I just said what was on both of our minds, Aibou,” Yami wore an easy smile, walking with his hands on his pockets, “And I think you were more direct than me!”

Yuugi groaned, burying his face in his hands, “We embarrassed him. I insulted him. Kaiba-kun will hate me more now.”

“Don’t worry,” Yami tried to reassure him, “A prideful man like Kaiba won’t take this lying down…I’m sure he’ll come back stronger.”

“Yeah…”

-------

A week later, a limousine rolled up next to Yuugi, startling him. The backseat window rolled down and Kaiba’s familiar glare came into view.

“Yuugi.”

“Oh, Kaiba-kun…” Yuugi blinked. Something was different. He looked away from Kaiba’s eyes; his hair fringe was shorter, just enough to see his eyebrows peek from underneath; and when Kaiba tilted his head, it revealed the nape of his neck to be shaved short.

He gaped. Kaiba had actually listened to them?

“You cut—”

Kaiba shoved a couple yen bills at him and a paper. Yuugi grabbed them on instinct but then stared at them.

“Um, I don’t…” Yuugi looked up in bewilderment, “Why are you giving me this?”

“Charity,” Kaiba’s lips curled in a condescending smirk, “Go get a normal haircut.”

With that, he rolled the window back up and the limo sped away. Yuugi, and Yami who’d been listening in, stared after him. Then, they both peered at the paper: it was a picture of a starfish.

“…”

“…”

“What do you think Kaiba meant by that?”

“I don’t know…” Yuugi tilted his head, “But this starfish is pretty cute,” he glanced at the money; he didn’t really want to use it, but Kaiba wouldn’t take it back if he tried to return it.

“The picture may be a clue.”

Yuugi’s brow furrowed in thought—and then he gasped, “I know, the Aquarium! They had a special exhibit today,” he smiled up at his other self, “Let’s go! I haven’t taken you there yet, right?”

“Oh!” Yami brightened, “Let’s do that,” he glanced at the other end of the street, where Kaiba’s limo had disappeared, “Perhaps that’s Kaiba’s way of showing his gratitude.”

“Mhm!” Yuugi nodded, “I’m glad, he didn’t seem mad anymore!”

[shaanks]

ask game!! Kidd and 2, 9, 18, 20

AWWWW hey hon, thank you so much! Love any opportunity to talk about Kid lmfaooo. Most of it under the readmore again.

2. Favorite canon thing about this character?

How doggedly, unfailingly loyal he is. To Killer, to his crew, even to the roofpiece group once he stopped pretending he wasn't cooperating with them lmao. Kid isn't cowed by external powers, he can't be coerced into turning on people, he doesn't give a shit about status as a given prize for disloyalty (which is why none of Kaido's tactics ever budged him an inch). He's very certain in himself about what integrity and honor look like, and you can be certain that if he counts you as a friend, as long as you reciprocate that loyalty, you'll have a friend to the bitter end.

9. Could you be roommates with this character?

yeah tbh I think that would be a lot of fun. I don't think he's judgy, he has excellent taste in music, nobody would ever fuck with your apartment or your stuff, there'd ALWAYS be fun stories to hear, and an eager ear for stories in return. Car breaks down before work? Kid knows how to fix that. He'd pay his rent on time, he'd at least make an active effort not to break things, you'd never have to worry about him going through your stuff or messing around in your room (uninvited, anyway ;) ). I'd love that tbh.

18. How about a relationship they have in canon with another character that you admire?

I feel like I could write a book on his canon relationship with Law. Not in a romantic way exactly, but I do think there's a lot more overlap in their mentalities and behavior than might first meet the eye. They're both pragmatists, they're both strategists, they're both brilliant and extremely competent on their own, they both have extremely useful specializations beyond just being captains (doctor/surgeon and mechanical engineer, respectively). like. I think part of why they had more of a clock on each other than the other supernovas at first was kind of that game recognizing game situation (before Luffy hit a celestial dragon so hard he turned back into a manga panel and put him on both their radars lmfao).

They act really contentious, but so much of their bantering is just like. the way you'd rip on your sibling or a buddy. Like all their dialogue in the Big Mom eps could have been transplanted into a bar scene where they were trying to one-up each other at pool or cards or something and it would have still mostly made sense.

idk. I just think they're neat :3

20. Which other character is the ideal best friend for this character, the amount of screentime they share doesn't matter?

the granted answer is, of course, Killer. They're aibous, they're childhood best friends, they're ride or die, they're soulmates, they're everything.

if you want a different one I do think there's a lot of potential between him and Law and Luffy lmfao, setting aside the rivalry for the one piece, they all have a very fun chemistry and, despite their protestations, a lot of mutual respect. that's as good a foundation as any for lasting friendship.

[killerandhealerqueen]

✏️ ❤️!

🤗

✏️"what are your current WIPs about?"

Oh thank you!

So, I've got a few...hehe. Anyways

"Second Chances" is about a young doctor, Chen Yuzhi, was was in an abusive relationship and decides to return to Jing City with his little sister Keying to escape his ex (because he put up with the abuse for a while until he saw his ex about to hit Keying and he's like "nope, i'm out"). Back in Jing City, he slowly gets used to life again (thanks to his friend Yu Tangchun who helps him out) and meets Jiang Yuelou, a triad leader (who he doesn't realize is a triad leader at first until Chen Yuzhi's ex shows up...then Jiang Yuelou shows who he really is). angsty, happy endings, hurt/comfort...the whole shibang (and somehow the word count keeps rising and I STILL have to go back and edit it/rewrite parts of it!)

"Oil and Water" is a rewrite of some of my favorite CSI: Miami episodes that have great moments between Ryan Wolfe and Eric Delko with a twist: it's omegaverse. Great fic, love it a lot, lots of fun to write

"KeixYaku: Abunai Aibou" is a Killer and Healer au of the jdrama/manga KeixYaku: Abunai Aibou

"恨君不似江楼月 | Killer and Healer" is my baby, my Killer and Healer rewrite where I'm basically rewriting the entire drama while making some few butterfly effects here and there and also adding in scenes that we didn't get in the drama while also changing around some of the dynamics/relationships so that this fucking fic can have a happy ending that the drama didn't give us (but fucking should have)

"The Spirealm" is a Killer and Healer spirealm au...that's pretty much all I can say about that

"Mulan au" (working title) is basically a Killer and Healer mulan au, but with an angel x demons twist. I don't want to spoil it so I'll end it there (also I haven't started writing it so...)

I also have 3 hero x villain fics, 1 for s.c.i. and 2 for Killer and Healer. The one for S.C.I. is where Zhan Yao, a villain, finds out that Bai Yutong, a hero, is scheduled to be executed by his organization/league because he saved Zhan Yao (because they're best friends/partners/soulmates/lovers, etc) and they weren't happy about it so he has to die. Zhan Yao is pissed and basically goes to break it out/burn the entire organization to the ground.

As for the two Killer and Healer ones, one is where a villain (Jiang Yuelou) keeps crashing the hero's (Chen Yuzhi) dates because he doesn't want him dating anyone else (little does he realize that Chen Yuzhi likes him and would date him if he just asked) (Jiang Yuelou's also a little possessive so...don't touch what's his, you know?)

The other one is where Jiang Yuelou, a villain, is injured and is saved by a hero/healer, Chen Yuzhi. Problem is, Chen Yuzhi's healing powers use up a lot of energy and could one day kill him if he goes overboard...and everyone covets a healer's powers so Jiang Yuelou has to protect Chen Yuzhi so that he doesn't die (Chen Yuzhi also works as a doctor so he's tired a lot)

❤️ "what are your favorite scenes from your WIPs?"

THERE ARE TOO MANY SCENES, I CAN'T PICK

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