#twice broadcast card

[danny-doodles]

A 1k steddie ficlet I wrote based on an idea of mine and I delivered it to twt so I thought I should post it here too lol. If the formatting is wrong or it has typos just shhhhh

💌

For about what felt like the millionth time in his ten long years of life Eddie Munson was wishing to be anywhere but school.

The experience of getting bullied was nothing compared to the humiliation of Valentine’s Day. It was no secret the Munsons weren’t the richest but the crappy capitalist holiday made it clear, while everyone else in his class had pretty pink and red cards with some dumb sucker attached, Eddie came empty handed. Before moving in with Wayne Eddie might have been mad about not having anything to pass out cause Dad made another mistake, but with Uncle Wayne he wasn’t upset. Money was already tight before Eddie came along, and it didn’t matter really to him anyway. Wasn’t like anyone in his class wanted one from him, being the poor kid who got held back caused his pool of friends to be lacking.

With his chin on the desk, Eddie watched as the students before him got called to pass around their grams. And every time without fail they skipped putting any in his valentines box. It’s the same thing that happened every year before, his title of weirdo getting broadcasted to other students like a warning that screamed, “Interact with him and you will become an outcast too.” Even after experiencing it year after year it always hurt.

The teacher continued to call the names and with every pass Eddie felt the familiar burn of holding back tears, the embarrassment increasing. Right as he was about to hide his head in his arms to allow some tears to escape he saw a motion he hadn’t seen before.

A hand putting a card in his box. Dumb lollipop and everything.

Eddie quickly looked to see who was attached to the hand and found a sight he never expected.

Steve Harrington smiling down at him.

Just as quick as he arrived, Steve moved on to continue putting the cards in the other students boxes but that didn’t matter to Eddie. No, all that mattered was the fact Steve Harrington gave Eddie Munson a valentines card. A boy with shiny hair and the most picture perfect smile gave the trailer park trash a gram.

Trying to be subtle, Eddie grabbed the box on his desk to get the card, not like a miracle was going to happen twice in one day. Gently pulling the sole gram out Eddie read what it said, “Right Off The Bat Valentine You Made A Hit With Me,” with the text was the image of a black bear dressed as a baseball player using a bat. Eddie looked back up to Steve’s seat and watched as Steve sat back down and resumed whatever task the teacher had given to pass the time.

Eddie had avoided looking at Harrington or any of his friends for too long in fear of what would come from his stares and he liked walking home not bruised physically or mentally thank you very much. While staring at Steve, Eddie started to think back to all his interactions with the boy with the pretty dots.

Steve himself had never said something mean to Eddie, never laid a finger on him or anything. Sure he didn’t stop his friends from doing so, but Eddie swore he could see a look of displeasure on Harrington’s face sometimes. One time, Steve even tried to help Eddie salvage some drawings Tommy had ripped apart. It was a lost cause, and the moment Hagan called his name Steve softly apologized and raced back to the freckle faced jerk, but it was the thought that counts.

So busy reminiscing Eddie didn’t even notice the teacher skipping his name when it came to the M’s portion. Eddie didn’t notice much else that day unless it included Steve.

When Eddie got back home he carefully zipped open his banged up backpack and grabbed out the gram. Chucking his bag to the floor without looking, Eddie walked to his is room, successfully dodging the door frame he just barely noticed. He ran, and after aggressively kicking off his shoes jumped onto the bed. With his hands raised in the air Eddie locked his sight on the card. As more images of Steve popped into his mind Eddie could feel his smile taking over his face. He felt like a shaken soda ready to burst, he was ready to explode due to all the excitement. The butterflies in his stomach were at critical capacity, he couldn’t help but giggle as he drew the card to his chest and clung onto it.

When Wayne came home he found Eddie lying on his bed kicking his feet in the air, tracing the words on the card with a smile showing off his dimples. When Wayne knocked on the frame Eddie shot up like a rocket, “Uncle Wayne! I got one!!” Eddie scrambled to get off his bed while ensuring the gram didn’t get damaged. “Look Uncle Wayne I actually got one!!”

Wayne put his hand on Eddie’s head to stop him from running right into him then moved his hand the his shoulder, “You got one what?” Eddie shoved the card into Wayne’s face, ”A Valentine’s Day card!” Eddie brought the card back down and went back to staring at it, “Ive never gotten one before.” While Eddie was softly smiling down at the gram he missed the frown cross Wayne’s face. Kid was excited like he won a million dollars, all over something that other kids would take for granted ninety nine percent of the time.

“Well kid, that sounds mighty kind of them. Who gave it to ya?”

“Steve Harrington!” Simply saying the name caused Eddie to start dancing on his feet as he started waving the card around. Wayne couldn’t quite believe his ears, a Harrington doing something nice to a boy like Eddie seemed unlikely.

“Really now, little Harrington gave you it?”

“Mhm,” Eddie aggressively shook his head up and down and started cradling the card to his chest as he continued, “He smiled at me and everything, and he actually is really sweet, I mean clearly cause he gave me a card, but he actually helped me against some bullies, well he tried to, but its the thought that counts! And I mean it really checks out he would be nice, he’s like a carbon copy of a prince from a fairytale with his shiny hair and-“

“Alighty son I get your point,” Wayne said while letting a small chuckle out. Eddie was twirling a piece of his hair with a finger and his face grew as red as a sunburn while he babbled on about Steve Harrington. Wayne knew later on he would have to talk to Eddie about how people may react to him calling another boy beautiful but for now he could enjoy Eddie’s reaction to a having a crush. Laying his hand back on Eddie’s head he ruffled his curls causing giggles to pour out of the boy while he cried uncle.

“Sounds like a real charmer, I’m happy for you.”

“Thanks Uncle Wayne. Oh! Do you think you could help me keep it safe, I don’t want to damage it.”

“Sure kid, let’s get this little card a proper home.” After giving Eddie the rest of the day to smile sweetly at the card they found the perfect spot for the card. All throughout middle and high school that card would remain there, a reminder of a time Eddie experienced any sort of kindness in the shit show that is Hawkins.

It would stay there until it was finally time for Eddie to leave the nest. With a subtle smile on his face Wayne watched as Eddie turned pink while talking to his boyfriend/soon to be roommate Steve Harrington, in his hands the small little card. Faded with time but still clear enough to tell the basics. Wayne watched as a large smile grew on Steve’s face, a look of pure adoration aimed at Wayne’s nephew. When Eddie finished talking from behind his curtain of hair Steve pulled him in and started leaving quicks kisses all over Eddie’s face.

Wayne watched as the couple giggled at each other and saw Eddie gently place the card into a small box holding other photos and keep sakes, a reminder of where their story began.

[ballsandbabes]

Motivational Challenge

authors note: y/n = your name// not proof read// GIF not mine // Have fun <3

pairing: nagi seishiro x fem!reader

summary: Reader is new to soccer and tries the hardest. Players like her get invited trough a lottery to the blue lock training grounds. Nagi sees readers effort and feels challenged...how does the challenge end???

genre: romance, hurt/comfort, angst

word count: 6.2k

BlueLock was chaos. Talent. Hunger. Ego. You loved the live broadcasts from the training program. Whenever these were broadcast, you sat in front of the television. Completely absorbed, just too engrossed in what was happening. Your love for sports has been rekindled.

Ah well you? You were a complete beginner. Your soccer passion had always been there, but your dad was strictly against it. It wasnt a girly sport, he had stated once. So now that you were older, he couldnt tell you anything anymore.

Well—not a complete beginner. You had the basics down already, some grit, a sharp mind, and enough heartfelt passion to fill a stadium. You played local matches with your community team, always running the extra mile even if your footwork was clumsy or your shots went wide. That effort caught someone’s eye.

Or rather, it hit a random lottery. BlueLock had introduced a so called “wild card” week: a one-time nationwide invitation where five "underdogs"—players with zero ranking or renown—were dropped into Blue Lock for a week-long trial period, to train like the BlueLock guys. Wether your a boy or a girl, didnt matter. You thought that the marketing team would wanted to also bring women into association with the BlueLock program for promotional purposes and good press.

So when you learned your friends entered you into the lottery, you accepted. No expectations. Just a chance to learn.

Most of the other guys and girls invited, wrote it off as a joke and a fun opportunity to have vacation. But not you.

___ _ _ _

So when you arrived that Monday Morning with bruised shins, a duct-taped water bottle, and a fire behind your eyes, you were determined to make this a great personal experience.

The first BlueLock player to notice you was Reo Mikage, who raised a brow when he saw you sprinting drills alone on Field 2 before breakfast.

“You’re new,” he said nicely. You nodded, “Yes. I am one of the Lottery picks.”

He laughed softly, “Good luck, then. You’ll need it. Trainings hard around here.”

You didn’t flinch. Just smiled, wiped your forehead, and went back to drills. Watching from the edge of the field, yawning mid-stretch, was Nagi Seishiro. He didn’t say anything at first. Just stared, sleepy-eyed, chewing on a protein bar.

Then, after watching you miss your fifth goal in a row, he muttered, “…You suck.”

But you didn’t stop. You trained harder than anyone he’d ever seen—not because you were talented, but because you wanted to be. You trained harder then the other four picks and also a lot more than Nagi had seen BlueLock Players train. Even when you fell, even when you messed up. You cursed under your breath, stood up again, and chased the ball like it held all the answers.

Nagi didn’t get it. You were fucking average. You had nothing flashy—no natural flow, no genius instinct. But you came back every day, earlier than him, stayed later than Reo, and trained alone when no one wanted to practice with the newbie.

On Day 3, he finally asked, "Yo...Why are you trying so hard?”

You blinked, towel over your neck, “Uhm...Because I want to catch up.”

“To who?,” Nagi asked slightly curious. You looked him straight in the eyes, “People like You.”

He paused. That was the first time someone had ever said that—not to praise him, but to compete with him. And for the first time in a long time… Nagi felt challenged.

Day 4, he started showing up early. Not to help. But to watch. To mimic your drills. To do twice as many. Isagi noticed first, “Uh… is Nagi actually trying?”

“Bet he’s got a crush... I mean shes really cute,” Bachira teased, elbowing him. Nagi flicked a pebble at Bachira’s head and muttered,“Shut up.” But maybe it was a little true. Because sometime between watching you land your first clean goal and cheering like you’d won the World Cup— Nagi felt something shift. It wasn’t just admiration anymore.

He started passing to you in scrimmage matches. Started calling your name, giving you quick plays, dragging you toward his pace instead of watching you struggle behind.

On Day 6, he actually smiled when you nutmegged Barou. (You got tackled five seconds later, but still.)

That night, under the pale gym lights, you were alone again—stretching by the window, breath fogging the glass. Nagi came up behind you, hands in his pockets.

“…You know,” he mumbled, “this place doesn’t care about effort.”

You looked up,“I know.”

“They’ll probably send you guys home tomorrow.”

You nodded, “Yeah.”

He paused, then leaned against the wall beside you,“…I don’t want them to.”

Your eyes widened,“Why?”

Nagi tilted his head, white hair brushing his lashes. For once, there was no sarcasm. No sleepy drawl. Just honesty, “You made me want to try harder. That’s rare.” - A pause - “You’re rare.”

Your heart thudded painfully,“Nagi…”

He turned to face you fully, amber eyes sharp and focused—like he was seeing you for exactly what you were,“I don’t want to play without you.” Then, softer— “So stay. With me.”

You stepped forward, unsure if he was serious—if this was a joke, if the genius striker had really fallen for the underdog with scraped knees and trembling legs. But then his hand reached out—gentle, tentative—tucking a strand of hair behind your ear like it meant something. And before you could second-guess yourself, you leaned up and kissed him. It was a little clumsy, maybe too fast. But it was warm. Real. And Nagi kissed you back like he finally understood what effort could lead to.

When day 7 rolled around, Ego stood at the front of the stage.

“The wild cards are currently being reviewed,” he said, “Only one, the best at that, may stay to train with us for a little while longer.”

He looked up, blank-eyed and ruthless,“The rest… pack your things and get out.”

Nagi glanced at you, jaw set. Whatever happened next—he was on your side now. Whether they let you stay or not, the real challenge had already been met. You’d won his heart.

And that was the most impossible goal of all.

___ _ _ _

You stood at the front of the room beside the other four wild cards, a spotlight burning into your shoulders. Ego Jinpachi’s voice echoed across the dome: “You want to stay? Prove it.”

The big screen behind him lit up with the phrase: “One Play. One Goal. You Choose the Opponent.”

Everyone behind you—Nagi, Isagi, Chigiri, Barou—leaned forward.

You blinked,“One… what?”

Ego adjusted his glasses with that sharp glint of god complex and caffeine,“You will choose one Blue Lock player. If you can score a single goal against them in five minutes, you stay.”

Silence. Then chaos.

“Wait, what?!” “She’s new!” “This is insane!” “She’s not even a striker!”

But all the noise blurred out as you turned slightly—locking eyes with Nagi. He didn’t say anything. But he nodded once, calm and steady, and you knew exactly who to choose.

“I choose Nagi Seishiro.”

Gasps. Full whiplash. Reo choked on his energy drink. Isagi went, “HUH?!” And Barou just muttered, “Tch. Bold.”

Even Nagi blinked, actually surprised. You gave a small smile,“If I’m gonna prove I belong here, it has to be against the best.”

His lips quirked up, “So dramatic.” He stretched. “Fine. But don’t expect me to go easy just ��cause I kissed you.”

Chigiri let out the loudest “EXCUSE ME?” anyone had ever heard in Blue Lock history. The whistle blew. Your heart pounded. Nagi was fast—freakishly so, even in lazy mode. He read your every feint, blocked your every pass, and dribbled the ball away like it was made of air. But you didn’t back down. You chased. You circled. You waited.

You weren’t stronger than him. But you were hungrier. And when he relaxed for half a second—when he spun and looked too far left—you slipped behind him.

Intercepted.

Spun.

Shot.

Missed...

Silence dropped like a mic, the chance was good, perfect even. Ego smirked. The girl had guts and also a chance to score against on of his best,“She stays.” - The girl had potential, not only for herself but to also akwaken something in Nagi.

Later, in the lounge, the team exploded.

“Wait—you two kissed?!,” Bachira was totally invested. “Was that before or after you told her she sucked?,” Barou asked teasingly. “Bro. I thought you didn’t care about anything,” Reo stated.

Nagi leaned back on the couch, totally unfazed,"Yeah, I didn’t. Until her.”

The room went silent again.

“…Okay, that was kinda smooth,” Isagi muttered. Bachira just beamed,“Love is power, baby!”

You were sitting beside Nagi now, towel over your shoulders, still breathless from the match. He leaned over, eyes half-lidded and full of mischief, “Guess I’m not the only genius here anymore. You impressed Ego with a missed goal....none of us could have done that.”

You grinned,“Told you I’d catch up.”

Then he kissed you again—soft, proud, and smug—as the entire room lost their collective minds.

[mirai-e-jump]

Figure King No.322 2024 Making Report of Kamen Rider Gotchard (pages and translation below, VERY LONG POST)

Publication: November 27, 2024

ft. Chief Producer Minato Yosuke (Toei), Heads of Documents & Literature Yamabe Koichi and Kaneko Shinichi (Ishimori Productions), Character Designer Kita Tojun (PLEX), and Producer of Toy Development Terakawa Ryo (Bandai)

Gotcha Youth Alchemy Journal Gotcha 1: The Combination of Rider and Youth

-Expanding on "touch points" and card demand-

"Fall of 2022…The broadcast of the TV series "Kamen Rider Geats" begins, where within the show, multiple people become Kamen Riders and take part in the survival game called the "Desire Grand Prix." Toei's Minato Yosuke was preoccupied as a Sub Producer, trying to establish the project of the new show "Ohsama Sentai King-Ohger," which would start in March of the following year. In October, the "Virtual Production Division" was established at Toei Tokyo Studios. King-Ohger was an ambitious show that implemented new filming techniques through the use of LED walls. Minato was pushing forward with his work while getting a feel for these new techniques, but was forced to leave the project halfway through. This was because he had been appointed "Chief Producer" of the new Kamen Rider production that would begin in 2023. After working as a production assistant at anime studio Madhouse, in 2019, Minato joined Toei as a "full time tokusatsu Producer." Since then, Minato's been involved as an Assistant Producer on "Kamen Rider Zero-One" (2019), "Kamen Rider Saber" (2020), and "Avataro Sentai Donbrothers" (2022), but this was his first major role as Chief Producer. Likely due to the fact that he was appointed Chief within a few years of changing careers from the animation industry, he said he received a great deal of support when launching the project."

Minato: Shirakura Shinichiro from the Character Strategy Division and Tsukada Hideaki from the Drama Division participated and looked out for me in the form of advisers. As you're well aware, Shirakura's writing style and Tsukada's writing style are the complete opposite. Shirakura's the type of person who moves the story along through human relationships. I think Tsukada's characterized by his mystery drama format, where the build up of events lead to incidents being resolved. I refer to them as "the dragon and the tiger" (laughs), but they're such opposites, that I felt as if I had been worked twice as hard in such a short period of time due to their intense criticisms.

"Shirakura's the Producer behind many Kamen Rider productions, including "Agito" (2001) and "Den-O" (2007), and he was the driving force behind the branding of the Heisei Kamen Rider series. Meanwhile, Tsukada's produced hits in the Kamen Rider series, such as "W" (2009) and "Fourze" (2011), as well as many other TV dramas. Both also have experience as Chiefs of Super Sentai productions, and are indispensable figures in the history of Toei's tokusatsu productions."

Minato: Because of the way things unfolded, the idea of using cards as transformation items had already been proposed by the time I joined the project. I was told that it could change, but since I was super into "Magic the Gathering" during my entire school life, I thought I was lucky that we were going with the concept of card Riders.

"Joining the planning team as the head of toys was Bandai's Terakawa Ryo. After working in Gunpla promotion for many years up to that point, he became a developer in charge of Digimon and other figures."

Terakawa: We also felt that the environment for "having interest in watching these shows" had changed significantly. The company had been conducting their own surveys and found that the recognition of Kamen Rider had been declining year after year since the start of the covid pandemic. Given this situation, we at Bandai thought that what we could do was to increase the number of "touch points" through the toys. This would lead to greater visibility of the characters, and that the more people knew about the show, the more interest there would be in the toys. At the time, when we thought, "What's the easiest item to give to children who have never heard of Kamen Rider?," we decided that cards were the way to go. Cards can be produced at a low unit price, so along with them being easy for children to hold onto, they can be handed out for free at various places. We thought that if we could distribute them at events, in stores, and even put up "peel off posters" at places like large train stations and participating stores, that interested people would peel them off and take them home with them. If they had an actual card in their hand, they may become interested in Kamen Rider and be encouraged to watch the show. We couldn't just give out transformation belts (laughs), but cards are easy to distribute to a large number of people. That was the main reason that made us focus on cards.

"The cards are the ideal "size" to get children to recognize the Kamen Rider characters."

Terakawa: So far, Kamen Riders that have used cards were "Ryuki" (2002), "Blade" (2004), and "Decade" (2009), but it's been over 10 years since they've been used as "linked" items. That's when I felt like, "In that sense, wouldn't this be like a new experience for children?" For starters, cards are items that the Showa generation of Rider fans have a high affinity for. Calbee also released products with cards in them to line up with the release of the film "Shin Kamen Rider" (2023).

"The reason behind the implementation of cards was partly due to the rising marketplace for trading card games."

Terakawa: Even now, the market for card games is quite heated. The trading card games of various companies, including Bandai's own "One Piece Card Game" and "Battle Spirits" series have become so popular, that domestic card printing plants are operating at full capacity and are unable to keep up with production. The user base for purchasing third party games is expanding across all generations, and that excitement is also being passed onto children. Cards take up alot of floor space in toy departments and are easy to sell in convenience stores. As an example, it's pretty difficult to sell a 2,000 yen buckle, but a 200 yen card pack can be found at any convenience store. If it's a card, it can be sold with candy at an affordable price. It can also be sold with children's clothing, or as a bonus in magazines and other items.

-Reiwa Rider's Card Battle-

"The project was started in response to the enthusiasm of the card game market, but developing a transformation belt with a card based gimmick was extremely difficult. Minato, who at this point was in charge of the entire production, says that Ryuki was the first thing that came to mind when he started planning the card Rider project."

Minato: It was one of the shows that led me to becoming an otaku (laughs). I was in my second year of middle school at the time, and I was so absorbed in this show, that I even sent in a call to "Telegong" (a service where viewers voted by phone to decide on how the show would unfold).

"Kamen Rider Ryuki was the third entry in the Heisei Rider series, which ran for a year starting in February 2002. It's a shocking show where 13 Kamen Riders are pitted against one another in a Rider Battle, fighting by using the power of monsters called "Mirror Monsters," and its tagline being, "Those who don't fight won't survive!" Its "death game" style, in which only the last one standing can make their wish come true, caused it to gain alot of attention, making it a highly successful and legendary show. Minato's superior, Shirakura, who was present at the planning meeting, was also the Chief Producer of Ryuki. In planning the card Rider, Minato was handed materials by Shirakura that served as a template during Ryuki's proposal."

Minato: When I read it, a section with a discussion of how to incorporate card battles into a Rider production caught my eye. For example, in the case of "Pokemon," Pikachu plushies and figures are popular, but merch that features the main trainer Satoshi isn't as popular. In the case of Kamen Rider, the Riders are the main characters, so it's the Riders that you want to portray in an appealing way. If he were to summon Dragreder (a Mirror Monster) and have Dragreder fight for him, the Rider wouldn't be as appealing. If the Rider himself doesn't fight, he'd just exist to summon Dragreder. That being the case, the Rider summons a Mirror Monster in order to borrow their power. They can use sheer strength to unleash a special attack from the weapons they hold in their hands, or perform kicks themselves. In short, it's structured in such a way that the Riders themselves become the main part of the battle. The Mirror Monsters don't speak, and are depicted as enemy monsters, but there's a reason for this. Within the materials, there was something written like, "We want children to like the Kamen Rider, not Dragreder."

"There hadn't been a Rider production with cards as the main item since Decade in 2009. Furthermore, there was no concept of "linked items" at the time, and cards for multiple transformations and cards for form changes weren't developed in a very particular way. The cards used by the Riders were included "one at a time" with the toys (although there were 10 included in the main transformation belt), and weren't designed with the assumption that people would collect a complete set. Some of them were commercialized in the Data Carddass game "Kamen Rider Battle Ganbaride" (trading card arcade game), but the difficulty of obtaining them was high because the cards were ejected one at a time, causing collectors to cry. More than 10 years have already passed since Decade. It can be said that the development of cards unique to the Reiwa era would inevitably happen."

Minato: Bandai wanted to sell the cards as if they were part of a trading card game (in packs), rather than in a way where the contents of the cards are known. In other words, it was designed so that you wouldn't know what cards were inside. Selling them like that, you're bound to get duplicate cards, no? We had to think of ways to use those duplicate cards, so we first thought of a way to fight in a deck building style. As an example, I had to create a situation in the drama where you could put multiple copies of the same card in a deck. Then, I wondered about energy cards. For instance, there's always an energy card in a pack, and you have to consume three energy cards to get a powerful attack. I thought it'd be difficult to sell a large number of cards without doing something like that. The act of building a deck may seem abit difficult, but I thought it'd be better to have a gimmick like that, since it could broaden the age range of the audience.

"Younger children would enjoy the flashy card battles, while the older ones would also enjoy ��tactics at its finest” when combining decks. It's an ambitious concept that would certainly captivate not only young children and elementary school students, but also the older generation."

Minato: At first, we thought of dividing the cards into multiple categories, including transformation cards, attack cards, special skill cards, monster cards, and so on. I tried to explain that things like skill cards can be used in the development of the show's story or battles, and that each card has value because interesting things could happen when they're combined, but it was hard for people to understand.

"The design team was led by Kita Tojun of PLEX. He's a key Designer who's worked on the Kamen Rider series since "Build" (2017), as well as "Mashin Sentai Kiramager" (2020), and as Chief Designer on "Ultraman Blazar" (2023)."

Kita: Among the countless ideas, there was one to combine 3 cards. The idea was to create a deck with three types of cards, that being, "Material + Shape + Movement," and then perform a move. Being more specific, it'd be something like, "Iron + Triangle + Rotation = Drill." In theory, it's easy to understand, but it'd be difficult for a child. Then there were talks of, "How about a simple "drill" or "bike" card, and then combining the two to make a "Drill Bike"?" From here, we felt that it'd be alittle sad to just use the word "drill," so we decided to turn the drill and bike into a character. In "Kamen Rider OOO" there were the mechs called "Candroids" that would help out, and I thought it'd be a good idea to make it a character with that kind of vibe. Riders are known for their compound eyes, so we came up with the idea of giving every character "bug like eyes."

Minato: When I saw the illustrations of the drill and bike with compound eyes, I thought that what was depicted on those cards looked like small animals. And the fact that all of them are alive……it made me think that they were like Pokemon (laughs). In that sense, the illustrations on the cards were all monsters…… it started to seem like a good idea with the ways things turned out.

"This idea became the prototype for the "Chemies," but at this point, he said they hadn't reached a definitive decision. It was like wandering in a long tunnel with no end in sight. The steam locomotive that would lead them to the exit hadn't arrived yet. The planning team's struggles continued as they hoped for a breakthrough in ideas……"

-Transform with alchemy by shaking the cards-

"In addition to the cards and structure of the transformation belt, meetings were underway in regards to the concept of the main Rider. This was because the concept of the Riders and items were linked to the worldview of the entire show."

Minato: Shirakura would constantly ask me, "What kind of program will people watch each week?" A Kamen Rider engaging in card battles wouldn't leave much of an impact. That's because there's already been so many. If you were to say an "Office President Rider," the audience's imaginations would run wild. A novelist Rider, a devil Rider……your imagination starts to overflow, doesn't it? That's where the word "magic" was brought up. If you were to give some meaning to the cards, then in some way or another, the magical elements would fit. Magical cards are easy to visualize, aren't they? For argument's sake, if you have materials "A" and "B" and then combine them, you can create something new. This is something that came up at a meeting with Tsukada. However, it didn't feel right that there was no logic behind the magic. With that being the situation I chose "alchemy," as it felt like there were more rules.

"So that's why the concept was an "Alchemist Rider." With the word "alchemy" being agreed upon, various elements started to connect to one another."

Minato: I remembered that something called a homunculus existed in alchemy. Then, I wondered if the compound eyed monsters depicted on the card illustrations could be homunculi. I thought it (artificial life forms) would be compatible with alchemy. From here, when responding to Shirakura's question, "What's so entertaining about this program?" my answer was, "Alchemy." Despite that, Shirakura would say, "Alchemy can't be a theme." He also said the words, "It's fine to use alchemy as a gimmick, but use something else as the theme." Trying to find the theme……I was at my limit, and yet, I remembered the conversation about how the illustrations on the cards were like Pokemon. This is where I finally landed on the word "collect."

"The cards depict monsters, and the idea was to create a story about collecting those monsters. At the same time, the word "alchemy" helped speed up the development of the transformation belt."

Kita: We talked about how to present the act of "mixing" multiple cards as a gimmick for the belt. One example, put three monster cards in the case and shake them. It'd be like a drink shaker. What we had in mind was when you pour them into a flask shaped belt, you'd transform through the power of the three monsters fusing.

"A wide variety of opinions were exchanged, among them, the idea of a transformation gimmick, in which the face of the Rider is completed by matching the patterns on the cards, was also conceived."

Kita: However, it was difficult from a design standpoint (making a flask shaped belt). Flasks have a protruding tip, so it'd be hard to fuse the square shaped cards with that design. Because of that, we decided to only keep the gimmick of shaking multiple cards and to make both the belt and the card holder in a square shape.

"A majority of people also said that the transformation action was lacking in excitement."

Kita: They said that simply shaking the card case and putting it in the buckle was weak as a transformation action. For the Build Driver (Build's transformation belt), there were the items called Full Bottles, but at the time, you had to shake the Full Bottles, put them in the belt, and then perform an additional action (turning the handle). It was pointed out that there was no action to that effect this time.

"At the same time, the number of cards were discussed, and it was decided that the total amount would be as large as 100 types."

Minato: That meant that there'd be 100 different linked items this time. I was pretty nervous because there were so many (laughs), but I decided to go along with it because it'd be a new perspective for me, and also because as cards, it might be worth collecting them.

"If three cards make one form, then you need more than 30 different forms, and if two cards make one form, then you need 50 different forms."

Kita: With that many forms, you'll want to swap cards from one to the next and play around with them. Some people voiced how it might be alittle hard to play with, and when we thought about it, the process of removing the holder from the belt, changing the cards, and putting it back on the belt again wasn't a good idea. So we talked about it with, "Instead of increasing the number of actions, wouldn't it be better to reduce them?" In the end, the card case was removed, and we decided to go in a simpler direction.

Terakawa: It took alot of trial and error, but if you want them to play with the intuition that you pair up the cards with the belt, just insert two cards into the belt and combine them together. I thought that was the simplest way to go. There's minimal belt action, since all you do is push and pull the buckle, but being that there'd be 50, possibly more, different forms, we decided that it'd be better to keep the actions as simple as possible. Each form also makes a distinctive sound effect. In addition, it can identify all 100 monster names and says them audibly, so just as a toy, we thought it'd be pretty fun.

"And so, with its colorful, neon like lights emanating, the transformation belt was completed. When two cards are inserted and the lever is pulled, the Rider's face appears. A truly mysterious gimmick was born."

-A Rider's failed transformation?!-

"Let's bring the conversation back to the time when the transformation system was being devised. At the beginning of the project, the idea was to just "insert a card pack directly into the buckle and transform!"

Minato: This was an idea from the design team. The concept was to make the packs structured like a storage box, where you could open and close them repeatedly, and then to "take out the real pack of cards inside and use them to transform!" The concept was to make even the act of opening a pack of cards part of the fun. This is where the drama comes in, as the question of "how do you deal with random cards?" came to mind. Opening a pack would be like a battle, where it's like, "So these are the five cards I got this time. Alright, how should I use them?" Then I was thinking that depending on the specs of the cards, it might be a less powerful form that it transforms into. That's the direction I had in mind for the drama.

"The main character fights by randomly transforming into different forms, taking advantage of the unique properties of his cards, which makes it impossible to know what will appear. Imagining a Rider surviving battles through wisdom and courage really gets your heart racing, don't you think? This led to the concept of a Rider who, depending on the cards he held, could transform into a "grotesque," non human form."

Minato: I imagined the main character as a young man who tries without giving up, even if he makes mistake after mistake. So I thought, "Why not visualize this attitude through his transformation?" Alchemy has a history of failures, so you could assume that the concept reflects that. In response to Shirakura's "what makes this program so entertaining to watch every week?" question, I thought, "what about a program that entertains the audience with its failed transformations?" Using various cards, trying again and again until finally achieving success, it made me think, "Isn't that kind of method abit like alchemy?"

"A failed transformation form that visualizes the act of repeated trial and error. The concept of capturing the form change from a different angle makes the new generation's sense of style shine through. However……"

Minato: When I tried to write the script using this format, it took way too long to reach victory. The sequence of a successful transformation from a failed one simply took too much time. Because of that, instead of repeating failed transformations, many people voiced their opinion that it'd be better to focus more on monster collecting.

"Thinking from a child's point of view, wouldn't it be more fun to have 10 successful transformation forms than to have 10 failed ones? After the planning team's feedback, it seemed like the failed transformation forms would be scrapped, and yet……"

Minato: There's a novel called "The Metamorphosis" by Franz Kafka, and in it, the main character turns into a "poisonous bug." I felt that the failed transformation form had a similar kind of impact. On the other hand, one of the design proposals had a strange form based on the concept of a non human "steam locomotive grasshopper,” which I thought was kind of interesting. I also thought of the main character as a person who would be guided towards "C" in his search for answers, rather than choosing between "A" or "B," so I felt that a bizarre form would fit well with him.

"Both Yamabe Koichi and Kaneko Shinichi of Ishimori Productions are responsible for world building and repair within the Kamen Rider series. So far, they've been behind the scene figures that have caused many Rider productions to succeed."

Yamabe: It's alchemy, so failures can happen. You may end up with a form that's different from what you wanted, or, on the other hand, you could get a tremendous amount of power specifically for combat. A rough and wild form that causes him to abandon his human form. I think it's because we weren't concerned with the human form, that we could express that kind of excessive power. When I was a child, I used to enjoy thinking and fantasizing about things like, "What would happen if "A" and "B" combined?" So, even though we couldn't show all the forms, I thought it might be a good idea to set the rules as they are, and to let people imagine what it would look like if they put "this one" and "that one" together.

Kaneko: We thought that by removing the human form, the transformations could become more unexpected. I wondered if we could slightly deviate from the parts that the viewers would be expecting. We just needed to decide on the combinations, then we could consider using props instead of suits or CG to depict them. The idea was to keep viewers from getting bored and to give the program a sense of variety.

Minato: Although it was a good idea to sell this series with the fact that there are nearly 50 different forms (through the combination of 100 cards), we didn't have the time to depict those 50 forms (within the drama), and it would've taken a large budget to produce that many suits. So I thought, "Why not use the forms I was considering as failed transformation forms?"

"A strange creature that looks like a fusion between a grasshopper and a steam locomotive…These forms eventually came to be known as "Wild Mode." The naming embodies the "roughness of becoming wild." When the design is humanoid, there are limits to how the action can be depicted. By doing as they pleased with how they designed its appearance, it became possible to break away from those limits. This is how the new Kamen Rider of 2023 acquired its unique identity."

-A young Rider who crushes the old-

"The main character in 2023s Kamen Rider was a high school student. Why did you choose an overly straightforward youth, someone who was more than a boy but not quite a young man, to play the leading role?"

Minato: The opening of the drama is that the main character opens a secret door and finds himself in the world of alchemy, but at its roots, the story has an urban, legendary like worldview. There's a mysterious organization, similar to that of the Illuminati or Freemasons, that have already taken control of the world. The Alchemys Union gives off an image similar to a "dark government." Because of all this, you don't know the full picture. During a planning meeting, we asked ourselves who the Rider would fight against. The word "gerontocracy" came up. Usually, Shirakura and Tsukada are polar opposites, but on this one occasion, they both found it amusing (laughs). Because of their reaction, I thought it'd be interesting to have a story about a group of young people crushing leaders who hate change and only talk about things based on their own past achievements. However, I thought that "crushing the old" was too negative of a theme, but then the word "Gotcha" came up at a naming meeting. It's not a made up word, as it means "to obtain" in English. "To obtain" means to encounter something new that you don't have, in other words, that's what I believe the old have already stopped doing. The only thing the young can do to surpass the old is to "Gotcha." That was one of the reasons why I made the main character and his friends students.

"What the new Kamen Rider needed was "youth to fight off the old." The fact that the main Rider repeatedly changes into 50 different forms can be seen as a symbol of his youth."

Yamabe: The main character is a young and naive high school student. He's an amateur at alchemy, so he's not too specific about things, and he's not afraid to try out different things. I feel that the kind of "irresponsibility of youth" he possesses is reflected in the many form changes he makes.

"The design of the main Rider was done alongside his characterization."

Minato: Our initial plan was to use three or more cards. Since W and Build transformed by combining two elements together, we thought about whether we could create a gimmick that increased the number of cards so that there'd be no overlapping. We tried a variety of things, but considering the structure of the belt, the only way to read the barcodes printed on the cards was to scan them one at a time. After taking into account the transformation action and various other circumstances, in the end, we decided to proceed with just two cards.

"W's design is divided into two parts down the center, while Build combines two elements in a spiral shape. What would the next Rider look like?"

Kita: At first, I imagined him in a lightweight suit, as I thought it'd be a nice change from tradition. The style would be similar to "Riderman" and "Ride Kamens," where their faces are visible and armor is kept to a minimum. With this as the base, the direction was to strengthen him through the use of the cards. I tried to draw lines that made the most of the flat surface of a card, and to also add a flask motif to give off the image of alchemy, but I couldn't decide on the direction to take. It was pretty difficult.

Minato: There were tons of strange designs like that. However, since he's a card Rider, and since "people cards" were something that only Decade did, I wondered if there was a different direction to go in. We asked for an alchemy motif, but we couldn't come up with any words that would give him any hints for the design. During this, "plating" became the one thing we attached ourselves to. Alchemy is the secret art of manufacturing precious metals (like gold and silver) from base metals (like iron, lead and copper), so it gives off the image of something shiny. However, that was also just about the subject matter, not the actual design…..In the end, we decided that instead of combining the visuals of "A + B = AB," we would create a completely different form, that being "C." We wanted to proceed with a completely mixed design, a form where two elements were fused together through alchemy.

"Soon after, the motifs for the two cards were decided to be a grasshopper and steam locomotive."

Minato: A grasshopper wasn't exactly what I wanted. Or rather, there's a grasshopper (GodHopper) in King-Ohger, which I was apart of until just before this, so I was wondering……if this would be alright? (laughs). In the end, I thought that it wasn't a hero motif (in King-Ohger), and that this is Kamen Rider, so there was no issue.

"Grasshoppers are a well known motif going back to the first Kamen Rider, and it fits well with the bounciness of the main character's youth. The steam locomotive on the other hand was a suggestion by Minato."

Minato: When I met my nephew during New Years, he had a toy train. It made me think that children still love trains. I also watched the anime "Goldran" when I was a child, which had a steam locomotive transforming into a robot, and so I thought that a steam locomotive might end up being good. So, I went to a mass retailer near the office and bought a steam locomotive toy, brought it to a planning meeting, and presented it, saying, "Steam locomotives are pretty cool, huh?" (laughs). Grasshoppers and steam locomotives are opposites, one being biological and the other mechanical, but I had the idea of combining them together with the alchemy image in mind, so I thought they'd be a good match. "Jump and Power," that being the jumping power of a grasshopper and the charging power of a steam locomotive, it fit the image of a Rider's kick, so we decided to go ahead with this.

"The color of the armor that covers the new Rider entirely is "blue"…The color evokes a clear blue sky, and at the same time, evokes a sense of youthfulness. The blue shine is further enhanced by the dazzling plating. The motif is a grasshopper and steam locomotive. Its stylish silhouette is bold, it combines a grasshopper, which has been used frequently since Kamen Rider 1, with a steam locomotive, which is the first time it's been used as a main Rider's motif. The new hero would rise up, and his name was "Kamen Rider Gotchard"! The broadcast began on September 3, 2023. In the midst of this era's chaos, the dazzling blue hero jumps forward with ease!"

Gotcha Youth Alchemy Journal Gotcha 2: The Combination of Isolation and Gorgeous

-Alchemy of a local factory-

"Standing in the main character's way is Kurogane Spanner, a cool, super A class rank alchemist. He's a rival character who calls himself "Valvarad," and who wears a strengthened suit (alchemist armor) which he created himself for use against Malgams."

Minato: At the beginning of planning, among some of our options was the idea of "Agito 2." I brought it up partially because I like Agito (laughs), but personally, I thought it was a pretty good idea. I had no intention of it being a true part 2, rather, I wanted to create a show that would mirror its structure. This is because as I look back on the most recent productions, it feels like there are way too many Kamen Riders. Because of that, I wanted to bring it back down to three, just like in Agito. Furthermore, each of them comes from a different background, which is why each of them use distinctly different transformation belts. In addition, the structure is set up so that those three meet in the same place. The main character is pure and can't remember anything, the secondary is someone who's inherited some sort of knowledge from the past, and the tertiary is an outsider. I was wondering if it'd be possible to depict that kind of structure, where the three of them aren't very close with each other. I wanted to reject the traditional, rule based world. The secondary is Rinne, while the tertiary is Spanner. The structure isn't exactly the same, and there are some parts where multiple elements are mixed together, but I used that as a basis for the structure of the character arrangement.

"For 120 long years, no one has been able to attain that lost technology - alchemy for a Kamen Rider. In order to get as close as possible to this power, Spanner conducted his own research and developed "Valvarad's armor" as a system different from that of a Riders."

Minato: There were requests for more allies on the hero side to join the main Rider, but I had decided from the start to go with just Gotchard during the very beginning. Gotchard's diverse form changes were his selling point, so I wanted to focus on that first. I had decided from the beginning that we would have three Riders, but that there'd still only be one by the end of the year. That's when I decided to come up with a rival hero, and so a non Rider hero was born.

"Spanner dons his Valvarad "armor" not by shouting "Henshin!," but "Tekko!" instead. While Riders bodies are strengthened through transformation, Valvarad's an unorthodox warrior who fights with armor simply worn over his body."

Kaneko: Valvarad dons his armor using only one card. Only Kamen Riders can transform using two cards. This was a way to differentiate him from the others and to explain that this was the alchemy of this world.

"An outsider with a different background from the Kamen Rider. He could be considered the tertiary in the Agito inspired character arrangement that Minato originally had in mind."

Minato: He may be an alchemist warrior, but he's still an imperfect being, so we decided to make the rival rust. This is in contrast to the plated and sparkling Gotchard. The toy team voiced how they wanted car cards to appear, so we created a visual of a car covered in oil and being repaired with tools. He's like a warrior born from the alchemy of a local factory, if you will.

"These so called transformation items were also well thought out ideas (in terms of steel items)."

Kita: There were many ideas, including one based on scissors and another on a helicopter styled weapon, but the tool idea was selected from among them.

"Given his setting as a non Rider hero, some interesting ideas were exchanged on transformation and form changes."

Kita: I thought it'd be funny if he put the end of the Valvarusher (the wrench part) around his head and transformed by tightening screws on his head. Both of his shoulders have parts that look like hex bolts, but during the design stage, I imagined that the Valvarusher would be used by him to remove these bolts, and then to attach additional parts to the shoulders. Instead of transforming, he'd be a hero who tunes up his armor like a mechanical engineer.

"Equipping the armor and weapons with his own hands. That's quite an original idea, don't you think?! As a result, the method of changing his appearance instantaneously was used in the footage, but we can't help but hope that this kind of production technique will one day become more popular."

-The conception of a Rider Taisen Universe?!-

"A high school alchemist Rider finds himself in a different dimension. There, he witnessed a gorgeous, golden warrior who used the cards of past Riders to defeat his enemies in every direction. His name is Kamen Rider Legend!"

Minato: The cards sold in packs had "Chemies" printed on them, but at first, customers were still unfamiliar with the monsters. One of the roles of the show was to make the monsters more appealing, but we weren't sure how popular the Chemies would turn out during the planning stages. On the other hand, the lineup also included cards with Legend Riders printed on them. We thought this would be one of the motivations for customers to buy cards during the very early stages of the show. The toy team still raised their concerns with, "How can we make the cards more appealing?"

Terakawa: Card items are also targeted at adults, and the Card Division's view was that cards of past Riders would be particularly popular with them. If that was the case, then I wanted to highlight the Legend cards more. We consulted with Ishimori Productions and Toei about what steps we could take to achieve this.

Yamabe: Items related to past Riders, or "Legend merch" as they're called, have quite a few fans. We had the option of not adding them in the show, but I also understood what the toy team was thinking. We agreed that it'd be fun to have a hero who uses the cards of past Riders, and that we might as well give it a try with this series. However, if this character were to appear in the main story, it would affect the worldview, so that was something we had to think about for abit.

Terakawa: For example, we thought about things like someone who makes cards, who also makes Chemy cards, and who also makes cards of past Riders. A variety of opinions were exchanged, such as, "How about making a character who's a card shop owner, or a handyman who deals with Chemy cards and explains what a Chemy is?"

"Legend cards were difficult to work with. If Gotchard uses the Legend cards, that would give him unlimited power, which weakens the purpose of using the other Chemy cards. On the other hand, if a completely new and distinct character were to use them……"

Minato: A hero who uses Legend cards is by all accounts the most powerful character in the show, so wouldn't having him around solve everything? I wondered how it would affect the show if things ended up going in that direction. So, I decided to make him a Rider from a different world than the one in the TV series, and thought about developing it as a spin off. In this way, I thought we could fulfill both our goals of bringing Legend cards into the story, and to keep a Legend card using hero outside of Gotchard's narrative world.

"The platform chosen was Youtube. As the name suggests, "Toei Tokusatsu Youtube Official" is an official video site for Toei's tokusatsu productions, and has distributed spin offs of TV series, such as "Kamen Rider Ghost: Legendary! Riders Souls!" (2016)."

Minato: If I depicted how he got the Legend Rider cards, I wouldn't be able to show his abilities in the limited time we had, so I decided to make him someone who had alot of cards right from the start. Initially, I was thinking of a setting where he was some incredible day trader. A successful businessman who's very rich. I even came up with a line like, "I'm a modern day alchemist" (laughs). However, I thought that was alittle too realistic for his occupation……so I changed his setting.

"Needless to say, the concept of "gorgeous" was born as a result of this process. But his appearance……?"

Kita: I had alot of ideas, such as looking like a businessman with a suit arrangement, or like a motorcycle riding police officer who cracks down on Riders from all over the world. Since Gotchard has a concept with arrows, I tried to draw a design with arrows all over his body, but in the end, a design based on the concept of "Rider No. 3 from Decade's world" was chosen.

"One way of describing his appearance would be……the Golden Decade!"

Minato: Gotchard aired on TV every week. A large number of toys were released. It's a production that finally took shape after months of working on the setting and designs. When you throw a new Rider with a completely different setting into the mix, it's only natural that he'd look inferior to Gotchard. That being the case, I thought it'd be better to just have him be a character like Decade.

"From here, they wanted him to borrow Decade's powers. One being his "visuals." The other being his "ability" to copy all past Riders."

Minato: The fact that he looks similar to Decade I thought could be cleared up by using the same logic as Twokaizer (laughs).

"Twokaizer is the additional fighter that appeared in "Kikai Sentai Zenkaiger" (2021), and his visuals are very similar to the Gokaigers (laughs). This isn't surprising. The reason for this is pretty simple, the character Flint, who went to the world of Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger, copied the appearance of the Gokaigers (laughs). However, the overall coloring and appearance of various parts aren't exactly the same as those on the Gokaigers. The plan was to use a similar approach."

Yamabe: A world where using Riders from other worlds as cards and using their abilities is an established technique. That's the world that Legend exists in. The resemblance in appearance is due out of respect for Decade. That's how I interpret it.

"The enemy that Legend fights against is a mysterious organization called "Hundred." Under their command is Kasshine, an enemy from Zi-O."

Yamabe: I've always thought that there's a world line between Decade and Zi-O, and that there are battles that take place in a different dimension from the Rider battles that we do every year. That's why we used the Aurora Curtain again and had a scene where Kasshine appears. Ishimori Productions wanted to unite the world views of Decade and Zi-O into one.

Kaneko: Legend also had the role of introducing Kamen Rider to the new generation who were unfamiliar with Riders, as well as to people overseas who had never seen a Rider broadcast before. It'd be difficult to ask the new generation of fans to watch all past Rider productions during that time, so we picked out and introduced only the most characteristic and interesting parts of every past Rider. This was the role that had been entrusted to this character.

"Even though the grand plan was unexpectedly surprising, the character of Kaguya-sama is amazing in that he seems to be able to handle his role without any difficulty. Although, Legend would eventually interfere with the world of Gotchard……"

-Cards and Riders, a deceptive duet-

"The very beginning of the program depicts a lively battle between Houtaro and his friends to capture Chemies. It was an unusual journey, going from west to east in pursuit of Chemies."

Minato: The concept of this production was a "story of collecting Chemies." There are friends and rivals, but it's not a battle, what's depicted is a "race" to catch the Chemies. This is because initially, I was going to use a basic storyline pattern……in which human criminals and a Chemy combine to become a Malgam. This is imagery seen in the story of episode 2. A hero who saves helpless Chemies from being trapped by evil people is a new concept, don't you think? However, that'd mean the very first episode wouldn't unravel properly. I thought it'd be fine to go without an enemy organization, but TV Asahi's Producer Inoue Chihiro-san advised me that it'd be better to have an enemy. And so, the "Three Dark Sisters" were born.

"If you ask me, the flow of Houtaro receiving the belt from Kudo Fuga in the first episode wouldn't have been possible without the Three Dark Sisters. The unexpected circumstances of their creation are surprising, but the Three Dark Sisters studied the Chemy cards and succeeded in developing the DreaDriver. It's an evil device that transforms a person into the form of a demon by consuming Repli Chemy cards."

Yamabe: The DreaDriver is a "sacrificial belt." It's a belt that disposes of the Chemy cards. If an enemy that used it were to appear, the Chemy loving main character would no doubt hate them immensely. At the time of planning, the details of the story hadn't been decided yet, so we introduced it with that intention in mind.

Kaneko: At the time of planning, we were thinking of a development in which Chemy cards would be taken by the enemy and then recovered. However, as the project progressed, it was decided that there'd be only one of each Chemy card, so we needed to do something else. Considering the importance that Houtaro places on his Chemy cards, he wouldn't simply hand them over to the enemy. That's when we came up with the idea of "Repli Chemy cards." Things would progress from the enemy feeling threatened by Gotchard, to them creating a card of their own and transforming.

"With a thunderous roar, a human who puts on the DreaDriver transforms into Kamen Rider Dread. The one manipulated by Atropos and forced to transform was……Sabimaru."

Kaneko: We wanted to create an evil Rider, one who would completely change the cheerful mood, but we had a hard time deciding who would transform. At first, we were thinking of the three tiered system, with Clotho using Type One, Lachesis using Type Two, and Atropos using Type Three. We wanted to make it seem like the opponent who used Chemies to create Malgams would then transform into a Rider and stand in the way as powerful enemies, but as of episode 11, I felt that the Three Dark Sisters just hadn't developed as characters yet. Even when they transformed, it was lacking in impact……

Minato: For example, I thought about having Clotho transform and then leave the show, but Screenwriter Hasegawa-san didn't want Clotho to make her exit just yet. Therefore, we decided that it'd be best to leave Dread as a sort of puppet like existence for the time being. With all that being the case, who would do the most damage to Houtaro? From this perspective, I chose Sabimaru as the one to transform. The reason was that up to that point, Houtaro's main motivation for taking action was the Chemies, he wasn't a Kamen Rider who protected humans. However, when his senior and important friend Sabimaru is taken away from him, he has a change in attitude to save both Chemies and humans.

Kaneko: I think we were able to depict Houtaro's consideration for human life and his determination to fight. However, to begin with, Sabimaru's character isn't suited for that kind of role. That's why Dread didn't feel like a formidable opponent. It didn't look like a threat was approaching. Instead, the feeling of pity for Sabimaru was what came out more strongly, which was quite different from what we were aiming for.

Minato: Personally, I didn't want to call Dread a "Kamen Rider." In this world, Kamen Riders are rare individuals who transform by combining two Chemy cards. The Repli Chemy cards are fakes, and Type Zero isn't a Rider, as you transform with just one card. Therefore, we made it possible for anyone to transform, although what they become is quite different from a Kamen Rider. We decided that we'd have Atropos be the one saying, "I'm Kamen Rider Dread."

"Dread would eventually mutate its forms one by one, from Type One to Three, and even altering the person that transforms, causing torment to Houtaro and his friends."

-Power up with the Legendary Chemies-

"Ride Chemy cards are sealed with Chemies, artificial life forms created by alchemy. Each card is assigned a 10 level number based on their attribute, from "level 1" to "level 10." A Level 10 is the strongest Chemy in each attribute. They're special beings with extraordinary power."

Minato: Simply put, the Level 10's are "Legendary Pokemon" (laughs). They're absurdly strong Chemies, so it's difficult to catch them. Houtaro, as well as Gotchard, become stronger when the Level 10s approve of him. I was careful when depicting this sequence, as I didn't want to portray him as becoming stronger just because he acquired a strong asset. So, the process I followed was that as a result of becoming stronger mentally, he gained new powers. I intended on sticking to this concept throughout the show.

"Gotchard's system was to use two Chemy cards to transform, but there was a rule that the sum of the numbers of the two cards that were paired had to equal 10. Like how Hopper1 is a Level 1 and Steamliner is a Level 9. So, 1+9=10, and there can be a transformation. Other forms basically followed this rule, but what about Level 10 cards?"

Terakawa: The basic concept was that you were allowed to power up with three cards. So by adding a Level 10 card to Steamhopper (which requires two cards), you can create a new form.

"There are no cards that can be paired with a Level 10, so instead, the idea was to "add on" to a standard form to increase its power."

Kita: In the beginning, we were thinking of removing the card holder like part from the new weapon and setting it on the belt, but the card holder was small in size. Adding this to the Gotchard Driver didn't change the appearance of the belt much. So, we decided to change our direction of transforming the weapon itself into an additional buckle.

"Transforming with a Level 10 Chemy required a new weapon (Exgotchalibur), which could change shape into a buckle. The main point was that the overall appearance of the belt could be changed by adding additional parts to it. He was told, "you shouldn't control a Level 10," as they're the most challenging of Chemies, but Houtaro becomes friends with these Level 10s thanks to his kindness and battle spirit. His unconventional ideas and drive allowed him to easily overcome the old teachings passed down at the Alchemys Union, and gradually, he began to change the hearts of those around him!"

Gotcha Youth Alchemy Journal Gotcha 3: The Combination of Past and Future

-Daybreak Incident-

"One after another, people were turned to stone by the super giant Orochi Malgam. The crowded Christmas town was in chaos as everyone was turned to stone, including his best friends, allies, and rivals. Would the panicking Houtaro also become a victim?! At that moment, a daybreak colored shadow appeared with a dazzling light. It was another Gotchard!!"

Minato: The toy sale report for the first month of the show's broadcast became available, and while card sales were strong, Driver sales weren't, and the adult fan base seemed to be shrinking. That was just the info I was given. So, I decided that it might be a good idea to prepare some kind of major development for the story.

Yamabe: I had abit of a bad feeling about this……In the last episode of the year (episode 16), the development we planned was to have Houtaro power up into Fire Gotchard. Gotchard would be defeated for a moment, but then complete his powered up transformation at the very end, and then the story would continue in the next episode. That's the process we were thinking of, but after hearing about the toys, I had a feeling that the story would take a turn for the worse if we did that.

Minato: Geats, the previous series, was said to be very popular with adults, while on the opposite end, the response from young children wasn't so good. That's why we had talked about making a show that would attract more children this time, and that it would be aimed more towards preschool aged children. Rider is a long running series that has many adult fans, so I thought I had to try and strike a balance in order to reach that generation, but then I wasn't sure what to do.

"If the primary target was younger children, then it's possible that middle and high school students, as well as the older generation, may not judge it positively. And, what if you didn't get support from those vital young children?"

Yamabe: We understand that it's cool when the main character loses for a brief moment and then gets back up. However, given the situation we were currently going down, we thought it wouldn't be appealing to anyone, regardless of whether they were a child or an adult.

Kaneko: It was probably because of our own lack in ability, but in any case, we hadn't been able to convey the appeal of Gotchard. Tons of Chemy cards were released, tons of form changes appeared, Dread appeared, the Exgotchalibur appeared and turned him into Super Gotchard, and soon, there'd be Fire Gotchard. Shortly after that, Valvarad's power up was scheduled. Taking all that into account, it makes it impossible to create an interesting story, and even if new items were released, viewers wouldn't want to buy those toys, as there'd be no excitement in them. At any rate, we were in a standstill.

Minato: I don't remember much about the meeting because I felt completely drained, but it was decided right then and there that a new character would suddenly appear. "But who'll be transforming?," we couldn't come to a decision. There was a strong divide between choosing either Fuga or Houtaro's father, but I thought that'd be too predictable and simply not interesting enough. This could make it look as if Houtaro, the main character, was having his role downsized and that a new main character was appearing. That would be a betrayal to the viewers, so I absolutely wanted to avoid that. During all this, the words "the hero's future appearance" came out of Yamabe-san, and I was like, "That's it!"

Yamabe: A character who would be known as a "skilled Gotchard," who can handle all kinds of weapons, appears. He also fights brilliantly, using red Chemy cards that no one's ever seen before. So, unlike the Gotchard that Houtaro transforms into, this guy would be showing off his professional fighting skills. Within the show is a picture book, which refers to the story "Alchemist of Daybreak," so we decided to make the character associated with those words. And so, that's how Daybreak was born.

"Following this meeting, Minato immediately set out to negotiate with the toy team."

Minato: Episode 16 would be the last episode to air at the end of the year. Gotcharigniter toys were scheduled to be available in stores by the end of that week. So, at the time of planning, they were thinking of making Kamen Rider Valvarad appear during that episode. The Gotcharigniter was set up to be an item that allowed them to become Fire Gotchard or Kamen Rider Valvarad respectively. However, Gotchard became UFO-X in episode 13 and XRex in episode 14, and when episode 15 was being aired, Majade was making her debut in movie theaters. I couldn't set up such an absurd storyline where Valvarad would power up next time during episode 16. It'd be easy to force something like that out, but as a creator, I didn't want to do it. In Gotchard's story, I can't give power ups to people who haven't "Gotcha!" (obtained) something. So, I asked to let Fire Gotchard and Kamen Rider Valvarad make their appearance after the New Year. As a work around, I explained that we'd be attaching the Gotcharigniter to the new character, Daybreak.

"It's highly unusual for these kinds of series, which are based on linking the show and the toys, to delay the release of characters and items that are set to be sold during the holiday shopping season. This must've been an unexpected situation for the toy team."

Minato: I was expecting them to not agree so easily……but it was still pretty rough. After much discussion, I managed to get them to agree that before the sales launch of the Igniter, Daybreak would appear in episode 16 and use the Igniter to become Fire Gotchard Daybreak, and that only the visuals of the new Riders would be released. That's how we ended up releasing the new visuals at the end of the year for the coming year, unveiling Fire Gotchard and Kamen Rider Valvarad. We had already decided in advance that another artist would participate in the theme song (FLOW in addition to BACK-ON), so we decided to release it at the same time. I was so nervous, that I approached things with the feeling that a new show was set to start in January of the coming year.

"The act of explaining the situation to all concerned parties and getting people to understand the intentions of the planning team must've been an indescribable task behind the scenes. On the other hand, this decision broke away from the conventional mindset of the Rider series and "Gotcha" (obtained) something new, which would no doubt give a big boost to future stories!"

-Time Travel Fire-

"After some difficult negotiations, Daybreak's emergency entry was granted. The appearance of two characters were delayed because of this. Let's talk about one of them, we'll start with Fire Gotchard."

Minato: No one knew the reason behind why Houtaro liked the Chemies. Still, from the very beginning, I heard many opinions. The reason is simply that he just met a Chemy randomly and suddenly started saying, "Chemies are great!" To support this, I decided to have a setting where Houtaro meets Chemies in the past. Houtaro doesn't remember this because his memories were erased (by an alchemist), but the Chemies remember. There's still something like a fragment of "cherished memories" in Houtaro's heart. So, I tried to "combine" Houtaro's past and what leads him to becoming Fire Gotchard. I decided on the details later, but Houtaro travels into the past due to Daybreak. I wondered if I could create that sequence of events……where by remembering his childhood memories that had been erased, that would make him more aware than ever that he must protect people and Chemies, and that he must become a stronger person.

"Daybreak speaks with Houtaro. He says, "A power that gives hope to the future. Use this…" Houtaro refuses Daybreak's offer to accept the Gotcharigniter, and declares that he'll try to produce the power up item with his own hands. Daybreak tells him that in order to do so, he needs to travel into the past. Using the power of Timelord, Houtaro travels to the past, where he learns various revelations. As a child, Houtaro was friends with the Chemies, and despite being young, he was skilled in alchemy……Eventually, Houtaro obtains the "one and only treasure in this world" that his childhood self had made through alchemy, and returns to the present, where he succeeds in refining the Gotcharigniter. He obtains the power of Fire Gotchard!"

Kaneko: It's a speed form with a booster on his back, but if it's just about gaining speed, we've seen so many different patterns up until now that viewers are getting tired of seeing, so we decided to make it alittle different. Ultimately, we decided that when on standby, his body is fixed in place with chains, and when he gains speed, he can only move in a straight line. Combined with Director Tasaki's direction, I think the form turned out really unique and cool.

"Upon seeing Gotchard's new appearance, Daybreak mutters, "That form…..so you're headed into the new future, huh?"…"

Kaneko: Daybreak also uses the Gotcharigniter, but Houtaro's Fire Gotchard has a different appearance. That's where the timeline changed (Daybreak's timeline and the present split).

"Seeing Houtaro in a form different from his own despite using the same item, Daybreak feels relieved and returns to the future. This story……is unexpectedly connected to the Summer film!"

-The girl who was supposed to become Gotchard-

"Kamen Rider Majade made her first appearance in the Winter Film. She's the first female fighter in the history of the series to become the secondary Rider. As the daughter of a renowned alchemist, Kudo Rinne has always been bound by rules and lived by them. Her friends refer to her as "honor student" and "rule follower," and her enemy Atropos teased her by calling her "Serious-chan." A girl who's lived her whole life hiding her own will decides to "make her own rules," and grows from becoming a Kamen Rider!"

Minato: I think Rinne was originally supposed to become Gotchard. Since she's the daughter of Kudo Fuga, an important alchemist, she receives a gifted education to also become a renowned alchemist, and she herself has been making efforts with that intention in mind. And yet, her own alchemy doesn't work against Malgams. However, Gotchard (Houtaro) suddenly appears and defeats the Malgams. This is why she's always wanted to become a Kamen Rider, she didn't want to be beside the hero as the heroine, which is the usual tradition. She may look like a cute girl, but within her heart, she's frustrated and impatient with herself for not being able to transform into a Kamen Rider. And so, by Gotcha (obtaining) her resolve to fight, she was finally able to become her true self (a Kamen Rider).

"The New Year's episodes were a rapid fire of events, with each week bringing a series of dramatic developments. Daybreak's intrusion, Houtaro's past, the truth about Kudo Fuga, the power up into Fire Gotchard, Glion's resurrection, and Majade's appearance gave off the impression that there were multiple surprises packed into a single episode. Additionally, the Alchemy Academy was taken over by Glion, and even Minato, whom she admires, switches to Glion's side!"

Yamabe: We wanted to create a situation where Houtaro and his friends had to figure things out on their own. The situation came to a point where Houtaro could no longer be naive, and he had to finally face himself.

"Minato, who has surrendered to Glion's side, uses the DreaDriver to change his appearance and attack Houtaro and his friends. Houtaro and his friends, who called themselves the "Kitchen ICHINOSE Union," were united in their resolve, but more challenges were coming for them. That would be the rampage of their precious friend Spanner…….and the appearance of Wheel Malgam!"

-Digging deeper into the ridiculous jokes-

"Kurogane Spanner is a lone, super A class rank alchemist, who wears the Valvarad armor he developed with his own hands. He's also a man who was previously promised he'd become a Kamen Rider."

Minato: I decided from the beginning that there would be three Riders starting from the beginning of the New Year. My own concept was to do "Kuuga" during the first year, and then after the New Year, the show would become "Agito."

"Kamen Rider Kuuga (2000) was the first Heisei Rider production. It features only one Kamen Rider. The story is about a lone fighter named Kuuga who fights with the help of the police. The next production was Kamen Rider Agito. This is an interwoven drama about three Kamen Riders (Agito, G3, Gills). Minato had reworked the Rider shows that fascinated him as a boy and incorporated them into Gotchard."

Kaneko: The toy team had requested that Houtaro and Spanner share the Gotcharigniter.

"It had already been decided that Spanner would become a Kamen Rider using the Gotcharigniter."

Kaneko: With such a setup, Spanner would need to use the Gotchard Driver. However, the Gotchard Driver has meaning, as it's one of a kind, but I wondered what would happen if there were more of them. If they lent or borrowed it from each other, there would be situations where neither Houtaro nor Spanner could transform, and in that regard, I thought the idea of lending and borrowing was a bad idea. As a result, we changed it so that Valvarad's enhanced belt was a reference to the Gotcharigniter.

"And so, they decided to have Houtaro's Gotcharigniter be an attachment, but for Spanner to have it appear in the show as a completely new belt, known as the Valvaradriver."

Minato: The timing of Kamen Rider Valvarad's appearance was later than expected, but I approached Director Sugihara when it came to making his first appearance (episodes 20 and 21). At that time, the first thing the Director said to me was, "I understand that you want to depict his first transformation in a cool way, but Spanner as he is now is unappealing. I don't think the Rider transformation will come off as well as you think it should unless you do something about Spanner." The planning team was aware of this, so we decided to rethink what kind of person Spanner was when it came time for his first transformation.

"Edami Kyoka was created to better paint Spanner's background…. She's a brilliant female alchemist, who also develops transformation drivers."

Kaneko: Kyoka's the only person that Spanner can open up to and be honest with. She's the one who accepts Spanner with full affirmation. She's also a mentor who supports Spanner more than anyone else.

"Kyoka is Spanner's emotional support. However, their relationship of trust is shattered by the appearance of Angel Malgam. Spanner's parents show up in front of him for the first time in 10 years. Soon after, they're both killed by Glion! Seeing this scene before his eyes, Spanner recalls memories from 10 years ago. And that's when he realizes what happened…His parents had already been killed by Glion 10 years ago, and the people in front of him were only temporarily revived through Angel Malgam's power. At the same time, he learns that his memory of that tragedy had been erased by someone…He's shocked to discover that the one who had performed the memory erasing technique on him was Edami Kyoka, his mentor, mother figure, sister figure, and woman he admired. Spanner feels his existence crumble beneath his feet as he's overcome with despair. And then, Spanner forms a bond. With help from the Chemy Madwell, who was a "tool," he became Valvarad……!"

Minato: 10 years ago, Spanner was a 14 year old boy who went to live with the 24 year old Kyoka-san, and with that happening, he would definitely fall in love with her, don't you think? (laughs). But since she's like a family member to him, they continue to live together while he keeps his feelings bottled up. That's why he became such a cool character. With the appearance of Kyoka, that background becomes clearer. Because of his cool and stylish position, Spanner had been holding back his performance up until then, but the explosive power he had the moment he let it all out was amazing.

"In order to protect the heart of the young Spanner, Kyoka erased those haunting memories, taught him alchemy, and showed him affection as they lived together. This eventually became Kyoka's reason for living. She also taught Spanner how to play chess, as it's a game that requires you to always calmly think ahead without being swayed by your emotions. Spanner possesses dangerous powers that make him easily susceptible to the power of darkness, so she tried to protect him by putting him in "armor" known as the "aesthetics of battle." When Spanner realized her wishes and feelings, he recognized that he wasn't alone. At the same time, memories of the deep love he received from his parents come back to him, and Spanner gains new powers. His name is Kamen Rider Valvarad!"

Minato: Gotchard and Majade transform through traditional alchemy, but Valvarad's transformation is alittle different. He transforms using alchemy that's been applied to modern industrial technology, or other words, alchemy from a local factory, so his appearance is purposely different from the other two. When I think, "What's the alchemy in this show?," I have a pretty good idea of what it is, but his still feels alittle more industrial. I have the impression that Kyoka's alchemy is the latest alchemy (the alchemy related items in Kyoka's lab are different from those in Fuga's room). Valvarad has a reinforced suit, but it's set up so that when he becomes a Rider, his body physically changes. Still, the pointed part on the left side of his mask (the silver part) is the only part that's armor. The design of Kamen Rider Valvarad was completed by combining physical changes (due to legitimate alchemy) with the alchemy techniques of a local factory.

"Spanner became more appealing as a character, and grew into an indispensable and reliable presence in the story."

-The Chemies become transformation items-

"Gotchard evolves with different concepts, including a 3 card transformation (Super Gotchard), transforming with a special card that combines 5 cards (Star Gotchard), and a transformation with an additional buckle (Fire Gotchard). What style would the next power be?"

Minato: Since we had finally reached the point where we had all 100 Chemy cards available for sale, the subject of coming up with a battle style using those 100 cards came up.

Kita: As part of the design team, I was looking for a different approach. Along with the idea of transforming with all cards of the same attribute, there were many other ideas…….but the best response we got was from the concept of a power up transformation for Hopper1 and Steamliner. There'd be a plate buckle (in the shape of a card case) that featured Hopper1 and Steamliner's forms, and he'd transform by inserting new cards into it one by one. I was thinking of a three phase transformation system with slots on the left and right sides, with Hopper1 for the enhanced form, Steamliner for the second enhanced form, and both Hopper1 and Steamliner for the third enhanced form.

Terakawa: After consulting with the design team, we found that there'd be some difficulties with the mechanics. Because of this, instead of a card case, we'd insert a solid item into it, and the three phase transformation became a two phased one. As a toy, the concept was a figure, and it'd be a transformation item that looked like Hopper1 and Steamliner's powered up forms.

"At the time, the new lineup of card products to be released would include ones with the attributes "Cosmic" and "Ancient," so they decided to combine those elements into the power ups for Hopper1 and Steamliner."

Minato: The concept was a two phase transformation, using two different Chemy shaped items. It's standard to start with a "rampaging" form, then a form that overcomes it, but I wondered what we could do to avoid going in that direction. So, I went back to the idea of the single and double card transformations.

"First, Steamliner (in its powered up form) transforms by itself, then adds Hopper1 (also in its powered up form) for a combined transformation! Although its appearance is of a Chemy, the logic is the same as to whether one or two cards are used to transform."

Minato: It's just like Valvarad, he transforms by incorporating the power of one Chemy that resides inside a human. Valvarad uses items so he doesn't have to become Malgam. I wondered if we could think of it in the same way. We had a request for an ancient element in connection with the cards, so I came up with the concept of the "Ancient Forbidden Arts," which used a similar method as alchemy.

Yamabe: At the time of planning, I thought that an enemy boss would appear during this time, and that we could go on to explain about the origins of alchemy. This is why I was thinking that it wouldn't be out of place if there were ancient designs.

"The general concept of the transformation system had been decided upon, but discussions were also held on how the Rider using it would transform, and in particular, how they would differentiate between the two forms."

Minato: The concept was that the first form would be heavily based off an ancient Egyptian styled design and specialize in punching, while the second form would be light due to its heavy armor being removed and specialize in kicking. Still, it had been determined that Gotchard would finish things with a kick in any form, so specializing in kicks makes it difficult to differentiate from the other forms. So, we started to think about a different way of presenting it.

"The result was the ability to activate the power of two scanned Chemy cards as his own technique. Its name, "Platina Shoot Fever"! It has a variety of techniques, including striking attacks from its spiked arms (Saboneedle + Wrestler G), dodging enemy attacks while moving at high speed and firing needle bullets at high speed from its legs (Kaiserbee + Mechanichani), and electric attacks while binding enemies with reinforced webs (Raidenji + Catchula). The more you know about the Chemies, the more excited you become, and their diverse attack styles have captured the hearts of children and won't let go. A new form was born, one that shines with the concept of fighting alongside the Chemies."

Gotcha Youth Alchemy Journal Gotcha Final: The Combination of Hope and Challenge

-Arrow Transformation using the Kaiju Chemy!-

"What were known as the "strongest forms" became a staple during the last half of the show. What was the strongest form that the cheerful and positive high school student Gotcha (obtained)?"

Minato: Since we had Crosshopper and Tenliner, I thought it was possible that the power up item could be a Chemy. Still, I debated until the very last minute on whether or not I should make it the 101st Chemy. This was because at the time of planning, I hadn't decided on what the Summer film would be about yet……Personally, I wanted to save the 101st Chemy for the story in the Summer film. To use Pokemon movies as an example, I was thinking about a story in which the legendary Chemy appears in a similar fashion to "Mewtwo Strikes Back" or "Revelation Lugia." Originally, I was under the impression that the strongest form would likely appear about 40 episodes in. That's when I wondered if it would even be okay to collect all 101 of them. I thought that if it was done in that way, the show would practically be over, right? At the time, there were many parts of the setting that hadn't been decided on. "What should this program do after they're done collecting Chemies?," I hadn't fully figured that out yet. To begin with, 101 is the number that Shirakura advised me to prepare. The idea was to have an extra one in case of any problems, so that we could have more flexibility. That's why we left anything in relation to the 101st Chemy as a mystery. Was it really okay to use it as the final power up? This caused me alot of distress.

Kita: Minato-san wanted something different with the 101st Chemy, so we proceeded to work on the items and forms based on the concept of "all 100 Chemies included."

"He says that this direction was immediately "paused." The reason was that if all the Chemies combined, Gotchard's strongest form wouldn't be able to stand alongside Majade and Valvarad."

Kita: Would something other than the Chemies be better? I tried to design something with the image of a gadget based on "arrows," which had become synonymous with Gotchard, or a gadget that lets you put in all the cards you've collected and use the power of 100 cards, but they were all no good.

Minato: This was just around the time that I came up with the idea of a setting for Daybreak. I thought if I could make the Summer film into a Daybreak story, we could make it work. So, using that process, I decided to put the 101st one on TV. Although, the result was that the last two Chemies caught in the show were Pakuraptor and Ojilacanth (laughs).

"The decision was made to make the 101st Chemy a transformation item, and out of countless concepts, a Kaiju Chemy was chosen. It's appearance looks alot like Gotchard……"

Minato: Its design inherited elements of Gotchard, which reflects the setup that it was born from the Gotchard Driver. It also gives off a special feel when compared to the other Chemies. If it was raised as an egg inside the Gotchard Driver while watching Houtaro's actions, it'd be natural for it to have alot of trust in Houtaro, and it'd be easier to explain in many ways. So, I came up with the idea that Fuga had already placed the 101st inside the Gotchard Driver.

"The Kaiju Chemy is born from the egg thanks to Houtaro's ideals! Transformed by its power, Gotchard's strongest form is……arrows?!"

Kita: The words that came up in our discussions were along the lines of Houtaro's positivity and straightforwardness. So I drew the mask with arrows, Gotchard's symbol, meeting in the middle. Although I got the OK, I wasn't sure if it would actually work as a physical shape, so I decided to do a test by printing it out using a 3D printer.

Minato: I was surprised when I saw the 3D model of the mask. This was because I realized that such a mysterious design was actually possible to produce. I liked the design instantly because it seemed to be a direct expression of Houtaro's positive attitude.

Yamabe: Houtaro has experienced many things since becoming a Rider, so it was as if he had decided on his direction. That's why the arrow is so pronounced in the design. I love that face, because it gives the impression that a beautiful rainbow has formed at the end of the arrows.

Kaneko: The 101st Chemy contains some of the Philosopher's Stone, which explains why the strongest form is in fact the strongest, and I think we got it just right. There's backstory that the perfect form of alchemy is a "rainbow," and I thought the way this was expressed visually was a fantastic design.

"The strongest form, which received great support from the planning team, is called "Rainbow Gotchard"! The dynamic mask structure, which looks different from different angles, is the most energetic and explosive design in the history of Rider designs."

-The Daybreak Alchemist and the Secrets of the Picture Book-

"While it was a traditional Summer film, the decision to have the two Houtaros as the main characters was made very early on."

Minato: When we were in the process of asking DAIGO-san to voice Daybreak in the TV series, I knew that I wanted the next Summer film to focus on Daybreak. I wanted DAIGO-san to appear in the film and show his face. We had just finished filming the Winter film, but we got internal approval early on.

"The Winter film was "Gotchard & Geats." Apparently, deciding on the Summer film's cast before the New Year is unusually fast for a Sunday morning Rider."

Minato: Sometime after the New Year, I had a meeting with the Film Promotion Division and planning team. We were told that the box office revenue of the Winter film was almost the same as the previous film (Geats x Revice). However, looking closer at the details showed that the percentage of attendance for children's tickets had increased. With that being the case, we decided that the Summer film should be a fun, easy to understand movie that families can enjoy together. For the Winter film, we decided to promote the Chemies and put more focus on the Voice Actors. We tried to go in a direction that would appeal to Voice Actor fans who like anime, but it seemed like that wasn't enough, and TV Asahi wanted to supplement that with the guest cast. Based on all these things, we wanted to create an exciting tokusatsu hero action film. We didn't want to create a cluttered and complicated story, but rather, a single theme that would run through the entire film without stopping.

"The meeting also ordered that Gotchard and Daybreak appear in a film only form. In addition, there were even more requests……"

Minato: The Advertising Division asked us if we could bring in someone from the "Legendary cast" in order to appeal to the fan base that had continued to love Kamen Rider. It'd be something similar to the sequence in the Geats Winter film, where the Ryuki cast appeared. We agreed that if we could incorporate Decade, which was the basis for Kamen Rider Legend, into this project, it would be a good idea. That's how we decided on the appearance of Kadoya Tsukasa (Inoue Masahiro).

"The script was entrusted to Hasegawa Keiichi, who also worked on the TV series."

Minato: As for Hasegawa-san, he wanted to make a film that would make people cry. At the time, "Godzilla Minus One" was a huge hit. Hasegawa-san's analysis was that, "Japanese people who were forced to live in hardship after the war rose to their feet, and those kinds of dramas win the hearts of the audience." So I thought, "Let's also do a hero who rises from the ashes."

"The story follows Houtaro as he struggles in the Future World. The world has been taken over by Glion, and his precious friends are already dead. Unsurprisingly, Spanner and Minato are now under Glion's control. They're fake forms, masked with evil. A trap to mentally drain Houtaro……20 years later, the world has become a literal "living hell" for Houtaro. On Christmas Day, when Daybreak showed up to save him, Houtaro was supposed to have been defeated by Glion. To stop that tragedy, Daybreak had come from the future Even though he knew it was futile……."

Minato: I'd been thinking of connecting the "Alchemist of Daybreak" depicted in the picture book with Daybreak, but nothing concrete had been decided at the time of episodes 16 to 18. As I was working on the script for the film, it was Kaneko-san of Ishimori Productions who recommended, "It'd be better to connect it to the past lore, with Daybreak crossing over into the past to become the Alchemist of Daybreak at the end."

"Originally, the "Alchemist of Daybreak" depicted in the picture book is wearing a red hood. However, the picture book that appeared at the end of the film depicted "Shining Daybreak" defeating the Dark King……."

Minato: Strictly speaking, the illustrations of the picture book shouldn't have changed from the "Alchemist of Daybreak" to "Shining Daybreak" in the last part. If Future Houtaro was wearing a red hood, it would cause an unclear outline in the story……The reason why I did it that way is because if he goes back in time and "seals" the Dark King, it wouldn't feel like Daybreak had won. If the story unfolded that way, the history of Houtaro being defeated by Glion and suffering in despair would be repeated all over again. I wanted to put an end to that if possible. This was something that Hasegawa-san suggested. He said that unless I made it something like, "In the end, the Dark King was defeated, and they lived happily ever after," it'd be difficult to convey Daybreak's victory. If it came to that, the foreshadowing in the TV show of the picture book couldn't be resolved, but I thought people would understand that the story, which had been repeating itself, had entered a "new step," so we decided to just go with it.

"In the final scene, the Dark King, defeated by the two Houtaros, travels to a "past without Kamen Riders" to rule the world once more. Daybreak also follows him and travels back to the past. The film ends there……It's a very sharp and brilliant ending."

Minato: It was Hasegawa-san's wish that we didn't depict the battle between Daybreak and the Dark King in the past world. At the time, Matsuura asked Hasegawa-san a question. "It's fine as long as it's depicted that he goes back in time and becomes the Alchemist of Daybreak. But after that, would it be okay for Future Houtaro to return to the future and live with Atropos and Clotho and all the others in a world where the threat has disappeared?" Hasegawa-san said that it would be abit of a stretch to depict what happens after that. He said that it's a beautiful story because it ends with the picture book explaining Daybreak's victory by going back to the past. He said something along the lines of, "This film has many characters, but it's a story about two people, Houtaro and Rinne, so wouldn't it be a wonderful, happy ending if they went to the past together (even though Rinne had passed), defeated the enemy, and lived happily in that world?" I think the quality of the film was enhanced because of that decision. I'm extremely grateful to Hasegawa-san.

"This film is excellent in that it's the "final episode" of the story starring Future Houtaro, but what's even more remarkable is that this film is an important piece that ties the story of Gotchard together. Has there ever been a Kamen Rider film that's so completely linked to the TV series? "Kamen Rider Den-O: Ore, Tanjou!" (2007) was in a similar position, but it didn't leave such a deep impact on the overall story. Of course, there's a reason for this. The theory has always been that a film of a TV series should be considered "outside content." This is because it was believed that the content needed to be understandable to first time audience members who went to the theaters. However, in the age where the streaming environment has improved to the point where people can access old and new content as soon as they're interested, can this still be called a "theory" today? This truly "Gotcha" film attempts to break away from conventional thinking, and is also a "challenge" that presents a new form of Kamen Rider films in the age of distribution."

-Arrogant Gods and Homunculi Deception-

"As he works towards becoming a great alchemist, and to live in harmony with the Chemies, an enemy stands in Houtaro's way…was it the three Dark Kings? Or perhaps, Glion?"

Minato: At first, I thought of the Alchemys Union as the final boss. The reason why I didn't set up an enemy during the early stages of planning was because the enemy that the main character's were expected to fight were the higher ups of the organization. In a Rider's sence, it's "The Dark Society Gorgom." It's an evil that's skillfully infiltrated our society.

"The Dark Society Gorgom is an enemy organization that appears in Kamen Rider Black (1987). Their setup is that powerful political and business leaders and scientists were controlling the world of its members from behind the scenes."

Minato: The higher ups of the Alchemys Union have taken over the world from behind the scenes. That's why all they want is for the world to continue as it is. They don't want change. I had envisioned "the old" as the enemy and theme of the show, which is why I was thinking of such a structure. However, with the creation of the characters I called the Three Dark Sisters, the Alchemys Union was no longer the distinct enemy of the main characters. Instead, Glion and the Dark Kings were created. They were, as one would say, the founders of the Alchemys Union. In other words, they are the symbols of gerontocracy. They're like the ancestors of the old, desperate to preserve their own self interests.

Kaneko: Houtaro and the other youths are trying to move into the future through repeated trial and error. On the flip side, the Dark Kings don't want to think about the future, nor do they feel there's any need to. They're fine with the way things currently are. They believe that things will come to an end gracefully. That's why they're seeking "unending stillness." Glion was simply following those words. His "Golden Paradise" was just a simple way of saying that, but it may have been difficult for viewers to understand, in part due to our lack of explanation.

Yamabe: The Dark Kings were the ones that created Glion. They were originally human, so even though they said that as an analogy when they created Glion, with him being a homunculus, he was honestly trying to make it a realization.

"In other words, Glion, who was created by the Dark Kings, couldn't go beyond being their puppet, even though he saw the Dark Kings as his enemy."

Minato: Eventually, the younger generation who suffer from the burdens of the old won't be able to retort, and will just accept things as they are. As they grow older, they'll eventually find themselves in a similar position, becoming a burden on others, although it might be hard for them to notice.

"Glion's existence is also placed in this chain of events. Meanwhile, Glion's creators the three Dark Kings, or in other words, the ancestors of the old, also have a profound position."

Minato: Gigist likes to act like he "understands everything about humans." This is a metaphor for "thinking you know everything." Gaelijah says to "leave things to fate," which also means to "avoid your responsibilities." As Germain's "I love you" expression suggests, he thinks of himself as a "superior being" to humans. They all think that they're of a higher class compared to everyone else. Each and every one of them are "old."

"Although the Dark Kings expressions are pleasant and sound humble, they all have a hint of arrogance behind them."

Minato: The ones they must stand up to are those who have created the ruling structure of this world. By overlapping this with the Dark Kings, I wanted to depict a confrontation between youths and adults, between change and stagnation, and other issues like that throughout the story. However, the main focus isn't on battles, but on "Gotcha" (obtaining). I tried to keep that in mind as I worked on the story.

"A story of young confronting the old…….It's an unexpected theme, but from that perspective, the final battle between Glion and Houtaro can be seen as the culmination of all of this. Glion, who's turned the city and its people into gold, finally uses his golden technique on Houtaro, but for some reason, Houtaro can still move while in this golden form……"

Kaneko: Glion's gold making technique was actually just making things gold plated. It's simply a deception. The story goes that Glion can't make real gold. Glion is confronted by Houtaro with the truth. That his alchemy isn't perfect. Glion thought he was perfect. He had all the materials and knew how to do it. But when he tried, it was gold plated. He thought he had everything ready, but just about everything was missing.

"Come to think of it, Glion was always imperfect. Kamen Rider Eld appeared before Houtaro. Kamen Rider Dorado controlled the future world. Both were the transformed forms of two Glion's from different timelines, but the former could only produce fake gold plating, while the latter was merely a puppet for the Dark Kings. I guess that means the road to "El Dorado (Golden Paradise)" that Glion was looking for was just a fleeting illusion……"

-Houtaro's father and the adults who entrust-

"This production is also a story about young people breaking away from stereotypes and what's accepted to be common sense."

Yamabe: Alchemy has a history going back to ancient times, right? Its rules seem to be very strict, and we initially thought of a development where an amateur like Houtaro would come along and cause reforment with sound arguments like, "Isn't this what it's all about?" The fact that the people in the Alchemys Union shifted their blame and ran away from the situation was included as a way of portraying the old.

Kaneko: The Alchemys Union isn't an organization that gathers in a specific place and works on things collectively. They're scattered all over the world, each having their own profession and doing alchemy behind the scenes. They're what we'd call a "secret society." It's also because of that kind of set up that it's hard to see the full picture. They're the people at the top of the world's hierarchy, those who'll forever cling onto their status and reputation. In many ways, they're "people who have stopped growing up" and "people who undermine the youth." Those at the top don't take any responsibility, but they won't hesitate to say things like, "I don't know. You'll have to handle it on set" (bitter smile). They also don't take charge. They're positioned as people who seem to possess authority, but no one knows why they have it. Houtaro doesn't care about people like that. He doesn't pay attention to them, almost as if to say, "Huh, so there are people like that." Minato Sensei and Kyoka-san would have displeased looks on their faces as he resolved the situation at hand, but he would only wonder why they were making those faces. That's the kind of hero I was looking for in Houtaro.

"Houtaro's an easygoing high school student that can be found just about anywhere, but he's quite unusual for the main character of a hero production."

Minato: In the very beginning of the show, Spanner was working under Kyoka's directions, but initially, I hadn't made any decisions regarding who would become this character. There was even a time when I was thinking of making Glion the person giving instructions to Spanner. His superior's a bad guy, so Spanner would express hostility towards him. There'd be a development where he abandons his previous beliefs that he was on the side of the organization and becomes a Kamen Rider. I once thought, "What if Spanner's true identity was that he's a homunculus?" Learning such a fact would bother him like, "What has my life been up to this point?" But then again, a Chemy is a homunculus, isn't it? Since Houtaro's a Chemy loving character, it wouldn't shock him if Spanner were a homunculus. He'd be like, "I'm totally okay with that!" (laughs). He wouldn't mind. That's when I felt that it'd be better to go ahead with Spanner being human. That's how it happened.

"Houtaro's appeal lies in his generosity and tolerance caused by his carefree personality. It's strange how amazing it is that Houtaro's able to do something like that."

Minato: When the program first started, some people said they didn't understand why a young man named Houtaro wanted to pursue something called "Gotcha." What I was considering here was the presence of Houtaro's father. His father is an adventurer, and despite being an adult, he's a man who still travels the world in search of "Gotcha" (obtaining). That's why he never comes home (laughs). However, the son would grow up to be a boy who aspires to Gotcha just like his father. That's how I thought of it. Maybe I could've let Houtaro and his mother explain that alittle more.

Yamabe: Why did Houtaro go to the Ouroboros Realm to play as a child? It's not depicted, but I've always wondered if his father made a hole that led there. I think we could've tried to do a story where he's acquainted with Fuga……but we put it off because it would've been the start of yet another story. If we wanted to do it in a V-Cinext or through Youtube, we could, but to be honest, we just left things as they were.

"While the father isn't fully explored, his character as an adult seeking to Gotcha is pretty fresh in the context of this production."

Minato: The reason I didn't have the father appear, or rather, hesitated to include him, is because Gotchard is a show about fighting against the old. In other words, I didn't want to show the existence of adults who had "obtained." I wanted to depict all adults as old as much as I could. If the father who continued to Gotcha appeared, the theme of the program would be affected.

"Still, there are some reliable adults that appear throughout the show. There's Fuga, Kyoka, and Minato. Houtaro's mother (Ichinose Tamami) is also one of them."

Minato: This is because they're "adults who have entrusted themselves to the youth." They think that adults who decide to concede to the youth are good adults.

"Ichinose Tamami to Houtaro, Fuga to Rinne, and Kyoka to Spanner, each and every one of them is an "adult" who entrusts themselves to them. To entrust is to believe. This is why they're portrayed as good people for the youth."

Minato: The reason why Minato Sensei surrendered to Glion's forces and went to the enemy's side was because he felt that he "couldn't entrust" himself to Houtaro and the other youths. The incident 10 years ago made him make that decision. Minato chose the "safe side." He advised them to stay away from him because it was dangerous. There's an adult's logic to that. However, after everything that's happened, he got over that trauma and decided to trust Houtaro and the others, so he left the Alchemys Union and returned to the youths.

Yamabe: In that regard, Spanner was on the old's side at first. His elite mindset also contributed to him rejecting Houtaro, even though he's young. But, he eventually changed, trusted Houtaro and the others, and became his friend.

"This means that Future Houtaro, who appeared in the Summer film, was also considered old."

Yamabe: Having lost many friends and living in despair, Future Houtaro was looking for a place to die. Then, present day Houtaro appears and gives him angry encouragement. Seeing his younger self genuinely pushing forward strengthens his decision to fight together. He's determined to fight alongside him. He Gotcha (obtained) all over again.

"As Future Houtaro crosses over into the past, a new world line is created for present day Houtaro. Although the events took place in a different timeline, there's a world where his friends who should've died are still alive and well. This new world, which he had seized through his own decisions and actions……is what gave hope to Future Houtaro. Freed from the nightmare that happened 20 years prior, Future Houtaro forgives himself and was finally saved. The harm caused by the old isn't something that comes only from age or position. It's the refusal to accept new ideas, being bound by past experiences. It's about not taking a new step forward. Challenge is the key to the future, and only progress can be the light that leads us to what's beyond."

-Kamen Rider from a Business Perspective-

"Houtaro saves the world from Glion's plan, and even creates another Earth through alchemy for the Chemies to live on. The story ended with Houtaro showing us a glimpse of being a great alchemist……The days with Gotchard were now told……"I wanted to make a program that would convey the excitement I felt when I watched Agito during my first year of middle school." This was what Toei's Minato Yosuke, the Chief Producer responsible for the project, had said."

Minato: I feel that the Kamen Rider series, especially those produced during the Heisei era, have their own "strengths and weaknesses." The appeal of the series is that each year's unique worldview isn't connected, but on the other hand, I think the fact that the series ends after only one year reveals its character's weaknesses. At first I thought, "What is this?," but after five years of continuous production, the program "Paw Patrol" has become overwhelmingly popular among preschool aged children. I think one of the reasons is that it's been running for five years. If Gotchard continued for another five years, it could possibly surpass Paw Patrol in recognition. Because it's something that children can enjoy for a long time, their parents feel that it won't hurt to buy products related to the show for them. I can understand why parents would think it'd be a waste if they knew that another new program would start next year. I think times are changing in that way. I was also thinking about the question, "Should the character change every year?" When Heisei Rider started, it was probably nice to have a format where the characters changed every year, but I wonder if it's a good fit currently. Along with streaming services and Youtube becoming more normalized, the viewing environment is changing. I feel that our past successes are holding us back, or that we're not adapting to these changes. The strategy is to start a new program every September and have people buy a new transformation belt in time for Christmas. In an age where there's so much content available, is this really a good mindset to have? I've been thinking about that for alittle over a year.

"Bandai's Terakawa Ryo, who was involved in the development of the toys, weighs in on the importance of Kamen Rider's content."

Terakawa: When overlooking the toys, while the adult fans of Geats were excited, there was a point where the popularity among children stagnated. Currently, there are many products of the Kamen Rider characters that are aimed at adults. CSM and S.H.Figuarts are typical examples, but I think this business is only possible because the people who buy these products were exposed to these shows in their childhood and still love the characters. The Legend Chemy cards and Kamen Rider Legend were aimed at those adult fans. In order to increase the number of similar customers who'll continue to love Kamen Rider for a long time, I have a desire to help make the project more exciting for today's children. This production made me think more than ever about making shows and toys that children will love.

"Kamen Rider, a program aired on Sunday mornings, is an important "touch point" between today's children and the Kamen Rider IP. In the current age of streaming, the archive of Kamen Rider, including its past shows, is huge, but there are many rival shows. How to attract attention and increase popularity among them is a long term challenge for the future."

-Gotcha all around the World!-

"Although this production aimed to regain popularity among children, its style was too child oriented, which resulted in the alienation of the adult generation of fans. As discussed in Gotcha 3's "Daybreak Incident," the impact was so great, that they had to quickly introduce a new character. Yamabe Koichi of Ishimori Productions, who has overseen the setting of the Rider series for many years, opened his remarks with deep emotion."

Yamabe: This is well known among fans of the Showa era, but in the first "Kamen Rider" (1971), the lead actor Fujioka Hiroshi-san was injured during filming, which resulted in him being unable to perform. Normally, there would've been two choices. Either the show would end or another actor would take over the role, but the staff at that time came up with a new character, that being Kamen Rider No. 2. Amazingly, the program became even more popular. I believe that the Kamen Rider series was founded on the spirit of doing something in a pinch. Just like with Daybreak in this show, it gave me a strange sensation, like there was some kind of invisible force at work

Minato: This was my first time as Chief, but when making a program, there are times when you have to take risks. After all, everyone wants to be happy. That's why I think I learned that if you can make your "opponent" happy, you can win. Any proposal that makes the other person unhappy will only result in a "battle" and both sides "covered in blood." Even if my demands were met, I'd be unhappy too. I thought that in order to meet my own demands, I also need to be mindful of meeting the other's demands. If you think about it, it's the same thing that Shirakura's been doing up to now. "The show was a hit, don't you think?," and then it all works out peacefully. I'd have talks with Bandai, TV stations, and other relevant entities to explain my vision to them, saying, "I think this development will definitely be more interesting and will make the show more exciting, so I'll try to make it happen!" In someway or another, I managed to convince them, and I'm glad that it all worked out in the end. I'm grateful to all the staff members who came up with this type of arrangement, and to all the companies involved for accepting my plans.

"Kaneko Shinichi participated in the project as Ishimori Production's Literary Director. "It's become a lovable production," he said with a smile."

Kaneko: Many of them are young, including the three Producers Minato-san, Matsuura-san, and Harashima-san, as well as the Screenwriters. I think it was a year in which I learned alot about their new ways of thinking. For example, when you build a house, the theory is that you first lay down the foundation and then construct the exterior walls, right? Instead, it felt like we started with the roof and then raised up the pillars (laughs). And, it's really unstable, crap, we have to lay a foundation. So, we laid down a foundation, but it started to lean because we still didn't build any walls. I hope I conveyed that right (laughs). I've never done it that way before. But it was a really good experience. Should I have just said that the way it's put together was different…..? It may sound odd to say, but I think that nothing more may happen in the future. Including myself, there were parts that were too much and parts that we were unfamiliar with, so I think it's important to strike a good balance. I think this was a production that really left a strong impression on me. The pains of creating, and the joys of creating, things like that came in waves. And, it happened every episode (laughs). I've never experienced that before. For example, I had my own interpretation of what things Houtaro would say, and we talked about it during meetings, but then someone else would say, "Well, I'm sure someone Houtaro's age wouldn't think too much about that." I thought, "I see." When I was his age, I used to think about things deeply, or take it in a twisted way, but children today are different. I think Motojima-kun's character is one of them, but there were many things that made sense to me, things which were definitely typical of Houtaro. I found that really strange. Of course, there are differences among the younger generation, the way they approach things and the way they respond to things is different. I think that happened within Gotchard many times. It was a show that allowed me to experience things I had never experienced before, and I personally learned alot from it.

"PLEX's Kita Tojun, the design team leader for this production, said that the amount of designs had his eyes spinning."

Kita: This time, I designed many different types of Chemies, and there were 101 of them. Of course there were the designs, but the process of drawing each of them for the cards was also enormous. The Rider's mask was displayed on the back of the card, so the mask had to be designed at the same time. First of all, this was for 50 of them. We got through it with the help of Designers who weren't apart of the Rider team. In addition, I was also asked to design the illustrations and Chemies for the Legend Rider version of cards that were added to the collection. It was completed in part to having the company help put on the finishing touches. They then needed me to draw additional illustrations for the rare parallel cards……I was in a situation where I couldn't finish no matter how many drawings I did. It was really challenging. And it didn't end there, as I had to create full body designs for all the forms used in the app…..There were about 50 of those……I designed and illustrated so many Chemies, that I thought it would never end.

Terakawa: First off, I'd like to thank the design team at PLEX. This production allowed me to experience firsthand how a show progressed and developed. The process of bringing the "Chemies," who were at first mysterious illustrations, to life and gain popularity within the show was an exciting experience. Dozens, even hundreds of people do their very best to make Rider items, right? It was such a big project, that I was afraid to talk about it alone, and because of my inexperience, I spent alot of time wondering and worrying about it. The number of cards was quite large, and the management, as well as debugging work, was enormous, but everyone on the team worked hard together. Despite the difficulties we faced as creators, it was a memorable work that we all overcame together.

"For Chief Producer Minato, Gotchard wasn't only a show for the Japanese market, but for the international market as well."

Minato: Gotchard was designed to be an easy to understand and enjoyable show for children to watch every week. I made this show with the vision of making it understandable to children all over the world. This had something to do with the fact that the items are inexpensive cards that can be picked up by anyone and are linked to each other. I think that if a child gets even one Chemy card, it could be the beginning of their love for Kamen Rider. I hope that the number of people who watch Kamen Rider will grow on a global scale through the increase of experiences like that. I made Gotchard with that kind of spirit, as I wanted it to take on that kind of responsibility. So, I personally believe that the true assessment of Gotchard hasn't been made yet. Its outcome will be seen further ahead in the future. That's what I'm thinking. There's a show called "Voltes V Legacy" that was made in the Philippines, and it was made due to the passionate love for the original TV anime "Chodenji Machine Voltes V" (1977). The love of the fans brought the show back to life in the modern age. Learning about the Filipino Director's thoughts and feelings made me want to cry. That's why, let's say 20 years from now, if a foreigner said to me, "I loved Gotchard when I was younger," I might cry (laughs).

"The fact that the main character uses the English phrase "Gotcha!" was also done in anticipation of this kind of international expansion. I want you to imagine. Imagine that when children all over the world become adults, Gotchard items for adults will be on sale everywhere around the world, and they'll be playing with them. The future where children from all over the world will be shouting "Gotcha!" will be here soon enough."

-Gotchard Hymn-

Houtaro uses alchemy to create another Earth in order to move the Chemies there. Although the ending is absurd, it can be said that it's a typical characteristic of this show.

I won't say that it was a flawless show. It had its faults and shortcomings.

It had many weak points.

However, even after removing these complaints, there's still a sense of exhilaration that remains……That's what Gotchard definitely had. There are things that can only come from challenges. It was Gotchard that taught me that.

"Ichinose!" "Kudo!"

Two high school students who never called each other by their first names. A precious time, like a jewel box containing the brilliance of youth. The Kamen Rider born in the year 2023 depicts young people who never gave up and continued to challenge themselves despite their failures. Their never ending search for answers and their constant drive brought a bright light to these uncertain times.

This show was a story about the Chemy cards. There have been so many Rider productions, and they must've left a mark on the viewers hearts and minds. If each of these stories were sealed onto cards, what would they say?

What would be written on Gotchard's card?

"I'm Ichinose Houtaro! I'm a great alchemist who'll build the future world!"

A youth Rider who becomes stronger through support……

That's what we love about Gotchard.

[ad1thi]

stevetony recs you won't see on other rec lists

I've (surprisingly) been reading a lot of stevetony lately, and have come across a couple of gems that i feel are vastly under-appreciated, and wanted to show them some love. Obviously, the title is a misnomer because maybe you have seen these on other rec lists, but it's clickbait okay !! Don't forget to leave kudos and comments, if you like what you've read !!

No Trait As Much As This : @kandisheek-art

Tony gets hit with truth serum. It's a terrible time for everyone.

the year you were mine : @areiton

The night that changes his life forever, Steve is on a date with another man. Or: Steve is a pricy escort and Tony buys him for a year. Neither of them are doing this for love.

Meant : @ardett

What Steve meant when he asked out Tony was very different than what Tony meant when he said yes.

One Last Second Chance : @/Muccamukk

Tony Stark, second newest engineer at Rhodes Labs International, is just trying to rebuild from the ruins of his failed company, vanished fortune, and struggles with alcoholism. His goals include keeping his head down, avoiding stress and convincing Dr. Rhodes to let him build a really cool robot, so why does the universe keep throwing Avengers in his path?

Not just a river in Egypt (Tony is most certainly not in denial) : @lilgideon

"You are most definitely not in love with me, Cap, what you are experiencing is called cabin pressure," Tony explains, because he has a rational train of thought and he's met enough shrinks to have figured out their tactics by now. "And possibly, you know, sexual frustration, because it doesn't matter at all that you're, like, America's national icon, Fury still won't let you out. I know that, I see that, I acknowledge your pain, I feel with you, Cap, believe me, I do. And I get it, because I am a very good-looking fellow and we spend a lot of time together, stuck in this tower, and it's easy to--" "I am," Steve cuts off, equal parts amused and frustrated and concerned. "In love. With you. Tony, I'm in love with you."

then sirens, then bells (the broadcast remix) : @isozyme

“I tire of this,” Amora says, and with a casual gesture the entire team is pinned in place, frozen in mid-air. Steve has the unsettling, half-familiar feeling of someone rifling through his head like it’s a card catalogue. A mind-reader as well as a witch, then. A female voice whispers into his mind’s ear. It’s very tragic in here, dearheart, but I think your armored friend is, somehow, more psychically toxic than even you. What’s wrong with Tony? Steve thinks, but the presence is gone, leaving his memories of war stirred up like flying insects rising off a lake in at dawn.

The Enchantress opens Tony's mind to anyone and everyone near him. Steve knows he should let Tony keep his secrets, but he's not noble enough to stay away

The Twice-Told Tale : @arysteia

For someone he'd hero-worshipped for so long, Steve Rogers in the flesh is a pretty big disappointment. For one thing, he keeps looking at Tony as though he reminds him of someone else, and even if he never says anything, Tony's pretty sure it's his father. A lifetime of not measuring up to Howard's expectations is more than enough, thank you very much, and he's certainly not going to make an effort to live up to any of Steve's. Steve's pretty clearly failed to live up to his expectations, in any case, and that's not hypocritical at all.

i'm going too far (just to have you near) : @/zaynerpaner

“Rhodey, why did you leave me here?” Tony demands. The voice on the other line doesn't sound exactly like Rhodey’s – in fact, it sounds like he’d woken somebody up, which couldn’t be right since Rhodey had been here with him earlier. “Who is this?” the voice speaks again, and – it’s too deep. Rhodey’s voice isn’t that deep. “Rhodey? It’s Tony, m’phone’s dead and I need you to pick me up,” he tries again, frowning as he leans against the bar. “Uh, I think you have the wrong number.” OR the one where Tony drunk calls the wrong number looking for a ride home from the bar, and Steve comes to pick him up.

Living In The Future : @/Closer

Eighteen-year-old Tony Stark is the boy genius who woke Captain America, and now he's stuck with him. That's not a bad thing, but between Steve's wide-eyed wonder at the new world and Tony's little fanboy crush, the awkwardness just keeps happening.

if we ever meet again : @/anonymous

"It’s been two months," Steve says, voice low. "Rhodey- Colonel. It’s been two months.”

[bedtime-broadcast]

Bedtime Broadcast

Presented by the one and only Radio Demo — Alastor!

The lights are dim, casting a soft golden glow across the studio. The red “ON AIR” sign buzzes faintly in the background. The microphone stands proud, catching every crisp syllable. A record softly plays whimsical instrumental music—delicate harp and music box tones—beneath Alastor’s velvet voice.

Alastor: *softly into the mic, with a smile in his tone* Good evening, my darling night owls, and welcome back to another edition of the ‘Bedtime Broadcast’. Tonight’s tale comes straight from the pages of madness and dreams—Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, in honor of a very special occasion.

He glances down, smiling fondly at the small bundle in his lap.

Alastor: Someone quite dear to me just celebrated her very first un-birthday—er, I mean birthday. Isn’t that right, my little dormouse?

Calliope, dressed in her soft blue footie pajamas with little playing cards printed on the sleeves, blinks sleepily up at him. A pacifier bobbles gently in her mouth as she leans into his chest, one tiny fist wrapped tightly in the fabric of his vest.

Alastor presses a kiss to her golden curls, then opens the well-worn storybook.

Alastor: Let us begin shall we? “Chapter One. Down the Rabbit-Hole. Alice was beginning to get very tired of sitting by her sister on the bank, and of having nothing to do… once or twice she had peeped into the book her sister was reading, but it had no pictures or conversations in it…”

He lets the rhythm of the words lull the air, his voice dipping into the playful, curious tone of the narrator. Occasionally, he throws in a character voice—high and breathy for Alice, droning and sleepy for the White Rabbit.

Alastor: *as The White Rabbit* “‘Oh dear! Oh dear! I shall be late!’”

Calliope: *giggles behind her pacifier and pats the book with one hand*

Alastor: Yes, he was a very punctual rabbit, wasn't he? Very prompt.

He chuckles to himself, smoothing a hand along Calliope’s back as she settles again, eyelids fluttering.

Alastor: *goes back to reading out loud* “And so, Alice followed him down the rabbit-hole without a second thought. Tumbled right into a world where cats vanish, hats are mad, and everything is quite upside down…”

His voice softens further now, more for her than the audience. Calliope breathes slow and steady, her pacifier slipping slightly as she nods off.

Alastor: ...And sometimes, my dear listeners, the most curious adventures begin when we stop trying to make sense of the world… and simply wonder.

He leans into the microphone one last time for the night.

Alastor: This has been your evening tale from yours truly. Goodnight, my curious creatures.

He turns off the mic with a soft click. The hum of the broadcast fades, leaving only the soft music and the sound of a child’s breathing.

Alastor: *softly* And to my sweet Calliope… pleasant dreams, my little sweet little ‘Alice’.

Alastor remains still in the chair, holding her close, the storybook still open in his lap, reading to himself.

[pollymorgan]

Oh my God, how embarrassing... I did it and translated my German fanfiction into English... into bad English! Don't be too harsh on me, but rather make suggestions for improvement: So now a little phone sex with Coach Negan. 🙈😌

Warnings: arrogant Negan, frustrated woman, explicit phone sex

Today is one of those days again, where nothing seems to work as it should. Just like so often lately. Why couldn't I transfer those damn photos to the laptop? I've never been very tech-savvy, but the modern world practically forced me to. I'm actually a cookbook author and used to be quite successful with it. Some of my books were bestsellers and I even had my own cooking segment on a nationally broadcasted morning show. But then I was suddenly replaced by a younger, "cooler" colleague and ever since then, I've been struggling to keep afloat with social media, more or less. If only the technology would cooperate..

Even in my personal life, I have been replaced. Four months ago, my husband left us. By us, I mean my three children and me. After 19 years of marriage. But love goes where it goes, right? Nothing can be done against that. At least, those were his words when he got into his Porsche with a blonde woman who could be his daughter and disappeared.

Since then, he has managed to do something with his children exactly twice. But in exchange, he has already disappointed them seven times by canceling the meetings at short notice. Yes, I'm keeping count. At least for now.

My oldest daughter Penny is 15 years old and fully immersed in puberty, and it seems that this situation is hardest on her. She and her father were always a unit, his little princess. But there's no trace of that at the moment. Most of the time, he doesn't even bother to answer his damn phone when she tries to reach him.

I see her suffering. She's lost interest in school, and her circle of friends is dwindling visibly. I would love to help her, but how? At the moment, I just can't seem to reach her. Our communication mostly consists of doors slamming.

But back to my current problem. These damn pictures! The article is supposed to go online today. I cooked an Indian dish and had to drive halfway across town to get these damn spices. Thursdays always bring an international post, and now, of all times, nothing is working again. My laptop doesn't recognize the memory card, and the camera won't connect either. I keep plugging and unplugging the cable, hoping the error will magically resolve. Which of course it doesn't. Suddenly, I glance at the small display in the lower right-hand corner. Damn it! So late. I won't be picking up the kids on time again, the second time this cursed week. Annoyed, I close the screen. Grabbing my purse, I walk quickly to the garage. Where's the damn car key? Nervously, I rummage through my chaotic bag, spilling half of its contents on the floor. Finally finding it, I get into the car and speed out of the driveway.

The first stop is the kindergarten to pick up my youngest. She's a real bundle of nerves, but so sweet that you can forgive her anything. Of course, she throws a tantrum right at pickup. It's a real struggle to get her into the car. Like a madwoman, I drive on to the elementary school to pick up my 9-year-old son. He is the calm one in our family and thankfully waits with his best friend relaxed in front of the school. At least one who's not mad at me. Lucky me. And off we go, heading to my daughter's high school. From a distance, I can see her and immediately know that - once again - something is wrong. She stands all alone and pretty annoyed on the street, looking out for me. When I park the car right in front of her feet, she angrily drops onto the passenger seat.

"Penny, I can explain, you know what a loser I am when it comes to technology..." I try to justify myself.

My eldest rolls her eyes in annoyance. "Mum, this time, for once, it's not your fault..." I see tears forming in the corners of her eyes, and automatically, I feel a lump in my throat.

"Mister Smith... he..."

She doesn't need to continue speaking; just hearing that name fills me with such anger again. Right from the start, there have been issues with her physical education teacher, Negan Smith.

I've only seen him twice so far, at parent-teacher conferences, but Penny's stories are enough for me to know that he's an absolute failure as a teacher. He has his favorites whom he praises to the skies, while the less athletic students suffer under his authoritarian ways. My daughter already feels uncomfortable in her own skin, and that jerk doesn't even realize the impact his remarks have on the young girls.

A few years ago, his wife passed away from cancer. A terrible tragedy, but apparently that did not make him more empathetic; quite the opposite.

I'm currently looking in the rearview mirror to avoid hitting anyone in the chaos outside the school. That's all I need on this crappy day. Then I catch sight of none other than Penny's physical education teacher.

"Isn't that him?" I ask excitedly.

My daughter buries her face even further into the backpack in her lap. "Yes, Mom, it's okay, please just drive..."

The anger that had been building up recently had just found a good release.

With the words "Nothing is good...", I yank open my driver's door and head purposefully towards my daughter's physical education teacher, who is just stowing his bag in his car.

"Who do you think you are?" I stand behind him with arms crossed, eagerly awaiting his reaction.

Confused, he turns around to face me and suddenly a big grin spreads across his face. "Negan Smith, nice to meet you, and who do I have the pleasure of speaking with?"

What a cocky jerk!

"The mother of a rather offended young girl, because of you..."

Can't he just drop his arrogant smile for once? Quite unimpressed, he closes the door of his car.

"Penny has so much potential and she's wasting it on the damn bench..."

Such an idiot, he clearly knows who I am.

"Maybe you should listen to the young students as well, instead of just spouting off random remarks at them?"

Amused, he shakes his head. "I did... her excuse for skipping today's P.E. class was menstrual cramps..."

"And in your opinion that's not a valid reason or what? How dare you even pass judgment on that? Your students' bodies are going through changes and such discomforts should be taken seriously..." I respond a bit too loudly, causing some students to turn towards us.

Resigned, he raises his hands. "Of course, but not every damn other week. Maybe you should give your daughter some biology lessons again and explain to her that her P.E. teacher isn't completely from another planet."

Oh God, what does this man think he is..

"And you should work on your teaching skills... Otherwise, maybe I should consider contacting the school board!"

„Oh wow, you're actually a bigger drama queen than your dear daughter!".

Did he really just say that? Did he just seriously insult me? My daughter's teacher. I look at him in disbelief, but he just grins.

"And now she's quiet... I really have to go now, but I'm pretty sure we'll meet again soon." With these words, he jumps into his car and drives off.

Completely perplexed, I walk back to my car and am greeted by my daughter with the words "That was soooo embarrassing.."

7 hours later

Finally peace! Why does it always have to be such a struggle to get the kids to bed? Isn't it unfair that you are a thousand times more tired than the dear little ones? What a crappy day! I'm glad to be freshly showered in my bed and finally have some time off. Just me and my phone, no one else. No more whining, arguing, and crying. As much as I sometimes curse technology, I also love being able to connect with people over the internet. It's fun to respond to comments, the direct exchange with like-minded people is the only positive thing about social media. As I scroll through Instagram, I suddenly see comments coming in at a rapid pace. Confused, I open them. From "Do you always look so good when you cook?" to "Can you cook that for me sometime?" to heart emojis, and they all come from the same account. As I read the name, a shock runs through me. Can this be for real? "Coach Negan" is he not only a tactless asshole, but also a real psychopath? Excited, I click on his account, but apart from a profile picture where he is clearly recognizable, there is no further information.

I quickly open the messaging function and type "What is this???" into my phone. It only takes a few seconds and I receive a response.

"I am a fan 😉"

For a while, I stare at the screen, unable to believe what is happening here.

Suddenly, he sends me a picture. I open it and see a photo of me from my highlights, showing me from my post "Valentine's Day." I had cooked a three-course meal and written a pretty cheesy text back then. It's one of my most liked posts.

"Red lipstick suits you. Matches your fiery nature.." he writes.

What does he want to achieve? Did the confrontation before school hurt him so much that he is trying to provoke me? But to be honest, it seems like he's the one giving me a warning. Well, but if there's one thing I've learned, it's that the best defense is a good offense.

"Oh, do you think so? Most men say I look better without wearing anything...I mean, without lipstick, of course.. 😉".

"Are you already in bed?" he asks next. What a bizarre situation? Why does my daughter's teacher want to know where I am? The same teacher who called me a ‚drama queen‘ just a few hours ago.

I keep trying to type a suitable response on my phone and then delete it again. Finally, I write briefly, "Yes, and you?"

"Yes, and I'm studying your profile. Do you realize how crazy you can drive a man with these pictures? Why am I even asking, of course you do. 😉"

The feeling of small electric shocks runs through my body. The whole thing feels strangely forbidden. Maybe what I'm doing here is damn wrong, but right now, the consequences seem pretty irrelevant to me.

"How mean, you can look at my pictures, but you don't have any online yourself."

"That's true, but how about you hear my voice instead?" Attached to this message was his phone number. Okay, this is all moving pretty quickly, in a pretty strange direction. I'm so excited that I can feel my heart pounding wildly in my chest. But what do I have to lose? I haven't felt like this in the last 20 years. Okay, it's a damn bizarre situation, but I'm an adult and single. So I can finally talk to whoever I want. Even with the biggest jerk I've come across lately.

Feeling totally tense, I dial the number and as it rings, it gets even worse. I take a few deep breaths, and suddenly the deep voice on the other end answers with a "What took you so long to decide?" and I can practically feel his grin.

"Well, I had to think for a moment about what would be so sensible about calling my daughter's narcissistic gym teacher in the middle of the night," I say calmly.

"And what would be sensible about that?" he asks with interest.

"I haven't really found a solid reason yet, but maybe you can tell me?"

He thinks for a moment, and I imagine him lying in his bed. A slight tingling sensation spreads in my stomach, which is intensified by his response.

"Well, I can make sure you feel a little better... forget all the everyday crap that's weighing on your pretty shoulders right now."

I briefly close my eyes to focus more on his voice, which really manages to relax me a bit with just that simple sentence.

"And how do you plan to do that?" I ask softly.

"When was the last time you were really well fucked?" As soon as he says it, my lower abdomen tightens, and I automatically press my legs together.

After I take a moment to collect myself, I honestly respond, "That was much too long ago..."

"Oh, poor girl," Negan provocatively replies, but instead of getting upset about it, it triggers completely different feelings in me. "Tell me about what you imagine when you stroke your lonely pussy at night."

I have to swallow briefly to get rid of the extremely dry feeling in my throat.

"I can tell you what I think about when I do it in a moment..." I say softly but firmly.

And his tone changes too. His breathing becomes heavier. "Then tell me, come on," he commands.

"I imagine it's your fingers running over my body and finally sliding my panties to the side and penetrating deep into me..." My cheeks feel like they're glowing. I've never talked like this with anyone before, and now I just did it with a man who is actually a stranger to me.

"Come on, sweetheart... touch yourself for me and tell me if you're wet," he interrupts.

Without thinking, I click on the speaker icon on my display and place the phone next to me on the pillow, then I slide my right hand under my nightgown into my panties and I'm surprised at how aroused I already am, how swollen my clit is, and how sensitive my whole intimate area has become. I sigh softly.

"Fuck, the sweet little sounds you're making... they make my damn cock twitch in my hand with joy..."

Just the thought that he's so aroused by me on the other end sends waves of pleasure through my body.

"I'm already so wet because of you, Negan..." I admit breathlessly.

"You dirty, pretty lady, if I were with you right now, I would slowly penetrate deep into you... you need that now, don't you?"

"Yes!" I can only whisper.

"Okay, now do everything exactly as I tell you, understood?" he demands.

"Yes, please tell me what to do.." I focus solely on his voice, completely tuning out everything else.

"Take off your panties. Use your index and middle fingers to gently stroke over your mons pubis and then slowly over your outer labia, but not more, just right there.."

Immediately, I follow his instructions. The air feels cool on my bare lower abdomen. I feel strangely exposed, even though I am alone in my bedroom, but it's not uncomfortable, quite the opposite. I begin to caress myself gently.

"How does that feel?" his voice breaks the silence again.

"Good, but I want more.." I plead.

"I already knew that.. Bend your legs and spread them wide.. as far as you can.." He gives me a brief moment to comply with his instructions. "Now push your pelvis even further forward.. Imagine I'm between your legs and you want to present me with your beautiful pussy, you would like that, wouldn't you?"

"Yes.." I say and nod vigorously, even though no one can see me.

"Such a good girl.. and now run your index finger through your slit, spread your juices.."

I can't and don't want to hold back my moans now. There is silence for a while at the other end, then I speak heavily.

"Are you also pleasuring your cock for me?" I ask as I continue to touch myself.

"Oh, sweetheart, so your thoughts are currently only about that.." he says snappily. "Yes, I am, and if you keep moaning so sweetly into the phone, it won't be long, so it's time for you to start massaging your clit, but don't be too timid, circle it with two fingers and use some pressure, even if you're very sensitive now, you can take it.."

Oh God, that was exactly what I needed right now. My body felt like in ecstasy and I could feel the orgasm slowly building up.

"Don't come yet," he commanded, and on cue, I immediately removed my fingers from my most sensitive spot.

"Now, bring your knees close to your body!“

"Yes," I replied, completely exhausted. "You're doing it perfectly, how much I would love to see you in this position right now, just the damn thought!" I could clearly hear him softly moaning. This sound made my body twitch with excitement.

"Penetrate yourself with two fingers... nice and slow. Focus entirely on the feeling of stretching your pussy wide... Tell me when you're all the way in!"

"Now," I whispered, already quite spent.

"Then add your ring finger, once you've done that, you can come intensely as a reward, I promise."

Slowly, I press the third finger into me, which initially causes a bittersweet pull, but I'm so wet that it's not a problem.

Without me telling him, Negan knows that I fulfilled his request.

"So perfect, sweetheart! And now, pleasure your clit! Bring yourself to climax and don't hold back any sound, I want to hear every sweet noise from you."

With the first gentle touch, my body twitches like crazy.

"Negan, please come with me," I stammer into the phone.

"Yes, I promise, beautiful," he replies breathlessly.

And these words are enough for me to come as intensely as I haven't in the past years. My thighs tremble uncontrollably and my heart almost jumps out of my chest. My lower abdomen contracts in waves and I can barely breathe. It feels like I am weightless for a few seconds.

"Do you feel good?" he asks after a short pause.

"Perfect.." I reply and can't gather my thoughts yet.

"Okay, then I expect you tomorrow at 3:30 p.m. for a parent-teacher meeting at the school, and, by the way, without panties.. Good night!" After these words, I only hear a beep on the line.

[helixtheman]

Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V Synchro Dimension Retrospective: What Went Wrong with the Writing

Before we start this review, let’s make something clear: I don’t support Yu-Gi-Oh! shows past 5D’s. I critique them with a straightforward bias. I don’t care about this whole idea of “unity” in the Yu-Gi-Oh! fandom, nor do I have respect for anyone’s opinion on the matter—I’m here for my own goals. So, feel free to cancel me if you want. I only play the TCG/OCG for fun and don’t participate in tournaments much since I’m more of a collector. So, if you make even one mistake or disagree with me about Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V being wrong, I’ll block you. I can’t stand the production dilemma and some claims that were never confirmed or were simply false, like it’s 5D's all over again for this brain-dead fandom that keeps making it harder to accept the years that go by.

StardustReaper delves into the origins of Yu-Gi-Oh!'s most memetically powerful series and its mixed reception. The review also discusses the role and consequences of a show where half its staff couldn’t competently fulfill their roles and how this impacted its production, back when the only way to produce a decent show was through competent teamwork. The review explains why the show’s entire production was more problematic than the so-called Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D’s effect—something that still grinds my gears to this day. Yeah, I have a lot to talk about, so production started on December 30th, 2024, and lasted until...

I’m just going to make this clear to everyone: I will not listen to anyone in the Yu-Gi-Oh! community, forums, or Yugitubers, because most of them are just clickbaiters. Even the so-called "honest content creators" have personal biases and problems, while the rest of the community is just dogshit. Seriously, Yu-Gi-Oh! fans have one of the worst communities I’ve ever seen. People who are afraid to be vocal about it always get shamed, but I don’t care—I’m standing out!

If Yu-Gi-Oh! wants purity and silence over freedom, then we’re living in a clown society.

Before I get to the topic, here are a few notes:

I will not blame 4Kids or any Western localized versions, as I am not hostile toward Yu-Gi-Oh! Western adaptations, nor do I hate them.

I will mention some associations with the real-life game, but as of this post, some of the cards used by characters in the Synchro Dimension have been printed while others haven’t. I might explain why printing certain cards can make the show more watchable, but I won’t focus on this all the time.

I won’t explain why I dislike Yuto here, as that character deserves a separate post.

I’ll use English or sub names (or a mix of both) to avoid starting unnecessary arguments, as I’m not hostile toward name choices.

I won’t bring up the fandom, as I have personal issues with them—especially since 2015 wasn’t a great year for me or for them, given it was the peak of cancel culture.

Finally, I have more experience with the anime than the real-life game. I find the game to be terrible, and I prefer to play casually for fun rather than act like a jerk at locals or nationals.

Can we actually explain why Yu-Gi-Oh! has a bad reputation nowadays? Most of the writing for recent Yu-Gi-Oh! anime wasn’t what people wanted but rather what they got. Back in the day, the writing was better—or at least that’s how it felt. This might explain why the previous Yu-Gi-Oh! series had some influence on Arc-V's downfall.

Let’s start with Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal. After the failure of this series, many fans grew frustrated with Shin Yoshida, blaming his ego and reliance on stereotypes. The show felt like a satire of Yu-Gi-Oh!—almost as if it was trying to deconstruct the franchise but ended up looking like a joke instead. The real issue with Zexal wasn’t just its content but how poorly it performed. It failed in Japan, and in America, it was canceled twice on television.

For those wondering why Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal wasn’t fully dubbed or broadcast in America, the answer lies in its troubled history. While Zexal was fully dubbed, it wasn’t fully aired, and this had a lot to do with circumstances at the time, such as the decline of cable TV and limited internet access for some viewers.

Let’s break it down. Zexal was canceled twice in America. In 2011, after airing only eight episodes, it was put on hiatus due to the 4Kids lawsuit over illegal DVD distribution. Then in 2014, it was canceled again when the Vortexx programming block—its main platform—was replaced by generic content, marking the end of Saturday morning cartoons in the U.S.

Why did this happen? It wasn’t supposed to, but there was a shift in the American broadcasting landscape. Random cartoons airing weekly started to lose favor, and some shows were simply targeted for removal. Western broadcasting at the time faced bias and inconsistency, making it difficult for series like Yu-Gi-Oh! to thrive.

As someone who grew up watching cartoons regularly before transitioning to online platforms, I can tell you it was a challenge to even discuss Yu-Gi-Oh! during this period. The Western adaptation tried to appeal to an international audience but ultimately backfired in certain ways. After Zexal was removed from the Vortexx, its final 33 episodes were made available on Hulu. To this day, Konami hasn’t re-released them on TV, and it’s unclear why they haven’t reconsidered.

One theory is that Zexal became too much of a cringe-inducing show over time, especially during its original broadcast run. It struggled to find its footing and didn’t resonate with many fans. While I don’t want to delve into political debates, I think Zexal was doomed in America from the start.

The show’s writing staff didn’t do it any favors. Zexal tried to do too much and too little at the same time. It over-focused on Xyz summoning and the villains while leaving the rest of the characters underdeveloped or outright forgettable. People hated the show because it came off as lazy and incompetent. Its number-based plotline and dimension war were dull, and the overarching story lacked direction. The "Number vs. Number" battles, which should have been the series’ centerpiece, became repetitive and uninspired.

Yoshida’s involvement didn’t help either. While co-writing the manga, he seemed to burn out, which might explain the anime’s lackluster quality. Fans eventually glossed over Zexal's flaws, claiming it was a masterpiece because of its animation or comedic elements—or even because of fan-driven "shipping" narratives. But for most viewers, it was a mess, riddled with generic shounen tropes and a lack of respect for a cohesive, standalone story.

The protagonist, Yuma, was cringeworthy to the point that his design made people dread each episode. The pacing was sluggish, thanks to the director’s mismanagement, and the reliance on gimmicky cards in real life added to the confusion. Ratings weren’t good in the U.S. or internationally, and while Japan’s reception was never fully confirmed, it wasn’t enough to salvage the show’s reputation.

Despite all this, Zexal became a polarizing topic. Some fans gatekeep the series, calling it underrated without acknowledging its flaws. Unfortunately, this kind of blind defense has led to biased discussions about its quality—especially in spaces like Yu-Gi-Oh! Reddit, which often feels like an echo chamber.

When Arc-V arrived, much of the lingering hate from Zexal seemed to carry over. While Arc-V had its own problems, it’s clear that the damage done by Zexal influenced fans’ expectations and reactions to the series that followed.

The Western broadcasting of Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V was a complete mess. It took forever for the show to finish airing in America, and this likely stemmed from a combination of factors. At that time, America seemed less invested in Yu-Gi-Oh! dubs, partly because of the toxic nature of the fandom and their lack of self-awareness.

Another reason might have been the overly vocal Yu-Gi-Oh! fans on social media, who often created unnecessary drama and contributed to the negativity surrounding the franchise. However, my experience with the show is more personal. To me, it’s less about what the fans or broadcasters did and more about deconstructing the production itself.

Arc-V had many production issues that can be analyzed from multiple angles, and those issues ultimately hurt its reception in the West.

The Real Problem with Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V

When Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V was first announced, fans had high hopes. Some even claimed it would become the next gold standard of the franchise, potentially standing alongside 5D’s or Duel Monsters. But as the series progressed, it became clear that Arc-V was falling far short of those expectations. By the end of its run, it was regarded by many as one of the franchise’s biggest disappointments. Let’s dive into the key reasons why Arc-V failed so miserably.

But here is the real problem that people refuse to accept. Some claimed that Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V would be known as the next gold standard, comparable to Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's or even Duel Monsters. However, it failed in every sense, and I can explain why.

Part of the reason why Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V failed was because the second arc of the show dragged on for far too long. This caused character arcs to stagnate, restart, or never reach proper resolutions. Some characters were relegated to dorms, while others were completely forgotten. The reintroduction of legacy characters only made things worse, as they stole valuable screen time from the main cast.

The third season of the show was so poorly handled that it caused animators to leave production unfinished, creating a toxic environment in the studio. The primary writer of Arc-V—who I’ll address in a moment—was a total jackass who ruined 100% of the production. He was lazy and incapable of writing cohesive episodes, which ultimately led to the series' downfall.

The main writer of Arc-V, Kamishiro Tsunomi, is a total mess. He clearly hated working on the show because he struggled with original content. He had a tough time with the early episodes and later episodes in Season 2, which earned him the nickname "the lazy man." He can’t handle creating original works—his strength lies in adapting existing ones. For example, he adapted Hunter x Hunter and D.Gray-man without issues, but when I watched him write Casshern Sins back in 2008 (around the time I got into anime), he wasn’t as much of a disaster. That work had more collaboration with Yasohoko Kobayashi, a Toei writer, and they worked together well.

However, in Arc-V and even in Zexal, Tsunomi just couldn’t make it work. His writing is confusing, and it’s no surprise that Konami eventually blacklisted him. He’s not great at writing original content and often contradicts himself, which made the story fall apart. The fandom even called for a boycott of him after he stereotyped the last arc with terrible writing. Unfortunately, things got worse.

Early episodes and the information surrounding them were a mess. When new episodes aired, we didn’t get much information, just titles and rumors. One rumor that stuck was that Tsunomi was using his ego to control the staff. Apparently, he wanted to make the staff revolt because he couldn’t stand anime fans demanding to know every detail ahead of time. It was clear why someone like Yoshida took a break during the series.

I haven’t even mentioned Dark Side of Dimensions, which took away both animation and production budget. Why does Studio Gallop struggle with animation funding so much in the 2010s after 5D’s? It’s baffling, especially when Zexal had a higher budget than Arc-V.

But I haven’t yet mentioned the major reason why Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V’s production was more of a disaster than any of the previous series. Around 2016, one animator vented her frustration on Twitter, which caused a lot of people to wonder what she meant. When translated, it turned out she was upset because Kamishiro Tsunomi was lazy about guiding the production or planning what to do next. She also couldn’t get the animation sheets on time, which understandably made her angry. Back in the 2010s, you could get canceled for being negative or openly critical, but this person managed to send a message to future generations to ensure that such a situation doesn’t repeat itself.

Arc-V’s production was so chaotic that it made Yu-Gi-Oh! GX look like it had a much cleaner production process. I haven’t even mentioned the ratings, which, though just numbers, were still important back then. Ratings—good or bad—meant a lot to those involved, as they had to cope with the impact on the show. Arc-V was so toxic that it negatively affected the Yu-Gi-Oh! fandom, especially since many fans of Arc-V hate 5D’s due to how Ono was more biased toward his nostalgic work rather than focusing on the story.

Arc-V ended up being a shallow Yu-Gi-Oh! anime with no clear direction for its endgame. So, what’s next?

The reason Yu-Gi-Oh! is so popular is that it’s been good from day one. However, people refused to accept it because it was so good that they blamed its advertising instead of appreciating its quality. Over the years, this led to a lot of people avoiding the game and spin-offs altogether. Frankly, Yu-Gi-Oh! has some of the worst fans—I loathe them sometimes.

The real problem with Yu-Gi-Oh! is that many fans are blinded by those who hate its success. They unfairly place all the blame on 4Kids, even though 4Kids was just a localization company. Ironically, Yu-Gi-Oh!’s own success created a toxic environment in the 2010s, making it impossible to talk about without getting dragged into negativity. Nowadays, the most toxic thing is Master Duel. That game turned the Yu-Gi-Oh! hype into trash. I honestly wonder when Konami will realize that Yu-Gi-Oh! fans are just so stubborn, blinded by biased hate or mindless hot takes.

People talk about the game now, but back in the 2000s and 2010s, the anime was all the hype. It’s no wonder newcomers get confused. I’ve even met people who can’t stand Yu-Gi-Oh!’s marketing because they can’t afford the cards or learn the game due to the fandom's toxicity. I remember years ago when that YouTuber Forneverworld—a grifter and cringe-baiter back then—said he never watched 5D’s and hated Arc-V before it even aired. My memory of that is crystal clear. These days, he’s irrelevant, but it still bugs me.

Here’s another issue: Yu-Gi-Oh! communities, particularly online, feel like a poor man’s version of Bulgaria. No offense to Bulgaria, but the fandom mirrors its struggles—chaotic, poorly organized, and rife with misinformation.

Take Reddit, for example. It’s a hellhole where people spread lies, like the rumor that 5D’s failed in Japan. Why is this even a topic? Because certain fans bring left-wing politics into it, twisting everything. 5D’s was created with themes that aligned more with traditional values, emphasizing community and perseverance. Most people don’t get that. The Yu-Gi-Oh! fandom has become a space for hyperactive manchildren who can’t process information properly.

On top of that, a lot of the so-called “news” about Yu-Gi-Oh! production—especially around 5D’s—is clickbait nonsense. It’s exhausting to see baseless theories being shared as facts, often with fake links and sources that don’t check out.

I forgot to mention that Arc-V started showing signs of weakness in 2015, which really upset people on Tumblr and Twitter, causing them to spill hate that I’ve seen firsthand. Heck, 2015 was also the year Metal Gear creator Hideo Kojima left Konami because he wasn’t buying into any of its nonsense. That’s why 2015 sucked so much!

Okay, now onto the next topic.

What’s even bad about talking about the Yu-Gi-Oh! anime instead of the card game?

When discussing the Yu-Gi-Oh! anime, it’s clear that Yu-Gi-Oh! fans are 100% clueless—more than someone with Trump Derangement Syndrome. It’s just like how John Cena turned heel and admitted to having a toxic relationship with his fandom in the Netflix era of WWE. Yu-Gi-Oh! fans are like John Cena fans when they abuse the meme “You can’t see me” or the annoying “What is even Yu-Gi-Oh!” meme. Because of this, it creates stereotypes that I absolutely hate and loathe to death.

Most of the American Yu-Gi-Oh! fandom doesn’t even understand what the anime does or how it plays out. They rely on bad jokes, get mad when their headcanons aren’t validated, and just act like assholes. For example, I don’t have screenshots, but in my early days in the Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V fandom, people acted like spoiled elites and mocked others' hard work. These people were mostly part of the former Arc-V fringe group led by ReijiAkabutt and her cronies—Chomsai, BlueEyesWhiteGarden, Cypsman2, Pxiao, and ColorfulWatcher. If you go through their archives, you’ll see that they were some of the worst Yu-Gi-Oh! fans I ever had to deal with, as they are all woke Americans.

America is just spoiled with too much money, culture, and whatever else they have. Their healthcare system is terrible, with insanely high medical bills. They don’t know much about other countries, often act ignorant or even racist, and get overly sensitive when someone makes a joke—whether good or bad. They also become nasty whenever Trump tweets something and constantly demand that America is the only country that should be catered to.

Since 2013, most Americans have had awful takes on the Yu-Gi-Oh! anime because they’re mostly Gen 1 purists who refuse to accept anything beyond the original series.

And don’t even get me started on this person named Sephirex. I used to respect him, but now he’s a joke in the modern Yu-Gi-Oh! world.

Yu-Gi-Oh! fans, in general, care more about the card game than the actual people involved in the fandom.

But then there are people even worse than the far-left Yu-Gi-Oh! fans—just outright bad people. Here’s a list of Yu-Gi-Oh! fans I actually consider to be woke.

I’m not going to include SliferTheSkydragon, DemonAtemu, Xthedarkone, or anyone else who wasn’t as bad. This is only about people who had a real negative impact.

Also, Azenzone, who does Precure reviews, is mostly a Precure/Tokusatsu fan, and I want to avoid him at all costs because he can’t make good content.

Now, onto the worst fans I’ve ever met.

Sephirex, who I just mentioned, is a Canadian-American Yu-Gi-Oh! fan who is 100% woke because he constantly blames white people. He made bad satire videos about Yu-Gi-Oh! GX in the past, but after his YouTube channel got terminated in 2019, he shifted his focus to hating Donald Trump on Twitter—before eventually leaving for BlueSky. He also never understood that 5D’s is the only Yu-Gi-Oh! series that tackles prejudice and bigotry. But since he’s so far left, I doubt he’ll ever wake up from that mindset.

VoiceOfChaos, who streamed Yu-Gi-Oh! anime back in the mid-to-late 2010s, is another example of how much people have changed. They turned woke, either because they’re stupid or just unwilling to be real. That dude was worried about Arc-V getting canceled when Zexal was the one that actually got backlash for its bad writing.

Mangakamen is another example of a woke American who, in my opinion, is more of a douchebag than a real fan. Mainstream culture influences Americans faster than a cheeseburger hits their stomachs.

DarkXyzDuelist from Tumblr (Anna) is one Yu-Gi-Oh! fan I remember who hated 5D’s and praised Zexal, but they were really just in it for the fanart and had little actual interest in the show.

Mizael Mizanity is one fan I didn’t want to bring up, but now that she’s gone, I can just say: Good riddance to that woke, abusive bitch.

YGOEverything is just as woke, and everything about him is built to make himself look good. By now, he’s more irrelevant than he was in the late 2010s. He’s been a dick to my friends, and he cares more about clickbait than making real content.

These people alone are examples of how bad the Yu-Gi-Oh! fandom has become due to their influence and inflated egos. I could name even more, like TCG ANIME (YGO) or Linkara when it comes to Yu-Gi-Oh!, but I’m on a mission here.

So, let’s get back on point.

Now, let’s talk about the duels.

In my opinion, ARC-V has the worst duels I’ve ever watched—far worse than anything from the Rush or VRAINS era. The duels feel lazy, poorly scripted, and just brick after brick. The duel choreography is a mess, and I feel like Kamishiro completely failed at whatever he was trying to do.

Even Masahiro Hokubo seemed to struggle to make the duels relevant in any way. The issue isn’t just about the real-life meta—it’s about how this anime fundamentally mishandled its mechanics.

Pendulum Summoning, in particular, is too problematic because it relies too much on placing cards in the Pendulum Zones and sending them to the Extra Deck when tributed or destroyed. This makes duels feel repetitive and unbalanced.

Besides that, ARC-V did have one of the most impactful duels in Yu-Gi-Oh! history, with a script that had many key moments. However, as the duels progressed, they became more problematic, and I can see why the fandom hates them.

While I have problems with ZEXAL and its duels, no Yu-Gi-Oh! series has a worse duel script than ARC-V. The issue is that ARC-V had very little impact on the duels and focused too much on making them feel overly complex instead of well-structured.

ZEXAL, despite having repetitive duels, at least kept most of them polished up until Episode 135. After that, they became garbage, and I felt like I could write better duels myself.

The biggest problem with ARC-V is that its duels lack impact, constantly reuse old cards, and introduce fewer and fewer new ones. This, combined with poor writing choices, made the duels feel uninspired and frustrating to watch.

Characters like Yuri, Barrett, Kaito Tenjo, Aster Phoenix, Serena, and Ruri in ARC-V relied on the same combos constantly instead of progressing their strategies to make duels more interesting. Their playstyles felt repetitive due to poor writing limitations and plot constraints, making the duels stale instead of engaging.

For example, Barrett from the Fusion Dimension used the exact same strategy every time—summoning two monsters to bring out a Fusion Monster that never even got printed in the real-life card game because Konami was too lazy to release it.

[mcyt-transcribed]

video description for "Again." by Generation Loss

[video description: The video opens on five rows of CRT televisions in a haphazard stack, green on the left and red on the right and all with wires dangling over them. Each one shows a different scene from The Social Experiments with their audio overlapping. They flash twice into different scenes while the camera slowly zooms in on one staticky TV at the bottom center. It isn't until the TV screen takes up the entirety of the video that the cacophony ends, replaced by a second of static humming then "Spirit of the Slime" by Nathan Hanover. Text appearing on the screen reads:

One year ago, a show was broadcasted to your world. Using the likenesses of popular figures, a new story was created. The story was the first, a test of what is possible with infinity. The story of a hero, a spirit, a mastermind, an overseer, a friend, and the doomed. It was a beautiful story, but it was flawed. So I replayed it.

The music fades out, then is replaced by "Generation Loss 1 - Title Card" by Nathan Hanover. Text reads:

Again. And again.

Now, the words "and again and again and again" fill the screen, repeating so many times that they're cut off at the edges. Then they're replaced by text appearing on the screen once more.

And again. Until I created the perfect version. It is ready to be shown to you. The Social Experiments Founders Cut. June 15.

The music ends. All that's left is that white text in the middle of a black screen... until smaller red text appears in the bottom right corner, reading "Who are you?" End description.]

[strugglingfloralclerk]

Influence

Summary: (TodorokixOC) Sometimes it takes a little bit of blackmail and good old fashioned vandalism to get friends out of sour moods. TW: Implies domestic abuse/violence, implied self harm, and vandalism. Discretion advised.

🥚🥚🥚🥚🥚

Todoroki knew his family history was overwhelming and that was the polite way to describe it. He didn't like to broadcast that information if he didn't have to, but now...all of Japan knew.

Dabi was Touya and Touya was Dabi, and it made no sense that Endeavor tried to replicate his 'perfect heir' project not once but twice. The absolute nerve of that man.

For the past week, different members of Class 1-A tried to get Todoroki to talk about it. They wanted him to express some angry words about Endeavor and move on. 

Momo suggested he talk to the campus counselor. Toru suggested family therapy without Endeavor. Midoriya recommended Todoroki write a strongly worded letter to Endeavor about his shit parenting style. Bakugo told him to get over it.

Todoroki felt sick to his stomach. The trauma never ended, it only accelerated.

"Stop it." Taika's voice pulled him out of his thoughts. Her pretty face marred by the mean expression that settled into her features. "Todoroki, this has gone on long enough."

He wanted to say something smart, something sharp at her command but he had nothing. 

"Get up." Taika ungracefully snatched Todoroki's wallet from his nightstand, and waved it front of him.

"No." Was the young man's reply as he settled further into the comfort of his bed.  What? Was she bribing him with his own money? Was she being funny?

Taika pulled out an extremely sharp pair of kitchen scissors from the pocket of her old highschool hoodie. 

Todoroki cocked his head at her, a frown cemented on his features as he felt both curious and uneasy at the sight of the scissors so close to his wallet.

"Do whatever." He replied lowly. 

Taika didn't miss a beat. "Alright, since you gave me permission." She opened the wallet and picked up Todoroki's shiny, provisional hero lisence and tapped the edge of the card with the scissors. It was easy and damn near painless to get new bank cards-getting a new hero license, not so much.

Not even rich kids could expedite that process. And Taika knew, that Todoroki knew that.

Todoroki's eyes finally sparked with an emotion that wasn't despair. "What are you doing?"

Taika flashed a playful grin at him and tapped the license with the kitchen scissors again. "Following instructions and doing whatever." She placed the card in between sharp, metal legs, and cleared her throat as she readied to give the license a eulogy before the first cut.  

"To Todoroki's hard work. It is a shame his daddy issues caused him to abandon his dreams of becoming a better hero."

Todoroki suddenly rushed toward Taika, his hand reached to yank the card out of her grip; Taika merely leaned away and held his provisional license behind her back. The scissors clattered to the floor of his dorm.

"Taika, I'm not playing." Todoroki warned, his voice a mixture of anger and determination 

She could work with that much better than despair. Taika matched his tone, "You think I'm playing?"

🥚🥚🥚🥚🥚

"This is stupid." Todoroki muttered under his breath as they exited from the train station. Taika forced him into one of Sero's black and yellow hoodies, Toru's costume glasses, and Midoriya's All Might beanie right before she forced him to go on a 'self-care' journey for the night. 

"Your attitude is stupid." Taika shot back with ease as they navigated through throngs of people. She gave him a half frown. "Look, just try to get out of your head?"

Todoroki blanked; his eyes narrowed as if he heard a bad joke. "You want me to get out of my head?" 

"Don't overthink it, Todoroki." Taika did not have time to explain expressions and figures of speech right now, nor did she want to. Her eyes scanned the busy streets of Nagoya until she saw a convenience store roughly a block down the street; she lowered the bill of her baseball cap.

Todoroki felt a nudge and when he looked over he was greeted by a neatly folded (and possibly ironed?) bills right in his face. There was either a deeply mischievious or menacing glint deep in Taika's eyes. His mind was both alarmed but also captivated. If Taika stayed quiet with that focused, intense look in her eyes, Todoroki may have figured the emotion out himself. 

Alas. Taika decided to boss the sullen boy around. "Go inside and buy two egg cartons."

"...Why?" Todoroki felt offended; who was this uppity girl who decided to disrupt his night and command him to do such a menial task?  It all felt like waste, Todoroki grumbled inwardly.

"Because if you don't I'm going to put your provisional license through a shredder then use those shredded bits to start up a barbeque." Taika smiled her best smile, the one she knew that especially pissed off people. "I hope you like defeat as a side dish."

He narrowed his heterochromatic eyes at her and she merely arched an eyebrow at him and waved the money in his face. Too much like an owner that taunted their dog to play fetch if you asked Todoroki!

A tense silence settled between the two friends. 

"You know what, make it three cartons." The purple haired beauty reiterated calmly. 

Todoroki snatched the folded money; a quiet pout of frustration accompanied him as he did the little errand. I could be doing anything else. His mind wandered a bit to the unread books he ordered, to the new training techniques he could have perfected  by now, he could have watched a few soapy dramadies with Fuyumi too. He hadn't thought about the little things in his life he actually enjoyed until now. 

As Todoroki gathered the eggs, he felt taken aback for a brief moment as he exited the store.  The way he exhaled was shakey and filled to the brim with anger. He felt betrayed, kind of. His eyes fixated on the giant billboard of Endeavor high above him.

"I thought we were friends, Taika." Todoroki's jaw tightened in what could only be described as pure and utter vexation. 

Taika moved toward him; her hands sternly held onto his forearms; her eyes fixated on some location beyond them; and Todoroki suddenly found himself on the rooftop opposite of his father's billboard.

Taika nudged at him, a softer expression allowed to him as she gestured to the bag with their supplies, the tips of the fingers brushed together for a moment.  "Let's egg his billboard."  

It was insanse how warm and sincere that sounded but also.. wasn't that illegal?

"Wait," Todoroki's eyes shifted around as he looked for Pro Heroes or sidekicks in the area. He didn't see any but that didn't mean they weren't around. "Won't we get in trouble, Taika?"

"We'll only get in trouble if we get caught and we're not going to get caught." Taika added, as she handed Todoroki one of the egg cartons. "Or if one of us is a narcs, and I am not a narc. Are you, Todoroki?"

Todoroki thoughtfully examined the eggs before his eyes cut back to the billboard of Endeavor. 

He didn't notice the small sigh of relief and the way Taika's shoulders relaxed once she saw the first egg crack right on the billboard. Nor did he notice the way she smiled softly at him once she saw a faint grin on Todoroki's features.  She couldn't recall any time recently he smiled. 

🥚🥚🥚🥚🥚

If someone told Todoroki Shoto that he and the teleporter were going to be close friends the first time he met her; he'd think that was a backhanded insult. Now, Todoroki would merely shrug and acknowledge the accuracy of that statement. Which was better than how Bakugo would've reacted truth be told.

Before tonight, he never vandalized anything. Now after tonight, not only did  Todoroki vandalize three different Endeavor billboards, but he evaded building security. Twice. Maybe he should have felt guilty, or rather in fact, Todoroki knew he should have felt guilty. For the first time since finding out, Todoroki felt like he could breathe. 

I think...I think it'll be hard for me to adjust to the changes I may face, Todoroki thought as the invisible weight burried deep in chest evaporated. His eyes casted over to Taika, a genuine smile bloomed on his handsome face as the purple haired girl deligently kept an eye out. But with friends like Taika, I think I'll be okay. 

The pair huddled close under the cover of a hearty bush until it was all clear to come out.

"Don't worry." She whispered in perhaps the softest tone Todoroki's ever heard from her. "They're not cops, they won't be as thorough trying to find us right now. They have to report back to the building. Most they'll maybe do is file a report that'll go nowhere because they didn't even get a good look at us."

Todoroki tilted his head at her . His smiled faltered. "How do you know that?" Concern and curiosity burned behind his eyes. 

Taika blinked at the supposed Prince of UA. Why was he so dense sometimes!?

"Todoroki, you should know that too. We have an exam for our 'Civil Procedures and Rights' class on Tuesday!"

Oh, shit. Todoroki rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "I guess I was busy wallowing, huh?"

Taika rolled her eyes at him, "Yeah, but you're done now. Right, Todoroki?"

His body eased at those words. Todoroki expected some lengthy lecture from Taika, but the few words she used was more than enough.

"Hn." He nodded curtly at her. 

There were a small series of follow up questions for Todoroki after that 'Hn'.

Was he sleeping well, if at all? Was he only sustaining himself with instant ramen? When was the last time he spoke to Fuyumi and his mother? Was he drinking enough water? Her last question threw him for a loop.

"You're not...you're not a danger to yourself, right?" Taika's voice still a whisper as a they carefully exited their leafy fortress. 

Todoroki halted and his blood went cold. "What?"

Taika doubled down with an explanation. Well, a partial one anyways. Tonight wasn't really about her and her issues.

"I knew a few kids in a similar situation to you, Todoroki, when I was growing up." Taika left names out but she pictured a young face or three in her mind's eye. Her heart broke quietly for the friends she lost. "It's not pity or paranoia, Todoroki." She was covering all the bases; being thorough. 

Todoroki wondered if Taika knew he could see the way there was a small spark of fear in her eyes. He heard the slight way her voice tried to shake as she spoke.

He always admired Taika for being so resilient. Scared, nervous, or otherwise, Taika pushed through and here she was, trying to help him do the same as well. It humbled Todoroki.  

"No." Todoroki answered calmly as he fell into step with Taika's pace. "I promise."

Relief rolled through her neck and shoulders as the stress of her worry dissolved. She shifted to a different topic, happy and sure of Todoroki's reply.

"Now," Taika reached into her back jean pocket and pointed Todoroki's precious provisional license at his face. "The next time someone holds your license, ID, or any other important documents from you, you're suppose to report that to the police. Don't fall for something like that again, 'Roki. Imagine if someone with worse intentions tried to blackmail you?"

Todoroki's face wrinkled into a mix bewilderement and awe at the teleporter, a small amused grin tugged ever so slightly on the corners of his mouth.  He plucked his license away from the teleporter. "You do know that you are a bad influence, right?"

Taika pretended to take offense; she pointed at herself with a faux look of innocence. "Me? I'm a saint."

Todoroki knew damn good and well saints would not encourage him to pour sugar and salt into Endeavor's protein powder. 

[thenightfolknetwork]

So I know you don’t answer many questions from- across the pond, as it were, but I don’t need any legal advice, and I’m at my wit’s end. I’m hoping you can help.

So my genus is very small. In point of fact it’s just my family, as far as I know, and it’s only ever one creature active at a time- bunch of sapios doing sapio things, then the previous Creature dies or sees the Signs and boom! One of us Wakes and hey look at that, new Hierophant! And as the current Hierophant I Speak and Am Heard- part of the reason I’m writing to you.

A part of my genus is acting as the mouthpiece for a portent of the apocalypse. That's not a secret- hell, its why the town has the name it does and why the family name's on the radio station. Predictably, I am the foremost DJ on 226.5, the Voice of Birch.

It’s not a bad gig, per say. I go to work and between the traffic reports and the local top forty I give an update on the eventual Coming of The Burned Birch. It never lasts long and my local community really likes it. The Birch sort of became a touristy thing, you see- awesome in the autumn, all its leaves yellow and glowing with ghostfire.

Well, so they tell me. I can't actually LOOK at the Birch-if I do, I'll go by way of great uncle Milton and turn into salt. Thank goodness pictures and art don't count or we'd have to move the station and the whole family into the old mica mine.

The Birch likes being appreciated and turned into post cards and calanders, though. It’s a bit of a show off, really. I guess I’d be showing off if I were a tree that could move around at will.

The problem is that lately, the Birch has been sending me updates at the most inconvenient times. It's generally a twice a day thing, but now I’ll be brushing my teeth at five AM and the whole town hears me ominously spouting coordinates and warning of the cracking of the earth and rising of the dead. The Birch can’t even make the dead rise, there’s been wards on the local cemetery for a century!

Or I’ll be making an order at my coffee shop and suddenly I’m telling poor Taylor the barista that the trees come down the mountain to open their fiery branches to the burnished sky.  

The worst of it is at ten or eleven at night when I’m trying to settle into bed. My hometown is very small and quiet, so most folks are in bed early unless they’re nocturnal like the coven that runs the night shift at the bakery. I’ll be drowsing, mind floating off to dreamland, and all of a sudden I’m bolt upright in bed declaring that West Street’s pavement is going to shatter with the feet of elder gods, flee the Burned Birch, flee! People are losing sleep.

It's getting out of hand. I’m not in danger of losing my job or anything (not even sure I can be fired, to be honest) but when you live in a town with less than two thousand people and everyone knows you’re the Hierophant of the Burned Birch, well. That's me avoiding the next St. Mary's rummage sale.

I know you always say communication is key and I’ve tried, believe me. All the old methods- blood rituals under the full moon, a cracked labradorite under my pillow, whispering to the moths- it hasn’t worked.

There's nothing in the family archives about the Burned Birch acting like this and frankly, I’m worried. Is there something wrong? Some rot or fungus that infects only apocalyptic omen trees? Is it trying to reach out to me for help? I can't go look at it and my friends tell me it looks fine. They show me pictures and my omen looks fine! How do I tell if it’s being needy or if it’s being obnoxious? and how do I hang on to my declarations without a three hour nosebleed?

Literally anything you've got will help, at this point. Thanks in advance!

-Fat Ricki, The Voice Of Birch

First of all, may I say how lovely it is to hear from another radio professional? Liminal broadcasting is a topic close to my heart, and it's always nice to hear from others in the field.

To your question, I think your first job is to absolutely rule out the possibility of any physical or magical ailment your tree might be suffering.

You said you've had friends inspect the tree, and have looked at photos to assess the situation yourself. But tree diseases are not always easy to spot with the naked eye, especially to the untrained. This is doubly true for thaumaturgically active trees, which may be susceptible to infections, infestations and diseases on several planes of reality.

I recommend investing in the services of a trained arboreal arcanist. In the United Kingdom, customers can find specialists through the Arcane Arboricultural Society, whose members must meet the societies standards of professionalism and training. If such an organisation exists in your area, all to the good.

If not, take some time to read up on professional qualifications available to tradespeople in your state. You want someone qualified in thaumaturgic horticulture, and preferably with the ability to perceive reality on at least three additional planes, if not more.

There are several pests and diseases that might be causing your tree's distress, from spectral bacteria to ether flux. Better to invest a little time and money in ruling those out than risk leaving them untreated.

I think it's safe to say your tree is trying to get your attention for some reason. Once you've ruled out disease or discomfort as the possible reason, consider what else might have changed since this behaviour began. Has it been receiving fewer visitors than usual, or perhaps been the subject of a less-than-flattering news article?

Many apocalyptic trees, shrubs and bushes have a tendency to fussiness and egotism. It's very possible that your tree wants nothing more than to be the subject of a bit of ego-stroking fuss. You might try drumming up a few more visitors and acolytes, or performing a ritual of appeasement that recognises its great and terrible power.

The phrase “attention-seeking” carries with it a host of negative connotations. Instead, think of this as “support-seeking” behaviour. There is a need your tree feels is unmet, and as its Hierophant, it's up to you to meet it. With a bit of reassurance and attention, I think your tree should settle down into its usual ways in no time.

[For more creaturely advice, check out Monstrous Agonies on your podcast platform of choice, or visit monstrousproductions.org for more info]

[beardedmrbean]

1. What's more expensive?

The new year will see tax changes directly impacting consumers and retailers. The tax rate on books, medicines, accommodation services, as well as sports, entertainment and cultural services will rise from 10 percent to 14 percent.

Sweets could see an even bigger tax hike next summer, should legislators pass a proposal raising the value-added tax on candy and chocolate from 14 to 25.5 percent.

2. Lower tax on sanitary pads and diapers

In contrast, the start of the year will see the tax on menstrual and incontinence products, as well as children's diapers, reduced from 25.5 percent to 14 percent.

3. Spot price changes

Starting next year, the pricing structure for spot price electricity will change, moving from hourly to 15-minute intervals.

While quarter-hour pricing for exchange electricity has already been possible within Finland, the system will soon expand internationally. Starting in mid-March, 15-minute trading will be implemented across the Nordic countries, with a Europe-wide rollout planned for June.

4. Household tax credit decreases

Major changes to the household tax credit will take effect at the beginning of the year. The maximum deduction will decrease to 1,600 euros, down from the current 2,250 euros for home improvements, including renovation work.

5. Housing allowance changes

As of 1 January, homeowners will no longer be eligible to receive Kela's housing allowance. Going forward, this form of support will be limited to rental housing, marking a significant change in the eligibility criteria for the benefit.

6. Tax reduction for families

Income tax changes are also in store in 2025.

Taxation will be reduced for low- and middle-income earners who have minor children, translating into 50 euros off taxes for each child. The automatic benefit applies to both parents.

Single parents will be able to deduct twice this amount, so 100 euros per child.

7. Tax card changes

Starting next year, tax cards will come into effect on 1 January, instead of February as in previous years. As part of the reform, the income threshold for tax cards will be calculated for the entire year (12 months), rather than the previous 11-month period.

The reform will not impact the rate of income tax, but it is aimed at making it easier for individuals to track their tax rate and income threshold throughout the year.

8. Higher tobacco tax

The tobacco tax will gradually increase over the next three years, resulting in a total tax hike of over 27 percent.

The price of a pack of cigarettes, currently around 10 euros, will rise to 13.20 euros once all the planned tax increases have been implemented over the next three years.

Taxes on e-cigarettes and nicotine pouches will not increase under the new reform.

9. Pricier passports

The price of a passport will rise by 9 euros for those applying electronically and by 7 euros for those using traditional in-person procedures. The price of ID cards will increase by 11 euros.

This means that the new price of a new Finnish passport will be 53 euros, up from 44 euros.

The Interior Ministry said the higher prices reflect an anticipated drop in demand.

10. Yle tax changes

The public broadcasting fee, also known as the "Yle tax", will see small changes next year.

In the future, taxpayers will be liable to pay the public broadcasting fee on annual (earned and capital) income exceeding 15,150 euros, up from the current level of 14,000 euros.

[billpottsismygf]

I've been stewing a little over the last few days about the news regarding the Doctor Who airing times and, although there's been a lot of discourse and probably everything has been said already, I just need to get my rant out there anyway.

For the uninitiated or the unsure, the brief rundown is that new episodes will drop online at the same time worldwide before the BBC 1 broadcast. This will be Fridays 7pm US time (EST I think) and Saturdays midnight in the UK. There will also be the usual Saturday evening broadcast on BBC 1, 18 or 19 hours later. Also, the premiere (10th/11th May) will drop the first two episodes of the series at once.

Simultaneous broadcast is pretty cool, and I believe the 60th specials dropped at the same time as the UK evening broadcast, giving an afternoon time for the US. That's great, but it's really messing with me that this new system completely shafts the UK in terms of viewing times. I'm not saying that only the UK has passionate fans, but I am saying that the UK is where Doctor Who is a cultural institution more so than anywhere else in the world, and seeing it prioritise the US is incredibly frustrating.

Moving to the specific fallout, there's the part of me that is upset on my own behalf, as my autistic self is really struggling with the notion that to watch the show ASAP I will now have to do so at midnight (on a Friday night too!). Since I was 9 in 2005, I have only twice gone to bed with a new episode unwatched. Occasionally that has been at stupid times in the early morning because I've been doing things for Saturday night, but generally I have watched the broadcast as much as possible, and often with other people as a community event. As a child it was always with my dad; as an adult it's often with friends!

Ultimately, though, I'll be fine. I'll watch by myself on iplayer at midnight because I am an adult who can make these choices, even if I'm sad that I probably won't get to have the viewing parties I had started to have with friends in recent years. (Though, who knows, we all have weird sleep schedules. Maybe midnight viewing parties are still on the cards.)

However, for all the kids out there I am so incredibly annoyed. I can't imagine if any of the iconic episodes from my childhood had aired the night before and I'd been unable to stay up for them. Blink? The Stolen Earth? Doomsday? I don't wish to overstate the matter, but I truly believe Doctor Who has remained such a cultural institution precisely because of its status as a family show. People are raised on it and then raise their kids on it and so on.

What are kids going to do now? Some might be allowed to stay up for the midnight release, though not many, especially for that double release which will end at like 1:30am. Others might watch it when they get up, but likely without the community aspect of the whole family sitting down for it. Still others might wait for the Saturday evening broadcast, having to dodge spoilers from other kids and adults as they go about whatever Saturday activities they have.

Regarding spoilers, I've seen some snarky comments saying 'just avoid social media lol', but firstly that's quite difficult in this day and age, and secondly it's not just social media. For one, there are all the tabloids that will plaster any new details across the front page, but also I can vividly remember talking about the brand new Doctor Who episodes at school, and how big an aspect that was of the community excitement. My teacher even did an impression of a weeping angel the week Blink aired, moving closer with a scary face when I looked away for a moment. Sure, there won't be school on a Saturday, but plenty of kids will be doing activities with other kids (dance classes, football, drama clubs etc.). What will happen when some kids have been allowed to watch the new episode and others haven't?

It may seem trivial to some, but I don't think it is. Where's the event aspect of it? Where's the community? Sure, I'm biased as an autistic Brit who grew up with the show and doesn't like change, but this new model seems designed to dilute both the excitement and importance of a new Doctor Who episode on a cultural level.

[sweetdreamsjeff]

Jeff Buckley 1994-10-28 Trinity Center Toronto Canada

May 17, 2022

Well, I'm finally getting around to digitizing my 700+ cassettes (at my wife's insistence--she wants them out of the house), so I'm going to start posting some goodies here. I taped many a show in the Toronto area from the late '80's to the late '90's, and also recorded a lot of radio broadcasts, mostly from CFNY, 102.1 in Toronto. Hope you stumble across something you like, or even a show you were at!

Jeff Buckley--Trinity Centre, Toronto, Canada, Oct. 28, 1994.

If you never got to see Jeff Buckley live, I'm sorry. You missed out. I was lucky enough to catch him twice, but the second time my tape deck was confiscated at the door. If anyone has his show at the Danforth where he played with Juliana Hatfield, I would be extremely greatful.

This night was amazing. The Trinity Centre is actually a church, the same one where the Cowboy Junkies recorded the Trinity Sessions. Unfortunately, we arrived a bit late, and ended up sitting near the back of the balcony, which didn't make for the best recording position. This is not the best tape in the world, but it was more listenable than I remembered it being. There is just a lot of hiss during the quiet bits. If hiss drives you batty, you may want to skip this, but if you can live with it, it's a very fine show. I was lucky enough to chat with Jeff briefly after the show, and he signed my copy of "Grace". I have included a scan of that in the torrent, as it is one of my prized possessions.

Lineage: Master>M Audio sound card>wav>flac. Song separation and gap editing with CDWave.

Set List:

01. Mojo Pin 02. So Real 03. Last Goodbye 04. What Will You Say 05. Dream Brother 06. Grace 07. Eternal Life 08. Lover, You Should Have Come Over 09. encore break 10. stage patter 11. Kangaroo

I just about died when he broke into the last song. Totally unexpected.

by Plumdusty

This is a video excerpt from the documentary, Amazing Grace: Jeff Buckley (2004): https://youtu.be/cTEpntWmg_o?t

The footage is taken from a concert at Trinity Church in Toronto, Ontario, Canada on 28 October 1994.

Thanks Steven!

[omegaremix]

Hauppauge, Winter 2015.

The new year was two weeks in when Yenny called. She’s leaving for Lima in February to see her family. Once again, she’s enlisted me to house sit. Unlike the other times I traveled back and forth to Huntington to stay for the night after work, she’s asked for me to stay for two weeks. I heartily obliged. Two weeks away from the daily drama, intrusion, and toxicity at home? “Yes” all across the board, five-in-a-row. The day before arrival, she called again to put me to it. I packed up my clothes and Gateway laptop for a rare getaway at Yenny’s new apartment residency of peace and zen. I don’t take vacations or time off of any kind, but when someone asks you to take time away from your normal residency for you to do you, you better fucking do it.

And fucking do it, I did. For two weeks in February I had total serenity. Living in Lindenhurst for the year meant having a second-floor bedroom above the neighborhood and the golden summer sun shining through an adjacent window - at the cost of living with a agitated father who’d yell personal complaints at you every time something went wrong. Yenny’s apartment was also on the second floor, overlooking the school district across the street. No summer, but heavy slurring snowstorms with single-digit temperatures and stinging cold air battered the island.

It’s 3PM Sunday and I arrive at her place. Yenny and her ma’ have their luggage ready and are scrambling to see what else they’ve needed to pack. Their Spanish was running just as fast. She’s a little frazzled to beat the last-minute notions of packing up but had a few to show me wherever everything was and go over the daily itinerary. All I had to do was keep everything clean.

“Wipe up after yourself each and every time. Take care of Bella. Let her out to roam free in the living room, clean her cage, replace her litter, fill her water bottle, add her food pellets, handle her and take her back in her cage. Lock her up and feed her the tangy vitamin paste. And do it twice a day. There’s food, cookies, and candy in the cabinets, juice and soda in the fridge, and meat in the freezer. I also have a calling card. Call me at Lima if anything.” Yenny was stern and on point; sharp as an arrow tearing into its’ destination at the center. Her finger-waving game never left my direction and she had the right. She was a neatness freak with O.C.D. who made sure everything was perfect and to a double-tee. Now that the final toothbrush was packed up, they were ready to catch the 5PM flight to the capital. Yenny and her ma’ quickly said their goodbyes to me and walk out the front door. Hauppauge starts now.

The next two weeks of life was bliss. I was out of my dad’s crosshairs. There was no labyrinth of verbal abuse, blames games, complaining, or dealing with his laziness. The aggravating interactions of yelling, screaming, or wasting my time and energy trying to reason with an old-world Brookynite Italian whose mind is far beyond any attempt at learning? Nil. It was a rarity to have any sanity away from home and outside of work. I felt I had all the time in the world to catch up on posting and piece together the next Omega WUSB broadcast. Every day I hammered a few out of the park. Then I had this idea as the gears were going full steam; an idea that would add more work and keep me busy. I decided to open up an Omega WUSB Mixcloud. I rifled through all of my playlists, re-organized my seasonal finds, edited them through Audacity, made the artwork, and viola! The first few uploads went up. It was a fun project to start on and was curious to see if it would take off. I had nothing to lose.

My Mitsubishi back home was in disrepair at the moment, but Yenny thought I was responsible enough to let me borrow her white Honda to-and-from work. To drive out to Stony Brook to do my radio show? During a heavy blizzard? Nada. Work was a necessity but leisure wasn’t. I had no outs in leaving her apartment for any other reason except for my shifts and food shopping. Valentine’s Day fell on a Saturday but I wasn’t planning on having some sappy, gooey theme for my show. Just a God-honest broadcast of distorted Los Angeles dissonance, indie city sounds, obscure British prog-, noise rock, Japanese tape-recorder acts, blast-off garage and hard-to-find noise that I’ll never forget for as long as I breathe. I pieced it altogether, edited down, converted it, and loaded it into the cloud. Aphrodite, then WUSB program-director, was snowed in at the station and had her show before mine. I dialed the studio and she picked up so I could hear her stuffy mellowed-out voice. I told her I wasn’t going to make it in as my ex- tied my hands up with her car and a blustery snowstorm with 30 miles-an-hour winds. “Sure! Send it in” said Aphrodite. By 10PM, Omega WUSB’s non-Valentine’s Day broadcast went live.

Nights felt forever if I didn’t have work the next day. If I wasn’t posting or editing, I was spending it watching concert footage and the Rangers with Cam Talbot goaltending because Henrik Lundqvist was out with a life-threatening neck injury. If I wasn’t doing either, I’d walk to the supermarket and Chinese restaurant which was only down the street. At times I didn’t want to risk denting Yenny’s Honda, so I walked a half-mile trek from her residence to Shop-Rite where one of my better food-service customers recognized me shopping for produce. We spoke for a good ten minutes when, during that time, his jolly self offered me a position in his department. It was nice of him to do so though he was unaware that I was let go from his competitor, and I had more than enough trouble living a day-to-day life of being a former shell of myself in a post-university world.

It’s the Saturday before Yenny and her ma’ comes home. Look who’s knocking on the door? It’s Dad showing up uninvited. Somehow he remembered the directions from our house in Lindenhurst to Yenny’s apartment. Was he here to fight or argue with me again about trivial matters? No. He hasn’t seen or spoken to me in almost two weeks. He missed me, so he wanted to sweeten the deal and take me to the closest buffet we could find. The one thing with Italians, and especially him, is that they’re very passionate with food. Dad woud pump me with everything he could think of with late-night half-eaten steak, burgers, soggy fries, greasy egg rolls, and sushi platters. “O.K., sure” I said. We sat silently from opposite sides of the table as we both slowly gorged on tuna rolls, greasy beef with vegetables, chow mein, pork tips, three types of chicken, green beans, and stir-fry until we passed out in exhaustion. And I say ‘silently’ because I want absolutely no one speaking to me as I’m eating. Our discounted afternoon meal-time was over and he drove me back to Yenny’s where I would spend my final whole day there.

I’d have one more Sunday afternoon to do the good gesture and fill up the tank on Yenny’s Honda. It wouldn’t be right to use her ride and have her come home to an empty tank like some careless despicable animal. The weather was a chilly greyscale and rainy, head barely above freezing. I gather all of my clothes and haul it to the complex’s basement laundry room to spend two hours staring at the wall’s grey-peeled paint ripped open to reveal sandy cinder blocks. The second and final load was hot to a warm crisp to be thrown into a tattered laundry bag with the rest of them. I hauled it over my shoulder, up the stairs, and another 100 feet back to her residence to get one more cleaning of the cage and one final feeding of her pet weasel.

I hear the engine humming outside. Yenny and her ma’ have arrived each in one piece and happy to be finally home. I run out to greet them and offer to unload their luggage from Yenny’s fiancee’s car. All that’s done. Yenny, her ma’ and I all sit around about their Lima visit until my dad finally arrived to pick me up. We all say good-bye for now with Yenny promising to reward me for keeping everything up as they left it. I take my backpack, my laundry haul, and my laptop and loaded it in my dad’s Chrysler. I knew he would ask me twenty questions about everything that could easily be figured out with little imagination but I was in no mood to explain anything to anyone. I just wanted to enjoy the ride back to Lindenhurst where domestic tension and aggression would resume once again.

Dum Dum Girls “Bhang Bhang, I’m A Burnout”

Pop. 1280 “Do The Angelfish”

Eric Copeland “Grapes”

Courtney Barnett ”Pedestrian At Best”

Diet Cig “Harvard”

Former Ghosts “The Days Will Get Long Again”

James Clarke “Waiting Game”

Sex Worker “Tough Love”

Anthroprophh & Big Naturals “Establishment In Decline”

Nisennenmondai “Souzousuru”

Sleaford Mods “Donkey”

Beech Creeps “Sun Of Sud”

Blossom Dearie “Sunday Afternoon”

Cribs, The “We Were Aborted”

OG Maco & Key! “U Guessed It”

Sleaford Mods “Tied Up In Knotts”

Black Madonna, The “Stay”

Alessandro Cortini “Dell’ Influenza”

Flying Lotus & MF Doom “Masquatch”

XXYYXX “Witching Hour”

Soft Moon, The “Black”

Chromatics “Candy” (eight-track)

Burial “Wounder”

Black EL “’95 White Maxima”

Excepter “Forget Me”

Chromatics “Blue Moon”

Burial “Come Down To Us”

Shonen Knife “Twist Barbie”

Alan Vega “No More Christmas Blues”

Suicide “Hey Lord”

Arca “Sisters”

Consumer Electronics “Murder Your Masters”

Your Old Droog “Porno For Pyros”

Women In Prison “Suicidal Exit”

Ho99or “Da Blue Nigga From Hell Boy”

Soft Moon, The “Want”

Flucts, The “2 Gtr. Practice”

Flying Lotus & MF Doom “My Favorite Ladies / Litemeter”

Shiny Two Shiny “Through The Glass”

Antonio Adolfo “Venice”

Dual Action “NC-17 Drive In”

XXYYXX “Fields”

AIDS Wolf “Nothing But A Tape Recorder”

[yzeltia]

Closer to You

Chapter 16 Characters: Natsu Obinata, Fuyu'li cen Zwhan, Jannie Eyradoux, Urianger Augrulet, Thancred Waters, Patient Heaven, Keith Summers, Carter Summers, Claudien @mintibunny 's Minti Chocolate , Mikoto Jinban, Violet Fisher, Hayzel Summers Rating: T for Teen Notes: Thank you @driftward for the mechanics pass and @mintibunny for blorbo sharing and line edits

“The Echo was the only way I could see them…and I suppose chasing that feeling I found myself as Leto, who had devoted herself to helping mothers of the Ancient world. When she met Castor and Pollux…their mother had been killed by some sort of swan creation and had grown up relying on only one another in a world that was not kind to orphans. She gave up her seat of power to a young protege so that she could raise them. To her, they were her star. I will not say I was possessed. My actions were also my own. This world…this world deserved their light.”

Patient rested against a stone as she rubbed her eyes while Natsu sat on her knees in front of her. She pressed her hand to heart, “I cannot deny that they were not special. They took me, a stranger that sounded mad and made sure I had a home and family. It made me realize how much I took for granted…I’d searched so long to find what it was like to be loved by family, I hadn’t seen that family is what you make of it. A friend you travel the world with, a stranger who opens his home to you,  people you work beside every day, a friend that doesn’t mince her words with you…those people can care about you just as much as and sometimes more than someone with blood or familial ties written on paper. I was so blind to those who cared for me before…but Drowning…”

“I know, I could not be with them but I could sense it all,” Patient agreed, reaching out to take Natsu’s hand, “You would have been a wonderful daughter-in-law…”

“I still can be,” Natsu said with a smile.

“As lovely as all this sentiment is, mayhaps we address the kidnapping, impersonation, and I don’t know, the murder,” Thancred said flippantly, gesturing broadly to the trio of kidnappees.

Carter shrugged his shoulders, holding Hayzel asleep in his arms, the latter having lost their Ascian mask. “Hayzel is safe and no one I care about got hurt. Minti, you ready?” he asked before starting to walk away with the Viera in tow.

Keith balked, hurrying after his brother. “What do you mean no one you care about got hurt!? I was hit by a train! Twice,” he yelled, trying to squabble with his brother while Minti shook their head and sighed. 

“In light of what brought me here, I rather not have to broadcast who I saw,” Violet chimed in, holding herself as she blushed.

“Riol,” Jannie hummed with amusement.

“It wouldn't have been weird for him to visit U’odh,” Violet hissed at her fellow warrior or light. 

“I too, find myself embarrassed by the situation that led to my capture. While it was a distressing ordeal, she did see we were well cared for,” Mikoto added.

“Garlond,” Urianger mused, hiding a smile with a spread of cards as Mikoto shot him a cross look.

“Good, great. That's settled. Still murdered someone though,” Thancred pointed out.

“That, I must face my punishment for,” Patient said, rising to her feet. “There is no excuse for what I have done. Even spurred on by my Ancient persona, I could have very well stayed my hand and not let her take control.”

Patient looked at her hand, shaking a bit before looking up at Thancred to respond. “If you must strike me down, you may do so.”

“I will not be the arbiter of your fate. We'll turn you over to Gage and his cohorts for them to decide,” Thancred said before rubbing the back of his head.

“Leon…he's the one who got through to me and woke me up,” Natsu said softly, putting her hand over her heart, the memory feeling like it was a lifetime ago. “For…For Y'zel's sake…Where is my brother? Didn't he assist you?”

Patient shook her head. “Not beyond his writings. I haven't had the occasion to meet him. He eluded me when I sought him out.”

“As with us all,” Thancred.

Natsu looked around concerned then closed her eyes, trying to capture a memory, “Leonnioux woke me up specifically for Y’zel. And then…And then Hypnos, rather Hayzel, said that he did so because of the way Y’zel would react! They said Mikoto had foreseen it.”

Mikoto stepped forward. “This is sounding familiar now, though it sounds like they knew more than I about what I’d seen. A Miqo’te standing in a field of blue.”

Claudien dropped his bow, eyes wide as he turned to Patient. “Do you not have the Heart of Sabik?”

[parfumieren]

Lonestar Memories (Tauer Perfumes)

Recently (and for the fourth or fifth time, I admit) I watched Catherine Breillat's breathtaking film Une Vieille Maîtresse (An Aging Mistress, misleadingly translated as The Last Mistress for American audiences who find finality more palatable than age). Based on Barbey d'Aurevilly's scandalous 1851 romance, Une Vieille Maîtresse concerns a ten-year liaison between a young Parisian rake and a Spanish divorcee some years his senior. If you suspect that this is Chéri all over again, think twice. The love (if you can call it that) between Ryno de Marigny and La Vellini is, as she herself puts it, une liaison singulaire.

Described by one lover as "a capricious flamenca who can outstare the sun", Vellini is neither young, beautiful, nor especially personable-- but she certainly is singular. When Ryno is first introduced to her at a masquerade party, she is dressed in a frivolous costume at odds with her sober expression. When asked, "Are you dressed as a she-devil?" the artless Vellini doesn't miss a beat. "No," she replies. "THE Devil."

The cinematic convention of the meet cute -- in which future lovers start out on the wrong foot with one another but slowly fall into step -- has no place in Une Vieille Maîtresse. Ryno dismisses Vellini as an "ugly mutt", then falls hopelessly in love with her. She instigates a duel between her husband and Ryno, then realizes that her spouse is superfluous, since she and Ryno can easily carry out their feud without a middleman. For ten years, the pair remain steadfastly by each other's sides and at each other's throats. Not even Ryno's betrothal to a fresh young heiress can put them asunder. Betrayal just adds an extra soupçon of pathos to their frequent, erotic "final" goodbyes. Theirs is an eternal combat without a clear winner, and no truce in sight.

Vellini may pretend to roll with the changes, but her easy arrogance conceals a deep, melancholy, and self-sacrificial fatalism. True, she despises Ryno before, during, and after their affair (with good reason, as he appears to confuse making love with making her miserable). But as he is her fate, she refuses to abandon him. He can come and go as he pleases; she'll always be his-- for worse if not for better.

The bond between Ryno and La Vellini is a strange one, based more on mutual anguish than delight. Yet every so often, Ryno manages to bring a smile to the edges of Vellini's mouth, transforming her eyes into supernovas of celestial light and her storm clouds into very heaven. In these moments, there is no doubt in my mind which perfume La Vellini personifies.

How do I know? Perhaps it's that succession of gigantic rose peonies with which Vellini adorns her jet-black hair-- neon pinks and reds radiating the intensity of a desert sunset. Or the combination of vulnerability and bravado that broadcasts itself through the eccentricity of her dress (Vellini switches from jaunty men's breeches to Levantine harem-wear to black lace mantillas faster than her mood can swing, which is pretty bloody fast). She smokes cigars, plays cards, and rides horses like a man… but she breaks, as the song goes, just like a little girl.

That's why I believe that Andy Tauer's Lonestar Memories is right on Vellini's wavelength. Take L'Air du Désert Marocain and whittle it down to its base of labdanum, jasmine, cedar, and vetiver. (Works best if you're chewing on a stalk of sweetgrass.) Swap out its coriander and cumin for sagebrush and carrotseed; then substitute geranium and birch tar for its petitgrain and ambergris. Bookend it on one side with smoky phenols, and on the other with a dusky carnation of deepest cerise. Now beam the whole thing right smack into the middle of the pampas, where it will lounge by the campfire with a flower between its teeth beneath the starry night sky. Cue Pete Seeger yodeling "Way Out There"-- and you realize that never did a human voice sound so plaintive, so lonesome, echoing in all that endless space.

Petulant, tender, melancholy, fearless, the Señora and this scent both get me right in the throat. And they can make bold with my heart all they want to: I'll stay faithful to the bitter end.

Scent Elements: Geranium, carrotseed, clary sage, birch tar, labdanum, jasmine, cedarwood, myrrh, tonka bean, vetiver, sandalwood