#i think ygo women are fun :]

[purpleleafsyt]

Day #4 - The Empress Upright | Women Appreciation

Femininity, Beauty, Nature, Nurturing, Abundance

I love a lot of women in yugioh! I just don't have the motivation to draw all the women in Zexal, so I hope a messy, happy Kotori is enough :]

@zexalmonth <3

[gramarye]

speaking of my list of ygo by treatment of its female characters so far. its so insanely long well. sorry.

sevens : really good marvelous awesome. women are treated as equals in my honest onion and everyone rocks. i <3 yugioh sevens. i love you romin i love you rayne (WEIRDO!) i love you princess g i love you atachi mimi i love you asana i love you tiger etcetcetc I LOVE YOU YUGIOH SEVENS

gx: it's not Great with what it does with asuka and rei but it's somehow still less offensive than all of the other ygos below it in this list. asuka gets to be pretty cool and again, even tho there's several episodes about her being courted at least they let her come out on top whenever guys are trying to get to her and they never do weird sexual shit with her in a way that is as obvious as in the other yugiohs. YES THE BAR IS THAT LOW I THINK! SAD! and she gets as much as spotlight as say, chazz, kenzan, sho, or the likes. if you disagree btw you were not watching yugioh gx and should try to pay attention to women again. asuka is a really good fleshed character by gx standards. rei is also pretty fun, i love her, she has her little moments and she's Not limited to her love shtick, she has really fun beef and duel with chazz for example and has a neat role in s3 and all that. ALL THINGS CONSIDERED: ITS PRETTY NICE! they did an ok job! its very hobbyani and shounen but its not offensive w/ the women!

5d's: like.. it started off really good then they just kind of forget about aki. i will never let them live down the "benchwarmer" thing and guess what. THEY WON'T LET ME EITHER BECAUSE THEY MADE MERCH OF HER WITH THAT TITLE LIKE A YEAR AGO OR SO !!!! sherry is pretty cool though and oh i love carly. carly is good i just wish they didn't kinda ... roll back her progress with jack , it's like they had to make him hate her again for the haha funnies and because he couldn't be nice now in the 2nd half. idk. ruka is fine i just think its hilarious she has a kuriboh with huge ass girl eyelashes i will attach it to the bottom of this post. made sure we know this is a #GIRL kuriboh

DM: its like . okay. anzu doesn't do much i am sorry. i love her it's just that they let her have a few duels and that is it. the #og cheerleader. I LIKE HER! i just think they should let her do more. she has really good scenes outside dueling though and is very integral to the friend group and everything though so :) yayyyy anzu. mai is really good but remember when they. okay this is anime specific BUT I AM TALKING ABOUT THE ANIME SO !!! but remember when they kept her in a coma in like marik's special hell world for literally like 50 episodes. like. it was so fucking dire fifty whole episodes. Bad. AND THEN THEY MADE HER GET POSSESSED LITERALLY IN THE NEXT ARC? VILE. rebecca etc are all fine they werent there for super long but i like them. all in all it was OK wish there was more fleshing out. 5d's still did it better and had more memorable women more in the spotlight i fear. but 4 is not a bad ranking here DM is like alright not too offensive

zexal: ok its like... i don't think tori not dueling in itself is a Crime but it's sad they don't let her when she expresses in the anime wanting to duel . why not let her !!!! plus it'd tie really nicely with rio who i think rocks, but i do NOT understand why they had to have rio duel tetsuo who her only tie to was him having a crush on her when she was besties with kotori and it wouldve been a nice way to tie up their friendship and tori's desire to duel..anyway. CATHY AND ANNA ARE NICE its just that i feel like. anna rocks sooo hard but her whole character is wrapped up in her thing with yuma. they should've come up with another plot for her after i think taht would've been nice but it's not that big of a deal it's still pretty cool. train girl forever. also yuma's sister is cool <3 i think this is kind of a tie with DM actually . also they make at least one weird sexualizing skirt length joke with kotori so um. HOP OFF MY 13 YEAR OLD DAUGHTER AND STOP BEING WEIRD

vrains: AUTHORS NOTE I HAVENT FINISHED VRAINS YET but ive seen a good amount and my vrains oomfies concur with these ratings. blue angel gets into a coma within 10 episodes and is really good at getting her ass beat unfortunately. ghost gal is pretty cool but shes also out there getting her ass beat i think she only wins once like its so fucking dire out here they will NOT let these women win like they just take one L after the other. and theres really no other women there. um. its just kind of an L overall they just don't let the 2 cool women do anything. like gx only really had asuka and rei but at least they let them be cool and fun i DON'T SEE THAT HERE... love them both though. also shoutout to soulburner's npc girlfriend i think shes funny and im glad she exists

arc-v: literally im sorry i havent finished arc-v either but ALL MY ARC-V OOMFIES WHO ADORE THE SHOW CONCUR. IT'S SO BAD. ruri and rin are like barely characters. serena is cool yuzu is cool until she isn't and THEY HAVE HER LOSE TO AN ADULT MAN USING BDSM MONSTERS AND IMPLY BEING SEXUALLY GRATIFIED BY IT? ITS REALLY BAD. THAT EPISODE ALONE WAS SO BAD IT TOOK IT DOWN 50000 SPOTS IN THE LIST AND I HEARD IT ONLY GETS WORSE. LIKE ACTUALLY CRIMINALLY BAD. MADE ME GENUINELY UPSET. also asuka is there and shes kind of a girlboss until they kill her like really badly and in a humiliating manner. like. Okay. they build it up soo much just to let you down so terribly with the girls.

undecided: go rush its still ongoing but i have watched all 115 episodes so far or whatever and it was like based and epic and poggers in season 1 but um the treatment of the girlies has been going downhill. i have a lot of opinions. i dont know what to say about it. it just declined a lot for the most part. yuamu girlboss though they're kind of making some progress again. i need to give it a rewatch when it's done airing to sort my feelings on it.

addendum btw here is the #girl kuriboh ruka has in 5d's. kind of a slay

[bestygogirl]

BEST YGO GIRL: REDEMPTION CUP

Round 2, Match 15

please use this as an opportunity to say why you like a character, not why you don't.

Propaganda under the cut!

Aileen Rao

She’s both a gamer and a supermodel, an already incredible feat, but she’s also incredibly good at reading her opponents and hypnotism! She’s one of the few opponents in the series to make Yami/Yugi noticeable stressed for… multiple reasons, one involving her pet tiger and Anzu in the next room

she is one of the very few opponents who gets brought back later, and when she does she almost beats Jounochi's ass in human street fighter, a vote for Aileen is a vote for women's wrongs!

please vote for aileen

so if you don't know season 0, kaiba has four game masters he recruits from around the world to duel yugi. Aileen Rao is one of them, which means of all the people in the world, she is one of a very few people that seto freaking kaiba thinks has mad skills

and she does!

she plays this game where players put up pieces and try to guess what the other has played in order to eliminate the opponent's pieces (link explains the game better). Aileen is so good at this game that yami yugi who has a magic necklace legit thinks that she has supernatural powers for most of the game

Aileen has so much charisma that she's assumed to have hypnotic powers, getting anzu to just hold one ballet position for the entirety of her game with yami yugi

also Aileen has a tiger, which is objectively a cool character trait in any fictional media

she's also Indian-Canadian, which I think is neat because we just don't see a lot of south asian characters in ygo

she's one of my favorite yugioh characters ever and my favorite season 0 character

Performapal Ladyange

ladyange is soooooo cool and her art is so nicely coloured and she lets you draw 2 and get a free pend scale out of it!! one of the most fun and useful performapal cards and very dear to my heart <3

[cyberdragoninfinity]

Sherry and Carly?

YESSS let's go women!!!

SHERRY:

First impression: "oh wow everyones' 5D's wife Sherry is like FRENCH French huh, omg."

Impression now: SHERRRYYY I LOVE YOU UNWELL WOMAN. god like. 5D's is chronically pretty bad about its girls but I do love that Sherry just got to have a complete Unhinged Woman Moment and get herself all entangled in the Iliaster bullshit. She got to go sicko mode. She's a fuckin badass and I love that her Duel Runner looks like a horse. Big love for ygo girl who just can beat the shit out of people.

Favorite moment: Her Ark Cradle duel is just so fucking cooooool aahhh...the aesthetic of it all, the desert/rose garden illusion fuckery. The Big Skeleton Door. Sherry McFreaking Loses It (and then gets better.) love it so much.

Idea for a story: have thought a lot about a roseknight story where Sherry works as a knight at a Renfaire that Akiza visits..... rotating them in my mind.

Unpopular opinion: she's cool and i like her :^) also i think her dynamic with akiza is fun. idk if that's unpopular or not though dfgfd

Favorite relationship: Her relationship with Elsworth/Mizoguchi is genuinely so so sweet....he loves her and cares about her SO fucking much ;___; Also her dynamic with Z-one I do like a lot...another person Z-one was happy to support when things were in his favor, and then turn cold on when they decided to go against him. ooouguhhh.

Favorite headcanon: absolute complete and total horse girl. transgender lesbian. hates soda and does kind of feel like the type of person who judges you if you do like soda. said with love.

CARLY:

First impression: "oh this is SUCH a good yugioh character design." adored her glasses from the moment I saw her.

Impression now: THE FAILGIRL OF ALL TIME THAT YUGIOH DESPERATELY DESERVED everything that's been said about how big a bummer it is that she got shafted in the second half has been said, but it is true and it does suck. Love her though.She's just nice and kind of cringe and I think we should LET HER!!! also her Dark Signer form fucking shredsssss she also got to have a bit of an Unhinged Woman Moment. And thank god.

Favorite moment: I rly need to rewatch the first half of 5D's to remember more, but I do love when she and Jack go to the amusement park and he is just being a mopey cunt the whole time.

Idea for a story: I wanna see a fic where Carly has to go to the DMV to renew her silence and just has a no good horrible bad day about it. "im so mad. im going to go home and touch my husband's tits so i won't be so mad" type day.

Unpopular opinion: They really Did Not Know what to do with her in s2 of 5Ds but it doesnt like. make break the entire back half for me. but also second half of 5ds makes me insane for other reasons. Also I like her dub voice more than her sub voice but idk if thats unpopular or not??

Favorite relationship: sorry 2 be basic but her and Jack's dynamic is so so fun and sweet to me i wish we got more of it in the second half 😭 cringefail bisexual 4 cringefail bisexual realness

Favorite headcanon: i think she paints her nails :3 And also she just feels like a very "uses 300 emoticons per text" type person. Nothing can express her emotion better than a ヘ( ^o^)ノcan sometimes.

[the-kings-of-games]

How about Aki for the ask game?

Hi, @insomniac-jay. Thanks for asking! :)

How I feel about this character: I tried to give as much of a luekwarm response as I can, but I think I might have failed and this got way too long to be considered "lukewarm."

So, I like Azkia, but outside of the anime, she doesn't really interest me much. I think trauma makes the character, but I'm not into it very much when it's what all defines the character, which tends to be something a lot of people like to do. Which is fine, but persoanlly, it's why I don't read/look into a lot of Akiza stuff. A lot of time, I think people like the idea of her more than anything, and I don't blame them—big tiddied goth girl is banger. It's just that it doesn't hold me for long; I'm not the kind who latches onto a characters because they're "girl." (The only two genders that matter to me is "dumb" and "ass," and if they're both, my gods. xD) I'm just unimpressed if anything, lmao.

Idk, Akiza can be really fun, but she is kinda forced to carry so much baggage in every iteration. Like she's always going to play the sad, isolated child that lashes out and is called as a monster, only seen for what she is when this one person comes along, and that's just the story of her life. It feels very . . . limiting imo. Can't she be okay sometimes? And like when she's made to be independent and strong, what does that really add? She is strong, but like, so is everyone else who tries. That being said, it's not like being weak is a bad thing; it's the exeuction that matters.

How I feel about Akiza is kinda my fault too, though. I don't know really know what to do with her in my writing, so I don't really write her often. I don't relate to her at all, and nor do I go gaga over her character design, so there's not much I can do with her that doesn't come off as disingenuous.

As a fan of shōnen, I say it's a lot to expect shōnen to care about writing good female characters, and that can be said about early YGO, a shōnen meant to advertise a card game to little kids, namely boys. The genre itself still needs work, but for anyone wanting good female characters in YGO who also duel, try the newer series, SEVENS and GO RUSH. They're much shorter than the previous YGO series, but they do so good in both having and writing female characters who aren't limited by the tropes they're written into. (Everyone is sleeping on Princess G.)

All the people I ship romantically with this character: No one really. I think she should have her own thing.

My non-romantic OTP for this character: Crow. Sherry. When you duel together, you get tight together.

My unpopular opinion about this character: I like that Akiza wants to become a doctor. It's unexpected, but she's finally doing her own thing. One thing I noticed in the anime is that Akiza's life is practically surrounded by Team 5D's, even when she goes back to school. She isn't shown to have her own friends? Which is whack because she's cute and smart and cool? Also, she's rich. Like, come on, someone's got to talk to her in class, even if it's just friendly conversation.

So, her choosing to become a doctor and not a duelist is kinda refreshing. People go, "Oh, a girl and a duelist? She's got to be a female duelist," but like, guys, women in YGO are the only ones who's got the interesting career choices from dancer (Tea) to Secretary General of Egypt (Isis) to reporter (Carly, Kari) to idol (Princess G); now they get a doctor in their line-up. Nice. But it's not like she can't be both though. OwO Why not both? Maybe she goes back into competitive Turbo dueling after med school. That's pretty realistic.

Also, I'm not mad that she "loses" her psychic powers. It made her different, but it didn't make her happy as far as I can see. It simultaenously isolated her (from peers and family) and put her on a pedastal in the worst way (Arcadia). Like she used her psychic powers more often than not to push people away because she was afraid of rejection; from what it seems, she only really knows how to use it to do so. So in my head, she unconciously supresses/lessens her use of her powers once she starts opening up again because she has people to truly rely on.

It goes in the line that just because you have it, it doesn't meant you have to use, like drawing and writing and any other hobby or talent.

One thing I wish would happen/had happened with this character in canon: I would loved to see Akiza be a regular teenage girl. I want her to have friends and they can go to the mall or the library or loiter at the park, whatever. Just anything that shows that she is also enjoying life like everyone else. Why did they give her her own friends? QWQ Even the twins got their own set of friends, like what?

Send me an ask! 👀 I've watched all the series.

[atlastfree]

So, I was surprised to find out there aren’t exactly many translated scenes from YGO: TFSP going around; especially considering that it’s not only relatively recent, but also a play on being a Yu-Gi-Oh dating sim LOL so I decided that, until I get the rom to the game, that ill translate some interactions from the “dating” routes that i find on youtube/niconico/etc.

the search has been full of perils, but here’s a scene i managed to get my hands on from your second date with mai. Please note that it’s not the best translation and i did adjust some of it to fit an english flow of conversation; but otherwise it’s as close as i’ll get!

-

Mai: PLAYER, you came!

Mai: Looks like we’re on a date today too!

Mai: Last time, on the way home from school… The idea of looking for just the right place at just the right time, away from the school… that wasn’t a bad idea of mine.

Mai: So, just like before, I’ll look around the city while keeping a good distance from the school.

Mai: Now that I think about last time… Maybe it was just subconscious, but I found myself wandering it to a lot of women’s shops.

Mai: Based on that, I think we should go somewhere that boys usually go.

Mai: Ok! Let’s go!

(You guys go somewhere; likely another women’s store)

Mai: I thought I could do it this time, but I guess not…

Mai: Oh, that’s…!

Mai: Wheeler’s friend!

Ryou: Oh, Mai-san.

Duke: Crazy seeing you here, on a day we’re not with everyone else.

Ryou: Everyone else… You mean Yugi?

Mai: Also, Honda. And Joey Wheeler.

Duke: I’m usually with him, but…

Ryou: Yeah, I happened to have something to do today, so we all split up.

Mai: … Do you have any idea where you are?

Ryou: … I don’t know where I am now…

Duke: But… I come here often… If you wait around, you’re bound to see me…

Ryou: You know, I was wondering if I’d be able to join in on something if I came around here…

Mai: So… Should I just wait for something interesting to happen?

Ryou: Yes. ^_^

Mai: …

Ryou: …

Duke: …

Ryou: …

Ryou: That’s it!

Ryou: There’s no point in standing here and not doing anything with four people!

Ryou: Let’s tag duel together!

Duke: Oh, good, let’s do it!

Mai: That’s a good idea, but… You know I’m strong, right?

Duke: That’s fine. I look forward to saying that whenever I see my muscles. (???)

Ryou: I wonder how my Occult Deck will go against strong opponents like Mai… I’m looking forward to it!

Mai: PLAYER is good, too, you know. Well, then, let’s go!

Ryou: Duel!

(You win the duel)

Ryou: Oh… Did I lose?

Ryou: I guess I couldn’t match Mai-san after all.

Mai: (taken aback) You’re…— When you’re dueling, your feelings change a lot.

Ryou: Eh… Is that so?

Mai: Well… There is that type…

Mai: The type of people who are usually quiet, but when it comes to duels, they attack violently without thinking about defense.

Mai: You’re usually kind, but your deck is full of cards made for obstruction.

Ryou: Ahaha!

Duke: I lost… But that was a good duel. It was fun.

Mai: Yeah, it was a good duel!

Ryou: I don’t think we have time for another one.

Mai: Yeah, it has been a while…

Ryou: We should get going home.

Duke: Oh, right.

Mai: Well, I’ll be around, even if Joey doesn’t show up.

Ryou: See you.

Mai: (sigh) Today was a waste of time again, wasn’t it?

Mai: Well, PLAYER… See you later.

Mai: You’ll go out on another date with me, next time, though, right?

(End)

-

some footnotes:

this is the second of what i assume to be three dates of mai’s route.

it’s implied that the whole gang was together, but then ryou had an errand to run, and otogi decided to tag along with him.

and then they (ryou) got lost.

its implied that by ‘waiting for something’ and ‘joining in on something’ they’re referring to joey just showing up i guess.

for some reason they all think ryou’s idea to stand around and wait for something to happen like idiots is a good idea. they genuinely just stand there staring at each other in complete silence before ryou gets frustrated at his own idea

i’m not sure what duke was trying to express or why he said it when he brought up seeing his muscles (lit. his arms)

mai says something similar to ryou that she does to yami bakura in duel links; that when ryou is dueling, he completely changes. however, it’s canon to TFSP that yami bakura has nothing to do with this particular duel, and that ryou genuinely just gets like that sometimes.

although i didnt include it, she also may note that she gets that way in a duel sometimes as well.

[number-1-kuaidul-fanboy]

Welp, that’s the end of Sevens season 1

I... really like it so far and I don’t get the hate. Well, okay, there are times where it’s a little too childish for my liking and I understand if Rush Duels aren’t your thing but to me, this is the most fun duelling has been in a long time. Because it’s faster and more dynamic but also because I genuinely didn’t know who would win in a good chunk of these duels. They allow Yuga to lose A LOT so it really raises the stakes. I honestly really love how the protagonist is “special” but for a reason that isn’t their duelling skills (in this case his inventiveness). So yeah, I love Yuga. He’s my favourite character in the show so far.

I also really love Romin and Luke.

Luke is a funny dork and Romin is the first female YGO character to finally feel like she was written as a character first and a girl second. Seriously, after six shows of just straight up blatant sexist bullshit constantly being hurtled at the female cast, it is such a breath of fresh air to have the lead girl win this much and have a character arc that isn’t dropped or put in the background FINALLY. Romin feels like she’s just as important as the other three in the main friend group. The female characters in general are all written really well this time. There’s a good variety in their personalities and they don’t feel overly “feminized”? if that makes sense. Asana and Haruka are good examples of what I mean.

So yeah it seems the rumours about Sevens treating its female cast the best out of any YGO were true. By a long shot. Well so far at least... I don’t mean to sound so negative all of a sudden, I’ve just been tricked far too many times into thinking a YGO was finally writing women well based on its first half only for the second half to... completely fall apart in that regard *cough cough* 5Ds and Arc V *cough*

BUT SO FAR I really enjoy Sevens. I don’t mind the more light-hearted tone, it feels needed after how heavy VRAINS was and something doesn’t have to be dark to have substance. Besides... there’s still the second season... oh boy...

[hyperfixatinglove]

Ygo 5ds for the ask meme 💖💖💖 ily

💖💖💖

@sunshine-ships

blorbo (favorite character, character I think about the most)

Tetsu Ushio duh.

But also Yusei! I get so attached to protagonists of almost everything I watch, but I love the guy, he's just some guy who build motorcycle and lives in slums but got wrapped up in supernatural shit, he doesn't give a fuck to give you answer unless he wants and takes time to open up to people but he loves his friends very dearly. Just Yusei Fudo man.

Carly too! She's this reporter with love for divination as someone with hobby for divination how can I not love her? She's hilarious and bubbly but also kind of inconsiderate of others at first.

scrunkly (my “baby”, character that gives me cuteness aggression, character that is So Shaped)

Rally, Rua and Ruka!! They¨re the "babies" of the group but I also love how they look grown up (speaking of which where was my grown up!Rally animation team??)

I love how real Rua & Ruka's bond is shown, they feel like actual twins (outside some missteps), they both feel distinguished from each other by their wants, needs, motivations & I just love that. Love how Rua's brat at first but grows out of it (still having some arrogance into adulthood) and Ruka's the more ""mature"" one. Loved how Ruka seemed to have this supernatural connection with monsters from cards, it was shame it wasn't explored more!

Rally just, she deserved far more screen time than what she had (I know in canon Rally's boy, but they're trans girl to me don't @ me), her first appearance showed her as bit cunning as she stole a part for Yusei's bike & it's clear they have strong sibling bond!

scrimblo bimblo (underrated/underappreciated fave)

Mikage Sagiri!!

She deserved so much better! Reduced to comedic fangirl from competent and level-headed individual? Yikes. I did love how she was promoted from secretary to chief of special investigations but the anime just didn't want her to be even better. They could've made her duel too, or make her useful more or more around but nope.

All she got was her identity almost completely wrapped around some jerkass celebrity.

She's queen and deserved everything. No wonder I've fallen out of Yugioh too since it treats it's women like shit.

glup shitto (obscure fave, character that can appear in the background for 0.2 seconds and I won’t shut up about it for a week)

Stephanie!! She's just cute waitress in some cafe in universe and makes like grand total of 4 appearances lasting less than 20 seconds in 154 episodes but I love her! She's my friend in my AU canon!! She loves gossip because I say so, she gives that energy who would love to hear the newest tea.

poor little meow meow (“problematic”/unpopular/controversial/otherwise pathetic fave)

I guess Ushio, Mikage & Kazama since they're thinly veiled cops??

Also Early canon!Ushio is just pathetic. Just screaming insults at 18 yo for losing to him in card game, gets owned 2 more times by the same 18 yo, no one liked him, gets yelled at by his superiors, sucks at stealth, has some superiority complex, the list goes on. Just pre-episode 45 Ushio is pathetic, scumbag mess.

I still love him but my god the whiplash canon vs my own canon has..

horse plinko (character I would torment for fun, for whatever reason)

I can't think of anyone. I used to torment Ushio, like having multiply AUs where he went to Silent Hill, musing and twisting his canonical crush marrying someone else to make him suffer.. Those days are gone tbh I don't want harm come to him now.

The most I torment him with are these scenarios where I get hurt and he gets Mad.

eeby deeby (character I would send to superhell)

Divine. He's some psychic duelist (meaning they can make pain real in card game duel smh) that experiments on children and has killed some, manipulated Aki into hurting countless people and just gloats evilly whenever he can. Getting eaten by supernatural frog clearly wasn't enough.

[danieco]

Coinshipping and devotionship? I feel like you've been asked the second one though so if you have, prideshipping?

Coinshipping: A+ (OTP)

This is another one that started out just “here are two girls in YGO the same age so this is all I’ve got” but I’ve been thinking about them and writing about them a bit more on my RP blog and they’re so cute together! I really see them as an opposites attract kind of couple, where Anzu is really focused and hardworking and Miho is better at living in the moment and having a good work-life balance (which are underrated abilities imo). 

Devotionshipping: A+ (OTP)

I’m stupid for them. We all know this. I never saw this one coming but I think it was inevitable since I wrote in that post about how Jou reacts to women who challenge him. I love relationships where people help each other grow, and I think they have some important things in common deep down and would be able to support each other in such good ways, while still having a fun bantering dynamic I really love!

[medea10]

My Review of Arte

How did I get into this anime? Well, I had a few slots open for the spring 2020 anime season! Let’s read what this anime is about.

A girl during the Renaissance era in Florence, Italy wants to be an artist…

*ADDS THIS IMMEDIATELY*

I really don’t want to be disappointed with this. I have a horrible habit of adding animes where the main concept has to do with the art world. And have it go wrong when the anime is too boring or not enough love is given to it. But maybe this will go well! The manga is already getting high marks and praise. And for being a history piece, it got picked up rather quickly from a big anime licensor in the west.

Arte comes from a noble family and her family has plans for their daughter. It’s just that Arte is heavily into…well…art. They’re fine as long as it’s only a hobby, but it’s getting a little out of hand for Arte’s mother. Arte wants to become an artist! BIG problem! This is Italy during the Renaissance era. No women artists! But Arte persisted by asking all around to become an apprentice.

The only man to even give her a chance was an artist named Leo. After testing her endurance, he allows her to become his apprentice. Arte’s life is officially changing as she throws away her nobility to draw and paint.

BETWEEN THE SUB AND THE DUB: FUNimation grabbed this anime. Surprisingly, they didn’t give Arte a simildub. Quite possibly because this was one of those newer animes that arrived during the COVID-19 nightmare! Or they didn’t want to fuck with Italian accents this time around! The sub had a nice mixture of veteran and newer seiyuus. Color me surprised when I heard Rie Tanaka’s voice again near the end of the series. Here’s what you might recognize these folks from.

*Arte is played by Mikako Komatsu (known for Mairin on Pokemon XY, Seishirou on Nisekoi, Susamaru on Demon Slayer, Wy on Hetalia, Eternal Feather on Soul Eater NOT, and Tori on YGO Zexal)

*Leo is played by Katsuyuki Konishi (known for Kamina on Gurren Lagann, America on Hetalia, Tsumugu on Kill la Kill, Laxus on Fairy Tail, Tanaka on Durarara, Fuegoleon on Black Clover, and Arima on Tokyo Ghoul)

FAVORITE CHARACTER: Arte! This girl wants to pursue a career in the arts and will do whatever it takes to do so. She defies her mother’s wishes, cuts her long hair, almost cuts off her breasts, did all the impossibly difficult tasks other apprentices could never do, and so much more. You have to admire this crazy, little lady.

SHIPPING: In episode 3, Arte started feeling that light and fuzzy feeling many of us feel when we “fall” for someone. And she started to feel funny whenever she was around Leo. This would be fine and dandy except for a few issues. For one thing, Leo is her boss and she’s his apprentice. Best to keep things professional! Secondly, during this period in time, Veronica does have a point. It’s best that if you want to achieve in your craft in a man’s world, it’s best to stow the romance bags to the side. After that bag of reality was dropped on Arte, she mostly focused on her art work and no romance was ever brought up again.

Although, I do have an inkling about Yuri having the hots for Arte! But I know my girl Arte here don’t have time for this boy’s bullshit!

LEO AND ANGELO: No, this isn’t a shipping debate. Actually, there are fans of the show speculating if these two characters are in fact the famous artists Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo. Come on now, this story is absolute fiction with a few true details here and there. Yes, we still don’t know the full name to Leo to prove that he could be the fictionalized version of the real-life artist and the anime never once put up an advisory at the beginning of every episode saying that any character that’s similar to real-life people is purely coincidental. But it’s possible that these two could very well be those very artists. Both da Vinci and Michelangelo were living Florence around the same time. I’ll chalk this up to you history buffs and conspiracy theorists out there. I choose to believe the creator of Arte just used the names of these artists and that’s that!

ENDING: During the 7th episode, Arte is given an opportunity to go to Venice to become a tutor for a handsome man’s niece and to paint a portrait of his sister-in-law. At the time, Venice was seen as a staple in the art world (despite Florence’s rich history that we know today) and this would be a perfect time for Arte to spread her wings. I mean, she won’t be an apprentice under Leo forever, right?! Yeah, Leo’s words to Arte before she left for Venice played around her head a lot during her stay in Venice. Saying that it’s okay if she chooses to stay there longer than six months or even stay permanently!

During this time, Arte was able to find ground with this difficult child (Catalina) that she must tutor as these two do share something in common. Both girls have a certain passion that they want to hone as their own, but can’t due to family forbiding it, status in the world, and even gender. Arte did so much to get where she is now including disobeying her mother by leaving home and try in a profession that’s mainly for men. Arte was unable to do much with her relationship with her family (especially after her father’s death), but she was able to help Catalina and her mother with theirs and even hope for a future where Catalina can see a boy she likes again.

As we near the end of this series, we find Arte still wondering about her future. She’s still seen as the rarity as being a woman of nobility entering the art world when that profession is usually done by people seen as lower than nobles and majorily male. Plus, what Leo said before setting for Venice keeps replaying in Arte’s mind. It’s true that this time Arte has spent in Venice with Sofia and Catalina was life-changing. And Yuri ended up asking Arte to stay with the family permanently. Meanwhile, Leo is noticing that maybe, just maybe, he’s missing Arte. That or he’s annoyed by all the people in Arte’s circle bugging him.

In the finale, Arte has reached a conclusion on where she’s going to go after finishing up Sofia’s portrait. She got some decent advice from one of the apprentices she met in Venice. That Arte should use her nobility and gender to her advantage in a male dominated profession. Okay, he didn’t exactly say that, but you get what I mean. There’s a certain softness to Arte’s work that’s not seen with many male artists. She should continue doing what she loves despite what others may say or think.

So in case you’re wondering, she turned down Yuri’s proposal of staying with Sofia and Catalina full-time. She’s going to head back to Florence and continue as Leo’s apprentice. Yeah, Catalina is pretty upset by Arte leaving after spending over six months with them. But they promised to keep in touch with letters. Upon Arte’s return to Florence, she learns about Leo doing a special mural for the Easter holiday. But Leo got ill and has been bed-ridden for days.

Arte steps in and takes over the mural so that it could be completed in time for Easter. With a little help from her friends like Darcia, Angelo, and Veronica, she was able to complete it. And just in time for Leo to emerge to give his critique on Arte’s work. As usual, he told her on what she should have done, but acknowledges that she has definitely grown as an artist during her time in Venice and is happy to see her again. Surprisingly, that wasn’t the only shocking moment of the finale.

Arte’s mother was there for the unveiling of the mural and actually praises her daughter. I guess she’s come a long way from the first episode where she burned all of Arte’s drawings. So yeah, girls can be more than just bargaining tools for marriage or becoming nuns. So Arte’s going to continue working under Leo and we end there.

I can already tell you that many people were not digging this anime, but I liked it. But again, painting is my thing. And being a female, I’m drawn to stories of girls trying to overcome prejudice just because of their gender. Even when studying art in school, most pieces that were covered in the curriculum were majority (if not, all) male. Well, unless I took a class with a supremely feminist teacher, we would not learn anything about female painters. And if we did, it would just be for like one day or one week out of the semester before we get to the well-known names like Van Gough, Pollock, and Monet.

By the looks of it, Arte doesn’t look like it’ll get any kind of continuation. I know that the manga is still in publication and maybe if that ends we might get something extra. But I wouldn’t hold my breath on that one. Even FUNimation didn’t bother giving this an English dub. Then again, this aired during the height of the COVID pandemic (in Japan) In fact; it was one of the very few animes in the spring season that never took a week off due to COVID. I would like to see what happens to Arte in the future. Like if she ends up with her own workshop or if she takes over Leo’s place when he retires. It’s fun to think of what happens and I might just one day pick up the manga to see if any of that actually happens. Due to my particular love of painting, I’m going to recommend this series regardless. And while you’re at it, check out some other series like Honey and Clover or Hidamari Sketch.

If you would like to watch this anime, FUNimation and Hulu have all 12 episodes available for streaming.

[chromsai]

lmao y’all wanna start somethin huh?

listen, if z//x/l was like a 5/10 (generously), vr has so far been like barely a 1/10... 

it’s not good at all and unlike zxl where i can see the appeal and why there are fans that may still like it, i can’t... fathom or understand why anyone would like this garbage. there is nothing appealing about it to me. any interest i had in the premise of this show has long since gone down the drain...

the character designs have been just horrid (like zxl had mostly bad designs, but this show by far takes the cake on bad designs), every character has the same fucking backstory (i am fully convinced that everyone’s parents died in The Car Accident. yeah, the same one. it was a pile up, clearly) like i can’t feel sad for anyone being an orphan or whatever WHEN THAT IS THE NORM apparently for characters in this world. 

season 1 was so damn predictable (ironically it was just a rehash of zxl 2), and season 2, guess what, has been the same exact thing. DON’T TRY TO TELL ME OTHERWISE BECAUSE THIS SEASON IS WRAPPING UP ALSO WITH EVERYONE *BUT* PM DEAD AND A 4 EPISODE DUEL. only difference is that the final boss this season isn’t a “bishounen” (by the stretchiest stretch of the word cuz god re/v//olver is butt ugly) so that’s why i’ve seen more fans hate it than last season. 

i don’t understand how this show already has 2 sound duels out because god wtf?? there’s no good music in this show? it all sounds so hollow, generic, and just plain lifeless. 

the animation hasn’t been at all impressive either (no, somewhat consistent animation with on-model characters where the characters hardly ever move DOESN’T equal /good/ animation, it’s LAZY). the animators don’t seem to care to properly convey emotions though tbf what emotions??? these characters are so bland (and yet some people think that makes them “cool” or “edgy” *rolls eyes*). the most expressive character has been takeru/so//ulburner (fuck i couldn’t remember his name for a hot minute...) who was somewhat fun for a while but he turned out to be grossly undermining mental illness too so i lost all hope and respect for him (though i still think he’s the best character in this show and should have been the protagonist, though the bar was already so low in this show to begin with...). 

the girls in this show get no respect at all. a//oi is the punching bag of every other male character that challenges her (she beat that one girl scientist because of some philosophy she pulled outta her ass, she beat some mooks no one cares about, and then she beat that one little kid idk his name who was EXPLICITLY stated to only be being used to stale for time because they knew he wasn’t gonna win anyway WOOHOO SHE BEAT A CHARACTER THAT ALREADY HAD NO CHANCE WOW HOW IMPRESSIVE) and then she’s used for man pain and brocon appeal.... but sure she gets a makeover every 3 weeks so OFC SHE’S GROWING AND CHANGING AND GETTING STRONGER WTF AM I TALKING ABOUT OFC OFC. emma... would be a decent character... but she doesn’t really get much to do... also, there was that whole implication that she had a thing for PM and i’m like uhhhh she’solderthanhimandhe’saminor YIKES.... and then she gets ousted too... “BUT SAI WHAT ABOUT QUEEN” what about her? she does nothing besides show off her boobs and act like the Head Bitch In Charge and then doesn’t show up til the next summer either. y’all don’t even know if she duels... but sure, go off about how vr writes women well... so inspiring...

oh geez what else.... oh yeah i love when people complaining about production issues like.... y’all are going on your second year of this show. stop. you guys know that’s not an excuse anymore. you’re almost 100 episodes in. it wasn’t even a plausible excuse at the beginning of the show anyway... production issues stemming from “limited budget” “BECAUSE OF THE MOVIE/A5″ that doesn’t fucking count. it’s not an excuse. 

nobody likes Link summoning. japanese players have boycotted it at certain tournaments. that says something... 

this show is so fucking melodramatic and “dark” at no real expense. it’s like... so uninteresting. it is actively uninteresting. 

man i can’t wait for jumpfesta this year to announce that this show is gonna end. sure they’ll show us a pv of the next ygo most likely but mostly i’m looking forward to this show just ending. it is just so ugly, inside and out.

[silvermalkin]

May I suggest a drunk Kaiba as a prompt? :D I will share it with my sideblog @larifariyukari which is mainly for YGO content.

Thank you for this prompt! It was fun deciding how to handle it.

The Tokyo penthouse was dark and cold when Seto opened the door. The housekeeper hadn’t known he was coming, so the lamps were out and the heat was turned down. He didn’t bother with the light switch, but he did bump the thermostat. He waited patiently for his eyes to adjust to the dim light from the city nudging through the curtains before moving cautiously over to the kitchenette where he set down a few bags from the local konbini.

He felt slightly ridiculous setting out the bottles of liquor, beer, and wine. Not wanting to invite scrutiny under the law he had managed to avoid underage drinking, but now that he had reached the age of majority, it would be easier to handle business functions if he could accept even a little alcohol.

The problem now was tolerance. Seto would be damned if he would shame himself by becoming drunk and out of control in front of anyone else. Mokuba might scold him for drinking alone, but he absolutely wouldn’t drink with anyone until he knew how much he could handle. He had Isono on speed dial, anyway.

Seto spent a moment considering the bottles in front of him but ultimately chose the whisky. It was distinguished and readily available. He poured it neat. His goal was to get used to it, not dilute it. He took the first sip.

It burned. Seto steeled his face, determined not to show how much he longed to cough. He swallowed hard a few times before drinking again. Ugh. It might not have been so bad if he had chosen a luxury brand, but good whisky wouldn’t always be available. He’d have to get used to this. When he finished the first glass, his face felt warm but other than that he was fine. He poured himself another. The burn had faded, now, and he was able to pick out the different flavors. None of which he liked, unfortunately, but that wasn’t the point of this.

He pulled open the curtains on the floor-to-ceiling windows and sat in the chair perfectly positioned for taking in the view. Domino City was great, but it was nothing compared to this. Tokyo was a universe unto itself, with neighborhoods like whirling galaxies and millions of tiny, electric stars. He laughed softly. The whisky was making him a poet.

The third glass was a bit bigger than the two before. Really, Seto didn’t feel much besides being warm. His eardrums were burning, actually. He didn’t know that you could feel your eardrums like that.

He stretched his legs out in front of him. They were long. Everyone made a big deal about his long legs, but they were just long. Seto looked around to see if anyone was watching. No one was, of course. He crossed his legs. Now, how did the women do it? He took his top foot and tried to hook the toes back underneath his lower leg. He couldn’t quite get them back around. He adjusted his top leg, trying to get the right angle. His hips must be too narrow, despite the long legs. He gave one last squeeze, trying to get his legs completely wrapped together.

He fell out of the chair. Seto landed awkwardly, his legs untwisting. He just managed to pull off a pose he’d had to do for a modeling shoot once. He reached up to the single flower sitting in a small vase on the side table. The vase came with it. Fake. Undaunted, Seto placed the flower into his mouth like a rose. He held the pose a few moments before he realized what, exactly, he was doing. He laughed, the crystal vase pulling the flower out of his mouth to land dully on the carpet. It only took him a minute to calm down. He placed the flower back onto the table and finished off the third glass. Seto was a little disappointed. Surely, he should have been drunk by now. It was supposed to be fun, right? But other than that bit of ridiculousness, it wasn’t fun at all. But you know who was fun? Mokuba.

Seto stalked over to the counter where he’d left his phone, using his long legs to cross the room in three steps. He put in the code to unlock it. It didn’t work. Seto frowned, trying to think. He was sure he’d used it since he got to the penthouse. Who could have snuck in and changed it? He tapped the screen again. Again, wrong. This time he opened his eyes as he did it. Mokie4Everrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr, typed Seto, before laughing and deleting it. As if. Mokuba-Hakuba. Haha. No, no, enough messing around. He had to actually call him. He put in the real code: the winning move of the chess match between him and Gozaburo. Gozaburo didn’t drink whisky. He drank… something. Not whisky. Anyway. Mokuba.

A number code wasn’t very secure. Maybe he should do fingerprint. Or, or something no one would expect. He poured another glass as he thought. Oh, noseprint! No, how ridiculous would that be? Highly. He should ask Mokuba. Oh! He should call Mokuba.

Seto drummed his fingers as the video call rang. Mokuba wasn’t answering. UGH, Mokuba never answers now that he’s a stupid teenagers. Man, teenagers can be so dumb. Except for himself, when he was a teenagers a week ago.

Then, the call connected. “Nii-sama? Hey, what’s up?” asked Mokuba. He was surrounded by pillows. Ugh, it was three in the morning, ugh. “Seto? Is something wrong?” Mokuba sat up to get a better look at the screen.

Seto made sure that his expression was normal. This was a test. “There’s nothing wrong, Mobuka—Mokuba,” he said. “I just got in, so I was checking in. Is there anything wrong with you?”

“No, Nii-sama. Just sleeping.” He peered at the screen. “Are you sure you’re not sick? You look flushed.”

Seto cleared his throat. Why wasn’t he able to speak well? He almost took another sip before realizing that Mokuba would see it. “The housekeep—housekeeper turned the heat up too high. I might have her fired; this is too much for summer.”

“Seto, it’s November. Are you sure you’re fine?”

Seto pulled himself together, willing every fiber of his being into seriousness. “Mokie, I’m fine, but I miss you.” Yes, very serious. He did miss him, though. He pulled his lips in so that they did not tremble. “I’m going to come home tomoror—tommor—in the morning. Early. First train.”

Mokuba rubbed his eyes. “I doubt that. I’m going to go ahead and send Isono with the car. And some medicine.”

“What? Mokuba,” whined Seto. Ugh. “Why?”

Mokuba sighed as if he was trying to eject his spirit. “Throw that away,” Mokuba pointed at the screen, “you shouldn’t drink any more tonight.”

Seto looked behind him, where the beer and sake still sat, unopened. “Right, Mokuba, you are very smart.”

“And drink some water. Like, at least twice as much as the alcohol you drank tonight.”

Seto frowned. “Mokuba, how did you knew—know that I’ve been drinking? Do I need to look into your habits?”

“I’m not answering that.”

“Mokuba, do you think I’m drunk?”

Mokuba let his head fall back into the pillow. “Yes, Seto, you’re drunk,” he mumbled.

Good? He had wanted to know what his limit was. Bad? He felt too out of control like he was acting before he realized what he was doing. Good? Um, good? Bad? Nothing he said could be taken seriously. “Mokuba, I’m sorry. I don’t know if you’ll believe me because I’m like this,” Seto raised the glass of whisky into frame and shook it, “right now, but I love you.”

“Yes, Nii-sama. I believe you.”

“But I don’t say it all the time. It seems unfar—unfair of me to say it now.”

“Nii-sama, you do say it all the time. You don’t say it with those exact words, but you say it all the same.”

“Oh,” said Seto. “That’s good.”

Mokuba laughed. “Yes. That’s good. Goodnight, Nii-sama.”

“Goodnight, Mokuba.”

“DRINK YOUR WATER,” said Mokuba. “I’ll know if you don’t.”

“Yes, Otouto-sama.”

If you didn’t like how I handled this prompt, or want to see something else, prompt me again!

[trifrost17]

YGO Advent Day 17: Valiant

Summary: Yugi and Atem have incredible mothers.

Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16811635/chapters/40286075

17: Valiant

The first time it had happened, it was shortly before he and Atem had begun dating. There had been a dream with a woman in it, asking how Atem was doing. Yugi had no idea who she was or what he said in response. He had been incredibly unsettled when he had woken up, but had brushed it off. Weird dreams happened.

When he and Atem started dating, it happened again. This time, the dream woman spoke about how proud she was and what a good man Atem had become. She had asked Yugi to pass along a message to him but when he woke up, for the life of him, he couldn’t remember what it was.

Once more, he opted not to say anything.

The third time, though, was the breaking point. They had been going through a relatively rough time in their relationship. It was hard, sometimes, trying to date while being a semi-public figure in the media. College was stressful as both of them headed into their final years. Yugi was nervous about presenting Spherium at the world gaming conference. Atem was struggling to decide what he really wanted to do with his life.

And for a few weeks, things were tense between them. They never seriously considered breaking up—Yugi didn’t think that was ever an option that crossed either of their minds—but they weren’t as happy together as usual.  

One night, after a particularly bad fight that had Yugi sleeping on the couch in tears, and Atem most likely not sleeping because he was crying, too, Yugi had the dream again.

It was vivid this time. He could see the woman much clearer now—she was clearly Ancient Egyptian, wearing a linen dress and gold collar. She had on a golden headdress with a rising cobra sticking out at the forehead. So, she was royalty, too.

Her eyes were red wine like Atem’s, and her hair that thick glorious black and red that reminded Yugi of the sunset melting into the night’s sky. It was clear then, who she really was.

What on earth did Atem’s mother want with him? (He didn’t bother with the how she was communicating with him. If his boyfriend could come back to life from the Field of Reeds, he really wasn’t that surprised at this point that he could be communicated with from there, either)

“Please be patient with him. He has trouble expressing himself properly, but he loves you more than anything.”

“I’d never leave Atem.”

“He doesn’t always know that, though.”

When Yugi woke up, tears still streaming down his face, he immediately went to their bedroom to curl up around Atem with apologies and promises that he would never leave Atem’s side for all eternity. Atem accepted him easily, the two of them kissing and crying together until morning. They blew off classes to spend all day together, talking and cuddling and making sure everything was right between them.

It wasn’t until the next day that he finally told Atem who saw in his dreams. Atem had teared up, falling into his arms as he reminisced on his mother. She had died when Atem was twelve and it was devastating. She had been one of the most courageous women he knew, opting to stand up against her husband even if it would displease him. She did what was right for the people and had a huge heart, filled with kindness. The only person Atem knew who was kinder than his mother was Yugi.

She had taught Atem nearly everything he knew and was his closest confidant growing up. His mother had always loved him and accepted him, even though he was such a troublesome prince most of the time. He missed her more than anything; she had been one of the reasons he had stayed for so long in the Field of Reeds. But she had also been one of the first ones to encourage him to leave when he got the option from Osiris.

He always wished he could thank her for that. It was the best decision he had made in his life.

Yugi had promised if he saw her again in his dreams, he would let her know.

If there was one thing Yugi was grateful for when it came to his family, it was that they accepted Atem with open arms. He had known his grandfather would care for Atem, since he had been a part of their adventures from the beginning and knew Atem was a separate person from Yugi. But the fact that his mother was also just as accepting of the whole situation was extremely relieving.

It also helped that as soon as his mother heard Atem had no family, she had become determined to fill-in as a mother for him as much as possible. Even before they began dating, Yugi’s mother was always calling to inquire about Atem’s health and always telling Yugi to, “Tell my son-in-law to come visit once and awhile, will you?” He knew Atem was immensely grateful for the acceptance.

He also appreciated the fact that his mother would check in on Atem and talk to him, helping him through things that sometimes Yugi couldn’t, no matter how hard he tried. Sometimes, Atem just needed a mother to tell him something rather than his boyfriend.  

Walking into his apartment one December afternoon, he realized he had stumbled into one of those conversations.

Atem and his mother was sitting at their kitchen table, talking quietly. His mother had both of Atem’s hands in hers. Yugi swallowed hard and hung back, unsure if he should turn around and come back later or walk in and interrupt them.

“It’s okay to be scared of what the future brings, Atem,” his mother was saying. “If you enjoy what you do at KaibaCorp and enjoy dueling, then just keep doing that. Those are real jobs, no matter what you might think. You don’t have to get something in the business world just because you have a degree in it.”

“But Yugi is working so hard with his game designing career and I feel like I’m not doing nearly enough to help support us, too. With his new position in KaibaCorp, he’s on a quick track to becoming a partner in the firm. We can all see how much Kaiba values his opinions and thoughts and I just… I don’t want to hold him back or make him support both of us.”

Yugi closed his eyes, ducking out of sight in the entryway and sitting on the ground. He and Atem had had this conversation so many times, it felt like. No matter how many times Yugi told him he just wanted Atem to be happy, it was like Atem didn’t believe him. Like he needed to prove that he needed to make as much money and do as much work as Yugi did. But Yugi didn’t want that. He just wanted Atem to be happy with whatever job he did.

“Sweetheart,” his mother began gently, “do you think Yugi really cares about that?”

“I know he doesn’t. But I just feel like I’m dragging him down.”

“Atem, you do realize that he has similar thoughts, right? He sees you, knowing you came back to life to be with him, that you were this grand pharaoh who saved the world, that you left your eternal heaven and your own family to come here, and he wonders if he’s doing enough to make you happy.” Yugi didn’t even have to see Atem’s face to picture the wide eyes and stricken expression.

“O-of course he’s making me happy! I could imagine nothing else that makes me happier than being at his side.”

“Then, dear, don’t you think that’s all Yugi cares about? You don’t need to worry about your job, so long as you’re happy with what you’re doing. Are you happy as a game tester?”

“I am. I enjoy it a lot.”

“And the modeling and being a spokesperson for KaibaCorp? And being a competitive duelist? Do you like doing all of that?”

“I love dueling,” he admitted. “And I don’t mind the modeling. It’s fun to dress up. I don’t know how much I enjoy being a spokesperson but it’s the thing that makes me feel the most connected to my old life, in some strange way. Giving press conferences or announcing new items… It reminds me of being a pharaoh in some strange way. So I don’t really want to give that up, either.”

“Is there anything you’d rather do in life? Would you like to design games with Yugi? Or maybe be an Egyptologist? A professor? Run the game shop? Anything like that?”

Atem didn’t answer immediately, thinking it over. Finally, he said, “No. I don’t want to design games. I just want to play them. I’ve seen what Yugi does and I just… don’t enjoy the inner mechanics like that. I love watching him create a new game but I could never do it. As for being a professor or an Egyptologist… no. Seeing things about my past like that makes me... sick. It’s not a pleasant feeling to feel like an artifact out of time. Even when I studied Egyptology in college, I think I hated more than I loved it. I needed to see it—to see how the world views my culture now. But it made me feel raw the entire time.” He hesitated and then said, “I wouldn’t mind running the game shop, but I don’t think I want to do that right now. However, when Grandpa wants to retire, I would be happy to take it over for him.”

“I'm sure he'd love that, too. But for now, Atem, just worry about being happy. If you want to change jobs because your current one isn’t making you happy, then do so. But if you want to change jobs because you think you should support Yugi more, don’t do it. Yugi is creating games because he loves it and he’s blessed to get a good paycheck. He is more than happy to use that money to make sure you’re both happy, too, because at the end of the day, the only thing he cares about? You. You came back to him and that matters more than anything.”

Atem took a deep breath and Yugi was sure he was nodding.

“Anything you want to add, my son?” his mother called and Yugi flinched. He heard Atem mumble a confused, “What? Yugi’s here?” and he walked around the corner, rubbing his head sheepishly.

“I didn’t want to interrupt.” His mother gave him an amused smile, raising an eyebrow, while Atem's surprised look melted into something much softer and he smiled at him. Yugi walked over and kissed his cheek before wrapping his arms around Atem’s neck.

“Mama is right. But even if I didn’t make enough money, I don’t care. I would stay with you even if we’re dirt poor, or if we become as rich as Kaiba. The only thing that ever matters to me is that you’re happy and you’re here. I’m the luckiest man in the world that you came back to me so all I want is to make you happy. No matter what.” He nuzzled Atem’s neck. He could feel Atem relax, finally nodding. It felt like he had finally accepted Yugi's words and understood.

His mother groaned. “Even if your words are right, I don’t want to see it in actions. Be super affectionate when I’m not around. But since I am here, how about you treat your mother to dinner?” She gave a catlike grin and Yugi rolled his eyes.

“Yes, Mother.”

The night after he proposed to Atem, he received a visit from his mother in his dreams. Yugi suspicioned that she couldn’t stay long; it was probably taxing to cross dimensions. She didn’t say much.

"Tell him I’m proud. Of both him and you. He couldn’t have chosen a better spouse. Tell him he has my blessings.”

If Atem’s mother said more, Yugi couldn’t remember come morning. Still, after waking Atem up with gentle kisses, he relayed her message. He was not expecting to watch his new fiancé fall apart, but Atem did, collapsing into Yugi’s arms, sobbing. Yugi waited patiently, simply stroking his hair and letting his lover cry.

After he had cried it out, Atem finally began to explain. “I was always scared my family would reject me for marrying you. For going against tradition and marrying someone outside my race and religion, but also someone I could never have a child with. I worried they would hate me for my choices.”

“But she doesn’t,” Yugi confirmed. Atem nodded, clenching Yugi’s shirt.

“No. She approves. She blessed our marriage.”

“Will you tell me about your mother? She keeps coming to me in these dreams and I feel awful because I don’t even know her name.”

Atem laughed wetly, nodding. “Her name is Neithhotep. She was my father’s second wife, the one he actually picked to marry. She had been a priestess and he had fallen in love with her dancing and looks.”

“Your father had five wives, right?”

“Yeah. His Great Royal Wife was his half-sister. Then my mother. His next two wives were foreign brides sent for treaties. And then his niece was his fifth wife. I was my mother’s only child and fourth oldest. My two older brothers died in the wars before the Millennium Items were made. My younger sister died when she was ten from an illness, while my youngest brother died when he was eight. He had a lot of genetic problems due to inbreeding and was always sickly.”

“And your older…?”

“Sister,” Atem clarified. “She was killed by her mother before I was born. Her mother feared the invaders coming so close to the palace and killed her and then killed herself, knowing that if the palace walls were breached, a fate worse than death awaited them, especially since they were foreign.”

“That's horrible..." Atem nodded. "So you actually grew up with siblings.” Atem nodded again. “How did your mother react to the children that weren't hers?”

“She was always loving towards them. The Great Royal Wife wasn’t that kind, and when both of her oldest sons died, it left me as Crown Prince. She always resented me but my mother was… a courageous woman.” Yugi tilted his head in a wordless question. “She killed the Great Royal Wife to protect me. My aunt despised me and went out of her way to mistreat me. It was why my mother was so kind to the other women’s children; after all, even though my mother wasn’t the Great Royal Wife, she was clearly my father’s favorite and since her son was Crown Prince, it gave her considerable influence.”

“How did she kill your aunt? What happened?”

“My aunt was trying to poison me. My mother found out about the plot and revealed it to my father. While he was going to punish his sister in some fashion, it wasn’t enough or fast enough. My mother was extremely protective to those she loved. One time, she and I went to the town to see the markets and someone tried to rob us. She pulled out a dagger and stabbed both men in the face, stopping them. Or another time, my father always told us a story about how my mother dressed in warriors clothes and kept a bow and arrow always at her side when the invaders were coming. She was going to protect every child in the palace if it was the last thing she did.”

Yugi smiled. He could see where Atem had gotten his fierceness from, then. And his bravery and courage. Neithhotep sounded incredible.

“Anyways, for my aunt. My mother ambushed her in her bedroom at night. She said that the gods looked down on those that killed children and then she forced her to drink her own poison. They couldn’t prove what happened so my father didn’t punish my mother, but my mother confessed it to me before she died.”

Good lord, Yugi winced internally. He was suddenly extremely glad Atem’s mother approved of him, too. Osiris help him if he ever hurt Atem. He might have a vengeful Egyptian queen spirit coming at him and murdering him in his sleep.

“It sounds bad,” Atem admitted, seemingly reading Yugi’s face. “But she truly was a lovely woman. She would fill the palace halls with songs and dancing. She learned how to heal and spent hours and hours with my younger siblings when they fell ill. She would go out to see the people and treat their wounds when she could, or bring them food and toys to the children. She treated the servants well and never hurt a fly unless they threatened harm against her family. She was… a lot like you, I would think,” Atem admitted. “So kind and loving but unwilling to back down when something is wrong.”

“How did she die?” Yugi whispered. Atem took a deep breath.

“Childbirth. She was only seventeen when she had me, so twenty-nine wasn’t really that old to have more children. But it had been a risky pregnancy in general and when she finally gave birth, it killed her. The baby was a stillborn, too.”

“Holy shit, Atem,” Yugi breathed, looking down at his fiancé. “I’m so sorry.”

“Every woman in Ancient Egypt had to make that courageous choice. It was a battle every woman faced and unfortunately, my mother did not make it through. But we lived happily when she was there.”

“She sounds like an incredible woman.”

Atem smiled, nodding. “She was.”

They were meeting at a cafe to give his mother the news of their engagement. Of course, though, Yugi was running late. He was ready to kill Kaiba for holding him up.

“Yeah, babe, I’ll be there in just a minute. I’m running around the corner now,” Yugi told Atem over the phone. “Is Mama there?”

“Yes. She’s impatiently waiting for you,” Atem responded, a teasing lilt in his voice. “She said she can’t believe you would be so rude as to make your poor mother wait in this cold. She thought she raised you better than this.”

“Oh, ha ha. Tell her she can go toe-to-toe with Seto Kaiba and tell him that!”

Atem chuckled and Yugi could hear him start to say something to his mother but he cut off suddenly and through the phone, Yugi could hear a muffled, “Aiko! Aiko Mutou, is that you?”

Yugi rounded the corner, seeing his mother and fiancé standing outside the cafe doors. In front of them was another woman, someone that apparently knew his mother. Catching Atem’s eye, he hung up his phone, heading towards them. He could hear the woman speak as he came forward.

“Hello Michiko,” his mother greeted, smiling politely. Her posture was uncharacteristically tense. “It’s been years. I haven’t seen you since Yugi’s freshmen orientation.”

“Yes, it has been years. Ushio remembers Yugi fondly.” Both he and Atem flinched. This was Ushio’s mother?! “Is this Yugi? He looks a lot darker than I remember.”

His mother forced a laugh. “No, no. This is Atem, Yugi’s boyfriend. Or if that ring on his finger is any indication, new fiancé.” His mother turned towards Atem with a smirk. Atem blushed and nodded. “Ha! I thought so! You two aren't slick at all. Going to New York City over Christmas. I knew Yugi was going to pop the question.”

“Haa… we both did.” His mother laughed naturally, shaking her head.

“I would expect nothing different from you two.”

“He’s gay? ” Ushio’s mother gasped out, looking horrified. “And you’re okay with this?” Yugi rushed the rest of the walk, unwilling to let Atem deal with this alone. He slid up next to his fiancé, slipping an arm around his waist.

“Mrs. Tetsu; how wonderful to see you again. How is Ushio doing?” Yugi asked with fake sugar-sweetness. The woman looked at him and then Atem, before focusing on the hand perched on Atem’s waist, and then disregarded him completely, turning back towards his mother. Atem tensed in his arms.

“My son and my future son-in-law are both incredible men,” his mother began with steel in her voice, “and of course I accept them. I love both boys with all my heart and I’m so proud of what both of them have accomplished. Yugi is a top designer for KaibaCorp and Atem is a top game tester there, too. Yugi is the King of Games and Atem is the Japanese Duel Monsters champion, second only to Yugi. Both of them are spokespeople for the company and personal friends of Seto Kaiba himself. Why wouldn’t I be proud of them?”

“They are shaming your family!” she hissed.

Yugi was about to grab his mother’s arm and tell her not to worry about it; he and Atem dealt with enough homophobia to know it wasn’t worth fighting about constantly. Close-minded people would always exist and they didn’t need to ruin their day to come down to her level.

Except his mother squared her shoulders and got that look in her eyes that made Yugi hesitate and keep his hand firmly on Atem’s waist. She looked like she was out for blood and Yugi didn’t want to get in the middle of her and her victim.

“Oh? Disgrace my name? Like your son did yours ?” she asked with false lightness. “How he used to extort children because he was bigger than them in school? He once beat Yugi black and blue and let me tell you, Tetsu, I have never forgotten that. A mother never forgets or forgives those that hurt their children. So before you come at me for having a wonderful son who loves his incredible fiancé with all his heart—something you think is so awful—maybe you should remember how shittily you raised your own son. Once he can come and give my son an apology for his behavior all those years ago, then we’ll talk.”

Michiko Tetsu looked aghast at Yugi’s mother’s words. He felt incredibly proud of his mom, though. “Now, get out of my sight. I won’t have you ruin this incredible announcement with your close-minded negativity. I want to go have a nice lunch with my sons ,” she stressed the plurality, her arm wrapping around Atem’s shoulders, “and listen as to how they both proposed to each other.” There was nothing Ushio’s mother could say in response. She simply huffed and whirled around, storming off.

His mother snorted in derision. “Come at my boys like that with me around. I don’t think so. What a fool.”

“Mama,” Yugi began before enveloping her in a hug. “You’re incredible.” Atem joined the hug, thanking her so softly. She laughed, waving off both of their words.

“No matter what anyone says, you two are my sons. And if they can’t see how amazing you two are, they’re not worth being around. Now, c’mon. I want lunch and to hear this story. I’m sure it’s going to be a disaster.”

After eating and telling the story, Yugi had to slip away to call Kaiba for something. When he came back, he saw Atem showing off the ring to his mother. She had one hand on his other hand, patting it softly while she examined his ring hand in the air. Yugi smiled, wrapping his arms around Atem’s neck as she looked at the ring.

“I’m so proud of you two,” his mother said lightly. “No mother could be as pleased as I am to have you both in my life, or to welcome you into my family, Atem.”

It was sudden and Yugi couldn’t really describe the sensation, but it was like he felt hands on his shoulders. A chill went down his spine.

“As am I, Yugi. I could not be prouder of both of you and cannot wait to welcome you into my family, too, for when you finally arrive here with Atem at your side. I am so proud of you both.”

The feeling faded but Yugi still gasped, looking down in awe at Atem. He looked worried. “What’s wrong, Yugi?”

“Your mother,” he told him, breathless. “She… she agrees with Mama. She is proud of both of us, too.” Atem’s eyes went soft, tears welling up in them.

“Of course she would be!” His mother declared, squeezing Atem’s hand. Yugi looked down at his mother and was struck with how fierce she could be. “She would be a fool not to be! How could someone not be proud of you two?”

Both women were so strong and incredible in different ways, Yugi realized. They were valiant women; courageous, kind, protective, determined, and above all, always loving and looking out for their sons.

“Well,” Yugi said, smiling and meeting Atem’s gaze, “then we’re both incredibly lucky to have such amazing mothers like you two.”

“That’s right!” His mother retorted, huffing with faux annoyance. “We’d have to be amazing to have sons like you two!”

He swore he could hear a richly velvet voice agree in his ear, the sound like breath on the wind. Yugi smiled softly, glad his future mother-in-law approved, too. He’d hate to be on either mother’s bad side. They were both terrifying, but absolutely incredible, women.

He and Atem were two very lucky men indeed.

[rainstormcolors]

Thanks to @the-cryptographer, for tagging me for this ship meme~

1) Ultimate OTPs:

Prideshipping and Rivalshipping make my heart glow like no others.

2) A ship you’ll always 💜??

I shipped Daisuke and Ken from Digimon 02 before I even understood what shipping was. Ken Ichijouji and Seto Kaiba were the two characters I gravitated to back then; that YGO and Kaiba stayed a constant for me while Digimon faded away probably speaks to YGO having the stronger cast and story (for myself anyway). But I still have warm nostalgia for Dai/ken.

It’s hard for me to imagine ever falling away from Pride and Rival. They’re special ships to me, and I’ve been using them for escapism for quite a while now. If Dai/ken was my nascent ship, Prideshipping was my first true ship.

It took a while for me to get into shipping, because shipping in the YGO fandom used to be kind of a cringefest. But when I did fall for Pride, I fell very hard and very fast. A few years later I fell for Rivalshipping, though much more gradually. But now I’d say both are about equally lovely to me, in their own ways. Trust/shipping has stuck around in my heart too, but in a more quiet way.

3) Current obsessions??

I’m fixated on YGO because I’m weird. Otherwise, obsession is much too strong of a word. I’ve been browsing the Ryo/kira tags on Tumblr and Pixiv lately. As in Ryo and Akira from Devilman. ::spoilers for a 45-year-old manga:: More so than canon or actual romance, I think I like the ideas swirling inside their relationship. That Satan fell in love with a human, and in his quest to destroy mankind was doomed to also destroy the one he loved. (All the while, if things had been different, maybe Akira could’ve loved him back.) The manga is messy as heck, but that ending had honest poignancy.

A lot of morally ambiguous and ambiguously gay characters can thank Ryo Asuka for their existence, for the better or the worse. (Given Ryo Bakura was named after him as well, and the YGO manga makes a point of contrasting Ryo’s complete disinterest in women with the others acting like horndogs, I do wonder if maybe KT wrote Ryo as a gay man.)

4) A ship you never thought you’d like??

Uh… I got nothing. But I’m happy I dragged you into the Prideship zone, DeLurk. It’s more fun having you here with me.

5) A ship you used to like but don’t anymore:

I got nothing.

6) A ship that should be canon??

I’m with you on Madoka and Homura from PMMM. I don’t even ship those two myself, but the writers are so clearly trying to have their cake and eat it too with them. Nanoha and Fate from MGLN are in the same boat, where the writers refuse to make canon what seems to be canon, for the sake of homophobic plausible deniability.

With YGO, I don’t think any ship should’ve become canon, including my own beloved ships. I’m kind of glad KT has been so hands-off with shipping too.

It was in looking over discussions of ambiguous gay themes in shonen and seinen manga series that I really had to come to the conclusion it was a deliberate choice on the writer’s part to leave DSoD open to the interpretation that Seto has romantic feelings for Atem, while also very decidedly not being canon. They knew they would be inviting that interpretation. I also think it’s incredibly naïve to believe content creators are unaware of shipping culture. But even then, I don’t want Prideshipping to be canon. I can see how precious other ships are to other fans, and I know how important that kind of escapism can be. This isn’t a Homura/Madoka situation where one character is blatantly in love with the other. People will see a special rivalry or friendship between Seto and Atem, and that’s lovely too. My primary reading of the film is one of grieving, fractured bonds, and ultimately friendship. Just don’t tell me they hate each other. You really weren’t paying attention at all if you think that.

7) A canon ship you hate???

A lot of the time, I have little interest in canon ships. I remember finding Harry and Ginny in the HP books bland, most romance films do nothing for me, etc. I think series where romance isn’t a focus allow for more complex and prolonged character interactions, and that’s why shipping characters from those series can feel so much richer than canon romance stories.

8) A ship you shipped for years??

Pride, Rival, Trust. You know.

I’ll have gentle bouts of adoration for Dai/ken, Vegeta and Bulma of DBZ, and for Kyoko and Sayaka of PMMM too.

9) A ship everyone 😍 but you don’t care for?

If it’s not a ship I like, then it’s a ship I don’t care for. I’m not someone to have NOTPs though (unless we’re talking about something like Adopt). I’m very ship-and-let-ship. Just enjoy your ships.

10) Favorite rare pair???

It’s from a series without a fandom. Near nonexistent content.

 ---

I don’t think I’ll tag anyone today, but thank you for reading.

[cyberdragoninfinity]

Syrus for the askmeme!! (if you already did him or just wanna do two, Alexis?)

MY FAVORITE LITTLE GUY!!!!!!!!!!!!!

favorite thing about them: he is leaps and bounds the most i have ever felt a ygo character has been relatable to me specifically. I love that he's just this neurotic mess with such a sweet character arc and this very real fear of "what if im not good at the one thing im going to school for and all of my peers are going to leave me in the dust" like...i went to art school I Know That One !!!!!!!!!!

least favorite thing about them: HES. A LITTLE BIT OF A CREEP and like it's very very funny with this little 4'6" twerp but good god they slapped so much "wow! hot girl alert !!!" mid-2000s humor on him with the dark magician thing/just how he acts around women in general. we didnt need all that.

favorite line: YOU TRADED MY BED FOR A CARD, JADEN

brOTP: his relationship with zane makes me sob and cry and throw up and explode we know this. Top Yugioh Siblings of All Time for me. Power Bond Event Hits Every Time. I also just adore his friendship with Jaden....Syrus has two whole brothers and I WILL cry about it.

OTP: listen. listen to me boy. No one is on my wavelength of College AU Syrus and Mana From Duel Monsters weirdboy4weirdgirl power couple but they're GOOD. You could take the dark magician girl thing and make something FUN out of it!!!!!!! Me and the Bad Bitch I Pulled By Being Autistic *picture of Syrus Truesdale*

nOTP: not super into jaden/syrus as a shit just because i'm more locked onto the platonic/surrogate siblings read with that, but it's fine. i don't think theres any sy ship i hate. unless you ship him with his brother in which case explode then.

random headcanon: god where do i start. lactose intolerant. has OCD and is plagued by intrusive thoughts you cant even comprehend. gets headaches after crying. likes star fox. carly rae jepsen would rock his whole fucking world. would collect hot wheels (based) and booby lady anime figures (cringe.)

unpopular opinion: HES A FUCKING GOOD CHARACTER. HES THE JOEY OF GX HES A VALUABLE PART OF THE CAST AND ONE OF LIKE MAYBE 4 GX CHARACTERS THE WRITERS KNEW WHAT THEY WERE DOING WITH. people either ignore him or rag on him and it SUCKS. LEAVE MY LITTLE GUY ALONE!!!!!!!

song i associate with them: Point to Prove (I Was an Ugly Kid) by Bug Hunter kind of a Sy song big.

favorite picture of them: so many. this one is especially good though.

local 16 year old thinking murderous thoughts

[happyendingsong]

im tabling at dcc in like three and a half weeks -_- -_- -_- -_- -_- which will be a ton of fun once im there but dear god im out of practice

i need to figure out what to prioritise making in the next while, and be very positive affirmations voice I AM CAPABLE OF FINISHING A PIECE OF ART AND IT WILL BE FUN REEMBRACING THE FULL ARTISTIC PROCESS about it

some ideas i have areeee:

twewy print, neku shiki beat and josh all piggybacking on each other

twewy badges/keychains which would be fun but ive no idea if they'd sell </3 maybe i should just test the waters with the print this time round and see what happens. maybe it'd be smarter using the neo twewy gang but like i have zero interest LOL.

kh sora print i started ages ago when he got announced for smash that i never finished

monster high print, im not sure what though, kind of thinking about dressing them up like 80s horror final girls or smth but im not sure how to translate that properly

bratz print, general y2k fashion shite

ff7 print, the gang in 90s fits hanging out with cats, styled like an old school adoption/psa poster?

ff7 badges/keychains?

kh sorikai print, the three of them getting healed at a save point

advtime bubbline print, IVE NEEDED TO MAKE A BUBBLINE PRINT FOR GENUINELY YEARS BUT I NEVER HAVE ANY IDEAS. I STILL DONT HAVE ANY IDEAS WHATS WRONG WITH ME.

ygo print, mai and her harpie ladies. ive had this one on my vision board for yearsssss i just need to sit down and do it 💆‍♀️

mp100 print, the cast all wearing themed raincoats w umbrellas

mp100 badges? keychains?

kh sora print, him in the 100 acre wood

jennifer's body as a goosebumps cover

fnaf print, gachapon with all the animatronics in lil capsules (i made fnaf badges before but they never really sold that well, but i feel like the new game brought a lot of people back/made people really nostalgic for the series as a whole/now the kids who grew up with fnaf have disposable income to buy shit at cons?? idk um. lol)

eah print, lil cutesy cartoon versions of the gorls all hanging out on a big fairytale book. but i think eah is pushing it, i should see if the mh print has any takers before committing to eah.

advtime finn print or finn and jake, i SHOULD have another thing since all my advtime stuff is from like 2013 or smth. would LOVE to have more advtime on the table, i just need to think of smth 😔

could be a complete sellout and just do owl house because i know it'd sell..... i won't but i could.

same w she ra

same w ace attorney? though it'd be less sellouty because i do actually like aa, and i think aa stuff does REALLY well here

MAYBE sdr2? would have to rack my brain pretty hard but it could be a good shout

aw maybe i could finish my wwe 4hw print from years ago? i think it WOULDVE sold when i first started it in like 2019 but im not sure about now :/ although i think ott are actually putting on a little show at dcc this year so maybe doing a wrestling print makes a fair bit of sense. but i feel like if any nerds at a comic con are buying wrestling prints, they're gonna be aew fans. and idk if aew has any women id care enough about to make up a whole print for.....

kh girls print

the sims bella goth print

atla print, the gaang hanging out with turtle ducks or azula's girl squad

i also want to make a lil art zine of my life drawing bits from last year, i think that'd be cute :)

fart cunt faggy dyke cock pussy porn, hopefully this doesn't show up in tags