#dark x show me the forbidden x meme

[lolly-dolli]

I'm not Dark Lois.

Oh my gosh Lois I'm so sorry

[danwhobrowses]

My Highlights of AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door 2023

Well it's time to open the door again as AEW and NJPW put on another big card PPV

Last year it was perhaps one of the best PPVs of the year, let's see how this one holds up

Spoilers for the Show

Zero Hour

Despy reluctant to participate in Chaos' Best Friendsery, including the hug

As much as I'd have loved it on the main card, it's such a big deal that AEW put Billie Starkz on a PPV show match, for a tournament, against Athena! And she held her ground

Also if you haven't been watching Athena on ROH, fix that she is practically the company's Ace

ELP's LED J A C K E T

It goes understated just how crisp both Stu and ELP are respectively, Stu never got much time because Dark Order are always set to lose while ELP is best known now for his chicanery but they are very good at the wrestling

BUSHI with the Venom half-mask

Hiromu and Cobb had a fun little mini-feud going in their match

Main Card

That fan's reaction from receiving a fistbump from Tanahashi

MJF's 'New Japan is an Indie' on his robes

The callback of using 'Coward' to goad Max against running away

And brothers, sisters and every other pronoun you declare; we ain't in Kansas, and we ain't in Chicago anymore Toto

I have my opinions on Punk, not all of them good, but I also know that AEW right now are sitting on a gold mine with these reactions to ol' CM Trunks

Also appreciate the Kojima lore to validate him being in the Owen, training in the Hart Dungeon is a good feather in your cap to use

The chop sell on the Barricade

For a man who quotes The Thing's catchphrase that's sure a lot of Hulk-isms there, brother

I am just gonna stop here and just win the whole lot of shithousery Punk is doing

Also a Stan Hansen reference in commentary, nice

Since they mentioned All Out I gotta gush about the fact that I got All In tickets, also I am intrigued with how they intend to book 2 PPVs on back to back weeks

Also how fucking lucky are we seeing Shibata in a wrestling ring this past year?

It should be scientifically studied how Garcia got that stupid dance over

Shibata and OC's handshake is meme potential I can see it

Red Shoes chant

JB finally snaps with the heel turn, that was a nasty lariat too

Eddie bringing back the 'Redeem Deez Nuts' shirt

Eddie vs Mox is still THAT FEUD

Claudio's opportunistic heel work was good here with him ducking Eddie, and taking cheap shots in front of Mox - who seems pretty reluctant about that

The Cinnabon Gone Bad being able to floor Ishii with a forearm, he knocked out ISHII, the stone pitbull, the man with no neck, the G1 bane of Kenneth Jerome Omega, and the mans just fucking decked him, I had to rewind just to watch that again like in the best way possible what the fuck?

And Hangman is still the top babyface of the company

I did not expect Eddie to save Mox from the Superkicks, that's muscle memory there

Super surprised that BCC, Shooter and Takeshita lost but it was kinda nice that Ishii got the pin

Excalibur vs Despy when?

Meaty DVD on the apron by Willow

Every time I hear it, I fucking love Elevated, top 10 modern entrance themes

It's been a hot minute since I've seen Ospreay whip out the shooting star while their opponent was on the ropes

I feel like Ospreay licking blood of his bicep was purely for his wife and the Ao3 community

Kenny empowered by the Canadian flag

The rope break unglued the crowd

OWA at 1!

Tiger Driver 91 Fucker Me!

KAZE NI NARE

Sammy has 'Brodie Forever' on his jacket which is nice

Joker Sting!?

You know, I would take a feud between Darby and Suzuki, you've got the daredevil and the man who dares the devil

Jericho 'tag me' Suzuki 'no'

Suzuki with the pose, man does what he wants

They went and got the Final Countdown for Bryan, Mr Tempest is going to the bank for this one

One of these days Okada's just gonna come out wearing Nick Jackson's attire that he's stolen and I wait for that day

Knowing in advance that Bryan fractured his right arm during this match gives me a lot more respect towards how much he did without it

Okada's dropkicks are absolutely picture perfect

Not only did Bryan beat Okada, he submitted Okada! Don't think anyone expected that

Conclusion

There were high expectations going into Forbidden Door, but if anyone tries to tell you that it's a 'two match card' feel free to slap them, because they'd probably jizz over the one Bloodline match per PPV and call it the best thing ever. This PPV had its downsides for sure, a lot of weak finishes - a couple maybe done due to injuries or Sting feeling a little loopy - so it didn't come out to its full potential, but it was still a really good night for wrestling.

I would still say in spite of everything it was still a success, but I also feel like AEW and New Japan need to consider making it a 2-Day event to fit more talent on the show, we still lacked names on AEW's side like FTR, HoB, Acclaimed, BCG (if they wanted to come on I'm not sure how Jay feels about using FD as a loophole), Miro, Ethan, Dark Order, PAC, Keith Lee, TNT Champion Christian I mean Luchasaurus, Wardlow, Samoa Joe, and names on NJPW's side like Bullet Club, GoD, Alex Zayne, Nagata, Team Filthy, Bishamon, Great O Khan, Toru Yano (let Yano and Mox face off you cowards!), Master Wato, and KUSHIDA, and this is not even bringing up all the women we could've used - which frankly, we should try to schedule an All-Women's crossover PPV with Stardom featuring DDT/TJPW, AEW/ROH and maybe even other companies' talents.

But I digress, a lot of match finishes were poor but a lot of the wrestling in matches were enjoyable, I had fun and we set up some new directions and potential rematches down the line.

Match of the Night: This is probably gonna be controversial to some but I felt that the 10 Man Tag was the best of the night. Omega/Ospreay and Okada/Danielson were really good, but they also took time to get going, and I do prefer a high-energy wrestling match to a slower technical bout. Best Attire: Tetsuya Naito, man looks like he stepped out of a masquerade party and since SANADA is just his 'regular guy' persona rather than the cold skull and we had no extended Omega attire he's really the only choice. Best Performance: I want to give it to Eddie for carrying the emotional weight of the 10-man, I also want to give it to Punk for being a proper shithouse to a mixed crowd, I also really want to give it to Danielson for wrestling a clinic with a fractured arm, but I do have to give it to Omega and Ospreay as a tie they wrestled their butts off Spot of the Night: As much as I still love Takeshita decking Ishii, it's Omega kicking out of the OWA at 1

[katzenklavierr]

Every time someone mentions “dark academia” I think of the “dark x show me the forbidden y” meme format like “dark academia show me the forbidden theses” or “dark academia show me the forbidden works cited page” or whatever

[corbinite]

what facebook memories is good for is reminding me how funny I am

[therainroguefanfiction]

🎃 Frightful October Act II, #5 ~ Trust Me (Mark Lee)

📑 Table of Contents

Genre: AU, Magic, Comedy, Crossover, Halloween

Word Count: 2,604

Pairing: Reader x Mark

World: NCT ft. GOT7

───── ⋆⋅🎃⋅⋆ ─────

“Y/N, what are you doing?”

You whipped around, putting on the most innocent face you could muster as your eyes met Jaebum’s. “I was waiting for Jackson to finish getting his makeup done.”

He raised a brow. “Oh really? What’s that behind your back?”

“A wall?”

“Y/N.”

You pouted, showing him the tree frog you held. It had been enchanted, so it was glowing a faint pink.

“Do I want to know?”

“If he touched it, he would fall madly in love with it,” you grinned. “It would be YouTube gold!”

He sighed, facepalming. “You know you’re not supposed to use magic outside of battle.”

“Che, where’s the fun in that?” you scowled, allowing the frog to sit on your shoulder so you could fold your arms. “There hasn’t been a battle in months. I’m gonna get rusty!”

“You’re constantly using your powers, you’re not gonna get rusty,” he chuckled.

“I can neither confirm nor deny that.”

The door opened behind you and Jackson stepped out, wearing a suit. “How do I look?”

“Tame and average.”

“You little – ”

You dodged when Jackson tried to grab you, using Jaebum as a shield. “You’re far too slow to catch me!”

Jaebum could only sigh as Jackson chased you around the hall, trying and failing to grab you. When did he sign up to be a parent? More importantly, where could he unsign?

A burst of power suddenly struck you and you froze, your senses hyper-aware as you tried to hone into the source. You almost had it tracked down when Jackson tackled you to the ground, making you lose your connection.

“Dumbass!” you cursed at him, smacking his head. “Can’t you feel that?”

“Feel what?” he looked at you dumbly.

“Do you sense something?” Jaebum inquired.

You nodded. “It only lasted for a second, but I felt a burst of power. Someone strong is in the building and they are using their power for something.”

“Can you track it?”

“I tracked it to the east side of the building, but someone broke my concentration before I could get an exact location. I won’t be able to track it until they use their power again, but it feels like they are using a barrier technique to hide their aura.”

“Great,” Jaebum muttered. “Jackson, get to your photo shoot. Y/N, I’ll come with you.”

“No, I’ll go alone,” you stood up, offering him a smile. “No offense, but you’ll just get in the way.”

“Offense is taken, but understood. Be careful.”

“Careful is my middle name!”

Both boys scoffed, not believing that you could claim such a thing. You were one of the most reckless people they had ever met.

“Don’t worry, I got this.” With a thumbs-up, you took off for the east wing of the building, keeping your senses open for even the tiniest of magical spikes.

One thing you had learned early on during your training as a witch was to always listen to your instincts. As a witch, you were more in tune with the wavelengths of objects around you and the soul lengths of people. Even if this person was hiding their power, your instincts could still point you in the right direction.

You found yourself entering a large storage room, filled with old and broken equipment. The room was dark, dimly lit by a bulb that had seen better days. It was cold and everywhere you looked was metal. Why did this building have such a large room? You had no idea, but your gut was telling you that you needed to be there.

“Wh-What do you want from me?”

“Isn’t it obvious? I. Want. You.”

You followed the voices. A brown-haired boy was being pinned to the wall, fear in his eyes. A woman stood in front of him, holding his wrists in place. You could tell with one look that she was a witch and you recognized the magic sparkling on her lips as she leaned down to kiss him.

“Oi, don’t you know love magic is illegal?” you called out, stopping her before their lips could connect.

Her head whipped up, eyes flashing angrily. “Mind your own business,” she hissed, eyes turning red.

“When you’re making all this noise and breaking witch laws, it becomes my business.”

She laughed, releasing the boy to turn her attention to you. “You’re not an Archmage, what right do you have to enforce witch law?”

“I’m a witch hunter,” you grinned proudly. Your family had been witch hunters for generations, using their magic to uphold the law of their kind and keep the ignorance of normal humans intact. You were proud to take on the role, especially since you were the last of your family currently living. You didn’t want the bloodline to die with you. “Love magic is strictly forbidden. It’s time for you to be punished!” you held out your hand as your ring began to glow a bright red. The ring broke into particles, reforming into a short sword that fell into the palm of your hand.

“You’re a few centuries too early to beat me, kid,” she smirked, flipping her chocolate hair over her shoulder. “I’m giving you one last chance to run away.”

You hummed, pointing the blade at her. “I’m going to enjoy destroying you. Witches like you are my least favorite. I get that you can’t find love on your own, but tricking people into loving you is just sad.”

She growled out in anger, her hands glowing a light blue as ice started to form around her. She thrust her hands out and pillars of ice shot towards you.

You dodged, running between them as they sprung up out of the floor. There were several narrow misses, the sharp ice ripping your clothes. “Jinyoung just bought me this shirt, you bitch!” you cried out, slicing the blade through the pillar in front of you. The steel started to glow red as it heated up with your magic, flames bursting from it like a firework.

“Fire magic?” The woman scowled, slamming her palms onto the ground. The floor quickly became covered in ice and the temperature of the room started to drop.

“Jokes on you,” you dodged another pillar, slicing the one behind you. “I may have fire magic, but I friggin’ love the cold!”

“Shut up!”

True, you did love the cold, but trying to dodge murderous ice pillars on the slippery frozen ground was not as fun as one might think.

You focused your power into your foot before slamming it down. The ice shattered and fire rose from the cracks, melting the ice almost instantly. “Your heart seems pretty cold, let me warm it up!” you rushed forward, leaping over the wall of ice she made to shield herself. You landed behind her, stabbing the blade into her side. She cried out in pain, feeling the burn of your magic. Holding up your middle and index fingers, you said, “Seal!”

Chains materialized, wrapping tight around her until she couldn’t move. Her power had been sealed away temporarily. With her magic cut, the ice started to break apart, falling loudly to the ground before shattering into magical dust.

“Now I just have to call the magic council,” you sighed, raising your hand to the ball that dangled from your right ear. Movement from the corner of your eye made you look up. It was the boy, slowly backing away from you with wide eyes. He looked absolutely terrified. “Hey, wait -”

As soon as you spoke up, he took off like a bat out of hell. You looked between the door and the witch and groaned, knowing you couldn’t leave her there. You’d just have to deal with the boy later. Tapping the ball, it disconnected from your ear as you channeled a small surge of power in order to activate it. The letter ‘C’ was drawn on the surface before the call connected. A hologram of Archmage Taldir appeared above the orb, looking as strict as ever. Man, you hated dealing with that guy.

You cleared your throat. “Witch hunter Y/N calling in for a transport for a criminal.”

“Crime?”

“Illegal use of love magic on a human being.”

“Have you erased this humans memory?”

You looked away, scratching your cheek. “It’s, uhh, in progress, sir.”

He stuck his nose in the air. “You better complete the job or you can forget about your witch hunter status!”

The hologram disappeared as he ended the call. You groaned in frustration. Why hadn’t you just lied and said yes? Because you knew you’d be in even more trouble if the council found out you had lied. You had to find that boy, no matter the cost.

A magical portal appeared and out walked several mages dressed in black robes. They grabbed the prisoner, sealing her mouth when she wouldn’t stop yelling profanity at them. They stepped through the portal and it disappeared.

You turned to leave when a shimmer caught your eye. You approached it curiously, kneeling down to inspect it. It was a ring engraved with the word ‘NCT’. It must belong to the boy!

───── ⋆⋅🎃⋅⋆ ─────

For the next week, you kept your eyes open for the boy but had no luck. You had described him to the members of Got7, but ‘skinny boy with brown hair’ was too generic of a description.

In the meantime, you made yourself comfortable by sending memes to Jackson who was sitting across from you doing the same to you. You found the perfect gif and sent it, trying your best not to laugh.

He opened it, expression softening as a cute little bunny invaded his screen. Seconds later, it morphed into a demonic creature with sharp teeth, red beady eyes and its fur covered in blood. He screamed, throwing the phone into the air. It landed right by your feet.

You burst out laughing, clutching your sides. “You should have – aha – seen your FACE!”

He scowled at you, before looking away with a huff. “You’re such a jerk.”

“I know,” you grinned, leaning down to pick up his phone. When you did this, the ring, placed on a thin chain, slipped out from under your shirt.

Bambam noticed it and asked curiously, “Where’d you get that, noona?”

You held up the ring, inspecting it again. “I forgot about this. That boy dropped it.”

Jinyoung facepalmed. “You had a clue this entire time and you forgot?”

“Hehe,” you rubbed the back of your neck sheepishly as you removed the necklace, handing it over to Jinyoung to inspect.

He resisted the strong urge to smack you upside the head. “He’s a member of NCT.”

Bambam started to laugh at the situation. “We could have found him a week ago, noona!”

“Oops?”

Jinyoung sent Jaebum a look and the leader knew what he wanted. He took the ring and motioned for you to follow. You walked beside him, glancing over curiously.

“Where are we going, JB?”

“NCT is a kpop group and they happen to be here for an interview.”

“Damn.”

“You really don’t like to make things easy, do you?” He chuckled, patting your head.

You pouted in response. “It’s not like I do it on purpose.”

“He’s most likely gonna be with the other members. NCT is a large group, so we’re going to have to be patient and -”

“Hey, you!” You called out to the boy as soon as you saw him, but as soon as his eyes met yours, he took off running. Jaebum tried to grab your arm but you were too quick, giving chase after the boy. His stamina was great, you had to admit. You had chased him through the building, out the back, and down four blocks before he finally ran into a dead-end alley.

You put your hand on the wall for support, sucking air into your burning lungs. He was barely breathing heavy at all. If you had been a normal person, you would have asked what sorcery this was.

When you regained a somewhat normal breathing pattern, you took a few steps forward. He matched them by stepping back until he was against the wall. His eyes were shimmering with fear and his voice shook when he spoke.

“What do you wa-ant from me?”

You frowned, keeping your distance. “You don’t have to be afraid. I won’t hurt you.”

“What are you?!”

“A witch.”

His eyes flashed through several emotions. As bad as he didn’t want to believe you, he couldn’t deny what he had witnessed.

You chewed on your lip for a moment before pulling the ring out of your pocket and holding it out. “This is yours, right? You dropped it the other day.”

“You chased me… all this way… to give my ring back?”

“Uh, not exactly,” you rubbed the back of your neck. “Look, I’ll be honest. Humans aren’t supposed to know that witches exist, it’s against our law. Unless you’re a helper to said witch, but that’s a different story. You’re scared, right? You keep having flashbacks of that day and you have trouble sleeping?”

He slowly nodded, still not fully trusting you.

“I can erase your memory of that night. You’ll forget everything you saw and live a normal life again!” you smiled encouragingly, stepping forward.

He closed his eyes, taking a few deep breaths before opening them. Fear still lingered, but you could see him trying to conquer it as he stepped towards you. “What if… what if I don’t want to forget?”

You tilted your head to the side. Well, this was new. Most humans begged for their memories to be taken. Knowing that witches and powerful magic existed wasn’t nearly as exciting as most people believed it to be. “If I allow that, I’ll get into serious trouble with the magic council.”

“What about a witch helper?”

“That’s a hard job, you know. Dangerous, too!”

He looked determined now as he forced himself to close the distance, lifting a shaking hand towards you. You plopped the ring into his palm, watching as he took another deep breath.

“Please… allow me to become your helper.”

You paused, thoughtfully, head tilted to the side. You could definitely use some more helpers. “Fine, but you’re filling out all the paperwork to send to the council!”

He smiled softly with a nod. “My name is Mark Lee.”

“Y/N,” you held your hand out, palm up, and little streaks of fire started to form words in the air, eventually spelling out ‘nice to meet you’.

The fire reflected in his eyes as he traced the words. “That’s terrifyingly cool.”

You chuckled at him.

His eyes glanced at the clock on the wall. “Shoot, I’m going to be late for the interview!” With a bow, he bid you farewell before taking off towards the studio just as Jaebum rounded the corner, the pair nearly colliding.

Jaebum watched him before turning to you with a raised brow. “What happened?”

“I’ve got a new helper, apparently,” you shrugged, nonchalantly.

“You were supposed to erase his memory, Y/N,” he sighed.

“He didn’t want me too.”

“That’s never stopped you before.”

“Yeah, well… something about him is special.”

“You think he’s cute, don’t you?”

“…”

“Did you at least brand him?”

“Uhh…”

“Tell him the rules of being a helper?”

“Shit.”

“Give him a family ring?”

“…”

He groaned, slamming his palm against his forehead. “How did you even function before you met us?!”

“There’s a reason that witches are permitted helpers, Jaebum!”

He only sighed, grabbing your hand as he took off towards the studio.

───── ⋆⋅🎃⋅⋆ ─────

[raayllum]

bc i gained some new followers (hi!) and hit a milestone (yay!) and it’s been a while, i thought i would update my tag list masterpost. this is by no means comprehensive nor do i always remember to tag everything (typos also exist) but yeah! here it is, in imperfect glory with more under the cut because this, predictably, is long

show:

seasons: s1, s2, s3

episodes: 1x01, 1x02, 1x03, etc.

parallels

multi

graphics

gifs

my edits

icons

my icons

rayllum icons

headers

scenery

worldbuilding

dark magic

novelization (book one: moon)

through the moon (graphic novel)

callum’s spellbook 

screencaps

twitter

netflix

cast and crew

interviews

[insert cast/crew name here]

edits are “character name + edit,” ie. ezranedit, raylaedit, etc.

ship edits (only for some) are “ship name + edit,” ie. janayaedit, etc.

tdpedit

fandom content:

fanart

animatics

amvs

analysis series (my meta)

analysis (meta in general)

mini meta (short meta)

fic

ficlet (drabbles)

my fic

fic recs

AU

modern AU

headcanons

thanks for asking

anonymous

shipping

post season three

after the war

fanbabies

my fanbabies

slightly older rayllum is my weakness

older rayllum is my lifeblood

wedding

fandom events

fandom nonsense

fandom

rayllum fandom

fandom crack 

memes

moodboards

music

music: other (for my edits)

[insert musical artist’s name here, ie. sleeping at last, disney, etc.]

my playlists

playlists

tdp theory

speculation

caylangst (angsty rayllum content)

raylangst (angsty rayla content)

mage boy (related to callum’s mage arc)

ezran appreciation post

i can’t lose queue like this

text post

masterpost

characters:

* every character is just their name with the exception of these:

the queens of duren

the dragon queen

thunder

king harrow

queen sarai

king ahling

queen fahreeda

king florian

prince kasef

queen aanya

personal tags:

dragons rambles

upcoming (what i have planned for future fics, etc.)

updates

dragons gets salty

the english major strikes again

when will my timeskip return from war

forbidden op lore

mine

predictions

fic: in search of silver linings

fic: if time is money

fic: looking for a way to break in

fic: 21 days

fic: modern au

spiritydragons (relationship tag)

sometimes i think i’m funny

personal fave (for things that i make)

fave

F A V E

thanks for tagging me

stuff for me

ships

rayllum

harrai

janaya

runaan x ethari

lain x tiadrin

the queens of duren

callum x claudia

varrow

ezris (ezran x ellis)

corvus x gren

corpeli

relationships:

castle kids — soren, claudia, callum, and ezran (occasionally with rayla)

it was just red — viren and callum (foils)

asset — claudia, viren, and aaravos

morally ambiguous fam — viren, ex wife, soren, and claudia

knight sibs — soren and claudia

broyals — callum and ezran

moon fam — rayla, ethari, runaan, lain, and tiadrin (occasionally with callum or ezran)

ezran’s council — ezran + corvus, opeli, soren, and barius (individual or group support system)

the sunfire royal family — queen aditi, queen khessa, janai, unnamed brother, and unnamed parents

the royal family of katolis — harrow, sarai, amaya, callum, ezran (occasionally with soren, viren, claudia, or rayla)

the draconic royal family — avizandum, zubeia, and zym

the royal family of neolandia — king ahling, prince kasef, and unnamed younger sibling

raydia — relationship in general + foils, very rarely has onesided content from claudia’s pov

where can i put it down? — rayla, claudia, and callum’s relationship (featuring romantic rayllum, angsty claudium, and platonic / foil raydia, usually)

home is the first grave — claudia and ezran

ellis and ava — exactly what it says on the tin

sorayla — brotp + foils, very rarely has onesided ship content on soren’s side

brotp: we’re in this together — callum, rayla, and ezran (+ zym and bait)

our kids with their dragon son — callum, rayla, and zym

brotp: best crownguard — ezran and soren

brotp: froggy paddle — ezran and bait

brotp: the once and future kings — ezran and zym

ezran x aanya — brotp

sometimes a family is — amalgamation of found family relationships between any and all members of the main cast not strictly confined to one of the pre-existing tags, relationships, or brotps

other misc fandoms / AUs that get mentioned here:

atla

pjo

hp

httyd

consistent series:

every scene — every rayllum scene ever

every episode — rayllum in every episode

adorable ezran — ezran being adorable in every episode

s1 meme

s2 meme

s3 meme

rayllum parallels

trigger warnings (please feel free to send in anything you want tagged, no explanation needed)

tw blood

tw body horror

tw cursing

tw pregnancy

[sailor-cresselia]

Zi-O 27-28: Liveblog Time!

Well, it’s been long enough, and now that we’ve got two more episodes since the last one, I might as well do them both at once! ...Again!

Okay then. So, BlackWoz’s Storytime Vault has now become BlackWoz’s Storytime Theatre, then. Seeing as it’s in front of the ongoing battle from the end of 26. “Time for me to become a rider… but I probably shouldn’t be talking right now.” As opposed to his once-standard “Oh, wait, spoilers. ‘Sorry’ about that.”

~Cut here~

OOF. Okay, taking a few minutes at a time…

Geiz and Sougo are knocked down by each other’s respective finishers, but they’re still transformed. BlackWoz steps in, before they can both get back on their feet. “Hey, Geiz, you using that plays right into that ~other~ Woz’s hands, this is a bad idea for you.” He then takes Geiz away with his admittedly really cool scarf-escape technique.

Dropping the two of them off at a nearby warehouse rooftop, Woz seems to be worried for Geiz. “I don’t like you, but using that watch is an absolutely terrible idea. You are quite literally killing yourself. Since when have you been willing to go that far?”

Geiz says that defeating Zi-O has been his goal the entire time… and both Woz and the audience know that’s not true anymore, that he clearly likes Sougo now.

Woz’s expression… yeah. That’s concern and confusion. ...They did used to be allies, didn’t they? I remember something about that back during… ah, geez, when was it Swartz nearly dropped Geiz off of a roof? Right, the first part of the Wizard arc, episode 7.

And the reasoning for Geiz coming to his new-found (re-found?) determination? Tsukuyomi’s actions on the bus in 2009. She tried to take matters into her own hands there, much like Geiz was trying to do when all of this started. But then the bus crashed. Presumably, she’s gone.

I don’t know why, when 26 aired, I kept seeing people saying Geiz was determined because ‘she tried to steal my kill.’ I thought it was pretty clear that the actual problem was that Tsukuyomi appears to be dead.

The only other friend Geiz has.

“She’s gone… I could never be friends with the person who caused that.”

Geiz Revive! Fury!

I have to say, I really like the Revive Fury transformation. Especially how the last part of Geiz to be covered by the armor is his eyes. Not in the usual sense, where the last part of the armor to fully form is the text on the eyepieces. I mean, that’s still a thing, yes, but the framework of the armor glows and obsucres most of his body… except for his eyes.

Woz says that “Really? Remember, you’ve never once beaten me.” He said the same back in ep 7, too, and handily defeated Geiz there. That’s decidedly not what’s happening this time around.

That is what I call a curpstomp fight. Not even battle, Woz is barely allowed a defense, much less any real attacks. First off, cool to see that The Book can be used to trap someone. Less cool to see Geiz shred it from the inside out with the Power Saw. And then do the same to Woz’s scarf extension. And even his teleportation trick doesn’t help, because it appears to be short-distance, and Revive Typhoon is fast enough to dodge precognition. Woz didn’t stand a chance.

“WOW I hate alternate me. A Woz is a Woz, and apparently THAT Woz is a DICK. I have to do something about this.”

W!Woz: “Hi! My savior~!”

Geiz: “Screw you. I’m not planning on being your savior. Just shut up and watch.”

(Geiz walks away)

W!Woz: “Well, you don’t really get a choice in the matter. ...Mind you, I never did say you saved everyone...”

~History is told by the winners~

~And the winners don’t necessarily tell the whole story~

What was that I mentioned about a potential ‘omission’ in White!Woz’s story? Oh, right, back in episode 21… “Nothing can disturb the peace if nothing moves again, now can it?”

I figured we might be talking about time being frozen in an eternal now. … but the same ‘if nothing moves again’ can apply to people surviving, too.

Opening time, and I realized something. The line about ‘now we must choose our own future’ in the narration bit, before Over Quartzer kicks in. That might not mean a ‘choose your side’ choice. That might mean ‘screw your destiny, we’re taking another route entirely.’ Taking a … hang on, I need to do some math here…

There’s Team 9-to-5; Sougo and Junichiro. Team RideWatch; the Sougo/Geiz/Tsukuyomi alliance, which is currently a bit dissolved. Team Oma Zi-O; Black!Woz, Oma Zi-O, and Sougo’s potential as trained by Black!Woz. Team Savior; White!Woz, the potential of Geiz Revive as Savior. Team TimeJacker; Swartz, Another Zi-O, Hora (presumably), Heure (presumably, and potentially not for much longer). Team Wildcard: ...Decade, and anyone he drags in, because apparently Diend is showing up? IDK, I’m getting there.

That’s six, I’m going to try and do up another Faction List soon.

But taking at minimum the 4th route, diverging from the three established timelines. Those being Team Oma Zi-O’s, Team Savior’s, and Team TimeJacker’s.

Geiz Revive Fury and Typhoon has now replaced the first section of Rider!Woz in the opening – just last episode, there were two shots of him in a row, him gesturing flashily, followed immediately by him spinning his weapon. Now, the flashy pose is gone, replaced with Geiz using Fury’s Power Saw and then swapping into Typhoon, followed by Rider!Woz with his staff.

But! The previous version of the opening had a view of White!Woz’s tablet being used in the ‘background’ for both of the Rider segments. It’s not there this time.

I mean, I was initially only going to comment on if they’d added Revive into the opening, and what was replaced, but I felt that other detail needed to be mentioned.

It has been almost an hour and I am only six minutes in.

Uncle Junichiro, believe me, I share your heartbreak right now. “Well I’ve been alone all these years, right?” Sougo, sweetie, no!

Hnnn. Against previous (and possibly better) judgement, I’m starting to trust Junichiro. I mean, I’m remembering his name now, and couldn’t be bothered before. But his worry for Sougo has just been so plain to see in the past few arcs. The toy robot in the Kikai arc, seeing how he originally took in Sougo just last episode, how quickly he took to Quiz… And I guess I was right back during that arc, too, that Sougos’ been alone.

But nooooo, I had to be all “Dark Toei, give us the Forbidden Sougo Backstory” I MADE A MISTAKE.

And now Black!Woz is going to Heure and Hora for help in finding more Forbidden Sougo Backstory information. Because Decade’s on that list. (onore, this too, and so on and so forth. I’ll save the full memes for if/when I need them later.)

Hora tells him to get lost, she knows full well he’s just going to wind up using them. To be fair, he did sort of do that back in Ghost – he’s the one who told them about Tsukasa, after all, and that got Sougo the Decade watch.

But Heure… well, Heure’s been on the receiving end of the ‘being used’ treatment from Hora and Swartz lately.

Hiryuu’s transformation into Another Zi-O is… something, to say the least. He’s basically using his personal Another Watch almost exactly like Sougo and Geiz use theirs, except that in his case, the watch summons the driver on it’s own. But he has it outside of him – all the previous Another Riders had them sort of… implanted.

Boys you are both 18 you are too young to be this willing to murder.

Geiz is not doing so well after he beats Another Zi-O out of his transformation.

Hiryuu is confronted by Heure, who says… as it stands, he’s not going to be powerful enough to beat Zi-O II or Geiz Revive… and there’s another rider from the future he needs to get the powers of. So… Hiryuu uses the Another Watches he’s been making from the previous Another Riders to… re-make the Another Riders out of other people. Kay then.

All this is apparently according to a plan set up by Heure and Black!Woz. Heure just wants to know what’s going on… same as he said in 26.

When Junichiro finally speaks up to Sougo… that’s… really hard to watch, actually. No wonder he’s been so eager to see Sougo make friends since Geiz and Tsukyomi showed up. Sougo has never said a thing if he’s okay with being lonely or not. And Junichiro… he’s had no idea what to do. For ten years, he’s been seeing his nephew (possibly alternate younger him, time travel and predestination is still part of what this season is about) be by himself, and neither of them confronted that issue.

Ow, my heart.

“Tsukyomi… I’ll defeat him for you...”

Swartz appears from behind a corner. “That was the first time I saw her...”

He sure does like his sequence breaking, doesn’t he?

Okay, April 24, 2009. Sougo was apparently a very excitable little 8-year-old. Tsukuyomi hides her Time Mazine, and gets on board The Bus – and moves faster when she sees that Hiryuu’s there.

The bus driver has a ~Magenta~ camera hanging around his neck. Hey there, ‘sup, how’s it going, Tsukasa?

OH NO she was just trying to FIND OUT what happened on the bus! But a man in a black coat steps in front of it, while it’s on a bridge at that, and freezes time as they slam the breaks.

Swartz wtf mate. “So, all of you young boys were born in 2000, so at least some of you have the potential to become King…” And those who can… will. Face… this… life or death trial…

And he sets the wheels in motion – literally, and the breaks aren’t working, much to Tsukasa’s concern. “Oh shit, oh shit, I’m just here as a temp, what did I get involved in this time?!”

Swartz doesn’t take no for an answer, and freezes all the parents, but not the children. HI SCREW YOU SIR.

Oh, and THEN! What Hiryuu – and Geiz, watching from outside – saw was Tsukyomi firing in defense of Sougo, and her shot was reflected towards Hiryuu, knocking him out. Because the Faiz Phone X is a stun gun. Then Swartz, who is from comparatively earlier in the future than her, proceeds to kidnap the small children, bringing them with him in a ball of energy that explodes the corner of the bus, leaving it in flames.

That’s what Geiz saw. What Tsukuyomi is seeing, is a driver entering a tunnel… fire spreading from behind them… and a white ripple of light appears as she turns away from the driver to look at the explosion, and while we don’t see what happens when it passes her, we do see it pass by him… leaving a drivers seat with no driver.

They didn’t find anyone else in the aftermath.

Now we’re in Sougo’s dream with the Dai Mazines… or, we thought it was a dream. He thought it was a dream. That’s no dream. That’s a memory. Tsukuyomi and Tuskasa are here too…. But enough of that. Back to 2019.

NICE plan! Distract White!Woz with some Another Riders who shouldn’t be here, get him to transform, and have known power-thief Hiryuu take the power of Kamen Rider Woz. Turnabout’s fair play, isn’t it? Heure wants some payback for the deal with the car during the Shinobi arc.

White!Woz, the petty little man that he is, tries to use his tablet to drag his power back. But this is all according to keikaku… Exact wording applies, and he didn’t specify exactly which Woz the power would go to.

Heh. Your “A Woz is a Woz, of course” comment from when we met you just came back to haunt you, huh?

I really want to know how much fun Keisuke Watanabe is having playing these two. Because it can’t be boring to be two characters who play off of each other like this, and he does some great emoting in the past few episodes. Those IWAE speeches have to be a blast to do, too.

TO BATTLE!

…er.

TO EPISODE 28!

yoooooo!

That’s creepy. So, uh, screw Swartz, and tiny 8-year-old Sougo was already starting to have powers! Not necessarily time powers, or not just time powers, anyway. There’s also the physical manifestations of words. The Dai Mazine that was threatening him and a very unconscious Hiryuu aged to dust, but yelling for Hiryuu to look out made the WORDS THEMSELVES appear and freeze time!

Sougo’s a good kid. As he and the others were starting to run, he looked back to see if there was anyone else. Not one of the other boys did that.

And, interestingly, Tsukasa doesn’t say anything. He’s right up there with Tsukuyomi, watching, and not commenting. Of course, she obviously hasn’t noticed it’s him, so sure.

(I can’t help think but he’s from this point in time, here in 2019, and came backwards. He could be a then-present Tsukasa, since early 2009 was his era, after all, but I don’t know enough about Decade to say for sure.)

(If he’s from 2019, I kind of want him to go see Takeru when he gets back, and just casually say something about how ‘looks like we’ve got another for the ‘innate powers’ club.’)

(You will pry innately magical Takeru from my cold, dead, hands.  And the portals are a power of Tsukasa’s that are unrelated to being Decade, right?)

Ah.

Black!Woz didn’t seem to realize just how overpowered Revive Typhoon is, able to keep up with and outpace the Shinobi teleportation. But he let himself get beaten up, to force Geiz out of the next fight.

Revive is a very lethal powerup, and he had warned him of that. Woz’s logic was that if Geiz couldn’t move after one fight, he couldn’t go right into the apparently intended fight to the death with Zi-O.

He doesn’t seem to have accounted for how damned stubborn Geiz is. And Black!Woz seems concerned for both Sougo and Geiz.

~They used to be on the same side~

WHITE!WOZ! I’m going to have to ask you to stop hurting Heure! So… Heure sees full well that he has not been told what’s going on, that Swartz’s goals are very much different from what he’s said.

And apparently… Swartz and White!Woz have been working together. It doesn’t matter which of the three wins on the Day of Oma; Sougo, Geiz, or Hiryuu. It won’t change their plan.

I knew that Swartz wasn’t on the same side as he’s been saying. And White!Woz’s support has seemed very conditional, too. Geiz is ~his savior~ only so long as he follows the script.

Both Swartz and White!Woz can go to alternate timelines, as seen with Shinobi and Quiz. I think the Kikai insect threw them for a minor loop, but was worked around.

Swartz left Sougo and Hiryuu back in 2009. But why both of them? Because Sougo almost immediately threw himself to roll Hiryuu out of the way of the rubble, and got him caught in it?

Hmm.

It sure looks like this is 2019!Tsukasa we’re dealing with, too. He knew what to explain to Tsukuyomi. ...But we don’t know if he saved the others from the accident… And right now, he’s trying to find out if Sougo’s actually going to do The Overlord Thing, so he can figure out if he should do The World Ending Thing.

Should I use my ‘damn you’ now, or save it for later…?

Zi-O versus Zi-O time?

HI SO. I love these little touches that they gave to the Another Riders as they entered.

Wizard appears rising up from a Magic Circle. Ex-Aid is accented by the bright pink pixellated lights, as opposed to the colored smoke that all the others have. Gaim’s smoke quickly turns into juice droplets. Fourze’s becomes pinpricks of light, like stars. OOO practically walks in from offscreen, a green puff of smoke by his feet, and then a red ring of light by his head. Build bounces in from the other side of off-screen, a diagonal line of ‘dark steam’ going the same direction as his stripes.

And then the POSES.

Left to right… I don’t know enough about Faiz, but the lines light up as he stands. Again, Build bounces into place, before striking his pose. Ex-Aid is bouncing out of the ground, as if in a very bugster-like teleport, by the way, landing in that crouch Emu uses in the opening. Wizard is actually spinning as he comes out of his imitation Connect spell, and does the coat flip. Gaim just sort of. Appears, with his sword over his shoulder. Ghost is reminiscent of when Takeru initially transforms, where he sort of… droops, before jerking back ‘into awareness’. Fourze does the hair thing. Not even the “It’s space time!” pose – it’s the tick where Gentarou slicks back his hair, regardless of if he’s got the helmet on or not.

And as they finish their poses, and look up at Sougo? All of their eyes light up in perfect unison.

See, this is the attention to detail we wanted out of the tribute arcs, Shirakura!

There’s just. They all RUSH Sougo, because Hiryuu wants to be the one to kill him That Badly. Sougo’s just trying to get past them, and manages to use a slash to (presumably) bring down Build and Ex-Aid, but there’s still 6 Another Riders left, along with Another Zi-O, and they legitimately dog-pile him.

Geiz is still trying to make his way to the lot he said he would meet Sougo at to settle everything.

He’s limping, and barely has enough energy to get there, and all but collapses down in the dusting of snow… but there’s no Sougo.

And then there is. And he’s barely able to make it up the ramp, either.

Neither of them can stand, Geiz wants to know why Sougo’s even here in that shape, and Sougo…

Well, he gets to see Geiz again.

And they had promised, hadn’t they? Not just for this final battle.

But Sougo has trusted Geiz from the start – has trusted that Geiz would take him down if he was going to go down the wrong path. Since Revive worked, Sougo must be going bad, right? So this is how it’s supposed to be, right?

Hiryuu wants to kill Sougo. “He’s going to be an overlord, isn’t he? So let me kill him!”

But no. Geiz is not having this.

“This guy? Become an evil overlord? Like hell he could do that. He is the most trustworthy person I know. And he’s my friend.”

GEIZ SWEETIE YOU’VE COME SO FAR!

Sougo… he’s just said that before Geiz and Tsukuyomi came into his life, he didn’t have friends. But he looks surprised that Geiz feels the same.

This transformation is different. It’s so different. They’ve transformed at the same time in the past… but this here? THIS is transforming together.

And it’s brief, but that thing I mentioned earlier, where the Revive transformation left Geiz’s eyes visible before completing? The regular transformations haven’t done that in the past.

They both did here.

The fight against the Another Riders is great! We get to see the rest of the Legend Rider finishes again – we saw Build and Ex-Aid a few episodes ago, from Sougo and Geiz respectively, and here we get to have the others. The Faiz armor’s Exceed Time Burst, then the Gaim armors Squash Time Break. Then, the boys JOKE about having bad matchups as they swap opponents, and after a synchronized swap into Fourze and Wizard, we get a great shot of the two going past each other to get to their respective matches. A Limit Time Break and Strike Time Burst later, and we get Ghost and OOO. I like this pairing for the simultaneous finisher, actually, if only because looking back, these two arcs actually showed a lot of similarities stylistically.

These were the two arcs that really showed how they can work together.

Another OOO (sup, Kuroto?) summoned Yummies, who they fought in an enclosed structure a lot like this one, which really helped show how Geiz and Sougo could work together. The OOO arc also had a lot of the dealings with “Is this kid really able to become Oma Zi-O?” – it showed how Sougo is kind, in his defaulting to making sure the people stuck near the fight got out, but also he pretended to ally with Kuroto… which was a bluff to see what not to do as a king.

Another Ghost summoned a small horde of ganma in his arc that they fought together in 2015, but that’s a small comparison. Sougo was stuck in Takeru’s old situation – and Geiz took it on himself to fix the problem. We could see how concerned he was for Sougo – and he hadn’t really allowed that to show before.

The arc immediately following Ghost was when Sougo tried to give up the driver. That’s when Geiz of all people convinced him to put it back on – to be the kind of king who protects people. His saying he would be the one take Sougo out if he starts going evil was originally a threat and a warning. After Ghost, though? It was a reassurance and a promise.

A promise that he wouldn’t let that happen.

One Scanning Time Break and one Omega Time Burst add up to one perfectly aligned Dual Rider Kick.

...This fight feels like the last time we’re going to see these finishers again.

It might not be, but it gives that vibe. That vibe of “Use all of the forms combined, this is the chance. They’ve been outclassed, so here is their grand finale.”

THIS IS TEAMWORK RIGHT HERE.

Taking advantage of Revive Typhoon’s speed, and it’s ability to outpace the precog abilities of Zi-O II, in order to get the advantage on Another Zi-O and make sure he stays in the line of fire for Zi-O’s attack is SUPER CLEVER.

...I don’t think I can do Sougo’s talk with Hiryuu justice, save that it’s hitting Geiz just as hard as the exhaustion is.

“You need to start moving forward, and stop dwelling in the past.”

For Hiryuu and Sougo, it’s a bus accident that was no accident, costing them their parents.

For Geiz, it’s fighting an overlord, and losing everyone.

It looks like it might get through to Hiryuu, but… there’s just one thing.

The Another Zi-O watch shatters… until it doesn’t. Time is still moving normally, the watch starts to disintegrate, and then reforms itself in reverse. Time is still moving normally.

“Neither of us can really stand, and I admit I over did it, but we still have to settle this.”

“Okay. I get it. But, first, quick favor?”

“Zi-O, wth.”

“Go back to the shop? It’s not the same.”

“...if I can. I don’t think I’m making it out of this fight, but if I can. But. Tsukuyomi’s-”

A distortion in the air.

“Boys, stop! You don’t have to fight!  I think there’s a way around this!”

This, too, is Deca- Actually, no. We’re not going there today, after all. Thank you, Tsukasa. Ya did good.

It’s really nice to see them start laughing in sync. It’s even nicer to see Geiz happy at all. To see him smile.

Geiz, you, Uh. Should probably tell Sougo that Revive is killing you, and do it soon. That’d be a good idea.

Okay, earlier Junichiro was working on a washing machine, and that’s still at the shop, but now there’s also a minifridge. Who keeps dragging these things in here?!

But I love everything about this scene.

Geiz: “He won’t become the overlord. We won’t let it happen.”

Black!Woz: “Hi there, we’re roommates now.”

Geiz: “...so, I’ve found a new person to kill.”

Hn. White!Woz appears to be Swartz’s underling… apparently, whatever his plan was has failed, and they’ll be going back to relying on “Sir Swartz’s”.

Heure, Hora, get OUT of there.

So, I’m not watching this out of slightly mis-guided completionism anymore. Or spite.

I genuinely like Zi-O. The start was rough, yeah, but… once it finally kicked into Plot Mode, it started GOING for it.

Case in point: This ‘liveblog’ is over 4,000 words, and it took me… about four hours to watch two 22-minute episodes.

This is FUN.

[majingojira]

Enlightenment on Supernatural from a Facebook Meme

Recently, A friend reblogged a facebook meme where it was “The last show you watched just crossed with Supernatural. How did it go?” And, while I (almost) answered “Overlord.  They die, horribly.” it hit me that... the Winchester Boys don’t really mesh well with any other series mythos. 

I’m placing this behind the cut so if you’re a big fan of Supernatural and don’t want to read anything negative about it you don’t have to.  Well, beyond the Overlord remark. But, really, it’s Overlord. It’s OP by design. 

Now, I reached that conclusion for multiple reasons. Two of these are because of the shows own mythology. I have to admit, I have a beef with it, partly from a creature design standpoint, and partly from a folkloric perspective. At best, most of the monsters on the show have crazy contact lenses, funny dentures, and gloves to show they are monstrous in some ways.  Maybe with some facepaint and other very simple makeup FX with CGI thrown in. 

In short, very lazy and visually unappealing.

And I cannot forgive what they did to Dragons and Lovecraft.  Just flat out no.

The other is...I’ll be blunt, Supernatural has about as much respect for world cultures and religions as the average Evangelical Christian and its creatures often are so far diverged from their source material, the phrase “In Name Only” is best applied to them.

So when you mesh them with a different series, be it film or television, mythos, they are often woefully un- or underprepared for the situations they’d find themselves in.

Like, for instance, the series Kolchak: The Night Stalker.  A favorite from the 1970s and foundational for The X-Files. Of the original series episodes, I can see the boys doing rather well against most of them, but there are still monsters in that series which would give them trouble. 

Those being:

The Zombie - The magic used to animate this corpse is different from what they are used to.  50/50.  Doable, but difficult. Also, the core of this story (a Voodoo practitioner reanimating her dead son as a zombie and sending him out to take revenge on those who were responsible for his murder) could go really awesome places in a modern update. 

They Have Been, They Are, They Will Be... - Totally outside their wheelhouse.  An invisible, partially incorporeal alien horror that is strong enough to break down cement brick walls and walk off with 2 tons of lead ingots, and is only really affected by strong electromagnetic fields?  Whose mere presence disrupts EM signals?  Yeah, this is beyond them. Hell, Kolchak survived only by dumb luck. The fact this alien being is literally using earth as a gas station is all that saves the earth. All it wants is a meal (in the form of feline bone marrow), some components for its ship (electronics and metal thefts), and to check a roadmap (go to a planetarium/find a star chart). 

The Spanish Moss Murders - This one is 50/50 as well.  They might be able to figure out the monster’s weakness, but they may never figure out what caused it to be. Why?  because the monster is not a tulpa (as much as the show butchers that concept), but a Monster from the Id. 

What?  You’ve never seen Forbidden Planet? 

Just think of it as what a Tulpa wishes it was, and only coming from a single person. 

The Energy Eater - An invisible beast that sucks up electrical energy and is viewable only through the X-Ray spectrum?  Yeah, even though there is lore on it, knowing its weakness to cold just allows them to put it back into a slumber until the area warms again. Because the ritual to stop it is literally lost due to the deliberate destruction of Native American traditions.  Yeah.  It’s still possible, but unlikely.  Also, yes, they had a reasonable fleshed out Native American guest character in a 1970s horror show who wasn't a stereotype and wasn’t killed off in the end.

The Sentry - This is a situation where it’s not so much you defeat the monster, but survive it.  A reptilian humanoid monster is dug up in a deep storage facility and seeks...the return of its eggs.   One part Gorgo, one part Devil in the Dark. Why is this tough?  Well, the monster is able to withstand M-16 fire without even flinching and is strong enough to break down cement walls. It’s an animal, so “Is strong enough to kill X Supernatural being” is inapplicable, which means their entire arsenal is out the window. Their survival rate depends entirely on if they try to shoot it or not.

And they are more than likely going to try and shoot it and thus be bashed against a wall and at the very least concussed by this juggernaut.

Now, that’s probably not fun to read if you like the boys, and I’m open to hearing arguments against these assumptions, but as it stands, from what I’ve seen...Yeah. If they ever found themselves facing the monster from Q: The Winged Serpent, well, this might happen to them.

[boelca]

- lol you know that feeling when you get too excited and do a little much weLL HERE YA GO SAY HI TO LEE. I only did the first 10 questions on the fan apprentice ask meme by @gooddoctorjules on this one, so I’ll probs do another post later yaaaayyy -

You've heard about them: the magician and his apprentice, the fortunetellers with scary accuracy, the manipulators of the unknown. You've heard of their shop, tucked away in some dark corner, full of thingamabobs and doodads the likes of which you've never seen, the feeling of something in the air. You've ventured near the shop a handful of times, curious as others before you had been about the truths that the building held, but you've never had the courage to go in.

But things change, and you need help, guidance, something, anything to guide you. You're at a precipice of unparalleled proportions, and some divine counsel from those whose names are whispered in all parts of the city, whether or not their skills are for real or if they're just another set of cons, may just be what you need to gain some control over your life once more.

It is just barely after sunset when you knock on the old wooden door, the dying light of the sun splaying across its now-smooth grains. You hesitate (taking yet another deep breath while doing so), before pushing open the door and striding inside in a fashion that you hope appears at least somewhat confident. Some of that confidence deflates, however, when you realize that there is no there, save for a somewhat intimidating dog that's just staring at you from its space in front of a set of curtains. You swallow hard, before your eyes alight upon a small bell sitting on the counter. Tentatively, you ring it, and a light, "A moment, please" seems to come from absolutely no where. You whip your head around, trying to find the source of the voice, when you notice a very peculiar... skull?

Slowly walking towards it, you notice that there are blue gems where eyes are supposed to be, and a sense of need rolls over you. You don't know why, but you've always needed this exact skull... and what on earth is that delightful scent? It reminds you of being back home, the gentle waves tickling your feet and your sister's favorite perfume, of the life you left behind by coming here. Maybe, if you take this skull, you'll finally feel right again, maybe-

"Please, don't." As if knocked out a trance, you whirl around to find the speaker, and you feel as if you've lost the ability to breathe as you take in the person in front of you. Long, fluffy, raven bangs cover their left eye, (something you can't help but feel a little grateful for, as the piercing gaze you get from the single slate eye makes you feel as if you've been stripped down to your barest pieces, as if the person in front of you knows everything about you from that one look), and their full lips are set in a hard line, making you feel as if you've been caught with your hand in the forbidden cookie jar.

Overwhelmed, trying to divert their attention from digging too deep, you blurt out, "Tell me my fortune!"

1. What is their full name? What does it mean? Do they go by any nicknames/aliases? All they know is Lee. Whether or not there's a last name to go with it, they have no clue. They've tried asking Asra but... well, you know. They feel like there's something missing, though... maybe, just maybe, there's more to their name than they knows? They also answer to "Apprentice," "Asra's Apprentice," etc.

Lee (by itself) means pasture or meadow. They have no memory of their last name and never really bothered making one up. If asked, they just use the letter A, which is short for Apprentice.

2. Do they have a familiar? What is it? Yes! Elam the Doberman, Lee's precious familiar! Like Lee, Elam has a very serious, no-nonsense personality. He's very protective of Lee, as well as of Asra and Faust. He kind of comes and goes as he pleases during the day, but he always comes back home during the night to help Lee sleep. He's not very excitable, but he can't help but throw the puppy eyes when someone makes sweet potatoes.

Elam just kind of appeared a year prior to when the The Arcana is set. He showed up one day around the shop looking for food, and Lee made sure to set something out. This continued for a few months until they got comfortable around each other, and then everything sort of fell into place.

3. What type/s of magic do they specialize in? Besides the obvious divination and being able to read the Arcana, Lee dabbles a lot but hasn't really committed to anything. Jack of all trades, master of none fits them pretty well. They know a little healing, can do a few parlor tricks (like lighting candles without a match and putting out candles w/o being near them), can make a few potions, can cast weak/light protection charms on small stuff, etc. They like to know a little bit of everything in case something comes up. The only thing that they're actually pretty good at is reading the Arcana.

4. Which of the major arcana best represents them? The Hermit: Soul-searching, introspection, being alone, inner guidance

5. What animal best represents them? The Lion: "You are fiercely independent, confident, and in control which is balanced by a quiet demeanor. You are also a creative and influential force... Most people with this totem are very loyal, and will defend friend and family honor to the death." [x]

6. Describe their grimoire profile. Name: Lee Brief Description: The cool, composed apprentice who just can’t remember the past. ♍ Favorite Food: Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Honey Favorite Drink: Green Tea Favorite Flower: Gladiolus

7. What is their Myers-Briggs type? ISTJ: The Logistician

8. What is their natural alignment (lawful/neutral/chaotic good/neutral/evil)? Lee floats between Lawful Good and Neutral Good. They have a strong moral compass that dictates most of their actions, regardless of how they feel about a person. This moral compass typically aligns with the law, but there have been a few... notable discrepancies.

9. Which Hogwarts house would they be in? Agggghhhhh, Lee would probably be in Gryffindor? They reeaallly toe the line between the two, and I would put them in Slytherin, but their ambition is kinda... nonexistent lol. Kinda going back to the whole moral compass thing, Lee does what they think is right and is 100% unapologetic, and they don't mind stepping in if they feel someone is doing something they deem "wrong," no matter the situation, and if that isn't a sort of reckless bravery, idk what is. Also, disgustingly confident in themselves, like Jesus, doubt yourself a little like the rest of us, okay?

10. Of the nine intelligences (logical-mathematical, existential, interpersonal, intrapersonal, kinesthetic, spatial, naturalist, musical, linguistic), which is their greatest strength? Their greatest weakness? Greatest Strength: Intrapersonal - Lee is very aware of themself, and they know how their own limits and abilities. Greatest Weakness: Kinesthetic/Musical - Lee has literally no musical talent whatsoever and has no interest in changing that. As for the kinesthetic side, they keep themselves in healthy condition, and they know a lot of the facts, but if you throw a ball at them or try to force them into doing some kind of a dance, they're gonna be a little pissed.

Also another little Lee to enjoy, this one also from RinmaruGames

[very-merry-sioux]

“How can anyone not be afraid of love?”, Mahaad + Atem? ｡◕ ‿ ◕｡

From this meme: [X]  

Send me two characters or more and a prompt and I’ll write you a short fic a long mess, how did this happen???

(I was planning to put it in a read more line but idk it doesn’t show on tumblr mobile so… just scroll down the block if you don’t wanna read it)

It’s very rare that he asks Yuugi for anything, not wanting to interfere with his life. But he couldn’t help it, he finally had some clues on what he was, on who he was, on why he was in the Puzzle. He just… he had to make sure it was real.

So he asks Yuugi if he could do something, go out and relax in his body, and he obliges with no hesitation. Encouraging him to take his time, and actually threatening him if he switched control too soon. He asks again if this could be private, and Yuugi is fine with it.

So here he was, at the museum, standing before the tablet again. A tablet of friendship created by a high priest, Isis said. One that had apparently been close to him.

He wonders how much of that was true. It’s just one tablet, one event in his life (one he couldn’t remember).

“You’re interested in Ancient Egypt?”

He turns to find a man leaning against a pillar. He was tall, a little taller than Kaiba, and had long black hair. Hair so dark and silky it looked violet against the light.

Usually he would be wary of strangers, especially those who ask him about Egypt. It was always a theme in their lives that anyone who’s interested in Egypt and approaches them were not nice, to put it mildly.

But this was a museum, and he supposes it was a normal question. Considering he was a teenager staring at an Ancient Egyptian artifact intensely.

“Of sorts,” he says, observing the man some more. Blue eyes, not as vibrant as Anzu’s or intense as Kaiba’s, but still striking in its own way. Like looking into a calm river. “Things related to Ancient Egypt frequently appear in my life,” an understatement, “and it wouldn’t hurt to know more about it.”

The man hums, looking at the tablet then at him. He suspects that he’s looking at the carving of the pharaoh, perhaps comparing their similarities.

“Any questions you wish to ask?”

He blinks.

“I know a lot about Ancient Egypt,” the man says. “I can give you plenty of obscure facts about it. For instance, did you know that onions were considered an aphrodisiac?”

He snorts at that, knowing from Yuugi’s memories that onions were a pretty common ingredient for many dishes. “We must all be horny as hell twenty-four-seven.”

He probably shouldn’t be talking to a stranger this much, this was still Yuugi’s body. And it wouldn’t be good if they met the man again, only to find Yuugi and not him. Yuugi’s friends were enough, he shouldn’t intrude in his partner’s life any more than he already has.

(but it was nice to talk about things that weren’t life-threatening, and it felt nice to be not the Other Yuugi for once)

“Perhaps,” the man says, smiling. “Priests were forbidden to eat them because it might raise their libido, and they wouldn’t be able to perform any of their sacred duties.”

“I take it you like onions, considering this is your opening line to convince me of your Egyptian expertise?” He raises an eyebrow, turning completely towards the stranger. He looked around the same age as Pegasus (though really, most people looked older than the multimillionaire manchild). He was wearing a grey cardigan and black slacks.  

It was fascinating how plain and simple the man looked. Yet at the same time, not. There was something about him, beneath the mellow and approachable appearance of the man, he felt there was a kind of… flair to him.

Like something magical.

“I love anything with onions in it.”

“You’d be a horrible priest, then.”

“There were ways around it,” the man says, eyes twinkling with amusement. “Rituals to purify one’s self. Priests weren’t saints, after all.”

“I’m sure there were people who’d still say you’d be a horrible priest.”

“I can think of at least one,” the man chuckles, laughing at some inside joke only he was privy to.

He thinks of Shadi who had barged into people’s soul rooms and even changed them to suit their needs. He thinks of Shadi who had given the Eye to Pegasus when he was obviously grieving and emotionally vulnerable. 

He thinks of himself, the first weeks of being out of the Puzzle, punishing Yuugi’s classmates with no hesitation.

Shadi could be considered a priest, couldn’t he? And him… he was a pharaoh, someone who should be above priests.

“None of us are, some less saintly than others,” he says, giving himself a self-deprecating smile. He turns back to look at the tablet, eyes roaming through every symbol and image on it. He had assumed that Isis and her clan would be the only people who knew about the history of Nameless Pharaoh, but considering this was part of an exhibit - and the fact that people like Pegasus, Sugoroku, and even Ryou knew parts of it? It seems a bit silly to think it was some kind of secret.

“Can you tell me anything about them?” He asks, pointing at the two figures above his supposed self and the priest.

The man tilts his head. “Not about the one that looks like you? I would have been curious about that.”

So he did assume he was interested because of that. “I’m,” scared of finding out what kind of person he was, “more curious about them. They look a lot like two Duel Monsters I know.”

The man hums, walking towards the tablet. He was beside him, looking up at the tablet, seemingly unaware of how the teen stiffened in response of their sudden change in proximity.

“I don’t know much about the dragon, only that she was incredibly steadfast and strong,” the man says. “I know more about the man above the pharaoh, he was one of his high priests.”

A high priest, like the one who ordered this tablet to be made? Did he have an item then? “So he couldn’t eat onions too?” He jokes.

“No, much to his dismay, it didn’t stop him though.”

“Much to his dismay?” He raises an eyebrow. “Are we talking about him or you?”

“Why not both?” The man shrugs. “Kill two birds with one stone.”

“Right,” he snorts, looking at the details of Dark Magician in the tablet. So did that mean his monster had been a priest? Was Dark Magician even the person depicted in this tablet? “A high priest… what was special about him that he was carved here?”

One could say that perhaps it was because he was his ace. Kaiba had Blue Eyes White Dragon, while he had Dark Magician. But that was pushing it too far, even for him. This was something that happened thousands of years, he doubted they were carved because both were their favorite cards.

Even he had to draw the line with using fate as an explanation.

“Loyalty perhaps? That would be obvious. Protectiveness? It is depicting a battle, maybe he was one of his best warriors,” the man says. “But I would have to say love.”

“Love,” he repeats flatly.

“You don’t think so?”

He thinks of this tablet, one that was a symbol of friendship that he didn’t remember. This was the only thing in his past that didn’t seem to want to kill him, a symbol of love. He doesn’t know how to handle love, he never considered it was something his past had. “I’m… wary of love.”

“How can you be scared of love?”

“How can you not?” He shoots back. He thinks of Kaiba and how most of his world was his little brother. Thinks about how much he must have lost and taken just to give him a comfortable life.

He thinks of Mokuba, and how much of an unbearable and murderous brat he was before, because he had been drifting away from the only family he had and didn’t know what to do.

He thinks of Jounouchi, living with his drunkard of a father and still hoping they’d regain their father-son bond, willing to give all of his prize money from Duelist Kingdom, a nightmare of a tournament, for his sister.

He thinks of Otogi, who had done horrible things to Yuugi in hopes to make his father proud. He thinks of Ryou, who often looks in longing at passing families. He thinks of Pegasus, a man who couldn’t handle losing his wife well.

He thinks of Yuugi and the burn scars on his hands.

“How can anyone not be scared of love?” He wonders. “You have to endure, you have to lose, you have to hurt… all for love.”

Silence.

“Some would say it’s worth it.”

“Do you think so?” He remembers how much Yuugi wouldn’t let go, remembers how Jounouchi was so torn between leaving the Puzzle behind and taking the risk of wasting time to bring the Puzzle with them too. He would have rather both of them left him, instead of slowly burning in that hell hole. “Love often means sacrifice.”

“You don’t like sacrifice?”

“I don’t like people sacrificing for me, love’s not worth it if they’re hurt because of me.”

“Many would say that sacrificing for a loved one is worth it.”

He laughs, forced and bitter. “And what if the loved one is hurt because of it? What it they forever think that it’s their fault? What if they wished you never loved them, so you’d never become hurt? What then? What if they have nobody else and you’re gone? What if they choose not to have anyone else so that nobody sacrifices for them ever again? Who picks up the pieces when your sacrifice breaks them?”

More silence.

“… I don’t know.”

He laughs again. “That’s a bit selfish, isn’t it? That you wouldn’t consider the feelings of a loved one, even if you justify it with sacrifice.”

He thinks of Yuugi’s thoughts, the moment the Puzzle was put back together, he felt his partner’s desperation in taking him back. The mantra “I want to see him again!” playing over and over until he fainted. 

A selfish thought for a selfless act.

Love was scary.

He recalls what Isis had told him, about how he sealed himself in the Puzzle for the greater good. Sacrifice then, to keep his loved ones alive. He wonders vaguely if that high priest, the past incarnation of Kaiba, had been mad at him. That this tablet of friendship was more of a tablet of grief, of pain, of anger.

That seemed more like Kaiba, in his opinion.

“Is that what you feel then?”

Have you been broken? Is what the man means.

He considers it, he doesn’t have any memories to know if he had lost people. If people sacrificed for him, if it had become too much for him.

Yet…

Whenever Yuugi put his life on the line, whenever anyone put their lives on the line, there was something familiar about it that he couldn’t dismiss. Horror. Fear. Pain. Anger.

Resignation. The quiet pleas of “No, not again” echoing in his mind.

“I don’t know,” he whispers. “But, I sometimes feel phantom pains when I see someone I love hurt,” he touches his chest. “Like a thousand knives stabbing me all at once. I’m beginning to wonder if my sacrifice was more for me than for them, if I was just tired… if that was the only thing I knew, because so many who loved me sacrificed as well. It must have been normal.”

He doesn’t know that the man hears, doesn’t see the man wince.

“I’m sorry.”

He jerks at that, blinking. Then he laughs awkwardly. “What are you sorry for? You were offering me trivias and I was the one who rambled,” he places his hands in his pockets. “I should be sorry, I was wasting your time.”

“You would never wast-! … It was not a waste of time, I was happy to help,” the man sighs. He gives him a quiet long stare.

“… What is it?”

“You’re a duelist, correct? One of your decks is a Dark Magician one.”

He blinks, he didn’t expect someone to describe him like that. Most usually say things about him beating Kaiba or Pegasus. And then either running away or demanding a duel. Nobody has ever taken note what his deck was, except Kaiba (and that was usually because he was spending half his time trying to defeat it).

“Here,” the man holds out a card.

He takes it, widens his eyes at the title of the card. “Thousand Knives?”

It was a Dark Magician support card too.

“It’s an apology, for all the pain you had to endure,” the man says with a solemnity that he couldn’t place. “Let all the knives you’ve taken become a weapon against your enemies, not yourself.”

What?

“I can’t-! This isn’t-!” He sputters, looking at the card. It was a very useful card, and something that appealed to him greatly. He imagines using this against monsters more powerful than Dark Magician. It was so tempting but- “I can’t accept this, you don’t know-”

The man wasn’t there.

“… Me?”

[myplaceholderurl]

Maybe the real dark treasure was the forbidden friends we made along the way.