#one more filler tag

[sonicaspeed123]

When loreheads get their hands on the amy rose fortune cards the world will be beautiful

[dominosecho]

they’re filler episodes TO YOU. to me they’re little windows through which i watch my favorite characters make the stupidest decisions imaginable

[jackmischief]

quietly raging (still) about how a fully grown adult with universe-altering magic blamed a literal child for botching a spell he’d never cast on the scale he was casting it. without asking any follow-up questions of the child who made the request, he just jumped right into universe-altering, grand scale magic and then had the fucking audacity to get mad at the kid for not first considering an option that nobody but an entitled wealthy white man like himself would have EVER considered

[svtskneecaps]

i also just want to point out the qsmp members' commitment to like never letting the inactive members die. like dantdm logged on twice and is canonically dead and everyone continues to blame mysterious happenstance on him. spreen is canonically dead and yet people are still like namedropping him even tho the house façade he built has been demolished and also probably consumed by a mountain. they meme on kameto who's barely been on except that time he was a fed spy that was iconic as hell. they just immortalize their members and they're always so happy to see old faces come back and it lowkey makes me emotional lmfaoo like missa barely logged on for a while but goddamn nobody forgot his name bc philza can't go one day without mentioning him and mariana barely logs on but every time fit saw the homeless mariana in roier's city no matter what he'd stop dead and tell it "come home" and when slime came back to the server for elections after having logged off for the last like two months everyone was still excited to meet him bc the others had kept his memories on the server fresh and alive, maxo died canonically in the nuke and pierre pasted his face all over the server, luzu vanished for months and we never forgot him either thanks to the computers and foolish's wack ass family tree. like when purgatory teams were chosen and team red constantly joked about how it would be so over for the other teams once germán logged on despite the fact that germán had only ever logged on ONCE, the way they cheered when they snatched rubius in the split of green despite the fact that rubius hadn't logged on more than twice since march. they just keep the names alive all the time and it's like

it just makes me really happy to see. like it makes me really happy. like the admin team and the members alike are like 'no way in HELL are we letting your memory go' like damn once ur on isla quesadilla you really are stuck as an islander forever :D

[phuljari]

social media au! part 4

summary : khushi is a model and influencer; arnav just seems to stumble upon her profile one day— not so much by accident. (or what if khushi fell in love at first sight?)

warnings : lots of hindi, some english, cussing in (either) languages. deliberate typos. online stalker!shyam. text heavy.

a/n : i am...trying something new (by using the word prompts) #IPK 13th Anniversary Fiesta @arshifiesta

laxmi.ji

liked by gulabo_devyani, arnavsinghraizada, aakash_r, hari_prakash, hellohibyebye, nandiii, anjaliiiii.r, mahendrarudrapratapsinghraizada and others

laxmi.ji Tum aa gaye ho, noor aa gaya hai @/nandiii

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hellohibyebye e goatwa ko postwa karna kaun sikha diya haiiiiin?

⤷gulabo_devyani Manorama. khabardaar 😠

hari_prakash Nani ji humein kyu crop kar diya?

anjaliiiii.r Laxmi ji! Kya lag rahi hai!! :)

⤷gulabo_devyani :) E. Kaa MATLAB ka. Hai. Anjali. bitya.

nandiii Arey waah, ghatiya lag rahi hai laxmiji ekdum 👌

⤷aakash_r NK bhai 😭😭😭ghatiya nahi badhiya 😭😭😭

iMessage "Raizada Group"

NK: Di mera instagram suspend ho gaya 😭

NK: Ab me kya karunga diiii

NK: It's saying that I was reported for abusive language

Anjali: Aree, ruko hum dekhte hai

Aakash: 👀

NK: Dii, mere bichaare followers kya sochenge

NK: Mai toh nadaan ho gaya di

Aakash: 😭

Aakash: Nadaan nahi, pareshaan 😭

NK: Sach sach bolo Aakash, tumne report kiya na mujhe?

NK: Tumhe mere hindi sacchi nahi lagti

NK: *Acchi isiliye

Aakash: Nahi NK Bhai, mai kyu report karunga?

Anjali: Chotte 😒

NK: Nannav main tumhari paav padta hu

NK: Please mera account suspend hone se bacha lo na

NK: Nannav

NK: Nannav

NK: Nannav

Anjali added Arnav to Raizada Group

NK: Nannav

NK: Nannav

NK: Mere bhai 🙏

NK: Mujhe Khushi ji ko invite karna hai

NK: Dinner ke liye

NK: Shantivan

NK: Ab mai unko message kaise karunga? 😭

Arnav seen

Notifications (nandiii)

Your account has been cleared of suspicious activity and/or abusive language.

Thank you for your patience.

(1) new messages from nandiii

nandiii: Khushi ji!

thekhushigupta: nanhe ji!!

nandiii: Aapko bhojan ka aamantran hai aaj raat 8 baje

nandiii: Shantivan 📌

thekhushigupta: ji bilkul! 🫶

nandiii: Waise what's your fav dish?

thekhushigupta: oh i devour aloo poori, chaat, jalebi, pakore 😭 anything lucknowi also works

nandiii: Of course Khushi ji! Humari choice is same to same 😌

thekhushigupta liked a message

thekhushigupta: nanhe ji, ek question hai

thekhushigupta: hum apni jiji ko bhi laaye kya saath me?

thekhushigupta: if you don't have a problem?

nandiii: Why not Khushi ji? The more, the merrier! :)

nandiii: Aur haan Khushi ji, I forgot to tell you that this is my cousin's home

nandiii: He's most probably not going to be around but in case he is, don't mind his presence 😂

nandiii: And the rest of the family will be there too

nandiii: Hope that's okay Khushi ji?

thekhushigupta: aree kyu nahi! i'm already so excitedddd

iMessage

Preetika: What's up buttercup?

Preetika: Still in your lover era?

Khushi: OMG

Khushi: no

Khushi: yes

Khushi: maybe, idk 😭

Preetika: Ooo what's the tea?

Khushi: we went out but

Khushi: he was only trying to stay out of his home

Khushi: cos guests or sm

Preetika: Oh no, girl, I'm so sorry :((

Khushi: no you're not

Preetika: No, i'm not😂

Preetika: At least you found out early enough that he wasn't as interested as you were

Khushi: i guess 🥺

Khushi: but what do i do with all these feelings? 😭😭

Preetika: You wanna talk over coffee?

Khushi: i wish!! but i've gtg for dinner at this place

Preetika: Okay wow, I get it. I'm not even on your priority list 😔

Khushi: noooooo

Khushi: ofc you are

Khushi: he's just a friend and he's visiting from australia so can't say no na

Preetika: Oh, is he single?

Khushi: idk 😭

Khushi: i'll see tho

Preetika liked a message

titaliya_k

liked by aakash_r, shyamjha, hari_prakash, arnavsinghraizada, saritaraman, hellohibyebye, theshyamjha, usershyam, nandiii, laxmi.ji and others

titaliya_k raghbat <3

@/nandiii thank you for hosting this amazing dinner and fulfilling my 'ghar ka khana' needs 💖

and @/laxmi.ji for the wonderful company!

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nandiii Anytime Khushi ji!

⤷titaliya_k 🫶

aakash_r We were delighted to host you and your jiji!

⤷titaliya_k it was lovely to meet you! 😌

⤷hellohibyebye e kaa dusra accountwa hai ka phati saree?

⤷user1 this is her personal account and @/thekhushigupta is her professional one

shyamjha Accha toh aap idhar thi Khushi ji! Hum toh pareshaan ho gaye aapko dhoondhte dhoondhte

*this user has been blocked. click here to unblock*

usershyam: Waise aaj aap khule baalon me kaafi sunder lag rahi thi

*this user has been blocked. click here to unblock*

user2 yummy!

hari_prakash humne banaya didi

(2) new messages from titaliya_k

titalilya_k: nanhe ji!!!!!!

titaliya_k: aapne bataya kyu nahi 😭😭

nandiii: Kya hua Khushi ji? Kya nahi bataya??

titaliya_k: ki aap asr ke bhai hain 😭

nandiii: Oh sorry, mai bhool gaya Khushi ji 🥺

titaliya_k: 😭😭😭

nandiii: But everything went well no? Nannav said something to you?

titaliya_k: haan par

titaliya_k: wait NANNAV?!😂😂

titaliya_k: i'm cackling! 🤣🤣🤣

titaliya_k: ek din me do do nicknames 😂😂

titaliya_k: chotte had me giggling af lol

nandiii: Di and Nani ji only call him that 😅

titaliya_k: btw naniji is soooo cute! i absolutely enjoyed spending time with her!!

nandiii: Oh? She said the same thing about you two! But especially you 😌

titaliya_k: anjali ji was pretty sweet as well

titaliya_k: nothing like her chotte 🤭

nandiii: 😂😂

(1) message from thekhushigupta

thekhushigupta: hey

arnavsinghraizada: Yeah?

thekhushigupta: chotte 😂

arnavsinghraizada: 😒

thekhushigupta: istg it was so funny

arnavsinghraizada: Funny was you meeting my family on the second date itself

thekhushigupta: it wasn't a date 😒

arnavsinghraizada: You were literally staring at me the whole night

thekhushigupta: ok no need to call me out like that

thekhushigupta: so what? i like to look at pretty things

arnavsinghraizada: I'm pretty?

thekhushigupta: yessir

arnavsinghraizada seen

thekhushigupta: oh!! hello!!! don't ghost me!!!

arnavsinghraizada: Kya bolu ab?

arnavsinghraizada: I don't get it. You asked me out, we went on a date. And then YOU ghosted me.

arnavsinghraizada: And now you're flirting?

arnavsinghraizada: Tum thodi pagal ho

thekhushigupta: haan 😂😂

thekhushigupta: bua ji hume sanka devi bulati hai 😂

thekhushigupta: but you had the ghosting coming

thekhushigupta: who says on their first date that they're only there to avoid their cousin?

thekhushigupta: who btw is my friend!!

arnavsinghraizada: Wow you assumed that i was there to avoid NK

arnavsinghraizada: Okay, fair. I was actually

arnavsinghraizada: Doesn't mean that I didn't enjoy your company

thekhushigupta: oh?

TBC

<previous> | <next>

[movie-robotnik-positivity]

Personally I'm really happy with the decision to introduce original human villains to the SCU.

I understand a lot of people don't like it when they deviate from game stuff, but the series is already infamous for having almost no reocurring villains besides Eggman. And this is more than just an adaptation, it's a proper pillar of the Sonic franchise that can tell it's own stories and introduce its own characters.

[longagoitwastuesday]

I am liking Jujutsu Kaisen, way more than I imagined I would, but I foresee it will let me down and it's keeping me from enjoying this as much as I could haha

I think the characters and dynamics are well set, and I think many of them have an incredibly good and deep potential, but I would be willing to bet they'll not get a proper development, enough for them to really hit. A well assembled set of gears is not enough to make the movement go, you have to wind the clockwork.

I think Gojo and Megumi have a fascinating and very complex dynamic, but I doubt it will be given the time and care that imo it needs to actually work. And it is going well enough for now! One could see the intimacy between them was deeper than the one Gojo had with, say, Yuji and Nobara ever since the very first few episodes despite the fact Fushiguro too was a first year. But the pieces forming what they have are extremely complex, and it just wouldn't be realistic if it doesn't show, even if in a not showing way, or if it doesn't have consequences or implications.

It's one of those dynamics that shape one's life, the way one regards the world, the way one establishes or not relationships with other people. It's one of those dynamics that could be full of fondness, gratitude, resentment, admiration, trust, and that imply intimacy, the good kind or the bad, even if in just the knowledge of someone who's been a constant through your life. It could, and would, imply a myriad of feelings, and probably in such a mix it could imply contradictory feelings too. Even the nothingness would weight, even the nothingness would be significant and meaningful.

Gojo took Megumi and his sister under his wing, the son of a man who murdered him, because of both selfish and selfless reasons. Megumi looks like Toji. What does Gojo feel about this? How does Gojo deal with this? How does Gojo go about taking care of Megumi? Would he walk him to school? Make him breakfast? Celebrate his birthdays making him blow candles? Did he take him to the zoo? Does the relationship between them feel professional or is it something more? Gojo appreciates his students, but is Megumi to him just another student? When Gojo faces Sukuna in Megumi's body, did he see the kid he raised, or does he just see Sukuna in one of his students' body? Did he have one faint wavering instant? And how does Megumi feel about this? Is he resentful of him? Resentful of the situation? Of the selfishness behind his actions? Does he feel like a pawn? Is he grateful? Does he resent feeling grateful? Would he rather not? Does he love Gojo? Does he feel nothing about him other than what he could feel about a teacher that sort of annoys him but knows he's reliable in his strength? Does he think it unfair, cruel or unfeeling that Gojo is close, closer perhaps, with Yuuji or Yuta, considering their story? When Sukuna slices Gojo in two, does the remnants of Megumi's soul tremble?

And not just Megumi and Gojo. Yuuji and Nanami, Gojo and Nanami, Yuuji and Fushiguro, Nobara and the boys, or Nobara and Maki, Todo and Yuuji or Yuta, Gojo and Yuta, Megumi and his sister. Gojo and Geto, even! If the pieces are well set, the dynamics are intriguing, interesting, and have potential to be deep, but then the characters have like two plot relevant scenes that punch you hard, but little more, it's not nearly enough. Especially not nearly enough for the enormity that is shonen dynamics and situations. And the potential existing at all, and then not delivering, makes it all the more frustrating when you're left with something mediocre that could have been so good.

The development of dynamics through not only a few plot relevant gut wrenching moving scenes, but also the smallness of life, is important. The friend who recommended this to me said that those things were just unnecessary filler, but I disagree. I think there's a big difference between a large amount of anime-only filler episodes whose existence is based on the fact they had run out of manga chapters to animate, and moments of quietness. The low stakes character-driven moments of quietness can be so telling and so insightful, and they are so satisfactory when brought back later in higher stakes situations. My friend teased me there was no scene of Gojo making breakfast to Megumi, that it would be an idiotic idea, but it would be so telling. How he makes breakfast, what they eat, if he tries hard or if it's all mechanised, if they have personal bowls or if they use whatever, if he just buys them some pastry on the way to school, if the way they have breakfast changes through the years, or if he doesn't make them breakfast at all! All that would be very insightful on their dynamic and its evolution. All that would give a glimpse on how they regard each other and why, even in the present. All that could become meaningful in tense situations and high stakes scenes.

These moments also let the plot breath; if a lot is happening all the time, if every character is always experiencing trauma after trauma, the entire story is so emotionally draining that at some point you don't even care all that much. Besides, these nothing moments or low stakes plot arcs, besides deepening and developing dynamics, also let some in-world time pass, which would make the intimacy and bond between characters more believable imo; between Yuuji eating Sukuna's finger and their last confrontation in December how much time has passed? A few months? Am I truly to believe these characters are so everything to each other in only a few months?

Without some smallness, some repetition, some daily life, some low stakes not plot-centric development, the dynamics don't hit, they don't truly feel fleshed out, and dynamics as complex as the ones Megumi and Gojo have, or as supposedly meaningful as the one Megumi has with Yuuji or his sister, should be fleshed out if they're going to exist at all. Otherwise they'd risk making the writing feel awkward and fake. Besides, if the dynamics felt well fleshed out and realistic, they would shape the way the characters interact and act, and how they deal with situations, thus being plot relevant.

The shonen genre has so much happening all the time, the stakes are so high, the dynamics are so rooted in big events and the relationships carry enormous weight and implications. Yet they barely get developed, and it feels so stupid, so plain, the absence of something so important noticeable like a constant void, a shapeless nothingness present in every scene. It makes the characters feel like cardboard figures. Jujutsu Kaisen is already getting a better job than many, but I doubt it will do enough for what I've heard, and I fear I am bound to feel let down, and bound to feel unmoved.

After all, if not enough time and care has been given to develop a dynamic, I am not going to feel pressured by the high stakes; if not enough time and care has been given to develop the dynamic between Megumi and Yuuji, as good potential as it has I am bound to feel little for this last confrontation between Sukuna and Itadori, and his effort in getting Megumi back.

[nomstellations]

A bunch of fairies healing a sick pred from within?

The Enigmawood was a sprawling forest filled with magic, mystery, and all manner of strange and unknown creatures. People rarely ventured to it, as those who wandered too deep never returned, and most settlements didn't put themselves too close to it out of superstition and fear.

Arice was currently regretting her decision to live right at its borders, with the closest town a few hours away. Much to her dismay, even the most cautious of witches get sick every once in a while!

She could easily whip up medicine for herself, but her illness sapped the strength from her body and left her unwilling to move. She laid in bed feeling feverish, drained, and too uncomfortable to sleep...maybe her pride had gotten the better of her in choosing to live here, but the benefits usually outweighed the drawbacks. Unable to continue her research in this state, she opted to stay put and conserve her energy until she could get up and mix medicine for herself. If only a breeze would blow through her window, it'd offer some relief from the heat she felt...

"Arice~!"

"Miss Silverwood?"

"Lady Ariceeee! We're here to play!"

What blew through was not a breeze, but a dusting of fairies. She knew them all- they were the first beings she befriended after moving here, and it turned out that the fairy population of the Enigmawood was largely friendly. They enjoyed hearing tales of the world outside, and they helped her find useful herbs in return for the time she spent with them. But today the witch was in no condition to entertain them as they fluttered in, all crowding around her face. She groaned quietly, not even opening her eyes to look at them.

"Miss...? You're all red like a ripe berry!" A fairy chirped, moving to touch her face and quickly drawing away from how warm it was. "Farro..." She mumbled, gently brushing the fairy away. "I can't play today, I'm sorry...I've gotten sick. I don't have the strength to..." Their normally bright glow dimmed, and they turned to the others for help.

"Sick...that's bad, right?" "Duh, Bellflower! This happens to humans a lot! They can die if they don't get better!" Tiny gasps fill the air. "H-how can we help! Do the Grandfae know anything about humans...?" The fairies tittered among themselves. Arice found the gesture sweet, but it was just a nasty cold. She wouldn't die, but it's not like she could bother to explain...the fairy dust that drifted from their wings felt nice and cool on her skin, so she wasn't about to complain.

"Hey, why don't we use magic? We can make it go away, I'm sure!" Farrow exclaimed, their glow brightening up. "We're so small, though...how's that going to change anything?" There was a few moments of silence before Arice could faintly pick out some tiny whispers. They were too small to really make out, but one of them finally spoke up and got her attention. "Lady Arice! We're going to use some magic on you, okay? Don't panic, it'll be safe!"

"Freak out...?"

Her questioning provided Farro with the perfect opportunity to leap into her mouth! Arice's eyes snapped open all of a sudden, shocked by the fairy's quick movement. Too stunned to spit them out, they wriggled to the back of her throat, triggering her body's response to swallow. Farro easily slid down her gullet, with a cooling sensation making their descent felt. "Wh- what are you all doing...?" It was enough to shock her hazy mind, but it was too late for her to try and spit them out now. "My turn~ Think of this as a favor, miss!"

Bellflower was next, wriggling in with a bit of effort. She had a more sweet flavor compared to Farro, but...was she really considering the flavor of her fairy friends? She was too weak to really resist being fed like this, so it didn't take long for the next one to be sent down with a thick gulp. That left Thistle, the largest of the group, almost shyly rubbing their arm. "I think Farro's idea was kind of dumb...but we do want to help you. We'll be alright, so don't worry."

They waited patiently, waiting for Arice to open her mouth, and after a few moments she did. The fairies in her stomach seemed to be doing something, as a cool and almost tingly sensation spread through her body. Maybe this was the magic they planned on using? Whatever it was, it was chasing away her fever...so she felt she could trust this plan of theirs. Allowing Thistle to crawl inside, they were a lot more careful than the others with feeding themselves to her. They waited until she was ready, letting her take a few swallows to work them down her throat.

Arice felt full. Looking down, she could see a faint glow coming from her stomach. The magic only grew stronger as the last fairy filled her stomach, making her finally feel relaxed and comfortable. She didn't need to worry about eating for now, either...she swore she could hear one of their voices asking for her, but now with a full belly her fatigue was hitting her full force. She'll have to thank them properly...after this long-awaited nap.

[boatemboys]

its my first day at being a person i hope they dont realise im not

[ask-the-6-souls]

This question feels directed to the creator themselves but is there any rules when it comes to ocs/characters interacting with the kids?

OOC: I guess the big one is not to have canon characters- either from UT or UTY- interact with the kids. There's a piece of worldbuilding I want to establish (that has been partially done so but not explicitly yet), but aside from that, I don't think so!

[riot-control-camp]

OKAY NOT DONE TALKING ABOUT THE LITTLE GARDEN ARC

ESPECIALLY THE NARRATIVE PARALLELS BETWEEN ZORO AND SANJI AND DORRY AND BROGGY??? THE FACT THAT THOSE PARALLELS PARTICULARLY IMPLY THAT THEY HAVE A SPECIAL BOND THAT WILL LAST LITERALLY FOREVER???

THE VISUAL WHERE THE AUDIENCE REALIZES THAT THE MOUNTAIN RANGES WERE SKULLS?? PAIRED WITH THEM LYING IN THE SAME POSITION AS ZORO AND SANJI'S TWO DINOSAURS LEFT BEHIND ON THE BEACH?

average tumblr user notices single instance of symbolism, more at 11.

but usopp getting more moments of bravery!!! WE STAN HIS ARC!!!!! I LOVE HIM!!!

zoro getting to laugh and tease people this arc was beautiful, i love that stupid cunty bitch

sanji getting his part of the arc done through cunty trespassing, lying through his teeth, and beating up animals? FANTASTIC THANK YOU FOR MY LIFE (specifically thank you for that twisting move he did with his heels around the vultures head. how does it feel to live MY. D R E A M)

LUFFY WAS SO SHAPED. I WOULD KILL FOR HIM. HE'S SO FERAL.

and calling it now, nami is absolutely going to get malaria girl is the QUEEN of "it's nothing [2 episodes later it is in fact a resonant Something with excruciating plot relevance and emotional stakes attached to it"

almost simped for crocodile but miss all sunday was Right There MA'AM. MA'AM. RESPECTFULLY AND ASEXUALLY, TILL THE BED FUCKING BREAKS--

also he has a giant gold pet which i don't fuck with. also his rings remind me of redd white from ace attorney who is Unfuckable as he is a murderer of a mentor figure (other forms of murder have not detered me from simping in the past. in fact it is typically a point in a character's favor)

also oh my god tumblr makes so much more sense now that i am attempting to use it while high, my fluency rate and understanding of how every person on this platform is distressingly and hilariously comfortable assuming their experience is universal

okay but the still of the giant's weapon shards thrown over their head in victory? makes me insane, will never be over it cannot fucking handle it will be crying forever and ever

[army-of-bee-assassins]

having a very fun time playing bg3 tonight but i have to do this evil thing called "sleep". and i won't have time to play again until thursday at the earliest >:(

[jackmischief]

shoutout to the Spideypool shipper I briefly met in the wild (read: at BoxLunch) on Tuesday. i was the one in a relevant outfit and got relevant Pop merch. you named-dropped the fabulous @thefuzzyaya and made my day

[im-still-watching-anime]

man does anyone else just constantly forget neji died?? i was rewatching the war arc and got to it like HUH OH YEAH like i remember shikaku and inoichi more than him because i just didn’t like the writing for his and repressed it too much so now whenever i see any reference to it my brain blue screens for like 20 seconds straight

[desperatepleasures]

the contrast between how dramatic the plot gets vs how goofy the side stories are is so fucking funny the further I get into tactics because I'm like begging the authors to continue furthering the narrative and they're like "instead here's an au where haruka is a high school teacher!" and I'm like please can we learn more about haruka's backstory and they're like "here's 5 pages of father edwards being weirdly fetishistic about kantarou's clothing!" thanks ladies!!!!

[capucapo]

Brothers' Battle part 1/4

[ continued from here, directly copied from Discord w minor editing for typos and formatting. yes, we played out an entire Duel. it's going to be a little bit of a read but I'm really, REALLY proud of this group effort to rewrite the VR World arc and there's so much good Character behind the card games.

Seto Kaiba @blueeyesking, me as Noa, Mokuba, and the Yugis. Wyatt @seashaper, Hika @nameless-brand, and Pyre @redeyesandchilifries coming in later

Names with my posts don't always line up bc sometimes I just switch POVs too many times in one reply, but will be color blocked with purple for the Yugis, magenta for Mokuba, and black italic (like this!) for Noa ]

Seto Kaiba

Seto's grin immediately falls away, replaced with a slightly agape shock. Concern tugs at the muscles in his face, twitching into another barely-recognizable microexpression- but Mokuba should be able to read Seto's face like a book, and that book reads,

"MOKUBA!"

He's alive! He's not hurt, and doesn't seem to be at all restrained… but his clothes are very… muted. Maybe it's just the virtual world's expression of him.

Mokuba

Mokuba's reaction hardly looks relieved to see the eldest Kaiba. The Imposter. His brows knit tight, his jaw set.

[ High above, an alarm rings out through Noa's control room. The largest, central screen changes perspective, zooming in on a young man with dark, braided hair. If he had veins, his blood would have turned to ice inside them.

No. No no no.

Why was Mokuba putting himself in danger? ]

On the street below, Mokuba takes a defiant step towards the imposter.

"gee, and I thought losers were supposed to give up and die," Mokuba's tone is venomous.*

yugi!

Yugi feels his heart sink as he utters the teenager's name in concern. His Other Self balls a fist, swallows the lump that forms in his throat as he spares a glace toward Kaiba.

The world seems to stand still.

Seto Kaiba

Seto's heart sinks, too, but it was already so deep it didn't have far to fall.

He… he couldn't be serious. He couldn't have said that, right? This must be another nightmare, only shared. Surely. Seto stops directing his Blue-Eyes, and it begins biting and slashing and firing beams at the insects on its own.

"That was what Gouzaburo believed."

Mokuba

Mokuba's glare doesn't falter.

"so then how many times do you have to lose before you listen???? just leave me and my Big Brother ALONE already!!!"

[ As he snaps at this Imposter, his so called Brother appears. A young man somewhere between the brothers in age, with an uncanny likeness to the elder. He wears a pleasant smile, but his eyes are cold and sharp as an icicle. He places a hand upon Mokuba's shoulder, and the way that the younger boy leans familiarly into the touch turns both Yugi's stomachs in unison. ]

"mokuba--" Yugi starts to step forward, only to be blocked by his Other's arm. Not yet, he feels inside his heart.

Seto Kaiba

"Your big brother… I don't even know who this clown is."

Seto covers his despair in biting wit, crossing his arms and straightening into a properly haughty posture. His eyes catch Noa's, and narrow.

"Whoever this kid is, he's not your brother, Mokuba. I am. And I'll do whatever it takes to bring you back."

Mokuba

The look on Mokuba's face is heartbreaking enough for Yugi. He gives a concerned look in Kaiba's direction.

["Give it up, Seto," Noa finally speaks, his gentle, song-songly voice uncomfortably calm. "Mokuba remembers the way that you hurt him, you hit him and then set your monsters lose upon him-- Isn't that right my Baby Brother?"]

"that's right. I'm not going ANYWHERE with you!!! my REAL brother and I are going to take Kaiba Corp back and remind the world what WINNING looks like!!"

Mokuba raises his left arm, a DuelDisk materializing in a wave of glowing cyan pixels. Noa's hand tenses on his shoulder.

["Mokuba. This isn't safe, you need to let me--" ]

"no. no, he HURT me. I need to do this, Big Brother. I've been waiting my whole LIFE to do this." Mokuba's words drip with poisonous resentment.

Seto Kaiba

Seto's eyes don't widen. Of course. This person has poisoned Mokuba against him with yet more realistic bending of the truth. Just like in his own nightmare, something terrible was done to Mokuba by some program wearing his face…

However, he wasn't expecting Mokuba to try and Duel him. Seto glances at the Yugis, then steps forward, removing the cards inside his DuelDisk and shuffling them. The Blue-Eyes nearby dematerializes as it is removed from the field.

"If that's what you want, Mokuba… I accept your challenge."

He looks to the stranger.

"The only danger here is the delusion you have, about taking my brother and the company I sacrificed my life for. We have suffered enough of Gouzaburo's lingering grudges!"

Seto flares a hand out dramatically, causing his coat to flap and emphasize the motion.

Mokuba

"WHAT brother??" Mokuba snaps. "'cuz MY only brother is Noa, and you stole that company from US. and once I beat you at your precious favorite game, I'm taking back what's ours," Mokuba snaps at the Imposter.

Yugi looks nervous, chewing on his bottom lip as he anxiously watches this confrontation between brothers. When Seto accepts the challenge, he gasps, takes a step toward the taller man again.

"kaiba, i don't have a good feeling about this--"

"shut UP, yugi. enough of your stupid friendship speeches, this is a family conversation!" Mokuba snaps. Then he turns to look up at the young man beside him, his expression and tone softening as he does. "you can do something about that, right Big Brother?"

[ Noa gives a dark grin in response, his cold, blue eyes locking onto the object of his animosity. "Of course I can, my Baby Brother. How about we take this battle somewhere just a bit more.. fitting," Noa hums.

Slowly he raises one hand in a grand gesture, and as he does, the streets of Domino City seem to crumble and fall away. The ground around their feet begins to rise high, high up into the blue sky, until the parties finds themselves on three separate rooftops. The brothers standing opposite each other on a long walkway, the Yugis and Noa occupying two smaller, round turrets, separated from the main platform by an endless chasm. ]

Yugi's heart skips a beat. His Other Self feels his stomach drop.

The details are different, but they recognize this playing field. The parapets at either end of the rooftop.

They both already know these stakes before Noa has to explain.

Seto Kaiba

Seto's heart pounds in his chest, the alarm he feels impossible to hide. His stance widens to steady himself as the terrain changes- into an all too familiar arrangement. They… they can't be serious. This is where Yugi learned their family's harshest lesson: to lose is to die. But he talked Seto off of the edge by conceding to his unfair ultimatum.

Seto's heart pounds in his ears.

"He's lying to you, Mokuba!" his tone is slightly more desperate. "You and I stole the company from Gouzaburo- and this boy has never been in our lives! I promised you we would- we would make theme parks, and entertain and support kids everywhere, so that they didn't have to suffer like we did!"

Regardless of his attempts at reasoning with Mokuba, Seto readies his Duel Disk.

Mokuba

Mokuba's never been here before. He's never seen this arena, never before heard the chilling ultimatum. But he doesn't need to. He already knows everything he needs to, as decided by Big Brother Noa.

"you're the one who's lying!! you really think anyone believes that?? YOU ?? caring about anyone but yourself???" Mokuba snaps as he draws his first five cards. "you threw away everything that made KaibaCorp what it was just to humiliate and MOCK our father's legacy!!! I'm going first!!"

[ "Let me remind you of the rules here, Seto," Noa purrs from the sidelines, his voice as deceptively gentle as ever. "You'll each take a step backwards for every 100 points of damage that you take. When your lifepoints run out, so does the rootftop you stand upon. Of course, these monsters aren't some cheap trick of light, like you're used to. The force of your attacks may be enough to bring this Duel to a conclusion before they even hit zero." ]

Mokuba stands confidently, a violent storm in his eyes as he finally looks down at the cards he's drawn. He can't help but smirk-- it's a perfect opening hand.

He sets the board wirh two face down cards, one monster, one a spell or trap, and ends his turn.

Seto Kaiba

The glare Seto levels at Noa may as well have the same level of threat as a gun barrel. But after a moment, he's more focused on the game at hand, brutal stakes clawing at his back.

In his first hand are Cyber Jar, Spirit Ryu, Burst Breath, Shrink, and Ring of Defense. He sets one and plays the monster in Defense Mode.

"The Kaiba Corporation, as a military entity, was a monstrous tool of destruction that gave the highest bidder the necessary firepower to massacre anyone in their way. Is that a legacy to be proud of, Mokuba? Or was it always our dream to save the world by making it a better place? To pursue our passion for children's card games? Open your eyes! Our adoptive father beat me every day, to teach me this world is cruel and unforgiving to the weak, and the world of business is worse. But we outplayed him at his own game, and with him gone, KaibaCorp has been flourishing as an entertainment technology company. You can't tell me you'd be happier facilitating the death of millions for money, just because it was what some old fool wanted you to do with his resources!"

Mokuba

[ Noa's own blue eyes meet Seto's threatening glare, but the smile on his lips shows only amusement as the fight begins in earnest ]

Mokuba draws a card to begin his turn. Effect Veiler.

"Kaiba Corporation was the epitome of power and strength. do you even hear yourself???? when the next great war starts, how many people are you going to save with children's card games???" Mokuba argues spitefully.

He takes only a second to look over the cards in his hand. His opening draw was good-- improbably so. Controlled as all things in this domain by Noa's divine will. That would be the only help offered to the youngest Kaiba, justified, in Noa's opinion, by the teenager's lack of experience as a Duelist. Not that he needed to justify something that no one, not even Mokuba, would know.

Mokuba plays Mystical Space Typhoon, targeting Seto's only set card for destruction. He then flips face up the monster he'd set on his first turn, revealing a weak and harmless Red Eyes Baby Dragon, now standing in attack mode. Plays another spell from his hand, Red Eyes Insight, sending one monster from his deck straight to the graveyard in order to add another spell to his hand. It isn't time for that yet, though. Instead, he activates his set trap card, allowing him to bring the Red Eys Archfiend of Lightning he'd sent to the graveyard immediately to the field. In exchange for his turn's normal summon, he activates the archfiend's effect, destroying the weak monster Seto had chosen to defend himself.

"you didn't outplay anyone. you cheated, and you stole away my Big Brother's rightful place at the head of our company!!!! don't act like you're above us, seto. how many deaths have YOU caused in your selfish rise to power, anyway??? what makes you any DIFFERENT ?? just because you like playing stupid little games for stupid little kids? it's time to grow UP already," he snaps, before ordering his baby dragon to attack directly.

Seto Kaiba

Seto's set card turned out to be the trap card Burst Breath! It disintegrates as Seto discards it, cussing quietly to himself. He knows Mokuba, having Red Eyes Baby Dragon on the field, will want it attacked so that it can activate its effect. He doesn't know all of Mokuba's deck, though, and the archfiend catches Seto off-guard, obliterating his Spirit Ryu and leaving him open to the Baby Dragon's direct attack. Its fireball pushes him back the required twelve steps, closer and closer to the edge…

"But we did outplay him, Mokuba! My plan hinged on you- I believed in you to make it work! This guy didn't exist-- we were Gouzaburo's only sons! He's using you!"

The taller brother calls over to Mokuba, even as he draws and glances at his remaining options. His drawn card is Pot of Greed-excellent. He casts Pot of Greed and draws his two cards, fishing for options to take out Mokuba's monsters without hurting him too badly. Even if he can deck his brother out without pushing him to the edge, will this bloodthirsty "Noa" still enforce the loss penalty…?

Vorse Raider, Heavy Storm, Thunder Dragon. Not terrible… Seto discards Thunder Dragon in order to draw his other two copies from his deck. Unfortunately, they both take one tribute to summon, themselves…

He summons the Vorse Raider in Attack Position. Then, he casts Heavy Storm, destroying Mokuba's trap card- and finally casts Shrink, targeting Mokuba's Archfiend, then begins his Battle Phase so that his Vorse Raider can attack the weakened Archfiend.

"My passion for card games isn't unique, no. But given our past, and my treatment by our adoptive father, I know how people shouldn't be treated. KaibaCorp under him would certainly have encouraged the next great war to have started already, in order to secure their bottom-line! Those resources could be better spent making people happy!"

Mokuba

Mokuba seems completely unfazed as he watches Seto move backwards, closer to the edge of the rooftop. He does spare a glance in Noa's direction, seeking quick and silent validation that he's making his Big Brother proud with that opening combo.

"you think you know everything, don't you seto??? well news flash, WE were LUCKY to get to call ourselves Gouzaburo's sons!!!!!!! and you were ungrateful for that!!! but my Big Brother Noa was Gouzaburo's only REAL son, and he was kind enough to treat me like his own brother anyway!!!!! what did YOU do??? you hit me and you pushed me away!!! you tortured me when I lost to yugi!!!!! Noa would NEVER hurt me like that!!"

Mokuba frows as his continuous trap is destroyed more quickly than expected. Somewhere there's another one of those in his deck, but he's more disappointed that his lack of any monsters in his graveyard prevent him from activating the card's second effect on destruction. Before he can be too sad by that, though, his archfiend shrinks before his eyes, its attack halving as well.

The attack that destroys his archfiend makes the teenager hiss in pain. He's not a Duelist, he's not used to even the force of solid vision. Let alone these virtual monsters with their very real pain. But he takes his required six and a half steps back with a smirk on his face."

"how would YOU know how people should be treated??? you treat everyone on earth like they're below you. tell me again, seto!! how did you get those precious blue eyes cards again???"

He draws his card for his next turn, and his smirk falters. Brows knit as his lips press into a thin line. Enemy Controller. It's not a bad pull. But he recognizes this card, and not from setting up his deck or practice plays. It's one of his opponent's. He sets it face down immediately.

He eyes the field a moment, then delares his battle phase without summoning another monster. Instead, he orders his Baby Dragon to attack the much stronger Vorse Raider without hesitation. The tiny dragon is, expectedly, destroyed immediately, and Mokuba grits his teeth, takes his 7 steps back. But his grin returns-- in fact he's almost giddy.

As the Baby goes to the graveyard, it's replaced by another, stronger dragon. And with Mokuba's battle phase still active, he orders the Red Eyes Black Dragon to attack, destroying Seto's vorse raider and 500 of his life points

"you know, Seto!!!!! if I reallyyyyy begged him to, my Big Brother might let you live!!! you'd have to give up Kaiba Corp though, oh, and your body too…. but you could live forever here in this world instead!! you just have to give up now….. last chance! I end my turn."