#yuugi/daisuke

[uniasus]

fic rec! YGO x DNAngel 12K fic

Summary: Yuugi is looking for some help with his art. He finds that and unexpected friendship in an tiny campus studio and the art student that seems to practically live there.

Comments: This is post canon for both of them, with Yugi working through his grief via making a game and Daisuke doing the same with art. They don't really talk about it, but you can tell they both realize the other is going through something similar. Grieving is a slow process, but they work through it and eventually become a couple. (At 18 months you'd think it was a slow burn, but the fic is short.)

I love the little details in here - Joey, Mai, and Tea in a triad, Satoshi feeling the magic in Duel Monster cards, Yugi standing up to Kaiba and getting what he wants in a job offer. But Daisuke and Yugi just have a lot in common and I love that they found eachother.

[lisatelramor]

To Immortalize in Full

...and gain something new along the way

You know how I kept saying I was going to make one of those kiss prompts actually shippy? This is the shippy one. Shhhh. I know. 

That said, I've crossed over Yu-Gi-Oh! and Hikago, and now Yu-Gi-Oh! and DNAngel. All that's left is squishing all three together some day into some sort of unholy angsfest of moving on from your now-absent mind-spirit-buddy. Person. Thing. This prompt was Yuugi-Daisuke: perplex. Noooot sure if it really came out to much perplexing so much as 'this person reminds me of me for some reason' for most of it, but hey, prompts are just there to light the spark.

The Mutou Yuugi that first stepped foot in Domino High never planned to go to college. He’d hoped to survive school without too much bullying, make friends besides Anzu, and eventually take over Grandpa’s shop where he could be surrounded by the latest games of all types to his heart’s content. But the Mutou Yuugi who entered high school was not the Mutou Yuugi that left it, and several years with a spirit sharing his body and confronting an array of powerful, morally questionable people and an ancient Egyptian evil kind of put him at a different mental state than when he’d entered high school. The world was a lot bigger than his little game shop and there was a lot he would love to know more about. Plus he had friends now who were all making their own way in the world. Yuugi had had to decide what to make of himself.

So, contrary to where he thought he’d be, he’d decided to go on in schooling. Learning more about Atem’s country and times was helping fill the gap he’d left. And learning about game design was right up Yuugi’s alley. In fact, Kaiba had even made subtle, backhanded remarks that insinuated that he wouldn’t mind having Yuugi’s brain coming up with games for his company once Yuugi was out of school.

So there he was.  In college and in over his head whenever he had classes that didn’t immediately relate to his obsessions. Yuugi still couldn’t really believe he was there. He could have just gone into pro Dueling like Jonouchi had. But as much as he loved Duel Monsters and always would, Duel Monsters had been a little too painful to play for a long while after Atem had left. Back around again to why college had ended up in his future.

Yuugi sighed. Game design, he was finding, required just as much knowledge about art and computers as it did crafting unique gameplay elements and storylines. Neither of which were his forte. Painting a figure for a tabletop game did not transfer over into sketching a character. And that was why Yuugi was at that moment sitting in the art building and hoping he could catch a professor or someone from one of the lower level art classes to get some tips, or at least some book recommendations.  He didn’t think his professor would be very thrilled with Yuugi’s current doodle designs. They looked more like balloon figure caricatures than a serious design for the video game concept he was piecing together for his class final.

Somehow Yuugi hadn’t expected a whole art building to be so...quiet. Or empty. He’d passed six classrooms and what looked like the entrance to a dark room, but there hadn’t been a single person. Maybe they were in a computer lab? Or one of the reserve-able workrooms upstairs? Or maybe there just weren’t any art classes taking place at ten thirty in the morning.

Yuugi wandered up a staircase and down a hallway. Whoever built the art building had an interesting idea on how architecture worked. In that there didn’t seem to be any rhyme or reason to where the halls and rooms were in relation to each other and different floors. It would be an easy place to get lost in.

At the end of that hallway before it took a sharp left, there was a room with the door ajar and the light on inside. Yuugi clutched his sketchbooks tighter; finally, there was someone else in the building after all.  

The room’s occupant was painting, headphones over his ears with spiky red hair jutting out around them. There was a large canvas propped on an easel in front of him and a few more finished works scattered around the room. The current painting was still in a sketchy framework phase, rough shapes and colors blocking out segments of the canvas. In the paintings around the room, there were clear interconnected color schemes of purple and black and blue and red, with the occasional jarring yellow. The second thing Yuugi noticed was that every painting had wings—feathers, winged figures, or just silhouettes worked into an abstract design. Looking at them felt a bit like intruding for some reason. Yuugi tore his eyes away.

“Excuse me!” he said, raising his voice a little to try to get the painter’s attention. He edged further into the room. “Hello?” The painter set down a brush, turned to grab a tube of paint. “Hi,” Yuugi said with a wave. The painter jolted as he caught Yuugi from the corner of his eye, accidentally sending a paintbrush spinning across the room. It left a streak along an already stained floor.

The artist clutched at his chest with one hand, the other lifting one headphone away from his ear. “How long have you been there?!”

“Um. Just now actually,” Yuugi said.

“Oh.” The headphones slid off completely. The artist rubbed a hand against his face leaving a small streak of indigo just under his left eye. “Hi? Did you need something?”

Yuugi opened his mouth, then closed it, painfully aware that he’d just interrupted a private painting session for completely selfish reasons. Still, this was the only person he’d found so far... “You wouldn’t happen to know if there’s a professor around? Or if there’s anyone who tutors for drawing?”

“It’s kind of quiet today, isn’t it?” The painter glanced at his mixed paint and the canvas before shrugging and wandering closer. “The professors are all out today because there’s an art exhibit opening up in town with some work from an alumni featured in it. A lot of people have class assignments related to it too.” Yuugi vaguely remembered something being mentioned about an art exhibit. He’d been a bit too caught up with thinking up puzzle mechanisms for the game he was designing to pay attention that day. “As for tutoring,” the painter said, “I don’t think there’s anything formal like that here. You can always ask a professor or a classmate for pointers though.”

“Ah.” Yuugi deflated a bit. “I don’t know much about art,” he said. “I’m a game design major, not an art major.”

“Okay.” The painter nodded. “You know what, I’ve got a bit of time. How about you show me what level you are at and we can go from there?”

Yuugi glanced at the unfinished painting. “That’s okay! I can come back another day to talk to a professor!”

The painter smiled, and he looked too young to be in college the way it softened his face—not that Yuugi was one to judge; people thought he was still a middle school student on a regular basis. “I’m not working on an assignment. This is just for...for fun. I have time.”

“Thank you then.” With some lingering hesitation, he handed over his sketchbook. “I’m Yuugi, by the way.”

“Daisuke,” the painter replied, already flipping through the couple of pages Yuugi had filled with sketches. His eyes lingered on the little things Yuugi had drawn in the corners; duel monsters and doodles of his friends. On one page he’d written out hieroglyphics that Atem had recognized at some point or another and Yuugi’d sought out again in the immediate aftermath of his passing on. It was uncomfortably soul baring to have someone seeing some of the things in there.

“I’m not much of an artist,” Yuugi said while Daisuke looked at a doodle of Jonouchi with a hoard of Duel Monsters cards.

“Actually,” Daisuke said, not looking up from the page, “this isn't so bad. You have your own style developing here.”

“Yeah, but it's all just doodles. And they all look the same.” He hadn’t noticed until he was looking at examples of character design in his class, but all Yuugi’s doodle people had the same ‘U’ shape head and proportional chibi bodies with hair to distinguish them from each other.

Daisuke looked up with a hint of a smile curling at his lips. “I was worried it was going to be stick figures or something from how nervous you looked. You just need to practice more and play around with shapes.”

Play with shapes. Practice was a given, but Yuugi wasn’t sure how to really go about the actual playing around bit. “...anything you can recommend? Books or...?” Examples would be great.

Looking thoughtful, Daisuke nodded slowly. “Actually, yeah. Here....” He pulled a pen from seemingly nowhere, turning to a blank page in Yuugi’s sketchbook and jotting down a list. “These are some useful titles for character design, and these are helpful for things like anatomy. Even cartoon styles can benefit from that. You need to know what you're doing before you exaggerate it anyway...”

Yuugi’s eyes went wide as Daisuke kept adding to it. “So much...”

The pen paused, finishing a character with a slow slide of the nib. “Ah, this isn't all that helpful is it? You were probably looking for more of a hands on approach...”

“No, it helps!” Yuugi shook his head. When Daisuke held out the sketchbook, Yuugi took it from him. He ran a finger along the list, plenty of books to get examples from, much as he felt intimidated by the amount of things he didn’t know that they could provide. “I’m a little overwhelmed with everything. Somehow I just wasn't expecting to need to draw for game design....”

“Well... when you think about it, in most game design it's a team effort, so you'd have people who focus on character design and people doing coding and someone else working on story and dialogue.... So you don't have to be great at it, but it doesn't hurt to know how to do it either.”

“Huh. Good point. I'm more used to coming up with plots and puzzles.”

Daisuke grinned. “I have a friend who is in the design course too and he's the exact opposite. He's great at the art end but is having trouble with the whole game aspect.”

Yuugi couldn’t imagine anyone wanting to go into games if they didn’t know much about them. “Well what kind of games does he like?”

“I don't think he ever really played games until a year ago. I'm not sure even he knows what he likes. Having fun is hard for him.”

“Why on earth is he in game design then?” Yuugi asked, but then he thought of Kaiba who made games but only seemed to enjoy them if he was winning. There were reasons to do everything he supposed.

Daisuke smiled ruefully. “It's about as far from what he was doing before as he's comfortable going. He had a degree in criminal law before. And art history too I suppose.”

“Huh.” Whoever this friend was must lead an interesting life.

“Yup.” Daisuke shrugged before nodding at the sketchbook. “Here, try sketching some random shapes and once you've done that, make faces from them. That will help get some diversity. Try to figure out what the rest of them might look like and go from there.”

“Thanks.”

“No problem.” Daisuke turned back to his painting and after a moment, Yuugi sat a ways away and started sketching. They worked in silence, just the soft sounds of pencils and Daisuke’s paintbrush filling the space. It was surprisingly both relaxing and focusing to have someone working nearby; it was a motivator to keep working.

Yuugi couldn’t say how much time passed, but after a whole he had two pages full of sketches. They were still pretty simple, but trying to use different random shapes had helped.

Daisuke, noticing the pause, glanced over. “See? You’re getting the hang of it.”

Yuugi rubbed the back of his head. “Thanks. Sorry again for bothering you.”

“It's not a bother.” Daisuke grinned. There was another bit of paint next to his nose, purple like one of the figures slowly taking shape on the canvas. “I needed a break anyway. If you need any help later, I'm usually in this room...”

“I’ll keep that in mind!” Yuugi had other classes to get to now, and books to find from the campus library, but it was reassuring to know that he had someone willing to help. He waved to Daisuke and left the artist to his winged paintings.

*

Daisuke hadn’t been joking about being in the room a lot. Every time Yuugi had sought him out over the next few weeks to ask about techniques or opinions on how Yuugi’s designs were coming, he was always in the art room. The painting was almost done now, filling in from its rough figures to be something that reminded Yuugi of a yin yang, but with winged people instead of black and white images. It was a color-clashing purple and yellow piece, but there were other colors subtly worked in so that it balanced out somehow. Yuugi was sure Daisuke could have explained the color theory he was working into it, but Daisuke didn’t seem to like talking about his paintings. The one time Yuugi brought them up, he’d found the conversation deflected around to the sketches of Duel Monsters he had left in the margins of his notes. So Yuugi hadn’t asked again, even if he was curious about how if he stepped back and viewed it from a distance it almost looked like two more people overlaid the angels on the canvas.

Yuugi was content to let Daisuke keep his secrets. He was just glad to have a new friend and help on his project. Daisuke was easy to get along with and easy to work next to; Yuugi found himself visiting Daisuke’s painting room a lot more than he planned just for the atmosphere and quiet company.

It was sometime during the third week of this that Yuugi walked in to find someone else sharing Daisuke’s work space. The stranger had a notebook in his lap, bent over it with Daisuke’s head bent alongside his as the stranger wrote in the margins. They both looked up when Yuugi walked through the door. Daisuke smiled and welcomed him. The stranger lifted one eyebrow before staring at Yuugi like he was a museum exhibit. Yuugi paused in the doorway.

“Hey!” Daisuke said, sitting up and giving a wave. None of his painting things were out for once. The painting he had been working on had been set aside, perhaps finally complete. “Yuugi, this is Satoshi, the friend I told you about that was in game design like you. Satoshi, this is Yuugi.”

“The person you’ve been teaching to draw,” Satoshi said. He had a flat tone of voice that at first reminded Yuugi a bit of Kaiba, but there wasn’t any of Kaiba’s defensive hostility in Satoshi’s voice or body language. He looked curious if anything.

“Giving tips,” Daisuke corrected. “He already has a style.”

“Teaching,” Satoshi said. “Teaching art is giving tips and things to practice and watching students improve through their own efforts.”

Daisuke rolled his eyes good naturedly. “Satoshi’s been working on a game of his own, but he’s having a little trouble with character dialog. Think you could help?”

“I can try?” Yuugi said. But this was something that he was good at. Tabletop RPGs and text games had given him a lot of practice in this sort of thing. As he walked over, he thought he heard Satoshi whisper to Daisuke, “You always run into interesting people.”

Yuugi chose to ignore that and whatever connotations were behind it. He could give Satoshi the benefit of the doubt. And it was fun to help someone else with characters and plot for a bit instead of prodding at his ever changing character designs.

And that, Yuugi thought, was how he made friends with Satoshi and cemented himself in Daisuke’s friend group without realizing it.

*

Yuugi held up his latest sketches to his laptop camera. “What do you think?”

“Looks good!” Anzu said, smiling. Her hair was long enough to tie back right now, a bit flyaway at the moment since she had just got back from her morning run. Behind her Yuugi could see the early morning sunlight streaming through her apartment window. Here in Japan it was already well into its decent. Yuugi felt a little wistful of the past where they didn’t have to work around twelve hour time difference. “You’ve got a lot of details now. They remind me a little bit of us actually. All of our friends.”

“That’s what I’m basing it off of a bit,” Yuugi admitted. “The characters aren’t too close to us, but...” He couldn’t deny that he’d drawn on his friends for inspiration. “I wanted to write something similar to what we went through. Not so close that anyone who looks at it can figure it out, but for those of us who knew Atem...”

“Yuugi...” She looked at him with the same expression she’d had when they gave up trying to date, a bit sad, a bit worried, but mostly supportive friendship.

“I’m making something he’d like,” Yuugi said. He smiled because focusing on the good things pushed back the times he felt sad. “But enough about my game, how did your audition go?”

Anzu gave him a look that said she knew exactly what he was doing by changing the topic, but she launched into an explanation on how she’d managed to get a minor stage role as a backup dancer and how there was another audition coming up in a few weeks and that show was compatible with this one so she was going to try out for that. It sounded busy and stressful, but Yuugi couldn’t help smiling genuinely at the pride and determination in Anzu’s tone as she spoke. She was following her dreams and that made him happy.

“I saw Jonouchi and Mai when they were in town for a bit,” Anzu said toward the end of the conversation. “Did he send you the picture we took?”

“The one with the port in the background?” Yuugi nodded. Jonouchi and Mai were both pro Duelers now, and that lifestyle took them all around the world. It could be fun to see where he was at any given time.

“Yeah! They were heading out to semifinals of a tournament—not hosted by Kaiba this time, can’t remember who. He’ll probably call sometime soon.”

“I look forward to it.” Yuugi missed Jonouchi but he was glad all of his friends were finding what they loved in the world.

“Good luck with your game, Yuugi,” Anzu said waving at the camera.

“Have fun dancing,” he said back.

Like always, it was a bittersweet feeling to end the call.

*

Daisuke had started a new painting. This one wasn’t purple or yellow, but it did already show signs of wings. Yuugi sat off to the side and worked on making tiny pixel sprites for his character designs. While he wasn’t expected to actually make a functioning game yet, he couldn’t help starting it in his spare time. Making a plan and design and building it up in concept was enough to make him want to make it real. Today Daisuke wasn’t painting, though, but sketching, off in a separate corner. The soft scratch of pencil lead along paper was almost meditative alongside the sound of Yuugi’s tablet.

Yuugi was so caught up in making a tiny coat for a tiny pixel character based off Kaiba that he almost didn’t notice that the sounds of Daisuke’s pencil had stopped. He glanced up and found Daisuke looking at his character sketches again. “Hm?” he hummed in question.

Daisuke twitched, like he’d been caught doing something he shouldn’t rather than just looking at sketches he’d seen dozens of times. “You know, I don’t think you even said what your game was about?” he said. “You’ve talked about the characters and what they’re like, but...”

Yuugi set aside his laptop and tablet. “It’s a puzzle game,” Yuugi said, picking up his sketches. He pointed out characters as they become relevant. “The main character is a high school student that solves an ancient puzzle and ends up sharing a body with a millennia old spirit.” Beside him, Daisuke blinked rapidly, but leaned in to look at the drawings with new interest. “There’s the protagonist, and then there’s the protagonist when he’s possessed,” Yuugi said, pointing to the slightly different designs. Showing the shift in pixel avatar has been harder than drawing the design had been. The character didn’t resemble Yuugi or Atem much, but Yuugi knew what he represented and that was enough. “Whenever the main character is possessed, his abilities to solve puzzles goes up because the ghost was obsessed with solving them before he died. The protagonist doesn’t realize he’s being possessed at first, but as the story goes on and you solve more puzzles, other characters create challenges. If you can complete the challenges right, you can make friends, and making friends opens more opportunities.” Like making friends had given Yuugi more from life. He smoothed a finger along the possessed version of his character.

“That sounds pretty cool,” Daisuke said slowly. “Does the protagonist ever realize he’s being possessed?”

“Yeah.” Yuugi smiled. “As you go on, you unlock bits about who the spirit is and at some point you become able to talk to him. He can become another friend, and you can unlock even harder puzzles where you have to work together to solve them. The end goal is actually to solve the puzzle of the spirit.”

“And if you solve it?”

“Then you have to decide whether to keep the spirit or to let him pass on to the afterlife.” Yuugi’s heart hurt thinking about it. It was a risk putting so much of himself into this, but it felt right to do it. If he made it, it would be just the sort of tribute to Atem’s memory that he’d appreciate.

“Oh.”

There was something sad in Daisuke’s voice and Yuugi glanced up. He’d never heard Daisuke sound sad before.

“That sounds like it would be a hard decision,” Daisuke said finally. “Because you made friends with him.”

“Yeah.” The echo of heartbreak he’d felt in that moment of decision was still there. To be selfish or to do the right thing? To feel whole or to let his other half rest at last?

Daisuke touched the sketch of the protagonist, something similar to Yuugi’s heartbreak in his eyes. Almost like he also knew what it felt like to make that kind of a decision. “What would you choose?” he asked. “If you were playing through the game?”

“I’d choose what I thought would make the spirit happiest,” Yuugi said immediately. “The protagonist has all the friends he’s made over the course of the game to fall back on, but the spirit was stuck in the puzzle alone for a long time, and could be stuck for who knows how long after the protagonist dies. If it was the only chance to let him move on and be at peace, I’d choose that than the possibility of condemning him to being alone and forgotten again.”

There was the sort of silence that comes after a confession, too close and personal, with all the blatant emotions out in the open. Yuugi didn’t take his words back though even though he felt like it could reveal too much. Daisuke swallowed thickly. “I can tell you’ve thought a lot about the choices,” he said finally.

“Yes,” Yuugi said. Because the choice had once haunted him like a second ghost until he’d come to peace with it.

“I don’t know if I could be that selfless in making the choice,” Daisuke admitted. “If I was the protagonist and cared about the spirit, I don’t think I’d want to let go.”

Yuugi’s smile was wry, barely the upward twist of his lips at the edges. “That’s how hard choices and love work; you might not choose what you want but you’ll do what will make everyone happiest in the long run.”

With one last touch to the sketch, Daisuke pulled back. “Sounds like you’re talking from experience.”

Yuugi shrugged. He closed the sketch book, suddenly not wanting to look at it. Or maybe not wanting Daisuke to look at it; Daisuke looked unsettled, like talking about the game had brought up things he didn’t want to think about. “That’s my game more or less though. I’m working on the puzzles already. I like that sort of thing, so it’s fun to come up with.”

“It sounds like it will be a cool game.” Daisuke gave him a quick, there and gone smile, moving back toward his work space. “If you ever do make it, I think I’d like to play it.”

The idea of someone playing a game Yuugi made, playing a game and enjoying it, made him feel warm inside. Like a little part of him would reach out to each and every person who played it, giving them a connection whether they knew it or not. And a little part of Atem that went into this game would live with them too. He wondered if that was part of what Kaiba liked about creating games; it was forging a connection without the difficulty of actually socializing.

“Thanks,” Yuugi said. He wrapped that warm feeling up inside to bring out whenever he got frustrated about the project. Then, curious, he asked, “What would you choose? Would you befriend the spirit knowing you had to choose?”

“I wonder,” Daisuke said, introspective. “I might be one of those people that never finishes the game, not wanting to make that choice at all.”

Fair enough. Yuugi couldn’t fault that he supposed. It would be a pity to leave anything unfinished though. He always has preferred to see things through to their ends.

*

They were in the usual room, Daisuke starting a new painting again, this one smaller and like none of the other paintings in the room. A scenic painting, Yuugi thought, instead of abstract or angelic portraits. Satoshi was there today as he sometimes was, poking away at his game concept. It was not the sort of game Yuugi would be attracted to playing, full of dark and introspective themes with a main character that is slowly losing trust in his own mind and judgment. Whatever it means to Satoshi though, he looks like each bit of progress is cathartic so Yuugi had the idea that it meant about as much to his as the game Yuugi was working on meant.

The door was propped open to let airflow in and Yuugi had music playing in the background as he ignored homework in favor of building up his game world pixel by pixel. He had far far more respect for Kaiba’s skills now than he ever thought he’d have. Granted, Kaiba had a team that probably did the tedious stuff like making textures for terrain and background images.

He had just about finished up the layout of the school when he heard a familiar voice.

“Yuugi!”

Yuugi’s head whipped up, seeing his best friend standing just outside the doorway. He couldn’t put his laptop down fast enough. “Jonouchi!” Yuugi tackled his friend. Jonouchi whirled him around in a hug, grinning from ear to ear. “What are you doing here?” Yuugi asked when the room stopped spinning. “I thought you were in the middle of a tournament?”

Jonouchi laughed. “I got a place in the finals so I have a bit of time off before the semifinals finish up! Figured I'd visit my best bud and see how college life was going. Your campus is a hell of a maze by the way.”

“You should have called!” Yuugi said, pulling back. His face hurt from grinning. It had been months since he last saw Jonouchi in person.

“That'd ruin the surprise,” Jonouchi said. He set Yuugi down. While Yuugi wasn’t nearly as short as he’d been in high school, he would always be much shorter than his best friend. Jonouchi got twice the growth spurt Yuugi had gotten.

“A friend of yours?” Daisuke asked, and Yuugi realized they had an audience.

“Ahaha, yeah.” He rubbed the back of his head, finally noticing that both Daisuke and Satoshi were staring intently. “This is my best friend, Jonouchi Katsuya. Jonouchi, this is Niwa Daisuke and Hiwatari Satoshi.”

“The guy who’s helping you with your drawing, right?” Jonouchi said, remembering their Skype conversations. “Nice ta meetcha. Hope you don’t mind me barging in.”

“It’s fine,” Daisuke said, since it was his study room after all. “We could probably use a study break.”

Jonouchi grinned before turning back to Yuugi. “So, being around all these books and drawing, how’s your Dueling? Getting rusty yet?”

Yuugi narrowed his eyes at the challenge. “Rusty? Never. How about I show you, Mr. Tournament Finalist?” He reached for his bag. Even now he had the habit of carrying his Duel Monster cards with him. “I challenge you to a Duel.”

“Duel?” Satoshi asked sharply.

“Duel Monsters,” Jonouchi said holding up his deck of cards. He snorted at Satoshi’s blank look. “What, did you think I was gonna whip out a knife? I don’t look like that much of a delinquent these days.”

“Nope, just scruffy as always,” Yuugi said. He cleared a space on the desk before shuffling his deck, intent on his friend and opponent. “Duel Monsters is a strategy based card game,” Yuugi explained to the others. “With a certain amount of luck too.”

Jonouchi snorted. “Luck, fate, whatever you wanna call it.” He exchanged a glance with Yuugi.

“Heart of the cards,” they said at the same time.

“Anyway,” Yuugi said, “Jonouchi plays it professionally. I used to enter tournaments but I haven’t played much in a while.”

“Yet you still hold the title for King of Games,” Jonouchi said.

Yuugi shrugged. It was a title he didn’t feel like he’d earned. After all, Atem had done most of the Dueling to get it. “Anyone’s free to seek me out and win it properly.”

“If they can beat you.”

Yuugi shrugged again. They set up their station and drew their hands. It had been a while since he last Dueled, longer still since he Dueled without Kaiba’s technology bringing it all to life. It felt a little bit like high school, playing games at lunch. The cards were warm and familiar in his hands, feeling almost alive as they sometimes did. Yuugi wasn’t calling on anything, didn’t have Atem’s power over the shadows, but the cards still had presences even if he wasn’t using them that way.

“Huh,” Satoshi said, looking at the cards in their hands like they were something particularly strange and intriguing.

“Two thousand life points?” Yuugi asked.

“Standard Duel’s four thousand,” Jonouchi said.

“Yeah, but it feels more like high school if we play it that way.”

“Works for me.”

It was funny how normal it felt to play a Duel against Jonouchi—or maybe it wasn’t strange at all considering how big a part in his life Dueling once held, but he hadn’t Dueled anyone since the last time everyone was able to meet up together, and that was almost half a year ago. Everything still felt right though. His cards rose to the challenge like they always did, chipping Jonouchi’s life points down bit by bit. Even having an audience was familiar. Daisuke and Satoshi weren’t Anzu or Honda, but the balance felt right.

Yuugi called on his Kuriboh to end the Duel, just like old times.

Jonouchi made a face as the last of his life points drained away thanks to one of the weakest cards in the game. “One more turn and I’d’ve had you with my dragon. You’re still as good at this as ever, Yuug. No wonder Kaiba’s always trying to drag you into Duels.”

Yuugi snickered. “Kaiba just wants to beat me once and for all. Or make me test all his Duel tech.” If Yuugi ever took him up on that job offer, he had a feeling he’d end up doing more Dueling and product testing against Kaiba’s over competitive ego than actual game design.

“Wait,” Satoshi said from the sidelines. He had followed the game with interest, though it had looked like he was analyzing what game attributes made it enjoyable rather than enjoying watching the game itself. “Kaiba as in Kaiba Seto, billionaire game maker Kaiba?”

“Yeah?” Yuugi said.

Jonouchi sat back in his chair and laughed at Satoshi’s consternation. “Yuugi won the title King of Games years ago. He’s still the reigning champion Duel Monsters player and Kaiba hates it because Yuugi won’t enter tournaments anymore so no one can win the title from him.”

“They should just accept some other tournament winner as the best player winner,” Yuugi muttered. “Kaiba’s won most of the ones since I left the Duel scene.”

“Yeah, but Kaiba’s never satisfied til he can beat you.” Jonouchi turned back to their audience. “Moneybags was a classmate of ours in high school. Real ass, but he’s gotten better now that he’s stopped pulling shit that can get people killed. Still dramatic as heck though. Betcha he’ll come into the arena for the final on a jet pack or something with the Kaiba Corp logo all huge on the back. Or have it shaped like the Blue Eyes.”

“He’s a friend,” Yuugi clarified. Jonouchi always made Kaiba sound like an enemy when he hadn’t been anything like an enemy in a long time. “He wants me to join his company after school, but if I did that I’d have to Duel him because he’d hold my paycheck.”

Jonouchi snorted. “Sounds like the sorta manipulative thing he’d do.”

Yuugi hummed. “I wouldn’t mind Dueling him sometime though. I just don’t want to Duel at his command.”

“Fair enough. Beat him once and he either won’t leave ya alone til you have a rematch or he pretends it never happened.”

“...This is the CEO of the largest gaming empire in Japan?” Satoshi asked, skeptical.

“In the world,” Jonouchi corrected.

“Charming.”

“Eh, he grows on you.” Jonouchi grinned, lopsided. “Kinda like some sort of fungus.”

Yuugi rolled his eyes. “Kaiba is Kaiba. He’s there when it matters and tries. He actually has a pretty good sense of humor.”

“Yeah, at my expense.”

Yuugi patted Jonouchi consolingly. Kaiba and Jonouchi would never really get along, and that was okay. Besides, he figured that by now their back and forth taunts were just the only way they knew how to interact. The words didn’t really hit anymore. Yuugi was pretty sure that Kaiba even found it fun. Not many people insulted him to his face anymore. Jonouchi was a bit too straightforward to notice that though.

“I suppose he is still a good connection to have if you’re going into this field,” Satoshi said in what was clearly meant to be a diplomatic tone. It still came across a bit skeptical.

“He is.” Yuugi grinned. “Though I kind of want to set up my own indie gaming thing out of Grandpa’s shop and see how he reacts.”

Daisuke shook his head. “Save that for when you can actually do everything yourself.”

“Or have a team.” For a brief moment, Yuugi pictured combining the strengths of his friends from high school into the project. They all had something they could have brought to the table—Anzu with music, Hiroto with coding, and Jonouchi with story development and puzzles. Even Bakura could have helped with the graphic side of things. But he dismissed it after that moment. This wasn’t high school anymore and they each had their own lives to work through.

“Or that,” Daisuke said.

They were all quiet for a moment, then Jonouchi held up his deck. “Anyone wanna learn how to Duel?”

And then Yuugi was digging out the extra cards he still couldn’t help carrying everywhere he went, and Daisuke and Satoshi were tentatively Dueling each other, Satoshi frequently looking at the cards like there was something he didn’t trust about them, but Dueling all the same.

It was nice.

Yuugi sat back and watched friends interact, new and old.

It was very nice.

*

Jonouchi only stayed a few days, but by the time he left he’d made friends with Yuugi’s friends, corrupted Yuugi’s sleep schedule with first a Duel, then a movie marathon, and told enough stories about the Dueling circuit that Yuugi wasn’t sure if he was disappointed or relieved that he hadn’t gone into Dueling professionally. It sounded like a wild time.

Then he was off back to attend the finals. Yuugi promised to watch them. He intended to drag Daisuke into watching them with him too.

The quiet after he left was a bit like missing a limb. Yuugi found himself in the art building even more that week. Daisuke, in his comings and goings—though usually he was there before and after Yuugi arrived—didn’t comment on Yuugi’s extra time there. He just brought a few more snacks and had music playing to fill the silence when Yuugi didn’t feel like talking.

It was a nice reminder that new friends could fill the open spaces old ones left without really replacing them.

*

Lately Daisuke had been sketching. No paintings, no charcoal drawings or powdery pastels covering the worktable with colorful dust marks, just pencil and a sketchbook every time Yuugi was there. Yuugi leaned over one day to ask about any tips on drawing foreshortening and blinked at the lines on the page.

“Is that a sketch of me?”

Daisuke almost dropped the sketchbook. For a second, Yuugi thought he was going to slam the book shut. “Yes?”

It was Yuugi; spiky hair and dark clothing, a profile of him smiling to himself as he worked on his tablet. There were smaller more dynamic thumbnails in the corner—Yuugi walking, laughing, throwing down a card in Duel Monsters, dozing off on the worktable. In all of the sketches his distinctive hair shape stood out along with the outlines of his clothing. “So, was it the hair or the clothes that made me an interesting sketch subject?” he joked. Those were the two things that people always noticed first after all. Spiked, bright colored hair, chunky silver and gold jewelry, and a taste for leather and belts.

Daisuke surprised him by flipping back a few pages to show studies of Yuugi’s face—just his face. “Your eyes actually...” Daisuke mumbled. He flushed and Yuugi couldn’t help blushing a little too. The sketches of his face were...intimate for lack of a better word. His eyes were riveted on a sketch on the right, his penciled lips frozen in a melancholy smile and a far off look in the sketch’s eyes like he was looking at something only he could see. It had to be a moment he was thinking about Atem and he wasn’t sure what he felt about having that captured on paper.

“Oh,” was all he could say.

Daisuke flushed deeper. “If it bothers you, I can stop.”

Did it bother him? Maybe if it was someone he didn’t know, but Daisuke was a friend now. He could see Yuugi as he was in all his range of emotions. “No,” Yuugi said. “No, it’s fine.”

Daisuke’s shoulders relaxed, his hands no longer gripping the sketchbook so tightly. “Your eyes show what you’re feeling really clearly,” he said. “The other day I was watching you work and I couldn’t help...” He waved at the sketches. “I like how you look.”

Yuugi could count on one hand how many times people said they liked his appearance, and two of those times had been Anzu while they were dating. He opened his mouth to...to what? Compliment Daisuke back? Thank him? He shook his head. “I don’t mind you drawing me.”

“Ok. I’m glad.” Daisuke twirled the pencil in his hands like he needed to do something with his fingers. “I’m also glad you came here months ago. It’s nice to have someone else in here.”

“Considering you practically live here.”

“Yeah.”

Yuugi sat back, asking a question that had been bugging him for a while now. “You’re here pretty much whenever I’m here. And lately if I’m not at classes I’m here. Are you always here? Is this a free study or...?”

One shoulder lifted in a shrug as Daisuke couldn’t meet his eyes. “I only have one class right now. I kind of had to take a break. I’m only supposed to be here for my class project but it felt like the only place I could be for a while.”

“Oh.” Yuugi reached out. He didn’t think he was imagining Daisuke leaning into his touch, gravitating toward the hand on his shoulder. “Is everything ok?”

“It wasn’t, but I think it’s getting better.”

Yuugi waited to see if Daisuke would say more, but he didn’t. That was okay. There were some things that you couldn’t talk about with just anyone, and some things that just couldn’t be talked about at all.

“Painting helps,” Daisuke said. “Seeing friends helps too. You help.”

Yuugi squeezed his shoulder in support. “I hope I can keep helping.”

This time he was sure he wasn’t imagining Daisuke leaning into his touch. “Just keep coming around.”

“I don’t think you have to worry about me leaving anytime soon.”

*

“The cards aren’t normal,” Daisuke said one day as Yuugi was helping him form a deck of his own. He’d Duel him sometimes if Yuugi was really in the mood for Duel Monsters. Daisuke held up a Chimera card, spinning it between his fingers. “There’s something about them... They almost feel alive.”

“The game is based off of an ancient Egyptian game played with stone tablets with souls sealed inside,” Yuugi said. He drew a card, unsurprised to find the Dark Magician in his hand. “I know it sounds superstitious, but the cards have spirits still, the medium just changed.” Dark Magician was joined by the Dark Magician Girl, then Kuriboh. “If you call them, they can answer.” He waited for Daisuke to scoff or look skeptical. Instead, Daisuke was nodding slowly.

“I can see that. It explains the weird feeling they have... Is it the art itself that gives them souls? Can anybody make a card or is there something specific?”

Yuugi stared.

“What?” Daisuke shuffled through the cards, pulled out Harpy’s Brother and Shadow Spell. “Art has a spark of life. Sometimes more than that. Why not cards too?”

“Most people don’t believe it unless they’re Duelists,” Yuugi said, “and even the people who are and have lived through spirits manifesting still don’t always believe.” Kaiba didn’t for the longest time. He does now, though. His Blue Eyes are all the closer to him for it.

“I can feel them,” Daisuke said, tracing fingers along the image of the cards. “So can Satoshi. That’s why he keeps giving you weird looks by the way. He’s not sure what to make of it.”

“Huh.” Yuugi could feel his cards—specifically the ones in his deck, and sometimes a few others, but not all cards spoke to him, and he hadn’t been able to until after he’d had Atem and started Dueling. “If you can feel them, you could probably call them. Some of them are still connected to the Egyptian monsters, and some were created by Pegasus, the person who resurrected the game, but... So far as I can tell they’re all alive to some extent.”

“Sounds dangerous.”

Yuugi wanted to laugh, and not in a good way. The Egyptian God cards had definitely been dangerous. “It can be,” Yuugi said bluntly. “I’ve seen it kill people.” Daisuke stilled. “But I’ve also seen the cards save people, and these days you don’t see as much summoning.” Not since the millennium items were sealed away. “Even then, outside of the top circuit of Duelers it’s pretty unheard of seeing anything like this at all.”

Daisuke looked at the cards in his hands like he was seeing them all over again.  “And kids play with these?”

Yuugi stifled a laugh. “Like I said, not many people can actually use them that way.” He rested his chin on one hand. “I wonder what one would answer you?”

“I don’t think I want to find out,” Daisuke said.

“This one’s mine.” Yuugi held up Kuriboh. “And sort of this one too...” Dark Magician joined it. It was more Atem’s card, but it had answered Yuugi’s call before too. Kuriboh just liked Yuugi in general.

“A winged fur ball and a purple sorcerer,” Daisuke said. “Yeah, I can see how they fit.”

“Was that supposed to be an insult?”

“Maybe.”

“Hey!”

Daisuke laughed.

He did finish putting together a deck eventually. He didn’t look quite as relaxed around the cards after that though.

*

“It’s not going to work,” Satoshi said to Daisuke as he added details to yet another winged painting. This one was made up of subtle shadows and glints of light, all purple and blue and black. The lightest points were the glint of gold in the winged man’s hands and the white of his smirk in the dark. “I know it’s different for you, but no matter how much you paint him—”

“I know,” Daisuke said, sharp. “I know it isn’t going to bring him back, but I can’t help it. It’s like it’s keeping him here.”

“There’s no him, only them now.” Satoshi sighed. “Have you thought any more on going back to regular classes?”

“It feels like too much still.” Daisuke set his brush down. “Do you think if I paint him enough, people will remember?”

“Perhaps.” Satoshi was quiet a moment. “I thought things were getting better.”

“They are.” The clink of Daisuke’s brush being rinsed clean, picked back up to start again. “But better isn’t completely over it yet.”

Satoshi sighed again and said something under his breath.

Yuugi took that as a cue that today was really not the best day to be there after all. He slid away wondering who Daisuke had lost to spend all his time painting him.

*

“Congratulations on your win!” Yuugi chirped over the laggy Skype call.

Jonouchi grinned at him, thousands of miles away, but still as close a friend as ever. “Thanks! Mai’s kinda pissed that I beat her out in the second to last round, but she’ll get over it.”

“It was a good Duel,” Yuugi said, having watched it very late—or early depending on your perception of time—in Daisuke’s dorm room with his friend drowsing off next to him and waking on and off whenever Yuugi got particularly excited. The thought had been nice even if it hadn’t quite worked out how they’d planned. “What now?”

“Eh, Mai and I’ll be headed back to New York to catch up with Anzu. Stay for a while there til the next tournament sign up starts. Maybe we’ll get a chance to visit Japan again too, if the timing works out.” Jonouchi was still beaming. It made Yuugi feel warm and happy to see him happy, glad to see him confident in his skills and excelling in life. It had been the right choice for him to Duel professionally.

“Going to go on some dates?” Yuugi teased.

“Well, if Mai forgives me for Time Wizarding her Harpies again, yeah.” With a shrug, Jonouchi added, “Not gonna tell you the details though.”

Yuugi wrinkled his nose. “I don’t want to know about the details of that kind of date, Jonouchi. Mai and Anzu would kill you if you talked about it anyway.”

He laughed. “Yeah, yeah. Hey; what about you? Have any dates lined up?”

Yuugi made a noncommittal hum in the back of his throat. His legs kicked aimlessly against his bedframe. “Still not dating anyone, Jou.”

“But do you liiiike anyone,” Jonouchi teased. If he was in person, he’d be pulling Yuugi into a playful headlock by now.

Yuugi hummed again.

“Not even that Daisuke guy you keep talking about?”

Did he? He wasn’t sure whether he did or not. It had been a while since he felt those things, wasn’t sure if he could tell them apart from friendship right now. The two had always gone hand in hand. “I don’t know,” he said finally.

“Huh.” Jonouchi sounded thoughtful. His expression didn’t give anything away for once, whether he thought it was a good or bad or anything in between.

“What?”

“It’s the first time you haven’t said no when I ask that question,” Jonouchi said.

Yuugi felt a roiling mess of embarrassed and flustered because that, he realized, was true. He didn’t know if he liked Daisuke that way or not, but he wanted to spend time with him—did spend time with him almost as much as he could spare—and that meant something even if it might not be romantic. “I’ll tell you when I figure it out,” he mumbled.

Jonouchi laughed and wished him the best before launching into a story about Haga and Ryuuzaki, leaving the topic of romance behind.

It was Yuugi who couldn’t get the thought to stop lingering.

*

The semester was almost over now. Projects were done and it was just Yuugi with his laptop poking at his game again in Daisuke’s art study room. Daisuke wasn’t there for once, just his multitude of paintings. There was a tiny painting of Yuugi up there with all the other ones and he wasn’t sure what to make of that. His eyes glinting purple from a shadowed image. It could have been a threat or an invitation into a secret, and Yuugi kind of hoped it was the latter because it wasn’t a very good thought that his friend might find him threatening.

Yuugi got caught up in the minutia of coding and checking his plot and dialogue script with each advance. So caught up he didn’t even notice Daisuke’s arrival until he turned to get his character reference sheets and found Daisuke sitting in a chair back to front watching him, and looking like he’d been there for a while. Yuugi dropped the reference sheets.

Daisuke leaned forward to pick the few that had scattered up. “You’re really making progress on that aren’t you?”

“Some?” Yuugi said. “Not as much as I would like, but I’m only one person and there’s a lot to do for a game, even just a simple one.”

“It’s come along pretty well,” Daisuke said. He looked at the character sheets in his hand, at the Spirit’s sheet on top. “You’re not making something simple after all.” A double tap of his fingers against the chair back, a tic he had every once in a while, like his hands got restless but he tried not to fidget with them. “You’ve written the rest of the plot now, right?”

“Pretty much.” It had taken almost as long as putting together the sprite world had. It was harder than Yuugi had anticipated to create a game off his life even in a once or twice removed fashion. “I still have some dialogue to go but the main parts are all written.” It was the puzzles that were harder to make.

“Did you ever decide what would happen if the player chose to keep the spirit in the end?”

“If he keeps it?” Yuugi glanced down at his drawing. The spirit looked nothing like Atem, the only connection the eye of Horus worked into his design.  “The spirit stays with him, still locked in the puzzle.”

“And after the protagonist dies one day?” Daisuke pressed. “What would happen to it then? Would it pass along to another family member or...?”

Yuugi shook his head. Whatever had been between him and Atem, he couldn’t imagine it happening between anyone else. Not his grandfather, not his friends, and not even a hypothetical child in the future. “It’s a once in a millennium sort of thing,” Yuugi said. Fate, or more that they’d perhaps once been one soul before Atem had been lost. Egyptian mythology held that the soul had five parts after all. “The spirit would be stuck in the puzzle alone until by some chance someone else who was compatible was born, which could take a long, long time.” Yuugi smiled wryly. “I’m sure they would be happy for the lifetime they had together, but there’s the question of if that evens out against a possible eternity alone after.”

“Oh.”

“There’s also a point where the spirit could have taken over the protagonist’s body,” Yuugi said. “Instead he rescues the protagonist’s soul. So they’re both looking out for each other in the end.”

“Oh,” Daisuke said again. This time it was slightly choked. “With two souls that close, it makes sense.”

Yuugi hummed, agreeing. For him and Atem, it had made sense. Even for Ryou and Bakura it had a certain amount of sense, and that was with Bakura lashing out at all times and willing to sacrifice Ryou. In the end he hadn’t—maybe couldn’t—and it was all more complicated than Yuugi could understand. Daisuke looked like he understood, though. Understood in a way that only someone who had lived it could. “Why does it mean so much to you?” Yuugi asked finally. “I know what this means to me, but what does the story mean to you?”

Daisuke, instead of answering, looked at the paintings leaning against the walls. “It’s hard,” he said finally, “to choose what’s right when there isn’t a right answer that will make everyone happy.”

Yuugi didn’t press the topic. The faraway look in Daisuke’s eyes was something he was too familiar with. “We make the choice and keep going,” Yuugi said. “Because if they cared, they’d want us to try to be happy too, right?” He smiled, more a slight lift of the corner of his lips than a true smile. “We have people who care to fall back on and then we find other ways to cope. You paint. I make a game.” Daisuke looked back at Yuugi. They hovered over the edge of mutual understanding. This wasn’t something that needed to be explained to be understood. Pain and loss were universal as were happiness and friendship. “We’re doing pretty well with what we have, don’t you think?”

“Maybe,” Daisuke said. He sighed, then slumped abruptly, leaning against Yuugi’s shoulder. “How do you make it seem so easy to keep going?”

“It’s not.” Yuugi touched Daisuke’s hair, and maybe it was his imagination that Daisuke tilted himself into that touch. “But moving forward doesn’t mean the past never happened or that you can’t remember it or that you weren’t changed by it.” Atem changed everything in Yuugi’s life, from helping him make his first friend besides Anzu to opening up his world to so many more things than he thought it would ever hold. “I’d rather remember than forget, and if it’s hard, then it’s a good thing that there’s always someone who can help even if they might not be there yet.” Like meeting Daisuke and Satoshi had helped.

Daisuke breathed out a laugh. “Yeah. Thanks.” He moved away, back toward the side of the room that had become his as Yuugi had slowly taken over a part of his own. “When you finish that game someday, I’d like to play it,” he said. “With both ends.”

Yuugi nodded. In real life you couldn’t have both endings play out, but in a game? “When I get to the test phase, you’re one of the people I hope will play it.”

“I will,” Daisuke said with a quiet conviction more like an unbreakable vow than a casual promise. He started sorting through paint tubes and Yuugi pulled his character references to himself. He had a lot of work to go if he was going to meet that promise halfway.

*

The sun was bright and it was unseasonably warm for March, warm enough that they could sit outside with only a light jacket and enjoy the fresh air. Their convenience store bentou were empty beside them as they sprawled out in the grass and enjoyed the early spring sunlight.

Yuugi tilted his face toward the sun, eyes closed, a happy smile on his face. “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I missed being outside so much. I didn’t even realize how much I was inside until it was winter and I missed the best of spring and summer glued to my computer.”

Daisuke, sprawled next to him, snickered. “You really do have to go out sometimes. I go out in the mornings to sketch. Believe me, your body will thank you for the sunlight.”

“Mm, no, I remember someone calling me a gremlin this winter, and gremlins don’t like sun.”

“You seem to like it right now.”

Yuugi aimed a half-hearted elbow jab in Daisuke’s direction. It missed and all he got was another laugh and a tickling poke to his side. Yuugi squirmed away.

“This is nice though,” Daisuke said.

“Yeah.” Tucked away in a quiet corner of campus with the first birdsong of spring and a cluster of daffodils a few feet away, it was peaceful. A little private bubble that wasn’t the art room and both more and less connected to reality because of it.

“I exercise most mornings too,” Daisuke said. “If you’re missing sunlight you could join me and—”

Yuugi groaned. “No, I am not a morning person!” Or an exercise person. Or someone who would ever combine the two.

Daisuke laughed at him. “Maybe that’s why you’re so short. Stunted growth from lack of sun, like a plant.”

This time Yuugi’s elbow connected. The tiny hiss of breath as Daisuke massaged the hit was satisfying. “I’m short because of genetics.” Gramps barely got over a meter and a half tall. Yuugi considered himself lucky to pass him up by a handful of centimeters. “I’m not sure why you’re so smug when we were both asked if we wanted children’s menus that one time.”

They watched wispy clouds chase like feathers across the sky.

“I think,” Daisuke said suddenly, “I want to paint something new.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.” He looked toward the daffodils and their bright green and yellow against the browns of winter hanging on. “I signed up for more classes this spring. I think...” Daisuke trailed off, voice going soft. “I think I can handle it now.”

“Great!”

The small smile Daisuke sent back Yuugi’s way was like the sun coming out from behind clouds.

*

It was Yuugi that moved first. It was less a conscious decision and more an inevitability, bridging the gap between them during a post-finals movie binge. Daisuke had looked at him for some reason—something to do with the movie that had immediately gone out of Yuugi’s mind because Daisuke had been smiling—and like an object caught in the Earth’s gravitational pull, he’d been pulled in by that smile. Lips, smooth except for the corner Daisuke was forever biting while he worked. It went on for an eternity. It lasted only a moment.

Yuugi pulled away. Daisuke’s eyes fluttered open; at some point he’d closed them. The movie kept going, white noise in the background of the moment. The air had the same feeling Yuugi got before he pulled the card that would turn a Duel on its head.

“Oh,” Daisuke whispered, both too quiet and too loud for Yuugi’s frantic heartbeat in that space of a moment before it was clear whether it was a good or a bad reaction. Then Daisuke’s hand was tangled in one of the heavy chains and gaudy pendants around Yuugi’s neck, pulling him back in. The second kiss was better because Daisuke was kissing back.

When they finally parted again, Yuugi couldn’t help but burst into giggles at how Daisuke looked more like he’d been hit over the head than like he’d been kissing someone.

“I thought—” Daisuke’s voice cracked and he cleared his throat. “I thought...your friend? You seemed...close.”

“Jonouchi?” Yuugi asked. He was almost in Daisuke’s lap, couldn’t help but keep touching him, fingers trailing on bare wrists and arms and along Daisuke’s strong fingers. “No, we’re just friends. He’s my best friend.” Yuugi reached up to touch Daisuke’s hair, like that kiss was permission to give in to all the little things he’d longed to do. “He’s dating Mai and Anzu. Or they’re dating him and each other. Or something.” He couldn’t stop smiling. “It’s complicated. And you’re not with Satoshi?”

Daisuke blinked, the dazed expression fading away. He caught Yuugi’s wandering hands in his own, lacing their fingers together. “No. Satoshi’s not interested in people like that. Isn’t Anzu your ex?”

“Yeah.” Yuugi kept grinning. Everything was right in the world right then. “And one of my oldest friends. But we didn’t work out, and she ended up falling for Mai, who also liked Jou, who liked her, and I don’t know how it all works with them, but they’re happy so I’m happy for them.”

“My ex only talks to me via her twin sister.”

“I think it helped that we were friends for a long time first. Friendship is more important than anything else.” And for Yuugi it always would be. Friendship had been part of what made him notice Daisuke. He wouldn’t have a romantic relationship any other way.

Daisuke scrubbed the back of his hair. “We weren’t not friends, but, uh...” He glanced in Yuugi’s direction. From this close Yuugi could really notice how long his eyelashes were. And how they were the same red as his hair. And how Daisuke was blushing and had very faint freckles from how he’d been making time to go outside lately. “I can see why being friends first can be good.” Their eyes met. Yuugi couldn’t look away, not even if Kaiba’s Blue Eyes were to burst through the door right then.

“I like you,” Yuugi blurted. “A lot. As a friend and more.” He gripped Daisuke’s hand tight.

Daisuke’s head tipped forward, their foreheads bumping together and noses brushing. Yuugi could feel the flutter of his eyelashes on his cheek and Daisuke’s breath against his jaw, so close, but not quite close enough. It was ticklish and electric, everything narrowing down to those points of contact as his heart beat too fast and hopeful in his chest.

“I think I like you too,” Daisuke said. He laughed softly, the tremors shaking Yuugi with him. “I like you a lot.”

“Date me?” Yuugi asked hopefully.

Daisuke pulled back and gave him a lopsided smile. “Yes. I can’t guarantee anything, but yes.”

“No one can guarantee anything,” Yuugi said. “If you worry over whether things will or won’t work out, you just miss out on actually living what you have.” If he’d learned anything over the years, it was to appreciate what he had when he had it. Friends, family, memories; all of that had been discovered and rediscovered with Atem and after him. This was just one more case of learning it again.

“I guess I should appreciate living then,” Daisuke said. He pulled Yuugi into another kiss. Yuugi took his own advice and just enjoyed the moment.

*

The game wasn’t complete, but it was far enough along to be playable in a rough way. It was far beyond the school project it had started as; in fact, Yuugi was already wondering if he could eventually submit it as his final project. It might just take the next three years of school to get it to the point where he was satisfied with its quality.

Still, it was playable. And Yuugi could feel the pride and weight of most of a year’s worth of work as he arrowed his avatar through a pixel world.

“So this is the game?” Daisuke asked. He sat next to Yuugi on Yuugi’s bed. He was the first person Yuugi was showing it to. The first person he would let play the parts that he had finished. If Jonouchi was here, he’d let him play it too, but Jonouchi was on a break in New York and Daisuke was the closest person to his heart right now even if he wouldn’t get the game the way someone who lived the events it was based off of would.

Yuugi handed over his laptop. “You can play through making your first friend and unlocking the spirit.” Technically you could play further, but only the main events could occur without any of the interesting side plots and puzzles and NPC interactions.

Daisuke settled against Yuugi’s side and let his fingers skim the keyboard, familiarizing himself with the controls. “It’s cool to see your character move,” he murmured.

Yuugi didn’t answer. He rested his head on Daisuke’s shoulder and watched him play with his heart in his throat. Somehow this was more soul baring than sharing the drawings. Than sharing the art room for almost a year, more vulnerable and intimate than kissing or any of the things that could follow that. This game was Yuugi baring his soul and most precious memories into something that perhaps one day hundreds of people would see and play. Those people wouldn’t know Yuugi, wouldn’t know how it mirrored his life or what it meant to him.

Daisuke knew him and how important the game was.

Onscreen, Daisuke played through the introductory puzzles and met the characters who would be the protagonist’s friends. He seemed to know how important this moment was because he didn’t say anything as he played, just followed along with the storyline. Yuugi could feel when Daisuke got it, right when the protagonist awakens the spirit and makes a wish. Yuugi had told him once how he became friends with Jonouchi. “It felt like fate,” Yuugi had said. As Daisuke continued, completing the puzzles as the spirit to get back at the bully and cement your new friendship, Daisuke finally looked Yuugi’s way.

“This is you, isn’t it?” Daisuke said. It wasn’t really a question with the certainty shining in his eyes. “Your story.”

“More or less,” Yuugi said. “I’m not including any ancient Egyptian gods or card games in this though. That would make it a bit too obvious.”

“The spirit?”

“He was a spirit trapped in the puzzle.” Yuugi hid his face in Daisuke’s shoulder. It felt so weird to talk about this to someone who hadn’t lived it, but so freeing as well. It wasn’t a secret hovering over his head anymore. “He was like a part of me, a part I didn’t know I was missing until he was there, and then he left.”

“You let him go.”

Yuugi hummed in affirmative. On screen, the protagonist’s avatar climbed into bed, the spirit’s outline hovering above the bed as he slept. It was the end of the intro chapter. It was a bittersweet feeling. Daisuke set the laptop down.

“That had to be a hard choice to make,” Daisuke said.

“It was and it wasn’t.” The hard part had been knowing he would be alone in his head again. The actual decision to let Atem have his peace in the afterlife hadn’t been hard to make at all. “There was only one way it could go in the end.” He wasn’t selfish enough to make any other choice.

Daisuke hugged himself, curling in on himself and it would have been closing Yuugi out except he was still angled toward him and hadn’t made any effort to stop Yuugi from leaning on him. “I.” He wet his lips. “I didn’t have any choice. With mine.”

Ah. “The person you paint?”

“Yeah.” Daisuke uncurled a bit. “He was a spirit of an artwork that was tied to my bloodline. Sort of meant to be closer to a curse than another half of a soul, but...”

“When you share a mind and body...” Yuugi said.

“Yeah.” Daisuke sighed. “He was half of a whole work. Return the two halves together, fix what shouldn’t have been separated... He doesn’t exist anymore. Not how I knew him. And after we sealed the painting he might as well not exist in any form at all.”

“We?”

“Satoshi.”

“Oh.” Yuugi thought of Bakura, the thief king he’d housed. He wondered if however Satoshi had been involved had been anything like their situation. Bakura’s relief at having it all over hadn’t been something Yuugi could fully empathize with even if they could both look inside and feel the missing pieces where the spirits had resided in their souls.

“I’d bring him back if I could,” Daisuke said. “It wasn’t a curse to me. It was to Satoshi though, and in the long run it wasn’t doing either of our family lines any good. I’d still paint him back if I could.”

Yuugi felt the part of his soul Atem had been in ache, like a phantom limb. He knew that emptiness well, but he was filling it with new bonds and experiences, bit by bit patching over the emptiness. He could be happy and mean it with his whole self again. It sounded like Daisuke was still reaching that point.

“It’s not possible,” Daisuke said. There was sadness there, but acceptance too. “It’s time to move on with living.”

“Souls,” Yuugi said after a long moment, “have a way of returning to each other.” From the Duel Monsters seeking out those they had been connected with in life like Atem and Mahado to parts of a whole like Yuugi and Atem had been, to even significant lives like Kaiba’s previous life had been to Atem. Even if it took a millennia, they found their way back. He’d see Atem again one day. And Daisuke would see his spirit again too; that was how the world worked. “Maybe not in this life, but you’ll meet again.”

“Thanks.” Daisuke said. He didn’t sound like he believed Yuugi, but that was okay. He hadn’t seen the things Yuugi had to have that solid certainty. Daisuke twisted against Yuugi until they were face to face. “I only ever told one other person about any of that. Everyone else lived it or already knew.”

“Me neither.” Yuugi smiled suddenly. “Although I had to explain it to Kaiba a few times and he lived it and he still doesn’t want to believe it happened.”

Daisuke laughed. There were tears in the corners of his eyes that they both ignored. “I know people like that too.” His laughter trailed off, both arms coming around Yuugi in a loose hug. “Thank you.”

He didn’t need to say more than that. Thank you for understanding. Thank you for existing. Thank you for being here.

*

Kaiba set down the file in front of him, one eyebrow raised as he surveyed the man in front of him. “Let me get this straight, Mutou. You agree to work for me if I hire your boyfriend and his friend as an artist and a coder.”

“Yep.” Yuugi in high school might have felt intimidated by the cold stare across the desk, but Yuugi had lived a lot of life since then. Kaiba wasn’t very scary at all in comparison to some of the things he’d seen. That and Kaiba was the one who wanted him as an employee in the first place.

“Why?” Kaiba demanded. “I was under the impression that you hoped to start an indie game company of your own. Your first game has a cult following already.” Kaiba said it like it was more of an insult than a compliment, though it was probably because he took it as a slight that Yuugi had made and sold the game without ever approaching Kaiba about it.

“I considered that,” Yuugi said, rocking back on his heels. He’d thought about it the whole time he was in college, made several smaller games besides the one centering around Atem’s counterpart, all of which had done fairly well. But those games had been made either by Yuugi alone or with Satoshi and Daisuke’s help, or one of his classmates, all on school equipment or Yuugi’s own laptop. “It was pointed out that you had the resources and teams already if I wanted to put any of the more complicated game ideas I have in mind into action. It would take me a lot longer to establish a brand and get a decent staff and funding of my own, and that’s not the kind of thing I’m good at.” Starting from the ground up was more Kaiba’s thing really.

“What makes you think I’d put you in charge of a team?” Kaiba challenged.

Yuugi frowned at him. “Well you’re not hiring me just because you want an excuse to make me test all your new Duel Monsters things,” he said.  “That would be a waste and you know it. You hate wasting resources.”

There was a moment where Yuugi thought Kaiba was going to get annoyed, but instead he smiled. Smiles did not fit well on Kaiba’s face. He settled back in his desk chair looking too pleased. “You’re right. I do hate waste. Which is why your friends had better be top notch or they’re not getting hired, deal or not. I can’t have useless employees.”

“I’ll have them send you a resume and portfolio,” Yuugi said. “Daisuke was an art major and Satoshi has been doing coding for indie games for the last year.” He had a running bet with Daisuke on whether Kaiba and Satoshi would get along or hate each other on sight. It would be interesting to see how it turned out.

Kaiba snorted. He was still smiling. He always was in a better mood when things went the way he wanted. “No speeches about the power of friendship and how you believe in their abilities?”

“I could give one, but I figured you’d prefer seeing their credentials over taking my word,” Yuugi said drily.

“Good. I don’t need to hear that sentiment anyway.” Kaiba steepled his fingers. “Are either of them Duelists?”

“Daisuke has a Wind-Dark deck but he only plays casually.” Yuugi put on as harmless a smile as he could manage. “Satoshi doesn’t like the magic clinging to the cards.”

Kaiba grimaced just like Yuugi expected him to at the mention of magic. “So you’ve found more people who believe in your mumbo jumbo.”

“You lived it, Kaiba,” Yuugi said, more amused than anything.

Kaiba waved a hand, turning away to gather up papers from a file. “Something happened. I’m sure science will reach an understanding of it one day.” He held out a stack of papers. “Here. Get these signed and back to my secretary by the end of the week and you’re all hired.”

“There’s not a clause saying I have to Duel you at your leisure in here is there?” Yuugi flipped through the stack, glancing at the pages.

“No.” Kaiba sat back in his chair again, smug and content that things were going his way again. “But you can expect to be asked to test things in the future.”

“Of course.” Yuugi hadn’t expected anything else.

“I expect you to be an asset to my company, Mutou.” Kaiba stared him down. “If I’m putting you in charge of a team, I expect high results.”

“Of course,” Yuugi repeated.

“Then we have a deal.” Kaiba waved a hand and Yuugi knew he was dismissed. “I expect those papers back as soon as possible. If there’s anything on there that you need to discuss, you have my office number.”

Yuugi had his private number too, but he could appreciate keeping their private and work lives separate. He stood up to leave.

“And Mutou?” Kaiba said as Yuugi was almost to the door. Yuugi waited. “Tetsuro? Really?” Kaiba asked, referencing the game character Yuugi had based off him. His character had the most dramatic character development of everyone, going from full on villain to reluctant heroic tag along.

Yuugi sent him a grin over his shoulder. “I thought it was a pretty good likeness.”

Kaiba huffed and Yuugi laughed, leaving him to the rest of the work day. As soon as he was out of the office, he pulled out his phone to call Daisuke and let him know their jobs were lined up. He had an idea for a game that Daisuke would want to be involved with. It involved a phantom thief. His boyfriend had experience in that after all.

[mintaka14]

For the fanfic ask, how about J and Z? 💖

J:  What’s your favorite fanfic trope?  Have you written it?

So many tropes, so little writing time. I'm not sure I could pick my favourite. I'm a sucker for friends to lovers, which I play with quite often with Luka and Marinette. I'm currently playing with And They Were Roommates, and having an interesting time writing that scenario with a couple who don't tend to indulge in the tensions and dramas that usually go along with that trope. I'm also a sucker for And There Was Only One Bed, which I haven't yet done anything with myself. Maybe one day.

Z: Is there a story you’ve written that doesn’t seem to get much love?

Of my ML fics, Don't Go Down By Carter Hall, and See the Light, are the ones that I would love to see get more traction. In many ways, while neither are perfect, they're the ones I'm proudest of.

Of my fics from other fandoms, my Fushigi Yuugi fics - Stars and Fire, and the short spin-off Family Dinner - are the ones that I wish could get more love. I knew, writing it, that Stars and Fire was going to be an uphill battle to get readership. It's an older fandom, and centres around OCs, which is always a hard sell. But it was the fic I had to write, and took over my life for many years of research, writing, blood, sweat and tears. It isn't perfect by any means, but I love it. I adore Daisuke and Marin, and they still live rent-free in my head, and the one comment I got on Stars and Fire has earned my undying and unswerving gratitude forever and ever.

[misdre]

songs sung by beyblade VAs #2

a couple of people were interested in another post with songs by beyblade seiyuu... well alright, this comes with the fact that in addition to the main five, there's a small handful of big name seiyuu in bakuten shoot who have done a lot of everything and the rest have done pretty much nothing, so, this is a very mixed bag. and a bit too many of these are hetalia songs because i just actually really like hetalia music ok

# a link to the previous post if you missed it #

i put these in alpahbetical order according to character names so you can easily just check whoever you want. or whatever. do what you want with these

hiroshi kamiya (blood & garland):

lost in shinsekai (one piece)

dark side of the moon (shingeki no kyojin)

wasabi mizuta (boris):

yume wo kikasete (doraemon) -- i.... i couldn't find anything but doraemon songs by her.......... so this is how life is now

souichirou hoshi (brooklyn):

I can fly (saiyuuki) -- this was like my favourite song 13 years ago? i’m having such a throwback compiling this post

ima kono shunkan ga subete (gundam seed)

akira sasanuma (claude):

marukaite chikyuu: austria edition (axis powers hetalia) -- not very surprised this is the only thing i could find

yasuhiro takato (dunga):

pechka -kokoro tomoshite- (axis powers hetalia) -- also didn't expect to find anything but russia's songs. and i didn’t. russia it is

daisuke sakaguchi (giancarlo):

update go-issho ni (hyouka) -- with satomi satou

back to back (dynasty warriors)

shiho kikuchi (hiromi):

spring dream (tokimeki memorial)

imitation (memories off 2nd)

daisuke namikawa (hitoshi):

tales of hermit (K project)

oishii tomato no uta (axis powers hetalia) -- we are dying on this hill now guys

emi shinohara (judy on season 1): 

starlight ni kiss shite (sailor moon)

hitomi wo wasurenaide (lupin III)

yumi touma (judy on seasons 2 & 3):

kiss shite ii (angelique)

my heart iidasenai, your heart tashikametai (aa! megamisama) -- with kikuko inoue & aya hisakawa. i apparently love hisakawa too much and can’t make a list without her in there somewhere

kumiko watanabe (julia):

love drug (tekkaman blade II)

say yes! (digimon frontier)

junko shimakata (kiki):

kimi no ouen uta (sotsugyou -graduation-)

hirofumi nojima (king):

shitsuren samba (toradora!) -- this one is on soundcloud because i hunted for this specifically on youtube for ages and it was nowhere. the volume is ridiculously high for some reason

ki ta ko re (kuroko no basket)

hiromi konno (mathilda):

nade nade shite (gegege no kitarou)

hakase no same to inu (nichijou)

kappei yamaguchi (michael):

it's a show time (magic kaito 1412) -- with mamoru miyano

tenka muteki no yattarou (samurai pizza cats) -- some other familiar voice is in there in the beginning too. what a coincidence. misi what a coincidence of you again

hiro yuuki (mihael):

brain damage (weiß kreuz) -- i know this guy has sung a lot of stuff including lots for weiß kreuz and i love his voice but the title of this one describes my mood when i tried to find any GOOD songs

aya hirano (ming-ming):

god knows (the melancholy of haruhi suzumiya) 

cha-la head cha-la (dragon ball z featured in lucky star) -- it's just so beautiful.

kouki miyata (mystel):

akogare starting block (free!)

yuukyuu no tsuki (kyou kara maou!)

omi minami (olivier):

in the stillness (kidou senkan nadesico)

born to be queen (code geass) -- with junko minagawa

yuki kaida (ozma):

ni hao chuugoku (axis powers hetalia)

koko de bokura wa deatte shimatta (prince of tennis) -- with ryoutarou okiayu

mie sonozaki (queen):

whiteout (bleach)

yakusoku (growlanser)

kouichi nagano (rai):

run to win (eyeshield 21) -- with aya hirano, miyu irino and kappei yamaguchi, technically nagano is the only one whose voice you can't hear worth shit tbh (i assume he can't really sing. he's just there to be like a B voice in the bg) but i've always liked this cute song plus it's like ming-ming and michael singing with rai pushed flat against the wall somewhere behind them so here it is anyway

akiko kimura (raul & yuuya):

yasashii mirai (inazuma eleven chrono stone) -- with aoi yuuki

hikaru ikeda (salima):

katakoi (yakin byoutou) -- apparently this song is from a porn that's regarded as the most brutally graphic hentai to ever exist? sounds good

tomokazu sugita (sergei):

SM hantei forum (inu x boku SS)

one jump ahead (aladdin)

kenichi suzumura (steve):

oreta tsubasa de -with broken wings- (digimon frontier) -- i was getting tired at this point and steve is a very minor character with a very major seiyuu for whatever reason and i didn't even feel like browsing suzumura's discography for this purpose so i just put my boy kouichi's amazing song here and called it a day. the best digimon character song to existtt

takehito koyasu (volkov):

dengon (fushigi yuugi)

hyakumankai no je t'aime (rosario + vampire) -- the difference in mood between these two songs was too much for me. good thing this is the end of the list

[46snowfox]

Sagas completas

Ookami-kun’chi

Vol 1: Ash Ookami Cv: Daisuke Hirakawa

Vol 2: Nike Ookami Cv: Yoshimasa Hosoya

Vol 3: Heat Ookami Cv: Nobuhiko Okamoto

Vol 4: Sonata Ookami Cv: KENN

Vol 5: Koiki Ookami Cv: Ryohei Kimura

Vol 6: Lukia Ookami Cv: Yuuki Kaji

Tokyo Cemetery

Vol 1: Beruno Karigai Cv: Ryohei Kimura

Vol 2 Neimu Seno Cv Kenji Nojima

Vol 3: Taichi Mizuhara Cv: Kousuke Toriumi

Vol 4: Sariko Midou Cv: Kazuya Nakai

Vol 5: Gunji Tategami Cv: Shinnosuke Tachibana

Vol 6: Aoi Saejima Cv Takashi Kondō

Thanatos Night

Vol 1: Izaya Cv: Wataru Hatano

Vol 2: Nia Cv: Toshiki Masuda

Vol 3: Oliver Cv: Showtaro Morikubo

Vol 4: Seth Cv: Ryōta Ōsaka

Vol 5: Liam Cv: Yuto Suzuki

Vol 6: Dulan Cv: Toshiyuki Toyonaga

Thanatos Night Re:Vival

Vol 1: Izaya Cv: Wataru Hatano

Vol 2: Nia Cv: Toshiki Masuda

Vol 3: Oliver Cv: Showtaro Morikubo

Vol 4: Seth Cv: Ryōta Ōsaka

Vol 5: Liam Cv: Yuto Suzuki

Vol 6: Dulan Cv: Toshiyuki Toyonaga

CRAZY CIRCUS

Vol 1: Alec Cv: Tetsuya Kakihara

Vol 2: Kei Akatsuki Cv: Takahiro Sakurai

Vol 3: Kii Akatsuki Cv: Ryohei Kimura

Vol 4: Gaku Nikaidou Cv: Hikaru Midorikawa

Vol 5: Sena Cv: Sōma Saitō

Vol 6: Fred Arnell Cv: Natsuki Hanae

Luciole no Hime

Vol 1: Sorona Redfore Cv: Hikaru Midorikawa

Vol 2: Neuro Paptesma Cv: Toshiki Masuda

Vol 3: Gauche Cv: Atsushi Tamaru

Vol 4: Droite Cv: Daisuke Kishio

Vol 5: Robin Torchia Cv: Takashi Kondō

Vol 6: Dr. Thriller Cv: Ryōta Ōsaka

Shuukyoku no Dolls

Vol 1: Noah Cv: Yuuki Kaji

Vol 2: Richard Cv: Takashi Kondō

Vol 3: Dietrich Cv: Daisuke Namikawa

Vol 4: Rolf Cv: Kenji Nojima

Vol 5: Darius Cv: Ryohei Kimura

Vol 6: Fei Cv: Kousuke Toriumi

Grimm-gai no Ouji-sama

Vol 1: Red Hood Cv: Hikaru Midorikawa

Vol 2: Cinderella Cv: Kousuke Toriumi

Vol 3: Hamelin Cv: Maeno Tomoaki

Vol 4: Sleepy Cv: Yuto Uemura

Vol 5: Hansel Cv: Showtaro Morikubo

Vol 6: Gretel Cv: Kazuyuki Okitsu

Midnight Jiang Shis

Vol 1: Mei-Mei Cv: Takashi Kondō

Vol 2: Rin-Rin Cv: Takahashi Naozumi

Vol 3: Rei-Rei Cv: Shinnosuke Tachibana

Vol 4: Honoka Cv: Hiro Shimono

Vol 5: Riei Cv: Hikaru Midorikawa

Vol 6: Iroha Cv: Ryohei Kimura

Midnight Jiang Shis Tenchou Yuugi

Vol 1: Shu-Shu Cv: Toshiki Masuda

Vol 2: Rei-Rei Cv: Shinnosuke Tachibana

Vol 3: Iroha Cv: Ryohei Kimura

Vol 4: Rin-Rin Cv: Takahashi Naozumi

Vol 5: Honoka Cv: Hiro Shimono

Vol 6: Riei Cv: Hikaru Midorikawa

Vol 7: Chu-Chu Cv: Sōma Saitō

Oz to Himitsu no Ai

Vol 1: Haruto Cv: Daisuke Hirakawa

Vol 2: Chikage Cv:  Takashi Kondō

Vol 3: Keisa Cv: Hiro Shimono

Vol 4: Shian Cv Takahashi Naozumi

Vol 5: Tenma Cv: Tatsuhisa Suzuki

Vol 6: Ail Cv: Mamoru Miyano

Vol 7: La última puerta Cv (todo el elenco)

Yuugen Romantica

Vol 1: Hifumi Cv: KENN

Vol 2: Zakuro Cv: Takahiro Sakurai

Vol 3: Iriya Cv: Shinnosuke Tachibanna

Vol 4: Arahagi Cv: Yuuki Kaji

Vol 5: Toneri Cv: Daisuke Hirakawa

Vol 6: Hanawo Cv: Hikaru Midorikawa

Yuugen Romantica Uchouten

Vol 1: Hifumi Cv: KENN

Vol 2: Utashiro Cv: Ryohei Kimura

Vol 3: Zakuro Cv: Takahiro Sakurai

Vol 4: Iriya Cv: Shinnosuke Tachibana

Vol 5: Merry Cv: Kousuke Toriumi

Vol 6: Arahagi Cv: Yuuki Kaji

Vol 7: Toneri Cv: Daisuke Hirakawa

Vol 8: Hanawo Cv: Hikaru Midorikawa 

Yuugen Romantica Hatenkou

Vol 1: Hifumi Cv: KENN

Vol 2: Utashiro Cv: Ryohei Kimura

Vol 3: Zakuro Cv: Takahiro Sakurai

Vol 4: Iriya Cv: Shinnosuke Tachibana

Vol 5: Merry Cv: Kousuke Toriumi

Vol 6: Arahagi Cv: Yuuki Kaji

Vol 7: Toneri Cv: Daisuke Hirakawa

Vol 8: Hanawo Cv: Hikaru Midorikawa

Yuugen Romantica Shinkocchou

Vol 1: Hifumi & Utashiro Cv: KENN & Ryohei Kimura

Vol 2: Arahagi & Toneri Cv: Yuuki Kaji & Daisuke Hirakawa

Vol 3: Zakuro & Iriya Cv: Takahiro Sakurai & Shinnosuke Tachibana

Vol 4: Hanawo & Merry Cv: Hikaru Midorikawa & Kousuke Toriumi

Yuugen Romantica Mantenka

Vol 1: Hifumi Cv: KENN

Vol 2: Merry Cv: Kousuke Toriumi

Vol 3: Utashiro Cv: Ryohei Kimura

Vol 4: Toneri Cv: Daisuke Hirakawa

Vol 5: Iriya Cv: Shinnosuke Tachibana

Vol 6: Arahagi Cv: Yuuki Kaji

Vol 7: Zakuro Cv: Takahiro Sakurai

Vol 8: Hanawo Cv: Hikaru Midorikawa

Yuugen Romantica Saikoucho

Vol 1: Hifumi Cv: KENN

Vol 2: Merry Cv: Kousuke Toriumi

Vol 3: Utashiro Cv: Ryohei Kimura

Vol 4: Toneri Cv: Daisuke Hirakawa

Vol 5: Iriya Cv: Tachibana Shinnosuke

Vol 6: Arahagi Cv: Yuuki Kaji

Vol 7: Zakuro Cv: Takahiro Sakurai

Vol 8: Hanawo Cv: Hikaru Miorikawa

Sacrifice

Vol 1: Noel Serikawa Cv: Takuya Eguchi

Vol 2: Yuki Serikawa Cv: Yūki Ono

Vol 3: Aran Yagami Cv: Daisuke Namiwawa

Vol 4: Keito Yushina Cv: Wataru Hatano

Vol 5: Yujin Nadeno Cv: Hiro Shimono

Vol 6: Calmera Cv: Yoshimasa Hosoya

Koi suru Sariel

Vol 1: Shimon Izanami Cv: Yoshitsugu Matsuoka

Vol 2: Rui Minowa Cv: Daisuke Hirakawa

Vol 3: Dan Mashiba Cv: Nobuhiko Okamoto

Yotogi HoliC

Vol 1: Mikazuki Cv: Tomoaki Maeno

Vol 2: Akatsuki Cv: Ryohei Kimura

Vol 3: Izayoi: Cv: Yuuki Kaji

Vol 4: Arata Cv: Shinnosuke Tachibana

Vol 5: Mitsuru Cv: Natsuki Hanae

Vol 6: Yumihari Cv: Hiro Shimono

Honey Liar!?

Vol 1: Takia Kokuyou Cv: Daisuke Namikawa

Vol 2: Yuzuku Kohaku Cv: Kousuke Toriumi

Vol 3: Keiichi Takame Cv: Takashi Kondō

Vol 4: Seiji Aikata Cv: Tomoaki Maeno

Vol 5: Haruya Hari Cv: Hiro Shimono

Vol 6: Saku Hinaga Cv: KENN

Lip on my Prince

Vol 1: Seiya Kitano Cv: Daisuke Namikawa

Vol 2: Mahoro Sawaguchi Cv: Hikaru Midorikawa

Vol 3: Asahi Nagumo Cv: Junichi Suwabe

Vol 4: Haru Yanase Cv: Kousuke Toriumi

Vol 5: Norio Ban Cv: Daisuke Hirakawa

Vol 6: Tomoe Naruse Cv: Daisuke Kishio

MOTTO♥LIP ON MY PRINCE

Vol 1: Asahi Nagumi Cv: Junichi Suwabe

Vol 2 Shouta Saotome Cv: Hiro Shimono

Vol 3 Seiya Kitano Cv: Daisuke Namikawa

Vol 4 Norio Ban Cv: Daisuke Hirakawa

Vol 5 Tomoe Naruse Cv: Daisuke Kishio

Vol 6 Mahoro Sawaguchi Cv: Hikaru Midorikawa

Vol 7 Haru Yanase Cv: Kousuke Toriumi

Vol 8 Tsubaki Shiina Cv: Yoshino Hiroyuki

√HAPPY+SUGAR=DARLIN

Vol 1: Enju Usui Cv: Takahiro Sakurai

Vol 2: Tamaki Satomi Cv: Nobuhiko Okamoto

Vol 3: Ranran Kurumiya Cv: Shōta Aoi

Vol 4: Sora Ebihara Cv Yuuki Kaji

Vol 5: Masato Fujiie Cv: Jun’ichi Suwabe

Vol 6: Satou Cv: Tatsuhisa Suzuki

Corpse†Heart

Vol 1: Lizzy Cv: Ryohei Kimura

Vol 2: Valerie Cv: Toshiki Masuda

Vol 3: Kuu Cv: Toshiyuki Toyonaga

Vol 4: Kirumi Cv: Hiro Shimono

Vol 5: Ness Cv: Kaito Ishikawa

Vol 6: Aaron Cv: Yūki Ono

Dance with Devils -Twin-Lead-

Vol 1: Rem Kaginuki & Lindo Tachibana Cv: Sōma Saitō & Wataru Hatano

Vol 2: Urie Sogami & Mage Nanashiro Cv: Takashi Kondō & Subaru Kimura

Vol 3: Shiki Natsumezaka & Roen Cv: Daisuke Hirakawa & Tatsuhisa Suzuki

Diabolik Lovers More Blood

Vol 1: Ayato Sakamaki Cv: Hikaru Midorikawa

Vol 2: Kou Mukami Cv: Ryohei Kimura

Vol 3: Ruki Mukami Cv: Takahiro Sakurai

Vol 4: Azusa Mukami Cv: Daisuke Kishio

Vol 5: Yuma Mukami Cv: Tatsuhisa Suzuki

Vol 6: Kanato Sakamaki Cv: Yuuki Kaji

Vol 7: Laito Sakamaki Cv: Daisuke Hirakawa

Vol 8: Subaru Sakamaki Cv: Takashi Kondō

Vol 9: Shu Sakamaki Cv: Kousuke Toriumi

Vol 10: Reiji Sakamaki Cv: Katsuyuki Konishi

Diabolik Lovers Bloody Bouquet

Vol 1: Ayato Sakamaki Cv: Hikaru Midorikawa

Vol 2: Ruki Mukami Cv: Takahiro Sakurai 

Vol 3: Carla Tsukinami Cv: Toshiyuki Morikawa

Vol 4: Shuu Sakamaki Cv  Kousuke Toriumi

Vol 5: Kou Mukami Cv: Ryohei Kimura

Vol 6: Reiji Sakamaki Cv: Katsuyuki Konishi

Vol 7: Shin Tsukinami Cv: Showtaro Morikubo

Vol 8: Yuma Mukami Cv: Tatsuhisa Suzuki

Vol 9: Kanato Sakamaki Cv: Yuuki Kaji

Vol 10: Laito Sakamaki Cv: Daisuke Hirakawa

Vol 11: Azusa Mukami Cv: Daisuke Kishio

Vol 12: Subaru Sakamaki Cv: Takashi Kondō

Diabolik Lovers Para-Selene

Vol 1: Ayato Sakamaki Cv: Hikaru Midorikawa

Vol 2: Kino Cv: Tomoaki Maeno

Vol 3: Kou Mukami Cv: Ryohei Kimura

Vol 4: Shin Tsukinami Cv: Showtaro Morikubo

Vol 5: Laito Sakamaki Cv: Daisuke Hirakawa

Vol 6: Subaru Sakamaki Cv: Takashi Kondō

Vol 7: Reiji Sakamaki Cv: Katsuyuki Konishi

Vol 8: Azusa Mukami Cv: Daisuke Kishio

Vol 9: Kanato Sakamaki Cv: Yuuki Kaji

Vol 10: Yuma Mukami Cv: Tatsuhisa Suzuki

Vol 11: Carla Tsukinami Cv: Toshiyuki Morikawa

Vol 12: Ruki Mukami Cv: Takahiro Sakurai 

Vol 13: Shu Sakamaki Cv: Kousuke Toriumi

Diabolik Lovers Zero

Vol 1: Ayato Sakamaki Cv: Hikaru Midorikawa

Vol 2: Kou Mukami Cv: Ryohei Kimura

Vol 3: Subaru Sakamaki Cv: Takashi Kondō

Vol 4: Shin Tsukinami Cv: Showtaro Morikubo

Vol 5: Kanato Sakamaki Cv: Yuuki Kaji

Vol 6: Yuma Mukami Cv: Tatsuhisa Suzuki

Vol 7: Kino Cv: Tomoaki Maeno

Vol 8: Reiji Sakamaki Cv: Katsuyuki Konishi

Vol 9: Carla Tsukinami Cv: Toshiyuki Morikawa

Vol 10: Shu Sakamaki Cv: Kousuke Toriumi

Vol 11: Laito Sakamaki Cv: Daisuke Hirakawa

Vol 12: Azusa Mukami Cv: Daisuke Kishio

Vol 13: Ruki Mukami Cv: Takahiro Sakurai

Diabolik Lovers More, More Blood

Vol 1: Ayato Sakamaki Cv: Hikaru Midorikawa

Vol 2: Kou Mukami Cv: Ryohei Kimura

Vol 3: Shu Sakamaki Cv: Kousuke Toriumi

Vol 4: Shin Tsukinami Cv: Showtaro Morikubo

Vol 5: Yuma Mukami Cv: Tatsuhisa Suzuki

Vol 6: Reiji Sakamaki Cv: Katsuyuki Konishi

Vol 7: Subaru Sakamaki Cv: Takashi Kondō

Vol 8: Carla Tsukinami Cv: Toshiyuki Morikawa

Vol 9: Kanato Sakamaki Cv: Yuuki Kaji

Vol 10: Azusa Mukami Cv Daisuke Kishio

Vol 11: Laito Sakamaki Cv: Daisuke Hirakawa

Vol 12: Ruki Mukami Cv: Takahiro Sakurai

Vol 13: Kino Cv: Tomoaki Maeno

Diabolik Lovers Daylight

Vol 1: Ayato Sakamaki Cv: Hikaru Midorikawa

Vol 2: Shu Sakamaki Cv: Kousuke Toriumi

Vol 3: Reiji Sakamaki Cv: Katsuyuki Konishi

Vol 4: Subaru Sakamaki Cv: Takashi Kondō

Vol 5: Kanato Sakamaki Cv: Yuuki Kaji

Vol 6: Laito Sakamaki Cv: Daisuke Hirakawa

Vol 7:  Ruki Mukami Cv: Sakurai Takahiro

Vol 8: Kou Mukami Cv: Ryohei Kimura

Vol 9: Yuma Mukami Cv: Tatsuhisa Suzuki

Vol 10: Azusa Mukami Cv: Daisuke Kishio

Vol 11: Carla Tsukinami Cv: Toshiyuki Morikawa

Vol 12: Shin Tsukinami Cv: Showtaro Morikubo

Vol 13: Kino Cv: Tomoaki Maeno

Diabolik Lovers Eternal Blood

Vol 1: Ruki Mukami Cv: Takahiro Sakurai

Vol 2: Yuma Mukami Cv: Tatsuhisa Suzuki

Vol 3: Kou Mukami Cv: Ryohei Kimura

Vol 4: Azusa Mukami Cv: Daisuke Kishio

Diabolik Lovers Born to Die

Vol 1: Carla Tsukinami Cv: Toshiyuki Morikawa

Vol 2: Shin Tsukinami Cv: Showtaro Morikubo

Vol 3: Kino Cv: Tomoaki Maeno

Diabolik Lovers VERSUSⅢ

Vol 1: Ayato vs Carla Cv: Hikaru Midorikawa & Toshiyuki Morikawa

Vol 2: Laito vs Shin Cv: Daisuke Hirakawa & Showtaro Morikubo

Vol 3: Subaru vs Kou Cv: Takashi Kondō & Ryohei Kimura

Vol 4: Reiji vs Ruki Cv: Katsuyuki Konishi & Takahiro Sakurai 

Vol 5: Shu vs Yuma Cv: Kousuke Toriumi & Tatsuhisa Suzuki

Vol 6: Kanato vs Azusa Cv: Yuuki Kaji & Daisuke Kishio

Diabolik Lovers VERSUS IV

Vol 1: Ayato vs Shin vs Kino Cv: Hikaru Midorikawa, Showtaro Morikubo & Tomoaki Maeno

Vol 2: Shu vs Ruki Cv: Kousuke Toriumi & Takahiro Sakurai

Vol 3: Subaru vs Carla Cv: Takashi Kondō & Toshiyuki Morikawa

Vol 4: Reiji vs Azusa Cv: Katsuyuki Konishi & Daisuke Kishio

Vol 5: Kanato vs Kou Cv: Yuuki Kaji & Ryohei Kimura

Vol 6: Laito vs Yuma Cv: Daisuke Hirakawa & Tatsuhisa Suzuki

Diabolik Lovers Sadistic Song Mini Drama

Vol 1: Ayato Sakamaki Cv: Hikaru Midorikawa

Vol 2: Kanato Sakamaki Cv: Yuuki Kaji

Vol 3: Laito Sakamaki Cv: Daisuke Hirakawa

Vol 4: Shuu Sakamaki Cv: Kousuke Toriumi

Vol 5: Reiji Sakamaki Cv: Katsuyuki Konishi

Vol 6: Subaru Sakamaki Cv:  Takashi Kondō

[higuchimon]

7, 18 for the end-of-the-year ask meme please?

07: longest completed fic you wrote this year: For fics I started & finished this year, it's Embrace of Fate, clocking in at 24,724. For fics I finished this year but started in 2018, it's Rebirth of Kaiser, clocking in at 61,940.

18: current number of wips: you asked for all my fandoms, so here we go! Like yesterday, I divided into fics I have actual words written on and fics that I will be rewriting, regardless of if I've ever posted them or not.

I've divided them according to fandom, for easier listing. First up, fics with actual words written.

Digimon Adventure 02 tri

Chains of the Past: Ken, Death Rosemon (OC): 12,377/75,000

Chaos In The Family: Jun, Momoe, Daisuke, Ken: 1,136/15,833

Far From The Tree: Devil's Daughter: Sora, Devimon, Hoshimon (OC): 15,179/79,372

Illness: Ken x Daisuke: 1,264/10,000

Key To A Bad Bargain: Ken x Daisuke, Piemon, Hikari: 1,063/90,000

Monochromon Never Forgets: Digimon Kaiser, Daisuke: 1,347/18,000

Nowhere Like Home: Chosen Children, Digimon Kaiser: 1,016/93,000

Only One Answer: Digimon Kaiser, Daisuke: 3,597/45,000

Path Less Travelled: Digimon Kaiser, Daisuke: 8,212/177,620

Services Rendered: Paying The Price: Digimon Kaiser Ken x Daisuke: 1,324/18,000

Memories and Meaning: Perils of Being Early: Digimon Kaiser, Daisuke: 4,284/45,000

Shadowfall: Let The Darkness In: Dark Masters, Chosen Children: 1,301/200,000

Thicker Than Water: Dark Masters, Chosen Children: 3,607/237,600

Heart of Demon, Soul of Angel: To Fall & To Fly: Taichi x Yamato: 785/42,484

What's Mine Is Mine: Digimon Kaiser Ken x Daisuke: 10,800/18,000

Digimon Tamers

Iceheart: Ruki, Takato, OC: 9,444/56,840

Risk of Death: Ryou, Ruki, Osamu: 8,125/42,484

Digimon Frontier

Shadow Sorrow: Kouji, Kouichi: 5,262/38,274

Storm Spirit: Junpei x Izumi: 1,277/42,484

Thunderstruck: Junpei, Kouichi: 6,387/32,589

Digimon Xros Wars

Hunting The Great Game: Tamed Flames: Kiriha, DarkKnightmon: 3,359/90,000

YGO DM

Attraction To Blonds: Jounouchi x Malik: 2,033/50,000

Smoothing The Road: Seto x Yuugi: 1,584/22,500

YGO Zexal

Bad Company: Vector x Mizael: 7,867/45,000

Beyond All Beauty: Mizael, Kaito: 3,501/45,000

Gifts That Give Themselves: Mizael x Kaito x Chris: 5,084/54,321

In A Tower Room: Vector, Yuuma: 10,888/125,000

Inappropriate Places: Vector x Mizael: 2,529/9,539

Sweet: Durbe x Chris: 1,148/45,000

YGO Arc-V

Another Swing of the Pendelum: Yuuya, Yuuto, Yuugo, Yuuri, Yuzu, Ruri, Rin, Selena: 2,090/32,589

Bloodfire: Shun, Yuuri: 2,082/45,000

Daughter of the Sea: Rin x Ruri: 2,192/45,000

Introduction To Danger: Kaito x Shun: 1,420/90,000

Kept In Shadows: Shun, Yuuri: 18,246/120,000

Kinblood: Asuka x Selena: 1,734/45,000

Brothers & Boyfriends: Not Anything But Everything: Yuuya x Yuuto: 2,687/38,274

Plant Problems: Yuuri x Yuugo: 2,056/18,000

Shirt For A Bird: Yuuri, Shun: 7,822/45,000

Warrior, Prey, Prisoner: Yuuri, Shun: 314/45,000

Wounded Wings: Asuka x Akane: 1,528/18,000

YGO VRAINS

Hugs of Yuusaku: Yuusaki x Ai: 2,361/18,000

Intrafandom Crossovers: YGO

Love Lessons: Fubuki x Otogi: 10,177/45,000

Winter's Cold Kiss: Vector x Mizael: 2,007/18,000

Interfandom Crossovers

Alliance of Fear: Ken x Daisuke, Yubel x Juudai x Johan: 8,224/60,000

What You See Is What You Get: Taiju x Nanao: 2,422/43,200

Love Is Out Of This Digital World: A Digital Mess: Digimon Kaiser, Daisuke, Caerula Adamas, Battle Lovers: 4,705/45,000

Vanity's Risks: Akoya, Ranamon: 613/52,000

BKCBL BKCHK

Love Is A Melody: Kinshiro x Atsushi: 351/45,000

No Price Too High: Ryuu x Akoya: 1,029/18,000

Power Rangers

Azure Aquamarine: Tommy x Billy: 2,216/90,000

Melodyweaver: Divatox, Scorpina, Rangers: 3,640/45,000

Unexpected Tales: Hot: Emily x Jason: 1,023/30,000

Unexpected Tales: Sound of Waves: Tanya x Adam: 1,546/30,000

Yellow & Blue: Nature of Fear: Trini x Billy: 2,809/45,000

And now, rewrites:

Digimon Adventure 02 tri

Adulthood Issues: Ken x Daisuke, Sora: 0/200,000

All The World's a Stage: Chosen Children, Dark Masters: 0/200,000

Blossoms of Death: Change: Miyako, Daisuke: 0/18,000

Broken Wings: Ken x Daisuke: 0/400,000

Colors of the Heart: Mimi x Miyako: 0/90,000

Consort: Ken x Daisuke: 0/45,000

Crestfallen: Taichi, Daisuke: 0/90,000

Cure For The Common Cold: Taichi, Takeru: 0/18,000

Etemon's Envy: Mimi, Yamato, Etemon: 0/60,000

Fist of Velvet, Glove of Steel: Taichi x Yamato, Ken x Dasiuke: 150,000

God Granted: Piemon x Takeru: 0/45,000

Heart's Desire: Jun, Wizarmon, Ken, Daisuke: 0/90,000

Just A Suggestion: Ken x Daisuke: 0/45,000

Last Dark Master: Not His Word: Yamato, Piemon: 0/90,000

Layers of Deception: Vamdemon, Daisuke: 0/150,000

Leader Loss: Taichi, Yamato, Vamdemon: 0/90,000

Moonwhispers: Sora x Hikari: 0/100,000

Price of Triumph: Sidesteps: Digimon Kaiser, Daisuke: 0/180,000

Price To Be Paid: Jun x Osamu: 0/9,000

Soulcall: Correct Mistakes: Ken x Daisuke: 0/120,000

Soulcall: Giving Chase: Hikari x Miyako: 0/80,000

Soulcall: Seven Strange Days: Jun x Momoe: 0/50,000

Summons of the Dark Side: Taichi x Yamato, Digimon Kaiser x Daisuke: 120,000

Tangled Emotions: Mimi x Sora: 300,000

To True Love: Moments Without You: Taichi x Yamato: 120,000

To True Love: Subtle Clues: Taichi x Yamato: 120,000

To True Love: Fragile Kisses: Taichi x Yamato: 120,000

Two Days Off: Ken x Daisuke: 0/45,000

Two Made One: Sora x Miyako: 0/45,000

Digimon Tamers

Crystal of Nightmares: Tamers, OCs: 0/120,000

Hunting The Hunter: Ruki x Renamon: 0/120,000

Digimon Frontier

Assistance Needed: Kouji, Izumi: 0/18,000

Eyes of Light: Kouji, Kouichi: 0/200,000

Tales of wind & Water: Sealing The Beast: Izumi, Ranamon: 0/90,000

Godslave: Lucemon x Kouji: 0/150,000

Treasure Hunt of Terror: Takuya, Kouji: 0/90,000

YGO DM

Of The Heart: Mai x Isis: 0/150,000

YGO Zexal

Keys To The Tower: Durbe x Chris: 0/200,000

Long Lost Friends: Alit, Mizael: 0/45,000

Offering: Durbe x Chris: 0/90,000

YGO Arc-V

Payment: Yuuri x Shun: 0/90,000

Torments of Kurosaki Shun: Prey & Hunters: 0/50,000

Soul of the Gem: Masumi x Yuzu: 0/90,000

Way Too Easy: Yuuya x Yuuto x Yuugo x Yuuri: 0/400,000

YGO VRAINS

Son of Trees: Spectre, Earth, Go: 0/56,840

Intrafandom Crossovers: YGO

Shards and Sunlight: Asuka x Mizuchi: 0/90,000

Interfandom Crossovers

Rage, Revenge, & Reprisals: Lucemon, Black Mist, Chosen Children: 0/240,000

Ties to Magic: Dragon Wings & Demon Hearts: Yubel x Juudai, Ruki x Renamon: 0/90,000

Ties To Magic: Bond To Angel, Bond To Demon: Piemon x Yuusuke, Taichi x Yamato, Ken x Daisuke: 0/180,000

Touched By The Moon: Kat Hillard, Selena: 0/240,000

BKCBL BKCHK

Targeting A Cold Heart: Io x Ryuu x Akoya: 0/90,000

Power Rangers

Emotional Damage: Kat x Tommy: 0/75,000

[sphinxsmuses-archived]

All my favorite guy characters!

Warning, this is very long. lol I’ve started this back in high school 14 years ago and have been adding to it ever since. I thought it would be fun to share here and show what things I’m into (fandom wise)

Teen Titans Aqualad Kid Flash Prince of Tennis Kaoru Kaido Tezuka Kunimitsu Shuusuke Fuji Shinji Ibu Ryoma Echizen (Only in the anime...) Eiji Kikumaru That one guy with the red long headband thing.. lol Tales of Symphonia Kratos Aurion Genis Sage Yuan IGPX Immortal Grand Prix Takeshi River Cunningham s-CRY-ed Ryuhou Asuka Tachibana Demon Diary Eclipse Fushigi Yuugi Chichiri Cardcaptors Lee Syaoran Eriol Yue Full Metal Alchemist Roy Mustang Envy Magic Knight Rayearth Ferio Eagle .Hack Balmung Bith the black Elk Moonstone Haseo Ovan Silabus Endrance Kuhn

Zoids Jack Sisco Raven Sonic Knuckles Megaman Chaud Protoman Zero Slayers Zelgadis Metal Gear Solid Master Otacon Raiden Tekken Lee Shaoran Jin Kazuma Hwoarang Naruto Kabuto Kakashi Sasuke Zabuza Kiba Super Smash Brothers Brawl Marth Ike Pit Toon Link Link Lucas Phantom Brave Ash Yugioh Bakura (Yami and Regular) Seto Kaiba Yami Yugi Valon/Varon Teen Pegasus Zane Truesdale/Ryu Marufuji (Yugioh GX) Mr. Banner and Pharoah (Yugioh GX) Bastion Misawa/Daichi Misawa (Yugioh GX) Syrus Truesdale/Sho Marufuji (sort of a cute thing...XD Yugioh GX) Atticus Rhodes/Fubuki Tenjione (Yugioh GX) The Gambler (lol Yugioh GX) Astir Pheonix/Edo Pheonix (GX) Jesse Anderson/Johan Anderson (GX) Yubel Jesse/Yubel Johan (GX) Jim 'Crocodile' Cook (GX) Adrian Gecko/Amon Garam (GX) Jaden Yuki/Judai Yuki (GX) (Especially season 4 Jaden. XD) Supreme King Jaden AKA Haou Judai (GX) (without his armor aka fanart lol) Yusei (5Ds) Jack Atlas (5Ds) Kalin/Kiryu (5Ds) Crow (5Ds) Gundam Wing Quetra Duo Maxwell Heero Yuy Cheng Outlaw Star Jim Hawking Gene Starwind Pirates of the Carribean Will Turner Final Fantasy Cloud(Final Fantasy 7) Vincent(FF7) Sephiroth(FF7) Reno(FF7) Irvine(FF8) Seifer(FF8) Squall Leonhart(FF8) Zidane Tribal (FF9) Auron(FFX) Balthier!!!! (FFXII) Genesis (Final Fantasy 7 Crisis Core) Zack (Crisis Core) Snow (FFXIII)

Noctis (FFXV)

Prompto (FFXV)

Ignis (FFXV)

Rurouni Kenshin Sanosuke Rurouni Kenshin Aoshi Yu Yu Hakashu Hiei Jin Karasu Teen Koenma Kurama Shishiwakamaru Kuronue Kingdom Hearts Riku Zexion (from Kingdom Hearts chain of memories) Axel Demyx Luxord Marluxia Xemnas Xigbar Roxas Saix Ven Wild ARMS 3 Jet Enduro Clive Winslet Janus Cascade Matrix Neo Lord of the rings Pippin Took Merry Brandybuck Legolas Greenleaf Celebs Clay Aiken Ty Pennington Ashley Parker Angel Orlando Bloom Steve Bryn Teddy Greiger Ryan Seacrest Harry Potter Draco Malfoy Fred and George Weasley Cedric James Potter Sirius (when he was younger) Code Lyoko Odd Ulrich William Witch Hunter Robin Michael Wolf's Rain Hige Kiba Toboe One Piece Zolo (or Zoro) Shanks Ace Peacemaker Susumu Yamazaki Suzu Kitamura Getbackers Ban D.N.Angel Dark Satoshi Hiwatari Krad Daisuke Shaman King Ren or Len Yoh Horohoro or Trey Zeke Dragonball Z Android 17 Teen Trunks Supreme Kai Older Goten Vegeta Digimon Matt Henry Kouji Ken or Digimon Emperor Teen Izzy Mummymon Inuyasha Miroku Tokyo Mew Mew or Mew Mew Power Keiichiro (Known as Wesley on Mew Mew Power) Ryou (In Mew Mew Power he's known as Elliot..) Kish (known as Dren on Mew Mew Power) Fruits Basket Kyo Hatsuharu Yuki Vice president of the Student Council (can't remember name.. XD) Momiji Samurai Champloo Mugen Star Ocean Till the end of time Albel Nox Cliff Fittir Fayte Leingod Soul Calibur Maxi (with blonde hair) Kilik Raphael Kaleido Star Ken Yuri E's otherwise Eiji Yuuki Kai Shen-lon Saiyuki Sanzo Spirited Away Haku Angelic Layer Ouji Final Fantasy Unlimited Kaze Chrono Crusade Chrono (both demon and normal) Wish Koryu Kokuyo Bleach Ichigo Ichimaru Gin Captain Aizen Juvenile Orion Kaname Kusakabe Isshin Shiba Ultra Maniac Tetsushi Kaji Hiroki Tsujiai Yuta Kirishima Kare Kano His and Her circumstances Asaba Hideaki Full Moon O Sagashite Takuto Eichi Twinkle star sprites (A Mame32 or Dreamcast game) Griffon Tsubasa Resevior Chronicles Fai Kurogane Kamui Subaru Kimihiro Watanuki The Gorillaz 2-D X-men (any X-men) Nightcrawler Gambit W.I.T.C.H. Caleb Hands Off Youta Star Wars Obi-wan Kenobi (younger one don't ask..XD) Howl's moving castle Howl Xiaolin Showdown Raimundo Chase Young Galaxy Angel Takuto Lester Trigun Wolfwood Legato Alice 19th Kyo Frei Dragon Knights Thatz Kai-long Rath Lord Lykouleon Dream Saga Takaomi (Dream World/After Stage) Keima (Dream World) Vampire Game Darres Hume Illsade Pokemon Mewtwo Gary Brawly Morty Koga Tracy Aaron (or Riley or whatever xD) Legend of Dragoon Dartz Blonde haired King dude(can't remember name, starts with an L) Jet Set Radio Future Yo-yo Beat Corn (Tab) Final Fantasy Advent Children Cloud Vincent Reno Kadaj Devil May Cry Dante Xenosaga Kevin Chaos Tony Animal Crossing Aziz Sky high Stretchy dude (can't remember name..XD) Ouran High School Host Club Tamaki Suoh The Hitachin Twins Hunny Mori Kyoya Nekozawa Eragon Eragon Starfox Falco Lombardi Leon Powalski Wolf O' Donnell Storm Hawks Finn Aerrow Stork Code Geass Lelouch Suzaku Pheonix Wright Edgeworth Diego (Pheonix Wright 3) Godot (Phoenix Wright 3) Solty Rei Yuto Eureka 7 Holland The World Ends With You Joshua Beat Sho Minamimoto Kariya Prince Neku Mushi Shi Ginko Heroes Hiro Nakamura Peter Petrelli Fairy Tail Gray Loki Soul Eater Soul Evans Death the kid Kill la Kill Sanageyama League of Legends Azir Malzahar Ekko Fate Series Archer (From Fate Stay Night) Lancer (From Fate Zero and Stay Night) Gilgamesh

Yona of the Dawn

Hak

God Eater

Soma

Lindow

Gundam Iron Blooded Orphans

Orga Itsuka

Assassination Classroom

Karma

A Certain Magical Index/Railgun

Accelerator (I don’t know why. lol)

Karneval

Yogi

Gareki

Hirato

Magi:

Alibaba

Jafar

Sinbad

Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki Kun

Mikoshiba

Seven Deadly Sins

King

Ban

Meliodas

Kamisama Kiss

Tomoe

My Hero Academia

Iida

Aizawa (Eraserhead)

Bungou Stray Dogs

Dazai

Cavalier of the Abyss

Regis Nex

Ninoorut Noah

Persona

Joker

Yosuke

Akihiko Sanada

Nier Automata

9S

Adam

[sage-nebula]

YGO - In Plain Sight - Ch. 1 (incomplete)

Notes: Something like a year or two ago (probably two years, tbh) I outlined an entire longfic detailing how Yuugi and Jounouchi make their relationship romantic. I wrote that entire outline, and then---aside from the first ten pages of the first chapter, and other little bits here or there---I never wrote it. I’m thinking about sharing the outline, because it can work as headcanons if nothing else, and maybe if enough people want to see the actual fic based on the outline, that will inspire me to actually write it (although the outline is major #spoilers, but I don’t know if people would care about #spoilers for a fic). In any case, if I share the outline, I want to link to the bits already written, and that means sharing what I have of chapter one.

This fic takes place when Yuugi and Jounouchi are ~22/23 (at the start, anyway---birthdays will happen in later chapters), in the post-canon headcanon I have where they ended up getting an apartment together when they were ~18/19 that was close to Yuugi’s university. Shiori and Kisugi (and their respective romantic partners) are OCs, because I figure that Yuugi had to make some friends while in university. It’s too unrealistic for him not to.

As a final note, the Japanese school year runs from April to March, and I’m respecting that here.

Late April afternoons at Satoru University saw a mass of students draped over the quad. Some tossed Frisbees back and forth, others did battle with the wind as it tried to blow away their homework assignments and turn the pages in their books, and still others tried to enjoy quick catnaps on the sun-soaked grass, relishing in the twenty minutes of peace they had before they had to sprint off to their next class or work study jobs. Beneath their favorite tree in one corner of the quad, Yuugi, Shiori, and Kisugi were relaxing in much the same way, the three of them seated in a little circle with their lunches spread out before them as per their usual tradition. Kisugi nursed a can of peach tea, having already finished off his pork bun, and Yuugi chewed through a mouthful of instant noodles as Shiori relayed a conversation she’d had with her boyfriend the previous night, her cheeks flushed a bit pink as she talked.

“. . . so anyway, I brought it up to him last night and he said . . . okay,” Shiori said. She poked at the rice in her bento with her chopsticks, choosing to look at her lunch instead of at them. Yuugi and Kisugi stared at her with wide eyes, though as he swallowed his mouthful of noodles, Yuugi could feel himself beginning to beam on Shiori’s behalf.

Kisugi did not seem as pleased.

“Just like that?” he demanded. He leaned forward, the fingers of one splayed against the grass while his other hand squeezed his can of peach tea, his eyes intense. “He said he’d move with you after school, just like that?”

“Yep.” Shiori smiled, though she bit the inside of her cheek in a clear attempt to hide it. “It’s not like it’s that big of a stretch anyway, right? I mean, he’s an artist, and Shibuya’s just as on top of art as it is fashion . . .”

“It definitely is. I think it’s perfect for both of you,” Yuugi said, and when Shiori looked over at him her smile finally broke loose in the face of his broad grin. “That’s really great news—congratulations, Shiori!”

“Thanks,” Shiori said, and Kisugi heaved an exaggerated sigh as he flopped back on the grass.

“Fortune bestowed all her blessings on you and left none for me,” he said, and he reached one hand up toward the sky before he let his arm fall across his eyes. “I lost both of my loves the second I said I wanted to stay in Domino, and you get to keep yours even though you’re moving all the way to Shibuya! Why must you keep all of the luck and love for yourself, Shi-chan? It’s not fair!”

“Yes, well . . .” Shiori reached over to lightly pat Kisugi’s leg in consolation, but she only spared him a minute glance before she looked curiously at Yuugi, who had gone back to eating his instant noodles in anticipation of another one of Kisugi’s melodramatic monologues. “What about you, Yuugi? What do you have in mind for after graduation?”

Yuugi took a drink of his soda to help wash down his noodles, but not even the extra minute chewing afforded him could help come up with a suitable answer to Shiori’s question. By the time he swallowed down the last of his noodles, the only answer he had to give was the honest one.

“Nothing, really,” he said, and unsurprisingly, Shiori’s expression shifted to one caught between surprise and disappointment. Kisugi moved his arm from his eyes to his forehead to stare shrewdly at Yuugi. “I haven’t thought about it much.”

“You haven’t?” Shiori asked, and when Yuugi shook his head added, “But Yuugi, this is our final year! You have to start thinking about jobs, places to apply to, or graduate programs if you’re into that sort of thing—”

“Well, I’ve thought about some jobs—some companies,” Yuugi said, and as he tried to think of some companies to make his statement more of an honest one, he looked back down at his noodles and poked them with his chopsticks much in the same way Shiori had poked at her rice before. “You know, I thought about maybe applying for an indie board game company, or maybe something bigger like Nintendo—”

“You could always apply for KaibaCorp,” Kisugi suggested, and it was fortunate that Yuugi hadn’t been in the middle of eating when Kisugi suggested that, Yuugi thought, or else he might have ended up choking. “Don’t you and Kaiba have a history with that whole Duel Monsters thing?”

Yuugi forced a laugh, but even to his own ears it sounded awkward. “I . . . don’t think KaibaCorp is really a very viable option . . .” he said. Mostly because he was pretty sure that even if he did apply, Kaiba would refuse to interview him out of spite.

Well, no, Yuugi mused, and he smiled wryly as he looked down at his food. He’d refuse to interview Jounouchi-kun out of spite. He’d probably just make me the guy in charge of the mail room.

“Hm, that’s a shame. I hear KaibaCorp employees get very good benefits, though apparently it’s also a very high-stress environment,” Shiori said, but she shrugged before she looked back at Yuugi. “But hey—Nintendo, huh? That would be so cool! They’re based in Tokyo, right?”

“Kyoto, actually.”

“So you’d have to move,” Shiori said, and Kisugi threw both of his arms in the air again before he let them fall back onto the grass.

“Go!” he cried. “Leave me! Everyone does in the end! I’m doomed to spend the rest of my days alone, navigating the salty seas of isolation, adrift in a ship crafted by the driftwood of my loneliness—”

“Will you give it a rest? It’s not like any of us are leaving Japan!” Shiori said, and she rolled her eyes. Kisugi pouted at her, but she pointedly ignored him as she looked back at Yuugi. “But hey, if you have to move—what about Jounouchi? Will he be moving with you?”

“Huh?” Yuugi blinked, caught off guard by her question, which as far as he could tell came so far out of left field it wasn’t even on the baseball diamond anymore. “Oh, um—no? I don’t think so? I—we haven’t talked about it, but—”

“You haven’t?” Shiori frowned, her brow furrowed, and Kisugi pushed himself up on his arms. Yuugi was beginning to think there were a lot of things he hadn’t done that Shiori wouldn’t be pleased about. “But Yuugi, that’s a pretty big deal—it’s something you should talk about before the time comes. What does he plan on doing, job-wise? Does he know?”

“That talk is the kiss of death for any relationship, believe me,” Kisugi cut in, and Yuugi was grateful for the interruption, even if Shiori’s frown told Yuugi that she wasn’t. “The second I told Daisuke and Ai that I didn’t want to move to Osaka, they cut me loose! ‘It’s for the best,’ they said. ‘Long distance relationships never last,’ they said. ‘You’re going to get dehydrated if you keep crying,’ they said—”

“Yuugi, if you don’t talk about it with him now, it’s going to be that much worse when the time comes,” Shiori said seriously, and she raised her voice a little to be heard over Kisugi’s rant. Kisugi stopped midsentence and gave her an affronted look. “If you talk about it now, I’m sure you can work something out—”

“Ha!” Kisugi said.

“—but if you don’t then you really might have to break up when the time comes, because neither of you will have prepa—”

“Wait—break up?” Yuugi interrupted, and his entire body felt flushed with heat, as if he’d chosen to sit in the sun like Kisugi instead of beneath the shade of their tree. When Shiori nodded, Yuugi laughed, though it was more out of sudden nerves than actual amusement. “No, no, you’ve got it all—Jounouchi-kun’s not—we’re not . . . together. Like that. We’re just friends.”

“You’re not?” Shiori said, and she exchanged a quick glance with Kisugi before she looked back to Yuugi, her eyes widening. “O-Oh my gosh, I just assumed—Yuugi, I’m so sorry, I—!”

“It’s okay,” Yuugi said quickly. His cheeks were still burning, though he was able to keep his voice steady, much to his relief. There was no need to make the situation any more awkward than it already was. “It’s okay, you didn’t . . . know, I guess—”

“I just assumed—I mean, you live together, and you’ve always seemed so close, just like me and—well, I guess I thought you were just—that you weren’t just living together, that you were, um, together-together—”

“Probably we shouldn’t have discouraged Mina from asking him out, huh?” Kisugi asked, and Shiori pressed her lips together, wringing her hands in her lap, while Yuugi’s thoughts spun over which ‘him’ Kisugi was referring to. Kisugi gave Yuugi a shrewd look. “But really? You’re not? Really, really? You’re not fooling with us?”

“No,” Yuugi said. He set his chopsticks over the top of his noodles before he set the cup to the side. He didn’t feel much like eating them anymore. “Why would you think we were—?”

“It’s just, you know,” Shiori said, and she waved one hand through the air, as if trying to summon an explanation from the tree branches. When none came, she made an anxious sound in her throat before she looked down at her lap again. “The way you two are . . . you always seem so happy when you’re with him, and we just thought—”

“I am happy with him,” Yuugi said, and he pulled his knees to his chest and wrapped his arms around them. “He’s my best friend.”

“Well, yes—I know, but—what I mean is, when you—when you were with, or when you looked at him, it really seemed like you were—” Shiori put her reddened face in her hands for a moment, as if to smother what she was trying to say, before she looked back up at Yuugi. “I’m sorry,” she said again. “I really didn’t mean to imply, or—or assume—I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay,” Yuugi said again, and as Shiori nodded and bit the inside of her cheek, her eyes on her lap, he squeezed his knees to his chest a little more tightly. Her explanation hadn’t really settled anything at all—hadn’t really answered why she (and Kisugi, for that matter) had thought that he and Jounouchi were together. It wasn’t a big deal, Yuugi supposed, because he and Jounouchi weren’t together and that was the end of that, but for some reason his throat still felt thick and his stomach still felt like it was twisted uncomfortably, and nothing Shiori had said helped him reason out why.

“So, out of curiosity . . .” Kisugi said slowly, after a moment of the three of them sitting in silence. “If you’re not dating Jounouchi . . . can I have a go?”

Yuugi and Shiori looked up as one in surprise, but Shiori was the only one of them who seemed struck by a sudden bout of indignation as she cried, “Kisugi!” and swatted his leg.

Kisugi gave her an indignant look in turn. ��What? What have I done wrong this time? Why must you always treat me with such cruelty?!”

“I’m cruel? You’re the one trying to mack all over Yuugi’s—friend!” Shiori said, and Yuugi chewed the inside of his lip as it occurred to him what she’d probably been about to say.

“So?” Kisugi challenged.

“So?” Shiori repeated. “So you can’t—you can’t do that!”

“Why not? I’m single! Daisuke and Ai tossed me out into the depths of the abyss of misery, and it is perfectly natural for one in the same position as I to want to get out of the abyss with the help of a loving and beautiful rebound—”

“But you can’t use Jounouchi as that rebound!”

“Why not? He’s single! He’s—wait.” Kisugi looked back over at Yuugi, who started under the sudden intensity of Kisugi’s stare. “Jounouchi is single, right? He’s not dating anyone else, right?”

“Ah—no. He’s not. He’s single, I mean,” Yuugi said, and Kisugi turned back to Shiori with a triumphant grin.

“See?” Kisugi said. “He’s single, I’m single—this is the perfect set-up for a rebound romance!”

Shiori made a frustrated noise in the back of her throat. “You can’t do that!” she said again. “You can’t use your friend’s friend as a rebound, it isn’t right—it’s against the friend code!”

“It is not,” Kisugi said hotly. “The friend code only says that you can’t date a friend’s romantic interest, and you also can’t date a friend’s ex or a friend’s friend unless you ask your friend if it’s okay first, and that is exactly what I’ve done.” Shiori glared at Kisugi as Kisugi looked back over at Yuugi, his stare just as intense as before. “It is okay with you if I happen to ask Jounouchi out on a few dates, isn’t it? It’s what I was trying to ask before when I was so rudely,” he shot a petulant frown Shiori’s way, “interrupted.”

“Oh—um . . .” Yuugi swallowed and cleared his throat as he shook his head. Once again, his stomach felt like it was wrapped in uncomfortable knots, his heart beating in double-time to try and work through the tension. “No—I mean, yeah, that’s fine with me. I’m totally fine with it! You can do whatever you want.”

Shiori frowned, but Kisugi beamed, his expression almost blissful as he flopped backward onto the grass again. “Ahh, finally, my fortune seems to be changing!” he crowed. “Blessings from the lovely Yuu-kun himself. See, Shi-chan? This was meant to be. Even as the fissures in my heart left by Daisuke and Ai threaten to never heal, there may yet be another love story blooming on the horizon, one more beautiful and hopefully less tragic than the last—”

Shiori rolled her eyes again, but she was still frowning as she looked over at Yuugi. “So long as you’re okay with it,” she said, and Yuugi nodded quickly.

“Of course I am,” he said, perhaps a little too quickly if the look on Shiori’s face was anything to go by. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

“Well, I mean, he is your . . .” Shiori trailed off, but then she shrugged, looking just as uncomfortable as she had before Kisugi had interrupted the conversation before. Another couple seconds of silence passed before Shiori looked over at the rest of the quad, and it was with a frown that she suddenly dug into her bag to pull out her phone. Yuugi watched her curiously for a moment before her eyes widened, and she tossed her phone back into her bag with far more force than necessary. “Oh my gosh you guys, we’re late again—I was supposed to be at work five minutes ago!”

“Wait, what?” Yuugi checked his own watch, and his heart plummeted when he noticed that it was already five minutes past two. His video game production professor was adamant about starting class at two o’ clock on the dot, and while he didn’t have too strict of an attendance policy in that Yuugi was still allowed to walk in late, enough tardies would eventually start counting as unexcused absences regardless of whether Yuugi showed up or not, and this was already his third one. Yuugi yanked his book bag onto his shoulders before he reached over to grab his soda can and his cup of noodles, and Shiori likewise started shoving her books into her own bag with reckless abandon.

“Ah, you poor souls and your afternoon shifts and classes and things,” Kisugi said, still lounged back as casually as before while Yuugi and Shiori scrambled to clean up their lunch mess. “You should follow the Kisugi way of life and do everything early in the morning or at night instead. That way you don’t have to worry about being late after lunch!”

“Nights are the only time I have to spend with Naoya,” Shiori snapped.

“I’ll be sure to tell my professors they should host their classes at night to suit my schedule instead,” Yuugi said.

“Good man,” Kisugi said, but he frowned at Shiori. “But way to rub your love in my face, Shi-chan. It isn’t even the kind of love rubbing I—”

Shiori smacked her bag into Kisugi’s shoulder as she ran by him, under the pretense of slinging the strap around her shoulders. Kisugi let out a dramatized wounded cry at the impact, but Yuugi spared him only enough time for a pat on the other shoulder and a quick, “Bye!” before he sprinted past, tossing his empty soda can and half-finished instant noodles into the trash can on the edge of the quad as he ran.

That evening, Yuugi and Jounouchi lounged on the couch in their living room, Jounouchi watching a movie on TV while Yuugi played his 3DS. Their couch wasn’t the biggest in the world—it was best for seating only three people, really—and so while Jounouchi laid back against one armrest and kicked his feet onto the coffee table, Yuugi laid back against the other, his legs stretched across Jounouchi’s lap.

Video game production class had gone by relatively quickly. After weathering the heckling of his classmates for showing up late, Yuugi had done his best to focus on his professor’s lecture and their lab work, and in so doing had managed to push the conversation from lunch to the back of his mind. When he got home, Jounouchi had greeted him with a freshly made yakisoba dinner, and after having not finished his lunch, Yuugi was starved enough to wolf it down. That had led to the post-dinner lounging on the couch, and as Yuugi encountered a Young Couple trainer battle in Pokémon, the conversation with Shiori and Kisugi earlier pushed its way back to the forefront of his mind.

“Mm . . . hey, Jounouchi-kun?” Yuugi asked after a second. Jounouchi hummed a little to show that he’d heard. “Do you . . . um—”

“See, why do they do that?” Jounouchi asked suddenly, and he flailed one hand toward the television. Yuugi looked over to see that one of the actors in the movie Jounouchi had turned on was edging toward a door that had been left slightly ajar. “Sorry, Yuugi, I didn’t mean to cut you off—but seriously, look at this friggin’ idiot. He’s in the middle of the zombie apocalypse, he knows this, he knows there are zombies out there, but no, he’s gonna go investigate the strange noises outside, ‘cause that’s a good idea.” Jounouchi snorted. “Anyway, sorry—what were you saying?”

“Nothing,” Yuugi said, and he couldn’t help but grin a little as Jounouchi looked over, his dark eyes curious under his blond fringe. “I think a better question is why you of all people chose a zombie movie to watch. Doesn’t it freak you out?”

“Nah, not really. It’s too dumb to freak me out. Maybe if it was about, you know, something scarier—or if it had higher production values . . . and anyway, there was nothing else on.” Jounouchi looked back over at the television, and Yuugi followed suit just in time to see the actor from before be yanked from the house by decaying zombie hands. “Besides,” Jounouchi said, his voice a little more gruff than before, “it’s not like we’re watching in the dark, and you’re here. So it’s no big deal.”

“I don’t think I’d be much help in a zombie apocalypse,” Yuugi said, and Jounouchi looked over at him with a lopsided grin.

“You’re kidding, right? You’d be the best help. There’s no one I’d rather have backing me up.”

“Not even Honda-kun?”

“Honda’s good in a fight, but he’s not exactly the brightest crayon in the box, you know? All I’d be doing by teaming up with Honda is doubling up on brawn. That’s not gonna get us very far.” Jounouchi paused, and then shrugged a little as if to give a point. “Okay, so we’d smash up a lot of zombies. But something tells me getting covered in zombie juice is not exactly the best way to go about this.”

“Hmm . . . okay,” Yuugi said, as two actresses in the movie tried desperately to hold a door shut. “What about Bakura-kun, then? He’s pretty knowledgeable.”

Jounouchi gave him a flat look. “Seriously, Yuugi? Bakura?”

“What?”

“Bakura would probably join up with the zombies,” Jounouchi said, and as Yuugi laughed Jounouchi grinned and said, “He would! Or he’d end up being their king or leader or something. You know how he is. He loves all that creepy shit.”

“Yeah, but he’s our friend,” Yuugi said. “He wouldn’t feed us to the zombies.”

“No, but he’d want us to join his creepy ass zombie army,” Jounouchi said. “No thanks, I’ll take my chances away from his legions of the undead.”

“I don’t know that zombies are really Bakura-kun’s game,” Yuugi said. “I think he prefers ghosts and things.”

“Still.”

“Okay, so Bakura-kun’s out then,” Yuugi said. “How about Anzu? I bet she’d be good in a zombie fight.”

“Yeah . . . Anzu would probably kick some serious zombie ass,” Jounouchi admitted. “But she’s also all the way in New York. If the world went to Hell next week and everyone started turning into zombie chow, she’d have to fight her way over from America first.”

“True,” Yuugi said.

“And besides,” Jounouchi said, and he fumbled for the remote on the coffee table to lower the volume as the actresses in the film started screaming along with the background music, “Anzu’s cool and all, but that doesn’t change anything. You’d still be my first pick in a zombie fight.”

Yuugi closed the lid on his 3DS. He couldn’t exactly say why, but for some reason, the conversation had piqued his interest. “Why?”

“Why?” Jounouchi repeated. “Dude, isn’t it obvious?” He lifted up his hands to begin ticking off reasons on his fingers. “You’re smart, your entire life is spent either playing or making games and so you’d have a good idea of what to do to either avoid or take out the zombie assholes to avoid getting either of us turned or killed, you’ve already saved the world about three times over already, and as if all of that wasn’t enough, you’re my best friend.” Jounouchi moved his foot off the coffee table to lightly nudge Yuugi’s shoulder with it. “You and me ‘til the end, right? No matter what. I thought that was pretty obvious by now.”

“Well . . . yeah,” Yuugi said. “But I figured, you know . . . I don’t know, most people—”

“Who would you pick?” Jounouchi asked suddenly, and Yuugi cleared his throat a little, grateful for the interruption. “If, say, Kaiba somehow loosed a zombie virus on the world next week—who would you pick to team up with?”

“Why is Kaiba-kun the one infecting the world with a zombie virus?” Yuugi asked, and although some of his amusement had faded with what Jounouchi had said about the two of them together, ‘til the end, he felt it come back as Jounouchi threw Kaiba under the bus.

Jounouchi snorted. “Because that bastard’s heart is cold enough that it wouldn’t surprise me at all to find out he’s one of the undead. But hey, seriously. Zombie apocalypse. Next week. Who’s your go-to guy?”

“You, obviously,” Yuugi said, and for some reason his cheeks felt a little warm as Jounouchi grinned. “If I had to pick anyone to help me save the world—or at least get through the end of it—it’d be you. You know that.”

“See? Then what are you acting so surprised when I pick you for, huh?” Jounouchi asked.

“Just because you’re my first pick doesn’t mean I have to be yours,” Yuugi pointed out, and Jounouchi scoffed. “Besides, there’s a lot of fighting when it comes to zombie apocalypses, and—”

“There’s really only fighting if you’re stupid enough to get cornered, I think,” Jounouchi said, and he pointed toward the TV again. “Like those assholes, look at them. Oh sure, run into the inventory room in the back, that’s smart. Seriously, it’s like they want to get eaten. Might as well come out covered in ketchup and barbeque sauce.” Jounouchi paused, and then shrugged. “Well, actually, that might be zombie repellant, since they don’t eat actual food. You never know.”

“Somehow I doubt that would work,” Yuugi said. Jounouchi opened his mouth to say something in reply, but before he could, his phone started vibrating on the coffee table. He reached over to swipe it off, and when he looked at the screen, he heaved a sigh before he hit a button to deactivate the alarm.

“Much as I’d love to see the end of the zombie fest, unfortunately, I have to go join their army,” he said. He lightly pushed Yuugi’s legs off his lap so he could stand up, and Yuugi frowned.

“Work?” Yuugi asked.

Jounouchi nodded. “Yeah. It’s an overnight.” He stuffed his phone in his pocket and stretched his arms above his head, yawning. “Man, I’m tired just thinking about it. Can’t wait until I get something better.”

“How are things going at the radio station?” Yuugi asked, and he sat up a bit straighter as he watched Jounouchi grab his work apron off the chair.

“Fine,” Jounouchi said. “It’s just an internship, you know. They say they’re thinking about hiring someone on, but . . .” Jounouchi shrugged, and slipped on his shoes. “Anyway, I better get going. God forbid I’m late for a ten hour shift, right?”

“You’re never late for anything,” Yuugi said, and Jounouchi laughed.

“Yeah, just about. Anyway, I’m off. See you later. Tomorrow, anyway.”

“Yeah,” Yuugi said. “See you.”

Jounouchi swiped his keys off the TV stand, waved, and was out the door in the next moment. Yuugi waited until Jounouchi locked the door behind him before turning off the TV, and—after a moment of deliberation between whether he wanted to make the effort to go to bed or whether he wanted to stay up a little bit later—flopped forward to lay on his stomach on the couch, flipping his 3DS back open in the process.

It was nice to have the whole couch to himself, he supposed, and as he stretched out completely and made his way through the trainer battle he’d initiated before, he noticed that—since he was laying facing Jounouchi’s side of the couch—the couch still smelled a little bit like Jounouchi---like his body wash and shampoo (ocean scented, Yuugi thought). Yuugi frowned a little as he knocked out the opposing trainers’ kirlia.

Was it weird to notice something like that?

[recentanimenews]

See "The Royal Tutor -The Musical-" Dress Rehearsal Digest Clip!

The Royal Tutor -The Musical-, the currently-running musical adaptation of Higasa Akai's manga series Oshitsu Kyoshi Heine/The Royal Tutor finished its eight performances at Zepp Blue Theater Roppongi in Tokyo on Sunday. Meanwhile, 2.5 News, a website covers the news about stage play adaptations of Japanese manga/anime/game franchise, has posted a three-minute video report of the press preview of the musical's dress rehearsal on its official YouTube channel.

   The musical adaptation is directed by Kotaro Yoshitani (La Corda d'Oro, Fushigi Yuugi, Star-Mu). The five main voice of the TV anime, Keisuke Ueda (Heine Wittgenstein), Yuya Asato (Kai von Granzreich), Yuto Adachi (Bruno von Granzreich), Daisuke Hirose (Leonhard von Granzreich), and Shouta Aoi (Licht von Granzreich) are playing their characters in the musical as well.

  After the shows in Tokyo,  it is scheduled to be played at Morinomiya Piloti Hall in Osaka from September

16 to 18. Thanks to the series' strong popularuty and good reviews, the tickets for the five shows were

already sold out.

         Main visual

メインビジュアル解禁！原作コミックス1巻カラーイラストを再現！！シリアル優先販売は申込受付中、一般最速先行は7/2(土)10時から申込受付スタート！申込URLは公式サイトから→ https://t.co/FGUX8zdixt#ハイネ http://pic.twitter.com/JtEadFFnx6

— 王室教師ハイネ-THE MUSICAL- (@heine_musical) 2017年7月1日

   Solo cast visual

ソロビジュアル解禁！そして9月18日大千秋楽のライブビューイングが決定！！7/25(火)10:00からオフィシャル抽選先行販売スタート。詳しくは公式HPをご確認下さい。 #王室教師ハイネhttps://t.co/FGUX8zdixt http://pic.twitter.com/mgYRsCHufy

— 王室教師ハイネ-THE MUSICAL- (@heine_musical) 2017年7月25日

  Source: "Oshitsu Kyoshi Heine - The Musical-" official website, Twitter

  © Higasa Akai/SQUARE ENIX, Oshitsu Kyoshi Heine Production Committee

© Musical "Oshitsu Kyoshi Heine" Production Committee

  By: news+feed@crunchyroll.com

[xenetala]

Do you know who the voice actors for Dream Boyfriend are? It's bothering me because one of them sounds familiar..

I’m not surprised. They are all pretty famous and play voices in several anime. Basically if you’ve watched anime, you’ve heard about all of these guys. Lol

Testsuya Kakihara - Naruto, Fairytale, Full Metal Alchemist, Bleah, Blue Exorcist, and more

Ryohei Kimura- Kokoro’s Basketball and a few others

Takuya Sato- Gundam and a few others

Hikaru Midorikawa- Dragon Ball Z, Gundam, sCRYed, Revolutionary Girl Utena, Sailor Moon, Persona 3, Saint Seya, Tenchi, Weiss Cruiz, Bleach, Diabolik Lovers, Yuugi-Oh, Servamp, Haven't you Heard? I'm Sakamoto, Fushigi Yuugi, and a ton more (This is probably who you recognize. He's got some big roles.)

Yuki Kaji- Berserk, Blue Exorcist Pokemon, Black Butler, Atrack On Titan, and more

Tsubasa Yonaga- Free, Bleach, and a few others

Shoutaro Morikubo- Naruto, Wallflower, FF: Advent Children, Pokemon, and more

Kosuke Toriumi- Naruto, Persona 3, Nura, Gundam, Basalisk, and more

Hiro Shimono- RaXephon, and a few lesser known titles

Takuma Terashima- Gundam, Bleach, Durara, and more

Daisuke Hirikawa- Bleach, Free, Transformers, Diabolik Lovers, Baki the Grappler, and more

Nobuhiko Okamoto- Ghost Hunt, Persona, Blue Exorcist, The Legend of the Legendary Heros, and more

Kazuyuki Okitsu- Ladies vs Butlers and Toradora

[fictionalxlifexreality]

FictionalxLifexReality’s Wish List for the Kagome Xover Exchange @MizukixTsukiyomi

Here’s my wish list of animes/tv shows/movies/games and characters for the Kagome Xover Exchange! I’m open to any genres out there, although, I’m not too keen on anything that’s too dark or angsty.

I don’t mind receiving NFSW material, but if you ask me to do one, I can’t really say I can do it. I’ll do my best, but I don’t really know how to write one, let alone draw one, without messing up too horribly. 

These are all the animes/mangas I’ve watched and read, movies and TV shows I’ve enjoyed watching and games my brothers and I, well mostly my brothers, have played over the years, that I think would be interesting for a xover with Kagome.

Animes/Mangas:

07-Ghost: Teito Klein, Frau (Zehel)

Acchi Kocchi: Otonashi Io

Akagami no Shirayukihime: Zen Wistaria, Izana Wistaria, Obi

Amatsuki: Rikugō Tokidoki, Shinonome Kon, Kuchiha

Aoharu x Kikanjuu: Yukimura Tōru, Matsuoka Masamune

Black Blood Brothers: Mochizuki Jiro

Black Cat: Train Heartnet

Blood+: Haji, Solomon Goldsmith

Barakamon: Handa Seishū, Kotoishi Naru

Brave 10: Kirigakure Saizō, Sarutobi Sasuke

Bungou Stray Dogs: Dazai Osamu, Kunikida Doppo, Nakajima Atsushi

Cardcaptor Sakura: Kinomoto Tōya, Tsukishiro Yukito (Yue)

Clamp School Detectives: Imonoyama Nokoru, Ijyuin Akira, Takamura Suoh

Code:Breaker: Ōgami Rei

Cooking Master Boy/Chuuka Ichiban!: Liu Mao Xing, Lan Fei Hong

D.N.Angel: Niwa Daisuke, Dark Mousy, Hiwatari Satoshi, Krad Hikari

D.Gray-Man: Allen Walker, Kanda Yū, Lavi, Lenalee Lee

Dantalian no Shoka: Huey Anthony Disward, Dalian

Death Note: L, Yagami Raito

Durarara!!!: Heiwajima Shizuo, Orihara Izaya

Eyeshield 21: Hiruma Yōichi, Kobayakawa Sena, Shin Seijūrō

Fairy Tail: Natsu Dragneel, Gray Fullbuster

Free!: Nanase Haruka, Tachibana Rin, Matsuoka Rin

Fruits Basket: Sohma Yuki, Sohma Hatsuharu

Fushigi Yuugi: Hotohori, Tamahome, Nuriko, Mitsukake

Gakuen Alice: Hyūga Natsume

Gakuen Heaven: Itō Keita, Endō Kazuki, Niwa Tetsuya, Nakajima Hideaki, Shinomiya Kōji

Gakuen Mokushiroku/Highschool of the Dead: Komuro Takashi

GetBackers: Mido Ban, Amano Ginij, Fuyuki Shido, Fūchōin Kazuki, Kakei Jūbei, Akabane Kuro'udō

Ghost Hunt: Shibuya Kazuya (Naru, Oliver Davis)

Gosick: Kūjo Kazuya, Victorique de Blois

Gravitation: Sakuma Ryuichi, Shindou Shuichi, Eiri Yuki

Hagane no Renkinjutsushi/Fullmetal Alchemist: Edward Elric, Alphonse Elric, Roy Mustang

Hakkenden: Touhou Hakken Ibun: Inuzuka Shino, Inukawa Sōsuke, Satomi Riō, Inukai Genpachi, Inusaka Keno, Inumura Daikaku

Hakuouki: Hijikata Toshizō, Okita Souji, Hajime Saitou

Hamatora: Nice, Murasaki, Hajime, Art

Hatenkō Yugi: Alzeid, Rahzel Anadis (Rahzenshia Rose), Baroqueheat Anadis

Hayate no Gotoku: Ayasaki Hayate

Hetalia: North Italy (Italia Veneziano, Feliciano Vargas), Germany (Ludwig), Japan (Honda Kiku), China (Wáng Yào), America (Alfred F. Jones), England (Arthur Kirkland), France (Francis Bonnefoy), Russia (Ivan Braginsky), South Italy (Romano, Lovino Vargas), Spain (Antonio Fernández Carriedo)

Hikaru no Go: Shindō Hikaru, Fujiwarano Sai, Tōya Akira

Hyouka: Oreki Hōutarō

Junjō Romantica: Takahashi Misaki, Akihiko Usami

Kamisama Hajimemashita: Tomoe, Mizuki

Karneval: Gareki, Nai Muhinyi, Yogi, Tsukumo, Hirato, Akari, Karoku Arumerita

Kateikyoushi Hitman Reborn!: Sawada Tsunayoshi, Reborn, Hibari Kyoya, Rokudō Mukuro

Kini’iro no Corda/La Corda D’Oro: 

Primo Passo: Lili, Tsukimori Len, Yunoki Azuma, Hihara Kazuki, Shimizu Keiichi, Ousaki Shinobu, Kanazawa Hiroto

Secondo Passo: Kaji Aoi, Etō Kiriya, Kira Akihiko

Blue♪Sky: Kisaragi Ritsu, Kisaragi Kyoya

Kyoukai no Kanata: Kanbara Akihito, Nase Hiroomi

Kyou Kara Maoh!: Shibuya Yuuri, Wolfram von Bielefelt, Gwendal von Voltaire, Conrart Weller

La storia della Arcana Famiglia/Arcana Famiglia: Libertà, Nova, Luca, Jolly, Pace, Ash

Love Stage!!: Sena Izumi, Ichijou Ryōma, Sena Shougo, Sagara Rei

Loveless: Agatsuma Soubi, Aoyagi Ritsuka, Aoyagi Seimei

Makai Ouji: Devils and Realist: William Twining, Dantalion, Sytry, Camio

Mamotte! Lollipop: Zero, Ichî

Matantei Loki Ragnarok: Loki, Heimdall (Higashiyama Kazumi)

Mobile Suit Gundam Wing: Heero Yuy, Duo Maxwell

Mushishi: Ginko

Nabari no Ou: Rokujō Miharu, Yoite

Natsume Yuujinchou: Natsume Takashi, Nyanko-sensei (Madara), Tanuma Kaname, Natori Shuuichi, Matoba Seiji

Nightwalker: The Midnight Detective: Tatsuhiko Shido

No. 6: Shion, Nezumi

Noblesse: The Awakaning: Rai (Cadis Etrama Di Raizel), Frankenstein

Noragami: Yato, Yukine

Nurarihyon no Mago: Nura Rikuo

Ōkiku Furikabutte/Big Windup!: Mihashi Ren, Abe Takaya

Pandora Hearts: Oz Vessalius, Gilbert Nightray, Xerxes Break

Pet Shop of Horrors: Count D, Leon Orcot

Prince of Stride: Alternative: Yagami Riku, Fujiwara Takeru, Kuga Kyōsuke, Hasekura Heath

Ranma 1/2: Saotome Ranma

Rave Master: Haru Glory, Hamrio Musica

Recca no Honoo: Hanabishi Recca, Mikagami Tokiya

Rokka no Yuusha: Adlet Maia, Goldof Auora

Rurouni Kenshin: Himura Kenshin, Shinomori Aoshi

Saiunkoku Monogatari: Shi Seiran, Shi Ryuuki

Saiyuki:  Genjō Sanzō, Son Gokū, Cho Hakkai, Sha Gojō

Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso: Arima Kousei, Miyazono Kaori

Shinrei Tantei Yakumo: Saitou Yakumo

Shokugeki no Soma: Yukihira Soma, Hayama Akira, Takumi Aldini, Kurokiba Ryō

Shounen Onmyouji: Abe no Masahiro, Guren/Touda

Shugo Chara!: Tsukiyomi Ikuto, Fujisaki Nagihiko

Skip Beat!: Tsuruga Ren

Soredemo Sekai wa Utsukushii: Livius Orvinus Ifrikia

S · A: Special A: Takishima Kei

Sakamoto desu ga?/Haven't You Heard? I'm Sakamoto: Sakamoto, Hayabusa Shou

Sword Art Online: Kirito (Kirigaya Kazuto)

Tactics: Kantarō, Haruka

Tanaka-kun wa Itsumo Kedaruge: Tanaka, Oota

Tegami Bachi/Letter Bee: Lag Seeing, Gauche Suede, Sylvette Suede

Tennis no Ouji-sama/Prince of Tennis: Echizen Ryōma, Tezuka Kunimitsu, Fuji Shūsuke, Yukimura Seiichi, Sanada Genichirō, Shiraishi Kuranosuke, Echizen Ryoga

Touken Ranbu: Izuminokami Kanesada, Kogitsunemaru, Nakigitsune, Munechika Mikazuki

Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle: Fai D. Flowright, Kurogane

Tsuritama: Sanada Yuki, Usami Natsuki, Haru, Akira Agarkar Yamada

Uta no☆Prince-sama♪:

Maji Love 1000%: Ittoki Otoya, Ichinose Tokiya, Jingujin Ren, Hijirikawa Masato

Maji Love 2000%: Kurosaki Ranmaru, Camus

Vampire Knight: Kiryū Zero, Kuran Kaname

Wolf's Rain: Kiba

X/1999: Shirō Kamui

xxxHolic: Watanuki Kimihiro, Dōmeki Shizuka, Ichihara Yuuko

Yami no Matsuei: Tsuzuki Asato, Kurosaki Hisoka, Muraki Kazutaka

Yu Yu Hakusho: Minamino Shūichi (Yōko Kurama), Hiei

Yu-Gi-Oh: Mutou Yugi, Yami Yugi (Atem), Kaiba Seto

Yumeiro Patissiere: Kashino Makoto, Andou Sennousuke, Hanabusa Satsuki

Yuri!!! On Ice: Katsuki Yuri, Viktor Nikiforov, Yuri Plisetsky

Zombie-Loan: Akatsuki Chika, Tachibana Shito, Kita Michiru

TV Shows:

Pokémon series (pick your favorite series!)

Avatar: Last Airbender 

BBC Sherlock: Sherlock Holmes, John Watson

BBC Merlin: Merlin, Arthur Pendragon, Guinevere

Supernatural: Dean Winchester, Sam Winchester

The Walking Dead

Movies:

Hayao Miyazaki’s Films

Laputa: Castle in the Sky: Pazu, Sheeta (Princess Lusheeta Toel Ur Laputa)

Princess Mononoke: Ashitaka

Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi/Spirited Away: Haku (Nigihayami Kohaku Nushi)

Howl’s Moving Castle: Howl Jenkins Pendragon

Tales of Earthsea: Arren, Teru

Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea: Sōsuke, Ponyo, Lisa

The Secret World of Arrietty: Arrietty Clock, Shō

Battle Royale: Nanahara Shuya, Kiriyama Kazuo

Percy Jackson and the Olympians: Percy Jackson

Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children

The Chronicles of Narnia: Peter Pevensie

Harry Potter

The Lord of the Rings: Legolas, Aragorn

The Hobbit: Bilbo Baggins

The Legend of Tarzan (2016)

The Jungle Book (2016): Mowgli, Baloo, Bagheera

Cinderella (2015)

Beauty and the Beast (2017)

Rise of the Guardians: Jack Frost

Frozen: Elsa

The Little Mermaid: Ariel

Mulan

How to Train Your Dragon: Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III, Toothless

Games:

Tales of the Abyss: Jade Curtiss

Joker/Clover/Heart no Kuni no Alice: Peter White, Ace, Blood Dupre, Tweedle Dee and Dum, Julius Monrey, Boris, Airay, Joker, Gray Ringmarc, Nightmare Gottschalk

Devil May Cry: Dante, Vergil

Persona series

The Last Story: Zael (Elza), Yurick (Yuris), Therius (Tasha)

Kingdom Hearts: Sora, Riku, Roxas

Legend of Zelda: Link

Final Fantasy: Chocobos! Moogles!

VII: Zack Fair, Sepiroth, Aerith Gainsborough, Cloud Strife, Vincent Valentine

VIII: Squall Leonheart

X: Tidus, Yuna

XIII: Lightning, Noel, Caius, Yeul

XV: Noctis Lucis Caelum, Prompto, Ignis, Gladiolus

Folklore: Ellen, Keats

Assassin’s Creed

Resident Evil (the movie franchise or the animated films or the game, your pick!): Alice (movie exclusive character), Leon S. Kennedy, Claire Redfield, Chris Redfield 

Silent Hill (the movies or the games, your pick!): 

1: Alessa Gillespie (also in the Silent Hill films)

2: James Sunderland

3: Heather Mason (aka Sharon Da Silva in the Silent Hill films)

[mintaka14]

Stars and Fire

A Fushigi Yuugi fanfiction

By Mintaka14

  Opening the Book

 Falling too fast to prepare for this

Tripping in the world could be dangerous

[Whatever It Takes: Imagine Dragons]

 Daisuke Sukunami felt a heat wash through him as he strode past the neon-lit shops, and he missed a step, involuntarily clutching at his chest as a sudden pain pulled at him like a demand. He had just enough time to think Eighteen is too young to die of a heart attack, and then it was gone as suddenly as it had clawed at his heart.

He stood there, shoulders hunched and dark red hair falling over his eyes, one hand still clenched in the t-shirt over his heart, until the lighter he’d been toying with caught his fingers and singed them. It dropped from his hand and bounced into the darkness of an alleyway. For a second, he was distracted by the brief, tiny arc of red-gold light as the lighter tumbled and spat little sparks that glittered and died before it had even hit the ground. Then there was a soft crunch as something crushed it underfoot and shifted.

The figure muttered, “What is this place?” The voice was oddly accented, and all Daisuke could make out in the shadows of the alley was the dark, angular shape of a man about his own height. “There is no god here, just this boy.”

A deeper shadow whispered harshly, “He must be tied to the Priestess, or else we should not have been drawn to this place to find him.”

“Are you sure he is why we’re here?”

A third voice hissed in sharp reprimand, and Daisuke casually eased his hand into the pocket of his black leather jacket, and out again. Any sane person would be running by now; Daisuke’s brother would have said that the inference of that should be obvious. There was a faint snick as he flipped his butterfly knife open.

“Let us end this, so we can go home,” the third one commanded.

When three dark, birdlike figures flew at him out of the alleyway, Daisuke was ready, loose and balanced with his blade in his hand. There was a flurry of robes in the sickly yellow glare of the streetlights and Daisuke faltered for one brief moment as he got his first clear look at his assailants. Their black eyes and beaky noses were almost human, but the feathers sprouting from their arms, which Daisuke had initially mistaken for ragged black coats, were definitely not.

Daisuke jolted into action and spun out of the way as nails like claws raked the air. He brought his knife up to meet the first one in a smooth movement. There was a hiss of pain. His foot snapped into the creature’s side, smashing it against the pole of the streetlight. There was the grinding sound of bones breaking, and another one flew at his face, catching him before he could react. Daisuke hit the ground, rolled, and came up breathing hard. His hand moved swiftly, shooting out to smash into the jaw of the second bird-man, his foot sweeping around to drive it to the ground and it stayed there, unmoving. And the third was above him, claws drawing blood as Daisuke quickly twisted out of the way. He felt blood drip down the side of his face, and ignored it, watching the creature with narrowed eyes.

“Where is He?” the creature demanded savagely. “Where is Suzaku?”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Daisuke said, his eyes still fixed on the crow-thing.

With a strange, fluttering sound, it rushed upon him, and Daisuke stood his ground. He faced it, watching. Then his hand shot out, driving the knife deep into its ribs. The thing fell with a sick crack and an explosion of black crow feathers.

Daisuke stood immobile, watching the rain of feathers without any expression in his hazel eyes for a long moment. As the last few black feathers drifted into the gutter, he stared down at the crumpled remains of three crows lying in the street. He prodded one cautiously with the toe of his sneaker, but when a stray breeze ruffled the feathers of its broken wing he pulled back abruptly. Daisuke turned on his heel and broke into a fast walk. He refused to run.

The tiny, dilapidated shops and neon signs that flickered and zapped in the warm summer air gave way to narrower streets and close stone embankments spilling over with creepers and flowering vines. Houses perched over the steep flights of steps as he hurried down them, leaping several steps at a time and swinging around the steel railing. Light shone down from the windows as the shadows outside grew deeper. Without looking, Daisuke turned abruptly in at one of the gates, letting it slam behind him as he hurried up the narrow path and into the front door.

Leaning against the doorframe to pull his shoe off, Daisuke touched the cut at the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand. His hand was shaking a little.

"Ow," he muttered. He kicked the other shoe to one side and closed the door, frowning as he glanced at the other pair of shoes placed precisely together in the entrance. Hikari was home, which meant that dinner would be a series of disapproving lectures from his big brother.

"Daisuke?"

He winced. "I'm home, Mama," he called out, and managed to reach the foot of the stairs before she came to the door of the kitchen. He froze.

"Dinner's nearly ready," she told him brightly, blowing a hunk of toffee-brown hair out of her eyes as she wiped her hands on her apron. "You are planning on eating tonight?"

"Later, Mama." He grinned at her, and winced as the cut puckered. She reached up to touch it, frowning. The frown deepened as she got a good look at the dried blood on his cheek.

"Oh, Daisuke," she said reprovingly. "What kind of trouble have you been getting into this time? I thought you were going to try and stay out of fights now." She absently tidied her son's red hair, straightening his collar, and he pulled a face.

"Mama!"

Her fingers found a feather caught under the collar of his leather jacket, and she pulled it free, staring at it. “Where did this come from? What exactly have you been up to tonight?”

“It’s nothing. I’m fine, really.”

He turned back to the stairs, not wanting to deal with the weirdness himself, let alone try to explain it to his mother.

“And don’t think I don’t know you’ve been skipping school again,” his mother called after him. “Dinner in five minutes, young man. Your father will be back soon, and Hikari’s home for the weekend. I want the whole family together tonight.”

He lifted a hand in acknowledgement and kept going. Once inside his room, he shut the door firmly and leaned his back against it, tipping his head to rest on the cool wood.

“... Help me ...”

Daisuke’s head lifted abruptly at the words, startled into a swift glance around his room, but of course he was alone. He stilled, listening for the girl’s voice that had called for help, but there was nothing. No sounds came from the street outside, or the neighbours. He couldn’t even hear his mother clattering around in the kitchen, as she would be before dinner. Everything was unnervingly still. He considered his room more slowly, looking for something out of place.

At first, he didn't notice the book on his desk. Everything else was as it should be, his schoolbag slung in one corner and a trail of clothes scattered across the floor where he’d left them that morning. The poster of the constellations over his bed was as it had been since he was five. The jumble of matchboxes and lighters he’d collected spilled across the shelf beside his bed. A notebook, fallen open on the beginning of a story sketch in his hand, lay half-hidden under his pillow.

And there was a book on his desk that had most definitely not been there that morning. It looked old, and the cloth cover was faded red, with black script trailing down it. The brown leather binding was frayed and cracked in places.

Daisuke stared blankly around the room with a queer sensation of dislocation, shaking his head to try and get rid of the cry for help that seemed to be echoing through his mind. He reached out to touch the book's thick cloth cover.

“... Help me! ...”

He looked up sharply as the words breathed through his skull again, sending chills down the back of his neck. Unthinkingly, he lifted the book and its pages fell open in his hands as he turned.

“HELP ME!”

The girl’s voice screamed in desperation, and the world exploded into fiery red light, blinding him and ripping through him like glass. Daisuke felt himself cry out in fear as the world was torn away from him and flung him into the roaring void. Fire poured around him and through him for an eternity as the flesh was burned from his bones. There was nothing left but pain, searing along his nerves…

And then there was cool stone under his hands.

He crouched there for a moment longer, waiting for the ground to stop feeling like it was rippling under him. The fire faded.

Daisuke blinked, lifting his head slowly as his vision cleared to stare at the red wood and white stone columns around him, and turned his face up to the vaulted rafters above.

"Well, fuck," he said.

[forgetfulsubs]

Otome Games and Drama CDs ~ Summary for April 2017

This list has CDs first then Games, all listed chronologically with short translated info/themes for each entry! links to animate, stellaworth, amazon and CD japan for buying

[Last month’s here] [Next Month TBA]

Image heavy post beneath cut!

Hello this list is basically just supposed to be a rough monthly release list, with info for english speaking fans if none is available

Entries for series which already have translated information, sequels, or are fairly well known will be a lot shorter

This list does not have R18 CDs on it as dauriculaire already does a list just for those !

Ctrl F will help you if you’re looking for a specific voice actor

I’m far from omniscient so if there’s anything I’ve missed please tell me! I’ll make later edits if I notice any~

without further ado…

On the 5th

並行世界と箱庭の部屋 vol 2 / heikou sekai to hakoniwa no heya vol 3 “The parallel world and miniature garden room vol 3”

☆CV : Kazuyuki Okitsu ☆LABEL : Kanon records ☆PRICE : ~2000yen ☆SUMMARY/THEMES : A new series from the makers of aroma na kareshi, based around the concept of alternate worlds and alternate selves.

Official Website | Animate | Stellaworth | Amazon | CD JAPAN

和奇伝愛「巫ノ物語 後編 ~不昧不落~」 Wakidenai “Kan’nagi no monogatari Kouhen ~Fumaifuraku (?)~

☆CV : Tsuda Kenjiro, Yuto Suzuki, Yuki Kaji, Daisuke Hirakawa, Sakurai Takahiro, Kakihara Tetsuya, Kimura Ryouhei ☆LABEL : Otomate ☆PRICE : ~2200yen ☆SUMMARY/THEMES : A two part release special cd for the Wakidenai series. Features all of the previous characters. This is the latter part.

Official Website | Animate | Stellaworth | Amazon | CD JAPAN

On the 7th

「恋歌ロイド」Type5.謡 “Rencaloid” Type5 You

☆CV : Hanae Natsuki ☆LABEL : Marinee ☆PRICE : ~2000yen ☆SUMMARY/THEMES : A series which started back in 2015 about companionship androids you can purchase. features a character song (’renka’ meaning love song) and drama part.

Official Website | Animate | Stellaworth | Amazon | CD JAPAN

On the 19th

「√HAPPY+SUGAR=VACATION」 7th みなと (Minato)

☆CV : Hanae Natsuki ☆LABEL : Rejet ☆PRICE : ~2200yen ☆SUMMARY/THEMES : The second sequel / third season of Happy Sugar Darlin, this time it features the going on the titular vacation with the characters, In this one you go to hokkaido with minato

Official Website | Animate | Stellaworth | Amazon | CD JAPAN

「幽幻ロマンチカ 破天荒」 第壱の謎 鴉天狗 ヒフミ “Yuugen romantica hatenkou” first mystery, Tengu Hifumi.

☆CV : KENN ☆LABEL : Rejet ☆PRICE : ~2100yen ☆SUMMARY/THEMES : Youkai, New line up in the Yuroma series following the previous two instalments.

Official Website | Animate | Stellaworth | Amazon | CD JAPAN

クリミナーレ!X Vol.7 キアーヴェ Criminale!X Vol.7 Chiave

☆CV : Toriumi Kousuke ☆LABEL : Rejet ☆PRICE : ~2200yen ☆SUMMARY/THEMES : Mafia, The third season of Criminale, following CriminaleF

Official Website | Animate | Stellaworth | Amazon | CD JAPAN

「ミッドナイトキョンシー 天頂遊戯」 第六ノ封印 李影 Midnight Jiangshi ~ Tenchou Yuugi ~ Sixth seal Riei

☆CV : Midorikawa Hikaru ☆LABEL : Rejet ☆PRICE : ~2200yen ☆SUMMARY/THEMES : Bloodsucking, youkai, Sequel to the original midnight jiangshi series, it’s about… Yes, Jiangshis

Official Website | Animate | Stellaworth | Amazon | CD JAPAN

「IDOL OF STARLIGHT KISS」 Vol.1 アトム＆ルイ

☆CV : Naozumi Takahashi, Toshiki Masuda ☆LABEL : Rejet ☆PRICE : ~2200yen ☆SUMMARY/THEMES : idols, otome game, New situation cd from the multimedia series marginal#4 

Official Website | Animate | Stellaworth | Amazon | CD JAPAN

明治吸血奇譚 月夜叉 紅 卯月の巻 漆 Meiji Kyuuketsuki Kitan “Tsukiyasha kurenai” April volume Urushi

☆CV : Kimura Ryouhei ☆LABEL : Rejet ☆PRICE : ~2200yen ☆SUMMARY/THEMES : Bloodsucking, Meiji, Sequel to The original Tsukiyasha series.

Official Website | Animate | Stellaworth | Amazon | CD JAPAN

Dance with Devils-Charming Book-Vol.1 レム

☆CV : Saito Soma ☆LABEL : Rejet ☆PRICE : ~2200yen ☆SUMMARY/THEMES : New instalment in the dance with devils series, following the previous CD series, this time the premise is getting sucked into a magic book and having to complete the story to escape...!

Official Website | Animate | Stellaworth | Amazon | CD JAPAN

On the 26th

DIABOLIK LOVERS Para-Selene Vol.1 逆巻アヤト (Sakamaki Ayato)

☆CV : Midorikawa Hikaru ☆LABEL : Rejet ☆PRICE : ~2000yen ☆SUMMARY/THEMES : Yet another new line up in the diabolik lovers’ series, this one will feature all of the characters and run all the way to 2018

Official Website | Animate | Stellaworth | Amazon | CD JAPAN

恋色始標 FILM.4 三上寿之 Koiiroshihyou FILM.4 Mikami Toshiyuki

☆CV : Kazuyuki Okitsu ☆LABEL : Otomate ☆PRICE : ~2000yen ☆SUMMARY/THEMES : Sweet love story, “being dyed in his colour of love” 

Official Website | Animate | Stellaworth | Amazon | CD JAPAN

渇望メソッド、梟は夜に哭く　四ノ仔　名瀬一也 Katsubou Method, Fukuro wa yoru ni naku. yon no ko, Nase Ichiya

☆CV : Yuki Kaji ☆LABEL : Otomate ☆PRICE : ~2000yen ☆SUMMARY/THEMES : Sequel to the original Katsubou Method

Official Website | Animate | Stellaworth | Amazon | CD JAPAN

RUNLIMIT ―CASE4 柴 景斗― (Shiba Keito)

☆CV : Daisuke Hirakawa ☆LABEL : Otomate ☆PRICE : ~2000yen ☆SUMMARY/THEMES : Set in 2045, the goverment has began an experiment “runlimit” – intended to remove human need for rest. You were randomly selected as a test subject but your 6 childhood friends join instead to protect you…. Runlimit ended up being called one of “histories worst experiments” the test subjects would lose their minds when night fell, and eventually die; with a “time limit”

5 years later, you, now a supervisor of the project obtain a medicine to stop it…

Official Website | Animate | Stellaworth | Amazon | CD JAPAN

THANATOS NiGHT Vol.6 デュラン (Duran)

☆CV : Toshiyuki Toyonaga ☆LABEL : Rejet ☆PRICE : ~2000yen ☆SUMMARY/THEMES : About fallen angels’ (deadly lol) feast -Gig-, it has a large focus on the music aspect and the song is recorded with a dummy mic.

Official Website | Animate | Stellaworth | Amazon | CD JAPAN

「linJewelry Kiss Vol.3 月長 晴」

☆CV : Soma Saito ☆LABEL : Marine Entertainment ☆PRICE : ~2500yen ☆SUMMARY/THEMES : series about lingerie designers ♥

Official Website | Animate | Stellaworth | Amazon | CD JAPAN

一途なカレにひたすら告白されるCD Apricot Fizz 青木理久 Ichizu na kare ni hitasura kokuhaku sareru CD Apricot Fizz Aoki Riku

☆CV : Daisuke Hirose ☆LABEL : Macaron ☆PRICE : ~2300yen ☆SUMMARY/THEMES : Cd follows you and your classmate Riku as he confesses time and time (and you reject him because you have someone else you like) from high school to being working adults.

Official Website | Animate | Stellaworth | Amazon | CD JAPAN

Games

大正×対称アリス HEADS&TAILS Taishou x Alice Heads&Tails

☆CVS : Hirakawa Daisuke,  Hatano Wataru, Maeno Tomoaki, Eguchi Takuya, Hanae Natsuki, Matsuoka Yoshitsugu, Masuda Toshiki, Hashizume Tomohisa,  Aoi Shouta ☆LABEL : Primula ☆PLATFORM : PC ☆INFO/THEMES : fandisk for the taisho x alice games, it has new routes for previous supporting characters

Official Website | Animate | Stellaworth | Amazon | CD JAPAN

樟屋敷の物語 ～秘密のお帳面～ Kusunoki Yashiki no Monogatari ~Himitsu no Ochoumen~

☆CVS : Sawa Manaka, Akiyama Itsuki, Kirigi Lee ☆LABEL : Pilvamp ☆PLATFORM : PC ☆INFO/THEMES : Fantasy, second game from pilvamp, the makers of mashou megane. Warning as this game is R18. Vndb article here

Official Website | Animate | Stellaworth | Amazon | CD JAPAN

[higuchimon]

📖 Healer and Firestarter verse.

This is supposed to be random, you know. ;) But I'm fine with it. So, let's see.

Let's begin at the beginning. There are those who can heal virtually any wound or illness. Those are Healers. Healers are always bonded to a Firestarter - Firestarters are fire made flesh (in their own words). Firestarters are immune to fire (the stronger they are, the more immune they are. The strongest of Firestarters could happily bathe in hot lava - and many of them have.)

These things are standard to all Firestarter/Healer universes: they are often regulated by the Guild, which is a world-wide organization for both types. The Guild sees to it that properly registered Firestarters/Healers get training and ensuers that they have housing and a stipend. Often the Guild will arrange for parties where Firestarers and Healers can meet one another in the hopes that they will bond. Sometimes the Guild is corrupt - depends on my mood of the moment.

Not all Firestarters/Healers belong to the Guild, though non-registered ones are rare. Firestarters and Healers have special privileges in certain regards. Harm a bonded Healer and if you're lucky the Firestarter will scorch you to the bone. If you're unlucky, the Healer will deal with you. And since a Healer's secondary powers involve plant control (because life energy) then "painful" is the least thing it is. You will pray for pain. And that's for a regular Healer. If for some reason a Healer has gone corrupt (usually because of torment or other stressful situations) then it gets ever so much worse.

Stories are told about what corrupt Healers have done to those who offend them. Those stories do not allow for peaceful sleeping at night. But Healers and Firestarters can protect each other and themselves without fear of retribution - it's legal to kill in self-defense and there is no Firestarter that can lie to a Healer.

There are also Healer Cats and Fire Cats. Those can bond with their opposite (Healer Cats to Firestarters, Fire Cats to Healers) and the bond is almost as close as Firestarter/Healer. Cats are human-intelligent and capable of speaking human languages but lack (of course) opposable thumbs. Healer Cats are almost always white and Fire Cats come in any color of flame. The same holds true for Healers and Firestarters, in regards to their hair.

Frequently the power runs in families, though it's been known for a family of Healers to produce a Firestarter or a Firestarter clan to produce a Healer.

The highest ranking of Firestarters and Healers are known as the First Flame of [insert country here]. Known First Flames are Kaiba Seto and Motomiya Daisuke (once he grows up). Known First Healers are Mutou Yuugi and Ichijouji Ken (once he grows up).

If a Firestarter is strong enough and of the correct temperment, it's not impossible for their fires to frost over, transforming from masters of fire to masters of ice. A famous example of this is Marufuji Ryou, who frosted over in the underground against Inukai. This disqualified him from being a future First Flame. He doesn't care. Most Frostflames are looked upon with fear and worry.

With the correct drugs, a Healer or Firestarter's power can be temporarily negated. They don't like this but there are occasions when it's neessary or useful. If used too often, these drugs can (and often have) lead to a corrupted Healer or Firestarter.

Known Firestarters: Motomiya Daisuke

Yagami Taichi

Yagami Hikari

Takenouchi Sora

Kaiba Seto

Mazaki Anzu

Kujaku Mai

Yuuki Juudai

Marufuji Ryou

Saiou Takuma

Tenjoin Asuka

Tenjoin Fubuki

Known Healers: Ichijouji Ken

Ishida Yamato

Takaishi Takeru

Tachikawa Mimi

Mutou Yuugi

Marufuji Shou

Fujiwara Yuusuke

Edo Phoenix

Jim Cook

Manjoume Jun

A Healer/Firestarter bond isn't necessarily romantic. They can be but it's neither mandatory nor expected. Frequently a Healer and Firestarter will form a three to four person family, with the adults raising any children together.

I think that's enough for tonight. Anyone who has more questions is welcome to ask them!

[especia-va-bien]

Do you follow any other retro sound group like Dance for Philosophy?

I follow lyrical school on-and-off, but they’re pretty much going through what E5pecia did in 2016 with all three of the founding members are leaving in February after getting signed on a major label for a year. I’ve been stanning Negicco since before Especia and they have never disappointed me! (Y’all would love Good Night Negi Soup, and Futari no Yuugi). 

Recently I’ve been into FUJIN CLUB who are like a group of housewives from the Sado Islands whose music are reminiscent to lounge/Shibuya-kei-era capsule.

Other than idols, I follow G.RINA (who just released a killer new album), HITOMITOI, Sugar’s Campaign, ORLAND, the oto factory, Mori Daisuke (late 90′s R&B y’all!), and on-and-off Hoshino Michiru.

I’m starting to listen to Suchmos and SKY-HI who I saw live a couple of weeks ago, and I found out about FIVE NEW OLD the other day in a shop in Kyoto whose new song sounds has early 90′s New Jack Swing influences!

PS. With Especia disbanding and some of you not happy with 3specia’s Mirage, y’all should give Dance for Philosophy a try!

[cupcakemonwrites]

I've been reading manga nonstop the past two weeks. Fushigi Yuugi and D.N.Angel. Now I wanna go Daisuke and Dark.