#aoi gaining confidence and then losing it again and then gaining it again and then losing it again and the—

[manofmanymons]

Anyways I love how stubborn and obnoxious part 9 Kaito is because it literally wouldn't make any sense for him not be

Sure he wanted to be more comfortable with relying on others and wanted to trust Miu to keep herself safe

And he was slowly gettin there a little at a time

But then Takuma (seemingly) fucking died and Miyuki kept trying to kill everyone no matter how hard they tried to reach out to her

And maybe he was (relatively) fine at first

He'd be a little clingy with Miu after losing Takuma but wouldn't completely stop trusting her/their friends

But then the attacks start, and maybe even then he's not that bad off. Maybe he was even glad to see her alive and hopeful that they could reach her.

Now days have gone by. Things keep getting worse with no end in sight. The one person he trusted the most is gone and the monster trying to kill them all is their own friend.

Taking his eyes off Miu isn't an option now that they're being attacked in their own "home." This whole trusting in friends thing didn't work out. Especially not in the non-truthful routes.

So like,,,of course he's gone back to his old ways. Trying to be better didn't get him anywhere, so why not go back to what was working before? Plus it was established in part 6 that he gets angry and withdrawn when he's scared. It's not a GOOD response, obviously, but it's one that makes sense. I'm not saying he SHOULD take his fear (and maybe also grief?) out on everyone else, I'm just saying that it'd be kinda out of character if he didn't.

He's being frustrating and cruel and you know what I'm happy about it. Again not because it's a good thing but because it's a realistic thing. You don't get over years of capital "I" Issues in under a week. He wouldn't feel as human to me if he brushed off ALL of that like "well I have learned to trust my friends and my sister and therefore believe that we will get through this together :)"

Though I do think him being AS bad in the truthful route as in the others is a little dumb bc that would make Takuma the first "death" they've had to deal with and there are two more people there helping and giving support so while obvi he'd still regress in his feelings towards Miu I don't think he should've been AS argumentative or withdrawn from the others. Key word being AS bc like I even still think he'd be a little bitchy but it seriously makes no sense that he wouldn't handle the situation ANY differently after only 1 death vs 3. Like in nontruthful routes he watched Ryo and Shuuji both go batshit crazy AND witnessed fuckinnnn Wendigomon like there is no way you're telling me his trust issues are just as bad in the route where that DIDN'T happen as in the one where it did.

Althought we didn't see the ten days Takuma was gone so I like to think he at least hung in there for a couple more days before completely regressing in the truthful route wjejskdnnd

I dunno I just like that he isn't somehow magically fixed by the power of friendship yknow he's allowed to be a kid who never learned a healthy way to process fear and stress but he's allowed to work through it and start getting better again

You will never make me stop thinking about my son

I went on a long version of this rant in the homies' gc but one thing I like about Tamers and Survive is that they're both really good examples of how progress isn't linear

The characters are trying to grow and be better—and they're succeeding!—but they still backslide into their bad habits again. And that's okay! Their friends don't just suddenly give up on them. They don't give up on themselves.

Maybe every two steps forward is another step back. Maybe they'll take five steps forward, eat shit, and fall seven steps back. But they keep at it, and their friends are with them all the way, and it's so very endearing to me.

[step-on-me-khun]

Cockwarming Headcanons

It's been a while since I've done headcanons that weren't requested, so here you go, I might have requests that need to be done, but I need to do something simple like this before I can go back and do something like smut or a detailed scenario

Warnings: Suggestive themes, so no minors

No Word Count

Bam

Clueless, when you first mention it, he doesn't know what you're on about like it's a foreign language, he's honestly a sweet soul

He does not get it at first, you have to keep telling him to stay still, that's the whole point of it

But the poor guy can't hold in the fact that you make him feel good, it's just pure torture for him to even stay still

The more you cockwarm him, the more used to it he gets, and the less he tries to snap his hips up to you

If he's tired and he wants you, expect him to tell you to do this to him, while he's a blushing mess of course

Also, if he feels like he needs to go it at night, he will wake you and ask first before pushing himself inside you

You're warm and it feels nice, so it's tempting to stay like it until the morning

It doesn't become common, but it also doesn't become uncommon either

It's mainly when he's exhausted, either from fighting or training

You would just cuddle on the bed, fingers tangled and comfortable on the bed

He doesn't need to have sex right now, this might be something he gains more confidence in asking over time, but he enjoys it

He doesn't lose more energy by being inside you like this

But if he's feeling a little playful, or if he forgets for a second, he will suddenly thrust into you unexpectedly

"Sorry, I almost forgot," he would say, trying to sound embarrassed but failing

But you can see through him, it was deliberate, and you weren't even angry about it

Khun

You don't need to explain anything to him, all he does once you mention it is give you a puzzled look and ask you what made you think of this idea

Would suggest or hint at it when he's stressed out or exhausted if he wasn't exhausted you'd be face down on the bed right now

He had to have no energy so he can't just dom you

If he's working on something and it's causing him to have a headache or a bit of a problem, then he calls you to him and bluntly asks you for it

If he's horny at night? Expect him to get inside you and wake you up that way

In the middle of the night for no reason at all, he'll try to make himself horny enough for him to slide inside you, anything to elicit a reaction from you

It does become annoying, but there are times where it's what you need from him, and it doesn't alarm you

"I didn't think you needed this right now," he would say, his voice low, sleep still there as he spoke

Becomes a good form of stress relief, and he comes to you whenever he feels the need to

A good way to wake you up and piss you off

But would always apologise and try not to do it again, but always ends up doing it again and again

Would try to challenge you to do it while everyone else is around, before they enter the room though

All in all, this mans wants your reaction

don't steal my works

taglist

@unexceptional-h @rizonacigaravenue @aoi-turtle

[fantranslatorbychoice]

Kakuriyo no Yadomeshi Volume 6 Intermission 3 - Kasuga and O-ryo

T/N: Yep, it’s a double premiere guys, I hope you all enjoy. =)

As always, if you like this translation, you can heart it, share the link, reblog, I just respectfully ask that DO NOT REPOST ELSEWHERE. This is my contribution to the scant English content of this fandom, and I worked really hard to finish this thing, it’s not like I just copy-pasted everything. I even had to build the kanji in Jisho one by one. Try it and you’ll see what I mean.You can rave about this, rant about this, reply, etc. but if possible please link back to this page. If you’re unsure how to do that, just copy the web address of this page. If you’re on a blogsite just insert the web address as a hyperlink as a link back to here. Honestly if this light novel was officially-published in English, I wouldn’t even be doing this right now... And if it did, I’d take this offline to support the publishers and Yuuma-sensei. Creators support creators, is what I believe in. I’ll prolly do 1-5 once 6-10 has been done, or however long I can manage to translate the raw texts, it can take a toll at times.  As previously-mentioned in earlier chapters, if you stumbled upon this one, the two seasons of the anime covered volumes 1-5, so other than the extra details, you didn’t miss much stuff.

No spoilers lol

P261 "Hmph. You're the newly-hired kid? Really, you're named Kasuga? Aren't you a stumpy little tanuki-girl? I am O-ryo, the future Wakaokami. I'll train you under me, and I'll be sure to drill the job of being a waitress into your head."

I remember well, the day that I first met O-ryo sama. I am Kasuga, a Bunmon Tanuki, while still a child was chased off from my home by my Hachiyo Baba-sama to experience the outside world, and along with my uncle Chiaki who also has nowhere else to go, we inquired in, and started working in Tenjin-ya. It was that first day. That person who called me stumpy, has hair and skin as white as snow, it was the conspicuously beautiful snow lady. Her personality is of someone who hates losing. She was a selfish Sempai, but has an indomitable and strong willpower to rise to the top, and I thought that surprisingly, I have come to like this person. As such, in order to gain her dream position of Wakaokami, she exerted herself no matter what it took. P262 A woman who fights her battles to win. I came to her side and I recorded her heroic battles, and I wrote about it in my diary.

"Hey.... Hey, why are you asking something while falling asleep, Kasuga-kun, HEY!" "Whaaaa~" In the middle of talking about something regarding a Hachiyo's marriage at great length, sitting on my heels I was nodding off to sleep. Since early morning I have been with Aoi-chan, and I have been going about here and there. I was feeling confident. I was dozing off in front of Byakuya-sama. Is Byakuya-sama angry or is he surprised? "Good grief. You're a reliable and shrewd girl girl, and I think that it's beyond expectations that you're going to get married to a Hachiyo... yet I am worried that they'll find faults on you. That is a position that has many enemies, do you understand? "Yeah, I get it. I have watched Aoi-chan for a long time. But Aoi-chan is awesome... Even though she's in a disadvantage, she was aware of her own strengths. Furthermore, in Tenjin-ya, when Aoi-chan gets married to Odanna-sama, isn't there anyone who grumbles about it?" "Hmmm. in that case, isn't that a problem? Because nobody's complaining, probably there's a group that's P263 thinking about rubbing her out of existence." "That point, I am fine with that. I plan to not make enemies with my demeanor, an incomptetent person making a blunder. Well, at any rate, from the very start I have been incompetent." "..." Byakuya-sama narrowed his eyes, and with a snap hit the corner of his mouth with his fan. I thought that he was going to say something but, he just scolded me and released me after saying "You can go now" . Wahh, after standing up from sitting on my feet, they fell asleep and started tingling painfully... Holding the Maneki-neko** coin bank, I planned to go back to Yugao. Along the way, the waitresses looked over here, and started gossiping and whispering to each other. Up until now the friends that were calling me in carefree voices, and the sempai that used to fiddle with and pushed me around, now they pass sideways, and bow their heads subserviently, and flees anywhere. Oh well, I could understand why they became like that but... I come in contact with the management staff that were like Shizuna-chan and they are normally composed, but I'm a normal girl, aren't I? I feel like I'm a sore thumb sicking out. "Kasuga, Kasuga" "...Chiaki" From the other side of the hallway, peeping over here looking worried, it was my uncle, the tanuki. T/N: Maneki-neko, the beckoning cat, famously known for bringing in luck. It's said that it was originally named after a cat that waved to a monk to go inside a shrine and the monk almost got struck by lightning or something, so it was a lucky omen. P264 He approached while calling for me. "What is it, from now onwards I'm helping out at Yugao." "It's not that, you were called for by Byakuya-sama, and I got worried somewhat." "It's nothing. It's just that I'm developing a souvenir product with Aoi-chan." "Why you, aren't you scowling at me?" "Why, my relative shouldn't speak about me flippantly." He isn't necessarily overprotective and he wasn't saying anything like that, but ever since the old days Chiaki has been worrying about me. He's just a nice and charming person who took care of me, and he always looks after those that are just like me. Though I'm already fine, even at this age he still worries about me... "Chiaki aren't you staying behind here in Tenjin-ya?" "Yep. I'll continue working here. Even though I was thinking of coming along with you." "It's fine, it's nothing. I've always been taken care of by uncle, I cannot function properly being a Hachiyo's wife." "...Kasuga" His eyes gloomily welling up, holding down the corner of his eyes, Chiaki went "That tiny Kasuga has grown to be praise-worthy" "Ahhh stop it already, don't be gloomy.. Get over it." Shh... Uncle you're annoying. P265 While being paid extra care, I could feel myself fading away. Our relationship, even though we are family, here we cannot become too overly-familiar. The love that tanuki give to each other are the strongest among Ayakashi, as such they aren't entrusted to to other people, which makes tanuki unaware about so many things such as getting close to and connecting with strangers. Those people, now matter how much we studied them, we couldn't find them... With regards to those, I thought I learned those in Tenjin-ya.

"Oh.." In front of the passageway that connects the door to Yugao, there is someone who is sneakily peeping in. Isn't that... "O-ryo sama, what are you doing over that place?" "Kyaaa!" O-ryo sama jumped up suprised. With a sluggish expression, she slowly looked back. Opening her mouth as if about to talk, hesitatingly, she made a weird face by sticking her lower lip out. "H-hmph." In the end, O-ryo sama took her leave without saying anything. P266 I slightly tugged on O-ryo sama's sleeves. "What now?" O-ryo sama icily stared down at me with that severe gaze. Oh well, I've been used to that gaze. "Uhm, I believe so, that O-ryo sama will likely aim to be Wakaokami again." ".... what?" "Within Tenjin-ya, there's something that only O-ryo sama can surely do." Pulling my hands immediately from the hem, I madly dashed towards the inner garden where Yugao was. The O-ryo sama who was aiming to be Wakaokami. And the one who made her dream come true, the O-ryo sama that became Wakaokami. To me, O-ryo sama is dazzling, despite the many enemies she makes, being hated by her colleagues, being gutsy and only wants to rise up into the world. The one I adored. After doing so many different things, O-ryo sama eventually became demoted from Wakaokami, and yet... When O-ryo sama becomes Wakaokami once again. Truly, I support that from the sidelines..

End of Intermission 3, Volume 6. Previous - Chapter 8 Next - Chapter 9

References:

Wonderful site for the youkai references

Other stuff I used to do this: Kodansha Kanji Learner’s Dictionary (you can buy here, I’m not sponsored btw). I was about to buy the older edition but then the newer one came out 2013 so I bought that instead. Worth buying since I was able to find nearly all of the words I needed just by stroke pattern alone.

Merriam-Webster's Japanese-English Dictionary (the red-covered 1996 version is apparently out of print right now). This is what I have been using for a very long time, I bought it when I was still a fetus (yes I am old so what lol), and after so many years, when compared to newer editions, I still prefer this one since its entirety is Japanese-English, the English to Japanese gloss are just 16 pages tops, so you get more Japanese words for your buck. But that’s just my opinion, maybe other people prefer the Jap-En x En-Jap IDEK.

Basic online dictionary, Jisho. Knowledge of verb conjugations  and other words are necessary since not all have entries.

If you can read Japanese, you can buy the whole set in Amazon Japan, they’re shipping worldwide now, I think.

[imaginedanganronpa]

Can you please do headcanons with the DR1 cast as the Remnants of Despair? I was thinking of the V3 cast in the role of the TTH cast with Tsumugi as the Ultimate Despair and Maybe Rantaro as her Mukuro. While Kaede’s the Ultimate Hope with Ryoma, Shuichi, Kiibo, Miu and Himiko surviving with her.

I love Remnant of Despair AU’s, but I’m going to exclude Junko and Mukuro for obvious reasons. And as for the V3 Cast in the THH roles, I’m not going to write that right now since that isn’t the Request submitted but I guess I could in the future! I definitely think Tsumugi would be the Ultimate Despair, but I’m not as sure about Rantaro as her Mukuro lol. I think it’s an interesting concept nonetheless! 

Warnings for: Su*cide Mentions, as well as Spoilers for the DR3 Anime and Mentions of Violence/D*pression.

Danganronpa 1: Trigger Happy Havoc Cast As The Remnants of Despair!

Makoto Naegi

It’s hard to believe that Makoto would succumb to Despair very easily considering his status as the Ultimate Hope. He would be one of the more difficult individuals to break, especially with his affiliation to the Future Foundation.

But how Despair-inducing would it be to turn the Ultimate Hope into a servant for Despair? If anything, Makoto would be in a hostage situation where everything else started to feel bleak and meaningless, working as a similar Servant to the Warriors of Hope.

Rather than being a voluntary Servant, though, he would be forced into doing so, which would slowly break his spirit.

Junko would break him down and use him for her own personal gain. He would become a bargaining chip against the Future Foundation, and if they did anything to try to stop Junko and the other Remnants then she could easily bring harm to Makoto.

His broken down state of mind would also be used against his class - they would be shown how he has deteriorated and fallen victim to Despair, which would in turn bring his friends onto Junko’s side as well. 

He, similar to Chiaki, would be the main focus in the brainwashing video that brought them into Despair.

Kyoko Kirigiri

It would be quite difficult tosend Kyoko into Despair, and it takes much more than just brainwashing to causeher to switch sides. Junko would trick Kyoko into believing that Makoto wasmurdered and show her the falsified video of his supposed brutal ‘death,’ which woulddo the trick.

After being converted into a Remnant, Kyoko would head to Hope’s Peak Academyto murder her father, Jin Kirigiri, in an act of cold blood. If he was gone,then she would have no trouble destroying his beloved Academy in the process – shewould watch the other Remnants wreak havoc upon the city from atop thecrumbling, destroyed building that once was Hope’s Peak.

She would see herself as the judge, jury, and executor – Kyoko would be able tomurder innocent civilians and cover up their deaths so that they would never besolved! 

She wants children to feel the same Despair that she felt when she took her own father’s life and slaughter families before their very eyes, whichwould eventually lead children into working for the Warriors of Hope.

That, and Kyoko would starve herself until her body was nothing but a skinny husk. Ifshe was brainwashed as much as the others, she may even take Junko’s hands toreplace them with her own, scarred ones.

Byakuya Togami

Byakuya would be one of the mostmerciless Remnants of Despair, feeling his power growing within him and loving the new dominance he has gained since joining the side of Despair; he would become increasingly hostile and greedy.

Since he is the heir to a big company, he would easily be able to send peopleinto a deep depression and Despair by laundering money and sending them intomass debt. It would be just like the Great Depression in the 1930’s America allover again, causing people to commit suicide over their un-repayable debt.

He’d laugh as those around him crumble and watch the world fall into Despair as images of people everywhere jumping from the tops of buildings would circulate.

He would also offer up his parents as sacrifices to Junko - to both feel the Despair of killing them but to also inherit the company; Byakuya would be much more selfish after becoming a Remnant and he would be able to take full control of his family’s company so that his plan to send the country into debt would go smoothly.

And Byakuya would deepen his own Despair by doing something he’d never do in his right mind, and fall in love with Touko Fukawa.

Celestia Ludenberg

The first thing that Celestia woulddo is starve herself and change her entire wardrobe to replicate Junko’s aesthetic, even changing her clip-ins to reflect Junko’s hairstyle and wearing Monokuma pins in her hair.

She would likely revert back to calling herself Taeko as well.

Celestia would set up gambling rings that were rigged and impossible to win, causingpeople to gamble their lives away until they dropped from exhaustion,stealing their money and sending them into mass debt as she did so, similar to Byakuya’s method but in a much more direct way.

She would use Despair as a bargaining chip, sending even the most confident people into Despair. She would beg them to, “Keep playing, come on! You have nothing else to lose, Upupupu!” until her opponents lost everything they had, sending them into depression.

Celestia would laugh like a madman as she watched anyone who tried facing her crumble.

She would also force people to play Russian-Roulette, lying about how many bullets were in the chamber. Of course, they would all actually be loaded so playing her games was a death-wish, but she didn’t tell them that.

Leon Kuwata

Leon would become the face of Despair for athletes everywhere as he works them to death, literally; he ‘motivated’ his teammates to train until they dropped from exhaustion.

Those athletes who survived were brainwashed alongside him, becoming minions of Despair, and would then use their astounding physical abilities in the fight against the Future Foundation as well to slaughter civilians everywhere.

Since he wants to become a musician, he would create mediocre Despair-inducing music that would cause physical harm to whoever listened to it; he would attendSayaka’s concerts to further himself into Despair.

Leon destroys the baseball stadium where he played at, and stands among the rubble after he’s finished to overlook the city and watch the other Remnants spread Despair across the country.

Leon also spreads physical destruction, modifying his bat into a steel weapon, equipped with sharp blades at the top. He would recklessly vandalize the city, letting out loud, unsettling laughter as he did so.

And anyone who tried to stop him would get ruthlessly beaten to death in the process.

Aoi Asahina

Aoi would offer up her brother,Yuta, as a sacrifice to Junko and the Warriors of Hope; he was already a ‘Demon’ that they were hunting so she would just make their jobs easier.

And to feel the most Despair possible, Aoi would drown him. It’s ironic since both of them, especially her, are renowned swimmers - how Despair-inducing it is to be killed by the thing you love the most!

Aoi’s personality would completely change - she would no longer be the positive, optimistic girl that she once was. She would deprive herself of sweets to fuel her own madness and Despair, becoming much less emotional, and more serious.

She would fight alongside Genocider Syo and Sakura Oogami, using her own physical strength to fight the war against the Future Foundation. She would also completely turn against Makoto and laugh as she watched him serve the Warriors of Hope like a dog.

Aoi would be the main ‘motivational’ speaker for the Remnants, encouraging them to continue spreading Despair and develops a sick, sinister adoration for Despair and idolization of Junko.

Kiyotaka Ishimaru

Kiyotaka would become asecond-in-command to Junko Enoshima, self-proclaiming himself as a Leader ofDespair.

He would march around the city with a hoard of Monokuma carrying him on apodium as he waves his hand with a sinister grin and shouts encouraging words about Despair tocitizens on the streets, encouraging them to follow his lead with words.

Kiyotaka would shout at citizens trying to fight back against Junko’s Despair-inducing tactics, using his morality to alter their own morals and values and successfully swaying them onto his side.

Kiyotaka’s voice is programmed into the Monokuma Drones’ systems so that they recognize him, and that way he is able to command them as they march through the streets. He would be the main ringleader in charge of the Monokuma infesting the city, pulling at their strings like puppets as they do everything he says.

Anyone who was not succumbing to Despair was seen as a filthy rule-breaker, and Kiyotaka would promptly order the Monokuma Drones to tear them limb from limb.

Remnant of Despair Kiyotaka is much more cruel and rude as well.

Touko Fukawa

Touko Fukawa would cease to exist andonly act upon her instincts as  Genocider Syo. She would never assist Komaru in a fight against the Warriors of Hope and Junko Enoshima, and would instead lash out against anyone who tried stopping them.

She would work as a tool for Byakuya and Kiyotaka as they order her around, getting off to their insults and harsh commands. She uses her scissors as weapons and superior killing-capabilities to fight the FutureFoundation.

Touko, or Genocider, would be like the ‘attack-dog’ of the Remnants. However, she would also blatantly try to murder Byakuya out of love, to only increase her own level of Despair, resulting in a horde of Monokuma restraining her.

Genocider would make plenty of comments about how Touko was her former self, and how she killed Touko and she’d never return. She was a ruthless killer who slaughtered tons of Future Foundation members.

Mondo Oowada

Mondo would terrorize the city onhis motorcycle, infecting the rest of his Biker Gang with Despair; also having leather-jacket wearing Biker Monokuma Drones join them and ride alongside them. 

He could easily persuade the rest of his Gang members onto the side of Despair and ruthlessly kill whoever opposed him. They would form a fleet of motorcycles that would ride through the city, bringing Despair wherever they went.

Together, they would vandalize and destroy the city, and kill anyone who triedstopping them. Mondo and his Gang would take delinquency to a whole new level, getting in physical fights and destroying property, leaving only destruction and rubble in their path.

He becomes even more physical and hostile than he was before. Mondo would also get Chihiro to reprogram his bike and attach weapons, like machine-guns or flamethrowers, onto them so he can gun down innocent bystanders out of the blue.

He would often speak poorly of his fallen brother Diaya, no longer feeling remorseful over his death and instead calling Diaya a pathetic coward.

Sayaka Maizono

Sayaka would first set an example for her supporters by starving herself until she was nothing but an empty husk, encouraging all of her fans to do the same and insisting that they mutilate their bodies to look more like Junko’s.

But she, similar to Ibuki and Hiyoko, would perform Despair-inducing concerts that were designed to brainwash her audience. A lot of her songs encouraged suicide, murder, or destruction; and at the end of her concerts, she would have successfully diminished any and all confidence or sanity that her fans had.

Sayaka performs something similar to a Siren Song, bringing Despair to whoever listened to it. She would also use the screens behind her on stage to play the brainwashing video that Chihiro creates as she performs.

After her shows, she would hold a Meet-and-Greet where she demanded that her fans murder their loved ones and/or take their own lives; her influence as an Idol could persuade them into doing anything.

And Sayaka would also lure people in with her beauty, similar to Mikan. She would target her male audience and mutilate or torture them just for fun once she finally got a hold of them.

Chihiro Fujisaki

Chihiro would be one of the firstpeople to succumb to Despair since his mindset is already weak and damaged, so he would likely be the easiest person in their Class to convert.

He would use his programming abilities to play the brainwashing video he created all overthe city, hacking into downtown’s technology and projecting the video onto the big screens looming over the streets of Japan. Chihiro could also send this signal through private businesses so that his video plays in the homes of innocent civilians everywhere, unexpectedly catching them off-guard.

It would be a video, similar to the first Motive, that shows your loved ones in peril but also depicts graphic images of violence that would instantaneously brainwash anyone who watched it into Despair and send them into violent and hostile outbursts.

Chihiro would also ditch the dress he previously wore and adjust his wardrobe to reflect that of Junko’s, wearing a similar style to hers.

He is also in charge of programming all of the Monokuma Drones, becoming the main person who creates and develops them.

Sakura Oogami

If anyone, other than Makoto, isable to resist Despair then it would be Sakura – her willpower is far superiorthan that of her classmates and it takes a lot more to send her into Despair.Once she is on Junko’s side, though, she proves to be a formidable ally.

Junko would use her status as a Traitor to diminish her self-esteem, and thenonce Sakura’s emotions were at the lowest of the low, she would be shown a video of herfamily’s beloved Dojo getting destroyed.

In an act of anger, Sakura would slaughter her boyfriend and offer him up as a sacrifice to Junko – once sherealized what she had done is when she would completely fall into Junko’s hands.

Sakura would become a warrior for the Remnants, fighting alongside Genocider Syo and Aoi Asahina against the Future Foundation, easily taking out anyone who stood in her way. 

She would also proudly boast about her status as a Remnant and try to provoke the members of the Future Foundation onto their side.

And if they didn’t listen, then Sakura would simply kill them with ease. Between Genocider’s mastery of blades and her brute strength, it was nearly impossible to fight against these women.

Yasuhiro Hagakure

Surprisingly, the Despair Yasuhiro feels causeshis prediction rates to increase in accuracy – but that was also part ofJunko’s motive for bringing him onto her side, and he fell for it withouthesitation.

Now, to fill others with Despair, Yasuhiro will still read their fortunes butpromise only negative things befalling his customers. He reads their fortunesthat are filled with Despair, misfortune, and heartache to send them spiralinginto depression; this makes them easier targets to either kill or bring onto the side of Despair.

Yasuhiro would be much more intelligent and calm as a Remnant, and less likelyto make hasty choices or comments. His new personality would be much more unnerving and sinister.

He would replace one of his eyes with Junko’s after her inevitable death,insisting that it helped him to ‘see’ into the future.

Yasuhiro would also murder his mother in a fit of blind rage and use her body as a sacrifice, selling her remains for profit.

Hifumi Yamada

Hifumi would also be easy to brainwash, and he’d ditch his ‘heroic’ persona for a more villainous one.

His Manga and Fanfiction would show depictionsof Despair and the characters he has created falling into it, causing hisviewers to model after them and succumb to Despair as well. 

He would likely kill off his most popular and loved characters by forcing them to commit suicide and he would write Junko as a character into his fiction, representing her as an idol that his viewers should look up to and strive to be like.

Hifumi already has a large audience that would immediately be switched onto theside of Despair – his younger audience would follow in the Warriors of Hope’sfootsteps, killing their parents and joining their army, while his older audience would start worshipping Junko Enoshima.

He could easily get his readers to do as he pleases – if he wanted to cause them to commit suicide, kill their loved ones, or destroy their home or city, he could do so with one publication.

- Mod Rantaro

[scratchface]

Yusaku and the Rejection of Fear

Part four of the Yusaku character analysis! And more! Like discussion of some of the more subtle themes in Vrains, and what they mean.

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3

This is pretty long and image heavy, but it was by far the most fun.

Wariness

I’ve already talked about Yusaku and first impressions and how he analyzes everyone he meets for potential threats, but that says lot about Yusaku in regard to the first encounter. He trusted a stranger once without taking the due caution, and it’s not a mistake he’s going to make again.

That means with Yusaku, we can probably assume you’re a “bad guy” before you’re proven to be a “good guy”; not necessarily in terms of good vs evil, or guilty vs innocent, but In untrustworthy vs trustworthy.  

But despite his wariness, Yusaku disregards most people entirely; they don’t factor into his perception of the world as important at all. He doesn’t recognize a classmate on sight, and when he sees an out during the conversation with Naoki, after establishing that Naoki knows little about Playmaker besides rumors, he tries to take it.

But the confirmation Yusaku sought is actually quite interesting, because the only way Naoki would have seen Playmaker at this point was if he witnessed a duel between Playmaker and a Knight of Hanoi, or was a Knight himself. Yusaku was making sure the person approaching him had no connection to Hanoi, and had no leads on Playmaker. You can see this in how he actually asks Naoki two questions, despite being completely disinterested: he was prompting Naoki to give him more details about himself to work with, while never once giving away anything about himself.

In fact, this is a common tactic Yusaku uses in his IRL conversations; he always let’s others do the talking, and only briefly interjects to get them to talk more. He does it to Aoi, but mostly does it to Naoki.

This is how Yusaku monitors the people around him; Yusaku likes to know and control how much others know. He eavesdrops and investigates, but never gives away anything of himself except occasionally his name. Yusaku wants to know as much as possible while limiting the knowledge base of everyone else, which isn’t just a tactical decision on his part. When speaking of the incident and what came afterwards, Yusaku focuses a lot on how little he was told, and it’s clear that it still bothers him.

Yusaku seems to have a complex about knowing information regarding his current situation. The situation involved torture and starvation, but what may have scarred Yusaku the most what the lack of control and knowledge, the inability to understand his situation. Or rather, ignorance is intrinsically linked to powerlessness in Yusaku’s mind. That’s what leads into his obsession with finding the truth:

It’s fair to say that in Yusaku’s mind, knowledge absolutely means power. The one who uncovers the most is the victor, which is also why he’s jealously keeps his own secrets, except for when he’s lashing out at Hanoi.

In order to control the distribution of knowledge, Yusaku’s behavior is rather manipulative, but he almost never lies. When he himself is questioned, he gives a vague answer or none at all, and let’s the other draw their own conclusions. He carries a fake deck entirely for the sake of subterfuge. He takes the necessary steps to make sure he’s never pegged as a candidate of Playmaker’s true identity: no reputation as a duelist or a hacker in real life, or as someone invested in the matter of Hanoi. 

But despite how careful he is, Yusaku doesn’t hide his identity when breaking into Vyra’s apartment, despite the likelihood of her actually being in it and seeing him. There was no guarantee she would be in Vrains at the time. Yusaku was fully prepared to come face to face with a Hanoi General in her own home. Had she not been purged, Yusaku likely fully intended to interrogate Kyoko when she awoke. But then what? She still would have seen him, even if he sent her off with the authorities.

This all leads to a single conclusion:

Fearlessness

Yusaku is fully prepared to be found. He doesn’t want to be, but he doesn’t want the conflict with Hanoi to stay just in Vrains either. Yusaku wants justice beyond stopping Hanoi’s online activity; which is why he struggles to uncover the IRL identities of Hanoi’s knights, and also likely the reason Vyra was in jail. Kusanagi and Yusaku must have made sure the authorities found evidence of her cyber terrorism and the Another’s virus when they called an ambulance for her. Yusaku is careful, but he’s not afraid of confrontation. In fact, the character in the series least wary of the battle entering the real Den City may actually be Yusaku.

Let’s not forget, Yusaku has a hidden compartment in his apartment. One that protects his unconscious body from being found while he’s in Vrains. Yusaku included this because he thought him being found out and tracked down to his apartment was an possible eventuality. By staying within a secret room, if his identity was revealed and his apartment was raided, he could wait out the raid in hiding. Yusaku was anticipating taking the fight IRL, and properly preparing for it. That’s why he doesn’t hide his face, why he reveals himself as a victim of the Incident, and more.

Which brings new insight to these words:

This isn’t just a mocking reply; this is the truth. Yusaku really wants this fight. He’s completely unwavering before the possible IRL consequences and the dangers ahead.

Quite a bit of emphasis is placed on just how much time Yusaku has spent preparing for his revenge. That’s how much he’s been wanting it. 

Lots of characters in Yu-Gi-Oh express faith in their decks, but Yusaku especially focuses on how he built the perfect weapon for challenging Revolver and Hanoi.

It’s not just his cards Yusaku is confident in:

Yusaku won’t lose, because he won’t accept failure. After ten years of suffering and scheming, Yusaku isn’t going to let any of it go to waste. So much so that even when faced with what he admits is pitifully low odds, Yusaku considers victory the only possible result. For someone who was once caught and tortured by the people he’s now confronting, that’s nothing short of incredible. It’s like Yusaku has banished all his fear.

And because of his faith in himself, Yusaku purposefully takes risks and injures himself in order to gain advantage over his opponents. Yusaku doesn’t play safe; he carefully measures the danger of his every action and does it anyway. Whether it’s risking a limb or psychological trauma, Yusaku will do it if it means gaining leverage over Hanoi. His identity is just another chess piece he’s prepared to lose if it gets him closer to taking the king and knowing everything.

With Yusaku’s obsession with knowing the truth of the past and his struggle with making sense of his history, its really no surprise that the next villain has the ability to alter memories. In fact, its hard to imagine someone that clashes more with Yusaku on an ideological level.  

Humanity

Yusaku thinks people are the same as they were in ancient times. And the context of this line is the fear and superstition triggered by the eclipse in Vrains. Yusaku considers fearfulness inherent to mankind.

What does that say about Yusaku, who has no fear? Nothing absolute, but the implications are certainly there. No wonder Yusaku is unable to affirm his own humanity in the duel with Bohman.

But, there’s a little something more to all of this, that ties back in with a rather contradictory trait of Yusaku’s: his forgiveness.

So, @breakdawn-avenue asked a while back:

“I’m just re-reading your first part of Yusaku’s analysis (the abyss and his special person) and was wondering if it may change (a little bit, if anything) considering episode 58.”

I think the biggest shift in our perspective of Yusaku coming out of 58 is that he’s incredibly forgiving. We already knew this, seeing how he shrugs off Akira’s torture and maintains a relatively good relationship (not trusting, not friendly, but not bad either) with him and Ghost Girl despite how many times the two of them have screwed Yusaku over. But this is on another level.

I think Yusaku’s incredibly forgiving nature isn’t just compassion and empathy for others, it also comes from a place of apathy and mistrust as well. I mentioned Yusaku initial character bio before, but a huge part of that is “He only seems to trust Kusanagi.”

And it’s true. Kusanagi is one of the few people Yusaku expresses faith in, through out the series.

Besides Kusanagi and a few more arguable exceptions like maybe Ryoken and Takeru, Yusaku doesn’t trust anyone. He doesn’t have faith in anyone. He has no belief in the nature of other people, and no expectations of being treated with kindness. He thinks people are fearful, and what does fear do to people? Makes them focus on self-preservation. So when people betray him, hurt him, put him under the bus for their own self interest, Yusaku isn’t offended, because he expected as much. To Yusaku, it seems, people are just like that: cruel and selfish, and because he’s accepted it, it doesn’t seem to bother him much. Yusaku expects to be hurt.

Why? Because he once tried to make friends with a boy and got kidnapped and tortured because of it. The last time Yusaku believed in the innocent intentions of others was the start of his own living hell. 

And because Yusaku thinks everyone is like that, he doesn’t really resent it. He’s been through worse, so the petty hurts don’t bother him. He only trusts his own abilities, so the betrayal of others is just a minor inconvenience. 

Yusaku thinks all people act in their own self-interest, and he has yet to be proven wrong. Even Go, who stunned and impressed Yusaku with his compassion, his attentiveness to his opponent, and his sportsmanship has turned out to be as self-motivated as the rest. Aoi and Ema have been selfish characters from the start, and Akira has shown on multiple occasions that his own self-righteousness comes before all else. Yusaku doesn’t hold any of this against them. To Yusaku, selfishness is not a “bad” trait, its inherent within everyone. And he doesn’t hold Ryoken’s mistakes and crimes against him either, because while Ryoken had a hand in destroying Yusaku’s faith in humanity, he was also the only one to try and fix it. 

Speculation, Fear, and Life

But is Yusaku right? Within the world of Vrains, does fear and struggle make the average person selfish and cruel?

So far, yes, and ain’t that something? Dr. Kogami supposedly started all of this out of fear of mankind’s inevitable mortality, and committed atrocities in the name of alleviating that fear. Then, scared of the what his creations were capable of, he formed the Knights of Hanoi and tried to hurt and kill millions of people and destroy all computer-based technology. And the Ignis, the most “human” of all AI, are notable because of how they fear for their own lives, and may destroy humanity because of it.

The further you look, the more you see fear leading to selfishness or cruelty in Vrains, in the name of self-preservation. Go, afraid of losing his acclaim and the reverence of children, challenged Playmaker. Aoi, afraid of being unloved and left alone by her brother, challenged Playmaker. Akira, afraid for his comatose sister, tortured Playmaker. SOL, afraid of being unable to maintain their tech empire ordering the manhunt for Playmaker. There are more reasons behind all of these, but fear is an undeniable factor. 

Even more, we have Blood Shepherd, who seemed like a nice person before tragedy occurred and he became callous and cruel. He’s a representation of the “human” side versus the “AI” side. If Kengo and the Knights and SOL all represent humanity, it paints a pretty ugly picture, doesn’t it?

But let’s look at the opposite. If the desire to live in Vrains leads to selfish actions that harm others, what does it mean when people risk their lives?

What happens when people overcome fear, and decide there’s something worth risking their lives for? Sacrifice, almost every time. That is the entire basis of the Tower of Hanoi arc: every single character in Vrains besides Playmaker sacrifices their life, purposefully or not. All of the Hanoi generals, Ema, Aoi, Akira, Spectre, Go, Ai, and Kogami all sacrifices themselves and “die”, however briefly it lasts. And they do this because they’ve overcome fear and selfishness. Ryoken attempts to follow their example. Even the news crew put their lives at risk! Now, in season 2, we see Takeru overcoming his fear to join Playmaker, and repeatedly using himself as a meat shield for Yusaku’s sake, particularly in the most recent episode. We’re seeing similar progress with Aoi, Ema, and Akira too, as each explores their own different ideas of putting aside their self-interest and safety. 

So fear is linked with life, and courage is linked with death.

Except in the case of Yusaku. Yusaku is the exception, as his unwavering courage leads him to victory. 

If fear is what keeps people alive, is fear the result of free will, the drive people have towards life? Ryoken and Kogami insist free will is essential to life, after all, and the inclusion of free will in the Ignis allows them to fear for their lives. 

When Yusaku has a dream about Revolver talking about the lack of free will equating to a lack of life, he wakes up yelling “I…”.

As if something about “free will” causes Yusaku subconscious distress, enough that he wants to defend or explain something about himself. “I” what, Yusaku? Does Yusaku subconsciously feel like he lacks something essential to life? We can’t forget that Ai has pointed out that between them, it’s Yusaku that seems more like an AI. Ai is the “human” one between the two of them, and is certainly the one who possesses the most fear and sense of self-preservation.

Is Yusaku really missing some essential component to free will, to life, one that was lost to the Ignis, or is he purposefully leaving it behind and gradually becoming less human than the Ignis themselves? And is that why he isn’t sacrificed? What isn’t “alive” can’t “die”?

The further I get into this, the less likely it seems Yusaku is really “human” in the same way the other characters are, going by the recurrent themes. Is he from another dimension? A reincarnation? An advanced AI? An alien? Or, is he a human in the process of becoming something inhuman?

And what of the other six? Takeru’s arc is clearly addressing how he’s currently learning to abandon his fear, just like Yusaku already did. Spectre seems to have cast aside his fear as well, while Jin wallows in it. Eventually, though, we can assume Jin too will overcome his fear. Where is this all going? What makes the six kids exempt from the basic nature of humanity, a nature so pervasive it even infects the artificial creatures based on them? And if they lose the fear that keeps life-forms alive, what are they?

Will Yusaku’s rejection of fear, and therefore self-preservation, catch up with him in the end, claiming his life as it did the others’? His quest for revenge has been impressive, and successful, but there’s something self-destructive in his relentlessness.

[blazekurumu]

My Secret Precure Exchange gift for @ohayo-hannah-chan! I had fun making this collage along with the character cures you gave me. Cure Peace and Cure Gelato are the coolest and cutest cures to work with. So I hope you enjoy the story I made for you as well!

Summary: Aoi meets Yayoi and the two team up to save the day! With some cameos at the end!

"What a lovely day for a nice walk!"

Yayoi hummed to herself as she walked through Precure Park, where all the cures could meet up with each other. She was taking a break from her homework to get some inspiration for her new comic idea. Candy has insisted to come along, but Miyuki wanted to spend a day with her shopping for new books. Reika lent her a sketchbook for her so that she could draw with. The yellow cure sat down to draw some more Power Rangers fanart when a loud rift from a guitar sounded off in the area. The music startled the shy girl. She walked around the corner to see a wild haired blue girl practicing on her guitar. Yayoi's eyes widen at how sharp her teeth was and how fast she was shredding on her instrument. Who was this strange girl?

The girl turned around to wave at her. "Yo! How's it going? Are you new here?"

Yayoi felt her face flush at the question. "N-N-Nooo...I mean, I've been a cure for awhile now." She held out her hand towards her. "I'm Kise Yayoi, nice to meet you!"

The girl shook her hand and grinned. "Tategami Aoi at your service! So what brings you out here in Precure Park?"

"I'm here to get some ideas for my new comic!" 

"You draw comics? How cool!" Aoi looked at her sketchbook. "Your drawings are so neat!"

"R-R-Really? I expected someone like you to not be interested in my art." 

That comment made Aoi laugh. "Why not? None of my teammates can draw like this. You have a real gift."

Yayoi smiled softly at her. "Thanks, my teammates always tell me my drawings are good, but I just lack the confidence to show them in public." 

"Are you nuts? You should be proud of your work! I sing in my band and I am proud of it! Your art should fire you up with a great passion!"

Yayoi was amazed by the energy that Aoi was giving her. Perhaps she was right, her passion for drawing was what made her the person she was today.

Suddenly, a large shaking noise erupted from the park. To their surprise, a Akanbe emerged in front of them, this one being a tall tree. Yayoi took out her Smile Pact while All took out her Sweets Pact.

"Is this a monster of yours?" All asked her, giving Yayoi a determined expression.

"Yeah, that's an Akanbe! Usually when they appear, one of our villains can't be far behind." She replied, hoping she was wrong.

A red oni character appeared on the scene, Yayoi recognizing him to be Akaoni. He gave them a wicked grin.

"Well, if it isn't the crybaby Cure Peace!" He bellowed, making her glare at him. "And you have a little friend too! Is this one as wimpy as you?"

"Shut up, you red troll! I'll kick your butt!" Aoi shouted, growling like the lion she was. "Don't talk to her like that!"

Akaoni was shocked at the blue haired girl's statement. "What? HOW DARE YOU!" He turned to the Akanbe. "Finish them!"

Aoi held up her pact. "Are you ready to fight Yayoi-senpai?"

Yayoi gave her a small smile. "Let's do it!"

"READY?! PRECURE, SMILE CHARGE!"

"CURE A LA MODE, DECORATION!"

"GO! GO! LET'S GO PEACE!"

"WITH FREEDOM AND PASSION, LET'S LA MIX-IT-UP!"

Yayoi transformed in a bout of yellow sparkles. Her bangs were styled in curls. Her eyes became a brighter shade of yellow to match. Her tiara had two angel wings attached, and she wore it on the right side of her head. Her outfit was mainly yellow, with dark yellow lining and white highlights. Her sleeves are double-layered with a puffy piece below, and the bow at her chest is big with a small white frilly piece behind it. Her back of her top is split into two coat-tails, each of which is split in the middle to give a petal-like appearance, and her skirt has a frilly layer underneath it. Her arm protectors are extremely short, with dark yellow ribbons at the wrists. Her boots are short with yellow at the top and small dark yellow ribbons.

Aoi grinned as she transformed in powerful icy blue. Her ponytail grows in length to resemble a messy blue lions mane while she gains short forelocks and thicker bangs. On top of her head are light blue lion ears and a gold crown with a scoop of white and light blue ice cream. Her earrings are gold crowns. Her attire consists of a blue jacket with yellow cuff and lapel and a thick, loose collar with fluffy trim and a sky blue choker. Her balloon skirt is split into two designs with fluffy trim on top, one side is sky blue with white swirls, while the other is pale cream. Sticking out from the bottom is a blue lions tail, while her Sweets Pact rests on a light blue ruffled bow on the left hip. Her blue gloves are thick with a yellow rectangle on top of the hand. She wears thick blue and white ankle-length boots with sky blue socks, with the right one pulled up to the thigh and the left one worn above the ankle.

"Sparkling Rock, Papers, Scissors!" Peace made a paper motion as she twirled. "I'm Cure Peace!"

"Cure Gelato! Ready to serve!" Gelato did a rocker pose to finish her transformation.

Both of the girls nod as they charge the Akanbe together. Peace was putting in some good kicks and punches while Gelato supported her from behind with a few punches from her ice encrusted fist. 

"Uh Gelato, can you actually fight without the use of a magical item?" Peace asked her, making the lioness give her a weird look.

"What's wrong with the way I fight? Don't you fight with magic too?" Gelato asked her, giving the Akanbe a good punch in the nose. "I thought all cures fought with magic? The two groups we teamed up with used magic all the time."

Peace tossed the Akanbe over her shoulder, sending him flying in the air. "That's not how we fight classically. Old cures fought with magic, but only for a last resort! You need to fight with your passion, like you told me with my drawing!"

Gelato's eyes widen at that revelation. She was right, her team didn't even use fighting methods that much! With the exception of Macaroon and Chocolat, the rest of the girls don't use fist for fighting! She put her Sweets Pact up and gave her a grin.

"Alright Peace, let's fight this monster the old fashion way!" Giving her a thumbs up, Peace smiles at her. "How hard should we punch this idiot?"

"Hard enough to make the Shadow Realm feel it!" Peace said, charging up the thunder. "Let's do it!"

Both of them charged the Akanbe and gave him a powerful punch to the red rubber nose. Akaoni watched in amazement as the two worked together to beat down his Akanbe! How did they just get more pwoerful with every punch? Was he really losing his touch?

"No way! How did they get so powerful? What happened between those two?" He wondered aloud, his face sweating with fear. "Master Pierrot is not going to like this!"

"Time to end this!" Peace said, as the two made the Akanbe fall to the ground. Gelato grinned as she summoned her Candy Rod.

"I couldn't agree more with ya Peace. Let's crank up the power!"

Peace put two fingers in the air as an electric shock ran down her back. "PRECURE!"  She then spins around with the lightning bolts circling her, concentrates the energy onto both hands in their peace signs. "PEACE THUNDER!" Then she unleashed the powerful bolts of lightning.

Gelato created an ice ball with her wand. "KIRAKIRAKIRARU!"  Then she let the shards of ice to coalesce into a giant ice ball.         "GELATO SHAKE!"  She then repeatedly punches the ball with her ice-encased left fist, causing it to shatter and send shards flying at the target.

The attacks combine to form a barrage of electric shards of ice. The akanbe gets hit with these attacks as he denigrates into nothing. The two girls cheered loudly as they give each other a high five. Akaoni growled at them as he disappeared.

"You did such a great job! We should team up more often." Gelato said, jumping up and down. "Next time, we should bring the whole group to fight!"

"Yeah! Let's do this again really soon. Maybe we can team up again." Peace agreed.

Then the two spent the rest of the day talking about all their adventures and trading their hobbies. Yayoi got to sing a couple of songs with Aoi while she helped her find the perfect idea to draw.

The two walked around Precure Park with a new sense of vigor and moral until...

"This was a fun day! We should hang out again sometime." Aoi said, slinging her guitar case over her shoulder. "Wonder when that day will be."

"I'm not sure, but I want to go home and take a long nap after that fight." Yayoi yawned as she rubbed her eyes. "Let's just hope that nothing happens on the way home."

A loud explosion goes off behind them as they turn around to see a giant monster rampaging the city. Aoi slowly took out her Sweets Pact as Yayoi took out her Smile Pact. But a gloved hand stopped both of them as they looked to see six teens with attitude in colorful spandex and helmets standing behind them. Yayoi's jaw dropped at the appearance of them while Aoi gave them a weird look.

"Who are you guys?" She asked them, still confused at their sudden appearance.

"Who are we? Have you not been in Japan for a long time or something?" The green one said. "We are the Power Rangers!"

Yayoi squealed loudly at this. "Oh my gosh! You guys are super cool! Can I get an autograph?"

The red one patted her head. "No problem, as soon as we defeat this giant monster...."

"No! Allow us to defeat the monster!" They all turned around to see more spandex heroes. "I am Kamen Rider and this is my crew!"

"Wait...which version are you? Are you the new ones or the 90s edition?" Yayoi asked, her eyes swirling in confusion.

"Doesn't matter, we have more people to fight monsters like this." Kamen Rider said, looking at her. "So let a great team of spandex heroes fight this one."

"Are you a threat? Are you trying to make us mad?" Green Ranger said, going in his face. "Cause we can fight this right now!"

Aoi leaned over to Yayoi before the heroes were about to fight. "Are you sure these are the heroes you idolize so much?"

But Yayoi didn't hear her, she was too busy fangirling over the awesomeness of her two favorite series teaming up together.

[pendulumprince]

Episode 12 *forms a prayer circle for whoever loses*

Recaps of episode 11 and such

Playmaker summons Firewall

“The real fight is just getting started!” Um Yuya would not appreciate this

Anyway?? After the opening

IT ALL COMES DOWN TO THIS

PLAYMAKER USES FIREWALS’S EFFECT?

CAN’T UDE IT TO HURT VARRELLOAD

REV KEEPS BLOCKING PLAYMAKER AT EVERY TURN

GOES IN TO ATTACK FIREWALL??

REV BRINGS OUT SOME 2500 DEF MONSTER

ENDS HIS TURN

GHOST GIRL PONDERS THE CURRENT STATE OF THE FIELD

PLAYMAKER, YOU GOTTA END THIS SHIT NOW

PLAYMAKER’S HAND IS EMPTY

T’S ALL DOWN TO THIS NEXT DRAW

SOME MIGHT CALL IT A “DESTINY DRAW”

OH YES

IT’S A MAGIC CARD!

PLAYMAKER SETS IT DOWN

IT SEALS THE EFFECTS OF REV’S TWO WEAKER DRAGONS

NOW FIREWALL CAN FINALLY ATTACK VARRELOAD

BUT

VARRELOAD IS AT 3000

AND FIREWALL HAS 2800ATK?? WHAT YOU DOIN PLAYMAKER

NAH OKAY HE’S GOT THIS

HE ACTIVATES ENCODE TALKER’S EFFECT

IT PROTECTS FIREWALL AND PLAYMAKER WON’T TAKE ANY DAMAGE FROM THE BATTLE

REV DOESN’T KNOW WTF IS HAPPENING

FIREWALL ATTACKS

IT DOES NOTHING!

BUT WAIT!

ENCODE HAS ANOTHER EFFECT

AND NOW FIREWALL GAINS ALL OF VARRELOAD’S ATK POINTS

*GROSS UGLY LAUGHTER*

IT’S UP TO 5800 ATK

PLAYMAKER ADDS ON A COUNTER TO HIS MAGIC CARD

AND IT PULLS FIREWALL AND ENCODE UP BY 700 ATK POINTS

REV LOOKS LIKE HE’S ENJOYING THIS

ENCODE GOES IN TO ATTACK BARRELOAD

REV ACTIVATES VARRELOAD’S EFFECT

IT BRINGS DOWN ONE OF HIS OPPONENTS MONSTERS BY 500 ATK

SO ENCODE’S BACK DOWN TO 2800

THE ATTACK CONNECTS!

ENCODE’S DESTROYED

PLAYMAKER’S LP GOES DOWN TO 400

BUT PLAYMAKER ADDS ANOTHER COUNTER TO HUS MAGIC CARD

AND FIREWALL IS UP TO 7200 ATK

BUT ENCODE TALKER, AND IT’S EFFECTS ARE GONE

REV CAN USE HIS WEAKER MONSTER’S EFFECTS AGAIN

HOT DAMN PLAYMAKER’S IN A JAM

“ARE YOU SURE ABOUT THAT?” LMAO STOP STEALING OTHER PROTAGS CATCHPHRASES

HE BANISHES HIS TRAP TO THE… GRAVE?

BRINGS BACK DECODE TALKER

WHICH GAINS 500 ATK BECAUSE IT’S LINKED TO ANOTHER MONSTER

BUT WAIT. THERE’S MORE.

DT GOES UP TO 3100 ATK BECAUSE OF THE MAGIC CARD

GAINS ANOTHER COUNTER

AND DECODE… SOMEHOW GOES UP TO 4500?? ALRIGHT BRUH

HE GOES IN FOR THE ATTACK

DESTROY VARRELOAD

DESTROOOOY VAAAAAARELOAD

BUT NAH

REV’S GOT A TRAP

BOO!

HE RELASES A MONSTER

EQUIPS THE TRAP TO BARRELOAD

IT ALLOWS HIM TO PROTECT A MONSTER

HE CHOOSES HIS OTHER DRAGON, SOLEY FOR IT’S EFFECT

RELEASES IT

AND HE DESTROYS DECODE TALKER

FUCK. ME. SIDEWAYS.

REV’S 500% CONFIDANT THAT HE’LL WIN

BUT PLAYMAKER HAS THREE REASONS WHY HE’S GOT TO KICK REV’S ASS”

“1: To defeat you and uncover the truth about what happened ten years ago.

2: I’ll regain the time I lost

3: I’ll save my friend who saved me.

Rev. Is. Shook.

HE KNOWS SOMETHING

HE EITHER KNEW YUSAKU’S SPECIAL PERSON

OR HE IS YUSAKU’S SPECIAL PERSON

EITHER WAY I AM CRY

“Ten years ago… three things… you’re the one from that incident ten years ago?”

UM. WAIT. WHAT DO YOU KNOW REV. I DEMAND ANSWERS.

“That’s right. I’m that emissary of revenge.”

Ghost Girl seems interested in what happened ten years ago

Akira doesn’t know wtf is going on

Dr. Kogami is a little shook himself

“It can’t be… ten years ago… if that’s true, fate is scary.”

Annnnnd Specter shows up

Looking suspicious af

Shoichi is watching on

And

REV IS MAD

“You’re a fool, Playmaker. To help SOL Technologies without knowing the truth!”

NOW AKIRA’S SHOOK, TOO

And… does Ghost Girl know what he’s talking about?? “Oh my. The incident ten years ago… SOL Technologies. Did I overhear something very interesting?”

OH EMA

Playmaker’s like w’e

He’s gonna crush the Knights first and ask questions later

PLAYMAKER ACTIVATES HIS TRAP FROM THE GRAVE

BANISHES ENCODE AND DECODE TO MAKE IT HAPPEN

IT ALLOWS HIS LINK MONSTERS TO BATTLE TWICE THIS TURN

SO FIREWALL GOES IN TO ATTACK VARRELOAD

YES

YEEEEEESSSSS

REVOLVER GOES DOWN TO 0!

PLAYMAKER WINS!

*cries deeply*

And now it’s feEDING TIME

IGNIS GOES IN AND

AND!!

EATS REVOLVER’S ARM

FUCK YEAH

AND HE’S ABOUT TO EAT THE REST WHEN

WHEN!!

A bolt of lightning??

“Dad?!”

AW DAMN IT’S REV SENIOR COME TO SAVE HIS SON

Ignis has to take a step back

Rev goes to make his escape

But not before giving Playmaker the removal program for Aoi

He vows that they’ll duel again, yadda yadda

Okay

The Data Storm disappears

Playmaker and Ghost Girl go over to Akira and Blue Angel

Playmaker uses the removal program on her, and…!

SHE LOGS OUT

YAAAAAAS

PLAYMAKER DIPS BEFORE AKIRA AND GHOST GIRL CAN ASK TOO MANY QUESTIONS lmao

Back in the real world

Akira runs tf over to the hospital

And Yusaku… looks fucking exhausted

But the first thing he asks about is Aoi, the big goon :)

At the hospital, Akira runs down the hallways dramatically

Goes to Aoi’s bedside

Shouts her name repeatedly

And… she wakes up!

MY GIRL HAS RETURNED TO THE LAND OF THE LIVING

AKIRA IS SO RELEAVED

FIRST THING AOI DOES IS APOLOGIZE

BUT AKIRA’S LIKE W/E, IT’S FINE

HE TELLS HER TO REST

SHE CLOSES HER EYES

AND!

Omg Akira is crying

WELL AOI

NOW YOU KNOW ONII SAMA GIVES A SHIT

Annnnnd ofc Shoichi is spying on them lmao

Yusaku fell alseep though

Our baby has had quITE THE DAY

Ignis goes into a spiel about how cool he is but Shoichi’s got other plans

He’s gonna analyze the program he ate

“What? You’re going to look at my private parts? You’re a pervert.” DAMNIT IGNIS

Shoichi says he won’t do it if Ignis just TELLS him about the program he ate, but

Lmaooooo Ignis doesn’t wanna say

SO THE HARD WAY IT IS

Anyway, back to the KoH lair

Dr. Kogami chews Rev out?

“Let your guard down? It’s not like you. Or were you shaken when he talked about ten years ago?"

“I’m sorry, father.”

ALRIGHT SO IT’S OFFICIAL

DR. KOGAMI IS REV’S DAD

MEANING HE’S IN A COMA IRL

HE MIGHT’VE BEEN THE OG REV

AND I JUST. LOVE HOW HE’S USING HIS KID TO HIS OWN ENDS.

Anyway, Kogami says if he can’ acquire “that Ignis”, he’ll have to proceed with the “final plan”

HOLY SHIT WHAT R U GONNA DO KOGAMI

Kogami dips

But Rev is still thinking about what Playmaker said

“Three things… ten years ago… Playmaker, are you…”

And

AT SOL TECH

BISHOP, ROOK AND KNIGHT POP UP

“Zaizen learned something he shouldn’t have.”

FUCK ME SIDEWAYS

“It’s dangerous to keep him in his current position. Before he becomes too curious…”

Lol yeah, he’s definitely getting fired.

Or at least demoted.

But most likely fired.

“What about his successor?”

“I think Kitamura is qualified. He’s ambitious. If we entice him with a promotion, he’ll happily accept.”

“He’s so predictable. Those kinds of pieces are good pieces.”

Well SHIT

I expect great and terrible things from this Kitamura fellow.

Okay, flashback (dream?) time!

Rev is telling Playmaker about Ignis, how that boy ain’t right, ect ect

Annnnnd Yusaku waKES UP

Shoichi is almost done looking at the program

He knows Yusaku is curious aout what Rev said

About whether or not his AI really does have free will

He and Shoichi wonder if they can prove Ignis is actually alive

So… Ignis decides to p r o v e  i t

AND

HE MORPHS OUT OF THE DUEL DISK

HE HAS HIS BODY BACK

I REPEAT

IGNIS HAS HIS BODY BACK

“Ta daa! How’s this? This is my true form! I retrieved my body’s program from the Knights of Hanoi!”

BUT HE’S SO SMOL?! 

Yusaku and Shoichi are like “bruh are you serious.”

THEY DECIDE TO LOOK OVER THE PROGRAM AGAIN TO SEE IF THERE’S ANYTHING ELSE IN THERE BESIDES IGNIS’S STUPID BODY

OUR AI SON IS DEVESTATED LMAOOOO

Preview time!

Shoichi’s cooking hotdogs

EMA COMES UP TO HIM AS A CUSTOMER AW DAMN

Yusaku’s still wary of the whole “AI with free will” thing

Meanwhile, IGNIS TRIES TO IMPRESS ROBOPPY WITH HIS BUFFNESS

HIS TOTALLY NON-EXISTENT BUFFNESS

Aw yes gotta love these plot episodes