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anzu-kaiba · 4 years ago

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The Seven Labors of Mokuba Kaiba - Easter Egg Explainer Pt. 4/7

I peppered The Seven Labors of Mokuba Kaiba, my recent 15-chapter, 60,450+ word Yu-Gi-Oh! fanfic (written for YGOME and NaNoWriMo) with all kinds of references. Some of them are just for fun, while others can help you get a sneak peek into future chapters or elements of the world.

READ THE FIC HERE

See how many you spotted in Chapters 7-8!

The organization Isis is part of in the Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters anime is specifically called the “Egyptian Archaeological Society,” rather than the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities, which is probably the real-life analogue to this organization. I’ve read a lot of fics where Isis is given the same job as famous Egyptologist and former Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities. While there’s nothing wrong with that headcanon, I feel like it doesn’t quite work with her being from the Gravekeeper’s Clan and the specific tomb they were charged with, well, keeping. I got the impression Isis hadn’t been out in the world all that much more than Malik had, and she certainly wouldn’t have been able to get the kind of education such a post would require by age 20, especially for the years while Mr. Ishtar was still around; he made it very clear that he firmly believed in a patriarchal society, and that women could not be leaders of any kind. Even after he died, she still had a job to do. Plus, her having that role doesn’t take into account the real-world political events and attitudes in Egypt at the time, and since I tend to write a sort of “magical realism” in my fics, I wanted to take that into account.

I tried to research how one answers the phone in Egypt (and later in the fic, in German), but I still needed to know how to romanize it (put the sounds into English letters), and I’m not sure if I did a halfway decent job. If you speak/read Arabic, please let me know how I can improve it!

One of the things that always bothered me about Duel Monsters was how it was never ONLY Yuugi’s story; it was also Jounouchi’s, and Honda’s, and Anzu’s, and Kaiba’s, and Mokuba’s, and on and on and on. We got the most depth from them, compared to say, Mai, or other folks like Haga and Ryuuzaki, and I wanted to see them deal with the trauma they went through, whether it’s “death of a friend” or “kidnapping” or “having your soul ripped out of your body” or “being mind-controlled.” Can you imagine being a therapist in Domino? That’s why a lot of my fics deal with the more realistic aspects of the universe, without forgetting that it is, at its heart, a fantasy about a puzzle that granted a boy his wish for real friendship.

Studio Dice is a reference to Yu-Gi-Oh! creator Kazuki Takahashi’s company. I figured it fit as a name for Otogi’s company, too.

This is the game Otogi is advertising at the exhibition:

I didn’t actually PLAN to address trauma in the story, and I found myself surprised when Mokuba wanted to bond with Malik a little bit. Out of all the cast members to have something in common with Malik and what he did, I really didn’t expect it to be Mokuba! But in this universe, I can actually see them becoming good friends.

I may have mentioned it earlier, but one of the issues I have with Dark Side of Dimensions is that Kaiba is so obsessed with defeating Atem, or at least dueling him one more time, that he sacrificed everything he created or held onto to GET him there. There would have been no space elevator, no Quantum Cube, none of that, if he hadn’t built Kaiba Land, if he hadn’t dueled Yuugi. Obviously, manga!Kaiba is a touch more psychotic than the anime one, and since that’s who DSOD!Kaiba is, I guess it’s kind of understandable. But I hate thinking that there’s a very real possibility that he wouldn’t return from his trip to the “afterlife” dimension, and Mokuba, just turned into a teenager, would be entirely on his own. That the anime intentionally had him move past those events and focus on making the world a better place for kids like himself and Mokuba, before they got adopted, is one reason why I prefer to write in the anime!verse. I imagine Mokuba’s thought processes in the manga also differ, since before Seto got “Mind Crushed,” he was quite cruel, even to Mokuba.

I think Malik and Mokuba are likely to be more open with their feelings, considering everything they’ve gone through. None of this “men don’t show their feelings; those are SOFT and for GIIIIIRRRLS” crap. Also Mokuba is a Cancer and balances really well against Malik’s stubborn Capricorn nature, so.

Mokuba recalling Seto’s attitude toward social events is both a setup for the end of the fic and Seto’s behavior in the upcoming fic Love and the Art of Schmoozing, where a company holiday party is a central event in the story.

Things “sparking joy” is a reference to professional organizer Marie Kondo’s book The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up and its sequel, Spark Joy.

“Impossible things to do before breakfast each morning” is a reference to Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland.

The announcement for the Schroeder Corporation Alpine Rose Cup is based off a similar announcement Konami made for a past Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG Championship. I came up with the name “Alpine Rose” since the Bavarian Alps in Germany features in the story, and roses are a common motif with Siegfried von Schroeder.

This is the “beginner driver’s mark” I was referring to: 🔰

Mokuba’s accidental use of 🍑🍆💦 for Anzu’s entry in his phone book was NOT something I planned, but I found it too hilarious to cut. Also, I think even Mokuba’s Stanford roommates may have been a bit naïve, or perhaps wanted to maintain Mokuba’s innocence a bit longer, since “booty call” isn’t quite what those emoji mean...

Headcanons vary on whether Mokuba is a ladies’ man or not. I’ve also read that Seto has “hired” women to help him take care of his “urges,” but I think in the Schmoozeverse, Mokuba is charming but doesn’t sleep around (I see him as the type to want an actual relationship), and Seto acts pretty asexual, but might actually be demi.

At first, I didn’t know where Seto went on his vacation, or what he did there. But I now have an idea, and it might show up as another standalone story in the Schmoozeverse, perhaps sometime next Halloween (it’s kind of a ghost story).

Prof. Zweinstein is a reference to a character seen in Yu-Gi-Oh! GX, and it’s where we first hear of concepts like “Duel Physics.” Don’t ask me what it is, I have no idea. Also Zwinstein is a pun, not just on the name Einstein (which translates to “One Stone” in German), but the meaning of the words: Zwei meaning “two,” so he’s Prof. Two Stone.

I owe both the name of Malik’s baking channel and the musical Anzu and Mokuba both produced to my husband (who also happens to be a bread-making aficionado). THANKS, HONEY! ❤️

As with the Arabic in the last chapter, forgive me if I’ve butchered German in Chapter 8.

I imagine Leon was written specifically to make Siegfried seem that much more of a mirror to/foil of Seto. I see him as basically like Mokuba in terms of devotion to an elder brother, but Leon answers the “what if Mokuba dueled?” question (which we never see him do, outside of a very truncated duel during Duelist Kingdom in the anime, during the Capsule Monsters arc in the manga, and in Duel Links). So they have a lot in common, just as much as I envision Malik and Mokuba might.

I don’t actually have a headcanon as to what’s happening in the years since Jounouchi and Mai tag-teamed before Mai basically retired from dueling altogether, but I imagine they have met up, although probably not alone, or for very long. That’s the only way I can imagine it making sense where Honda would think Mai was in Germany, and Jounouchi would say that they “must have just missed each other” when Mai was on her way to Paris from Milan.

Jounouchi is 100% an overprotective older brother; that’s canon. But I thought it would be funnier if he DID know all about Honda’s plan to propose to Shizuka, even if he hasn’t talked to him or Shizuka in a while. He did, after all, issue the ultimatum to Honda, so I imagine he at least thought out the possibility of what would happen if Honda chose not to break up with Shizuka just because Jounouchi told him to. Maybe in a future fic, I’ll have Honda and Shizuka’s wedding, or Shizuka chewing Jounouchi out for something. 😈

99.9% of all romantic plots and their point of conflict stems from a lack of communication. Even without being in a committed relationship, I see Mokuba as being wise enough to realize that open communication is key to any good relationship. It has, after all, gotten him this far in his chain of deals!

#azurite #7lmk #ygome #ygome20 #nanowrimo #mokuba kaiba #yu-gi-oh #fanfiction #ao3 #archive of our own #schmoozeverse

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marcquez · 4 years ago

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I was tagged by @valesweetdreams , thank you 💕

What is the colour of your hairbrush? Yellow

Name a food you’ll never eat Mushrooms, but Enoki and Oyster mushroom are an exception

Are you typically too warm or too cold Too warm I guess? It’s the weather that makes me so

What were you doing 45 minutes ago Watching Evangelion

What’s your favourite candy bar It’s either Cadbury or Silver Queen, can’t ever go wrong with those two

Have you ever been to a professional sports game Sadly never, too bad streaming is all I could do for the time being

What was the last thing you said out loud “I’m so stiff!” (Since I was binge watching what else do you expect :( )

What is your favorite ice cream Chocolate and vanilla! Sometimes green tea and strawberry (I just love ice cream in general)

What was the last thing you had to drink Water, cold

Do you like your wallet? Not with its content apparently

What was the last thing you ate My lunch

Did you buy any clothes last weekend No I’ve been at home since forever

What’s the last sporting event you watched Leeds United vs Arsenal *angry noises*

What’s your favourite flavour of popcorn The salty one, was it butter?

Who is the last person you sent a text message My mutual

Ever been camping No, I think I don’t want to for now

Do you take vitamins Nope :(

Do you regularly attend a place of worship Not quite, only when it’s Eid

Do you have a tan That time on my feet because it was too hot and I was wearing a flip flops outside, so there you go--

Do you prefer Chinese or Pizza Pizza Pizza Pizza! *with Danny Ricc’s voice*

Do you usually drink your soda through straw It depends if they give me a straw, but usually nope!

What colour socks do you usually wear Any colour really... I don’t mind

Do you ever drive above the speed limit Nope, I got no license yet :(

What terrifies you Sitting on the floor while there’s an earthquake...

Look to your left, what do you see My sister playing with her phone lmao

What chore do you hate I hate chores in general >:(

What do you think of when you hear an Australian accent It was quite weird at first because it’s definitely not a British accent :”) but I’ve ever lived in Aussie for 3 years so I’m used to that now and haven’t heard any of it again since I went back home to my country and I missed it :(

What’s your favourite soda I don’t play favourites, I like any kind of soda sksksk

Do you go in the fast food place or just hit the drive thru I go in usually, I rarely hit the drive thru

What’s your favourite number 24 since it’s my birth date

Who’s the last person you talked to My sister lmaooo

Favourite meat Anything except pork :)

Last song you listened to Cruel Angel’s Thesis by Yoko Takahashi (lmao I’m so obsessed with this song now)

Last book you read The Book Of Almost by Brian Khrisna

Favourite day of the week I guess Sunday because race day uwu sometimes could be a match day too

Can you say the alphabet backwards Not in a million years :) I’m dummy thicc

How do you like your coffee Any way! I like coffee in general (I guess I like to say in general a lot...)

Favourite pair of shoes The casual one I guess

Time you normally get up 4 or 5 AM I guess, then I sleep again till almost afternoon

Do you prefer sunrise or sunsets Sunsets is the best, no debate

How many blankets on your bed None

Describe your kitchen plates Some are plastics some are glass that’s all

Describe your kitchen counter at the moment It’s probably messy right now don’t ask me why

Do you have a favourite alcoholic drink I haven’t try any :( but beer would taste nice for the amateur I suppose?

Do you play cards Does playing domino count? If so then yes

What colour is your cat I have no pet :(

Can you change a tyre Nope, but those pit stop crew could :3

Your favourite state or province West Nusa Tenggara where the Mandalika Circuit is :3 I wanted to go there someday and watch a race really...

Favourite job you’ve had I had a work experience thingy when I was in high school where I gotta volunteer at a daycare for 5 days... kids are surely a handful to take care of lmao

I tag whoever wants to do this!

#tagged

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kohakuhime · 7 years ago

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The Reluctant Guardian, ch. 18

Hello guys! We’ve got another update for you~! Special thanks for @mpuzzlegirl for help with this latest update!

Disclaimer: this takes place post canon, and this refers to events that take place in an alternate verse. Kazuo, Mikomi, and Isabel belongs to @mpuzzlegirl; Risa and the twins belong to me; and YGO and its associated characters belong to Kazuki Takahashi.

Noa paced through the room anxiously, eyes darting to the computer every few seconds. He let out a soft impatient noise and flopped into the office chair. Isabel had said nine o’clock, and it was nearly ten after. Maybe something happened and Pegasus had been unable to rendezvous after all. He hoped not—after spending so long desperately trying to find a lead, to lose his one chance at gaining something of a clue was too frightening a thought.

For a moment his vision dipped and spun and his eyes closed. God was he tired. Too many nights spent searching the screens, too many nights spent awake and trying frantically to find any information on an enemy who had hidden his tracks. Too many nights where his eyes burned and his head throbbed. This had to lead to something. This conversation with Pegasus had to have a lead.

The screen suddenly shone and flared and Noa snapped to attention. His eyes locked onto the computer registering Pegasus’s name flashing across the screen for the video call. He took a steadying breath. Here we go.

And then he promptly let out a startled bark of laughter.

“Something funny, Noa boy?” Pegasus asked airily.

“The only thing funny is the bunny,” Noa replied, and Pegasus winked at him with his visible eye.

Only Maximillion Pegasus could make himself look poised and dignified while wearing an obnoxiously loud-colored Funny Bunny t-shirt. He was leaning back in an office chair of his own, silver hair pulled up into a loose ponytail at the top of his head; a portion of it remained in front of his left eye.

“You took nearly a week to answer,” Noa added, feeling cross in spite of himself. He felt an eyebrow arch as he registered Pegasus’s clothes. “So what’s with Funny Bunny anyways?”

“The information you were asking about took time to gather. As for the outfit, pay it no mind. After all, this call is just happening to take place before bedtime. Maybe I should call after yours, hm?”

“Never mind me,” Noa said a touch too quickly. “What did you find out?”

“My, aren’t we impatient. I see that it is a trait passed on from dear Kaiba boy,” Pegasus remarked. “I must admit I was surprised to be contacted through practically a third party for a meeting with you.”

Noa let the jab about Seto slide. He knew better than to respond to it. Instead, he continued speaking. “We didn’t have a choice about how we—“

“Yes, I’ve heard.” Pegasus’s smile sharpened and visible eye glinted. “When Kaiba boy didn’t show up to this conference I knew something had to be wrong. Always punctual, that one.”

Noa started. “You’re at the conference Seto was supposed to be at?”

“I am. Frankly it’s been rather dull without your stepbrother’s usual flair for dramatics. I’ve been mostly helping Mokuba boy douse the fires and redirect attention from his absence, as a matter of fact. No, no, no guilty faces,” he added when Noa flinched. “Based on what I’ve heard, you’ve been understandably busy these past few months. Now then, to the point. I am unfortunately on the clock.”

“Right.” Noa straightened in his seat. “Pegasus, who bought Paradius property after Dartz disappeared?”

Pegasus arched an eyebrow. “Shouldn’t you know the answer to that question already, Noa boy? After all, you were once under Dartz’s employ.”

“Believe me, I kept tabs as much as I could. I can’t keep track of everything, though, and I need a different perspective because I’ve hit a wall with the information I have. Let’s face it—you were the one who caught the Orichalcos situation before, and I’m willing to bet you were watching Dartz years before he made his move.”

“Of course I did. Dartz approached me at one point, in the aftermath of losing Cecilia.” Pegasus’s expression was closed and his lips thin. “He came just before I went on a particularly life-changing trip to Egypt, and when I returned I had no interest in what he was offering. Probably for the best, all things considering.”

There was a heavy lull in the conversation, and then Noa cleared his throat. “My earlier question, Pegasus: who bought Paradius properties after it fell?”

Pegasus’s expression cleared and he tented his fingers, elbows perched on crossed legs. “Try everyone, Noa boy. Dartz had substantial amounts of property amassed, including corporate properties, valuable deeds and resources, and real estate. When Paradius was split up and divided, everyone wanted a piece of the pie—even Kaiba boy bought some of the properties Paradius owned. As for the crown jewel of Dartz’s figurative empire in Florida? That was sold to the city and subsequently torn down due to concerns about structure.”

Noa inhaled and blew out a breath through his nose. So much for narrowing it down that way. “Okay then, let me rephrase the question: who was more interested in the arcane aspect of Paradius’s dealings?” he asked then.

Pegasus gained a tight smile, a dangerous light in his eye. “Ah. Now you’re asking the interesting questions.”

“And the answers?”

“Of the acquaintances shared between Kaiba Corporation and I2, there were nine. In that number, one hasn’t shown any recent interest and another passed away. There is of course myself, you, and your stepbrother, although you two are looped in by proxy of Yugi boy’s antics. That numbers five accounted for, with a remaining four in the mix.”

“What about any that we don’t know mutually?”

Pegasus raised an eyebrow. “My dear boy, if they were worth mentioning I would have done so.”

Noa pondered that for a moment and then leaned forward. “So what of the four remaining players in that particular game?”

“One of them is Dartz, of course. As far as I’ve gathered, he’s contented himself with self-imposed isolation and wandering. I’d wager that his activities hasn’t been enough to warrant concern from you.”

Noa frowned. “Now what makes you say that?”

“You asked about anyone interested with the Orichalcos or Dartz’s properties, but you didn’t ask about Dartz himself. Either he’s not a factor—doubtful, since my sources say he’s been more active as of late—or you trust that whatever he is doing isn’t immediately dangerous.”

There was a hidden probe in that last statement and Noa ignored it. “What do you know about the other three?”

Pegasus seemed mildly disappointed that he hadn’t gotten an answer from Noa, but it didn’t appear to last long. “There’s Elric Enterprises, and they show an interest in more alchemic branches and alchemic uses of orichalcum. Yes, the irony of that has not been missed,” he added with a mischievous smile, noticing Noa trying to keep a straight face. “There’s no relation to the brothers of that popular franchise, incidentally.”

“All right, and the other two?”

“Edmund Belmont, in charge of Belmont Industries. His father held no interest and in fact found magic to be a ‘false enterprise of smoke and mirrors’, so Edmund’s forays have been only cursory until his father passed away. He’s held a very general interest in magic, not just the Orichalcos, and there’s rumor he’s trying to integrate magic with technology like Dartz. Interestingly enough, when Paradius was liquidating its assets he bought only the artistic pieces Dartz owned, particularly mosaics. I do believe he also bought a few properties that Dartz owned in Domino.

“The last one would be Olympus, run by a Maxine Zeigler. She’s been interested for more than twenty years in the subject of magic. She’s focused on practical applications with military in thought—turning magic into a weapon. She hasn’t had a lot of fortune with that particular application, however, and she’s not been as active. She’s held a good deal of interest in weaponizing the Orichalcos, so I would not discount her involvement either.”

Noa’s personal phone was buzzing, but Noa ignored it. At last, he had names—something to chase. He had followed Dartz’s paper trail for the better part of a week, and yet names had eluded him no matter how far he had dug into it. Seto likely had names, addresses, and so much more, but with his stepbrother missing and Seto’s computer impossible to access without his stepbrother’s password Noa had been at a dead end. But with at least these three names, Noa could start narrowing down. There was only so long people could hide behind anonymity.

“There is something a touch troubling about all this, Noa,” said Pegasus, and Noa turned his attention back. Pegasus’s visible eye was flinty. “Someone has been so bold as to steal Kaiba boy away. Mokuba has not said as much, nor have you, but I don’t need both eyes to read between the lines.”

Noa’s own expression hardened. “I’ve been working on it—“

“He’s been taken somewhere even you can’t find him, and this person is clearly disguising their electronic trail—something you are acutely familiar with, given your prior history with computers.” Pegasus held up a hand when Noa bristled. “I offer you a piece of advice. There is perhaps a reason you cannot find him. We are all in agreement that this Duel Monsters tournament being hosted is likely where Kaiba boy has been…invited to.”

Noa stayed silent, wondering where Pegasus was going with this.

“The cruise ship seems to be a ghost, as no one can find it. That in part is likely because they are using a cloaking device that blocks GPS, radar, sonar…dare I say even satellite tracking, if someone has evolved the technology enough.”

“Evolved it enough…?” Noa sat up straighter. Pegasus was being oddly specific.

Pegasus’s smile was tight. “It was a prototype electronic jamming device that I used on Duelist Kingdom, to hide both Mokuba and his older brother once they both arrived on the island. After all—people would notice if the youngest and brightest CEO of a generation suddenly vanished. It hid the entire island from the world, up until I dismantled it. It was technology that was developed partially by me…and partially by one Gozaburo Kaiba, whose technology I had access to after our partnership went through.”

Noa’s blood ran cold.

“I haven’t used the technology since then—disabled it, in fact, after Yugi boy defeated me—but four months ago someone broke into Industrial Illusions and stole the prototype from one of my vaults. I had not thought anything of it until Kaiba boy vanished without a trace.” Pegasus’s visible eye flashed. “I do not take kindly to my technology being used without my permission. Find it, Noa, and destroy it.”

Noa’s phone buzzed again and Noa glanced at it. Seconds later he snatched it, eyes widening and features draining of color. “Pegasus, I wish I had more time but I’ve just had a family emergency.”

“Understandable, Noa boy. Do be careful—I don’t need to hear about another Kaiba brother vanishing. I’ll continue watching after Mokuba.”

Noa barely heard him, already rising from his seat as he hurried to the door. His phone was clenched in his hand, the text message from Isabel still visible between his fingers:

Kazuo and Risa are missing.

+++++++++++++++++++

Risa was truly glad that the police impound was outside. If it had been an indoor car impound she wouldn’t have known what to do. It was challenging enough to figure out how to sneak inside without being seen by the guard in the booth at the entrance to the impound.

She leaned back around the corner and took a small breath. It was immeasurably humid at the moment, although it was chilly, and the thick black clothing she wore did not make it better. They were in the alleyway across the street from the car pound, as Kazuo had felt that being in the alley next to the facility would draw too much attention. She was grateful for Kazuo’s level head—she knew she wouldn’t have been able to even get this far without getting caught.

They were on a time crunch at this point. It would only be a matter of time before they were missed back at home. Risa, who was not one for lectures, hoped to be back by the time anyone realized that Risa and Kazuo were gone. The taxi ride had taken at least twenty minutes of their precious time. According to Kazuo, they had about forty-five more minutes before anyone would miss them.

Behind her she heard Kazuo quietly opening up his backpack, pulling out a tablet and a small, thin, portable keyboard. As he typed his eyes were narrowed, gaze focused on his tablet, and after a few tense moments he looked up again. “Cameras are on loop for now,” he said quietly. “The guards won’t see us.”

“You’ve got access to that kind of computer programming from mobile?” Risa was impressed.

He motioned for Risa to come over beside him and she sat down. “My dad and Uncle Seto make programs like this sometimes just because I think they want the flexibility of rule-bending on the go,” he said wryly. “It’s easy to download from Dad’s computer.”

His smile faded and he pulled something up on a separate window of the tablet. “Good news. I was able to find where their car is, and it isn’t that far away from where we are now,” he said, pointing across the street. “It’s about three rows in, if we approach from this direction.”

“What else?”

“The guards inside shouldn’t have a reason to be outside patrolling if we don’t give them a reason to be.” Kazuo pointed to the sky above them. “We’re about to get some rain. As long as we’re quiet and stay out of sight, they won’t think that there’s anything going on with the cameras. At most, the loop I have runs about twenty minutes. After that, we need to get out regardless of what we find. Now,” he said, raising an eyebrow, “how are you planning to even get into their car?”

Risa winked. “I know how to get into a car, Kazuo, trust me. I won’t need keys.”

“And when the alarm goes off?”

“I’ve got a trick for that, no worries,” she said, perhaps a bit too cheerfully. “Actually, two tricks if the first one fails. I like backup plans. Ready to go?”

The two of them slipped the hoods of their jackets over their head, and after taking a moment to gauge if the streets were clear they moved out of the alley and across the street. They kept their approach casual, easy-going, chatting amiably. The police guard who had been returning to the outdoor booth paused and watched as they walked by, the two of them talking and laughing.

The first rumble of thunder sounded overhead and the policeman looked up, startled.

That was when Kazuo neatly spun on his heel, lifting his wrist to his face. Something flashed brightly in the street lamp and there was a soft pft. The guard jumped, a hand going to his neck in surprise. Then he staggered, crumpling into a heap on the ground.

Kazuo flashed his hand at her, showing the pocket watch on his wrist. “You ever watch Case Closed?” he asked conversationally.

“Oh yeah, watched that once or twice. He’s the kid with the gadgets and the mysteries, right?”

“Yep. Anyways, our friend over there should be asleep for maybe fifteen, twenty minutes.”

They carefully dragged the policeman over to the booth. It took some doing and a few colorful curses from Risa, but they managed to get him into the office chair and position him comfortably in the seat. “With any luck he wakes up and thinks he just dozed off in the chair,” said Kazuo.

“You know, for someone who only just found out what we were doing you seem to have this remarkably thought through,” said Risa, a note of suspicion in her voice.

Kazuo’s responding shrug was on the border of too casual, but he did not further reply. A glance to the watch told them both that they were running out of time—Kazuo’s window created by the virus would soon disappear, and neither of them were keen on being caught by the police.

The two of them kept to the dark parts of the lot, skirting their way past the cars as silently as shadows. They did such a good job of keeping out of sight that they nearly missed the car they had been trying to get to, but they found it in record time and knelt in the shadows cast by a nearby boat.

“Okay, Risa, so what’s your way of getting into the car?” Kazuo asked softly.

Risa pointed to the keypad on the frame of the car, next to the driver’s side. “I watched Ro’s dad once or twice,” she said softly. “It’s been a while, though, so…”

She took a moment to think it over, and then entered the code on the door. Kazuo found himself holding his breath. If Risa got it wrong, it could potentially set off the alarm and alert the police.

He was incredibly relieved when Risa gingerly tested the door and it opened. Some of the tension bled from their shoulders, and Risa turned to Kazuo. “Okay, Kazuo. We don’t have a lot of time. Start in the front and I’ll take the trunk—we’ll meet in the backseat,” she said. She leaned into the car and popped the trunk door open, and after pulling out a flashlight from her backpack she disappeared from view.

Kazuo carefully eased into the driver’s seat and softly shut the door behind him. He pulled out a flashlight of his own. He was not certain what he was trying to find, but he started at the side pockets of the door and the floors, lifting the floormats up and peering underneath the seat.

The two of them worked in silence, light coming from both their flashlights and the occasional flashes of lightning. Kazuo’s search was clinical and methodic, thorough in every aspect—and it yielded nothing. By the time he and Risa made it to the backseat, he already knew their search was futile. Judging by the frustration on Risa’s face, he knew that she had found nothing.

“Risa?” he asked quietly as she pulled the door closed. “Anything?”

“No,” she said, a shadow to her features. She abruptly slammed her fist into the side of passenger seat, startling Kazuo. “I knew it was a long shot. I knew it wouldn’t yield anything—it didn’t when I searched the twin’s apartment, it didn’t when I broke into your uncle’s office at the charity headquarters, so why did I think it would give me anything here?”

A part of Kazuo found himself wondering just when and how Risa had managed to break into both locations without anyone realizing what she was doing. The rest of Kazuo’s attention went to where Risa’s fist had hit on the seat, eyes locked on the opening that had been revealed when Risa’s hand slammed into it. The slit was located in just a spot that was practically hidden from sight. The only reason he had even seen it was because of Risa punching it and disturbing a side of the seat. He saw a button visible on one side, and the edges of the tear were not ragged but sewn.

Kazuo remembered then. It was as if it had been a lifetime ago when he’d overheard his aunt talking about secret pouches in the seats. “You never know what you may need to hide away in the car,” she had said with a laugh.

And though she had sounded as if she had been joking at the time, Aunt Ellie clearly had been serious about the matter.

“Risa, look,” he said quietly. He leaned forward, moving Risa’s hand aside. He pushed the two corners of the seat together to open the gap further and as he did, he felt something firm beneath his palm. His heart started hammering. “Risa, there’s something here.”

Risa shone her flashlight at the tear, and Kazuo saw something glint in the light. Risa reached forward, part of her hand disappearing into the tear. When she pulled her hand out, she was gripping a cell phone.

Kazuo recognized the phone almost instantly, as did Risa. They said nothing for a long moment, and then Risa’s face darkened as she held out the phone. “Kaz, this proves it. This proves it!” she said, her voice a fierce whisper. “What happened was no accident! It couldn’t be!”

Kazuo’s own eyes narrowed. Risa was right. There was no reason for his aunt to put her cell phone in that hidden compartment, not if it had been an accident and if the car had been in the river. There would not have been any time. There was nothing circumstantial about this—Aunt Ellie had deliberately hidden her phone.

There could only be one reason why.

“Risa,” he began, but Risa suddenly turned her flashlight off and grabbed the collar of Kazuo’s shirt, pulling him down to the floor of the car. “What?”

Risa motioned for him to stay quiet. Tension lined her features as she held her finger to her lips. Kazuo was about to protest when he caught sight of a shadow that passed in front of the driver’s side of the window. Muffled voices came through the window, and he froze.

Someone was outside of the car.

“Not cops,” Risa breathed, leaning up enough to peer at the window. “Guys in suits.”

The people watching them. Kazuo felt a chill ride up his spine as his eyes met Risa’s. They had to get out of there, before they were caught. If they were captured…how had these men known they were in the lot?

“Kaz, masks and hoods,” Risa said quietly, and Kazuo pulled up the bandana over his mouth and nose. As he reached for the hood Risa slowly eased out something small and round from her coat pocket. She sat up carefully and looked through the windows before ducking down to mirror Kazuo. “You know how to get back to the fence?”

“Yeah…are we going to vault it?”

“We’ll have to. It’s got barbed wire on the top of it, Kaz, so just be careful going over the top. I’m pretty sure if they’re sweeping the lot they’re gonna be guarding the entrance—fence is the only option.”

Kazuo heard something matter-of-fact in her voice and he wondered how many other times Risa had done this before. “Risa—“

“They’re circling back. Kazuo, your side of the car’s not being watched. We go out your side. Don’t turn around or wait for me, just go for the fence when I tell you.”

Kazuo slowly opened the door, moving painstakingly slow out of the car. Risa followed him and eased the door shut behind him, crouching beside him. She was about to start speaking when they heard a low voice from the other side of the car and they both stiffened.

“How hard is it to find two kids in a parking lot?” a man’s voice grumbled. Kazuo slowly bent down to peer under the car and saw shoes, motioning for Risa to be quiet. Risa pressed herself to the car, hands gripping the circular object from earlier. “Yo, Turner, where am I supposed to look?”

They did not hear the other voice—it had to be a radio contact. The other man swore and said, “Yeah, I know, the car, but have you seen that I am in a lot full of both cars and police? They could be out here any moment and there’s a lot of charcoal gray cars out here!”

Police. They had forgotten about the police. If they could just get their attention…

Kazuo looked over to Risa just in time to watch her lob something over the back of the car. There was a clatter against the asphalt, a startled cry, and then—

There was an explosive crack and the world filled with the scent of strawberry and pink smoke. Kazuo yelped, choking and coughing—it was one of the twin’s potent smoke bombs. He felt Risa’s hand lock around his wrist as he was dragged away from the car. “Run, Kazuo!”

The two of them sprinted through the smoke, running through the lot even as spotlights came on and shouts filled the air. As they ran the threatening rain finally began to fall, water nearly blinding them as it came down in thick sheets. They did not stop running until they reached the fence, and without missing a beat they climbed.

Kazuo hissed in pain as the barbwire grabbed at his arms and legs, dropping to the ground on the other side of the fence. A few minor scratches were the least of his worries, since his jacket had been thick enough to block the barbs.

There was a sharp cry from above him and he turned. Risa had tried to drop from the fence as well, but her arm was tangled in the wire on the fence. She was dangling by her caught arm from the top of the chain-link fence. She couldn’t pull herself free and couldn’t find purchase on the fence. “Kazuo, go!” she said desperately, her face twisted with pain.

“Not on your life!” Kazuo reached up, arms wrapping around her waist to hold her up. “Pull yourself free!”

Risa squealed in pain as she yanked hard on her arm. He heard the fabric tear before she fell on top of him. There was no time to assess Risa’s arm—there were headlights coming towards them. “Come on!” he urged, and he caught her free arm to run across the street. Risa stumbled, her voice filled with sobs of pain as she ran.

They did not stop running, slipping through alleyways and climbing chain link fences, even weaving through the crowds. Only when Kazuo was certain that they had lost their pursuers did he stop running, taking in heaping gulps of air. For a long moment there was nothing but the sound of desperate gasps. Kazuo caught a movement from the corner of his eye and saw Risa slump against the wall.

“Risa, are you okay?” he asked urgently.

Risa’s face was blanched beneath the flushed color from running. As she cradled her arm Kazuo caught the blood seeping through her fingertips. He moved over to her, gently moving the sleeve away and hissing in sympathy as he saw the deep gouges. Her arm had gotten caught at the elbow and pulling free had torn her arm down to the wrist.

“We can’t go to the doctors,” she said between clenched teeth, seeming to read Kazuo’s mind. “They’ll know we broke in somewhere we shouldn’t have.”

“Risa, it’s been raining since we ran. Chances are high any DNA you left on that fence will have gotten washed away. These are going to need stitches.” Kazuo rose to his feet, eyes locked on the all too familiar sight of Kaiba Corporation’s logo looming above them. “We’ve got an onsite clinic, so we’ll go there.”

Kazuo took her hand again and she didn’t resist as he led her into the crowd. He weaved through the bustle of the sidewalk, his eyes darting through the passing people for any unfriendly eyes. Although it took only ten minutes to make the walk to Kaiba Corporation, it felt like eternity.

“We’ll call Mom when we get in there,” he said as they stepped through the gates. It had finally stopped raining. “We can also look at Aunt Ellie’s phone too and see what’s on it. There had to be something valuable if Aunt Ellie hid the phone.”

Risa followed him mutely, her features pain-filled. Kazuo led her inside the building and hailed one of the security guards in the lobby, and as they escorted Risa to the medical wing he pulled out Aunt Ellie’s phone. He wasn’t expecting it to turn on, since it had been submerged and it would take quite the restorative process, but maybe the SD card would yield something. He checked the slot for the SD card using a small pin to open it, but then felt his heart sink—there wasn’t anything there. Someone had gotten the card before they could.

Still, the phone itself was valuable evidence. It had finally proven that there was a chance of foul play. It probably would not be admissible as evidence, since they had found it after breaking into the car, but for their parents it was confirmation that there was more to the so-called accidental deaths of their loved ones.

Speaking of loved ones…

Kazuo pocketed Aunt Ellie’s phone to pull out his own. He grimaced as he saw the multiple missed calls and texts, all from his parents. Well this was going to be fun. He re-dialed his mother and then held the phone to his ear.

“Hi, Mama,” he said, trying to keep his voice light. “I know you’re probably worried, so I’m calling you back. I’ve got a very good explanation for where I’ve been…”

Previous | Master Post | Next

#kohaku writes #au: reluctant guardian #oc: risa #other's oc: kazuo #noa kaiba

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soundlesswind · 8 years ago

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DSoD Cast Commentary pt-1

From the Limited BD extra: featuring Kazama Shunsuke (Yami Yugi/Yuugi), Kenjiro Tsuda (Kaiba), Takahashi Hiroki (Jounouchi), Junko Takeuchi (Mokuba). (E= everyone.)

Translated snippets (snippets, ‘cause they’re talking for the entire 2-hour movie all at once and I just zone out). Adlib, non-continuous segments of conversations. I don’t know how many people are interested, so I only did the 1st half hour so far.

Part 1 | From 00:00~30:00

H: Isono sure is loyal to Kaiba | K: His pay is probably really high, right? | T: Of course | J: Is pay really the issue here XD | H: It probably has to for this kind of work.

K: Everyone has gone through a bit of change, but Jounouchi is still the same old (lovable) Jounouchi. | E: Yep.

H: Y’know at first they were shown to go to school for a bit, and then the second half starting DK, not so much. | H: Kaiba stopped going at all. | T: Nah, it’s fine since it’s Kaiba. | E: Company to run and all. | J: Well it’s Nii-tama, he probably has tutors | K: It’s fine, with all his high tech, Kaiba’s probably got a good head on his shoulders. There’s probably a rule in Domino exempting Mokuba, too.

K: You probably can’t get residency in Domino without a Duel Disk.

K: Everyone in this world probably uses a lot of hair spray | H: maybe except Honda. | J: But the teacher has normal hair | E: Well maybe adults are exempted.

E: It’s here! This scene. | K: The final battle for the anime viewers must be really nostalgic. | T: Atem’s cool... I really like Atem.

K: Y’know Jou jumped from way up on the bridge there didn’t he? | E: So he did | K: You think he’s ok? | H: Well he fumbled on his butt and got up again fine. From before, when he was a delinquent, he probably build up good strength and endurance. | E: Good physical | H: He did jump into the ocean at one point. | E: He’s really had to put up with a lot, huh. | J: He does, but there’s never really any lingering bad feelings. That’s his good point.

E: *starts talking about Kaiba’s obsession with blue-eyes for a while from his blue-eyes themed everything to his jet*

E: It’s here!! Yami Yugi’s sole major scene. | J: Even now, which role is easier for you, Kazama-kun? You said Yami Yugi right? | K: I was graciously allowed to do this role for the duration from when I was in my late teens; at first I was pretty bad | H: Ah his only speaking scene is now right. | J: They’re both really pumped up | T/H: It’s the first duel after all. | H: Suddenly three blue eyes, what’s going on?? | H: Can you do this? | K: You can, it follows the rules. But well, these two are legendary duelists you know? | T: The level is different | E: Yeah. | K: They should be able to do this much. | K: Ahh, such an all star deck. Nice.

E: “Sore wa dou kana!” (I wonder about that). | *Kaiba: “Kisama”* - E: *snort/giggle* | H: I wonder how many times he’s gonna say “kisama” in this movie. | K: There’s a bunch of different versions too, of his kisama. | K: Ah, but yknow, that “kisama” just now, was kind of like, Kaiba was disappointed with the outcome. (kisama = derogative form of “you”, but they’re treating it like its Kaiba’s endearing verbal tic)

*Bad puns with Kaiba tossing the can, and feelings of the audience being that can because kan (can) and kankyaku (audience)*

K: Earlier, y’know, we talked about the staff getting the orders to create some sort of scenario to get Kaiba to fight Yugi (Atem), and then they fulfilled it... | K: It’s great they got to fight | E: yeah... | K: “What’s the point in battling if...” | T: “...it’s just a figment of my memories!” | T: It’s sort of... Shachou, you knew it was an emulation from your memories, what’s the point in getting so worked up. Why did you do it...Why XD | K: Maybe if he refreshed his memories, there might be something to gleam? | H: Maybe there might’ve been something after all, and he had his hopes up? | K: Feels like there’s a kind of depth to this. That’s the Yugi (Atem) in Kaiba’s memories, so...in those days, Kaiba was beneath him, but for the past few years, because Kaiba honed his skills more, he rose above that level, and while there is growth in having succeeded, there’s no feeling of success and he can’t settle with that | T: Indeed. | J: It’d be nice to see a grown Atem | T: Yeah...

K: Y’know, maybe Kaiba is quite masochistic, you think? Like, he’s a sadist but... To Yu(u)gi, to Atem, he’s kind of a super maso. | T: Yep | K: Like he enjoys his sulking, defeated self XD...

(^^^ Me: what are you saying Kazama LOLOL)...

J: Jounouchi is definitely an M...

E: Kaiba just jumped down from the plane!! Was this necessary? XD | K: Though, no one retorted at all when Kaiba just jumped down from the plane like that. It just goes to show how much charisma he has. | J: Between Jou and Nii-sama, who do you think jumps from high places more?

J: Yuugi’s likeability is his tenderness | K: I think Kaiba’s popularity is because of his commanding arrogance. | T: What did you want to be ordered around? | J: Do you want him to yell kisama at you? | T: Such a king.

Side notes: Kazama is super analytical the entire time...XD Tsuda just says “hmmm” a lot, lol.

#blog post #yu-gi-oh! the dark side of dimensions #dsod #yugioh #will edit another day zzzzz

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sage-nebula · 8 years ago

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Wait, I'm confused about the whole Japanese naming thing...if it's [family name] [last name] then shouldn't Yuugi's name be written as Mutou Yuugi and not Yuugi Mutou? And why do the characters call him Yuugi and not Mutou but refer to each other as Jounouchi, Honda, Kaiba, etc.? Is it ever stated anywhere that Yuugi just prefers his first name? I'm hazy with the manga as a whole so if I'm missing something obvious let me know.

Yuugi’s name is indeed written as Mutou Yuugi in Japanese name order / the Japanese manga. =) In fact, a quick run through of all the characters’ names written in Japanese name order ( [Family Name] [Given Name] ) is as follows:

Mutou Yuugi

Jounouchi Katsuya

Mazaki Anzu

Honda Hiroto

Bakura Ryou

Otogi Ryuuji

Kaiba Seto

Kaiba Mokuba

Kawai Shizuka

Kujaku Mai

Yes, that’s right—“Jounouchi” is Jounouchi’s family name, not his given name. His given name is Katsuya, though this is something that many western fans (understandably!) don’t catch.

As for how they refer to each other—how someone addresses someone else in Japanese (whether it’s by their family name, given name, with or without honorifics, et cetera) typically depends on the relationship they have with that person, as well as what that person is comfortable with. There are a lot of different nuances here, but I’ll try to keep this explanation as succinct and simple as I can! (And keep in mind, I’m also speaking of general relations in most cases. These can of course vary between individuals and relationships!)

So, first off—given names. Typically people only refer to each other by their given name if they’re very close, and by “very” close I mean family members, significant others, close friends who have that permission, et cetera. So for example, in “Cardcaptor Sakura” it’s a very big deal when Syaoran calls Sakura by her given name, and she asks him if it’s okay for her to call him “Syaoran-kun” instead of “Li-kun” in response. For her to do that without permission could be considered offensive or rude, because it would be insinuating that she is assuming a closer familiarity than what they actually have. (Of course, Syaoran gives her permission, so it’s all right for her to call him Syaoran-kun from that moment on. Everyone else, you’ll notice, still calls him Li-kun.) The level of emotional familiarity or intimacy in this case is also determined by honorifics. To use this same example, if Sakura started calling Syaoran simply “Syaoran” without the “-kun,” that would be implying another level of intimacy and closeness. When they get married, I expect she’ll drop the “-kun” and simply refer to him as “Syaoran” on the regular. But until then, it’s “Syaoran-kun,” to show that they’re very close friends (well, dating now), but also still keeping that level of … not respect, per se, but formality? Kind of? It’s a bit hard to explain, but “Syaoran-kun” is not as intimate here as “Syaoran” would be.

So to bring this back to YGO, most of the Japanese characters are referred to by their family names rather than their given names because they’re simply classmates with one another, and although most of them are close friends (Yuugi and Jounouchi have literally tried to die for one another on several occasions; you don’t get much closer than that), they either haven’t discussed switching to given names, they still don’t feel that they have the relationship upgrade to switch to given names, or both. So to use Jounouchi as an example:

Yuugi refers to him as “Jounouchi-kun” because they started out as classmates and are now best friends, but again, they either haven’t discussed + just don’t have the relationship upgrade (i.e. dating) for him to make the switch to Jounouchi’s given name. It would really stand out to others if he made the switch besides, given that no one else addresses Jounouchi as “Katsuya” (even Shizuka simply calls him “oniichan” most of the time when she’s around). Yuugi adds -kun to the end of Jounouchi’s name because he tends to have politer speech, and does this with pretty much everyone.

Anzu refers to Jounouchi as “Jounouchi” because she refers to pretty much all of her classmates by their family names (save Yuugi, but more on him in a minute). She does not add -kun to his name because the two of them did not get along at first, and as such she was a bit harsher / ruder toward him than she would be to others (e.g. I’d have to double-check, but I’m pretty sure she calls Bakura “Bakura-kun”). Leaving off the honorific like that is a bit rude / impolite, especially if it’s from a person who would generally use it, so it counts here. (Note: I’m not criticizing Anzu for this, before anyone gets defensive. She and Jounouchi held mutual dislike for each other at first. Their relationship is beautiful and I’m not saying otherwise.) As for why she never added it later, I’d say it’s simply habit for her to refer to him as “Jounouchi” alone, and it’s not like he cares, anyway.

Honda refers to Jounouchi as “Jounouchi” because he doesn’t use honorifics for anyone, period. They’ve been friends since middle school, but again, it’s common to refer to someone by family name, Honda doesn’t use honorifics anyway, and they don’t have the relationship upgrade to necessitate given name usage (which again, would cause attention). Hence, simply “Jounouchi.”

Bakura refers to Jounouchi as “Jounouchi-kun” because, like Yuugi, he uses polite speech, sees Jounouchi as a friend and classmate, et cetera.

Otogi refers to him simply as “Jounouchi.” I believe he sometimes adds -kun on to be patronizing when he’s first introduced (as honorifics can also be used mockingly; Jounouchi mockingly refers to Malik’s split personality as “Malik-chan” in this way once, and it’s beautiful), but for the most part I believe he simply leaves off honorifics as well. It’s a tough guy thing. But I did just double check his first chapter in my scans of the Japanese raws and saw him refer to Jounouchi as simply “Jounouchi,” so I think he typically leaves off honorifics as well.

When Kaiba deigns to use Jounouchi’s actual name, it’s simply “Jounouchi.” He does not like, nor respect, Jounouchi, and so it’s rare he even gets that far, but yeah. Definitely no honorifics to be seen here.

Interestingly, Hanasaki refers to Jounouchi as “Jounouchi-san,” a sign of respect, during their phone call in Death-T, when Hanasaki was keeping on eye at Sugoroku in the hospital. This puzzles me a little, but it might have something to do with Hanasaki’s timid personality, which makes him even more polite than the standard Domino High student.

And so on and so forth, you get the idea. So for most of the characters it’s [Family Name], and sometimes [Family Name]-[honorific], but generally they just refer to each other by their family name because that’s how it’s done in Japan. So it’s not at all odd that most of the characters refer to Jounouchi as such.

As far as Yuugi, that’s never directly explained. Best I can tell, the Doylist reason is probably because Takahashi wanted Yuugi’s name to be said as much as possible, given that Yuugi’s name directly translates to “game” and thus was chosen as a meaningful name. A Watsonian explanation could be a number of things:

Yuugi has known Anzu since childhood, so it’s incredibly possible that he gave her permission to call him by his given name ages ago, particularly since he has a crush on her in canon. Likewise, I could see him asking her if it’s okay if he simply calls her “Anzu,” and she probably said yes since she doesn’t seem to care when people call her by her given name. (Jounouchi and Honda do call her “Mazaki” in the first chapter, but switch to using her given name after that, even before they’re all on decidedly friendly terms with each other. This could also be their way of being rude at first (again, assumed familiarity), but if Anzu minded she would have called them on it, and she never does. Thus, we can infer that Anzu really doesn’t care if others use her given name or not, despite the cultural boundary that usually prevents that. Again, it can vary from individual to individual.)

Others could simply call Yuugi by his given name because they don’t respect him / don’t care if it upsets him or not, i.e. they’re being rude. But Yuugi, like Anzu, doesn’t seem to really care if that’s the case.

Or it could be that Yuugi gave his friends permission to use his given name off-page. That doesn’t explain the antagonists and enemies who also use it, but it’s possible.

Regardless of why others do or don’t, it’s highly probable that Yuugi, like Anzu, just doesn’t care.

On that note, the women in the series generally are addressed by their given names, though typically with honorifics. Anzu pretty much never has honorifics used for her name (I do think Sugoroku addressed her as “Anzu-chan” in the first chapter), but Mai is typically addressed as “Mai-san” rather than “Kujaku-san,” or simply “Mai” by those who don’t use honorifics (e.g. Jounouchi, Honda, et cetera). Shizuka, too, is usually called “Shizuka-chan” by the characters given that she’s younger than all of them, with the exception of Jounouchi; as her brother, he’s allowed to simply call her “Shizuka.” They have that familiarity given that they’re family.

I feel like this is something of a confusing mess of an explanation, and I’m sorry if it is! If you want anything clarified / cleared up, please feel free to ask, especially if you want to know why Character A refers to Character B a certain way, et cetera. But just as a general summation:

It’s standard to refer to classmates, friends, et cetera by their Family Name unless given permission to do otherwise.

Honorifics have different meanings (e.g. -san is more polite than -kun), and are usually polite, but can be used mockingly / to patronize as well. (Tone, context, et cetera usually determines this.)

Leaving off honorifics isn’t always impolite; really it denotes closeness, which can be rude if that closeness does not actually exist, but can also be genuine and sincere.

Like I said before, there’s a lot of nuance, but if you want further clarification just feel free to ask, and I’ll do my best to explain. ^^

#orasforlife #another example of honorific nuance: in the JP anime Shigeru (Gary) sometimes refers to Satoshi (Ash) as ''Satoshi-kun''#they ARE childhood friends - BUT he's being PATRONIZING when he does this #he's using ''-kun'' in a mocking way #this is why the dub sometimes has him call Ash ''Ashy-boy''#it's a condescending pet name #it's not affectionate - it's an insult #hence why - when he's not being a dick - he simply calls him ''Ash''#(or ''Satoshi'' by itself)#the more you know~

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fizzingwizard · 8 years ago

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Yesterday I finally watched the Japanese version of DSOD! It was sooo good. Like unfairly good. At least if you’re a 100% bona fide nerd like me

Kaiba, of course, is so very extra. And how can it be that no one in the entire movie ever questions the fact that he’s essentially become the dictator of Domino City!

Kaiba says he combined data on Atemu’s duels with his own memories to create the computerized version we see early on. That means he noted, and included, data about Atemu’s penchant for COMPLIMENTS. Because when Kaiba makes a good move, computer!Atemu goes, “Yaru na!” like, “Sweet move!” because, on the rare occasions that he’s fighting an opponent who’s not a jerk, he will shower them with compliments! And kaiba decided to include this. He may have rationalized it as “this is the authentic data, messing with it would set a bad precedent,” but no matter what he thought, the result was still COMPUTER!ATEMU COMPLIMENTING REAL!KAIBA SETO

It really was Atemu Jounouchi saw in his vision. Based on spoilers from before the dub came out, that was what I had gathered, but the dub made it a bit murky. However I don’t have any doubts about it now.

Speaking of Jououchi, and this is irrelevant to dub/sub, but he and Anzu are like such a great pair in this movie and it makes me regret that we didn’t get more of their antics in the original series!

Honda also is too precious for words lol

Also speaking of Jounouchi, while I liked the dub’s line where he thanks Yugi after seeing Atemu, again based on spoilers I’d known this was a dub insert. I like the original way where it appears he was debating with whether he should tell Yugi he met Atemu or not better. It was also good framing since at the beginning of the movie, Jounouchi’s the one who tells Yugi he doesn’t have to bury his memories of Atemu, and Yugi clearly still has trouble talking about it out loud (that speech he gives in the dub about how much Atemu “meant” to him? Yeah, it’s very different in the Japanese - and it’s also an inner monologue).

But I was super shocked that Kaiba’s “You want to see him too, don’t you” line WASN’T a dub insert. I had thought for sure it was, but no! Kaiba really tries to convince Yugi to go along with him by dangling his friendship with Atemu over him like fish bait!

Sera really bugged me in the dub. I couldn’t believe how many posts I saw where people were fawning over her. I thought (and think) her character design is stupid. But the sub, at least, got a decent voice actress for her, and she has a lot more interesting things to say - in the dub she’s basically Ishizu Lite, with nothing to add to the story but prophecies of doom and gloom. Sub!Sera is way more bearable. I say this as someone who LIKED the dub version of DSOD.

The golden chest is Yugi’s treasure ;___; he no longer has the puzzle so the chest that once contained its pieces is his only memento of Atemu. It’s not like they could bring a camera into ancient Egypt lol. *tears*

Kaiba is such a jerk. I know he acts like double the jerk he usually is when his emotions are in turmoil, but that doesn’t mean he should get away scot free with the crap he spews! Calling Yugi a “vessel,” totally ignoring how great a duelist he is, making it clear at every chance he gets that he only cares about Atemu. Luckily in the end, Yugi had him on the ropes - yes, Kaiba was not playing rationally at that point, I don’t think a cool-minded Kaiba would ever play a card given to him freely by an opponent, at least not before he’d figured out their strategy behind giving it to him. Because obviously they would have one. It’s not like they were dueling on Christmas and midway through Yugi was like, “By the way, Kaiba-kun, I haven’t given you your present yet!” Obviously he had a strategy, and obviously that strategy was intentionally meant to parallel the technique he’d used to defeat Atemu in the ceremonial duel. So normal Kaiba would not have fallen for it. But at that time he wasn’t just playing to win anymore, he was playing to prove that Atemu could be resurrected. And Yugi was playing to prove that he couldn’t. Yugi had come to terms with things and had relative peace of mind, but Kaiba was a basketcase. The result was that duel was going to be Yugi’s win.

But, even if Kaiba had been playing rationally, Yugi could still beat him. I don’t doubt that at all. Yugi was and is a great duelist, and is even learning some showman’s flair! Not to mention that when Kaiba doesn’t play rationally, he still plays expertly, so a win over Kaiba is a true win. In the end, Kaiba doesn’t just admit to, but readily affirms Yugi’s skill. Which is good, but also a little LATE! Kaiba, next time don’t start off with insults and expect everyone to lap up your compliments after the fact just because you’re you. Even though you totally get away with it, you bastard

And when I say he cares about Atemu, I mean it, but he frames it in shitty ways like “I’ll make him a prisoner of our duel” lol lol as if the dude hasn’t been a prisoner long enough!

Was also really happy that in the original, Jounouchi’s last line is telling Yugi that he’d seen Atemu. And Yugi essentially says he’d suspected as much. That makes me look back on the entire movie a little differently, thinking about how Yugi’s mind was on Atemu almost the whole time, too afraid to really consider that Atemu’s spirit was among them, but at the same time barely daring to hope for a sign despite how much that must have hurt. He comes to the conclusion that Atemu will not come back, something he’d resigned himself to long ago, which is why the events of the movie must have felt like tearing open an old woud. And everything he does with the strength and courage he’s grown in himself is entirely his own choice, with no intention of relying on anyone else to do what needed to be done. Because he’s Yugi and he’s super responsible and wise.

That’s why I have no doubt that one day, when Kaiba gets over himself, he and Yugi will be real friends. Maybe not friends who hang out and have pizza parties, but definitely friends they can rely on. I like this pic Takahashi put up of an apparent future Yugi and Kaiba playing/working on new games together.

Once thing I really did prefer in the dub version, though, was the musical score for Atemu’s one and only true scene. That was some epic music. The Japanese version is nice, lots of organs, very much “a god is among us” vibe. But to me it definitely doesn’t pack the same punch. However, the credits song, Eden House’s “To Believe in Something,” is awesome.

#yugioh #dsod #i meant for this to be short but

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cloudandcomputing24-blog · 8 years ago

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Games and everything else

A large portion of the "increased reality" Tango applications I attempted were basic. Essentially, they all characterized a solitary plane—a story, table top, or divider—and afterward the "increased reality" preparing halted. For floor and tabletop recreations, different protests in this present reality weren't regarded. In the event that you begin your domino line on finish of a table and go off the table, nothing happens; the dominoes simply skim in midair. Virtual pets, balls, and other virtual items glad pushed through my genuine dividers and furniture like they weren't there. For a large portion of Tango's applications, expanded reality handling is by all accounts constrained to regarding one surface as a level, endless, unhampered plane.

The telephone viewport wasn't savvy about things either. Genuine items didn't piece virtual articles, notwithstanding when they ought to have. In the event that we do a reversal to the dominoes amusement, I could in any case observe dominoes on the floor through the table top. Most virtual items glided over the camera bolster and never really connected with this present reality. My experience wasn't vastly improved than Pokemon Go, which just mortars Pikachu on top of a camera sustain and calls it "enlarged reality."

The one special case to "crappy expanded reality" mode was Woorld, a beautifying "amusement" (?) from Katamari Damacy maker Keita Takahashi. Woorld really utilized Area Learning to outline the essential geometry of the room before beginning. With a thought of your environment, Woorld let me do things like put a modest VR house under my table, and after that the 3D model was really hindered by the table. A little box character moved up my dividers as opposed to experiencing them, and I could hang stuff from the dividers and roofs.

None of it was impeccable, however this present reality impediment of virtual items was basic to even briefly deceiving me into trusting these virtual articles had a place in this present reality. Regardless I got a lot of float in Woorld, and, while things spatially appeared well and good when I began, everything was crooked following a couple of minutes.

How about we make tracks in an opposite direction from amusements for a minute: a product of "shopping" applications from any semblance of Lowes and Amazon have a database of articles with genuine estimations, and you can for all intents and purposes put them in your home. Lowes has a choice of machines, while Amazon strangely just has TVs. Here, the "moronic" increased reality of a solitary, interminable plane worked incredible. Accepting the information is right and Tango is legitimately scaling everything, these applications were fine.

The greater part of the Tango applications are diversions, and each amusement (put something aside for Woorld) I attempted was fundamentally a similar thing. You have a feathered creatures eye perspective of the activity, the telephone is the camera, and you point and tap at everything with a middle bolted reticule. A few amusements are "expanded reality" and occur over the highest point of a camera bolster, while some are totally virtual, working kind of like virtual reality (you ARE the camera!) without the 3D goggles. Since the enlarged reality collaborations are so restricted, the contrasts amongst "expanded" and "virtual" recreations are insignificant. Gameplay dependably occurs in a virtual space that doesn't associate with this present reality, so what does it make a difference if that virtual space is on top of a camera sustain or not?

The camera controls are magnificent with Tango, however. In the event that you duck down, the amusement will zoom in, with essentially no restriction. As a rule there is some sort of little character on screen, and you can get appropriate in its face on the off chance that you need. You can take the camera anyplace. Great camera controls don't make for a decent diversion, however, and they never felt like they added to the experience. In many cases, stooping, standing, or twisting to get the correct camera edge to do what you have to do is uncomfortable. You're additionally attempting to do this while not dropping the telephone and not obstructing the sensors.

Google has as of now began exploring different avenues regarding stacking Tango into a VR headset. Tango is essentially an early form of the "back to front following" that the virtual reality heavyweights are moving in the direction of right at this point. Essentially, rather than the match of IR base stations the HTC Vive and Oculus Rift at present require (those are "outside-in" following), back to front following puts all the 3D detecting innovation on the headset—fundamentally strapping a Tango telephone into a Daydream headset or Gear VR. Obviously, VR following is about ultra-low inactivity and super exact following, which Tango isn't set up for. VR is another conceivable utilize case that begins with "possibly for the following version .

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kohakuhime · 7 years ago

Text

The Reluctant Guardian, Ch. 10

Takes place post canon, and this refers to events that take place in an alternate verse. Michael, Isabel, Mikomi, and Kazuo belong to @mpuzzlegirl; Darien, Alana, Rowen, Sylvie, and the twins belong to me; and YGO and its associated characters belong to Kazuki Takahashi.

This update is longer to accommodate for the fact I was a week behind. Thank you for your patience!

+++++++++++++++++++

Brock Turner was many things. Ex-military, extraction specialist, security detail, and he even fancied himself decent looking and a good cook if someone asked (not many did).

He also knew that he was decidedly nervous about reporting to his employer. Not scared, but definitely feeling an edge of anxiety.

He and two other men stepped off the elevator in the executive wing, and Brock noticed the secretary sitting at her desk. He caught a glimpse of a black business suit and a matching black hat that her hair was tucked beneath.

That wasn’t the only thing that matched. He repressed a shudder as she turned dark, dead eyes on him. She gave him the heeby-jeebies whenever she looked at him. He wondered if she had always been so creepy—maybe that was why his boss had hired her. To intimidate those coming in.

Well, it sure was working.

“Brock Turner to speak to the boss about this afternoon,” he said.

She did not move immediately, and then after a moment to process she pushed a button. “Mr. Turner to see you,” she said. It gave Brock goosebumps at how flat and dead her voice was.

“Ah, yes. Be a dear and show him in, won’t you?”

“Yes sir.” She stood slowly, moving carefully and almost as if she was made of glass. She turned her attention to the men. “This way.”

Brock grimaced. Yep, definitely something off about her.

The three of them followed her into the spacious office. Lots of white leather and splashes of color in the tiles, and against one wall a large mosaic. His attention was more focused on the oak desk, however. The corner of Brock’s mouth turned down as he noticed the leather armchair turned away to face the panel windows. “You are dismissed, my dear.”

“Yes sir.” The secretary turned and softly closed the door behind her.

An uncomfortable silence fell after she had left. Brock cleared his throat, and after exchanging looks with his co-workers he spoke. “Hello, sir,” he said, biting back the ‘boss’ that had nearly slipped out. You always addressed him as sir, no exceptions.

“I trust this afternoon’s errands went well, yes? You have our new guests settled in comfortably?” The question was asked with a good degree of jovialness.

Brock hesitated. “No, sir,” he said at last. “The kids got away from us.”

Another pause, followed by a soft exhalation. “Ah. That’s terribly disappointing, Mr. Turner. I so looked forward to meeting with them. How did this come about?”

Despite the mild and genuinely disappointed tone his employer had adopted, Brock caught the undercurrent of displeasure and menace.

“There was a factor we did not originally include in the plan—“

“You were trained specifically for extracting people in your former line of work. You should account for anything to go wrong, shouldn’t you?” The rebuke was not spoken particularly harshly, but there was a definite edge in his voice now.

“Sir, we had everything planned. Tracking apps placed on their phones, finding their common areas to hang out or their so-called ‘safe point’, and any other way they had of escaping us. The only thing we did not account for was for a literal white knight to show up.”

“That sounds an awful lot like an excuse, Mr. Turner.”

“With all due respect, sir, this man was able to disappear and reappear at will. According to the team leader that went after the Gayle-Corazón boy, this stranger was able to even shoot green lightning at them. We can’t plan for someone who can teleport.”

A long pause followed, but this time the tension was gone. “Dressed in all white and could shoot green lightning, you say?” came the reply, and something close to real interest was in his voice. “And he could disappear and reappear at will?”

“Yes, sir,” said Brock, trying to keep the relief out of his voice.

Another pause, and then a gentle clap of the hands. His boss still had not turned in the chair, so Brock could only guess that it was a good sort of clap.

“Ha, so he’s here at last then,” said his employer warmly. “You are correct, Mr. Turner—there’s no amount of planning that will cover for him. I do not lay the blame on your teams. In fact, this little exercise did exactly what I wanted it to do.”

“Sir?”

“It got his attention. He’s going to start looking for us.”

“Is that a good thing, sir?” Brock asked uncertainly.

“In my book, I believe it is. We will worry more about him when the time comes—I do feel he would start looking for us the first chance allowed for him. I want all cameras in the city watching for him, and I want to be notified when he comes into the city.”

“Yes sir,” said Brock, inclining his head.

“In the meantime, I can imagine one Noa Kaiba will be exceptionally displeased that his family was endangered. Please let our cyber security division know that we need to tighten down security on any and all files we have regarding our current line of work. I want any such attempts to log in to our system shut down.”

The man on his left cleared his throat. “So far we’ve been able to shut down all outside investigations into our business. The Kaibas have so far not made a connection to us in regards to the latest expansions, but already this afternoon we’ve had to redirect and work overtime to divert Noa Kaiba’s intrusions into our mainframe.”

“Are you suggesting you are not up for the task, Mr. Carter?” There was something soft and dangerous in the question.

“N-No sir! Not at all!”

“Good. It should not be a problem then to cover our tracks for the day?”

“We already have our malware program uploaded into the city servers. All activity for the past four hours is being scrubbed even as we speak.”

“Wonderful! It seems you have it under control, so you’re dismissed.” A hand rose from the chair and pushed a button. “All right, my dear, please escort these gentlemen out.”

“Yes sir.”

The door opened behind them and the secretary stepped inside. “Come with me.”

Brock was never happier when he left the office and was back in the elevator heading back downstairs. That whole floor gave him nothing but the creeps.

+++++++++++++++++++

Darien was frightened.

The phone call had come in while he had been repairing the kitchen sink. One of Ellie’s friends, a Mai Valentine, had been on the line. Her voice had been calm but with an edge, carrying a sense of urgency. His grandchildren were missing and very likely in danger, she had told him grimly. They were trying to locate Rowen and Sylvie, but so far no one had found them.

Darien’s first instinct, his gut reaction, was to immediately return to Domino. He should have never left them alone. How could he have known, though? There was no way to prepare for a threat to the children, especially if he hadn’t known, and now…

There would be time for self-berating later. Now he had to get Alana and go back. Mai had assured him that those who knew the children were searching for him, but Darien did not intend to stay where he was while his grandchildren’s lives were in danger. Alana certainly didn’t—she was already searching in Ellie’s old bedroom for their daughter’s spare can of mace.

He had not even gotten his car keys when there was a movement from behind him. He had been expecting Alana to come find him, to let him know she was ready to go.

He had not expected the man in white standing in the doorframe.

Darien gave a soft gasp and staggered backwards. The other man’s hands rose in a placating gesture, gold eyes flickering under the hood. “I am not a threat,” he said quietly. The hands lifted the hood from his head, long teal hair framing his face. “I am here on behalf of your grandson. He requested that I notify you of his safety—he is not in any further danger from those seeking to harm him.”

Darien paused, eyes flitting towards the doorway behind the stranger.

“She isn’t downstairs yet and I’d rather not get a face full of mace. Please—a moment of your time.”

Darien studied the newcomer with a frown. The other man watched him patiently, his expression unreadable. Perhaps this man was not a danger after all.

“I’m listening,” Darien said slowly. “You said Rowen was safe.”

“Yes. He and his younger sister are now under my protection. The little girl is quite ill, but her fever was already starting to come down when I left them.”

Darien felt something loosen in his chest. There was a note of sincerity in the last sentence he couldn’t ignore; he wondered if perhaps this stranger understood the need for proof. “It would seem Rowen and Sylvie have a powerful friend looking out for them,” he said quietly, unable to hold the relief from his voice.

“Most would not consider me a friend,” said the man after a brief pause. “But I do not consider myself an enemy to them, either.”

There was a subtle weariness in his voice, and the man seemed…older in that one moment. He could not explain it if he was asked how, but Darien felt that this man was so much older than him in spite of his physical appearance. He looked as if he was from another time—and perhaps he was. A nagging thought was there at the peripheral of his mind, something Ellie had once told him.

It was not until he met the golden eyes, sharp and fierce and yet world-weary and knowledgeable, that Darien suddenly placed him. A name from a lifetime ago, from a story he’d only heard second-hand, reached him. “You’re Dartz.”

The stranger—no, Dartz—seemed surprised for a brief moment at being recognized. “I am,” he said at last, a question in his voice.

“Raphael,” Darien said simply.

“Ah. I should not be so surprised.”

“He never told me about what happened, not directly. He only ever spoke about it in detail with my daughter, and even then it wasn’t a topic of conversation that he brought up often.”

“I’d imagine not. Stealing souls is hardly a decent topic of conversation at the dinner table.” There was something wry in Dartz’s voice now. “You do not sound so upset at seeing me now.”

“I think there was a part of me that wondered if you would show up one day, especially now that he’s dead,” Darien admitted. “He was never sure if you had truly died after being defeated, though he never said as much. I could tell he thought about it.”

At the mention of Raphael’s death Dartz’s face spasmed the briefest of moments. Something clouded the gold eyes, and he looked so much older in that one moment. His expression cleared and he looked away. “I heard about his passing,” he said. “I had hoped he would live longer than this. Your daughter as well, though I never met her. No parent should have to bury their child—I apologize for your loss.”

A long pause followed.

“Rowen and Sylvie will be under my care until the matter of their safety is assured,” Dartz said at last, sounding brisk. “You need not worry about legal ramifications. Those have been settled for now. When it is safe for them to be returned, I will bring them back to you—no sooner, no later.”

“…If you aren’t their enemy, Dartz, who is?”

“That,” Dartz said after another pause, “is what I intend to find out. For now, I ask that you remain here. It would be safer away from Domino—“

“I don’t want to sit this out on the sidelines,” Darien said, interrupting Dartz. His own voice was calm and measured, but there was a hint of steel beneath the calm. “Those are my daughter’s children, Dartz. I won’t press you to return them if it isn’t safe, but I won’t stay out of this either.”

“It is ultimately your decision when it comes to your actions,” Dartz said quietly. “All I ask is that you do nothing that would leave your grandchildren orphans.”

There was a noise from behind Darien and he started. He turned to the kitchen sink, which was dripping water from the faucet still. He had not finished fixing it yet.

When he turned back to the doorway, Dartz was gone and Alana was in his place. “Darien?” she asked hesitantly. “I heard you talking…was someone on the phone?”

“…Alana, we need to talk.”

+++++++++++++++++++

Noa was beyond angry.

Isabel could tell even without asking. His lips were pressed together so tightly that it was an angry slash against his pale face. Twin spots of color in his cheeks, the dark flashing blue eyes, and the way his fingers viciously jabbed each key on the keyboard were the only other clues to his current emotional state.

She could not blame him. Any subject involving Dartz was a sore point for Noa.

He had been this way for nearly three hours, long enough for the sun to start going down outside. The moment Isabel had called him about the incident at the mall, her husband had cleared his schedule and shut everything down to start the search for his nephew. Mikomi had missed her recital, but given the circumstances Isabel knew her daughter could care less over a missed concert—she was more worried for both her brother and her cousin.

“Anything?” she asked, her own voice controlled and curt.

“Not a thing,” he replied, eyes never leaving the screen. “They turned all security monitors off in that quadrant of the mall for four hours—routine maintenance, apparently,” he added, voice rich with disgust. “As for the security guards, nothing extraordinary about them so far. I’m having custom search engines running for any common history between them, so we’ll see if anything turns up.

“Interestingly enough, it’s not just the mall that was down. More than half of the city’s surveillance cameras weren’t recording during those four hours—all cameras in areas where Sora, Claire, Michael, Rowen, and Sylvie were. That’s just a touch interesting in my books, so I’m running virus and malware checks through the city systems too.”

Isabel felt that it might be more than slightly illegal for Noa to be looking through their personnel files, and for him to be searching through the city’s surveillance cameras. She also found that, given the circumstances, she did not particularly care.

“What about the men who took Michael?”

“Kazuo identified one of them in this shot right before the cameras went down,” he said, and with another click a picture came up. Noa zoomed in on the picture and the man was brought into sharp relief. “Nothing outstanding about him. Close cut brown hair, shades and turtleneck, and what looks like an earpiece. Facial recognition software can’t place him.”

“Why not?”

“See the way he’s ducking away from the camera? He knows where it is, so he’s keeping his face turned. I can maybe pull a partial result, but not enough to identify him. Still, I have the most up-to-date software and programming—I’ll keep trying.”

Isabel’s phone started buzzing and she looked down at the screen. “Joey’s calling.”

Noa actually looked away from the monitor as Isabel answered the phone. “Joey?”

“Mai and I checked the workshop, and then the center in the park. There’s no sign of any of them. We found Rowen’s phone on a bus that runs the park circuit—the bus company called us since we were the most recent number outside of the twin’s.”

“Rowen’s phone was on a bus?” she repeated aloud. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Noa turn in his seat to face the computer, fingers flying across the keyboard. “What about Sora and Claire?”

“Alleyway by their workshop was covered from ground to roof with pink paint and glitter, and it smells like strawberries—nearly made me pass out because it was so strong.”

One of their smoke bombs, Isabel knew. The twins had been barred from using any of those except for absolute emergencies—it seemed they had deemed it a situation to use one. “Is there any other place the kids would go that you know of?”

“No. I’ve got Tristan and Ryou helping me look for them, and Duke’s looking too. Mai reached out to Rowen’s grandparents and they’re on their way. I’ve been trying to reach Yugi, but no dice. I’ve gone to voicemail every time I’ve tried to call him.”

“We aren’t having any luck reaching Seto, either,” Isabel said, frowning. “Same problem, except we shouldn’t be having it.”

Isabel heard Noa’s sharp inhalation and a triumphant noise from behind her. “Got you, Rowen,” she heard.

“Joey, I’ll call you back as soon as I know more—Noa’s got something. Keep trying to get a hold of Yugi.” Isabel hung up and came back to the monitor. “What did you find?”

Noa pulled up two separate windows across the monitors. “Whatever’s going on with the cameras must have missed the bus cameras. Here’s the bus stop nearest Rowen’s house,” he said, and he tapped the screen as Rowen came into view. Isabel’s stomach clenched at the blanket in his arms, a brief glimpse of Sylvie’s hair visible through the blanket. On camera, the teenager crossed the bus and sat down, attention going between the windows and his sister.

“He got on and he stayed on…fast forward a bit…and there, he’s getting off at the park stop across from the museum. He goes—hold on, pulling up park footage—nope, that’s where we lose the cameras. We know at least he got off in the park, but after that…nothing.”

Isabel frowned, leaning forward. “Noa, rewind back to where Rowen was on the bus,” she said. As the footage rewound she held up a hand. “What’s he looking at?” she asked, pointing to the screen. Rowen was looking over his shoulder and peering forward through the window.

“Likely at the vehicle that had been tailing him, Miss Corazón.”

Isabel froze at the voice. Noa stiffened in his seat, color receding from his face. Then, at the same time, they slowly turned to face the entrance of the office.

Dartz stood silently in the doorway, his hood pulled away to fully reveal his features. There were a few lines to his face that had not been there years ago, drawn features that showed the start of age, but it was the same man they had encountered years before—the same one who had caused so much misery in their lives.

Isabel had not realized she had moved until her fist was colliding with Dartz’s cheek and the man toppled backwards to the floor. She stood over him, fists clenched impossibly tight at her sides. Noa came up behind her, one hand on her shoulder as he too glowered at their unwelcome guest.

“I suppose I deserved that,” Dartz said quietly after a moment’s pause, one hand rising to his cheek.

“I’m so glad you’ve deigned that you warrant a punch to the face. How gracious of you,” she retorted. Isabel thought she could see blood in the corner of his mouth. Good. “And for the record, I’m married now.”

Something flashed in Dartz’s eyes, his gaze flickering as he put two and two together. “Apologies then.”

“You’re either really brave or really stupid to come here,” Noa said at last, ice in his voice. “I’m leaning more towards stupid, since your track record shows a distinct cowardice streak.”

The man at their feet slowly rose, taking a step back. Maybe it was out of caution, or maybe it was to respect the boundaries between them. “You look healthier,” he replied simply. His expression was neutral and composed, even as the blood pooled in the corner of his mouth and his cheek grew red. “The last time I saw you, Noa—“

“—I was yet another pawn in your gambit to take over the world.” Noa’s reply was hard and held an edge. “You brought me back from the dead simply to run I2 in Pegasus’s absence, maybe even to attack Seto and Mokuba if Alister failed. I wouldn’t know, since it never progressed to that point and Isabel thankfully stopped me.”

“Noa—“

“You’re the second man in my life who’s manipulated me, and the first was my father.” His voice was a venomous hiss. “Neither of you hold a particularly good place in my book, so you’d best have a damn good reason for coming back now of all times.”

Isabel heard the pain in his voice and her hand moved to squeeze her husband’s gently. Noa shot her a glance, returning the squeeze gently.

Dartz had not missed the subtle exchange and for the briefest of moments his expression softened, exhaustion and understanding visible in his gaze. It was gone as soon as it had come when Isabel turned a hard look on him.

“Where’s Michael, Dartz?” she asked. “What did you do with my nephew?”

“I believe your son gave you a message in that regard—“

“That is not an answer,” Noa snarled almost at the same time as Isabel said it.

Dartz’s eyebrows rose. “He said something similar earlier today, when he woke up,” he said. “I was surprised to see he has golden eyes, rather than his father’s.”

The last comment came without context or asking, but something in Isabel’s stomach unknotted. Dartz had done that deliberately—Michael was conscious, had to be conscious if Dartz could note her nephew’s features and behavior. “My sister,” she said quietly.

Something close to surprise lit his gaze. It was gone again, buried beneath the neutral mask. “I hadn’t known she was the boy’s mother.”

“For someone who appears to be all-knowing, you’re remarkably unobservant,” Noa said flatly.

Dartz’s expression closed. “I will be brief, as my presence is clearly an unwelcome one,” he said. “I came because I was asked by the children to tell you they are safe. They are no happier at their situation than you or I am.”

“Okay, so give them back then,” Isabel said coolly. “It sounds like it’s such a burden to watch after poor defenseless children.”

“When it is safe to do so, I will return them to their proper guardians. I have no desire for custody of the children, but at this time it is unsafe to return them to the city.”

Not safe to return the children? Isabel and Noa exchanged glances. “And why would that be?” Noa challenged angrily. “Give us one good reason why you can’t bring them back.”

Dartz did not look away from them. His eyes were dark and there was a flicker of exhaustion in his gaze. “There is only one reason I would have to return to Domino and risk your ire.”

Ice dropped down Isabel’s spine. “I thought it was gone, Dartz,” she said slowly. “There shouldn’t be any of it left.”

“That is why I am here—to find out what exactly is going on.” Dartz’s voice was very hard and dangerous, a threat hidden in his voice. “Until I know more, until the safety of those children is guaranteed, they will remain with me.”

“Oh, right, because leaving children in the vicinity of a viper is a great idea,” Noa said coldly. “Why didn’t I think of that?”

“And you clearly can protect them, since the children were either attacked in broad daylight or forced to flee their homes,” Dartz retorted, and this time there was an edge in his voice. “If this enemy is the same one that’s brought me here, they are better off where they cannot be found.”

“What do you want us to do? If you’re asking us to just twiddle our thumbs and do nothing—“

“It will be the same warning I delivered earlier tonight: do not do anything that would leave those children orphans,” Dartz cut over her smoothly. “That would mean doing any investigative work into the ones responsible. I will not have anyone else targeted,” he added, interrupting the starts of Isabel’s and Noa’s reply. “If someone must be a target, it will be the one they cannot catch.”

“Look, buddy, I’ve already got the ball rolling in multiple areas. Whoever this is probably already knows we’re onto them, so at this point there’s no point in stopping what I’m doing just because you say so.”

“I know I do not have that right, and I also know that I cannot ultimately stop you from proceeding with what you are doing. I need at least forty-eight hours, Noa,” Dartz said quietly. “Give me enough time to handle this on my own, or to at least gauge the situation.”

“Riiiight. Uh huh. And you are a fantastic one man army, aren’t you?” Noa asked.

Isabel felt the pressure in the room drop as the familiar rush of magic filled the air around them. Noa’s computer screens flickered wildly and the lights dimmed drastically. Dartz’s own expression remained mild, but the gold eyes were flecked with aquamarine.

“Do not forget who I am,” he said, his voice carrying a thrum of power that had not been there before. “I am perfectly capable of handling this on my own.”

The magic died away and the atmosphere calmed.

“Twenty four hours, Dartz.” Isabel’s voice was hard. “I’m giving it twenty-four hours where we do nothing, and then whether you want it or not we’re going right back to doing what we were before.”

Dartz studied them for a long moment and then sighed softly. “All right. In twenty four hours I will let you know what I have found. If you do any further investigations, I recommend you do them as quietly as you can. Do not draw attention to yourselves. You can protect against a physical threat, but not a magical one.”

Dartz started to turn from them. “I trust you will notify the remaining relatives of the twin’s whereabouts,” he said.

“Joey and Mai? Why don’t you do that yourself?” Noa asked testily. “We aren’t your servants.”

Dartz paused. “Because the last time Miss Valentine spoke of me, it was in Paradius before it fell and she promised castration with a rusted fork. I for one am inclined to believe her.”

He turned the corner before either of them could react. Isabel felt the familiar pulse of magic and she hurried out of the office—only to be greeted by an empty hallway. Dartz had gone.

“Noa…I think I know why we can’t reach Yugi or Seto,” she said grimly. “I think Dartz might be deliberately blocking any attempt to reach them.”

“You’d think that after he lost his source of magic he wouldn’t be able to keep up any kind of spell or magic. But of course he can.” Noa shook his head. “Give me technology over magic that can just BS everything any day.”

“It just means that he’s serious about keeping us out of this,” said Isabel with a sigh, hands going on her hips.

“And that is really going to stop us from getting involved?” Noa asked, a smirk on his face.

Isabel’s smile mirrored Noa’s. “Not even for a second.”

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#au: reluctant guardian #oc: darien monroe #oc: alana monroe #other's oc: isabel #noa kaiba #dartz

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sage-nebula · 8 years ago

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jounouchi ryou and uhh your favourite version of ganon.

—Jounouchi—

General Opinion:

Aesthetic Attractiveness Level:

Hogwarts House:

Gryffindor | Slytherin | Ravenclaw | Hufflepuff

Best Quality:

Part of me wants to say his loyalty to and protectiveness toward those he loves, but while that is definitely an amazing quality, so, too, is his earnestness to believe the best in everyone, the sheer determination he has to believe that the world truly is a good place. For someone who has been through as much bullshit as he has been in his life (neglectful mother who abandoned him, abusive alcoholic father, growing up in poverty due to his father’s unemployment and gambling debts, having to financially support said father despite being a child himself, having a little sister who is going blind, ending up in a gang, having to put himself through school …) to still have that sort of outlook? To have the emotional resilience to see the some of the worst of the world probably before his voice even finished breaking, and yet, despite that, to still adamantly refuse to believe that others are, by nature, untrustworthy or out to scam/hurt him? Yuugi gets a lot of praise for being optimistic and kind, and he is and therefore deserves that praise, but let’s not forget the fact that Jounouchi says in canon that he’s determined to believe the best in people, that he can’t stand adopting a cynical outlook from the outset, and that this is despite the fact that he has one of the roughest backstories out of any character in the entire manga. Goddamn. (And even though this is a fatal flaw of his, that his refusal to view people cynically from the outset burns him time, and time, and time again, I still count it as an amazing quality because his heart is made of gold and that deserves mention.)

Also, his sheer force of will and determination has literally brought him back from the dead, and helped him break the Millennium Rod’s influence, so yeah, the fact that he absolutely qualifies as having the Spirit of the Hero counts for something as well. ;D

Worst Quality:

That toxic masculinity, especially as it is at the start of the series, what with his being embarrassed to follow his passions out of fear that he won’t seem “manly,” to the sexual harassment he lobs at Anzu early on, et cetera. It’s absolutely terrible, but thankfully he grows out of it (for the most part).

Ship Them With:

YUUGI

Brotp Them With:

Shizuka

Honda

Anzu

Bakura

Atem

Needs to Stay Away From:

HIRUTANI

His parents (sad but true)

Kaiba (for Kaiba’s sake tbh)

Mai, tbh. Their personalities are just incompatible and they have so many negative interactions that it’s just … best for them both not to interact too much. (Or at least, if they do, have it be around the rest of the squad.)

Note how many Scorpios are on this list, damn. He does not get along well with Scorpios.

Misc. Thoughts:

DARLING BOY, THE GREATEST AND ONE TRUE DEUTERAGONIST OF YU-GI-OH. I absolutely adore him 100%, and I love him far more than Takahashi ever could or will. Seriously, Takahashi, hand him over, you have lost your privileges with the disaster that was DSoD. MY CITY (and more importantly, my boy) NOW.

—Bakura—-

General Opinion:

Aesthetic Attractiveness Level:

Hogwarts House:

Gryffindor | Slytherin | Ravenclaw | Hufflepuff

Best Quality:

The devotion and care that he has for his friends. It’s somewhat understated since his moments tend to be bigger moments of action rather than words, but whereas the Spirit of the Ring was able to run roughshod with him at the start, Bakura stood up to him and had his own hand impaled on a castle spire in order to protect the rest of the squad despite having just met them in the Monster World arc. Then, in Duelist Kingdom, even though he knew it was dangerous, Bakura put the Ring back on in order to help his friends escape. It wasn’t truly necessary, but Bakura believed it was and he was willing to bite the bullet if it meant protecting and helping his friends. He’s very mindful of them and clearly loves them a lot.

Worst Quality:

He tends to be a bit passive and he’s definitely shy and somewhat meek, far more than Yuugi ever was. Bakura has a very hard time standing up for himself, or even holding his own ground in heated discussion with his friends (such as when he tried to defend Kaiba at Duelist Kingdom and Jounouchi easily shut that down—not in a cruel way, mind you, but Jounouchi is just a very blunt person, and Bakura folded rather quickly under that). This is also partially what helps the Spirit of the Ring manipulate him so easily in Duelist Kingdom; although Bakura is far from stupid and knew it was a risk, he still caved pretty quickly to the pressure the Spirit laid on him.

Ship Them With:

Kaiba, though it’s closer to a QPP than a true romance since Bakura is demiromantic/asexual

Brotp Them With:

Yuugi

Jounouchi

Anzu

Honda

Needs to Stay Away From:

THE SPIRIT OF THE RING.

Misc. Thoughts:

I really like Bakura a lot, particularly when it comes to his relationships with both Yuugi and Jounouchi, the latter of which is especially sweet even if understated. (i.e. Jounouchi was his first friend at Domino High, Jounouchi insisted that Bakura meet the others, Jounouchi was the one who insisted they all go to Bakura’s apartment because he was worried that Bakura was sitting at home alone and depressed, Jounouchi spoke up in Bakura’s defense in the Memory World arc, et cetera.) I wish that the anime had actually let him exist as a character instead of basically using him as a puppet for the Spirit of the Ring the entire time (and cutting him out of the squad entirely), but what can you do.

—Wind Waker!Ganondorf—

General Opinion:

To clarify: He has to die (via Master Sword to the forehead) because he’s evil and has no qualms about smacking children around, but he’s the best-written Ganon to date.

Aesthetic Attractiveness Level:

Hogwarts House:

Gryffindor | Slytherin | Ravenclaw | Hufflepuff

So like, the thing about WW!Ganondorf is that, at least according to him, he originally pursued the Triforce for the sake of his people, the Gerudo:

“My country lay within a vast desert. When the sun rose into the sky, a burning wind punished my lands, searing the world. And when the moon climbed into the dark of night, a frigid gale pierced our homes. No matter when it came, the wind carried the same thing … death. But the winds that blew across the green fields of Hyrule brought something other than suffering and ruin. I coveted that wind, I suppose.”

The Gerudo lived in the desert, and because of the harsh conditions, they suffered and often died. When Ganondorf says that he coveted the wind of the green fields of Hyrule, what he’s saying is that he craved a better life for his people. He sought out the Triforce for their sake, at least originally. He wanted to make life better for his people, his community, even if it was at the expense of those who weren’t in his community, those that he perhaps didn’t see so readily as people (because they certainly didn’t regard the Gerudo as such). And as for the other qualities, this man waited thousands of years to put his plan into action. He is nothing if not patient.

So yeah, gut punch decision here, but until I look at him more indepth I’m going to go with Hufflepuff.

Best Quality:

Hmmmm, probably his patience? His desire to aid his people? Both of those things could count.

Worst Quality:

His willingness to kidnap and beat children. Also his inability to let go of the past.

Ship Them With:

No one.

Brotp Them With:

Still no one.

Needs to Stay Away From:

All children, but especially:

Link

Zelda

Aryll

Those two girls from Windfall Island

Misc. Thoughts:

He’s still the best Ganondorf we’ve had to date. I hope that Calamity Ganon in BotW can be this good, but the prospects don’t look very bright at the moment.

#send me a character meme #severalbakuras

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