#dragon Ball amusement park

[awesomedbzmerch]

So! As I mentioned in my prior post, a Dragon Ball themed amusement park has been announced, and I am using this as an excuse to make a series of relevant posts.

A few years ago Universal Studios in Japan offered a special attraction for Dragon Ball fans, “Dragon Ball Z The Real 4-D.” It was one of those short movies where the theatre interacts with the film by hitting the audience with water/air blasts/ whatever to ‘enhance’ the experience. You can find the 3D animated video from the attraction on youtube and I recommend you do, it’s worth a watch. But more importantly, they released a bunch of merch you could only get in the park!

….or on ebay, if you’re me and couldn’t manage a trip to Japan.

My favorite item?

Behold the glory of my Frieza… cup? You strap him on to your body and sip the fluids.

Mine has a busted horn, these things happen when you buy used. I intend to repair him some day. Wait, Muffuletta, did YOU break him?!

How do you drink? Why, you suck on the straw of course! Which happens to be his tail.

Yeah.

Well, I have done extensive research (by which I mean read a lot of naughty fanfic) and can confirm he is okay with this as long as you don’t bite!

Will this smug guy be available to buy in the new park? Probably not. But he’s relevant and so I am finally posting about him after meaning to for… literally years. Whoops.

[chaotictoon]

Amusement Park 𑁍

Cartoon girl + amusement park rides

[radiance1]

Dick, Jason, Tim and Damian get kidnapped to be used as sacrifices to offer to the Ghost King for when he arrived, the cultists went on and on about how they'll become the king's servants and that he will cleanse the mortal world.

Which, obviously neither of the four of them wants, especially when the Big Bat was off world on official league business too. So they try to sneakily remove their bindings and all of that, with Dick making conversation and the others piping in to distract them and stuff.

Unfortunately, the summoning still went as planned, but the result was not what any of them expected.

Instead of the ancient, ghostly eldritch king they expected, what they instead got was a giant ball of flaming feathers looking down at them sleepily, with a silence passing as if it were slowly processing what was happening before asking.

"Do you have any clue as to how hard it is to put a child godking to sleep."

---

Vlad and Danny have outlived everyone they knew in Amity Park by about 200 years. During those years, Vlad and Danny have gotten, better, with each other.

Now, you see, the Duke of the Black Flame did not care what exactly the boy did outside whenever he was summoned, but it then became his problem when he was told to go and collect the boy due to some complications.

He went along with it, but was irritated about it, he never had to do this before. So of course, as if to spite him, he found that Danny went and turned himself into a damn toddler.

So of course, his first reaction was to carry him to Clockwork and make him turn him back. He had some very choice words when Clockwork said no and didn't even tell him why that he didn't say.

And then the child was thrusted into his care.

He protested, of course, he was only 242, and this was a child he didn't even like on the best of days. To which Clockwork brought up how, didn't even always want to claim Danny as his son back in the day?

That was a younger phase in his life, the him now doesn't want anything to do with the brat.

But alas, he was still forced to take care of the child, claiming that only another halfa would be capable of properly taking care of another, which Vlad tried to refute, he truly, truly did.

But against the Observants and the Master of Time, he had to fold.

Fuck, he misses the time when he didn't have a title and thus, had to be involved within politics.

At least human politics were predictable.

The time following his caretaking of one Ghost King were utterly, terrible. First, Danny whined like, well, a toddler, when he brought him over to his domain because of the heat which, rude. Then he had to move into the castle to properly take care of him which he had to suck up.

It was either this, or the Far Frozen.

The palace was cold, which made him made feel a bit discomforted in prolong periods of time, due to always spending most of his time around heat, but nothing he couldn't handle.

Then he found out that dealing with a superpowered toddler was unpleasant, to say the least. The boy kept disappearing under his watch, flew through the palace halls at high speeds and seemingly boundless amounts of energy with even worse self-preservation instincts, and when he wailed?

He wailed.

Vlad already had his damn talons full with dealing with the brat.

And then came having to take on the king's workload due to said eastern dragon being a toddler. He had to physically deny himself from screaming when he heard of it, to keep Danny from joining in with a wail out of fun if anything else.

Three years passed, a blink of an eye to him now really, and Vlad was not having that great a time. He was stressed, tired, and not amused by both the lack of sleep and trying to keep Danny out of harm's way.

Did he mention that during those two years, Vlad had to be forced along whenever Danny was summoned? No? Well now you know.

The one time, the one time that the stars aligned to have Vlad neither have to deal with his shared workload and Danny finally asleep at the same time.

Of course, as soon as he closed his eyes and rested surrounded by his warmth. Of course, of Observants-damned course did the brat have to be summoned at that exact moment when he was finally getting some precious sleep.

He stared down at the cultists sleepily, his usual dignity and elegance lost to its basic functions as his mind slowly tried to process what was happening. When it did, he felt himself be irritated, before a wave of resignation flooded him and he asked one, simple question to hopefully drive the meaning into their thick, stupid skulls.

"Do you have any clue as to how hard it is to put a child godking to sleep."

Rhetorical question, really. He didn't expect an answer.

[pokeshippingweek]

POKESHIPPING WEEK 2024!

It's that time again, pokeshippers!

Last year, we announced that the format of Pokeshipping Week - one theme per day - was getting retired. We also said that we'd still put on a celebration of some kind going forward. Well, the time is here, and I'm happy to announce that we are planning a pokeshipping zine...next year!

If you'll forgive the bait-and-switch there, we have seriously talked about doing a zine, but time got away from us this summer. So, while we do hope to tackle that undertaking in 2025, for this year, we're planning what you might call an open Pokeshipping Week!

How does it work, you ask? Simple: over the years, you all have submitted a lot of potential themes for Pokeshipping Week. For every seven that got chosen each year, plenty were left behind. Well, now you can fill November 1 to 7 with art, fics, AMVs, GIFs, graphics, etc., all about our favorite Poke-couple, using any seven you'd like from the unused themes list.

Any and all contributions are welcome, and if they're tagged #pokeshipping week 2024, we'll reblog them here and on the main @pokeshipping blog. Besides Tumblr, we’ll keep our eyes out for the tag on Twitter and DeviantART for artwork, for fanfics on FF.Net and AO3, and for AMVs on YouTube (no NSFW, please).

The full list of unused themes (from years 2020 through 2023) is below the "Read More" break. Use, combine, and create as your heart desires, and we'll see you November 1!

A bad fight A day in the life  A never-ending road A ship full of shippers Alola sunset scene Amusement park Anime characters meet their game/manga counterparts Anniversary Art classes together/Drawing each other Ash and Misty in Sinnoh Ash’s hat Avatar: The Last Airbender AU Birthdays  Breakup Cameran Palace ball (as in Movie 8) Celebrating Celebrities Champions/Masters  Cheerleader Misty Childhood sweethearts Chocolate Comfort during a natural disaster Comforting each other Competition Confiding in one another Cooking disaster Costumes Criminal/Detective Crossover Crossover with game/manga-verse D&D Dealing with Team Rocket’s teasing in “A Scare in the Air” Dewpider/Araquanid Different hairstyle Disaster dates  Disney AU Double dating Elder years  Elders Ash and Misty Evolution Fairy tales/Fantasy AU Fankids Fireworks First day on the job Food Fortune-telling/foresight Game of Thrones AU Giving advice to a younger generation Grey hair Gym leader Ash/beginner Misty Halloween/horror/ghost story Hanahaki disease Handkerchief Happily Ever After/Fairy Tales Hiding Hogwarts AU Horizons Hot tub/Hot springs If Ash heard Misty’s Song If Ash or Misty weren’t from Kanto If Ash started his journey at 16 or older If Ash’s journey had ended after winning the Indigo League (in season 1) If Misty caught Lapras If one came from another region If their parents met If they didn’t meet on Ash’s first day In-universe Pokéshippers Intimacy Japanese-style confessional love letter JRPG AU (ie, Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest, Monster Hunter, etc.) Karaoke Ladybug and Chat Noir Last goodbyes Learning a different language Lost Pikachu Love Letter  Love triangle Lovers across the multiverse Lovestruck (if Ash acted like Brock) Meeting the parents/relatives Mewtwo Strikes Back alternate ending Misty and other Pokégirls discuss their loved ones together Misty meets Goh and Chloe Misty overcoming her fear of Bug-types Misty the coordinator Misty’s Bug-type phobia Mixtape/playlist  Mystery dungeon Nervous Ash  Never have I ever Other Pokemon games AU (Detective Pikachu/Pokemon Masters/etc) Out of their element  Overprotective Misty  Perspective of Oak Ranch Pokémon on their relationship Photo shoot Pirates Plot twist Pokemon daycare Pokémon Mystery Dungeon AU PokéNav communication/Video calling Possessed/evil Misty Pregnancy/Birth Pro-gamers Puberty Reappearance of Ash’s father and/or Misty’s parents Regency Era Romance  Return to Orange Islands Romeo and Juliet Sci-fi AU Scuba diving Secret identity/superhero AU Slow Slumber party Spies AU Stargazing Studio Ghibli AU Sunshine and Rain  Superhero AU Swimming lessons Sygna suits Tabletop RPG AU Taller (height differences)  Tauros ranchers Ash and Misty Time capsule Training together Umbrella Vacation Visiting Oak’s ranch  Water and electricity/water and fire What if Ash didn’t take Misty’s bike? Yoga together Z-ring/Mega Stone

[lawnchairthethird]

WIP Wednesday

Here’s a little snippet of Miscalculation.

You can find the prologue here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/60451135/chapters/154314217

—

“Is Gohan here yet?” Bulma asked.

“In the atrium,” Vegeta replied.

“I’ll go bring him Bulla’s things. I’ll be ready to go after than,” Bulma said.

“Daddy, please stay here. I don’t want to go to Gohan’s. Aren’t you going to miss me?” Bulla sobbed, burying her face into his neck.

“It’s only a short time, and you’ll have fun with Pan.” She began crying louder, causing Vegeta’s eyes to widen with desperation. “I promise I’ll take you on a big trip when we get back. You’ve been wanting to go to the amusement park, haven’t you?” Vegeta bargained.

Bulla nodded, wiping her nose on Vegeta’s shirt, leaving a wet trail across his chest. He either didn’t notice or didn’t mind.

“We’ll go as soon as we get home, princess. Just the two of us. Let’s go see Uncle Gohan.” Vegeta stood, Bulla still in his arms. He nodded to Trunks and Goten as he left the room.

“I’ll never get used to the way Vegeta spoils Bulla,” Goten chuckled, sitting on the couch. “Hey, did you pack games?” Goten was looking at the elaborate gaming system set up in the living room. Much to Vegeta’s chagrin, a key element of time Goten and Trunks spent together was based around that gaming system.

“Of course, dude. We’re gonna be stuck doing nothing for weeks. I only invited you so I could have someone to play with, anyway” Trunks teased.

“Alright! We are ready to go!” Bulma announced as she returned to the room, a much less enthusiastic Vegeta in tow. His shirt was suspiciously damp.

Bulma led them to the ship she had constructed, which sat in the backyard, ready to launch. She opened the hatch with a remote control, and Goten gasped as he walked inside.

“Wow! Ms. Bulma, this is nothing like the ship my dad or brother talked about.”

“I’ve had quite a while to improve the design,” she laughed. “We’re going on a luxury vacation, not preparing for a battle.”

Vegeta stalked ahead to the cockpit, up a small flight of stairs. Bulma rolled her eyes at him.

[amalgamasreal]

And they said it would fail....

Here's the proof you need that Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch From Mercury was a good idea for revitalizing the Gundam franchise. Bandai Namco Holdings announced its 2023 Fiscal Year (FY) sales results on Wednesday, revealing record-breaking revenue for the Gundam IP. Group-wide sales amounted to 131.3 billion yen (about US$967 million) in FY2023, compared to 101.7 billion yen (about US$749 million) in the previous year.

In a March newsletter, Bandai Namco Holdings president Masaru Kawaguchi specifically highlighted The Witch From Mercury for acquiring new fans among young people and women. He also highlighted the Gundam Aerial gunpla models as strong sellers.

Bandai Namco Holdings publishes financial reports as far back as FY2006. These reports reveal that Gundam's sales have not always followed a linear curve. Sales briefly dropped in FY2009-FY2010, as well as FY2015 and in FY2017-2018. However, there has been remarkable growth since FY2020, which also coincides with the increase of Gunpla sales throughout the pandemic. Case in point: 60.5 billion yen (US$45 million) of Gundam's 131.3 billion yen in sales in FY2023 was through the toys and hobby business, up from 44.2 billion yen (US$33 million) in the last financial year.

Other major Bandai Namco IPs to see growth in the last financial year include the perennial favorite Dragon Ball at 144.5 billion yen (US$1 billion)—up from 127.6 billion (US$940 million). One Piece also climbed up to 86.3 billion yen (US$636 million) from 44.1 billion yen (US$32 million) last year, reflecting the success of One Piece Film Red.

Overall, the company's net sales were 111.3% compared to the previous financial year, and the sector also saw a 103.5% gross profit. The sector to see the biggest growth was "Amusement," referring to amusement parks, arcades, and other public entertainment facilities. This segment grew by 127% from the previous financial year, indicating its recovery from COVID-19 restrictions.

SOURCE

[centrally-unplanned]

Watched the new Dungeons & Dragons movie and the original D&D film from the 2000's back to back yesterday, which was a very amusing comparison. The new movie was quite good! Its highly standard of course, but its not afraid to be that, who doesn't like a scampy rogue and a gruff barbarian and an ecoterrorist druid wild shaper and all that. Dead moms and daddy issues for an arc as required by law, which is fine as a structure. On that structure is a lot of very fun action scenes, creative directing, and a really good cast, Chris Pine & Justice Smith in particular know exactly how to play their roles, and when has Hugh Grant ever not knocked it out of the park.

It was very smart about limiting down and keeping small the crew, their goals, and what everyone can achieve. Chris Pine's Edgin is presumably a bard, but that just means he plays the lute; he has no spellcasting abilites, no Songs of Inspiration, he is the idea man and he uses his charisma to lead a team like any person would. As I joked, the druid is not a druid, she instead can only wild shape, since that is enough power for one film. Our guest paladin is the same, just a warrior with principles. The team has a sorceror and that is enough 'mechanics' for the squad. What this frees up is a lot of space for worldbuilding; you visit a ton of places in the Forgotten Realms very quickly, but since its just a team of dudes who you understand you spend that time getting to know the setting and the characters. The actual plot has a lot of moving parts, you can be legitimately surprised at times due to that, without giving you things you aren't gonna understand in that plot.

Even with the powerset they have some of the fight scenes need idiot balls to make sense; the Underdark sequence is the biggest culprit there, many many moments of "bro you can teleport, and you can turn into a bird, why are you running on your little human legs?". But its never for things that really matter, a little idiot ball here and then is fine.

Meanwhile *man* is the 2000 film a trainwreck - it has a very stacked deck going against it. It was a film trying to use 2000 CGI to the maximum extent, for which nothing has aged worse - every sequence with a dragon should honestly just be removed. It was shackled with of-the-time humor styles that age awfully, in particular Marlon Wayans porting in the wacky-black-sidekick character archetype that he (as 1/2 of the Wayans Brothers) popularized never works once, it was always cringe my guys and doubly cringe in a fantasy world. I didn't realize this, but its apparently trying to recreate the success of The Mummy (1999)? The male lead is 100% styled after Brendan Fraiser as a leather-clad explorer with the same exact hair, and the female lead is styled after buttoned-up librarian Rachel Weisz. Which, when you know, makes it really embarassing, its a failed attempt at recreation.

The issue is all of these 'ambitions' reduce its ability to be a fun fantasy b-movie. If the dragons were cool obvious puppets, no one would care, thats great! If you just had a fun likeable cast fighting bad guys, you would like them, you would accept it, but they try so hard to be zany and filled with conflict (there is a whole mage-commoner caste system plot line....ughhhhhhh) you don't like any of them. It even simultaneously has a badass action chick on the side while its main female lead is reduced to powerlessness due to plot demands and the romance arc, in the same film, which is *worse* than just having either one.

Also award for literally the worst case of boob armor I have ever seen in my life:

She better be storing some long-range MK-class explosives in there because otherwise those torpedo tubes are fucking empty.

[hikikomori-route]

The following is a non-profit fan-based parody, Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z, Dragon Ball GT are owned by FUNimation, Toei Animation, Fuji TV and Akira Toriyama. Home For Infinite Losers is also a non-profit fan-based parody which is made by Team Four Star and animated by DevilArtemis.

Please support the official release!

~~~

We’re on yet another field trip in Hell, this time to the Other World’s very own amusement park: Defunctland! Will our morally compromised malefactors retain their sanity? Or will they fall victim to the ball-busting mayhem of the UNamusement park?

Who knows?

Read here!

[caratober]

Caratober 2023 Prompts: *CORRECTED VERSION*

As an anon very kindly pointed out, the original graphic was missing a prompt for October 28th! Since information about Seventeen's October comeback was just posted today, we have taking the opportunity to change the prompt of October 23 (comeback day) to be "Seventeenth Heaven" (the title of the new mini album!) and pushed the prompts of the 24th, 25th, 26th, and 27th back one day.

We apologize for the mistake and humbly request that you reblog this version of the prompts going forward! The rest of this post will contain the same information as the original post.

We would like to thank everyone who took the time to fill out our survey this year, your feedback was greatly appreciated!

As in previous years, the project is run by @sebongdotcom and @rockmymansae. The rules and guidelines stay the same. If you have any questions please contact us!

Tag #caratober within your first five tags and we will reblog it onto the caratober blog. Alternatively submit a link to the original post using submit or ask feature to get your post onto this blog

NSFW material will be allowed as long as it’s kept under a read more and warnings are added. If its visually NSFW it will be up to our discretion whether to reblog it onto the blog or not 

You can take any interpretation of the prompt (within reason I hope). For instance if you take “fall” to mean the season or the act of falling

If a prompt has passed and you missed it, feel free to just participate! When we reblog to the caratober blog we’ll just change the date of it!

The credit for the whole idea goes to the og creator @joshuahong ofc

Please see a written version of the prompts under read more if it is hard to see in the post above.

1. Literary Figures

2. Fire

3. Jeonghan’s Birthday

4. Barbie

5. Greek Mythology

6. Forest

7. Birds of Prey

8. Witches and Wizards

9. Clown

10. Ocean

11. If the World Ends Tomorrow

12. Domino

13. Mad Scientists

14. Dust

15. Psycho

16. Haunted House

17. Free Space

18. Dream and Nightmare

19. Girl Group Concept Switch

20. Dungeons and Dragons

21. Limbo

22. Knights

23. Seventeenth Heaven

24. Fairytales

25. Dragon Ball

26. Angel and Devil

27. Steampunk

28. Amusement Park

29. Royals

30. Swamp Creatures

31. Halloween

[omegaremix]

High Score Pinball + Game On; Spring 2021 & Spring 2022.

If you were an Eighties child, the video game was the pinnacle of your childhood. On Saturdays, my dad took me to the toy store where I sprinted to the game wall, have me choose any stamped ticket and hand it over the counter to customer service where they stocked all the solid state cartridges in the back. They’d hand me the game of choice and I was golden until next week. If I was lucky, he’d take us to Nunley’s Carousel in Baldwin where it was the final time in my life I’d play old electromagnetic machines and driving games that ran on paper sheets - and even film reels and plastic parts (Atari’s F1). We’d also go to Nathan’s in Oceanside. It, too, had an arcade there. Once we came back from his dietician or from my half-sister in Bensonhurst, he ended up taking the whole family for sit-in Chinese and to the Nellie Bly Amusement Park where for one time only I played Atari’s Superman and Hercules pinball tables.

Sunday was an even bigger event. My pop would drive from (also) Bensonhurst all the way out to Long Island where my family and I lived. He’d arrive anywhere between noon to 1PM and stay for an hour before taking me to the South Shore Mall. I’d have the luxury of two hours and $5.00 worth of quarters to play as many games as I could. Roadblasters, Space Harrier, Chase HQ, Marble Madness, skee ball - you name it, they had it, I played it. Pop would break it up and take me to The Emporium (later becoming Nathan’s and after that a sushi house that closed down in 2010) where they also had an arcade itself. Same time limit, same amount of pocket change. The neighborhood delis and convenience stores also had arcade and pinball machines where I clearly remember playing Seicross, Legion, Double Dragon, Ninja Gaiden, Shinobi, and other games too many to mention. I had the best of both worlds at home and beyond. By the time my grade-school years ended, I replenished the game collection my dad once sold for $50.00 and more thanks to my Dallas aunt and uncle. 

The Brentwood era just started for me and Pop had a heart attack while watching the game. He woke up out of it but later relapsed and that was the end for him. I had to take it upon myself to ride my bike to the mall or the pizzeria in the local shopping center behind the middle school to get my Neo-Geo, Super Monaco GP, or Mortal Kombat fix. With reward came risk: Brentwood wasn’t a safe neighborhood compared to the others. Every day I worried about random newjacks and youngbucks coming up to me for handouts just for being seen. Seven or eight kids waiting their turn surrounded the Street Fighter machines at any one of three stores out of fifteen who had them; some even got jumped and assaulted over them because they were caught cheating. Chain-snatchers got the unsuspecting kids when their backs were turned, and even the resting bitch-faces came up to entice me to fight their boyfriends who tried stealing my bike.

As time went by, I moved on from the scummy parts. Visits to the arcades became less frequented no matter at the mall or the amusement park. The carousels and hot dog places went out of business. Console gaming, however, kept going with the Genesis, SNES, Dreamcast, and Playstation throughout my community college and Stony Brook era. I discovered MAME and VPinball so I could stay in touch with myself. I kept it all going until I was sick of dozing off and throwing my time away while my friends, co-workers, and associates made the best of theirs. I finally moved on from gaming, and all the best for it.

It was more than ten years since I played a game of pinball. The Sopranos to be exact. Almost no place on the island where one was to be found. But that all changed last spring when the Video Game Trading Post opened up Long Island’s very first pinball arcade in the South Shore Mall / Westfield. I was stunned and paralyzed. We never asked for it, let alone couldn’t even imagine happening, but we got it. We lost Manhattan’s Modern Pinball and Greenpoint’s Sunshine Laundromat was never the same after the pandemic, so having the arcade return (to the very place where it all started for me and not having to travel to the city for it) was the pale-skinned redheaded Godiva riding on the fucking horse.

It was amazement at first sight. I enter the mall and the sounds emanating from the dark space tells me I’m close. I finally found it. My soul pushed back because I couldn’t believe it. I walk in and the darkness swallowed me in as all the flashing lights, LEDS, and the brightly-lit back-panels fight to be noticed. For $25.00, sometimes $35.00, it was all-you-can-play. I walk around in the dark vortex and the place was huge of its concrete flooring and aromatic wood smell. All three Black Knight tables, all three Pinbots, both Firepowers, Bank Shot, Evel Knievel, Harlem Globetrotters, Tron Legacy, even Police Force when it was at Vinardo’s. I spotted Big Guns, a game I remember from my Nintendo childhood. To my amusement, it was real having to find that Slugfest returned to the exact same mall I played at during the Brentwood era. The best part? Learning that both High Speed and Nine Ball would make their stay. It would make that next return trip all the more urgent. High Speed was the very first machine I ever scored a million on, let alone three. And Nine Ball? The overall design and sound effects of it was a personal must-play for me.

All throughout last Spring and Summer I’d make the effort to be the first one there and the last one to leave. Noon to 8PM. I made one final trip to High Score- before the year was over, leaving it behind in its former incarnation forever. It’s now half of what it used to be. The other half is now home gaming and memorabilia. I knew it would never be as good after when I first found it and won’t expect it to be better. But I’ll never, ever forget it - just like I’ll never forget the ride to Williamsburg’s Rough Trade, the post-punk / d.i.y. and jazz-fusion finds, the Jewish girl from Queens with the straight shoulder-length hair and green eyes who asked me if I had a copy of KIDS, or the two pale gingers with brown eyes I spent forever with at my store. Another day, another payout.

The alignments had another card up its sleeve. The King of Diamonds would be super-ceded by the Ace. The Boy Harsher show was less than two weeks away and I had to visit the Smithhaven Mall to find me a leather jacket and black hat. I walked out with the hat but no jac-. And, as I was walking out, something caught my eye: a shiny colorful array of neon lights. I stop to look at my right and there it was: a new video arcade I never knew existed. I was shut. I step in and to my immediate right was Baby Pac-Man: a cabinet shaped like an upright with a CRT monitor and small pinball playfield below it. It was a machine I only read about but was curious to seek out. Now, here it is. But, I couldn’t go any further as entry was roped off. But I see the sign at the front desk: $20.00 free play all day. It’s 3PM, I wouldn’t get my money’s worth. But I owed it to myself to come back and visit, and visit I did.

The following Wednesday I came back at noon and paid the frail emo casualty up front my $20.00. Does he have any idea what he’s doing here or what this is all about? He wouldn’t care, really. He’s only here to collect and will elicit a fake half-enthusiastic “oh, uh…that’s cool!” when asked. I’m here to revisit my Atari / Nintendo childhood. Eight hours and no time to waste. Let’s have it.

I walk in and there’s three Pac-Man machines grouped together: the 1980 original that became the first-ever character franchise, Baby Pac-Man and Super Pac-Man. Across from it is Ms. Pac-Man. How shameful they couldn’t include her in the boys’ club. There were vector games in Tempest, Lunar Lander, Asteroids, and Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back in super-sharp and blindingly bright on original CRT monitors. There was Gorf, arguably my very first arcade memory living in Brooklyn. Classics such as Centipede, Marble Madness and Spy Hunter which I haven’t played in its true form since forever. Defender, Robotron 2084, and Berzerk rounded out three of four parts of the Williams epic (Blaster was the fourth). Moon Patrol, Galaxian, Zaxxon, Gyruss, Phoenix, Dig Dug, Vanguard, and Missile Command - games I played endlessly on the home system - were there. Crystal Castles, one I always played on the Atari 2600, felt super-frantic and ultra-responsive on my first time ever playing it. Pengo and Mr. Do! - two games I remember my sis- B-Bomb telling me about - were finally crossed off the must-play list.

I found two extremely rare Nintendo Vs. red tents and with that came Donkey Kong, Donkey Kong Jr., Donkey Kong 3, Punch Out, Popeye, and the original Super Mario Bros. which I always used to play at the neighborhood deli (thanks ma’). Even more impressive was the fact that they had Playchoice machines when the South Shore Mall had them. I walk further and there’s Bad Dudes and the first Double Dragon: agonizingly slow and sluggish as fuck like I remembered it.

There’s driving games such as Super Sprint, Crazy Taxi, Chase HQ, and The Cruisin’ series. But, none more important than Sega’s Hang-On and Outrun, one which my younger bro- and I fought over to play first when our parents took us to the ice cream parlor. Next to those were Virtua Cop and Point Blank which I had zero interest playing because it wasn’t Cheyenne.

Konami, known for some of the best multi-player titles ever, made their presence felt with Super Contra, The Simpsons, Sunset Riders, X-Men, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles; the final being the gateway and the token example of nostalgia. There was the fighters’ row: Mortal Kombat II, Virtua Fighter, Tekken 4, Killer Instinct, Marvel Vs. Capcom 2, and Street Fighter II; that final one the basis of my early Brentwood years hanging out in dangerous neighborhoods and being harassed by the youngbucks in pizzerias for quarters. How about not one, not - fuck it - four Neo-Geo MVS’s with such games as Metal Slug 4, Ninja Warriors, Fatal Fury 2, and Samurai Shodown all plugged in and more. Three of those four aforementioned Neo-Geo games all happened during various points of my Brentwood era, coincidentally at the same shopping center as the pizzeria and that down-low mom-and-pop video store in Central Islip.

There were pinball tables such as Spider-Man, Stranger Things, and Star Wars: Episode 1, but couldn’t ever compare to what High Score used to have. Foosball, (a rare) Super Chexx, a Ms. Pac-Man & Galaga cocktail machine, and even Alley Cats: a shuffleboard-slash-bowling hybrid were found. Never played anything like it. Sports-themed uprights in NBA Jam, NHL Ice, and Blades Of Steel which I played all of three minutes before walking away from it and headed for Arkanoid: Revenge Of Doh. I was even taken back by seeing games I never knew existed: Warp Warp and Lady Bug. And finally…Smash TV. I wasted an hour of my valuable life on cheap deaths and repetitious gameplay. I’ll never ever recommend it.

I look above and there was a scoreboard with all the high scores and initials written in chalk. Twin Galaxies this wasn’t and thankfully there were no Billy Mitchell sightings. Another thing up above us was a mural of Blaze, Axel, and Adam of Sega’s Streets Of Rage, deemed one of the best and most successful side-scrolling beat ‘em-ups ever. Further back of the arcade I found a bar set-up and a big projector screen behind it for anyone wanting to play Mario Kart on the big-screen. I looked hard enough to find authentic original operator’s manuals of Jungle Hunt, Centipede, Xevious, Asteroids, and Missile Command framed and hung on the wall. I also laserdiscs also framed and hung on the wall near the arcades storefront. Flashdance, License To Drive, Vision Quest, and - I kid you not - Dirty Dancing. Which reminded me…where the hell were Dragon’s Lair and Space Ace? And no Eighties’ fantasy world wouldn’t be complete without at least two small CRT TV’s set up to play Super Mario Bros. 3 and E.T. It was the perfect set-up found in millions of kid’s rooms everywhere. And they still weren’t done.

The one thing Game On had that High Score Pinball didn’t, and this is the major validator here, was the Eighties soundtrack streamed on the overhead. High Score- only had the natural sound of licensed one-liners, PCBs, electromagnetics, and solid states emanating all the bells and hard solenoid knocks of free games. Only once had they brought out a portable speaker blasting Ozzy’s Nineties hits and alternative. Not Game On. Every song was an unforgettable Eighties throwback. It had to be to fit within the nostalgic theme of gaming’s wonder years of the very-late Seventies to the mid-Nineties.

The Seventies will always be something I’ll explore because it’s a decade I mostly missed out on. Exploring and discovering obscure jazz / fusion, soul, groove, and the hits are all a product of my fascination with hip-hop and rap’s sampling culture, console gaming, money shows, chyrons, station i.d.’s, production logos, opening and closing credits, and promos-. The Eighties were different because I lived through them 100% and still remember it clear as day. I can appreciate new wave, synthpop, the new romantics, Billboard hits, freestyle, radio plays, hair metal, and anything else I listened to as part of my Atari / Nintendo childhood. The arcade’s streaming playlist (could they not afford a cassette player?) was paired with the many original arcade cabinets of their time and served its nostalgic purpose, as intended, to its full unbeatable meaning. 

With almost every song played on the overhead there were more childhood memories that followed them. J. Geils Band’s “Centerfold” was my first-ever music memory when my other half-sister played it constantly on our turntable in our family’s second-floor Borough Park apartment. The night my dad threw the Christmas tree out on the porch and my ma’ taking both my younger brother and I to stay at gramma’s for a few days. Riding in the passenger’s seat of our white rusted ‘78 Cadillac Coupe Deville and the bubbled rainbow that formed at the top of its windshield. Being stuck on the side of the Southern State Parkway heading home as my younger bro- and I rode in the backseat with toy dashboards. The trips in my parents rusty beige Chevy van where its crusty steel interior and the smell of petrichor created a viciously sickening mess. The two ‘79 yellow and blue AMC VAM Pacer X’s my parents had. Hurricane Gloria and the week-long power outage. Friday night’s Miami Vice. Saturday afternoons spent in the basement playing Atari and watching WWF and NWA. Saturday night’s Golden Girls where the whole family died laughing. Sunday’s Long Island pop station WBLI’s Top Ten countdown on public access television. Our babysitter’s daughter who was the cutest thing of curly black hair, dark eyes, and tall stature who smelled like sparkle and white plush. My bro- and I taking apart our ma’s floral-print couches and making pillow forts out of them. Dad’s in-wall Akai eight-track player and the overhead speakers. Easter’s various assortment of sweet-smelling wax crayons and activity books. Nights spent watching New York Yankee games on PIX, New York Rangers on MSG, Night Flight and Dance Party USA. Family dinner night at Enzo’s in Bay Shore for minestrone, calzones, and newspaper clippings of Italy’s World Cup victories. Assholes in Chams tank-tops smoking in their garages while working on their prized ‘77 Trans Ams. Playing NES all night before getting ready to ride to Staten Island at three in the morning to pick up my dad’s side of the family.

The more I played the more I immersed myself back into familiar territory that I haven’t visited in decades. It’s an absolute rarity when all the right authentic elements that used to be come together as one and re-create a near-perfect rendition of what the Eighties felt like. It’s not just the soundtrack, the manuals and laserdiscs that supplanted the setting, but the actual aesthetic itself. See the decals on the side of the cabinets and the built-in one-of-a-kind joysticks and steering wheels. The amazing control panel artwork. Plenty of CRT monitors and their rasterized graphics, scanlines, ripples, burn-in, and scrambled graphical glitches. Buttons, plenty of buttons of all types. And no more having to bang on the steel coin doors when those quarters got jammed. Not a burn mark in sight and the smell of old wood cabinets filled the room - exactly how I remembered it all.

It was nearing 9PM. The trip back in time was about to end and the mall was finally winding down. I had to have one last game in before having to walk off memory lane and say goodbye. That idiot kid wasn’t there but was replaced by some cute skinny hipster girl punk with pink hair and ladened with piercings, eager to talk to any cliched grown-up punk dad or fading former Gen-X’er wanting to share a story or two about how they missed those simpler days. I’ll never get the spirit and being of the Eighties back, but I no longer miss them now that I have a monthly pilgrimage to Game On. I retire for the night and head out. She unhooks the velvet rope and clears the way for me to leave with a smile.

“Have a good night!” she says. You know I will.

Heart: “Magic Man”

Eddie Money & Ronnie Spector: “Take Me Home Tonight”

Run DMC: “It’s Tricky”

Cutting Crew: “I Just Died In Your Arms Tonight”

Toto: “Africa”

A-Ha: “Take On Me”

Foreigner: “Waiting For A Girl Like You”

Bananarama: “I Heard A Rumor”

Wham: “Wake Me Up Befoe You Go-Go”

Mike & The Mechanics: “Silent Running”

Michael Jackson: “Billie Jean”

Rick Springfield: “Jessie’s Girl”

Bruce Springsteen: “Dancer In The Dark”

Pat Benetar: “Love Is A Battlefield”

J. Geils Band: “Centerfold”

Simple Minds: “Don’t You Forget About Me”

Tommy Tutone: “867-5309 / Jenny”

Cyndi Lauper: “Girls Just Wanna’ Have Fun”

Pointer Sisters: “I’m So Excited”

Starship: “We Built This City”

Steve Winwood: “Higher Love”

Whitney Houston: “I Wanna’ Dance With Somebody”

Survivor: “The Search Is Over”

The Outfields: “I Don’t Wanna’ Lose Your Love Tonight”

Flashdance original motion picture soundtrack

The Romantics: “What I Like About You”

Scorpions: Rock You Like A Hurricane”

Quiet Riot: “Come On (Feel The Noise)”

Pointer Sisters: “I’m So Excited”

Fabulous Thunderbirds: “Tough Enough”

Steve Perry: “Oh Sherrie”

Madonna: “Borderline”

Tiffany: “I Think We’re Alone Now”

Belinda Carlisle: “Mad About You”

Debbie Gibson: “Out Of The Blue”

Phil Collins: “Sssudio”

Lionel Richie: “All Night Long”

RUM DMC & Aerosmith: “Walk This Way”

Rick Astley: “Never Gonna’ Give You Up”

Bananarama: “Cruel Summer”

Cyndi Lauper: “Time After Time”

Kim Carnes: “Bette Davis Eyes”

Sting: “Every Breath You Take”

Heart: “What About Love”

Foreigner: “I Wanna’ Know What Love Is”

Bruce Springsteen: “Jack & Diane”

Mr. Mister: “Take These Broken Wings”

Bangles: “Hazy Shade Of Winter”

Don Henley: “Boys Of Summer”

Dire Straits: “Money For Nothing”

The Cars: “Shake It Up”

Peter Gabriel: “Big Time”

Bon Jovi: “Livin’ On A Prayer”

Allanah Myles: “Black Velvet”

Culture Club: “Karma Chamelion”

Mike & The Mechanics: “All I Need Is A Miracle”

Starship: “Sarah”

Wham: “Wake Me Up (Before You Go Go)”

Billy Ocean: “Caribbean Queen”

[fumikomiyasaki]

Favourite Date Spots of my ocs

Leroy: Arcade, Sushi restaurant, Cafe, lazer tag, if you are also into his hobby anime cons Henry: Fancy ass restaurants, Expensive parties, Beach dates, Renting out places, Mellow: Forrest walks, Cafes, his room, likely a less crowded place Carol: Study dates, Nature strolls, swimming, Resting in flower fields, small city trips, Brid: forrest strolls, build a bear, introducing her to new things Odel: Crystal caves, old castles, comfy antique baths, Lyla: Night escapades, small clubs, chilling in her Lab, City at night Camilla: Rose fields, ball rooms, Hiking, Bengal: Horror movie marathons or cinema, Nights in the woods, days working out, scary places or comfy places Eiji: Catacombs, Cemeteries, Halloween themed places, goth castles Kumo: Star themed places, Planetariums, desert walks, Stargazing in nature, Fuan: He wouldn't even think he get that far... maybe a potion shop, a sea trip? Naomi: Light shows or fire works, Shopping, concerts, swimming and diving Bolt: Concerts, Neon light places, Lazer tag, amusment parcs Grey: Book stores, pencil stores, wacky clothing stores, comic stores, Bianca: anywhere where its fun and not boring :) Eve: You could take him almost everywhere he likes learning new things Barry: Fancy restaurants or dates, Showing off at games or flexing his money, cinema, comic stores and conventions Francine: Shopping or small restaurants, ice skating, Winter sports Gilly: Music stores, Coffee shops, Clubs to dance in, a swing with their net date, Osyron: Showing you incredible spots he knew from the past, strolls, hot springs baths, Cultural ruins, Lydia: Training together, Fighting together, hot springs, Volcanos, Saneria: Getting her stuff, Showing her new fun things, mainly you have to impress her she won't give you ideas herself, you have to figure out or suffer Lennox: Sea and beach dates, underwater dates, nightly water cave dates, Fabio: Forrest field walks, much in nature, planting things or collecting fruit, tending to chocobos together, Ione: Calm and peaceful dates, sometimes sparring, she is unsure about dating so help her a little on picking things Agni: Volcanos to Saunas, he loves hot places, deserts too, as long as its not circus please Zariyah: Motorcycle rides, Amusement parks, beaches, sword training, jungle trips, just adventures Izar: drinking at a bar, shady venues, abandoned houses, night walks among fancy parties, Louis: Picnics, tea parties, Castle walks, gardening with his veggies, cooking dates Yuzuha: He will more appeal to you taste but he can be your host, go to restaurants or karaoke, read and discuss together, and more Kaeru: Fishing, dates on a boat, swimming and beach dates, actually lots of water related dates Kuze: telling stories over food, sparring, walks through melancholic places, Yasuno: Walks through the green House, neon clubs, Sparring Joel: He is fine with a lot but he would take you to art galleries, street artists and unique shops Serena: she travels all the time, imagine visiting a fancy town each day Elvira: You mostly find her in church and probably need to help her picking something Phobetor: He doesn't really care... in his eyes he has no right to say but... he would adore a cat cafe,

Flynn: Fancy places, Night sky's and escapades, movie scene like locations Nanoya: A walk at the shrine, midnight moon light, Asian restaurants Rubina: Cinema, Cafes, nightly walks Peko: Very cutesy cafes, amusement parcs, you can often take her to childish places Emma: Training with her in the gym, getting food, staying at her room being close Gregory: Has a hideout to chill at and play games, odd clubs and places, big party person but his disguise is not the best so be wary Tyler: Coffee and reading dates, helping him with work, strolls Rachel: Um if you wanna die Gabrielle: fighting in the courtyard, flying in her dragon form around, castle walks, chess dates or dnd Tesadelle: Chilling under the tree, nap together, tea parties Aiden: Making you food, Forrest walks, going to other restaurants, Media: collecting fruits, making things together, Tenera: enjoying food and rest, if you wanna play tennis with her Sindren: hero movies, parcours, walking around and strolling , sports Mythra: Parties, clubs, Showing off her outfits to you, fancy places Feena: ummm…. Dragiselle: Playing her model, showing you the animals, better you take charge if you two wanna go outside. Inessa: Ice skating, walks through snow, ice cream venues, waterfalls, Taron: Arcades, tech areas, playing things together

Tiam: Watch him scream in Panic not knowing what to propose Kayne: He serves, he goes any where you wanna go but, on itself he will make you a nice meal Quora: Watching sports games, Eating fastfood, doing sports, just comfy hugs or being close Kome: Many luck games or chess, book store, Ame: Clubs, very open social places, cinema, cemeterys, Emil: hard to know he would follow you.. but he likely would enjoy buying some things for what he makes or cute aesthetic places Vanessa: Parties, Wineries, restaurants, fancy venues, Macie: Electronic shops, Pet shops, walks through the city April: Casino nights, playing games, strolling through gardens, Julian: Dancing together, clubs, just anywhere he can flirt well with you Taylin: She can't see much so rather you lead the way, she likes getting tea though Eikichi: watching street artists, showing of experiments, hoverboard rides, going through cities Alioth: Stargazing, concerts, just places where he actually doesn't have to shrink down so outdoorsy Beelby: He knows some fancy places, bars, doesn't mind some outdoor activities too Zyan: Aesthetically pleasing places, far away from water, neon clubs, lazer tag Paula: cute diners, rollerblading, shopping, hanging in retro places Brenda: as expensive as you can, go as fancy as you can, Jin-Lou: Ramen shops, bars, fighting clubs and mma shows, chinatowns, mountains Sylva: beach, boat, fancy parties, golden places, anything extravagant

[divinequo]

Ok since some people are taking an interest of beautiful world of celestial heavens I thought I would show you all a list of the many many places of celestial heavens, some realistic (makeup store, yoga studio) and others more magical! (Cloud city, fairy village etc) I'll probably edit this later because it's late rn and I'm tired, still enjoy my loces! (⁠つ⁠✧⁠ω⁠✧⁠)⁠つ*⁠.⁠✧*⁠.⁠✧

⁠*⁠.⁠✧RV PARK

⁠*⁠.⁠✧MAKEUP STORE

⁠*⁠.⁠✧CASTLE

⁠*⁠.⁠✧WEDDING CHAPEL

⁠*⁠.⁠✧GRADUATION CEREMONY

⁠*⁠.⁠✧THERPAY HOUSE

⁠*⁠.⁠✧BRIDGES

⁠*⁠.⁠✧BREAKFAST BUFFET

⁠*⁠.⁠✧ATLANTIS (UNDERWATER CITY THE MERFOLK LIVE IN)

⁠*⁠.⁠✧ARCHERY RANGE

⁠*⁠.⁠✧SLEDDING HILL

⁠*⁠.⁠✧YOGA STUDIO

⁠*⁠.⁠✧CRYSTAL COVE

⁠*⁠.⁠✧STATUE

⁠*⁠.⁠✧MOUNTAINS

⁠*⁠.⁠✧MINING OPERATION

⁠*⁠.⁠✧TOY STORE

⁠*⁠.⁠✧POST OFFICE

⁠*⁠.⁠✧BEACH HOUSES

⁠*⁠.⁠✧BANK

⁠*⁠.⁠✧RODEO

⁠*⁠.⁠✧DANCE STUDIO

⁠*⁠.⁠✧MARATHON

⁠*⁠.⁠✧BASKETBALL COURT

⁠*⁠.⁠✧CAR DEALERSHIP

⁠*⁠.⁠✧PUMPKIN PATCH

⁠*⁠.⁠✧LUNARY ACADEMY

⁠*⁠.⁠✧SELF STORAGE BUILDING

⁠*⁠.⁠✧FARM

⁠*⁠.⁠✧CROP FIELDS

⁠*⁠.⁠✧SKATE RINK

⁠*⁠.⁠✧FISHING SPOT

⁠*⁠.⁠✧DRIVE IN MOVIE THEATER

⁠*⁠.⁠✧BEACH

⁠*⁠.⁠✧CLOTHING STORE

⁠*⁠.⁠✧ENCHANTED FOREST

⁠*⁠.⁠✧CLOUD TOWN (WHERE THE FLYING CREATURES REST)

⁠*⁠.⁠✧MYTHICAL WATERFALLS

⁠*⁠.⁠✧MYTHICAL CREATURE MUSEUM

⁠*⁠.⁠✧BOOKSTORE

⁠*⁠.⁠✧CAFE

⁠*⁠.⁠✧VARIOUS RESTAURANTS

⁠*⁠.⁠✧BAKERY

⁠*⁠.⁠✧FAST FOOD

⁠*⁠.⁠✧BARBER

⁠*⁠.⁠✧PET STORE

⁠*⁠.⁠✧PLANT STORE

⁠*⁠.⁠✧MALL

⁠*⁠.⁠✧GROCERY STORE

⁠*⁠.⁠✧FARMERS MARKET

⁠*⁠.⁠✧ICE CREAM VAN

⁠*⁠.⁠✧ARCADE

⁠*⁠.⁠✧ARMOR SHOP

⁠*⁠.⁠✧MOVIE THEATER

⁠*⁠.⁠✧PIZZA PLACE

⁠*⁠.⁠✧SPIRITUALLY SHOP

⁠*⁠.⁠✧LIBRARY

⁠*⁠.⁠✧FOOD TRUCKS

⁠*⁠.⁠✧PICNIC AREAS

⁠*⁠.⁠✧TRAIN STATION

⁠*⁠.⁠✧MUSEUM OF REALITY SHIFTING AND SPIRITUALITY

⁠*⁠.⁠✧RELIGIOUS BUILDING (ETSI CENTER OF WORSHIP)

⁠*⁠.⁠✧DINER

⁠*⁠.⁠✧GYM

⁠*⁠.⁠✧FAIRY VILLAGE

⁠*⁠.⁠✧AMUSEMENT PARK

⁠*⁠.⁠✧AQUARIUM

⁠*⁠.⁠✧COFFEE SHOP

⁠*⁠.⁠✧PARK

⁠*⁠.⁠✧CIRCUS

⁠*⁠.⁠✧DRAGON MOUNTAINS

⁠*⁠.⁠✧WISHING WELL

⁠*⁠.⁠✧FLOWER FIELDS

⁠*⁠.⁠✧FOUNTAIN

⁠*⁠.⁠✧ZOO

⁠*⁠.⁠✧OBSERVATORY

⁠*⁠.⁠✧SPORTS FIELD

⁠*⁠.⁠✧BIKING TRAIL

⁠*⁠.⁠✧CAMPGROUND

⁠*⁠.⁠✧CLOCK TOWER

⁠*⁠.⁠✧PUBLIC RESTROOM

⁠*⁠.⁠✧SCHOOL

⁠*⁠.⁠✧CONSTRUCTION SITES

⁠*⁠.⁠✧SHOE STORE

⁠*⁠.⁠✧GAZEBO

⁠*⁠.⁠✧HIKING TRAILS

⁠*⁠.⁠✧HOCKEY RINK

⁠*⁠.⁠✧TENNIS COURTS

⁠*⁠.⁠✧GOLF COURSE

⁠*⁠.⁠✧SKATE PARK

⁠*⁠.⁠✧CANDY SHOP

⁠*⁠.⁠✧BOWLING ALLEY

⁠*⁠.⁠✧GO KART TRACK

⁠*⁠.⁠✧CAT CAFE

⁠*⁠.⁠✧PARK (NATURE)

⁠*⁠.⁠✧TAXI STAND

⁠*⁠.⁠✧BUSES

⁠*⁠.⁠✧AIRPORT

⁠*⁠.⁠✧ROCKET LAUNCH

⁠*⁠.⁠✧GAS STATIONS

⁠*⁠.⁠✧HOTEL

⁠*⁠.⁠✧MOTEL

⁠*⁠.⁠✧CASTLE

⁠*⁠.⁠✧JUNK YARD

⁠*⁠.⁠✧PRESCHOOL

⁠*⁠.⁠✧WR CRYSTAL BALLS

⁠*⁠.⁠✧PORT

⁠*⁠.⁠✧HORSE RANCH

⁠*⁠.⁠✧MYTHICAL LAKE

⁠*⁠.⁠✧WATERFALL

⁠*⁠.⁠✧CAPITOL BUILDING (MY OFFICE/BUILDING FOR SUGGESTIONS)

⁠*⁠.⁠✧TREE HOUSE CITY

⁠*⁠.⁠✧HOT AIR BALLOONS

⁠*⁠.⁠✧CHERRIE CHERUB SPA AND SALON

⁠*⁠.⁠✧WINDMILL

⁠*⁠.⁠✧SPACE STATION

⁠*⁠.⁠✧INTERACTIVE MAPS

⁠*⁠.⁠✧APARTMENTS

⁠*⁠.⁠✧WATER PARK

⁠*⁠.⁠✧LIGHTHOUSE

⁠*⁠.⁠✧PIE SHOP

⁠*⁠.⁠✧SUB SHOP

[themattress]

The 13 Worst Moments in Yu-Gi-Oh!

Like I did for Dragon Ball, I will now do for Kazuki Takahashi's original Yu-Gi-Oh!

No Penalty Game!?

In Chapter 5, the most vile antagonist to date appears in Kokurano, the phony psychic. His goal is to use his fake fortune telling abilities to lure Anzu into waiting in a classroom by herself so that he can knock her out with chloroform and then...well, you can fill in the blanks. Given the prior comeuppances we've seen Yami Yugi give his opponents, we should get a richly deserved one for this scumbag, right? Wrong! He just gets knocked out with his own chloroform and exposing his jacket full of pre-written predictions, meaning he'll lose his popularity when everyone sees this. Come on! He should have been given a straight-up Penalty Game that fucked with his head! He was way more deserving of it than most!

Shadi the Asshole.

I feel like Takahashi somehow forgot what he had written two chapters ago with this one. In Chapter 15, Shadi appears in Professor Yoshimori's lab. But instead of judging him with the Millennium Scales like he did to Mr. Kanekura and like he said he was going to do, for some reason he uses his Millennium Key to enter his mind with the intent of killing him without a trial! Then, when he finds out he's acquainted with Yugi, he uses the Key to "redecorate" his mind and turn him into a mindless zombie slave, whom he uses to endanger Yugi's loved ones in order to "test" him! This would also go on to fly in the face of what we would later learn about Shadi and the Millennium Items, so it really doesn't hold up well in retrospect.

The Evil Virtual Pet.

In Chapter 21, we are introduced to Kujirada, a big oafish bully who is clearly going to be the antagonist of the day. Except no, he's actually hypnotized and mind controlled by his virtual pet, who is sentient and evil for literally no given reason. This is an absolute Bizarro Episode of a chapter, as such supernatural villainy is usually tied to Egypt or other ancient cultures, but here it just randomly happens with a modern electronic device. The 1998 Toei anime actually did a better version of this story with a better twist on Kujirada not being the villain.

Johji.

Honda's perverted asshole talking baby of a cousin. He's annoying and doesn't work as a character at all, being the one blemish on the otherwise phenomenal DEATH-T story arc.

The Ferris Wheel Bomber.

There are three things wrong with Chapter 45. The first is that Anzu goes extremely OOC and unlikable, brushing Yugi off while at an amusement park because she wants Yami Yugi instead and then actively putting herself in danger to get him to appear. The second is the Bomber and the game against him is way too extreme for a one-shot story and just doesn't fit the usual tone. The third is that we don't even get to see the Bomber get any comeuppance; Yami Yugi just defeats him and then tells a cop which car of the Ferris Wheel he's in. Weak!

Kaiba Takes Over Domino City.

The set-up of the Battle City arc was that a public Duel Monsters event needed to be held in Domino City in order to lure in the Ghouls, who hold the other two Egyptian God cards. But "public event" didn't have to be another widespread, McGuffin-hunting tournament, especially when Kaiba unrealistically buys out the entire city as the tournament field! Takahashi was clearly under pressure by the unexpectedly high popularity of the Duel Monsters card game and of the Duelist Kingdom story arc centered around it, so he just copy-pasted that arc's structure and escalated it to a higher extreme, even if it broke the suspension of disbelief. Honestly, I think the Battle City arc worked better in the Duel Monsters anime, which was centered around the card game from the start and had a more campy, bombastic style to it.

Jonouchi Loses Red-Eyes.

The idea of Jonouchi losing his Red-Eyes Black Dragon in a duel, then refusing to take it when Yugi wins it back because he wants to grow strong enough to defeat Yugi in a duel and earn it back through his own efforts is a good one. I just wish he didn't have to lose it by a Rare Hunter of the Ghouls using a counterfeit Exodia and then getting the shit beat out of him and left alone in an alleyway. It just felt too cruel and demeaning to him, plus it's sketchy logic for him to think he needs to get stronger when he only lost due to blatant cheating. The anime handled this better, as it attached it to a plotline with Jonouchi's sister Shizuka in the hospital, giving it way more emotional stakes since it risks him not making it for her eyesight operation.

Kaiba and the Key.

I love Seto Kaiba in all his moral grayness, but Chapter 199 was a point where Takahashi pushed it too far. After having made it clear for several chapters that he did not want Jonouchi or anyone else to die, Kaiba out of nowhere decides to risk Jonouchi's life by withholding the key to his handcuffs while he's sinking underwater, not dropping it until he's pretty sure that Jonouchi is knocking at death door. The implication is that if Jonouchi drowns before being able to use the key, it'd be his fault for being too "weak". Worse still is Jonouchi having to say afterward that he's indebted to Kaiba, not knowing the amount of time that passed between when he first could have dropped the key and when he actually did. Again, the anime is better here, as it's Shizuka who removes her bandages, takes the key and jumps into the water to rescue her brother in a great dramatic moment that is an improvement over her arriving and removing her bandages after the fact to boost her brother's spirits rather than save his life.

Marik Goes Dark....er.

When Rishid is knocked unconscious by Ra's lightning in the Battle City quarter-finals, Marik...goes Super Saiyan? No, he actually turns into Yami Marik, who was only vaguely foreshadowed a few chapters ago and otherwise comes out of nowhere. It all feels so random and meaningless, and while I get the various reasons Takahashi had for it, Yami Marik's one-note blandness doesn't help matters. Again, the anime does it better, by virtue of making Yami Marik far more entertaining with all of his crazy faces and theatrical gesturing.

Stuffed in the Hourglass.

Takahashi usually handled his female character well, but the Mai vs. Yami Marik duel was a shameful exception. After Jonouchi tells a stupid and easy-to-see-through lie, Mai just 100% regresses as a character so that she can get in over her head dueling Yami Marik, where she is tortured both in the duel and after it. And what for? To give Jonouchi man-pain; to motivate him even further to be at the top of his game, and to rescue Mai in order to "redeem" himself for his lie and "prove" how much he cares about her. Not even the anime could fully salvage this one: it lessened the gratuitous torture, but otherwise kept the story as is, and then made it worse by following it up with a filler arc where Mai's trauma over Yami Marik causes her to regress again and be used as an emotional motivating factor for Jonouchi to rescue again!

Jonouchi's Going Nowhere Fast.

In The Dark Side of Dimensions, Diva traps Jonouchi in another dimension that is collapsing in upon itself, which almost kills him until he is rescued by an Atem ex Machina. This is the kind of undermining of Jonouchi I'd expect from the anime writers, not Takahashi himself! The English dub fixes the moment, having it so Jonouchi's own willpower is what gets him out.

Shadi the Cult Leader.

The Dark Side of Dimensions finally reveals Shadi's death, which is good, but did it have to come with this absurd retcon about his life? It turns out Shadi collected orphans off the street and raised them in a bizarre cult dedicated to manifesting a utopia dimension through Egyptian spiritual power. Shadi was confusing enough as it was! He didn't need more shit!

The En...WTF!?

Just as The Dark Side of Dimensions was coming to a satisfactory conclusion with Diva being defeated and then Yugi and Kaiba having their climactic duel, the evil power of the Millennium Ring suddenly possesses Diva and turns him into a kooky monster who comes back and threatens to destroy the world! Not only does watching Yugi and Kaiba team up to face a literal monster feel like Takahashi is ripping off the Pyramid of Light movie, and not only is another Atem ex Machina what resolves the situation, but this kind of world-threatening battle just doesn't feel like it belongs in this story, which was otherwise a more personal one taking place after the big world-threatening battle against Zorc. Maybe this was executive meddling or maybe it was Takahashi feeling the pressure to escalate again, but all I know is it ends the movie's plot on a weak note even if Kaiba's character arc still concludes satisfyingly enough.

[darugamingu]

Best Offline Steam Accounts for PC – Your Guide to Gaming Freedom

In an era where online gaming often requires a stable internet connection, offline Steam accounts provide gamers with the freedom to enjoy their favorite titles without interruption. Offline access has become a game-changer for players who prefer the flexibility of playing anywhere, anytime. From adventure-filled narratives to intense sports simulations, offline Steam accounts enable you to dive into a range of top-tier titles, including Planet Coaster 2, Football Manager 2025, and Silent Hill 2, without ever needing to connect online. Here’s a comprehensive rundown of some of the best games available through offline Steam accounts.

1. Dragon Ball Sparking! Zero Ultimate Edition – Unleash Your Inner Fighter

If you’re a fan of anime and thrilling combat, Dragon Ball Sparking! Zero Ultimate Edition is the game for you. This action-packed title lets you step into the universe of Dragon Ball, where you can play as some of your favorite characters. With an offline Steam account, fans can dive right into epic battles and level up their skills, training to become the ultimate fighter. Offline access means you don’t have to rely on an internet connection, making it ideal for gamers who want the freedom to play wherever they are.

2. Planet Coaster 2 PC – Build the Amusement Park of Your Dreams

3. Football Manager 2025 PC – The Ultimate Sports Simulation

4. Silent Hill 2 PC – A Must-Have for Horror Fans

If you’re a fan of psychological horror, Silent Hill 2 is an essential title to add to your offline gaming collection. This iconic survival horror game brings a terrifying experience to players, with its eerie atmosphere, compelling storyline, and unique puzzles. Playing Silent Hill 2 on a Steam offline account allows for uninterrupted immersion, where every chilling sound and shadow becomes even more intense. Perfect for late-night gaming sessions, Silent Hill 2 is a haunting experience that will keep you on the edge of your seat, completely offline.

Offline gaming offers a unique freedom that makes it easy to explore top-tier titles without worrying about connectivity issues. So whether you’re building the amusement park of your dreams in Planet Coaster 2 or surviving the eerie streets of Silent Hill 2, offline Steam accounts open up new possibilities for gaming on your terms. Embrace the freedom of offline gaming and immerse yourself in these incredible experiences whenever and wherever you like!

[jeffwatches]

Dragon Ball Episodes 44-46

Episode 44

Goku meets up with Bulma and her father. Bulma is pretty priveleged. Bulma shows off her new invention that makes her smaller.I guess it can be useful. She uses it and sits in Goku's shirt to fly around and travel. It's a funny visual I have to admit. Hasky is a new villain who teamed up with the Red Ribbon army to help them get the Dragonballs so she's lurking while all this is going on. Goku and Bulma meet up with Yamcha ,Puar, and Oolong. Bulma and Yamcha are having relationship problems, but they are cordial enough to go to a theme park as a group.

Episode 45

The group enters the amusement park. Goku while there meets a fortune teller. The Fortune teller is Hasky in disguise. Hasky wants the Dragon Balls and it gets weird. Hasky says she sees a vision of 2 balls ,so Goku flashes her it's weird and stupid humor. I frowned at that. Yamcha is holding the DragonBalls she swipes them and plants a bomb.Goku disarms it, and Bulma and Yamcha officially calls it quits. They had a good run.

Episode 46

The humor is this show is weird. Sometimes I get it and stuff is generally funny other time I'm like why? For example Bulma only has one Dyno cap left from her dad, and what's in it? Porno mags. Like that's the joke. I get it, but eh it's not a joke for me. Goku goes diving to look for a Dragonball. While all this is going on Bulma is getting shot at by the Red Ribbon army pilots. Honestly I cant wait to move on from the Red Ribbon army. Goku saves her on to Master Roshi's.

Despite my gripes I am enjoying the show, The Journey continues.

[johnwickb1tsch]

As it turns out, John Wick can drive very fast.

You already knew this, of course. Constantine, however, seems to be regretting his life choices as Wick weaves in and out of traffic, trying to find a hand hold as you are whipped around in the cramped back seat of the vintage Chevelle. He clenches his square jaw and glares daggers as Wick makes a quick left juke, the force of it pushing Constantine into the side of the car furthest from you.

You think it's a coincidence, until you meet John Wick's eyes in the rear-view mirror, and you see a glimmer of amusement. On anyone else, it would be all-out gut-busting laughter. You open your mouth to tell him to play nice, but Tex interrupts you—just like old times.

"3 o'clock," barks the cowboy assassin from the shotgun seat. It's fitting, because he quite literally has a sawed-off shotgun in his lap, something from Constantine's cabinet of goodies with arcane symbols scratched into the barrel. Tex and Constantine fought over this seat like it was worth a million dollars, and only the interruption of the literal Hell’s Angels roaring up on you on motorcycles re-focused their attention.

They’ve been trying to run you down for blocks like wolves on a caribou, and with a whip of Wick's wrist on the steering wheel, now you’re being pursued by one less. It over-corrects and crashes into a concrete barrier. Constantine laughs under his breath at the thing’s demise.

However, there are still three more to contend with.

“The club is just ahead,” directs Constantine. “Good luck finding parking.” 

“Hold on.” 

There's nothing to fucking hold on to in the bare bones back seat—except for Constantine, so that's what you do. He holds your hand with a white knuckled grip that betrays his nerves far more than his expression does

John tricks the motorcycle-riding demons by suddenly slowing down, then gunning the engine, running one over with a sudden burst of speed, then smacking the other two like a pinball flipper with a sudden shift and drift turn.

The car is totally fucked, but so are the hellspawn, so it feels like a win. 

When one of them tries to stagger from the wreckage towards you Tex shoots it from out the window. The sound is deafening—and the ball of fire from the barrel of the gun makes you all jump. 

“What the fuck is that, John?” you demand. 

“Dragon's breath,” he answers you with a little smirk. “Nice work, Hee Haw. You should hunt demons instead of people.”

“What's the pay?”

“Absolute shit with possible stock options in Heaven.”

“No thank you then.”

The four of you pile out of the car and hustle towards the doors of Midnite's. 

“This place is supposed to be neutral ground,” says Constantine, “but it's going to be full of demonic half-breeds, so walk fast and stick close.”

Tex turns to you with an incredulous frown. “Baby, I seriously gotta question your taste. Where did you find this wizard boy?”

Constantine looks at you with a smirk, no doubt thinking about your first animalistic tryst in that alleyway by the bar, and how he’d made you cum on his dick with your back chaffed by the hard bricks behind you, your legs wrapped desperately around his slender waist while he pounded inside your needy little cunt.

It had been glorious.

Just the memory of it floods you with a searing heat from your loins to regrettably, your cheeks.

Constantine loves it when he manages to make you blush, and a wicked gleam sparkles in his jetty dark irises.   

“Shall I tell him, dear?”

You can tell that Tex’s head is about to explode.

“Not while he’s holding a fire-breathing shotgun, honey.”

Constantine has never really used lovey pet names with you before. It’s almost the weirdest thing that’s happened today.

As you push through the doors of the club it’s almost like entering another dimension, the red lights and bass thump of hedonistic music beyond, the steps down down down like a descent into a nether realm. The bouncer holds up his tarot card, the entrance exam, that Constantine passes like a breeze. “Rat in a dress.”

Bouncer turns to Wick and Tex with a new card, who look at Constantine with almost comical consternation. “They’re with me.”

“Still gotta pass.”

A beat later Constantine punches the burly bouncer out, shaking the sting off his hand. “Sorry,” he says to the unconscious man on the ground. To the rest of you, “Shit. Move fast.”

He bursts through the doors to the main club, striding with purpose on those beautiful long legs. You always feel too cool for school, when you’re on a magical side-quest with John. His broad shoulders part the crowd around you all, and when you’re with Constantine, everyone is looking at you. Half-breed angels, demons, and who knows what in between. Their eyes glow eerily in the low crimson light of the club.

Neither Wick nor Tex betray any fear or surprise at descending into this eldritch side of the City of Angels, intimidating towers at your back, glowering at anyone who looks your way.

Maybe it’s stupid, but in this moment you feel pretty fucking invincible.  

It’s definitely stupid, because the creatures on Team Lucifer start to take an acute interest in Tex, their eyes glowing. Even you can feel them pressing closer around you. Constantine is standing at the tufted leather wall, what you know is an illusion hiding a door.

A tall, unfairly hot half-breed saunters into Tex’s personal space, reaching up to touch his cheek with a sultry come-hither smile. Succubus, is your guess, though the possibilities are literally endless. For a moment Tex seems utterly entranced, and it’s all you can do not to roll your eyes. “Sorry, he’s taken,” you say, pulling Tex back with your fingers in his tooled belt to sandwich him between you and Constantine.

Are they going to open the door for you or what? Any time now would be excellent…

Suddenly the half-breed seems a foot taller, looming over you with glowing red eyes. With your heart in your throat you hold up your amulet between you, and though she doesn’t exactly flinch and hiss like you’d hoped, you can tell she doesn’t care for it, her fine features twisting in a sneer like she tasted something nasty.

“Fine,” pouts the demoness. “Change your mind, handsome, you know where to find me.” She punctuates the offer with a flash of razor-sharp teeth before she saunters off with extra swing in her hips.

Tex makes a small sound of pain behind you as he watches her go, and you know he can’t help it. Desire is the Succubus’s power, and she was clearly hunting tonight. It doesn’t stop you from rolling your eyes though, turning to catch John Wick’s gaze. You can tell he’s keeping watch on the room, but he’s also got his eyes on you; that weighty, yearning look that never fails to tie your heart—and your lady parts—up in knots. A wholly inconvenient throb of lust between your legs makes you shift where you stand; suddenly you are soaked, so aware of the solid warmth of Tex at your back, and John towering before you.

Just like old times.

A part of you wants to reach for him, location be damned, an ingrained urge that would be a terrible idea at this time in this place, because if you touch him you’ll have to kiss him and who knows where that will end.

Jesus, was the succubus’s energy affecting you too? Or is it just…them?

There is a heady weight in the air, like something malevolent is about to descend upon you all. With your heart in your throat you clutch at the talisman around your neck, and though you’re not really sure which deity you’re entreating for salvation, you pray.

At last the door swings open, and Constantine finds your elbow, tugging you none too gently with him inside Papa Midnite’s inner sanctum. Naturally, where you go, the boys follow close behind.

“John Constantine,” says Papa Midnite in his melodic baritone. “Been some time. I see you’ve brought friends.”

  “Wouldn’t go that far,” snarks Constantine with a baleful look at the two assassins at your back. “But I need your help.”

“The Great John Constantine needs my help?” mocks Papa. “Must be sometin’ bad.”

You’re not proud of the panic that rises in your throat at the sound of Midnite’s reluctance to help you. You know that pretty much everyone in the supernatural world has been pissed off at Constantine for some reason or another, but you pray this man can rise above his grudge. If not…Tex is fucked, and maybe it’s stupid after everything he did to you, but just the thought leaves a hollow ringing inside your heart.

You dare to peek around from Constantine’s imposing form. “Please, Papa?” you entreat, your eyes wide. You have met once before, and on that occasion the powerful witch doctor seemed to like you, though he didn’t cease to deride what a girl like you could possibly be doing with the likes of John Constantine. “We really need your help.”

Papa Midnite tilts his fedora-topped head to regard you with curiosity. He is wearing one of his delightfully loud shirts with a fur collared jacket. A gold necklace gleams against the dark skin of his throat. “Who needs my help, little girl? You, or him?” He points at Constantine with the jut of his chin.

“I do,” you both answer at the same time. You realize Constantine doesn’t want you to owe the powerful Bokor a favor—but you’re reading the room, and you’re pretty sure if the magic is for Constantine, Midnite is going to tell you all to pound rocks.

Midnite, understanding all of this, sits back in his throne of a chair with a little chuckle, drumming gold-bedecked fingers on the carved wooden arm.

“What is it you need?”

“A curse lifted,” answers Constantine. “And a spell cast.”

Midnite whistles at hearing that, and only then does his attention turn to the assassin at your back. “I can sense the dark mark from here,” says the witch doctor. “Let me see.”

With a grumble Tex pulls at his collar, pearl snap buttons popping to reveal the blackened circular pentacle, its 8 radii tipped with symbols, embedded beneath his skin. At the sight of it Midnite smirks, his eyebrows lifting high.  

“Set thou a wicked one to be ruler over him, and let Satan stand at his right hand,” cites Midnite. “That a powerful curse t’set on someone, Constantine.”

“It was a heat of the moment thing,” grumbles the demon hunter.

“I can tell. Takes some big feeling, to conjure a curse like dis from thin air.”

That’s when Midnite looks at you, and that stupid blush of heat ambushes you again.

Feelings were not something you and John Constantine talked about. Sure, they were there, but you never really gave voice to them. You demonstrated them, physically, and often. Midnite seems bent on embarrassing both of you.

“Yeah, yeah,” grouses Constantine, only daring to glance in your direction. But in that single moment, the raw look on his face makes you feel like you need to sit down. “So can you lift it or not?”

“Course I can,” says Midnite dismissively. “What you bring me in return?”

“’Fraid I’ll have to owe you.”

“Hmm. I’ve heard that one too many times from the likes of you, Constantine. I’ll need somethin’ up front.”

“Do you like gold?” asks John Wick blandly, producing five glittering yellow coins from his pocket, setting them on the table in front of Papa Midnite in a neat stack one by one. The pretty tink tink tink of metal fills the air, and Midnite nods with his lips pursed, paying Wick an approving look. However, as he examines the death’s head emblazoned token, it is you he speaks to.

“How did a nice girl like you get tangled up wit Underworld boys like dis?”

A shuddering sigh escapes you, as a montage of the absolute fire you walked through to get to this moment flashes in your mind. The murder, the kidnapping, the chaos and corruption. The passion, the pleasure, and the quieter moments that made you think you might be content to stay with your Boys forever—until they forced you to go.

“It’s a long story, Papa,” you answer, barely able to raise your voice over a whisper.

“Some other time, you’ll tell me, then. Step into my office.”     

Midnite leads you to his back room, a cavernous space built in the breathtakingly ornate style of the Moorish palaces of Andalusia. At first you don’t know where to look. The arabesque carved walls, the scalloped arches, the honeycomb vaulted ceilings, or the cacophony of antique relics stacked high on all sides. There are statues and busts and boxes and dolls, this and that and bric-a-brac and every category of precious old junk you can imagine, is here. Your eye is drawn to an old wooden chair against the far wall with leather straps that for some reason gives you chills.

The center of the room is empty, the demarked circle where Midnite performs his workings outlined with bones, half-burnt candles, and rusty lines on the tiles that look like blood.  

“Now then,” says Midnite, taking a sip from a bottle of dark rum before offering it to Tex. “Drink up, man. Dis not gonna feel good.”

***

When all is said and done, the four of you all feel like pieces of chewed up gum. You are utterly wiped, and it’s all you can do not to fall asleep in the back of the car with your head on Constantine’s shoulder. Fingering your new tattoo, a mystical symbol that binds Tex Johnson and John Wick to your will, you think on what Papa Midnite said to you before your departure.

“Hard to live with a heart divided in three pieces, girl. You playin’ a dangerous game.”

“It’s not a game to me, Midnite. It’s just…my life, somehow.”

“Dat fair. So you know, I told that silly boy of yours to put a ring on your finger ‘fore he lost the chance. Never seen him like dis, wit any other.”

You’d paid him a grim smile, amused at the thought of Constantine asking you to be his wife. What a laughable prospect. Sweet, but there was no way he felt that about you. “Are you telling me not to break your friend’s heart, Midnite?”

He’d snorted and taken a drink of rum. “I know better than that. But you might tink about what he’ll turn into, if tings go badly.”

Truth be told, you didn’t want to think on that, because it terrified you. All you wanted right now, was to curl up in the bed you shared with John Constantine, and sleep for about seven years.

Midnight had given you a herbal potion that had to be administered to Tex every six hours for a week, and a magical salve to apply to the burn upon his chest where the symbol had, at one point, burst into white-hot flame. You’d feared he’d been at death’s door, until he took your hand with a smirk and mumbled half to you, half to himself, “The things I do for my little rattlesnake.” It had squeezed your heart with a fist, utterly wrecked you, and you knew you couldn’t kick him to the curb just yet.

You were headed back to Constantine’s house, (which you had helped him get together the down payment for, with no strings attached, so…) and the four of you would have to figure out how to co-exist, at least until Tex was back on his feet.

Then…who the fuck knew what was going to happen.

You’d think about that, tomorrow.

-----------

😬 Please enjoy this set up for copious angst and smut... 😆 I don't even know who's going next! @treedaddymcpuffpuff @tammykelly @sweetwolfcupcake @lilspookymeh

I left the details of the ritual open aside from the tattoos, if you want to add anything, for, reasons... 😆

Yandere Tex Johnson x Witness!Reader x John Wick Imagine WIP Part 8

After 450 comments on the last section 🤣 its time for a new one. U guyz are gremlins!😆👏👏 @treedaddymcpuffpuff @tammykelly @sweetwolfcupcake @lilspookymeh

-------

"Come on, we've got to get you somewhere safe," says John Wick, trying to hustle you down the street.

"No," you protest, resisting. "We have to find John and Tex. They might need us."

You were skeptical about demons and the occult, God and the Devil and everything in between, at first. But after hanging out with Constantine, you'd seen a few things. Just enough that you had sense enough to be scared. You clutch the protection amulet around your neck that John had given you. You'd laughed at him at the time, but now you were glad to have it.

"They're both grown men, honey. I told Tex to leave you alone. This is what he gets."

Suddenly you're angry all over again. "Oh, you told him, huh?" You push John's chest--its like having a disagreement with a brick wall. "Do you have any fucking idea how much I've missed you? How it destroyed me to be thrown away like an old shirt you had no more use for?"

He is still as a mountain as he holds your wrists, preventing you from striking him, but not hurting you. Those dark eyes bore into you, through you. How does he not see you? "Y/n...I did what I thought was best for you."

"But you didn't fucking ask me! Or at least, you didn't listen! But you know what, it doesn't matter right now. John had to put some kind of a curse on Tex in self defense, because Tex is such an asshole, and now they're both in danger!"

"A what?"

You pause to think, and you're pretty sure you know where Constantine would go. There's an old church a few blocks over. Consecrated ground. It's where he's always told you to go if something came after you. It would be a good place to regroup.

"Come on," you say, pulling John in the opposite direction down the street.

For once, he actually listens, a shadow at your back ready to protect you, but he lets you lead the way.

--------------

The old building looks like it should probably be condemned. It's definitely seen better days, and hasn't seen a congregation in at least a decade. However, the ground is still holy, untouchable for the Unclean, and when you burst through the doors after John has already shot down three demons, you are so relieved to see Constantine and Tex sitting in some of the old pews. They definitely look like they've been through a battle, disheveled and beat up. You wonder how much was demons, and how much they did to each other.

"Thank God!" You run to them, and Tex's expression rises and falls as you go to Constantine, pressing your mouth to his in what you know is a needy kiss, assuring yourself as much as him.

He smirks down at you, well aware of the death- stares he's receiving from both sides. It's possible he makes a show of grabbing your ass, just to rub it in to your two Ghosts.

"Are you ok?"

"Yeah. You?"

You nod. Then Constantine rolls his eyes upward, over your head to John Wick. He is quietly forbidding in his black suit, standing watch by the door. "That your other Ghost?"

With a tired sigh you nod.

"Ghosts? The fuck is Harry Potter here talkin' about?"

The urge to punch Tex or kiss him is strong as ever.

"The two of you ghosted me, didn't you?"

"Baby girl, I missed you. That's why I came to get you." He shoots a telling glare over at John Wick, who only returns a disinterested look. Maybe the master assassin had been keeping tabs on you, but he hadn't shared everything with Tex, it seems.

Constantine looks between the two assassins, then you, with an infuriating smirk.

"What?" you demand, more than a little exasperated with everthing.

"Nothing. Just seems like you have a type, angel."

You can't even argue.

"Angel?" Tex snorts at your pet name. "Does he even know you?"

"Does he ever shut up?" asks Constantine, raising one dark eyebrow.

"No, never," you sigh.

There is a howl outside that lifts every hair on your body, an unearthly sound that makes your fingers grip in Constantine's suit jacket.

"What are we going to do?"

"Good question." Constantine tugs you over to a different pew, sitting down with his arm draped around your shoulders. His message is obvious, and it's new to you. Constantine rocks your world on the nightly, but he's never been possessive before. It really shouldn't, but it ignites a warmth in your chest that makes you feel ridiculously, stupidly, giddy inside.

"Seems like we're at an impasse, gentlemen."

Tex frowns. John seems less than impressed.

"Sorry, what's stopping us from killing you and taking her?"

You tense, watching the gun John holds loosely at his side. You know Wick can move like lightning, and your heart leaps into your throat. You are ready to fling yourself between them if you have to.

"John..."

"It's ok, sweetheart. He's not going to kill me."

"No offense, but I've heard that before from lots of people who are dead now."

Constantine snorts. "You can't kill me, because I've put a curse on your friend here, and you need me to lift it."

"So lift it."

"Can't. Got a friend who can though. You'll never see him without me."

You know Constantine must be talking about the famed and powerful bokor, Papa Midnite. A chill runs down your spine. You've met him precisely once. He was polite--and hot as fuck, if you're being honest--but you knew he was not to be trifled with.

"So let's go, then," says Tex, his patience lost about three dead demons ago.

"Hold up, Howdy Doody. We got to talk first."

"Bout?"

Constantine nods down at you. "Maybe I don't know all the details, but I've heard enough. And as much as I've enjoyed filling the hole you assholes left--I can't let you hurt her again. I'll let the demons feast on your souls first."

Almost on cue, that demonic howling sounds again outside, and a chorus of hellish hissing rises. It sounds like you are surrounded.

Tex leaps to his feet. "You smug little fucker--"

"Shut up, Tex." It's Wick who shushes his friend. "What do you propose?"

Finally, Constantine looks down at you. "It depends on what she wants."

Your mouth drops open at that. You have to decide that, now? As though he can read your thoughts, and sometimes you're convinced he can, Constantine pays you an infuriating smirk.

"I...don't want them dead. Or...devoured."

"That's a start, I guess. Do you ever want to be with them again?"

Your eyes go wide as saucers. The simple answer, of course, is yes. You love them. You miss them.

However, answers are never so simple, with your Boys involved. Like an idiot, you dare to look at them, taking in Tex's hang-dog puppy-eyed look, and John's quiet but intense yearning. Then, of course, there is the man beside you, who despite his aloofness and his prickly manner, has been nothing but good to you.

You've never said it out loud, but the truth is, you love him too.

"I don't know."

"Yeah. I figured." He smirks at you, inexplicably smug, and you kind of want to smack him too.

Which always leads to interesting things, with John Constantine, your stupid lady parts sing out. Jesus Christ on a cracker, what a fucking mess.

"You got a point, Gandalf?" demands Tex, paying a nervous look to one of the cracked stained glass windows. Ominous dark shapes are flying past outside. This is not good.

"I want you assholes to accept a Spell of Submission to her."

"The fuck does that mean?" demands Tex with a thunderous frown. John remains neutral as he listens.

"It means, if you ever try to make her do something she really doesn't want to do, again, she can say the magic words to fuck up your world. Pardner."

"No fuckin' way," Tex scoffs.

At the same time, John answers, "I'll do it."

Your eyes meet across the aisle of the church. That he would take such a leap of faith-- for you-- drops the floor out from under you.

Tex, of course, interrupts your moment of soul- searching eye contact with John.

"Wait, so we could be havin' an argument and she can drop me dead with the evil eye or somethin'?"

Constantine snorts. "It would probably serve you right, Hee Haw, but no. Cause you extreme pain? Yes. But it comes at a price. All magic does. I know she wouldn't use it lightly."

It would potentially even the playing field quite a bit between you three. The balance of power amongst you had never been fair.

"What's a matter, Tex? You don't trust me?"

"Only as far a I could throw you, darlin'." But his hawk-like look softens for you after a moment, and then surprisingly he grins. "Got me over a barrel now, don't you?"

You shift a little in your seat, so that you're flush against Constantine. The solid line of his lithe warmth beside you is anchoring. You glance up at him, finding he looks arrogantly amused-- and surprisingly, a little sad. If you didn't know him so well you would have missed it, like ripples in a pool.

You turn back to Tex, an uneasy excitement thrumming in your chest.

"If the curse fits?"

The cowboy sighs, frowning at the hellspawn waiting to rend his flesh and eat his soul outside. "Alright, fine. Guess you might as well take it all." He can't look at you while he says it, but you sense his surrender-- or at least, his resignation. It's not exactly a victory, but it's something, and it pulls at your heartstrings.

"Alright, wizard boy. Hoodoo me up."

Constantine snorts, leaping up from the bench. "First we've got to get out of here. You're going to want to cover your eyes." He starts muttering an encantation and walking in a circle, sprinkling a powder on the ground from his pocket. "When this goes off we'll have ten minutes. Either of you assholes have a car nearby?"

"Yeah."

"Great. Hope you like to drive fast."

His chanting gets louder, and you see he's produced a lighter. He never uses it for cigarettes anymore, but portable fire to a magician has its uses. You can tell he's reaching the crescendo of his spell, and you scrunch your eyes closed. Even through your eyelids you see the flash, and the boom of a magical fireball that should have burned you all to dust.

However, only the things outside incinerate, their agonized cries echoing through the cavernous stone building.

"Let's move."

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Hope I set this up for Midnite's club and whatever shenanigans u guys want to get up to 😆 Enjoy! @sweetwolfcupcake @treedaddymcpuffpuff @tammykelly