#who knows how Seto is gonna get his revenge

[dietmimo]

“I got the Kaiba Bait! LETS GO!”

“ Yugi, what’s going on?”

“Don’t know but I was promised burgers.”

[chaoscheebs]

You know what?  I rambled in the tags of this reblog and I’m a-gonna blather on about something that struck me when typing it.

So we know.  WE KNOW.  Seto Kaiba is a huge bundle of trauma and issues, and we all love the idea of sweet lil’ Yugi reaching out and helping him through it (with a big side of please get therapy Kaiba).  Well.  What about the other way around?

I mean, let’s look at Yugi.  Maybe he had a much, much better family situation, let’s be fuckin’ real.  But, as someone who was bullied (tho’ thankfully not the the degree this kid was), I know how much that will fuck you up in the head.  This kid was getting his ass beat by his peers on (at least) a weekly basis (and sometimes by grown-ass adults!), you better believe he has a tangled mess of issues and bottled anger compressed enough to take out a small city.

Dude has absolutely had to keep anything he thought would be subject of mockery to himself (it’s never enough, tho’) and make himself metaphorically smaller to avoid more bullying (it never works).  How much do you think his actual friends, the people he has literally trusted with his life at this point, know about him as a person, beside “smol, sweet, ride or die”?  For heaven’s sake, Anzu, the one who’s known him the longest, didn’t know if his grandpa was alive or dead in chapter-fucking-ONE of the manga!  His fucking grandpa, who runs the game store in the building where he fucking lives.

So.  Consider.  Seto actually starts to get his shit together somewhat!  Maybe he actually gets persuaded to go to fucking therapy by Mokuba’s insistence after *gestures to everything in canon*.  And maybe he actually... starts reaching out back to Yugi’s offers of friendship.  But Seto’s a sharp man.  He has had the training from hell to learn how to pick out people’s weaknesses, and he starts zeroing in on how Yugi is low-key constantly on the defensive; always offering to help or take care of or listen to others but never saying jack shit about himself or his feelings.

And, welp, he starts realizing it’s his turn to drag Yugi out of his own 500 emotional barriers kicking and screaming instead and Seto kind of hates it!  But he’s gonna.  Because he justifies it as revenge for 5,000,000 “power of friendship/heart of the cards” bullshit speeches.  YOU ARE GETTING BEFRIENDED SO FUCKING HARD IN REVENGE, YUGI; EXPECT HIM.

[steve0discusses]

S5 Ep12: Brand New Mokuba Just Dropped

My tumblr has decided that it can’t save drafts again. Which sure is a problem I keep having but no one else seems to have...but were back. Back and ready to talk about cards.

First off, lets address the best thing about this episode, it’s the return of The A Team animation team! Dunno if it’s the same ones that did the seasons before, but it is a pretty good team this episode, so there’s lots of that to look forward to. Everyone is now 2 feet taller (Kaiba is 4 feet taller) and there’s just some really nice shots going on. It’s not as shiny as other seasons, which makes me think it might be a different team or a different studio using a different method (you don’t really see them playing with line weights anymore which makes it seem like a different method to me) but still--it’s a nicer looking episode today.

So we start off this episode with Seto begging us all to forget the hell that just happened and just get on with it. Of course, no one’s gonna do that, because yo, what just happened was kind of weird.

And because there’s only like...I dunno...maybe 2 episodes left in this arc? (kind of a quick arc, honestly) Leon decides to do a complete personality reversal. Although, it’s really hard to do a reversal when you didn’t have a personality in the first place...so I guess this more Leon showing us A personality--and I’ll take it.

He’s a little jackass now, but it’s youknow...still Leon so it’s not really that bad. Like we deal with Seto on the reg, so I feel like Leon as a jackass is just like...well that’s just how you play cards in this universe.

Everyone speculates whether or not Seto actually did a crime, and a SURPRISING number of them said he did not! Weird! But hey...I’ve gone over a billion times before, their memory is like when you throw popcorn into the ocean--it just fffzt’s and then it’s gone.

Roland was THIS close to actually saving Kaiba corp a huge hassle for once. This Close, Roland. You almost did it.

(read more under the cut)

I love that Roland has decided to give all these teens maybe the uncoolest nicknames in the entire world, and the teens have not made any indication whether they do or do not appreciate their alliteration nicknames.

But despite the fact that although Roland uses these opportunities behind the microphone to embarrass them just SO MUCH, the Kaibas still persist in having him introduce most of the matches. It makes it feel like the Kaibas freakin love this. They love his Dad jokes. I cannot tell if they are like “yes, please embarrass my friends.” of it they’re like “yes. Roland that was so cool. Yeah Leaping Leon. Good one! You’re so cool!” Because they don’t know what fun is.

Also, look what I see in the sky.

Truly a sign that they have overcome their trauma of seasons 2-3.

Or maybe they had a lot of blimps laying around and this is a completely unrelated blimp? Either way, I’m glad they can still handle the sight of a blimp.

And then, just out of nowhere, Mokuba hit puberty.

Which I mean, it was inevitable. It was going to happen some day. Luckily, we will be getting a new Mokuba this episode to make up for the fact that this one has done A Flirt and it was probably a completely innocent turn of phrase he has no idea is a double entendre but do the writers know that?

And while we ruminate the decisions there, lets bask in the glory of purple staircase.

This is such a purple staircase!

On another, identical staircase walks Leon, who gets to have a discussion with Zigfried, who probably just stood next to the wall and just chameleon’ed in here without getting caught cuz coincidentally this staircase dresses like him.

Freakin Mai?

Anyway, lets start this duel where like...I dunno, it’s a little late to start stealing souls, but maybe Leon will do a stab? (He will not)

So glad the storyboarder is back to kind of flex. I don’t normally see Roland drawn with this much attention. Look at him go. That’s the stance a grown man takes when he’s ready to embarrass a bunch of teens.

Kaiba writes a speech introducing himself, or Roland just kinda made up a speech as if Kaiba hadn’t asked him to do that. Either way it’s kind of a big way to talk yourself up--but he is trying to talk up the theme park so people will actually like...go. So it makes sense.

Also what is this nonsense where people worldwide are watching a theme park opening match? Card culture is so weird because we’ve noticed in other seasons there are people that don’t play cards, and I feel like they’re not watching this for fun. It’s like when I watch news unfold--they’re watching to see if they have to raid the toilet paper aisle and the canned goods again to prepare for yet another onslaught of card nonsense.

Legit Mokuba was like “Look at my bro. Look at how he gave up dueling to throw this nice tourney for everyone!” and it’s like...Mokuba...he just dueled...Mokuba...he’s putting all the profits directly in your pockets this is hardly a martyr up here.

Seto Kaiba decided to inform the world that he would have won if he was actually playing and that was sure a statement he made after losing to Yugi like...3 times now? Several times.

Everyone else converses how Leon’s acting weird. I don’t know why they care all of a sudden, because no one acts normal playing this game, but the plot desires them to care.

Which is when we find out...

...the new Mokuba...

That’s right. He was a Mokuba the whole time. For once we haven’t abducted Mokuba, instead...we have too many Mokubas.

This Mokuba even has hella long hair, too. I imagine if Mokuba proper had a ponytail it would probably look just like this but black. It would have been just--so good if he whipped off that ribbon and shook out his hair and it fluffed into a horrible Mokuba mess, but you know, that’s one of the many reasons why I don’t write for this series. That and I was like in high School when this came out.

(Please admire Kaiba’s head of Security who looks like he’s about to drop a poop out of terror. It’s a really small detail, but I appreciate that the storyboarder had him kind of antsy in the background)

Seto insists that the only one to beat Yugi Muto will be himself and it’s like...I know. That’s why I keep expecting someone to get stabbed by this tiny purple haired Mokuba. But instead, Leon’s too busy feeling mad that he’s not necessarily playing the game for fun.

But he’s still playing the game though? so I feel like Yami doesn’t have many stones to throw here. Leon hasn’t even cheated yet. (As if Yami isn’t cheating basically all the time by being 2 people in one body)

I can’t BELIEVE this show would throw that at me after the number of times I have seen Yami Muto nearly murder other people (and sometimes literally do a murder) out of revenge. Yami is basically a revenge god...like...show...what? It’s season 5, I thought we’ve basically cemented this in. Occasionally the show will just be all “card games are supposed to be fun though!!!” and it’s like...these are the last children on Earth who are playing card games for fun.

If anything, it should be Leon lecturing them on how to have fun. They just murdered a Great Leviathan with cards. Before that they were dealing with Noah, with Marik, with Pegasus, with Bakura. The times that Yugi has just played a game for fun has been...This Arc.

So maybe Yami is just begging himself to have fun for once. Maybe he’s just mad that he can’t play a single tournament without someone getting possessed? Maybe his frustrations really aren’t about little Leaping Leon, and more to do with Yami sick and tired of being a protagonist.

But, youknow, it’s not an anime, unless the protagonist hypocritically can get away with every sin out there and everyone else gets punished for it. So lets find out just how far Leon fell from fun-having grace with a flashback.

This Belle cosplayer went off in like...one of the most hilariously bad accents I’ve heard in a while, it was just so much, I’ll probably cap it because lolol.

But since Leon wasn’t actually in line to inherit the company, he has to sort of hole up in his room for his entire childhood. It’s kinda weird, since we can’t assume that Zigfried will either a.) live forever or b.) have or adopt or raise children in any capacity. But they’re pretty sure Zigfried will live forever, and in this universe--maybe.

Also, I’m really not sure why they have to dress like it’s 1890, but they sure are. The Victorian era just never left the Von Schroeder house. Like these women are wearing corsets to be in that dress, and you can’t BUY a corset to match this type of dress, you have to make your own, and I know, because in Quarantine, I got really into historical sewing videos.

I can’t believe I spent an entire year watching historical sewing videos. Holy crap. I don’t even sew.

But then again...Seto is kind of drawn like he wears a corset...so maybe people are still wearing them in the Yugioh universe? Maybe that’s how their fashion just works?

Guys...I analyze Yugioh fashion a lot but the fact that the Edwardians never freakin left this worldly plane is just...that’s canon to Yugioh. I really just want to sit back and analyze Yugioh fashion with a moodboard and try to connect all the dots logically as if they aren’t just one-off jokes, but I don’t know how I’d fit that on this post.

And like, one of y’all brought up in a comment in the last post that what’s neat about this arc is we are seeing Zigfried as what Seto would have been like if he hadn’t like...gotten cursed by Yugi Muto. So, going off that idea, I think it’s kinda fun that Zigfried’s outfit is a bit of a younger take on Pegasus’ whole look with the wrist lace and a fusion of Gozaburos look of wearing a cravat with a smoking coat. It’s fun to imagine that this is what Seto’s inner gremlin dresses like (which...now I think about it...was a thing from S1 where Yami defeated a Seto gremlin but...I don't remember much about it) Of course, Seto would also be hella dead if he hadn’t gone through the Yugi cycle, but it’s still a fun road to think about.

Plus, when we go down that road, it really makes this arc look even more like it’s just about Seto Kaiba’s therapy sesh to recover from the last several seasons that he’s accidentally (or intentionally??) invited the entire world to watch and that’s very funny to me.

Bro has informed me you can make a deck out of Jerry but could not show me any receipts.

...I mean that is Dartz right?

Like I know all the characters have cards of themselves IRL and all the characters are also based on cards that were made before they were on TV (with the exception of our main cast that was...youknow, a horror manga) but like...

...what’s up, Dartz?

Anyway, our little Mokuba decides to sneak out the house and run around the world at the ripe ol age of ... what I’m guessing is like 10-12, and is pretty sure he can just get away with that. Luckily, the crimes he’s committing are exactly the type of crimes that Zigfried needs.

(Pretty sure their Dad died or is incapacitated but OK, dub, go ahead and pretend that plot point didn’t go down last episode.)

Also, I’m really glad we got a good storyboarder for this part who was like “Zigfried looks...like that?” and still managed to make this character design really work this episode. In some parts they even gave Zigfried those wide Marik Eyes that are kind of ubiquitous with Yugioh. It just needs the right hands to draw it, and then any amount of...this outfit...can work.

So, just like when we met Mokuba in S1, he’s gonna do a duel on Yugi to save his family and probably also like Mokuba, not give a damn for how this game is supposed to be played. Luckily, this time Pharaoh doesn’t have any star chips lying around for this kid to just run around and steal before booking it out the back gate.

Yugi over there with his twitter-brand hot-takes, not knowing the difference between actual brainwashing and blackmail/family pressure.

(WHY IS MAI HERE?)

Look at that hatching!

Ah this is the 00′s content I’m here for! Check out the soft brush! The dodge and burn! Ah! Man this sure was an era of computer art! and stuff like this cost a lot of money to make and it looked ... like this!

Now I’m pretty sure we can make art that looks this dated on like...a free phone app.

PS please do not ever shade your art like this. This is what you don’t do. Do not do this. I will shed a single tear shaped like the Photoshop symbols for dodge and burn.

Also...guys...

next episode is Ep 13. Every season so far this show has been like “we’re normal, everything is normal” getting us complacent until exactly Ep 13, when everything gets really effed up. So...

will that happen? Will they continue this tradition into S5 or has it been a coincidence until now? Excited to find out.

Anyway, if you just got here, this is the link to read these from the beginning in chrono order:

https://steve0discusses.tumblr.com/tagged/yugioh/chrono

[bokutosbiceps]

Hi. I'm so glad you're open!😃 I like your posts. I would like to ask the reaction of the guys Kirisaki Daichi that class preshlos new guy and got his eye on their s/o. I'd be very glad if you'd take it up.😊

of course my dear ))

Furuhashi is already pretty self-conscious, so when this new guy starts to hit on you and give you more attention, he gets incredibly insecure and might even start to give you the cold shoulder. He would start to say things like “why don’t you go hang out with your new boyfriend?” or “where’s your other half?” whenever he starts to get fed up without your interactions. He wouldn’t really try to get revenge on the guy, he’d be more focused on guilt tripping you + trying to get some words of affirmation. Depends on if you wanna reassure him or if you wanna give him a little bit more pain, since he is most definitely masochist.

Hanamiya is extremely possessive. You are his and that’s the end of that. So when this dude starts giving you more attention + giving you gifts + complimenting you, Hanamiya was already planning his death. Hanamiya would start by threatening this guy, telling him that if he ever sees him around you again, he’ll beat him so bad he’ll have to drop out of school for the year. If this new classmate has some balls and he doesn’t heed Hanamiya’s warning, Hanamiya will make good on his promise and lure him to the basketball gym and let himself + his team have some fun with this guy. All of this is unbeknownst to you, because you didn’t really think anything of the extra attention--leaving Hanamiya for another guy wasn’t even something that would ever cross your mind, and that’s just the way Hanamiya intends for it to be.

Hara has absolutely no worries. He doesn’t care about other people trying to get his girl because he knows you can handle it for yourself. However, sometimes you can be a bit oblivious to extra attention, and that’s when he has to take matters into his own hands. He’d start out by asking you if you’d noticed this new guy, and if you hadn’t he’d start to plot with you how you guys could mess with him + get him to back off. He’d come up with a plan to lead the guy on, so you’d tell the new guy to come meet you behind the gym after school, and the new guy was so excited to think that he was finally gonna be able to get some. Much to his horror, and Hara’s chagrin, Hara was right there waiting for the guy, with either Hanamiya or Seto (probably Seto, Seto loves to mess with people who deserve it), and the two of them rip him a new one. They beat him up so bad that he transferred to a different school in a different prefecture. 

Seto also isn’t very worried about people trying to hit on his girl. Your relationship with him is very secure and the two of you understand each other well--you know Seto is quite possessive + extremely protective, so you don’t have many guy friends. The guy friends that you do have, though, are good friends with Seto so there aren’t any issues. But when Seto saw this guy basically forcing himself onto you, Seto took action immediately. He stalked over to where you were trying to use your locker door to shield yourself from this guys’ lustful gaze, pushed you behind him with one arm, and with the other arm he slammed the guy up against the lockers, holding him by his collar. “I swear to God if I ever see you in y/n’s vicinity again, I will kill you.” It was very intense and the offender was sent sprawling against the floor after Seto was finished with his promise.

Yamazaki does not trust people easily. It’s very hard for him to get close to people, even though he’s friendly. He just chooses the people that he associates with carefully. So the fact that he’s in a relationship with you speaks volumes about the amount of trust he has in you. He doesn’t ever think that you’d leave him for someone else or cheat on him, so when you tell him about the new guy who’s been bothering you, he offers you his sympathy but nothing else. Yamazaki is one of the nicest guys in Kirisaki Daiichi, but Hanamiya has a lot of regard for Yamazaki, as does the rest of the team, for his quick wit and potential to be a mastermind. And the fact that he doesn’t back down from a fight and doesn’t chicken out of anything. He mentions one day at practice that he’s annoyed at this new guy for bothering you and trying to get with you, and the team thinks it’s inexcusable that he’s not doing anything about it. So they take it into their own hands, and before Yamazaki can consider actually acting on it, the problem is taken care of for him.

[jujuoh]

I never actually posted the little story behind the demon/priest flareshipping thing did I? I was just gonna type out something short and quick but the details got away from me. tl;dr seto becomes a priest to look for mokuba, summons atem for help and accidentally summons yugi too. the nun garbs are easier to hide the horns, tails, and wings under while they help him.

It’s like, not quite modern day, just far enough ago that travelling from Japan to Europe would generally be done by boat and land bc there were no planes. 

circa 1875 CE, Japan, Meiji Restoration

Seto and Mokuba still get sent to an orphanage, and Mokuba gets adopted by a visiting Englishman without Seto, who tells him to go with and that he promises to find him, because it would be a better life than staying in the orphanage. 

Seto almost ages out of the system when some travelling missionaries happen to come through town, but secretly they’re actually demon hunters/exorcists on a mission (though of course every country has their own ways of dealing with demons, sometimes if the demons are foreign, they need foreign magic to help stop them. In this instance, a coastal city in Japan was having issues with Scottish kelpies of all things. Wherever they went, they teamed up with the local demon hunters as well). The group stopped by the orphanage both to keep up appearances but also scout for talent, and catch wind of a really smart, stubborn kid named Seto who sounds like a perfect apprentice. 

Seto agrees to go with them because they can promise to take him to Europe where he can search for his little brother. He finds out later about the demon hunter thing but doesn’t believe them, until he watches them do their job - unless a demon wants to be seen, it can’t be, unless you force-reveal or see it with magic of some sort. The power (both magical and influential), the control, and the ability to help people (though he won’t admit it) attracts him and he eagerly begins learning. Though he tends to feel like if the person is a douchebag they deserve their demon problem (his guardians try to teach it out of him to varying degrees of success)

It takes ages to get to Europe, and they do missions (from angels, messages from the vatican, towns they pass where there are problems they can solve, a few memorable times from other demons), and teach him along the way - surprisingly about many different religions, not just catholicism, as well as many different languages which he picks up quickly. The lessons about different demons and magic and curses were the most interesting: different places in the world have different supernatural beings, matching up with the different religious stories and mythology, and so of course they needed different magicks and tactics to defeat, release, or otherwise overcome. They attempted regular schooling too but Seto was already at or above their levels, so instead they taught him everything they knew. They taught him how to sew and weave, how to shoe a horse, fix a boat, cook, clean, among various other things.

circa 1880 CE, Europe, second industrial revolution

Thus, the whole trip takes quite a while. Seto is twenty by the time they actually make it to Europe, and while the time taken frustrates him, he knows it was safer and cheaper to do it this way, rather than try to get the money by himself and travel alone. That, and all the magic he would’ve never known.

Once he’s there, he travels along with them for a bit, trying to find leads to the family that has his little brother, but once they need to be sent out to different countries and continents again, he begins to travel alone. Sometimes he spends up to nearly a few months in one place, taking care of a big problem.

On his own, Seto learns that demons themselves are much more complex than he was originally taught - in terms of individuality, motivations, social hierarchy, and ven morality. He meets demons better than most people, and people worse than most demons. Some spirits are just mischievous, and people lie about how much damage they’ve done. He ends up capturing demons sometimes in order to study or interview them before banishing them or letting them go. He rarely actually destroys any unless they’re particularly bad. He also gets closer to some of the angelic messengers, and decides all angels are mildly to viciously annoying, especially the one named Joseph and his friend Tristan. 

Eventually he gets frustrated with his total lack of progress and commits a taboo - he summons a demon himself. The book of spells he borrows from a local boy - Japanese like himself but raised here in England. He has white hair and claims to be a psychic, the ghost of his little sister following him around the occultish store, stocked by things his father brings back from travels that can’t go into the museum. Seto knows better by now than to doubt him.

He accidentally summons two. He refuses to place the blame on himself for not calculating things perfectly, and calls it a fluke of magic.

circa 1300 BCE, Egypt, middle New Kingdom

Atem had been a prince in Egypt, destined to be a greater pharaoh (and a greater man) than his father, but his traitorous uncle killed him on the eve of his coronation, just after the mourning period for his father was over. The magic interacted with his own, and with the artifact he wore, and with whatever divine influence the gods deemed to throw his way, and instead of going through the trails of the afterlife to enter the duat and be reborn again, he became a being of shadows and magic itself. Little did the uncle know that he would fall and be torn down by another boy wanting revenge just the next day.

It took Atem a long time to come to terms with what happened, and even longer to learn how to use and control his powers. By the time he could return to his home, too much time had gone by. Everywhere he went people spoke as the sea people spoke, foreign rulers by the name of Ptolemy sat on the throne, temples and statues were decimated or else reclaimed by these others in place of their original deities. Everyone and everything he’d known and loved were long gone. Upset, he travelled the worlds above and below. As is his nature, when he found something unjust, he did his best to set things right. As is his new nature, he judged by luring the accused into games to test their hearts.

He stays mostly solitary for nearly 3000 years - not entirely by his own choice, but by circumstance. He’s old and powerful and appeared out of nowhere, and other beings of all kinds are wary of him. Until he comes upon a sweet, hurting boy named Yugi who asks to be his friend.

circa 1820 CE, Japan, near the end of the Edo period

Yugi is very smart, and very small, and very nice. His niceness often gets taken advantage of, and his size makes it easy to pick on him. If he fought back, maybe they’d leave him alone, but he hates hurting anyone. His grandfather, a merchant, always tries to convince Yugi to stand up for himself. Yugi doesn’t listen. He gets sadder and more reclusive by the year, until he barely looks anyone in the eyes anymore, even his own mother as she helps bandage him up from the latest “game” that horrible group of older kids “played” with him.

In an effort to cheer up his grandson, Sugoroku gives him a golden puzzle from a far away land. He’d been hoping to make big money off it, but they were well-enough off as is, and his grandson’s happiness mattered more than some extra coins in his pocket. He’d known the puzzle was difficult, but it takes even Yugi years to complete it. Years of suffering, and growing, and learning. His grandfather worries. Yugi is of course interested in taking over Sugoroku’s business, and already assists him greatly, but without being able to stand up for himself the boy will have trouble in the world. He worries as well about revealing the truth to Yugi - the truth that Sugoroku is himself a demon, and so his son, and so is Yugi, though to a much lesser extent since Yugi’s mother is human.

When Yugi completes the puzzle, it immediately summons a disoriented and shocked Atem to his side. Cue screaming and yelling from both of them, a rather hilarious scene of Yugi chucking the puzzle at Atem’s head reflexively before hiding behind an upturned table. Atem, freaked out by what just happened, also takes cover behind a screen. He’d never been summoned like THAT before, it felt completely different to a summoning circle or a prayer or anything else, and certainly never by someone who immediately started screaming at him. 

Tentatively, after the dust settles, Yugi peeks out from behind the table. Atem hears him shifting and peaks out as well. More silence. Yugi tries to come to terms that he’s summoned what appears to be a demon. Atem tries to come to terms with how cute the screaming young man is. Yugi clears his throat and offers a shaky greeting. Atem falls in love.

Eventually they end up in the middle of the cleaned up room, sitting on the floor, having a somewhat stilted conversation. Atem fiddles with the puzzle - what was once his magical artifact - sitting on his lap. There had been no contract, no promise, no injustice to either force or encourage Atem to stay, but he couldn’t find it in himself to leave. By the time it was dark outside, the two of them were laughing together, munching on the snacks Yugi had made while preparing dinner for his grandfather and mother, who were on their way back home from a day trip to the big markets. The knife Yugi’s using to chop the vegetables slips and slices open the base of his thumb, and while it’s not deep the pain surprises him. Atem automatically reaches out to gasp the injured appendage. This is the first time they’ve touched.

The sheer power released by Atem touching Yugi’s hand awakened Yugi’s latent demonic side, and it takes Atem a while to calm him down. The new little horns, and long ears, and wings, and tail... it was a lot to take in. Sugoroku and Ayame come home to find a delicious dinner and two demons waiting for them. It doesn’t bother them nearly as much as Yugi thought, and he finally learns the truth from his sheepish grandfather. Ayame is annoyed he’d stopped from from trying to tell him sooner, because now look what happened, you silly old man.

Atem, regardless of his feelings, didn’t want to tie the young demon down to such an old and feared one like himself, and intended to leave as soon as he knew Yugi was in good hands. But, he can’t just let Sugoroku teach him - even for a demon, he was quite old in body while Atem remained young (another thing people found terrifying, for just how much power did Atem have to appear naturally young after 3000 years?), so he stayed and helped train Yugi. Yugi did everything he could to impress Atem, not even realising his own feelings for a good while; once he did, he redoubled his efforts and became even more mischievous and flirty. Eventually, Atem couldn’t take it any longer and confessed, and they were bonded.

Seto was only trying to summon an ancient demon by the name of Atem, a solver of puzzles and bringer of justice, both to help him look for Mokuba using demonic magic and to possibly learn from him. Seto also gets Atem’s equally tiny boyfriend, Yugi, who is not even nearly ancient but quite older than Seto, a fact that irks him greatly as they’re both shorter than he was at age 12.

But, they’re both so, so clever. And so, so... hard to resist. He wants to hate it, wants to believe they’re magically influencing him somehow, but he’s too confident in his abilities to believe it.

Seto enters a joint contract with them (though Yugi was willing to help even without one, but it has it’s benefits). Together, they hunt down particularly nasty pests and find major leads to Mokuba. And fall in love, of course. 

[x0401x]

Mekakucity Talkers: Chapter 24

As Mary sent a message to Mekakushi-dan’s chatroom, the one who showed up was Kano of 20 years in the future!?

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Mekakushi-dan Chatroom

Mary: Oitsusu.

(T/N: This was her failing to imitate Seto’s “oissu”.)

Mary: Is there anyone around? After practicing typing in my phone, I’ve become able to do it properly.

(T/N: She’s writing everything in hiragana.)

Mary: Also, just a while ago, I got a weird message. When I opened it, a lot of weird letters appeared on the screen, so I wonder if it’s a dangerous mail. Have you guys received it too? Huh? Everyone, what’s wrong? Are you not here?

???: This icon... could it be Mary?

Mary: Wh-Who are you?

???: My~, how nostalgic. It’s been a long time since this chatroom had any messages.

Mary: Who are you? Is this... Mekakushi-dan?

???: Yeah, right guess, right guess! This is Mekakushi-dan’s chatroom. I deleted my icon so you might not be able to recognize me, but this is Kano~!

Mary: Kano, you startled me.

???: No, no, I’m the one who’s surprised. To think what Mary had said back at that time would come true...

Mary: What do you mean?

???: That’s right~. I don’t know if you’ll believe me if I say it, but the world I’m in is of 20 years ahead.

Mary: 20 years... ahead?

???: Do you get it? Right now, I’m in the future where 20 years have passed from the world you are in, Mary. 

Mary: Eh? Azm... Amazing. Kano, you’re amazing. You time-slipped?

???: Ah, wrong, wrong. It’s the opposite, Mary.

Mary: “Opposite”?

???: I mean it’s not me; the one who time-slipped was you, Mary. You’re connected to a world 20 years later through this chatroom.

Mary: Wawawah. I’m amazing. I’m like the protagonist of some book.

???: Oh? So you believe in me?

Mary: I do. It’s amazing.

???: Mary, you’re so upfront, huh... You have a flexibility that we didn’t after we became adults.

Mary: What is everyone doing 20 years later?

???: Oh? You gonna ask about that~? My, being asked and talking about these past 20 years make me tear up! I’ve been leading a life of generosity~

Mary: What is Kido up to?

???: Huh~? Are you okay with not listening to my story~?

Mary: What about Kido?

???: Okay, okay, Kido it is. To tell the truth, that instantaneous strength and highly aggressive kicking technique are things to expect in her, y’see. Guess what; she’s working internationally as a kick boxer...!

Mary: A kick boxer... So she fights?

???: That’s right! As of now, she has a body stronger than anyone else’s... I can’t stand up to her at all. One of these days, too, I nearly had my neck broken.

Mary: What about Momo-chan?

???: No, wait, listen to my story a bit.

Mary: Talk about Momo-chan.

???: Okay, okay. Kisaragi-chan, it is~. She said she wanted to create a new type of food with that unique sense of hers. Actually, she quit being an idol and are now a food researcher...! I wonder whether she is or not producing numerous disgusting dishes day and night...

Mary: Mo... Mo-Mo-Mo... Momo-chan’s food... I don’t wanna ea... I don’t wanna ea...

???: Well, I get what you mean to say. Once people eat her cooking, they can’t forget its taste, right?

Mary: A-Anyone else?

???: Let’s see... The one who shocked me the most was Shintarou-kun, I think.

Mary: Shintarou...

???: About that, one day, he suddenly shaved his head, secluded himself in the mountains, started training and became a monk.

Mary: A monk... Shintarou’s hair is gone?

???: Hm, that’s right... But hair is kind of an extremely delicate topic for me, so I guess I’d rather if you leave it as that...

Mary: Got it.

???: Well, we’re all doing our best. Ene-chan is active as a virtual idol in that form of hers. Hibiya-kun’s character bloomed so he attends lives everyday as an idol otaku.

Mary: Kano, what about you?

???: Eh?

Mary: Kano, what do you do?

???: Ah~, to be honest... I don’t really wanna say it...

Mary: ?

???: I sorta failed at work, and now I’m living in a cardboard box at the park...

Mary: Eh? Uh... D-Do your best. Hum... Uh...

???: Believing in a story like that... Mary, you really are naïve after all.

Mary: Eh? Ah.

???: It was a joke, it was a joke! I’d just wanted to tease you a little~

Mary: Was this a lie?

???: Yup! A lie! About everyone’s occupations too; a~ll of them!

Mary: Kano, you idiot. I won’t forgive you. Revenge.

???: Don’t talk of dangerous things like revenge! That was just a bit of communication! Besides, what I said about this being 20 years later is true, y’know? Even now that 20 years have passed, we’re all doing our best.

Mary: Geez. I see. Is that so? Hum. Kano, even after 20 years, is everyone still...

???: Mary, do you really wanna ask that?

Mary: Eh?

???: About what everyone is up to right now. About what we’ve been doing 20 years after that.

Mary: Ah... Uh...

???: I can tell you, Mary, about what’s gonna happen to you from this point on. But do you really think you wanna... know?

Mary: Hn... Erm... As expected, I’ll leave it be. I won’t ask.

???: Is that so? I would tell you the truth this time, y’know?

Mary: It’s fine. I mean, I’ll know it someday. I’ll confirm it by myself.

???: Mary, since it’s you, I did think you’d say that. I’m relieved.

Mary: wawawawah

???: Eh? What’s wrong?

Mary: My phone is acting weird. It’s rattling.

???: Speaking of that, Mary, your phone broke 20 years ago. You’d better buy a new one. Give my regards to the me of that side, ‘kay?

Mary: Ah, hot. The phone is hot.

???: Aah, just let go of it already!

Mary: Kano. See you.

???: Yup. See you, Mary.

Mary-san has logged out.

???: Huhu. It’s been 20 years after that, huh?

??? (2): Even 20 years ago, Mary was Mary.

???: Huh? What~? If you were seeing this, you could have talked to her~

??? (2): I pass.

???: You’re referring to yourself as “ore” again~. In the Mekakushi-dan chatroom, you properly act like the leader, huh~?

???: Shut up. I could go kick you right now.

???: No, seriously, please cut me some slack.

??? (3): As a matter of fact, Danchou-san’s kicking technique is splendid. Maybe you could aim for the world, y’know? I have confidence in my cooking as well!

??? (4): Oh~? If everyone wishes for it, I also wouldn’t mind transforming myself into a super hyper pretty virtual idol, y’know!?

???: My, my~? Somehow, none of you had deleted this chat app. If Shintarou-kun were alive, he’d surely have been happy about that...

??? (5): Hey! I ain’t dead! Don’t just kill me off!

???: You’re poking your nose in briskly today too, huh~

??? (3): But I’m surprised~. What Mary-chan said 20 years ago really wound up being true in the end~.

??? (5): Back when I heard she had time-slipped, I was baffled.

???: Ah! That’s right! Since we’re already at it, why don’t we all assemble next time? We could go out for drinks for once in a long while.

??? (4): Aah, seems good!

??? (3): Well, then...

......... ......... .........

[musicprincess655]

“Nightwing, respond.”

“Nice to hear from you,” Ryou said, pressing his fingers to the comm. in his ear to respond to his mother. “I have some updates on the situation in Gotham, and there’s a few things for the company that you should really take a look at, and…”

“Ryou.”

That shut Ryou up fast. His mother never called them by their real names over comm. link, not even the hyper-secure link just for the family.

“I’ve called a meeting at Mount Justice,” his mother continued. “Bring your whole team. This will involve you too.”

“What happened?” Ryou asked. He was already running through scenarios in his head. A new villain plot? Something with terrorism, probably, something that would affect the whole country. It had to be something big enough to justify calling in both YJ and the Titans. They might decide on their own to work together, but they were rarely called together. The Titans weren’t League sanctioned, and using them too often could send the wrong message.

“I’m not repeating myself,” his mother told him. “Be there in an hour.”

That was ominous. But at the same time, Ryou felt like grinning. It had been a while since they’d had something big. Much as he didn’t miss being his mother’s sidekick for...many reasons, he’d been a little jealous when she’d taken off for Europe with Sanada. The al Ghuls were more fun than Gotham’s standard villain fare. At least they had style.

“Team, gather in the kitchen,” Ryou said into the comm. He heard various sound offs that he mostly ignored.

Tetsu and Sawamura were already there when Ryou walked in. Kuramochi zoomed by to sit on the counter.

“Late again,” Ryou teased, because he knew it would make Kuramochi pout at him. He was in such a good mood from the promise of a big mission that he gave Kuramochi a gentle, affectionate karate chop to the forehead.

“What’s the emergency?” Miyuki asked, hip checking Sawamura out of the way so he could steal one of the seats.

“Hang on, where’s...oh, Jun’s here.” Jun leaned back against the counter next to Tetsu and nodded at him. “Good. Everyone get in gear. We’re going to Mount Justice. Batman called a joint meeting.”

“We’re working with Young Justice? Officially?” Kuramochi asked.

“Is there something big coming?” Sawamura asked. “Oh, I bet it’s aliens this time! No offense, Tetsu-san!”

“Aliens would be a nice break from our normal villains,” Tetsu agreed.

“I just hope these ones fight on the ground,” Jun said, though he looked just as pleased as Sawamura and Tetsu. “I haven’t had a good elephant fight in forever.”

Only Kuramochi and Miyuki looked a little more reserved. They both gave Ryou searching looks that saw too much.

“Is this about Batman not checking in with you?” Kuramochi asked quietly. Ryou hadn’t deliberately kept that from his whole team. It was just that Kuramochi and Miyuki were the only ones who’d known him long enough to notice he was worried. If he didn’t trust them implicitly, he’d already be planning their deaths for getting too close.

“She didn’t say,” Ryou said. “She doesn’t want to repeat herself.”

Kuramochi and Miyuki both looked concerned, but Miyuki hid it better.

“Let’s go!” Sawamura demanded. “I want to hang out with Young Justice before Batman gets there. I have to challenge Wolf Boy again!”

“For the last time, his name is Raven,” Jun said. “He can’t even turn into a wolf.”

“But he’s like a wolf,” Sawamura insisted, stupidly stubborn.

“If we’re going, let’s go,” Ryou said. “If you insist on challenging Raven again, make it fast. I don’t want to waste everyone’s time.”

“I’ll beat him quickly, Onii-san!” Sawamura promised. Ryou calmly ignored the nickname. It tended to confuse their enemies, and besides, it wasn’t like he could get Sawamura to stop.

At least he never called anyone by their real name in the field.

One quick zeta tube trip later, and Ryou could watch with amusement as Sawamura got in Okumura’s face. They were both heavy hitters, but in almost completely opposite ways, so it was always a toss up for how matches between them went.

“Well, well, well, look what the cat dragged in.” Ryou turned away from his youngest teammate and focused on the speaker.

“Hello, Batgirl.” Wakana grinned at him. “Still openly defying your father to be here?”

“He’s accepted it,” Wakana said. “Well, he’s accepted that there’s nothing he can do about it. Oh shit!”

She ducked behind Ryou, which was a little hilarious because she was taller than him.

“Why are you hiding?” Ryou asked innocently. “It couldn’t possibly be because you see someone you’d rather not talk to?”

“Shut up, shut up, he’s gonna look,” Wakana hissed.

“You’re going to have to get over this thing with Kid Flash someday,” Ryou said, following her eyes to where Kuramochi was yelling at Sawamura to quiet down. “Just because you feel guilty for breaking his heart…”

“Shut up, I was a bitch, I’m allowed to not want to see him now,” Wakana said. “I just feel like apologizing until he goes away.”

“That couldn’t possibly be because you only dated him because I said my best friend was off limits to other Bats because it would be awkward.” Ryou was enjoying himself now, and he was mature enough to admit it wasn’t for mature reasons.

“Yes, I was an idiot and a bitch, let it go.” Wakana dodged into the shadows, just as skilled as anyone else in the Bat family, reappearing next to Haruno, startling the Martian.

Ryou turned to watch Tetsu and Jun strike up a conversation with Takako, Miyuki and Katsuko cackling as Sawamura sent Okumura flying, Seto taking over from Kuramochi to yell at the two to settle down while Kuramochi chatted with his cousin Bart. It seemed almost strange, how well the Titans mixed with YJ.

Under Sanada’s leadership, though, the two teams had worked more closely together than anyone had expected. Since the Justice League had almost completely removed oversight in response to the first generation of sidekicks getting sick of the restrictions and leaving, there was a lot more freedom for both teams to work together when they weren’t scalping missions from each other.

“If I could have your attention.” Despite how quietly she’d spoken, Batman immediately commanded the room. Within minutes, everyone was circled around her, waiting quietly for her to speak.

Ryou looked behind her for Sanada. If they’d found something in Europe, surely he’d be standing behind their mother, ready to jump in with extra details she’d leave out because they weren’t relevant to the mission, shit-eating grin on his face.

Ryou couldn’t see him.

“I have bad news,” his mother continued. Ryou was probably the only one in the room who could tell there was strain in her voice. Was it really that bad? “Robin has died on a mission.”

The way she said it, so quietly, so devoid of emotion, froze the room. For a moment that balanced on a knife’s edge, no one moved.

And then chaos broke loose.

The Titans all stood as a rock in the storm of movement that was YJ at the news. Seto sat down hard, Okumura moved with him, Bart zipped around in frantic panic, and Jaime tried to grab him. Wakana started shouting, Takako raised her hands to her mouth, Haruno started crying. Katsuko sank to her knees.

Aqualad, Raven, Impulse, Blue Beetle. Batgirl, Zatanna, Miss Martian. Artemis.

“What happened?” Ryou asked. It felt like his voice was breaking something that couldn’t be fixed.

“Joker,” his mother said. It was all she had to say.

Ryou set his jaw. Joker had been a thorn in his family’s side for too long, but even Ryou had never actually believed he’d kill one of them. If nothing else, Joker seemed to have some obsession with playing with their family.

“Young Justice is on standby for now,” Batman said. “If you’re not staying in Mount Justice, you’re going with your mentors. Do I make myself clear?”

Ryou didn’t bother to listen to anyone’s response. He just followed his mother out of Mount Justice. She ignored him until they got away from everyone else. They’d easily escaped everyone’s notice.

“What really happened?” he asked.

“We can discuss this-”

“We can discuss it now.” Ryou almost expected to be scolded for his tone. Instead, his mother just sighed. Somehow, that was worse.

“He fell for a red herring,” she said. “And so did I. We got separated, I didn’t find him until it was too late.”

“Too late how?” Ryou was familiar with Joker’s sense of style.

“We’ll have an autopsy report soon,” his mother said. “I wanted to know if he was dead before or after the explosion.”

“Explosion?” Ryou shook his head. “Have Alfred send me a copy when it’s ready.”

His mother grabbed his arm as he turned to leave.

“Don’t read that report,” she said.

“Is that an order or a request?” For once, Ryou couldn’t even guess what her expression was under her cowl.

“A request,” she said finally. “I can’t really give you orders anymore, at least not that you’ll listen to. But it won’t make you happy. And you won’t be able to change anything.”

“That’s not the point,” Ryou said. “You know that’s not the point.”

“I know,” she agreed. “At least let us have a funeral before you do anything about it.”

“Is that permission?”

“It’s me acknowledging that while I could stop you, I don’t particularly want to. I just need you to know something.” To Ryou’s shock, after a quick look over his shoulder, she pushed her cowl up. Her eyes were worse than anything he could’ve imagined. “Revenge isn’t a substitute for grief.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Exactly what I said. You can’t take revenge and skip out on grieving. Mourn your brother with me before you go off avenging him.”

She pulled her cowl back down and disappeared. Ryou could have followed her, but she’d told him everything he needed to know.

Now all he needed was that autopsy report, to see how dead Joker was about to be.

[italicwatches]

Wanna be the Strongest in the World - Episode 05

I, finally, have, it. Tekkie 7 is in my house. A sealed copy. I swear to god if this one doesn’t work…

Anyways, it’s Wanna be the Strongest in the World, episode 05! Here we GO!

-We begin with Misaki’s morning training, which Sakura is…Trying to keep up with? She’s not doing super great at it, but she is trying, even as she gets the old classic “sprint up these steps and down and up again!” training. But since she doesn’t have that one staircase from Rocky, she’s gotta use the steps to a shrine, which is just as good. Me, I wouldn’t know. I live in the desert, we don’t really do staircases here if we don’t have to.

-Opening!

-Episode Five: The Night Before the Decisive Fight

-Then it’s over to the latest Sweet Diva center vocalist vote thing…And, with no Sakura to take the role, Elena gets the official title as center vocalist! This is a dream, isn’t it. This is going too well for Elena to not be a dream. She even says achieving this is her dream…Oh, nope! I guess we’re using the idea that she only got here because Sakura is off doing her own thing, and so she feels like she still hasn’t won. But the audience is still going wild for her efforts…

-So how’s Sakura doing? Well she’s got her leg caught in a full-body lock as one of the other wrestling girls tries to pull it out of socket, so…not…great. All part of Misaki’s training, to learn to be able to take that kind of pain and then counter…Which is exactly what Sakura does this time, as soon as her partner gets up to practice another hold! Sakura flips the whole thing in a second, as soon she’s got that girl’s leg in a hold…

-But let’s cut right to her next real match. Where Sakura is learning the trouble with facing a heel, rather more personally than the last time; they fuckin’ cheat, as two of the Hornet’s crew have Sakura held against the ropes to set up for her Public Execution maneuver…And when Sakura tries to get away, she just manages a nasty case of rope burn before the Hornet gets a training rod(oh they’re called shinai thank you announcer) and puts her in a…Camel Clutch? Okay. In short she’s pulling the thing against Sakura’s throat and trying to choke her out with it. It’s a ferocious, illegal heel maneuver….

-And the Hornet repeatedly goes right up against the edge of what the ref will let her get away with…Until Sakura manages to grab the shinai to give herself some room to breathe, and the next time the Hornet is forced to let up, she bodyslams her with her full weight to get her down, and put her into a fucking Boston Crab of her own! YEAH!

-Sure, one of the Hornet’s crew kicks her off, but Sakura’s back on the Hornet in a flash, refusing to let her go, as she throws the Hornet into throw after throw, until finally getting her down…Ref! Count it, NOW! One, two, th—

-Boot to the head. The Hornet’s not letting her win that easily…And she manages to flip it around, pinning Sakura just long enough to get the three-count! She eats her 65th straight loss, despite her best efforts…And by the time it’s over, she’s trying to figure out how the hell she’s not able to clinch it and claim a victory. What is she missing?!

-Also, sidenote, she’s built up a solid little new fanbase, a new crowd sprung up around her last old idol-era fans, who want to see her take her first victory. Sakura’s not doing terribly, she’s able to hold her own for most of the match…It’s just that last little step she can’t seem to really get to work, and that’s the problem…

-Oh and when she gets back to the gym, she learns that she’s got a revenge match with Rio all lined up. Oh dear. Pretty soon she’s working the bags, but even Misaki can see she can’t focus, and is doubting her ability to win that match…So, how to sort things out? What, is Sakura, missing?

-Your own special move. A finisher. Something big, flashy, crowd-pleasing, where just setting it up saps the will out of the opponent. It’s like we’ve said before: Unscripted wrestling is all about will. You can mostly bounce back from grapples and holds so long as you’ve got the raw stubborn will to take the pain and not freeze up, and landing a true pin is hard. So how do you make an opponent, essentially, give up and not work their way out of whatever you’ve got them in? You do it by putting doubt in their head for those important three seconds. And that’s the point of the finisher.

-But how do you get a finisher? You put it together yourself. The only one who can get the crowd to go nuts for the Misaki Special is Misaki. Learning someone else’s isn’t going to get you that moment of self-doubt in your opponent, or get a big pop of hype out of the crowd.

-So pretty soon Sakura’s watching old wrestling matches at her little apartment, thinking it over. As she watches. As she makes breakfast. As she takes a bath with her newly installed magic-steam vents that rise and lower the steam-line with her bust-line. (Never gonna stop poking fun at those) She’s even thinking about it when she walks to the gym, which is how she automatically ends up putting one of her fellows into a hold when they run up to greet her. And she didn’t even realize it when she let her go, either.

-And Misaki and Kanae see it, but this is one problem Sakura’s got to solve on her own…She’s still thinking about it late into the night, as she’s working out the problems. She’s small and light, so she doesn’t have the raw mass to rely on a throw, or to put enough force into a straightforward strike…And it’s got to be unique, or at least have a theatrical spin…So what’s that leave?

-First, she runs into…Runs into…A mysterious, shadowed…Hey it’s Elena! Hey, Elena!

-Okay it’s nowhere near that smooth and easy. They’re both all weirded out and in their own funks. Sakura’s got her whole finishing-move problem, and Elena, as we saw, is struggling with the responsibility of filling Sakura’s shoes…Shoes she only gets to fill because Sakura isn’t there to overcome honestly. And then there’s a big question hanging on things. Sakura’s big match with Rio is coming up…And what happens after that? Hell, what happens during that? Real talk she’s gonna stay a wrestler because it’s episode 5 of 12 plus an OVA. But okay, she doesn’t know she’s in an anime, so.

-But Elena knows what’ll clear Sakura’s head; dancing. The music swells up, as she starts up one of their old routines, and Sakura joins in. The moves just flow, complete with the spiraling twinned flip…And that’s when it hits Sakura like a ton of fucking bricks. The fun of movement, the thrill of it…And, something more. I think she might have just solved her finishing problem—

-Before that, though, Elena is all full of apology for Sakura being in the hellish world of pro wrestling. And Sakura feels all bad that Elena has to take charge of the group, and it’s all big and heartfelt and Elena ultimately promises to be there for the big fight.

-Cut to the gym, where Sakura’s working on something big…And Rio gets interviewed about this revenge match, downplaying how many fucks she gives about Sakura for the crowd. Which Kanae cooks with some key questions, the kind of things her fellow journalists will report on…

-Back to Sakura’s training, working on rolls and cardio and grace…While Rio is just putting down sheer raw ferocious power in her matches and training. And of course Sakura’s got to do the big run up the steps because you can’t be a sport fighter without running up steps. It’s the law.

-Meanwhile another Sweet Diva concert wraps up, and Elena’s getting the hang of being positive and encouraging now that she’s not feeling guilty about Sakura’s fate. Speaking of, that big match is tomorrow, and is she gonna be able to go and see it for herself…? She damn well better, I wanna see her reactions to Sakura throwing down.

-Oh, and she won’t be the only one there…The whole damn group is going to be there! I’m sorry, girls, you probably won’t be welcoming her back into the group.

-Okay, time for the big match! Nine months have passed since the first episode, the audience is in a wild frenzy…The girls are realizing how big this crowd is…And Sakura gets her walkup, with the lights and pounding beat to sell her as a ferocious little speed demon! Her whole fanbase is charged up…

-But…Oh snap. Rio’s gone masked. This just got real. Also, she raided Seto Kaiba’s closet and stole his coat. I would also accept a reference to Soma Cruz, giving the ridiculous trim. The point is, we must never stop mocking white trench coats on characters trying to act cool. But alas, the coat and mask are both thrown away, as the women stare each other down before the bell—

-Oh there’s the bell.

-Credits!

Okay, tomorrow is gonna be hype.

[deadboysduelbetter]

3 and 24 🙏

24. Unpopular opinion?

Mokuba is arguably the most important person to Seto, but that doesn’t mean Seto knows how to be considerate towards him, and Seto certainly does not understand what it means to be his brother’s guardian nor did he truly bother to be a good parental figure to him (mostly because he does not get that this is either of their position - he does not see himself as a parental figure or Mokuba as a child, really. I don’t think Seto even knows how to properly treat a child at all for lots of reasons and abstracting from what he and others expected from himself when he was a teen, he just assumes Mokuba’s basically an adult and probably just fine).

I love some sweet Kaiba brothers moments, but. Seto is Not A Great brother and yeah, they work on it, and he improves and all that, but most Kaiba brothers content that paints Seto as Mokuba’s responsible guardian and emphasizes how much Seto tries to be a “good parent” is so ??? to me.

3. Dub or original?

The short version is: I watched the dub as a teen, the music makes me all nostalgic and the German dub is always gonna be the voices they all have ~in my heart~  What you guys gotta know is that, since most movies in Germany are dubbed, we have some high quality voice actors, and they also do voice acting for anime. And they’ll typically voice act anime with the same seriousness as a live action Hollywood movie. Seto’s VA is Leonardo DiCaprio’s voice, Pegasus had the German voice of Kevin Spacey, Yami Bakura that of Johnny Depp etc etc. I fully admit that the VAs made me fall for the characters :,)

This is also why the US voices will always be super weird to me? They talk like cartoon characters and try to speak higher and deeper than any normal person would and it’s a bit grating to listen to for me if I’m honest.

Anyway, the German dub is what I’m all nostalgic about. I’m really neutral on the sub - I haven’t really watched it much and I have no strong connection to the original voices, though they grew on me a little in DSOD.

That said, I vastly prefer sub canon, or rather manga canon, I guess, because I never managed to watch the sub entirely.

To explain why I really don’t like the dub, still, I have to direct you to the long version which includes my opinions ™ on the approach of 4kids dubs.

The long version is that while I’m here for occasional dub jokes, I actually have no real love for the way the dub was done. There are several problems I have with 4kids’ approach. I don’t necessarily mind censoring things per se - giving young girl characters longer skirts is something I can get behind, for example - but what really bothers me is often very unnecessary content changes that seem to have no other reason than to simplify things into a more black-and-white pattern. Or to change the dialogue into a bunch of jokes. What I mean is that it just twists meaning constantly for no good reason. In DSOD for example, Seto keeps going on about revenge in the dub, as if they were afraid him being less hatred-driven would make him less one-note and 4kids can’t have that.

What bothers me about this is, firstly, that this is not what a translation should do. Changes are fine, but trying to stay in the spirit of the original is arguably most important. But what really upsets me is how 4kids seems to think kids and teens are just uninterested in anything that is not goofy 24/7. They are apparently so certain that serious dialogue or even a moment of silence won’t grab the kids by their presumably super short attention span that they have to fill every second a character is not shown with their mouth closed with quips and jokes. It’s an awful trend in kids’ and teens’ shows in general. Kids are not stupid, and it’s weird for a dub to treat them like they are.

Secondly, YGO is ridiculous. It’s people in funny clothes and with silly hair yelling over card games. And that’s maybe just a personal problem, but the dub lampshading this makes it sort of redundant? Like, listen, I don’t need you to tell me this is silly af, it obviously is. But to me, it’s endlessly more hilarious and charming if all the characters and their dialogue take it so very seriously. Also, I’d like to have the little bits of character insight and development here and there between the card game dialogue. 4kids seems to think the only way to make YGO entertaining is to make tons of puns, but I rather want something genuine that is not afraid or even unaware of how weird and unintentionally hilarious it is.Like, Seto’s talk in the arena in DSOD? In the dub, he just talks a whole lot of empty nonsense that is highlighting how ridiculously huge is ego is, but do we need that? I mean, he just pretended a plane crashed and a guy got killed for shock value to then yell at an audience about his own problems and how card games will erase all boundaries and limits while several screens show his own face - I think it’s very CLEAR THAT HIS EGO IS RIDICULOUSLY HUGE I CAN SEE THAT. He jumps out of flying planes for chrissake. It’s already fucking hilarious without him making that abundantly clear through his speech.In the original, his speech isn’t even less absurd, but opposed to the dub, it carries more information about the character than just “he is really fucking narcissistic to the point where it’s just amusing”. There’s character development here, he talks about how winning is not the solution and leaves the winner still trapped. It gives us hints at his motivation in this movie. Because while, yes, all of this is silly, it’s still worthwhile to the viewer, 4kids. People who commit to watching this card game marathon probably care at least a bit about the characters. Strange, I know.

So, I don’t know how normal that kind of dub is for US audiences, but from my standpoint, it’s weird if a dub differs so wildly from the original? The worst part was how in German tv, we had our own Digimon dub that was actually close to the original, and I’ll forever be a bit miffed at the fact that 4kids owning the rights to YGO meant that the German dub was just the translated 4kids dub. 

I had actually high hopes 4kids wouldn’t get the rights for DSOD, so we’d get a German dub not dictated by 4kids, but alas.

I admit that 4kids sort of not leaving the rest of the world a choice in this is what maybe bugs me most.

[pandirwrites]

Recoil Damage (Seto/Jou)

Admittedly, Jounouchi really should have known better than to take Kaiba’s bait, but rational decisions had never been his strong suit. There, something they apparently had in common, because Kaiba should have known better than to challenge him like this.

Set after the ending of the series and pre-DSOD.

Pairings: Jounouchi/Seto, and a bit of Yugi/Jounouchi fluff.

Warnings: rough making out, a bit of choking (consensual but still questionable), some punches and a bleeding nose.

Also on Ao3~

For a few months after the mess that had been Battle City, they had all but forgotten about Kaiba, even though it was hard to ignore the ever-present Kaiba Corporation. With their adventures in not-really-old-Egypt and the aftermath of Atem leaving, it was really no surprise - after all, Jounouchi, as well as Yugi, Anzu and Honda, all had their own problems to sort out. And then, suddenly, there were exams still waiting and with them, the looming question of what would come after that, after school.

With all those very real and serious things ahead of them, it came almost as a surprise to be handed the flyers at school. KC was looking for young duellists to test something that sounded very much like a new duelling system. Of course, that was a welcome break from boring real life problems. Yugi had been curious, and Jounouchi was more than ready to accompany him, and when they managed to get an invitation for a bit of play testing, they spent the entire afternoon speculating about what gimmicks a new Duel Disk would have to offer.

“Maybe there’s gonna be a tournament soon”, Jounouchi proposed, and Yugi nodded, equally enthusiastic.

“That would be great!”

“Yeah, I really could use the chance to let off some steam after all that cramming for school.”

The actual play testing was not as exciting as Jounouchi and Yugi had dreamed them up to be. All they had been tasked to do was to pick cards from what seemed to be a limitless virtual database and play a few not too challenging mock duels with no special effects. That did not dampen their enthusiasm, though, and they had much to theorize about as soon as they could take their simulation visors off.

“I’m sure we haven’t seen all of it yet”, Yugi mused when they were waiting in the corridor with the others that had been play testing the system. “Kaiba would probably not give away too much in advance, you know?”

A murmur went through the small crowd, drawing Yugi’s attention, and Jounouchi turned his head just to see that the great Seto Kaiba himself made his way to through the corridor, accompanied by two of his employees. Just as he walked past them, Yugi came up to him to greet him.

“Hello, Kaiba!”, he said, genuinely pleased about the chance to compliment him in person, “What I’ve seen from your new system so far looks pretty great already! I’m really looking forward to it.”

First, it seemed as if Kaiba hadn't noticed him at all, but when Yugi expressed his excitement, he shot him a look that was nothing short of disdain. That made Yugi stop in his tracks, caught by surprise.

“Hey, dickhead, he’s talking to you!” Jounouchi rose to his feet in an instant, but Yugi’s hand on his arm kept him from launching after Kaiba to drag him right back.

“You should let me teach him some manners”, Jounouchi insisted, but Yugi shook his head.

“It’s not worth it, and I really don’t want you to get into trouble.”

Jounouchi wanted to protest, but he was quickly distracted by the frown on Yugi’s face as he watched Kaiba vanish into one of the hallways down the corridor. Jounouchi did not like the way Kaiba’s jerkass behaviour seemed to concern Yugi more than anything.

Yugi was lost in thought after that, but before Jounouchi quite succeeded in either cheering him up or getting him to talk about it, he was called into one of the small bureaus for his feedback talk.

Since he was left to wait for someone to come and interview him, Jounouchi sat down in the chair in front of the desk and tried his best to not get too worked up about what had happened. It really hadn’t been too much to ask for a warmer greeting from Kaiba, after all that Yugi had done for him. But by now, shouldn’t they all know better than to expect basic human decency? When it came down to it, Kaiba had been looking for trouble ever since he had attempted to murder them all and had continued to be a massive dickhead with zero regrets whenever they met. He was just lucky that Jounouchi was usually above that kind of shit nowadays and that Yugi did not appreciate a more violent approach, or he would have beaten Kaiba’s face in six ways from Sunday already on several occasions.

But as it turned out, given the right opportunity, like meeting Kaiba alone in a small room, Kaiba’s face as unmoving and arrogant as usual and the dismissive glance he’d given Yugi still fresh on Jounouchi’s mind, Jounouchi wasn't above anything less than what Kaiba deserved.

*

As soon as Kaiba entered the room, Jounouchi was all too aware that something was not right about this. Why on earth would Kaiba bother with questioning him personally? And when Kaiba locked the door behind him, Jounouchi’s instincts had him already on the edge.

He got up from his chair.

“Alright, spit it out, what do you want with me, Kaiba?”

Without even giving him so much as a glance, left alone any answer to his question, Kaiba took off his coat to hang it on the coatrack beside the door. When he came over to Jounouchi, the fact that he was standing and glaring at him did not seem to concern him the slightest. Of course not, when had Kaiba ever taken him seriously.

Jounouchi’s anger had been simmering right beneath the surface, but he was still containing it, waiting for Kaiba to make the first move. Kaiba, however, was very purposefully ignoring that Jounouchi had dared to address him. Well, Jounouchi had news for him then. He wouldn’t just let that kind of behaviour fly, especially not considering it had made Yugi feel bad.

In all honesty, Jounouchi was by now just looking for an excuse and Kaiba, it seemed, was only too ready to give him one.

“I cannot believe a low-tier duellist like you was allowed access”, Kaiba said as he glared down on him, all tall and mighty, ready to unleash the assault, “A mistake I’ll have to remedy imm--.”

There was something immensely satisfying about shutting Kaiba up.

When Jounouchi’s fist collided with Kaiba’s bony face, it sent Kaiba stumbling backwards until he caught himself with one hand on the desk, the other pressed to his face. He hissed at the pain, his eyes now on Jounouchi. There was nothing mocking in them anymore, just anger.

That was much better.

Kaiba straightened his posture again and was about to open his mouth, but Jounouchi was faster. He did not wait for the inevitable threat. In fact, he was well-aware that this could really get him into trouble - after all, Kaiba had his own security and all that - but Jounouchi certainly was not intimidated by that. He’d survived Kaiba’s worst already, and there were no sick, twisted games or payed goons to help him now.

A calm had come over Jounouchi, an anger that was not as hot, but sharp and dangerous. He’d be lying if he said he hadn’t been itching to do this for ages.

This time, Jounouchi aimed straight for the nose. It wasn’t exactly a surprise that Kaiba had awful reflexes when it came to physical fights and barely evaded the punch at all, and Jounouchi hit him square in the face with an ugly, cracking sound.

There was blood on Jounouchi’s knuckles when he withdrew, leaving Kaiba to sink against the table to regain his senses. Kaiba’s nose was bleeding, the dark liquid dripping from his chin in thick drops, but Kaiba did not bother trying to stem the flow. Instead, he seemed strangely fascinated by the sight of his own blood-stained fingers after he had inspected the damage.

For a second, Kaiba did not react at all. Jounouchi assumed that no one had ever dared to bash his precious face in before, which was a miracle in and of itself, since Kaiba was the single most punchable person Jounouchi had ever met.

Then Kaiba started laughing, and it was a hollow, joyless laughter that brought back some pretty awful memories of near-death experiences Jounouchi usually preferred to forget about but had never quite forgiven him for.

“Is that all?”, Kaiba said, and his derisive tone was unusually calm. “I should have expected as much.”

“There’s plenty more where that came from.” Jounouchi rolled his shoulders and gave Kaiba an appraising look. No matter how much he’d like to deliver, Kaiba already had to lean against the table to support himself, and Jounouchi wouldn’t kick anyone who was already basically on the ground. “But I usually prefer a more even fight. I think you had enough.”

There was a strange gleam in Kaiba’s eyes as he pushed himself off the desk again, slightly wobbly on his legs and his face half-covered in blood.

“That’s a weakling’s excuse”, he snapped, and took a step towards him, probably to intimidate him. “But if you want to run like a coward as soon as you see some blood, you can try leaving. Just know that you will not get anywhere unless I let you.”

That was definitely a creepy thing to say, especially considering that Kaiba had locked the door before they had even started talking, but Jounouchi was not backing away.

“I’m not afraid of you, Kaiba”, he said, his tone heated but firm, even though he did not appreciate their sudden proximity all that much.

Kaiba made a dismissive noise. He had recovered astonishingly well, even though he was still bleeding on the collar of his black turtleneck.

“Why are you hesitating, then, I wonder?”, he asked, and the condescending way he said it was enough to make Jounouchi’s blood boil. It was only then that it finally clicked. That bastard was not only mocking him, he was daring him.

“If this is your attempt at revenge, it is nothing but pathetic”, Kaiba snarled as he looked down on him, his gaze cold and impassive. “I had you grovelling in the dirt at my feet once I was through with you.”

That did it. Whatever else Kaiba had wanted to say was derailed by him getting yanked forward by the collar of his turtleneck and lost in a choked noise as Jounouchi’s knee met his stomach with full force, effectively knocking the air right out of him. Before Kaiba could catch his breath and even make as much as a sound, he found himself trapped with his back on the table and Jounouchi above him, his forearm pressed to Kaiba’s throat and shoulders to keep him down, effectively choking him. Admittedly, Jounouchi really should have known better than to take Kaiba’s bait, but rational decisions had never been his strong suit. There, something they apparently had in common, because Kaiba should have known better than to challenge him like this.

Now that he was pressing Kaiba down with his own body weight, Jounouchi noticed for the first time how thin Kaiba was - despite his wavy coats and impressive height, there was not much to him. Still, Jounouchi had expected him to have some ace up his sleeve and not to end up lying beneath him, defenceless, bloodied and beaten, and entirely unable to speak. That in and of itself should probably not have felt as good as it did, but right now, Jounouchi could not find it in him to care. All he knew was that he had the upper hand for now, and it was an elevating feeling that rushed through him with sudden, hot intensity. Jounouchi couldn’t help but to press down a little harder, just to savour it. When Kaiba made a strangled noise in response, however, it started to seep in that something was not right about the way Kaiba reacted to this. It did not help that Kaiba did not even grab his arm and attempt to fight him. His hands were uselessly resting on the table surface beside his head as he struggled for breath, and something about how vocal he was with his choked, gagging noises was decidedly off. It was only then that Jounouchi realized he was basically pushing Kaiba on the table with his hips between Kaiba’s legs and the rush this entire situation was giving him mingled a bit too well with Kaiba gasping wordlessly and squirming against him.

That was enough to make him release Kaiba again and Kaiba tried to collect himself while struggling to breathe, coughing and wheezing, sending blood spraying from his lips.

“Man, you’re such a fucking weirdo”, Jounouchi muttered, more to himself than anything, but Kaiba’s eyes were immediately on him again.

“And what does that make you then?” Kaiba’s voice was hoarse and his breath was still rattling in his windpipe thanks to the blood he inevitably inhaled, but his gaze trailing to Jounouchi’s crotch made his point clear enough.

And yes, all that squirming and gasping had definitely done something for Jounouchi, and he did not really know what to do with that realization. Not that he wasn’t aware he had some fucked-up shit deep inside of him, and overpowering Kaiba was something he could get the appeal of. It was just that being aroused by Kaiba, or just in the vicinity of Kaiba, was decidedly awkward.

“Listen, Kaiba”, he decided, “I don’t know what kind of game you’re playing, but I’m done here.”

It was clear Kaiba was getting some strange kick out of provoking him, and Jounouchi wouldn’t be used liked that. But before he could even take a step back, Kaiba grabbed his arm in what seemed more like a kneejerk reaction, his fingers digging into the fabric.

“Don’t think I’ll let you leave like this.”

Kaiba probably meant that far more menacing then it sounded, but his voice was pressed and wavering slightly, and that he was still sitting on the desk did not really help much, either.

In hindsight, this was exactly the moment when Jounouchi should have left. But for the first time, Jounouchi had some sort of leverage over Kaiba, something that Kaiba seemed to want, even need, from him. It was too tempting to give that up just now.

“Why, what are you gonna do, Kaiba?”, he asked, and he wasn’t even just teasing, he was honestly curious. Kaiba was not the one to call the shots here, for once, and that meant he was running out of options. “Threaten me? Order me around?”

Instead of an answer, Kaiba grabbed him by the collar of his jacket to pull himself up, and Jounouchi let him. He did not bend down, however, and Kaiba had to practically cling to him just to look him in the eye. It was only with their faces this close that Jounouchi couldn’t help but notice how awful Kaiba looked, and it wasn’t just because there was dark blood splattered all over his bruised mouth and cheek. He was pale, almost drained, his face was practically emaciated and there was something haunted in his look.

“I’m certainly not going to beg for it”, Kaiba finally responded through gritted teeth.

As Kaiba leaned forward, he did not even blink, and something about his entirely ungraceful attempt at pressing their lips together kept Jounouchi strangely hooked.

Kaiba was not playing with him. Kaiba was desperate.

It must have been the adrenaline from the fight, or something about Kaiba’s sudden vulnerability, but Jounouchi found it hard to resist. Without another thought, Jounouchi grabbed Kaiba’s neck so he could kiss him back, hard and unceremoniously. Kaiba’s fingers were tugging at his jacket to keep him steady and Jounouchi tasted nothing but blood on Kaiba’s lips, but it was less sickening than it should have been. Before Jounouchi could figure out what exactly he was going for here, Kaiba grabbed his wrist with an impatient grunt to put Jounouchi’s hand on his throat again, and for a moment, Jounouchi took that invitation, forcefully pressing him down on the table. Kaiba’s pulse was thick beneath his fingers and he felt the Adam’s apple move under his grip as Kaiba struggled for breath, his hips jerking against Jounouchi’s crotch. There was something undeniable hot about that sight, the sensation of Kaiba’s life, his entire spiteful, smug existence, right in Jounouchi's hands while Kaiba was so obviously turned on by being choked violently, and the sound of those gagged moans - it was enough to make Jounouchi gasp with arousal.

Still, Kaiba getting all that he wanted did not sit right with him, and he was not so keen on finding out where it would take them. Kaiba’s façade had been torn away to reveal something entirely wretched, and Jounouchi did not want to see how deep this rabbit hole went. He released his grip on Kaiba’s throat to grab his wrists instead – so bony and thin, he almost expected them to be brittle enough to break – and held them in place next to Kaiba’s head. Kaiba groaned through gritted teeth, and Jounouchi preferred to keep him like this, all wordless noises and no arrogant drivel. So, he moved his crotch against Kaiba’s and kissed him again, pressing Kaiba’s lithe body onto the table surface with his own weight. It was a sloppy kiss that was probably as awful for Kaiba, who could not breathe through his nose at all, as it was for him, who had to put up with Kaiba’s idea of kissing. When Kaiba bit him especially viciously, Jounouchi had enough of that, and he grabbed Kaiba by the hair to pull his head back, sharp and fast. That seemed to do the trick for Kaiba, at least. There was a soft, strangled noise at the back of Kaiba's throat, and a shudder went through his body, before it went limp. For a moment, Jounouchi thought he’d come, but as he let go of him, Kaiba’s head had started rolling slightly, his gaze strangely unfocused, as if he was almost passing out.

“Kaiba?” Fuck, he hadn’t even hit him that hard, had he? Jounouchi grabbed him by the shoulders and shook him slightly, in hopes that Kaiba was not really out of it yet. “Kaiba!”

It wouldn’t look good if he had to call a doctor now, with Kaiba unconscious, his face bloodied and Jounouchi the only one to blame. Yugi had warned him that messing with Kaiba would only be trouble.

But to his relief, Kaiba was not entirely gone. Maybe it was just exhaustion getting the better of him. Coming to think of it, something had seemed off about him ever since he had entered the room, and Jounouchi had a suspicion it was more than just lack of sleep. Whatever pills he was taking to support his sleep-deprived skin-and-bones lifestyle, he was probably overdoing it.

Suddenly, Kaiba’s eyes opened, his pupils blown wide, but he wasn’t looking at him. Instead, he stared straight past him, his gaze fixated on a spot somewhere beyond the ceiling. It was then that Jounouchi realized Kaiba was mouthing words in a barely audible, frantic whisper.

“Close”, Jounouchi believed to hear him breathe, voicelessly, “so-- close—“

“Kaiba, snap out of it!” Because he didn’t know what else to do, Jounouchi slapped him, hard, and that finally seemed to have an effect.

It took a moment for Kaiba’s gaze to focus and him to resurface from his delusions. Maybe he did have a concussion, Jounouchi thought, as he pulled Kaiba into a sitting position, or maybe all this choking business hadn't been that much of a great idea.

“Hey, can you hear me?”, Jounouchi asked. “Maybe you should call someone to come and get you.” "Don’t give me that”, Kaiba said, his tongue heavy and his voice hoarse, but the disdain still pretty clear in his words. “We both know you don’t care.”

There was something between caring deeply and not wanting someone to pass out on you while they engaged with you in some questionable making out after you almost broke their nose, but Jounouchi did not want to get into that. In fact, he was very much done with this entire situation.

“You need a doctor, Kaiba”, he insisted. “And we’re still locked in here.”

As usual, Kaiba was barely listening. He had put a hand on the bruise marks on his throat, slightly pressing against them, as if he was appraising them.

“Considering your past, I’d have expected worse from you.” Only Kaiba could manage to sound so derisive about someone not properly choking him senseless.

"Yugi would not like it if I broke your ribs and rearranged your face”, Jounouchi said with a shrug. By now, it did barely surprise Jounouchi that Kaiba was obviously stalking them with whatever intel KC probably had, though it did not sit well with him. In any case, that made it easier to see right through Kaiba’s bullshit. It almost made sense now, in as twisted, Kaiba sort of way, even though Jounouchi was not entirely sure what prompted it. “I guess you just have to do it the hard way and get over yourself without someone kicking your ass for you. But that's none of my business." Kaiba frowned at that, but he had to keep himself from keeling over, and Jounouchi did not feel like waiting for a response.

“Listen, Kaiba, now either you call someone yourself or I’ll have to kick the door in and get some employee to patch you up.”

Finally, Kaiba obliged, and to Jounouchi’s relief, Kaiba's favourite sunglasses-wearing assistent came by just moments later to not only make sure Kaiba was taken care of, but also to personally see Jounouchi out.

There were still blood stains on Jounouchi’s shirt, and so it was probably for the better that this way he avoided meeting up with Yugi who was probably already waiting for him. He quickly texted him to tell him not to wait and to promise him they’d meet up tomorrow instead.

On his walk home, Jounouchi did not feel all too peachy, and it wasn’t really because he was worried about Kaiba. Kaiba'd be fine, at least as fine as he could be. It was just that Kaiba had a way of getting under one’s skin. As far as Jounouchi was concerned, Kaiba was nothing but a bully who had too much anger inside of him and was letting it out on anyone, picking fights and making others miserable to make himself feel better. In fact, Jounouchi understood that part all too well. But it was precisely because Jounouchi knew what it was like to hate himself and take his hatred out on others that he did not feel a lot of sympathy.

If there was one thing he’d taken from this, it was that Kaiba seemed to physically need someone to subdue him, in one way or the other, and while Jounouchi did not exactly disagree, he really wasn’t the one to do it.

Even though Kaiba had tried his best to pull him on his level, Jounouchi had changed. Unlike Kaiba, who despite Yugi offering him friendship and support countless of times, still chose to stay a miserable jerk. Jounouchi had taken his chance when he had gotten it, and he had worked hard to become a better person. He was both proud and lucky that he had managed to leave that sort of self-destructive shit behind him, and he'd like for it to stay that way.

*

He still hoped Yugi wouldn’t be too mad with him when he’d have to eventually confess that he had had a run-in with Kaiba, though Jounouchi decided to play down the details. Kaiba would probably appreciate that staying between them, anyway.

But when they hung out after school at Yugi’s place to learn, which actually meant they’d spent most of the time playing video games and talking, it was not Kaiba Yugi seemed most concerned about.

“It was no big deal”, Jounouchi said with a shrug. “I roughed him up a little, that’s all.”

It was only when he noticed Yugi’s eyes were fixed on his lips that Jounouchi realized they had to be pretty torn and bruised.

“Seems like he roughed you up quite a bit, too”, Yugi noted, but there was something in his voice that made Jounouchi feel strangely and unexpectedly guilty all of a sudden.

“Yugi, I- I’m not gonna do any of that again, believe me.” He really meant it. Now that he’d seen more of Kaiba’s issues that he’d ever cared to, Jounouchi was really not very keen on having any more of that.

To his relief, Yugi smiled, even though he seemed a bit confused by Jounouchi’s stammering reaction.

“Good", Yugi said, but then hurried to clarify, "I mean, I do think that’s for the better, but you really don’t have to justify yourself to me.” He paused, looking away and biting his lip, uncertain. “It’s just-“

“You know what I was thinking about the other day?” Without waiting for Yugi to answer, Jounouchi pulled him closer by wrapping his free arm around his shoulders, maybe embracing him a bit too tightly as he held him close. “Just how lucky I am to know you", he declared with a grin.

“Jounouchi, that hurts��, Yugi interjected, but as Jounouchi released him, he looked up to him with a smile. Jounouchi felt his cheeks heat under Yugi’s gaze, and he quickly turned to face the screen again and pick up the controller.

“Hey, we’ve still got a final round to play, I almost forgot about that!”

“Alright, you’re on!”, Yugi said, immediately all set and ready, but before he pressed start, his eyes were on Jounouchi again. Then, as if it was the most natural thing in the world, he reached out to put his hand on Jounouchi’s, squeezing it in a way that made Jounouchi’s heart skip a beat.

“I’m really happy that I know you, too.”

Jounouchi beamed right back at him, a warmth spreading inside of him that was so familiar to him now but that he'd never take for granted.

[ask-thebrothers-kaiba]

I’m Having A Character Crisis.

{It’s sort of like having a midlife crisis, only, I’m questioning my character portrayal. I think we’re all aware that, speaking in terms of MBTI, Seto is largely an ENTJ. No question about it.

     ... but as I was watching over Duelist Kingdom again for a personal writing project, I found his behavior much different than that of what you might expect of an ENTJ. Yes, he was technically just “Mind-Crushed”, if you wanna call it that, and he became depressed -- but that’s just it. I don’t know if you’ve ever witnessed a depressed ENTP, but for some reason that is what I see regarding Seto in Duelist Kingdom. I mean, I could absolutely be wrong, so feel free to debate me on this, because I want to get this right in my head! Maybe his behavior is just throwing me off because I’ve never witnessed a depressed ENTJ myself, but I have witnessed ENTPs in their lower points. They’re very calm, brooding, have to have time alone -- they want practically nothing to do with you unless you’re there to offer a solution to their problem(s); and although ENTPs generally don’t have many issues tied to self-worth, they absolutely do under the pressure of providing for their family, which Seto obviously does. 

     So far, I’m attributing this massive shift in personality to the writers and directors of the anime not being able to agree on/decide upon what kind of character they wanted Seto Kaiba to be: The stereotypical anti-hero ENTJ archetype, or the calmer and more-apt-to-move-on ENTP who does things simply to see the end-result (and use it to their advantage). I’m sure the manga doesn’t stray too far from the general ENTJ view of Seto, but Duelist Kingdom in the anime has me all kinds of dismayed. Like I said, though -- I could be completely wrong! Deep down I’m hoping I’m not, obviously, because ENTPs interest me just as much as ENTJs, bus still. Just think about the implications! Can you imagine, rather than a rigid, grave, pragmatic Seto Kaiba, a more spontaneous, sarcastic, “I’m going to use logic as my tool for the fun of it, and I’m going to win. Are you up to the challenge?” kind of guy who still sees Yami Yugi/Atem as a rival, but not in a completely serious way? We see throughout the series that Seto has his heart absolutely set on revenge, not only for losing to Atem constantly, but also because this rivalry has been foretold and it’s destiny and yadda yadda yadda.

     So imagine with me, quickly, what their rivalry would be like without the revenge angle. Imagine Seto more openly accepting Ishizu/Isis’s future tellings, and using that information as a catalyst just to see what happens if he defeats Atem in a duel. That’s how an ENTPs gets his/her kicks. If he had remained what I see as an ENTP, his reason for Battle City may not have been for power, or revenge, but to know for himself what it would be like for him to usurp fate. If you ever wanted to know what an ENTP’s biggest dream is, that’s your answer. Now that I think about it, imagine Seto’s childhood. I’m under the impression that Gozaburo Kaiba was an ESTJ (possibly another ENTJ, but who cares?) himself, so having an ENTP child would have been a much bigger hell for him. That thought is just hilarious.

     Anyway, sorry about this being long. I would have cut it down, but I don’t think anyone would have read it otherwise. As a side note, this is the project I’m currently working on -- this idea, right here. So, please, if you think it’s fantastic or whatever (not likely, as the ENTJ argument is a very strong one), please don’t take the idea without at least telling me you’re gonna use it. I don’t mind if anyone else writes under this premise, but I’d hate to miss out on it! Please do credit me, though!}

[maivalentine]

LIKES AND DISLIKES @ DSOD (dubbed)

now that im home here’s a DSOD post about the things I loved (and didnt like) about it!! I was really worried about the dub of this movie, but there was not much I didn’t like to be quite honest ^^ under a readmore 4 spoilers

Loves:

-> Mokuba. Mokuba is freaking ADORABLE in this movie. I love when he’s riding on the case concealing all of the puzzle pieces, I couldn’t help but laugh. And I was thinking “GET HIM” and the way he actually headbutt Aigami I was like YASS. I’m glad they gave Mokuba importance, you can tell he’s going to grow up to be “A Kaiba” , only a more lax version. You can see his brother reflected in him though and they did that SO SO well. I adore the character Mokuba’s become and they portray him awesomely in the movie.

-> Aigami! I was not sure I was going to like him at all outside of his cool design. But they’ve actually brought a villain with a valid motive, a good solid fleshed out background that doesn’t make him seem like every other washed up villain. He had a corrupted heart, I like how they tied that into Ryou’s backstory and the bits with Shadi were A+

-> Otogi’s Dad actually appearing?! I was shocked! I didn’t think he would be onscreen but lol. I’m surprised to see Jounouchi in a dog suit especially beneath Otogi who was the one who humiliated him with it in the first place x)

-> Jounouchi’s Kaiba dream! It seems 6months later Jou STILL has dreams about Kaiba lol. Loved it ♥

-> Seto saying Atem has perfect hair. Still not over tbh, I’m pretty sure I missed a bit of the movie there because I couldn’t believe what I just heard x)

-> Seto in general in this movie, is extremely extra and snarky. I think my favorite seen was how he emulated a plane crash and everyone thought someone just died. It was perfect.

-> The animation is STUNNING AND GORGEOUS. ♥

-> Yugi putting Kaiba in his place. Everyone collectively saying “Oh shit” when Yugi said “We’re gonna have a problem”. And then Kaiba asking if it’s a threat, and Yugi saying “Yeah sure. Why not!” It was beautIFUL

-> Seto taking the hit for Yugi, erasing the rest of his lifepoints and saying it’s for the Pharaoh. MY HEART!!!

-> When Atem comes back briefly, and afterwards Seto teasing Yugi saying “I told you so” about Atem coming back. And then Yugi admitting that SETO NEVER GAVE UP ON HIM I FUCKING CRIED PRIDESHIPPING TEARS because even though I equally love Puzzleshipping, I find it interesting that Yugi accepted Atem’s departure, but Seto refused to and he came back even again another time. I was ,, ,losing it!!!

-> One of my favorite parts, and they made this so emotional. Was when Seto refuses to listen to Yugi about the puzzle and says enough talking. Then later, Yugi puts in the last two pieces and tells Seto he’s gone. That he has to let go. And Seto refuses and calls him a liar. MY HEART HFDGIOSDGFSHDA

-> MORE RYOU BACKSTORY!!! YAY!! MY POOR BOY!! I wish he could’ve been happier just a bit longer before he got ... ripped apart... again lol. 

-> ATEM’S APPEARANCE! Right as the light fades from Yugi’s eyes and about to fall over, he’s there in a bolt of light and he LOOKS BREATH-TAKING AND BRILLIANT JUST LIKE A REAL GOD ♥♥♥

-> THE ENDING!!!! Seto putting Mokuba in charge *AWWW* and then meeting Atem at the very end. But Pharaoh Atem doesn’t even look surprised, he just smiles. THIS WAS SUCH A GOOD ENDING!!! I cannot believe people didn’t like the ending!!!

-> Classic dub humor. I both liked, and dislike this but for this section I was will say: I got a lot of laughs. The humor wasn’t done in a cringe-worthy way, it didn’t ruin too many of the serious moments and kept the dark times light-hearted which is typical of 4kids, but this time more endearing. Most of it came surprisingly from Seto and unsurprisingly Jounouchi. I know I laughed my ass off when Seto’s computer system told him he had genius and loves to be reminded of it. I liked Jou’s antics all around, charming

->I liked Jounouchi saying there’s some memories he cant ever forget after seeing Atem appear in the other dimension. And then, thanking Yugi afterwards cause thats the closest he can get. Nice B)

-> Yugi and Seto and the meetup in the rain! Fangirls were squealing here lol... It was funny. And it was a really good scene as well.

-> Ofc I was really fond of Yugi saying he missed Atem and how we see them speak through mind later. I was so happy with that ‘v’

-> I really liked how they showed that Seto Kaiba and Yugi  // Atem are FRIENDS. That really warmed my heart. I love that he smiled at Yugi when he teased him later. BEAUTy

->The graduation ending, the bitter sweetness of anzu flying away to pursue her dancing. That made me almost tear up tbh

Dislikes:

-> Dub humor. While I did like it, it was a bit TOO much in places. It took some of the more serious moments and made them too jokey. I don’t know all of the sub changed lines , or all of the lines in other languages, but I do know a lot of them and while I liked the laughter -- I’d prefer more serious moments to stay and not downplay what really goes on ^^;

-> They made Seto a bit TOO revengey for my liking. It should have been more based on the rivalry (which apparently it was in the sub) and the heart missing something, rather than I GOTTA DUEL YOU FOR REVENGE which actually doesn’t make sense the word “revenge”. They have a score to settle and it can be labelled revenge I guess, but constant the way it was in the movie? idk. But ofc, the dub version of Seto is slightly different. It made sense for the dub but eh

-> THERE WAS NO MAI. OKAY THEY EVEN SHOWED MALIK IN THE FLASHBACK. ONE GLIMPSE OF MAI ON THE STREET WOULD’VE BEEN NICE. COULD’VE SEEN SHIZUKA TOO GUYS. but it’s okay im just salty :( Even if I had seen her in passing it would’ve been nice TT~TT She’s an important character afterall.

-> I didn’t expect Seto to actually beat Atem in the simulation. O~O Idk if that happened that way in the sub or what the reasoning was but.. it disappointed me somehow? I know it’s phrased differently there so I don’t know. I didn’t really care for the dubs way of doing that part even though it WAS humorous. I feel like this is one of the parts where the humor should have been negated. 

OVERALL: I would give the *dub* version of this movie an 8/10, I feel like i will be giving the sub a 9.5/10 (for sheer saltiness that I saw 0 Mai alone LOL) but we’ll see C:

[the-cryptographer]

I kinda thought I was making up the snarky, friendly Jou & Mokuba moments but then I finally started making my way through Grand Prix and, all other issues aside, there have been three separate cases of Mokuba being incredibly snarky and yell-y but supportive at Jou and it’s actually the most beautiful.

Other Grand Prix highlights/thoughts under the cut:

THE PUNS! “That hunk-of-junk computer’s gonna be running home to its motherboard...”

Grandpa having mentored Jounouchi, and then telling Jou he’s an A+ student when Jou wins their duel. So many feels~

Red and Weevil walking to Kaiba Land, decommissioning a competitor, and standing on each other’s shoulders to pose as an ordinary sized human which they are not.

The really terrible themes duelists Kaiba pulled out of a hat for this tournament. The surgeon one has two nurses assisting him.

The way this show is handling the conflict between Anzu and Rebecca and Vivian is super gross and unbearable. But antagonistic, bitchy ladies are actually the best so I’m having fun in spite of everything.

Poor Jou~ Always being desrespected. But it’s actually kind of super gross how I have to watch Jou make sexist/homophobic comments at Siegfried as I simultaneously watch Siegfried make classist comments at Jou. It’s not that I think Jou’s nessesarily incapable of saying all kinds of dumb shit once somebody’s rejected him and gotten on his bad side, but I can’t help but feel that I might have been spared this nonsense if it weren’t for queer coding 101.

a really obvious trap: *exists* Otogi: *points out the really obvious trap exists* Everyone Else: *gasp* Like, wow, I always thought he was a smart and pragmatic one but I didn’t realise everyone else was so dumb. (They’re not dumb, that’s just the bad filler talking.)

Rebecca saying ‘It’s time someone played a real card for a change’. Uh huh~ Leon and Siegfried’s decks are so fake and it’s so painfully obvious it actually kind of hurts.

Honda and Jou being upset with Gramps for his betrayal and helping Vivian with her plan. A+  And, honestly, I can hardly blame Vivian for not giving a shit about this horny old man.

Leon & Siegfried: about to duel me: oh gawd, who cares? pls be a one episode duel. Kaiba: stop the match! you’re disqualified! you win! fuck both of you! I hate everyone! me: a zero episode duel?! i knew i loved you for a reason, Kaiba *cries tears of joy*

Siegfried calls Kaiba a coward and I was like, ‘yeeeessss’. But then he specifies Kaiba is a coward for... not entertaining wild revenge plots(?) and I was like, ‘noooooo’.

Joey: As much as I can’t stand Kaiba... [some other bullshit about Siegfried]. Yuugi & Anzu: *nod solemnly* seconded & thirded. Kaiba sucks.

Kaiba: I’ve never stolen a thing in my life. I got where I am today through hard work and determination. me: ...that sounds fake but okay. Atem: I agree with Kaiba completely. me: ...that sounds fake but okay.

Joey: Leave it to Kaiba to make this whole tournament all about him. Otogi: Well, he did organise it, and pay for it, and build the theme park to host it, so... Joey: ERROR. ERROR. DOES NOT COMPUTE. And we wonder why Jou doesn’t like Otogi.

More child abuse. Honestly, do the writers for this show even understand that you can have a sympathetic villain without relying on them having been abused or orphaned??!! Stupid von Schröders.

Dark Magician Girl just flirted with Leon. It was super cute, actually <3

Atem comforting everyone’s little brothers is so cute, omg~

Otoh, am I really supposed to go along with Siegfried and Leon reconciling after all this bullshit? This was too much sibling abuse to brush away with one tearful hug, omg. The Kaibros had to gang up against Pegasus and Seto had to rebuild his heart for me to buy them getting along afterwards.

Also it’s weird there wasn’t any real follow up on whether or not Kaiba did or did not steal Siegfried’s intellectual property. I mean, we know from Noa’s arc that Seto was already designing Solid Vision holograms six years back. But there’s not really any reason for anybody else to know or trust that. It wasn’t even addressed.

Did Serenity really agree to go on a date with Otogi? *checks sub* The answer is no. It’s pretty amusing that she apparently did in the dub though, haha.

ALSO:

Lookit how excited he is. He holds this dumb pose way too long but~ It’s kinda adorable.

Isono gets really into his job as announcer. Too cute. The Kaibros are truly blessed.

Atem’s face when Kaiba says ‘Yuugi’ definitely won’t lose.

MAI CAMEO!! I didn’t know this would happen at all! Some of the other characters got cameos at the end, but Mai was actually remembered three separate times! Aww~ I’m glad she caught the broadcast~

--

Alright! Next is rewatching Legendary Heroes and Dungeon Dice Monsters, then Millennium World, then GX, and maybe somewhere in there I can watch CapMon.

[steve0discusses]

Yugio S3 Ep 26: Marik’s Low Speed Escape From the Museum

This episode is quite short and contains about two things 1.) this weird 4-way duel that has little bearing on anything except who gets to play Marik and get super cursed first and 2.) flashbacks.

I am so thankful for flashbacks, because this was mostly watching Kaiba doing his damnedest to manipulate Joey Wheeler and Yugi into not working with eachother so that way Joey would lose and go up against Marik when Joey Wheeler has already decided he was going to go up against Marik.

It was very catty. Kaiba at his cattiest. He really thought he was breaking up this friendship of two people who were once chained by the ankles to an anchor when they’re like “no, Kaiba, you don’t get it. Kaiba, this is totally unnecessary, Kaiba. Kaiba, calm down.”

To be fair to Seto Kaiba, he probably absolutely believes that this is what Yugi is going to do before their Senior Year of High School is over. Kaiba kind of lives in a Game of Thrones situation in his head when in reality...he’s in high school playing cards.

(read more under the cut)

We also get a flashback of this show desperately trying to prove to us that they had planned JoeyxMai this whole time. I’m starting to realize this is just how they write most romances on this show, by inserting flashbacks instead of actually showing any romance in the current timeline.

And by romance, I mean aggressive friendship because yes that age gap is...still there. My bro was like “I dunno if they’re even still in High School at this point. I think they wrote them out of High School without telling us” but like, until they show me directly that they have graduated, then I’m just gonna still believe they’re in high school. Except Seto who is like both 18 and 16 and a college graduate at 14 or just never graduated the 9th grade depending on who you’re talking to. Seto will be our outlier of “he’s in class but don’t ask.”

Anyway, lets go hang out with Ishizu to see what happened when Marik decided to pay her a visit at the museum. This occurred directly after she handed over her God card to Seto Kaiba.

Yes, she gave her God card to Seto Kaiba, and then, once he was out the door, decided to lock herself in a vault, just so she could spook her little brother’s cultists. This family and their weird pranks.

But here’s the thing I just realized that I can’t shake. I know it’s a kid’s show so none of this will matter, but let me go a little Ace Attorney on us here and just throw out a very quick “objection!” to the floor because...there’s some continuity issues.

+++++++++++++++BORKED TIMELINE RANT FEEL FREE TO SKIP ++++++++++

(Shocking on this show that has Seto Kaiba’s timeline, that there’d be some continuity issues, but youknow...now we have new one.)

If she JUST gave that card to Seto Kaiba, and she did not leave Japan from the time that she gave Seto the card and the time the tourney started (since this museum show I assume has been in Japan this entire time), then why is Marik here?

Marik came here on a boat in the middle of S2, he made a big fuss about it, but apparently he was already here just weeks earlier. He was already in Japan, then got back on his boat, and just sailed around in the Pacific for a spell before heading back?

Did he just come here to get these cards and then also drop off Bandit Keith???? Except...Bandit Keith was...before Ishizu showed up in the timeline of this show.

Or, and this is might be even more confusing, what if this is happening in Egypt, and it’s a completely different museum, and Ishizu just left Japan at some point to stand in a vault until her brother showed up,and then got back on a plane back to Japan just in time to crash Yugi’s date?

And here’s the thing, lets just pull out that borked timeline. The Ishtar timeline, from the perspective of the Isthars, lets do this.

1. Marik feels like going on a really exotic yachting trip with his cultist buddies and decides to check out Pegasus’ Island off the coast of America(?) While there, he unexpectedly comes across Bandit Keith, who (and this must have been really shocking to every single cultist there who is used to living underground) is violently shot out of a strange slip n’ slide mechanism, that pops him out of a cliff-face and vaults him directly into the ocean. Curious, Marik picks the weird Trash American out of the sea, and he finds out that Bandit Keith knows Yugi, but instead of invading Pegasus’ island where Yugi was currently residing, Marik decides to go allllll the way to Japan (Which is crazy because Bandit Keith did not know what part of Japan Yugi lived in. Japan is freakin huge and made up of several islands.)

2. Since Marik wanted to get to Yugi ASAP, he tosses Bandit Keith onto the coast of Domino in order to abduct Yugi on his way to soccer practice. We can assume this happened...like a few weeks later (I really am not sure how fast his party yacht moves, but like...considering we also don't know where Pegasus’ island is (Maybe like the coast between California and Mexico?????) I can never say.) At this point, Marik probably just peaced out and went to Guam to hang out 20 leagues away from where Noah was currently plotting his revenge.

3. While Yugi is recovering from 3rd degree burns form the warehouse fire, and during which time, Yugi’s doctors were also trying to figure out how the hell to get Yugi to let go of the goddamn golden puzzle that remained in his hands from the moment Yugi passed out to the moment Yugi woke up in the hospital, Ishizu lands in Japan via a plane (although the English version erroneously says she lands in America, because for a little while they wanted to pretend that this entire show takes place in the US.) She unpacks her cargo, sets up a museum exhibit, and then on the news/psychic phone call, invites Seto Kaiba over so she can give a God Card to Seto Kaiba. I assume al that happened the very evening that the museum show opened. Like maybe this happens over the course of maybe a week or so from when Marik left Japan after dropping off Bandit Keith?

4. Shortly after (within the amount of time it takes Kaiba to get the idea to do the tourney and the time to hastily throw it together (which could not have been long, this tourney is a complete disaster)) Marik crashes Ishizu’s museum in.......Japan? Japan or Egypt. Something like that. Considering he wants to go where the God Cards are, he’d probably go to the exhibit that also has the giant God Card tablet that will curse everyone that looks at it. So...probably Japan. However, there are palm trees here, and so maybe it’s Egypt? I don’t know. After that doesn’t work out, he peaces out yet again, and then gets back on his boat for the second time, and goes straight back to Guam or wherever.

5. A few days later, Ishizu crashes Yugi’s and Tea’s date. (and if she has been in Egypt spooking Marik in a vault, this means she had to get off of a plane in order to make it in time to spook this date as well on the other side of the world) She tells Yugi about the tourney because for some reason, Kaiba has invited everyone with invites but just...didn’t send an invite to Yugi for some reason although Yugi is the only reason he’s throwing this tourney. Then she shows Yugi the cursed God Card tablet and then peaces out so she can join Kaiba’s tourney and play cards peacefully while everyone else was getting attacked by cultists.

6. About a few days later into the tourney...Marik arrives in Japan and we act as if this is the first time he ever has and it’s with a MUCH better motorcycle, but we’ll get to that motorcycle later.

It’s not as bad as the Kaiba timeline--I can’t even put the Kaiba timeline in a consecutive order, but mm. This brother sister team realllly likes to travel across the entire world and back within the span of a couple of months, huh?

++++++++OK THAT’S ENOUGH ABOUT THAT TIMELINE, BACK TO THE SHOW+++++++++++

I am so weirded out that Marik doesn’t wear like anything under his cloak. Like nothing. It’s just a gross sweaty cloak and that’s it...and like I have NO idea if he has pants on, they never scroll down. I mean, I assume he has matching purple pants...or probably cargoes, but...does he? Or does he just wear that cloak over a pair of golden boxers?

Also, why is he wearing golden arm bands with a long sleeved cloak? It’s because he knows he’s gonna take that cloak off at EVERY opportunity, right? Like that’s the only reason you would bother with the arm cuffs?

And then we get the most unexpected motorcycle in history.

So like...remember how Marik was hella into Motorcycles? Remember how it was really cool hot rods that made him start towards the evil side in the first place? Think about the coolest motorcycles you know and then...admire this one

This motorcycle that moved so slowly that the cultists casually jogged behind him like it was a parade or something. Like, did he steal the motorcycle from this museum collection?

Anyway, bro let me know that apparently in the Japanese version she’s got armed guards with guns, but they were edited out. Funny thing is, bro also mentioned that since Marik can just mind control people, it makes more sense that Ishizu wouldn’t bring an armed militia with her. I gotta agree, this is the one instance where the English version actually works better.

Although that motorcycle though. Wow. It’s like out of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.

Marik just stuffed himself into that baby side car, making vroom vroom noises with his mouth as he glides away at a smooth 10 mph.

This is our serial murderer that killed Bakura, folks. It was this guy.

Kinda wish he kept the side car this entire time, that would have been a treat throughout S2.

Anyway, here’s a link to read all the recaps from Ep1 S1 in chrono order.

[taroshi-chan]

"I just can't be bothered anymore"

"What?"

"What?!"

"Whaaa-"

This went on for a while. Atem sighed.

"But...but you're royal Highness!"

"That's me."

"How can you say that?! Surely the capture of someone so vile and dastardly-"

"You mean sexy-"

"What!"

"-seeeeeeverely wrong in his ways. Look, we slaughtered his entire village, of course he was going to take offense to that!"

"But-"

"And try and take his revenge. Yes, I admit it, he killed a lot of my people and that's...just not cool, my dudes, but you know what? I just don't care anymore. Leave him alone, he'll eventually not care anymore either."     

Which was entirely untrue but... Gotta protect dat booty call. 

Before another protest could be uttered, the monstrously large and golden doors to the hall were thrust open to reveal a being clothed in shadows and shaking with laughter.  

The priest he still called "Grandpa" cried shrilly, "Holy shit, he's come for us!"

The being shakily began to make its way into the hall, the intensity of it's mirth dying to the occassional chuckle. As it approached, the Pharaoh and his priests began to make out details; long, lean limbs, flowing white coat, blue, blue eyes.

Kaiba came to a halt just before the dias, grinning like a fool. If possible, his grin grew larger as he raised a hand to point directly at the young Pharaoh, and proclaimed, 

"I finally did it."  

The Pharaoh took a moment to stare in disbelief before lowering his head into his hands and muttering, "You have got to be fucking kidding me."  

---

After a brief internal war with himself, Atem rose into a carefully practiced dramatic stance.

"Everybody...get out."

There was, as expected, a lot of backlash at this command.

"But sire!"

"We cannot abandon you to this...hoodlum!"

His raised hand cut them off. They left in a huff and a hurry. Then there were only two.

Atem narrowed his eyes at the remaining man. The man he hadnt seen in an eternity. The man who-

Thank you, brain, that's enough.

"What," the pharaoh began, his tone sloghtly exasperated, "in Ra's name are you doing here Kaiba?"

"I've come to duel-"

"You've come to lose? Really? Wow!"

 Kaiba narrowed his eyes at the smaller man, "we'll see who the loser is this time." 

Atem flapped his hands in a dismissive gesture, "Still gonna be you. Tell me, was it worth it to come all this way...wait, how did you even get here?"

Kaiba looked away, features scrunched in what looked like embarrassment (oh?) And muttered something under his breath.

The young pharaoh made a show of leaning forward and cleaning out his ears.

"What was that? Sorry, I couldnt hear you over the sound of how awesome I am-"

 "I made a magic space elevator now shut up and duel me!"

Silence prevailed. 

"You made-"

"A magic space elevator."

"-a magic-"

"God damn it, Pharaoh!"

"-space elevator!!"  A rather ugly guffaw escaped said Pharaoh, ruining his earlier image of manliness.

"You sound like two cranes hate fucking,     why did I even bother coming here?"  

Amusement wound its way into Atem's voice, "To duel me."

"Finally! Let's du-"

"Not so fast! What do I get when I win?"

"You mean if-"

"Mm, nope, pretty sure I meant what I said." 

Kaiba growled, "when I win-"

"You'll what?" Atem drawled, cutting him off expertly. He'd had much practice in Egyptian politics since he last saw Kaiba. 

Who faltered slightly. "What?"

"How is it you think you'll win?

"Well I-"

"I have, at my disposal, every duel monster conceivable (and subsequently inconceivable) not to mentioned all three gods and Exodia and you still think you can defeat me?"

"....maybe."

The  young Pharaoh  flashed him a devilish smile and, pitching his voice low,  let the words drip out of his mouth, "Seto Kaiba,"  who shivered in something definitely not like delight, "we dont even need to duel for me to tell you the outcome."

His voice lowered even further, "I win."

The timber of his voice slid through Kaiba's ears like a caress , physically pleasurable, and he let out a breathy moan.

Atem's eyes rounded.  

---

Long fingers gently looped strands of fine golden hair in coils around them. The man gave them an experimental tug, elicting a eye roll and a knowing smile from his smaller companion.

"You're hair is still stupid, how does it even work? "  Kaiba brought the strands up to his face, breathing in deeply. Blue eyes languishly opened as he took a step closer to the young Pharaoh.

"Mm, would you believe lots of ancient hair spray?"

 "Such cheek." Gentle  hands  slid through  blonde bangs to cup Atem's face, thumbs smoothing across velvety dark skin.  Golden bangles jingled as the the small ruler  fisted both hands into the  material of Kaiba's shirt, smiling at the silky texture and how badly it was going to wrinkle.

"Maybe I was born with it?"  He breathed, their faces so close now. So close. 

Kaiba's eyes narrowed as he stroked the length of Atem's nose with his own. "Maybe it's Mabeli-"

His horrible pun was thankful interrupted by the sweetest of lips upon his own.  

(A/N: Stay tuned for more, kids, story time with Taroshi isn't over yet! -children wailing in the background-)

For @doggy-yasha (I’m sorry its reeeeeally late!)

Pairing: Kaiba x Atem

Word Count: A lot, but probably not enough

—

“Oh, my Pharaoh, how could you be so wanton in your affections?!”

“Well, I-”

“The whole palace is in an uproar! Rumors are floating around like restless spirits-”

“Heh, spirits…”

“What?”

“What?”

“Ahem, as I was saying, my sun and moon, there are rumors spreading about your…ah..transgretions…and they keep getting worse! No one knows who this mystery woman was, and she just disappeared after such a rousing…erm…engagement….and the speculations keep escalating and-!”

Atem smirked inwardly at the mistake. How anyone  could mistake the king of thieves for a woman was beyond him, especially when his good-for-nothing Priest blabbed about, as he had so kindly put it, the Taking of his Royal Bottom.

He was sure he could hear the spirit skrieking in utter rage from…well..wherever he was now.

Oh right, still getting scolded…

“-and I hope you will be behaving yourself from now on, my imperial child of gods, for this is a shameful display and if you are not careful, you will incur the displeasure of your ancestors, may they rest in eternal peace in the great unknowable afterlife. Ohh, but what a mess this is, i truly do not know what we shall do with you-"    

And so it continued. He didn’t feel ashamed though. He just felt ….slightly aroused. 

An ancient memory of long lean limbs and eyes as dark and unforgiving as the Nile washed over him as he pretended to listen and humble himself before his advisors. He couldn’t help himself; his mouth widened in an anticipatory grin.   

—

An immense wave of satisfaction rolled over him as he basked in the glory of his own brilliance. 

”Kaiba wins!“ Boomed the voice of the announcer; another victory in his incredibly deep pockets. 

He walked briskly over to his opponent  but instead of shaking his hand, spat the word "dweeb” at him and kept on walking. 

His opponent, who could have been no older than 6, burst into tears. 

“Mr Kaiba,” the announcer began, “perhaps you should show a little more respe-”

“Tears are for the weak,” Kaiba retorted before snatching his trophy from the man’s hands.

It had been his 118th victory  but he still felt empty. There had been no challenging duels since he left. The Other One. To be fair, he had been duelling mostly children since that time; what with the loss of souls from his last tournament and the unwillingness from the rest to lose what remained. Nerds, the lot of them.              

Though his  emptiness had begun to bother him lately. His wins held no meaning anymore, no gadget or gizmo he created thrilled him and even his Blue Eyes, while he still loved and cherished them, had begun to become in his mind just a set of cards.

And he had this terrible gaping slightly tingly itch deep down in his-    

A mighty roar unleashed itself from the depths of  his aforementioned pockets. He reached in and brought out his custom made Blue Eyes phone and brought it to his ear…

“Bro! The preparations have been completed!”

…which was a mistake. Mokuba may be older now, but his voice could still hit those piercing  notes when he was excited. Which was entirely too much.      

 Kaiba held the phone at arms length, sure his brother could still hear him.  “Huh, that was faster than I anticipated. Ill be there shortly.”

“Great! See you soon.”

  He shoved his phone back into his pocket and allowed himself a small chuckle. Things were finally looking up.  

—

“You’re fired.”

“W-what did you-”

“I said you’re fired, now get out of my city!”

The now jobless man, thoroughly confused and more than slightly afraid, grabbed his briefcase and exited the building hastily.   

Mokuba sighed. While he was glad of the effectiveness of adopting his brothers persona, it was still challenging for him to make these kinds of decisions.

Well…not in this particular case. The man in question, Bob McQueen, had been harassing his brother’s pretty young assistant, Penelope. With pictures…of his family trips! Outrageous! Unacceptable! Nobody cares if your kid saw a dolphin, Bob!

Really, the man had to go.

A ~ding!~ broke through his thoughts as the elevator doors opened to reveal a world weary Big Brother.

“Bro!” Mokuba excitedly chimed, catching the latest trophy from his brother’s low bally pitch.

“Bro.” Kaiba monotonously agreed. They bumped fists.

“Now that that’s over with, tell me…” He paused to sit at his desk, leaning forward to steeple long fingers together, " Is it truly ready?“

"The thing?”

“Yes, the thing”

Mokuba grinned sunnily at the older man, “It’s ready."  

[musicprincess655]

Shunpei stabbed mercilessly at his keyboard. He knew how to hack, but he wasn’t necessarily good at information gathering. That had always been Katsuko’s role on the team.

But Katsuko was gone.

Even Tetsu was subdued, not that it was easy to tell with him. Shunpei had never been sure if he legitimately had no emotions or he just suppressed them, but even so, he was clearly just as upset about losing a teammate as Shunpei was.

Was this how Ryou had felt when he died? It wasn’t the same situation, but the all-consuming drive for revenge that Ryou had apparently had...Shunpei could understand it. The way he was almost obsessively looking for Seto, searching in every corner he could find, just for the idea of a chance to get at him, was proof enough of that.

If he could ever get his hands on Seto, they’d have to bury him in pieces, former friendship be damned. He couldn’t forgive what Seto had become, and that was a lot, coming from Shunpei. He had a lot of blood on his hands, but none of it was from a former teammate.

And it was hard not to blame himself. Coming back to this life had been Katsuko’s decision, one that everyone who knew her had known she would make eventually. But he hadn’t made it a secret that he wanted her back in the game.

"Stop." Tetsu had crossed the room to stand at Shunpei's side. "You'll break it."

"So what?" Shunpei sniped at him, just to be petulant. "Not like I'm any good at this, anyway."

"You're angry," Tetsu said.

"Spot on, yeah."

"Do something about it."

Shunpei rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, because that's what this city really needs," he said. "For me to go on a revenge-driven rampage."

"I thought you already did that."

Shunpei stared at him, trying to find any crack in Tetsu's face that would give a hint to what he was thinking.

"Someday, I'm gonna find a way to tell when you're fucking with me." Tetsu just blinked. "Seriously, though, what am I supposed to do? I operate in Gotham, and Seto's underwater. Last I checked, I can't breathe underwater."

"But I can."

Shunpei had turned to the new voice and fired before his brain even caught up to what was happening. Luckily, it looked like Haruno had been ready for that, because the edges of her body fizzled, and the bullets passed straight through her.

"I thought you knew better than to sneak up on people like that," Shunpei complained. "How did you even get in here?"

"Phased through the wall," Haruno said. "I learned a new trick."

"Useful," Shunpei said. It was a little unfair that Martians came preprogrammed with all these superpowers and humans had to make do without them. "What do you want?"

"Your help."

Shunpei couldn't help but snort. The last time someone had approached him with a request for help like this, he'd ended up crawling through Gotham's underbelly with a kid that was secretly a member of the Justice League on his tail. But the situation with Raichi had been unique, and Shunpei didn't think Haruno needed help tracking down a missing foster sibling.

"Looking to get into the drug trade?" Shunpei asked, realizing that he was being a little mean. Haruno had been one of the best when he was still Robin, still her team leader. She was the one who held back, the one who was good in the face of so many teammates with the capacity for violence.

Shunpei had the tendency to attract people like that, after all.

"I want your help tracking down Aqualad," Haruno said.

"So you can scold him into stopping his evil ways?"

"So I can kill him."

Shunpei raised his eyebrows.

"So, Miss M is all grown up and out for blood," he said. "And you came to me? You're sure you have the right Kominato? I hear there's another one that's really good at revenge kicks."

"He's not Katsuko's best friend," Haruno said. "And he wouldn't agree to this, anyway. There's too much else going on."

"So why are you here?"

"Because I need to do something for myself!" Haruno's outburst seemed to surprise even her. Shunpei pushed a chair out to her. It looked like they would be here a while. She sat down gracefully. "When you died, the team fell apart, and there was nothing I could do about it."

"So I hear," Shunpei said. It was one of his bigger regrets about not coming back as soon as he'd risen from the dead. Maybe he could've saved the team as it was, even if he thought it was better off the way it had become. Haruichi was the leader neither he nor Ryou could be.

"No one even asked me to try and do anything about it," Haruno continued. "I bet everyone thought I couldn't. And then the only teammates I had left, the only ones that didn't run away, the ones that avenged you...they never asked me to help."

"Would you have?" Shunpei asked, genuinely curious. Haruno had always struck him as the gentlest of them all, but if she was here, there was clearly something beneath the surface that he'd never seen.

"You were my leader, too," she said, looking offended. "You were my friend too. I wanted to avenge you just as much as everyone else, and nobody thought to ask me, because nobody thought I could."

"So you want to avenge Katsuko," Shunpei said. "Great. Join the club. What do you think we should do?"

"I know you're tracking Seto." Shunpei must have looked surprised, because Haruno pouted. "We worked together for years, I know your style. Even if you're not sure what you want to do yet, I know you're keeping an eye out for him."

"What do you want me to want to do?" Shunpei asked. Haruno leaned forward, face twisting into a grin Shunpei shouldn't have liked so much.

"I want you to take me with you," Haruno said. "I want you to let me destroy his mind. His life is yours. It's his soul I want."

So Haruno had a brutal streak she'd been hiding from everyone. Shunpei could respect that. It would serve both of them well if they wanted to go through with this.

"Can you move out now?" Shunpei asked. "Because we know where Black Manta hides out, and we might actually be able to get down there with your help."

"I was ready to move out as soon as I heard how she died." Haruno stood in one smooth motion. "I brought the bioship. Where am I taking this?"

"I'll explain on the way," Shunpei said. "Tetsu, you want to come?"

"Yes." Tetsu followed them, aura burning. "Am I punching down guards and defenses?"

"I love when you see where I'm going with this." Shunpei would never stop being glad he'd recruited Tetsu. "Haruno, you and I are going in after Tetsu clears a path for us. Seto has a new right hand, some ninja girl he calls Diana. I'll take her. You do what you gotta do with Seto."

He directed her to the coordinates he'd found, where he was pretty sure Black Manta hid out. He wasn't completely sure, but there was definitely something shady happening here, and he'd never minded a little collateral damage. The worst that happened was they found nothing and went back to the drawing board.

Still, though, he had a good feeling. If he and Haruno could take out Seto, maybe that could be one less burden Young Justice and the Titans had to deal with.

"Tetsu, you're up to bat," Shunpei said. "Feel free to cause as much destruction as you want, we're not here to take prisoners."

Tetsu nodded, fire in his eyes. He'd taken to this style of doing things like a fish to water. Shunpei was the first to truly let him cut loose. The sound of explosions that followed Tetsu's exit from the bioship were music to Shunpei's ears.

"The bioship can take us right up to the underwater base, right?" he asked. Haruno nodded. "Good. Do it."

Tetsu had really done a number on the base already, as Shunpei discovered when he climbed from the bioship to the tune of alarms and mass chaos. No one even gave Miss Martian and the Red Hood a second glance.

"You have any idea where Seto might be?" he asked. Haruno nodded, and Shunpei followed her, gun drawn. He didn't even have to fight past anyone. They were too focused on the threat Tetsu posed to worry about him.

The Haruno made a tiny sound of rage, and Shunpei looked down the hallway to see a familiar face. Seto's eyes widened as he took in the two of them. Shunpei grinned behind his hood, knowing their faces would be the last thing Seto saw.

Haruno went right for him, flying faster than Shunpei could run, but it was fine. Shunpei only had to keep an eye out for...

A boot flew out of nowhere to kick him in the face. Shunpei let it roll off him, stumbling only a little, and turned to face Diana. She reeled back when she saw his hood, almost in what Shunpei could label as surprise, but he didn't stick around to psychoanalyze her. Instead, he struck back, throwing a punch that landed on the side of her head and reaching for his gun.

She kicked the gun aside, but not before he got off a shot that clipped her in the hip. She screamed in pain, but threw herself at him anyway, and rained down well-placed punches, meant to drop him to the ground quickly. She was good, he could admit to that. But he was a Kominato, and he was better.

Still, there was something familiar about the way she fought. About the way she clawed for distance, the way she relied on the knives on her belt, the way she seemed to know where his punches were going to land before they landed. He had to give her all his attention, sparing none for Haruno. He had to trust that Haruno could take care of herself.

Then Diana pulled a move Shunpei had been familiar with since before he'd ever been a hero. She threw herself forward, reckless, arms wrapping around his neck, ankles hooking behind his knees to drop him to the ground. He landed hard on his back, too stunned to do anything else in the face of a particularly reckless move.

One he'd only seen one person try on a regular basis.

She straddled his stomach, using all her weight to keep him down even though he wasn't moving. Because even behind that mask, even with unfamiliar green eyes and blonde hair, she was familiar.

"Don't avenge me until I'm dead for real," Diana said, and Shunpei's jaw dropped behind his hood.  

A gasp to his right broke his concentration, led it over to where Haruno had taken Seto down. He was on the floor, eyes vacant, but Haruno looked anything but victorious.

She looked horrified.

"No, no, please," she whispered. "Why?"

"What have you done?" Diana...Katsuko asked, voice just as horrified. Haruno looked over at them, trembling hands covering her mouth. Shunpei didn't completely understand her powers, but he knew she was a strong telepath, and he knew that could break people's minds.

She must have seen something that had changed her mind too late for it to matter.

"Katsuko?" Haruno whispered. Katsuko waved a hand across her neck frantically, but Shunpei suddenly understood.

A faked death, which would only make sense if Katsuko needed to be sent undercover...

And she would only be undercover with Seto if he was undercover too.

What had they done? All of Shunpei's desire for revenge melted away as he considered the implications of what they'd destroyed here.

“Tetsu, clear out now!” Shunpei ordered into the comm. in his hood.

“Why?”

“Just do it!”

"Seto!" Because this day couldn't get any worse, Black Manta was here as well. "Kill the Martian!"

"No!" Katsuko stood quickly, but Shunpei made no move to get away. "Doesn't it make more sense to make her fix what she broke?"

"She destroyed my son!" Black Manta yelled.

"Then force her to put him back together," Katsuko reasoned. Her smile went jagged, and if Shunpei hadn't recognized her before, he would've now. "And when she's done, you can let him kill her himself."

Black Manta nodded approvingly.

"I see my son picked an excellent right hand," he said. "Very well, then kill this one."

Shunpei tensed to defend himself, but before he could, Katsuko kept talking.

"Oh, no," she said, a tiny, vindictive laugh on her lips. "He shot me. He and his friend both tried to kill Seto. Seto should have the right to see him. And when he wakes up, when he gets to execute the Martian," she paused, looking at Shunpei with eyes full of pleading and desperation, "this one's mine."