#oh shit and an obelisk scroll

[poop-flying]

new pair maybe? I've got the dragons, I just need to buy the genes :v

[shipskicksandgiggles]

dialogue prompts

New Year, New Prompt List!

well, sort of. last year, I started writing down the weird or funny shit people said around me and that I occasionally contributed to and turned it into a prompt list, and since it's a new year, I figured what better way to celebrate? you know the drill, send in a number and a ship/dynamic/character, or reblog this and have fun!

(btw this is college prompts pt. 3, second year fall semester edition. the first two lists from this series are here and here)

have a good 2022 folks,I can't wait to see what you come up with

“Hey, can we get a fish?” “We don’t have room for a fish.”

“Look, I didn’t believe you were a heavy sleeper until I didn’t realize you were asleep and I accidentally slammed the door and you didn’t even move.”

“That man looks and sounds like Bill Nye the Science Guy.”

“Sorry I’m wearing a tuxedo shirt, I was doing close up magic earlier.”

“Yeah, I have a pigeon. She’s an asshole.”

“As long as it doesn’t catch on fire, you can have it, and if it does catch on fire, that’s none of my business.”

“My astronomy professor gave us dating advice.” “Is it good dating advice?” “I don’t know, do you want to go watch a meteor shower with me?”

“There’s a stop sign on that door.” “Yeah, the people who live there stole it.”

“I just heard a girl yell ‘stop’ at a guy squeaking his shoes and I am 80% sure they don’t know each other.”

“It ‘hit different’ as the kids say.”

“I’m going to murder Plato.” “Plato’s dead.” “You say that like it’ll stop me.”

“No, shut the fuck up. Did you just call me Nicholas Cage?”

“Who just casually speaks Russian? For what reason?”

“Don’t look at me like that.” “It’s 80 degrees and you’re wearing a sweatshirt.” “I run cold!”

“Okay so-” “Ooh they’re about to get into it.” “I'm ignoring you. Okay SO-”

“You ever have a dream so good you wake up with a low blood sugar?”

“It’s 40°, why do you have a fan running?” “The noise.” “You’re getting a noise maker for Christmas. I can't do this anymore.”

“I’ve been lying through my teeth all week and I’m not happy about it.” “You can’t lie.” “I know.”

“He’s from Indiana.” “Do I look like I care?”

“Hey can I borrow this?” “Yeah, what for?” “You’ll see.” “Are you doing something illegal?” “… No?”

“Never have I ever driven a pickup truck.” “Did you just say get hit by a pickup truck?” “No, I’ve done that before.”

“Do you have an Instagram?” *obviously scrolling through Instagram* “No.”

“I just blew on a pencil with my mask on like that was going to do anything.”

“Were you a band kid? Or a choir kid maybe?” “Yeah, how did you know?” “You have this specific look in your eye, sort of like fear. It’s obvious to someone who’s been through the same thing.”

“Look, am I stupid? Yes. Is the guy I have a crush on somehow stupider? Yes.”

“Don’t eat peacocks.”

“Shit!” “Gosh darn it!” “Sorry!” “I’ve never actually heard you swear before.”

“If you say the word ‘buttress’ one more time, I’m going to throw you out of a window.”

“That’s not what an obelisk is, shut up.”

“No, I can’t do this, I know French, I can’t listen to this-“

“Did you just say ‘raw banana’?”

“Permission to hug?” “Granted.” “Oh fuck my ribs.”

“We all know Zuckerberg isn’t human.”

“Can I borrow your brain?”

“Um?” “Oh, sorry, yeah, I can pick up weaponry and learn how to use it really fast.” “UM???”

“I don’t think we realized how much you talk until you physically couldn’t. Please get your voice back, it's too quiet.”

“Hey, want to cause some chaos?” “Do you need to ask? Obviously.”

“You said you weren’t going to be gay, and then you were. Congratulations dumbass.”

“Look, I listened to a podcast about skinwalkers in the middle of the night and I couldn’t sleep.” “Oh yeah, bad idea.”

“Where are you going?” “Evelavor’s haunted.” “What?” “ELEVATOR’S HAUNTED.”

[very-grownup]

THE YEAR IS 2020 AND I WATCHED NEON GENESIS EVANGELION FOR THE FIRST TIME, PART 11

Episode 23.

Misato is going to be haunted by fuckin' Kaji forever and so am I. Fuckin' Kaji.

This appears to be the episode where I have to assume budget and deadlines were becoming intractable foes for Anno because there doesn't seem to be any easy way to paper over gaps and I spent the entire time feeling faintly like the experience was dissolving.

My grappling for understanding behind the cut.

Here's what I do know: Misato is so absorbed in listening to fuckin' Kaji's message in her office that Shinji and Penpen are left to their own devices, which are just being concerned about Misato.

Ritsuko talks to her grandmother about a dead cat.

Ritsuko's desktop background is an old photo of her, her mother, and Gendo Ikari, where her mother left room for Jesus between her and her daughter instead of her and Gendo (you'd need at least five Jesuses for protection from the hollow-eyed ghoul of insecurity and misery). I hate it.

Overcome with her sense of failure, Asuka's just broken into the class rep's home and has imposed the world's longest and worst sleepover on this poor normie girl. Asuka's just playing videogames, crying, and sleeping which ... yeah, fair. At night Asuka shares a bed with Hikari and curls on her side, far away and miserable, her face hidden, whispering about her failures and her hatred and her hatred of self. Hikari stares at the ceiling and can say nothing of substance because she is also a child.

The Obelisk Committee is back, interrogating Gendo to absolutely no end because you have to ask questions AND get answers to them for an interrogation to work and also when he gets notice that there's an Angel sighted he just nopes right out of there. Your interrogation is not going to be successful if the guy you are trying to pin to the wall can just go 'sorry I have to take this call' and flush the phone down the toilet while you watch.

This week's Angel is a giant hula hoop made out of light and x's which I feel probably puts it right in the middle of the cuteness scale. It's not horrifying to look at but it also doesn't have a cute little face. I miss the ones in the early episodes that had cute little faces.

The obelisks are determined to crush Gendo and suspect he isn't loyal to them which ... again, the obelisks make some good points.

The plan is for Rei to sniper the Angel with Asuka providing backup. Asuka feels terrible, miserable, and pointless about the whole thing because seriously it seems like no one has talked to her since last week when she was psychologically tortured by the Angel? I'm surprised Asuka's even there, in the robot, but I suppose habit is powerful.

Once the EVAs are deployed, the Angel turns into a long sticky laser snake which Rei tries to shoot with her giant robot sniper rifle. This is not effective and the Angel begins to burrow under the EVA's armour to the fleshy bits underneath and shit gets veiny.

In the NERV command centre someone talks about the Angel trying to make first psychological contact and you can't keep saying that, this is the fourth time AT LEAST we've seen an Angel try to do weird brain reading with one of the kids so this is at least fourth contact. We are all operating on the assumption the Angels are ... some kind of unified force or being or ... something, right? Like, they're all on the same ... side? Part of the same force? If they're all independent and unrelated monsters of the week, NERV makes even less sense.

So, so, so Rei's EVA gets veiny and Rei gets veiny and Asuka is given orders to provide backup and then when her EVA is on the surface she and it just ... stand. Asuka tries to make it move but nothing happens. Finally, NERV lowers the EVA elevator again.

Gendo remembers he has a son and Shinji is deployed in Asuka's place to rescue Rei from the veins and not only does Asuka have to deal with her failure to pilot the robot in this moment, but she's filled with sad jealousy that Shinji wasn't sent to help her last week. Oh, honey.

So the light tentacle snake is making the veins and probing Rei and her memories and the EVA and like with the other kids, Rei confronts herself. One Rei is waist deep in the orange tang of the sub sub sub basement ocean while the other Rei floats above the surface. Rei is lonely? Or, one Rei is lonely, while the other Rei tries to express that Rei is lonely because unlike Rei, who is surrounded by others, Rei is by herself. One Rei knows more than the other, one Rei emotes more than the other. I am confused. None of the Reis seem as distressed as Shinji or Asuka did when they were getting psychoanalyzed by an Angel, at least. There's a weird shot that's just on one of the Rei's mouths, smiling and getting distended and wavey and also a Rei has a vision of smiling, glasses-free Gendo. Rei in the EVA comes back to herself when she realizes she's crying but the Angel is still doing its vein attack and all that pulsating Akira flesh starts happening and the light snake shoots out to Shinji, which is bad. There's more pulsating Akira flesh, just overflowing masses of veins bursting up and above the EVA, trying to shape something, the torso of Rei's EVA bulges out into, like, an armoured pocketed dome ball, which seems bad.

Then the light snake attacking Shinji turns into a giant naked Rei with a strange nightmare face who tries to make out with the EVA even though thankfully we at least have been spared horrible human lips to go with the horrible human teeth and fingers we know are in it.

Rei is like, do I want to become one with Shinji so I'm not lonely anymore? Is that what laser snake is trying to tell me and I just don't even know where to begin with all of this, where are you even getting this stuff Rei?

Rei realizes that letting the Angel snake made of light that looks like a giant her make out with Shinji's EVA is not the answer to her existential crisis and exerts her will over it or ... something? I don't know, she makes it like a rubber band that's suddenly reached its end. SNAP goes the light tether between giant naked Rei and Rei's EVA and it whips away from Shinji and the nightmare Rei's light face looks upset by these developments before it's like SCHWOOM back into the EVA ... ... and all the pulsating flesh becomes unpulsating and the dome stomach bits get popped like each segment of the dome is a bubble wrap bubble and then Rei blows herself and the EVA and I guess also the Angel up and I guess it's more effective than guns.

The obelisks want to interrogate someone, Gendo and Number 2 are already dealing with the fact that Rei is dead and just have some really weird conversation in front of machinery about how Rei is all of Number 2's sins and all of Gendo's hopes or ... or something? The obelisks go through a powerpoint of all the Angels defeated so far and I GUESS the kids have been fighting Angels that are all listed in the Dead Sea Scrolls and according to the Dead Sea Scrolls there's only one Angel left which, sure, we're on episode 23 of 26.

Shinji's lying on his bed not listening to music (music is playing but he doesn't have the headphones in) and Misato comes in to try and talk to him about how Rei killed herself to save Shinji. Shinji talks about sadness that's so intense even when tears can't come ... There's no time in this episode to dwell on this honest, awkward little pebble of grief, though. Misato tries to take Shinji's hand to comfort him but that isn't what he needs, he just wants to be alone and rejects Misato's overture.

Misato wonders about whether Shinji has a fear of women (what?) or intimacy (huh?) but when even Penpen refuses to be company for her, she realizes maybe she was projecting her own issues onto Shinji which hey, good catch, Misato! You and Shinji are similar but not the same.

ANYWAY NO TIME FOR THAT BECAUSE REI IS DEFINITELY MIRACULOUSLY ALIVE AND NOT DEAD even though Ritsuko and a bunch of dudes in HAZMAT suits were going over the spot where the EVA blew up and Ritsuko found something that had her going WELL THIS IS SOME X-FILES SHIT.

Shinji goes to see Rei at the hospital where she is bandaged all to hell and staring vaguely at nothing in the hall and he tries to thank her for her exploding sacrifice on his behalf. Rei basically says you're welcome but I have no idea what you're talking about. Shinji doesn't make much headway in expressing his gratitude further because Rei just straight up says I probably don't know what you're talking about because I'm the third Rei. Just straight up 'oh if I seem weird it's probably because I'm clones'.

It's not that Rei is clones that is surprising, it's just the total nonchalance with which Rei drops 'I guess I'm clones' on Shinji.

SO ANYWAY THE OBELISKS ARE INTERROGATING A NAKED RITSUKO BECAUSE GENDO WON'T LET THEM INTERROGATE REI AND HE'S JUST LIKE HEY THIS SCIENTIST WILL SPEAK ON HER BEHALF AND ALSO SHE'S NAKED but who knows who had the bright idea of naked interrogation. Maybe it was Ritsuko. Say a brief, silent prayer of thanks that there's no naked Gendo interrogation because if there is one thing I have learned so far in Evangelion, it's that the more of Gendo I can see, the more distressed I am.

I DON'T EVEN ENTIRELY KNOW WHAT THE OBELISKS ARE ASKING RITSUKO ABOUT.

Rei goes to her apartment and removes all her bandages and she's fine because she's clones so sure, all the bandages were for show. This Rei sees Gendo's old glasses and picks them up and starts to try and crush them in her hands but also she's crying? Reis is conflicted?

Misato's found a datachip that fuckin' Kaji hid in a pill and she's listening to another recording which is maybe all the stuff he learned while spying on NERV I don't know I don't know I don't know anything at this point.

Ritsuko calls Shinji and tells him he's temporarily not being monitored so he ... look, narrative cohesion and scene transitions are a thing of the past, we don't even have glue between disconnected bits anymore. RITSUKO TALKS TO SHINJI ON THE PHONE.

Then Ritsuko is ... somewhere ... work ... I DON'T KNOW MISATO IS BEHIND HER WITH A GUN AND THEN RITSUKO'S LIKE OKAY I'LL EXPLAIN EVERYTHING BUT SHINJI IS HERE SO WE HAVE TO EXPLAIN TO HIM TOO and it's like just flip on the lights in this one spot and bam there's Shinji NO TIME. ELEVATOR. DOWN DOWN DOWN. DOWN DOWN DOWN. THIS SUBBASEMENT LOOKS LIKE REI'S APARTMENT. BECAUSE IT IS REI'S APARTMENT. WATER MEMORIES. LOOK THIS ISN'T WHAT MISATO IS HERE FOR, MISATO IS HERE FOR THE GIANT SEPHIROTH AND KABALLAH AND CROSS HOLLOWS FULL OF GIANT BONES. EVA skulls and bones and Ritsuko's just like yeah those are all the prototypes from ten years ago that didn't become murder robots piloted by teens we just keep them in these religious pattern caves to form the basis for some real gothy jigsaw puzzles. Oh PS Shinji if you find it familiar it's because you've been here before even if you don't remember it this is where the experiments that kill disappeared your mother went down. NO TIME FOR ANYONE TO REACT TO THIS.

LOOK I'M SURE IF YOU'RE FOLLOWING THIS AND YOU KNOW THE SERIES YOU ARE LIKE RITSUKO AND ARE LIKE GET ON WITH IT JUST GET US TO THE CHAMBER WHICH RITSUKO SAYS IS WHERE THE DUMMY PLUGS ARE MADE AND THEN SHE TURNS ON THE LIGHTS AND WELCOME TO THE NIGHTMARE AQUARIUM. THE ONLY EXHIBIT IN THE NIGHTMARE AQUARIUM ARE REI CLONES SMILING AND GIGGLING AT YOU FROM THEIR ORANGE TANG HABITAT. Ritsuko says the captive Reis have no souls, they're just vacant flesh in the shape of a human, there's only one Rei /personality/ which is the first Rei and I guess when she dies they take another one out of the tank and she becomes the Rei with the soul I DON'T KNOW. Ritsuko hates the Reis not because they are the result of some human science meddling in things they cannot understand or control but because somehow the existence of the Reis mean ... Gendo doesn't need her?

BECAUSE RITSUKO, LIKE HER MOTHER BEFORE HER, ALSO WANTS TO BONE DOWN ON THE MAN WHO IS HATE'S SKELETON, WITH MARROW OF PARENTAL NEGLIGENCE, AND A BLACKHOLE SUCKING HIS FLESH ILLUSION EVER INWARDS TO DARKNESS.

NOW IT IS TIME FOR RITSUKO TO TURN OFF THE TANG AQUARIUM LIFE SUPPORT AND ALL THE GIGGLING REIS BEGIN TO BREAK APART, GIGGLING AS THEIR LIMBS SEPARATE AND THEIR ENTRAILS SPILL OUT AND ALL IS DARKNESS BUT THEY'RE STILL GIGGLING AND HOW ARE ANY OF US SUPPOSED TO RESPOND TO THIS?! Oh, and the obelisks' plan for the destruction of Tokyo-3 is proceeding on schedule WHAT WAIT WHAT I THOUGHT WE WERE TRYING TO PROTECT TOKYO-3 no wonder Misato drinks. No wonder /you/ drink. This concludes my report on Episode 23 of Neon Genesis Evangelion.

Edit: the obelisks talk about having lost the spear of Longinus. It's on the moon, obelisks. You're welcome.

[flyswhumpcenter]

Keepsakes [Whumptober 2019 - Day 15: Scars]

Summary: Serena asks questions about Shun's scars, bringing them on the path of memories.

Fandom: Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V (post-canon, implied alternate ending) Ship: Established Serena/Shun

Wordcount: 1.171 words

Content Warnings: Brief mentions of surgeries. Some references to a near-death experience. Consensual love.

Notes: It's whump if I mention how the scars happened, right? Because otherwise this is all fluff lol Nano and I got the same idea when I mentioned to her the next Whumptober prompts on my list being, back then, "Tear-Stained" and "Scars" : Peregrine stuff. We need more of it. I'll provide, I don't care how or when, I'll provide. I didn't intend this oneshot to have such a sensual tone, but I'm not against it, I've barely written any intimacy lately. The most sensual thing I've written aside from that was, like, a hug in BWI maybe? (spoils spoils) This is meant to be post-canon where the dimensions have fused together, but the Bracelet Girls and Yu Boys are free and not stuck in one mind because that was bogus/20. Bracelet Girls rights. (this story isn't the right place to complain about Arc-V disappointing us). And of course these two are a little older than they are in canon, they're young people who know what they're doing and can consent. I absolutely self-indulgently slipped a reference to a former work of mine, "Birds of a Feather, Fall Together". I've also included a modified reference to an older Arc-V fic I absolutely love, "placeholders" by harezora (who's most likely never gonna read these notes, but in case they do: I love this story so much it was great and better than canon holy shit). 

Event hosted by @whumptober2019

AO3 version available here.

------

The stare she was giving his chest was a bit too intense to his liking, as if her eyes were deciphering some ancient writing on a wall, scrolling from top to bottom, gliding from the left to the right. For a first night sharing a bed in peaceful condition with so little clothing on either of them (it had taken ages for him to even get comfortable with the idea, let alone putting it into place), it was a weird thing for her to do.

Not like he was any better, considering his own eyes couldn’t seem to unglue themselves from the bits of exposed skin left alone by her pyjamas, trailing from her slender shoulders to her hands, focusing on the few imperfections left on her skin by time and experiences, the easily seen and the barely visible, the memories’ physical form laid before him.

 “What are you staring at like that?” he still asked, right as he himself didn’t look quite exactly into her gaze.

“Your scars”, she bluntly replied.

He found himself puffing.

“They’re terrible, right?”

“They’re scars, really,” she continued, crossing her legs on the bed. “You’ve got a lot of them, but they’re a part of yourself. We wouldn’t be the exact same without them.”

That was a bit too deep for his late-night brain, truth be told.

“I suppose so.”

She must have been right, he silently figured, considering the number of scars he could see on her body.

 Serena’s eyes didn’t deter. In fact, her gaze only grew in strength as it continued deciphering the foreign inscriptions in front of her eyes. Her hand twitched on her tight, fingers in a dire want to move, as if she was preventing them from taking off somewhere else.

“I see that you too have a lot of-”

“Can I ask you about them?”

The question surprised him beyond his mind.

“…Come again?”

“Can I ask you about your scars?”

His eyes were furiously blinking.

“Sure, I guess…?”

 What was so interesting about these? They were just ugly, abhorrent traces left behind by wounds of all sorts. And yet, and yet, he found himself with her fingers dancing around his chest, her touch almost sending shivers down his spine (it was closer to a fluttering feel he wasn’t very familiar with, at least not yet), her eyes shining with the light of the bedside lamp.

He didn’t mind, frankly. It had a weird sense of comfort to have her explore him like this, curiosity filling her every move. It made it far less awkward for him to do the same, his own hands brushing against her shoulders, questions coming to his mind. How had she gotten herself these blemishes on her shoulder blades, as light as they were, near a crescent-shaped birthmark right over her breast? Where did the little scars on her arms came from?

Serena was right: they wouldn’t be the same without their scars. This much he could only realize, now that he was actually discovering someone else’s body for the first time in his life.

 Her fingertip stopped on the freshest scar on his skin, laying right under his ribcage.

“This one is from what I think, right?”

“Our first meeting,” he commented. “Well, the aftermath of it, at least.”

“I remember you trying to escape the hospital right before your surgery. Reiji had to send Tsukikage to stun you before you did because Yuya didn’t want to hurt you.”

Her laugh made it worth the embarrassment.

“Sorry, I just… remember your reaction to it. It wasn’t funny at the time, but now that I think about it… It’s kind of funny.”

 Her eyebrows then slightly frowned, making her smile bittersweet.

“…we didn’t start on the best first impressions, did we? You know, being on the opposite sides of a war, my people wanting to slaughter yours and the opposite way around, the Lancers…”

“I wouldn’t have said that. You were the best first impression I had in that dimension.”

“Was it because I looked like Ruri?”

“Maybe.”

 She smiled as her finger left its spot.

“I’m just glad we’re at peace now.”

“Same here.”

 Silence fell between them, albeit only for a short-lived moment, as her finger was still dancing around, eyes following it, before it found itself another spot to ask about.

“And this one?”

Her touch landed on his abdomen, on an old scar he had almost forgotten about from how used he was to seeing it every morning, every evening, every day, every night. Her eyes were sharp, to notice such a faded-out line.

“An old surgery from when I was a kid. I tried ignoring it, but it wasn’t an option. The best thing I remember about it was Ruri sitting by the bed asking me if it hurt.”

“And, did it hurt?”

“It was just sore, really.”

“What surgery was it?”

“Appendicitis, I think.”

“Ah… Never got it myself. Sounds rough.”

“Don’t,” he laughed, looking back at his younger self lying frustrated in a hospital bed. “It was a terrible time to be alive.”

It wasn’t funny, but she giggled back anyway.

“I’m sure it was.”

 Her irises continued their dance, accompanied by her lips shaped in a soft smile. This was a face he could have never resisted, the one who had won him over when he was refusing to show more skin than his arms to her. She’d be the death of him, now that the people trying to kill his entire kind were gone and on the path of redemption – but what a desirable demise she’d be.

“Oh, and this one?”

Her finger gently pressed against a deeper, much more visible scar on his left flank. That one displeased him much more than he’d have wished to admit.

“I got stabbed by an Obelisk Force jackass back in Xyz, before Yuto and I came to Standard, right in front of Ruri too. If it wasn’t for her, I’d have bled out there.”

“That’s horrible…”

“Wasn’t a cosy time to be alive either. Just shows you how strong my sister actually is. Heh, I was blind back there.”

Serena was quiet, her five fingers now flat on his abdomen.

“Hey, don’t make this face. I’m still here, alive and kicking, and so are you. That’s what matters.”

This managed to bring a small smirk back to her lips.

“You’re right.”

 She eventually sighed, cupping his face with her hands, her slender fingers brushing through his hair.

“I’ll have to tell you about mine someday. I don’t have as many, or with as much history, but…”

“That’s wrong. I’m sure they have more meaning that you’re trying to imply.”

“You think?”

“Try me.”

They exchanged mischievous looks, smiles and gazes swapped.

“For another day, then. We got to make the fun last.”

Peace meant they finally had time before them to enjoy life and all the things it brought with it, good and bad.

“Of course,” he said, before they closed the space between their lips.

[shandidellamorte]

Shandi’s Tales from Sphynxia 4!

I’m really trying not to make Bomani spill over into super fucking creep territory I swear. XD One thing I can promise is that there will be no elements of rape. Because no. 

~Shandi

Bomani goes out of his way to try to make amends..but Vinneketh delivers a harsh truth instead..

CONFLICT Part 3

“I am yours~” 

Bomani pressed kisses along the smooth skin of Vinneketh’s naked back, who let out a wonderful melody of soft sighs and moans. One hand had the dancer’s wrist pinned to the bed while the other caressed the insides of his thighs. 

“Ohh yes..pleasure me~!” 

Then like a cruel joke, everything vanished and he was alone.

Bomani sat up in bed, panting and covered in sweat. Another dream. He cursed. “Gods..why do you torment me so..?” Perhaps some time in the training hall would help him take his mind of things for a while. He pulled on a pair of pants and grabbed his training weapon.

As he approached he found the lights already on. Somebody else who couldn’t sleep? Peeking in, his heart was practically caught in his throat when he saw Vinneketh. The black chiffon material of his robes billowed about him as he danced. It was like watching art come to life. The way his body moved was captivating. Sensuous. Arousing. He grunted and turned away. He shouldn’t be here. He knew the dancer was still upset with him. He had to make everything right again. 

In the morning he went to visit Dalila at his Oasis. The blond warrior was doing his usual morning routine: having tea, tending to his expansive lotus garden and writing in his journal. When he was spotted Dalila smiled and waved. “Bomani! It’s so rare to see you here! Come and join me, my friend! The lotus blossoms are looking especially beautiful today don’t you think~? Would you like some tea? Perhaps..something to relax you a little? You look like you haven’t slept..” Bomani fell into a chair with a heavy sigh. “I haven’t..but I don’t think tea is going to help me. I need your help. Vinneketh is upset with me.” Dalila raised an eyebrow. “Oh. I’m..sorry to hear that. We had noticed he had been a little distant from all of us lately after his Trials. Hopefully it will pass once he regains control.” 

“It goes much further than that with me.” 

Dalila silently sipped his tea. He had a distinct feeling that he probably shouldn’t ask for details. “Well..what help can I possibly offer you?” 

“What kind of flowers does he like?” 

Not long after he sent Bomani off, Vinneketh came to visit him as well. He was going to be busy today~ He smiled and offered the dancer a seat as he poured him a cup of tea. “You’re looking very troubled, my friend. Is there something you need?” Vinneketh sighed, holding his cup tightly. “I hate to burden you..but I do not think Masika would understand.”

“Don’t be ridiculous! You’re never a burden!” 

“Thank you~ The past few days have been..very difficult. Bomani…is fully intent on trying to prove that he is in love with me..but I…cannot return those feelings. I care for him deeply. We have been together since we were young. I love you all as family. At this stage..I cannot see him as anything more than a brother.” Dalila chewed at his lip. Bomani was definitely not going to be happy when he heard that. Vinneketh narrowed his eyes. “You already know. He has been here?” 

“You just missed each other in fact.” 

“What did he tell you?” 

“I..didn’t ask many questions. He just..told me you were upset with him and he asked me what kind of flowers you might like.” 

“I see..” Vinneketh went quiet, sipping his tea in contemplation. “Bomani is indeed a complicated individual. He does have a caring side, but his aggressiveness can be very frightening. Having to fight for his own survival as a war orphan, aggression is part of his being. He is fueled by his passions. I just wish..he would think of me as more than just someone he wishes to bed. I know it is to be expected considering our age..but..” Dalila placed a hand on his shoulder. “If that’s the way you truly feel then you must tell him. He needs to know where he really stands with you, and he has the right to know the truth.” Vinneketh nodded slowly. “You are right..I dread how he will react..but it will be worse if I ignore it.” He finished his tea and stood up, hugging Dalila tightly. “Gods bless you, my friend~” 

“I’d say the same but they already have~ Good luck~” 

On the way back to his room one of the Palace’s young messengers ran up to him. “Pardon me, Master Vinneketh! I was instructed to give this to you!” The boy handed over a small scroll held together by an Uroboros seal. He smiled and handed the boy a gold coin. “Thank you~” The boy bowed, happily holding the coin close to his chest and running off. Vinneketh pulled off the seal, exhaling before opening the parchment up to read it. 

Vinneketh,

It hurts not being able to speak to you. I have so many things I must say. Please consider meeting with me. I will be on the Palace balcony overlooking the Obelisk. We’ll never get past this if we don’t talk to each other.

                                                                                   Bomani

He stared at the note before placing it inside his robe. It was a relief to know the warrior wanted to resolve this peacefully. There would be no harm in just hearing him out right? He set off towards the Palace stairs up to the balconies. Bomani stood waiting for him with his arms behind his back. He could see the relief in the warrior’s expression. “I’m glad you chose to come. I have something for you.” He held out a large bouquet of flowers. Vinneketh covered his mouth as he gasped. “Queen of the Night lilies..those are my favorite~ They are so beautiful~” He took the flowers and held them close, breathing in their sweet scent. “Thank you so much~” 

“They were..a suggestion from Dalila. He seems to know your taste in flowers like the back of his hand.” Vinneketh laughed. “Oh yes~ He makes it his business to know everyone’s flower preferences~” Bomani took a small step forward. “I hoped..we could talk as well. I regret everything that I said to you after your Trials. It was..complete shit. I want you to know how sorry I am and I hope that..eventually you will allow me to court you the proper way.” The dancer stared down at his flowers with a grimace. “Bomani..I know..how much you wish to be with me..but I…I simply..do not love you in such a way..” His eyes filled with tears as he felt the warrior’s heart shatter. “Please, Vinneketh.. I need to be near you. I..I dream of you..I wake from those dreams aching for you. What..can I do to make you love me..?” Vinneketh shook his head. “No..my heart cannot be won that way. You must understand..love cannot be forced. We are both too young to fully realize what we want from our lives. Let us just remain friends for now.  Perhaps once we have reached adulthood things will be different.” 

After only getting a small grunt in reply, Vinneketh decided to leave the warrior to his own torrential thoughts. Bomani’s fists were clenched so tightly his nails were cutting into his palms. He wanted to scream. He wanted to fly into a rage and cut down everything in his path. He thought he had done everything right!! 

SO WHY?! 

To be Continued!!

[vlightndarkv]

Reactions to Yu-Gi-Oh: Dark Side of Dimensions

Okay so, this started as one reaction to something, but then I had more reactions and just kept adding on aaaand... Yeah. XD

Now obviously there will be some spoilers, but most should be fairly out of context.

I have no idea if this will even be of any interest to anyone, probably not, but I had fun doing it so eh. *shrug*

I'll keep the first few visible but will hide the rest under a read more cause this got kinda long. Whoops. >.>

Also, I intend to write a proper review of this movies because I have many thoughts on things, but that will be tomorrow. Is quite late, much later than I had intended on staying up, and I need sleep.

(Also I will apologize now to anyone who likes Kaiba that happens to read this. I distinctly am NOT a fan of Kaiba and it very much shows throughout this.)

---

"It's true, I went through a great deal of trouble recreating the Pharoah's deck, strategies, even his perfectly quaffed hair. In fact that part is what took the longest."

Oh my god what even is this movie??? XDXD

(Quick note, this was the original reaction I was going to post on it’s own, but shortly after I had another and that’s how this whole thing came about. After this they’re in order as the occurred in the movie, it’s just this one that’s out of place since it started the whole thing.)

---

*movie opens with us flying through space, comes to a space station with the letters KC on the side*

Me: Oh dear god, his ego had reached space!

---

Uh... Excuse me what? Why do you have that???

---

*people digging stuff up, dude has a picure of the Millennium Puzzle on his phone*

Me: Uh... Okay... So are these Kaiba’s guys or...

---

*Yugi and his grandpa talking about Tea*

Me: Oh? Will there finally be some eluding to Yugi and Tea?

*little further along*

Me: Guess not.

---

Sploosh!

---

*Bakura surrounded by girls, completely flustered*

Me: XDXDXD

(I’m glad they included this because it’s never played up in the show despite being canon)

---

*gang goes around, talking about what they’re going to do after graduating*

Me: But what about Bakura? (No I’m not a Bakura fangirl, no not at all >.>)

---

*Aigami is introduced, gang standing around trying to remember his name*

Me: He hasn’t been in their class the whole time has he.

---

Geh, what is up with these character designs? What’s with that dude’s head??

---

What is this these characters and jumping off things?

---

*Joey tumbles into his landing*

Me: *snort* Nailed it.

Joey: Dat was on purpose!

Me: Close enough. XD

---

Aigami: You’re Joey right? And Tea? And you... You’re Yugi Moto, am I right?

Yugi: Yeah but, don’t we already know each other?

Me: Yeaaah... He definitely hasn’t been around this whole time.

---

That whole thing was a set up wasn’t it?

---

Joey: How do we know him and not know him at the same time?

Yugi: I wish I had an answer.

*conspiracy theory continues to grow*

Dirty water dogs...

---

Seriously this dude’s head!

---

Well. They certainly didn’t waste any time revealing you as the villain did they?

---

*shadow people start showing up*

Is... Is that Bakura??? The hell???

---

Aand the whole thing was recorded.

*Aigami picks up the camera after having been seen walking away through it*

Wait. How did-But you just- HUH???

---

Pharaoh? Uhhhh... what?

---

*Kaiba immediately summons three blue-eyes*

Me: Doesn’t anybody know the rules of this game? (Throwback to Yu-Gi-Oh abridged. XD)

---

*Kaiba internal monologuing about how he’s better, how he’s done so much to get to this moment, how he’ll finally show he’s the best*

Me: *groans and rolls eyes so hard it’s a wonder they didn’t pop out of my skull*

---

Kaiba: You set me up. *attack happens, things explode, Kaiba still stands* But I knew you’d set me up.

Me: Aand of course. Wouldn’t be Yu-Gi-Oh if there weren’t constant, “But wait!” moments.

---

*Kaiba unleashes attack, Pharaoh doesn’t try to counter, things explode*

Me: ... This wasn’t real was it?

*world begins to fade away*

Me: Yup. Only way he’d actually beat the Pharaoh.

---

Crystal cloud network... How far does that go exactly? Dear god that’s a terrifying thought...

---

Okay so wait he... doesn’t... have it yet? Then what was up with the beginning of the movie?

---

Duke! Wasn’t expecting to see you.

---

Kaiba: It is I! Seto Kaiba and once again I am about to change your lives.

Me: Oh lord here we go...

---

Huh... Well that’s certainly interesting how they played this.

(This was in reaction to Diva and his friend overlooking Yugi and his friends at the mall. I went into this movie having seen a rather key scene involving Diva and Bakura so was impressed at how they mislead us early on)

---

Kaiba can't you just wait for the plane to land like a normal person? You really had to jump out of it? Seriously, the characters in this series and jumping from things.

---

The guns aren't invisible!

---

Kaiba... Only you would be extra enough to have an automatic trap door build into your coat.

---

"There are no limits when you're as brilliant as Seto Kaiba!"

Me: Ugh...

---

How may different types of Blue-eyes White Dragons does this guy have???

---

*Kaiba internal monologuing about how it can't end here, I've come too far done too much*

Me: I swear to god if he says something about the heart of the cards I'm done.

---

Uh... Whut.

Whut

Kaiba you're breaking the world.

---

What is that? Wait... Is that...

Aigami: It's Obelisk the Tourmentor!

Me: WHUT. He still has that???

---

*glowing coming from the hole the items fell into, dude teleport down, Millennium Ring is poking out of the rubble*

Oh dear.

---

Huh. So they're actually graduating.

---

Kaiba why... WHY do you need a space station?

---

*computer goes through a bunch of techno babble*

Kaiba: Don't you think I know that? I invented the blasted thing.

Computer: Affirmative. But my AI has recognized your affinity for being reminded of your genius.

Me: UGHHH!!! MY GOD YOUR EGO.

---

Huh. Well THAT just threw a bunch of my Bakura head canons out the window.

---

Oh dear. Well that's not good.

---

Tristan: Come on! Something's happened to Joey!

Me: How do you know that?!

---

*Aigami’s friend shows up acting all creepy*

Oooh snap.

---

Okay so is the ring manipulating this dude's emotions or is this the spirit talking and he's pissed at Bakura.

---

Aigami: The ring didn't do it it was you!

Aigami: *2 minutes later* Manny the ring is doing something to you!

Me: Dude! Make up your mind!

---

*Yugi and co. running around, calling for Joey*

Me: No concern for Bakura though. As usual. *sigh*

---

Friendship is magic!

---

Kaiba. Go. AWAY.

Seriously, I feel like I'm watching two different movies here.

---

HOW DO YOU KNOW HE HAS THE PIECES?!?!?!

---

Mokuba: Hey Yugi what's up? Lookin good!

Me: How are these two related...

---

Mokuba: *cocky* We know were the second piece is and it's practically ours.

Me: ... Okay now I see the family resemblance.

---

I swear to god just when I start to think Kaiba can't get any more extra...

---

*Kaiba goes through long-winded, ego boosting speech that I've already forgotten most of*

Me: Ughhhhhh......

---

Kaiba: Behold! The Millennium Puzzle!

Me: Dude, you are LITERALLY one of 7 people in that entire stadium who even knows what that thing is.

---

Yeah Yugi! Put that egotistical prick in his place!

---

These poor people have NO IDEA what's going on.

---

Yugi: Dimension dueling? Guess I'll have to learn as I go.

Me: Ladies and gentlemen, Yu-Gi-Oh in a sentence.

---

Must we do the DBZ power up scream?

---

Oh boy, these things again.

---

Ah... But... He... Hm... *me trying to work out a plot point*

---

Kaiba: (card name)'s ability allows me to to summon Blue-Eyes White Dragon!

Me: Of course it does.

---

Seriously, HOW MANY DIFFERENT BLUE EYES DOES THIS GUY HAVE???

---

APPLE Magician Girl??? Dafuq?

---

And now Lemon Magician Girl. He's got a magical fruit salad in the works here.

---

*Diva comes across Millennium Ring*

Me: Oh shit.

---

*Kaiba plays Monster Reborn*

Me: Oh hey, a card I know!

---

Geehh.

---

EIGHTH Millennium Item??? Sure why not.

---

Yugi and Kaiba having a back to back bad ass moment to team up against the bad guy... Not sure how I feel about this.

---

*Kaiba shows concern for Yugi, Kaiba sacrifices himself for Yugi*

The ease in which he changes his focus depending on the situation is... Something else. Because I know when this is all over he'll be right back to, "Yugi I will defeat you!" mode.

---

When did you pick that up?!

---

Heart of the cards. Knew that had to come up at some point.

---

Return of the Pharoah! (?)

---

He's... Not gonna say a word is he?

*Pharoah poofs*

Nope.

---

HIS SPACE STATION IS SHAPED LIKE A K AND A C. HOW DID I MISS THAT. Dear lord this guy...

---

*Kaiba is shown to have Diva's cube thing*

Me: Uh oh...

---

... Whut...

SERIOUSLY DUDE??? DEAR GOD GET A LIFE!

---

*credits roll, remixed version of original theme plays*

Me: *cackles*

---

*credits scroll through songs, three of which were on the shows soundtrack*

How did I miss those??? (Though to be fair its been a LOOOONG time since I last listened to that soundtrack)

---

THERE WAS NO POT OF GREED.

On one level, I’m relieved. Back when I watched the show I came to despise that card because despite it being played ALL THE DAMN TIME they STILL felt the need to explain that it, “Allows me to draw two cards” EVERY.FRIGGIN.TIME.

But on the other hand, because of that it became such a part of the series that it almost seems wrong for it to have not been included.

[very-grownup]

THE YEAR IS 2020 AND I WATCHED NEON GENESIS EVANGELION FOR THE FIRST TIME, PART 9

Episode 21.

Suddenly it's a found footage shakey cam horror movie. I think it's meant to be footage of ... NERV before it was NERV labs in 2000 with some bad shit happening. I'm unclear of so much in this episode, guys.

There is one of those blue screens with the white text that warns you that if you make copies of this you will go to jail for a million years, though, which feels nice and nostalgic before we get into the opening credits. (Opening? Still a bop. Thank you, '90s.)

Episode 21 continues behind the cut.

Someone has been kidnapped from NERV, possibly by or because of Kaji (fuckin' Kaji), and because all these NERV people are interchangeable except for Misato, Ritsuko, and Shinji's horrible father, I have no idea who it is until we see the old dude who is usually behind Ikari. He's tied to a chair in a black void, surrounded by an increasing number of numbered obelisks who I think are the old man Simon council but instead of projecting as old men they're ... obelisks. Look, their government is run by supercomputers named after the Magi. This is as fine as anything.

The obelisks don't like Commander Ikari (same) or what he's doing (same) and want Number 2 to explain what's going on (same) due to the Dead Sea Scrolls and their desire not to create god (... same?). Which means it's time for BACKSTORY or as close as this show gets to backstory.

Number 2 used to be a scientist/academic at ... a school ... lab ... university ... somewhere ... where he met a promising young student of ... science stuff ... named Ikari. There's some sentence vagaries to make the audience think the student is a young Commander Ikari but PSYCH, it's /Yui/, Shinji's mysteriously dead mother. This is not a big surprise, because no one would be anticipating meeting Gendo Ikari. What is a surprise is that Yui Ikari is currently single, although if you've consumed enough Japanese media you've probably encountered cases where a husband takes the wife's surname and is adopted into her family when there's no sons in the family (Summer of the Ubume). ANYWAY Yui is currently single and Number 2 talks to her about her post-graduation career plans, failing to consider that maybe she wants to get married and start a family. Find your own path and all that but also: this is a woman who is going to make terrible life choices.

I don't know why, but as a favour to Yui, Number 2 goes to spring an absolute piece of shit ... fellow student? from the drunk tank after he got arrested for brawling and it is, of course, Gendo Originalsurnamewhocareshesucks. We see him without his glasses for the first time. Even though this is ~15 years ago, Gendo without his glasses is the worst thing ever, rivaling yes the EVA with the giant white human teeth ripping an Angel apart and screaming. I hate looking at him, his cheeks sunken and his eyes huge, very like a skull. The real thesis material in Evangelion is: why has anyone ever slept with this awful gaunt uncharming skull man? He has the visage and personality of someone whose genetic line should die with him.

On a nature walk (because this is before seasons are destroyed by the second impact [and this is a really pretty scene, too, all fall leaves and oranges and red, more vibrant yet gentle than the series often is]) Yui reveals to Number 2 that she and Gendo are in a relationship. Why? Look, that's some Dead Sea Scrolls bullshit, learn ancient Hebrew and get into archeology, unearth some tablets, figure it out for yourselves.

The Second Impact happens and destroys Antarctica and Misato's father and she becomes mute for a while after this and also is kept in a featureless hospital cell for observation with a few age appropriate toys for company and for some reason this doesn't help her mental trauma. No wonder her roommate's a penguin.

The Misato flashback may seem like it comes out of nowhere and if so /hey welcome to my experience of this episode/ where I mostly had my hands on my forehead like I needed to reinforce my brain to process everything.

Number 2 and Shitty Gendo are in Antarctica after the Second Impact with the neon pink ocean and the none ice and oh Gendo and Yui got married. Surprise! Gendo and Yui or Gendo through Yui are involved in something called Seele which is the thing that becomes NERV I think. What's going on /shut up I don't know/ there's some kind of secret science government military organization and it involves the Ikari and then Number 2 and also Ritsuko's mother and underground caverns that may be cities and is this Atlantis? Ancient aliens? Akashic records? I DON'T KNOW Number 2 has concerns and Yui both seems to agree with Number 2's concerns but also is down with whatever Gendo's doing and they have Shinji and he seems like a pretty happy and cute baby and Yui seems to love him even though she brings him to work. And by work I mean the underground lab where they're dissecting or recreating flesh tube skeletons from Adam or building Adam or using Adam to build what will be the Evas, specifically on the day Yui is doing The Experiment. I don't think bringing little Shinji to work is a great idea or a sign of great parenting, especially when The Experiment goes awry and Yui is killed in front of Shinji's toddler eyes.

Ritsuko's mother, Dr. ... Doctor, doesn't approve of kids in the secret mad scientist bunker but MAN does she approve of Yui being killed. Because, somehow, she also wants to fuck Gendo Ikari, a skeleton of emotional abuse and neglect wearing sausage casing as skin.

There's also some stuff here about young Ritsuko (she's not a natural blonde! but honestly the fleeting glimpses of Ritsuko at different ages in this episode show greater awareness of how women can change without just relying on bigger breasts more hair than I'd expect). She and her mother exchange letters where they seem to be more honest with each other than they are in person and I wish there was more time spent dwelling in that, because Evangelion has an imperfect but still insightful view of the complexity of mother-daughter relationships. She goes away to school and meets Misato and they bond and become friends and they each seem to be the other's first friend due to their various issues and weirdness and Ritsuko's clearly at least a little in love with Misato. Unfortunately, Misato is dating Kaji (fuckin' Kaji) and Dr. Doctor thinks Kaji is a pretty great catch, but like ... Dr. Doctor wants to fuck or possibly is fucking Gendo Ikari, so if you can think of a great condemnation of Kaji than this, I'd love to hear it (fuckin' Kaji).

Misato and Ritsuko both join Seele or NERV or whatever the fuck these secret awful organizations are currently calling themselves, with Misato going to Germany and Ritsuko starting to work with her mother and also seeing her mother just jamming her tongue down Gendo's throat. Truly, Ritsuko could never understand her mother as a woman and neither can we, because /why would you desire Gendo Ikari/ and his judgmental touch, icy even through fucking Mickey Mouse gloves.

SO ONE DAY Gendo comes to work with a young Rei and I guess since Yui died no one has seen Shinji since people are looking at Rei and going 'oh is this your son?' and 'I thought you had a son, not a daughter'. But no, Rei is the daughter of a friend Gendo is looking after. Imagine thinking 'Gendo Ikari has even a single friend' is a believable lie.

Since Yui's death, no one has bothered to institute any kind of secret underground lab rules about kids on the premises, because while Dr. Doctor is doing some shit with her O. Henry super computers, little Rei wanders in and proceeds to neg the shit out of this grown woman. They're obviously not the words of a child and it's been clear since the beginning that there's something Not Right about Rei, but when she tells Dr. Doctor that she's a sexually undesirable hag and a nagging shrew and has outlived her purpose they're the words of a man. An adult man, specifically Gendo Ikari, as Rei just straight up tells Dr. Doctor upon being scolded for rudeness. Dr. Doctor's poor judgment of character means she is semi-shocked and hurt by this and sent into a weird fugue state where she chokes Rei until a small arm goes limp. Dr. Doctor thinks about how both she and Rei are both equally replaceable to Gendo, who is still hung up on Yui as much as he seems able to have an emotional attachment to anyone, and so finds all other women to be interchangeable tools.How replaceable Rei is could be a reference to whatever Rei's unnatural origins are, but we've also seen that Gendo considers children to be a renewable and easily disposable resource.

Then Dr. Doctor kills herself (or is murdered, who can say) and gets ... replaced by her daughter in the project.

SO I GUESS THIS IS ALL PART OF NUMBER 2'S TESTIMONY TO THE OBELISKS or maybe not but his thing is done or on break and fuckin' Kaji is there to ... break him out? Even though he's the reason Number 2 was getting interrogated? I don't know, I don't know.

They only use one set of handcuffs for Number 2, but they had three on Shinji in the previous episode.

Misato also had some thing with security intelligence interrogation going on in this episode maybe but they're done and give her back her gun.

Then Kaji's hanging out in a Silent Hill otherworld before a giant fan in weird sickly light and the screen goes black with a gunshot and I don't believe he's dead because I've been fooled about fuckin' Kaji before.

... but then Misato comes home, looking utterly exhausted and devastated, and she sees the message light blinking on her answering machine and she presses play as tears fill her eyes and she collapses to her knees listening to a message from Kaji. He apologizes for causing her trouble yet again, asks her to apologize to Ritsuko as well, asks her to get Shinji to show her where his garden is so she can water the flowers for him, and promises to tell her what he was too scared to tell her years ago. Misato's crying becomes heartwrenching raw sobs (Kotono Mitsuishi does a great job here, breaking my heart) and Shinji, curled up in his room, takes out his headphones and peeks into the kitchen to take in this vision of distraught, helpless adult grief. Then he goes back to his room without alerting Misato to his presence and pulls his pillow over his head, trying to drown out Misato's sobs, because he's just a kid and he knows there's nothing he can do and so he doesn't know what he /should/ do.

Although I've been wanting it for episodes, Kaji's death becomes a bitter pill that I can feel no mean satisfaction from. I'm not sure what's going on, but I know Misato's distraught. This concludes my report on Episode 21 of Neon Genesis Evangelion.