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shitpostingkats · 1 year

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Yu-Gi-Oh Review Roundup: 5Ds!

Favorite main character: Yusei Fudo

My favorite protagonist of the main three, by a country mile. Even with Jaden’s surprising season 3 growth and complexity, Yusei just. Hits different.

I attempted to put my finger on why for the majority of the series. Perhaps it’s the fact that for once, all of yugioh traditional protag tropes are finally in a character that harmonizes with them. Redeeming minor antagonists feels important, because it’s about the bigger picture dystopia, and the powerful elite at the very top who are the real enemy. And Yusei sees that. It’s less about him just being a swell guy who forgives easily, and more that he refuses to fight his fellow man. He’s kind, not in the vaguely heroic tell-don’t-show kind of way, but in the fact that he knows the trash collector by name. He genuinely believes in the good of humanity, and you sees that in how he just talks to people.

He also has the benefit of a stellar supporting cast that feels the most tight-knit of the first three shows. DM and GX had friend groups. 5Ds is about a family. One that cohabitates together, and works together, and banters with some of the most realistic sibling dialogue of the franchise. And, as the series takes pains to point out, Yusei is the one at the center of it, that he is the gear that makes this complex web all fit together. The found family vibes are excellent, in the same way a scrappy spaceship crew of morally dubious crooks is a family.

His deck archetype reflects this aspect; taking small and disparate monsters and bringing them together to make something truly menacing. Scrap and outcasts, Yusei collects them all. Every aspect of his character eventually boils down to a selfless desire to help people, from the traits that make him a protagonist, to his personality, to even what kind of cards he plays. But it’s a simple, believable kindness, one that grounds him and makes him feel real.

He is my autistic son and I love him so much.

Favorite antagonist: Kalin Kessler

An antagonist I seriously debated including in my reviews, even shied away from discussing as I watched through the series. Not because he is poorly written, in fact, far from it, but because his inclusion and character arc in this kids show I was watching for fun felt... well, a little uncomfortable, for me personally.

Suicide is a very serious topic, after all. What had me taken aback was two things: The very existence of a blatantly depressed and suicidal character in a childrens’ cartoon, and the unsettling realism of it. It is shocking. It is upsetting. Most surprisingly of all, it is so effective as a piece of storytelling, that I had to include it, despite the severity of the subject.

Still, allow me to give warning I would have appreciated in regards to Kalin Kessler: tw for discussions of suicide, depression, and self harm. If you want to skip that, scroll past this section. Kalin discussion ends at ‘Favorite side character’

Kalin, more than any other character in the show, is a living showcase of the severe damage caused by New Domino to the residents of Satellite. Disenfranchised since birth, constantly assaulted and belittled by those in power, before trying to take back some sliver of control and lashing out at the very world that oppressed him. Whereas Yusei builds his revolution through recruitment of the fellow man, Kalin’s degrading mental state does not afford him the luxury of allies. Instead, he seeks to topple the society through high grade explosives.

And that’s just the start of Kalin’s story.

His actual screentime is taken up by what occurs after his death. After dying in prison, he is recruited into a crew of undead cultists, all similarly wronged by society. Each of the dark signers correlates to each of the signers pasts, a sin they must grapple with and accept. And Kalin’s is by far the most personal. After getting not one, but two whole turbo duels against Yusei, Kalin is defeated. Yusei comes to grips with their complicated pasts, the dark signers are destroyed, and the world is saved.

These shows tend to feature a lot of antagonists getting redeemed and giving up their evil ways. Kalin’s arc in Crash Town goes the extra mile and shows what happens in between steps A and B.

Though no longer an explicit enemy by the time he makes his reappearance, Crashtown Kalin is still grappling with the things he did while operating under that label. In a way that’d kinda hard to argue with. I mean, that did happen. People were killed.

This is what gives Kalin’s depression and self-destruction such a painfully realistic despair. In media, it is often hard to portray the real helplessness of depression. Since we, as the audience, have a near omnipotent perspective and are usually a step removed from the actual situation, answers to existential questions seem obvious. You can’t really see what has the character so down in the dumps, because, to you, the answer of ‘just get over it’ seems so obvious.

“Was it really okay for us to take the life of THOMAS PUPPYKILLER, the inventor of KILLING PUPPIES?”

The audience isn’t likely to sympathize when your protagonist spends an episode angsting about that, even if coldhearted murder is a thing that most of us would legitimately have a hard time grappling with.

Real mental illness isn’t like that. It’s complex, stubborn, and makes choices feel nonexistent. Sometimes, it doesn’t even matter if an situation has an objectively correct answer, the mind will spin its tightening circles regardless. Which just feeds into itself, as one feels ever increasing panic at being unable to handle choices. It is a self consuming ouroboros, one that can make you feel isolated, numb, and powerless.

Kalin’s situation doesn’t have an objectively correct answer. He has committed several wrongdoings that hurt innocent people, for genuinely evil purposes. It’s not something that can just be made all better with a slap on the wrist and a positive mental attitude.

As someone with depression, the Crashtown arc was almost painful for me to watch. Like I’ve said, I usually love a good fictional character with fictional depression, but Kalin was just. One too few layers of abstraction for me. He felt almost too real, standing on the edge of his self inflicted punishment, Yusei screaming at him to just want to live, goddamn it, and staring out at a field of reminders for why he thinks he doesn’t deserve to.

But again, just as gut achingly realistic his descent into suicidal ideation was, so too is his stubborn climb out of it. As he spends more time with the kids of a fellow Crashtown miner, they come to rely on him for protection. So he lives to protect them. And then, shockingly (to him), they actually come to care for him. Kalin may not be able to live for himself, but he gradually comes to terms with the idea that that’s okay. That he can live for this person the kids see in him, because despite what his worst impulses tell him, he is still capable of being loved, even after all he’s done.

Sometimes, when you can’t even fathom the idea of loving yourself, in your darkest hours, it takes an equal amount of strength to accept being loved. And that, in itself, is a reason to keep on living.

Favorite side character: Martha

How many times in an action show is the main character grievously injured, down for the count with a sense of finality, when we cut to them, swathed in bandages, lying in a hospital bed. The doctor or nurse sternly tells them to get bedrest, and a parental character nags them with all sorts of “You could have died! You are grounded!” that our main character rolls their eyes through. Then, next scene, they’re sneaking out the window, right back off to saving the world, fractured wrist be damned?

When Yusei Fudo gets into a motorcycle crash and ends up with internal bleeding, but stubbornly tries to jump back into the action, his mom says “No.”

And this works.

This proves that Martha is singlehandedly the most powerful anime mother in all of yugioh, possibly in all of shonen television.

Her other feats of strength include being the backbone of her community, whacking police officers with wooden spoons, and being the mother of Jack Atlas.

What works about Martha is the same thing that works about the rest of 5Ds Neo Domino citizens: their recurrence. Martha shows up again and again as the series progresses. She’s not some throwaway absent mother, the boys regularly visit her, there’s an entire sidestory in the finale surrounding her and the orphanage kids. She’s one of the characters that gives a face to Domino City, someone to remind the viewer that this city is made up of real people.

With Yusei and Martha side-by-side, it’s easy to see where he gets his compulsive need to rehabilitate strays from. Like her son, Martha is consistently the one to reach out her hand to those in need, which gives us a strong sense of the legacy that Satellite has given him. There’s a very sweet subplot early in the Dark Signer arc where Trudge has to stay the night at Martha’s orphanage. Rather than being the uncivilized street rats he expected, he finds that Satellite is populated by a very protective community, and Martha leads him around, showing him the damage done to them by New Domino and how, despite all that, the majority of people living there just choose to be kind. It's one of the humanizing touches showing the breaking down of prejudices that makes early 5Ds feel very revolutionary.

Also, there’s something very funny to me about the 2-4 episode lull where the plot is raging on in the background but Yusei’s just hanging out at home because his mom grounded him.

Favorite duel: Yusei vs Kalin, Jack vs Carly, Akiza vs Misty

Yup!!!! I’m copping out!

Let me explain why.

Each of these favorite duels of mine has been increasing progress on the part of the writing. The Yami vs. Yugi fight first proved that it can make real story out of big main character fights. The Yubel vs. Zane fight proved the same principles could be applied to secondary characters. Their next milestone?

Proving that you can have multiple compelling fights, back-to-back-to-back.

The tournament structure is one yugioh is going to return to for the rest of its life. And, while the Dark Signers arc is not a tournament, per se, it functions like one: sequential fights against an ensemble cast of opponents versus an extended array of protagonists, each quirky and personal, each with advancement into the “finals” on the line, and, most importantly, each taking place one after the other.

And, what surprised me is that I was on the edge of my seat for damn near all of them.

There’s never a release of tension, between duels, but neither is there an escalation. The energy of the show is allowed to ramp up to darn near its maximum, and then just. Stay there. For episodes on end. That is one heck of a feat, and one that will be vital for yugioh continuing to improve in later series.

It’s also wonderful that every one of the three duels is truly excellent, each wrapping up some character arc in both actionable and thematic ways. Yusei finally puts his oldest ghost to rest. Jack has a genuine human connection for the first time in years, and then owns up to the consequences of not being there for them, in much the same way he had to reconcile with Yusei, taking responsibility and turning down ego inflating power. And the Misty fight might be the least personal, but its still a thing to behold, Akiza coming to terms with the harm Arcadia caused and overcoming the trauma of her unwitting participation in it.

(Also, Sayer gets punched in the face.)

I just feel such a pride for this franchise, watching the writing grow with every installment. The shows on their own may be a bit of a mixed bag, but taken as a whole, there is some concrete, real improvements in its execution.

And that deserves to be celebrated.

Favorite arc: The Fortune Cup

Is The Dark Signers the single greatest arc in 5Ds? Probably. It is not my favorite, though. My favorite is the very first of the series. The introduction to this world.

And it is for that very reason that I adore the Fortune Cup arc so much. The world it paints in just a handful of episodes is truly stunning. The backgrounds are hazy and painterly, the satire the thickest it will ever be, and everything just has the right amount of grit to make it feel proper old school cyberpunk, instead of totally sleek and with LEDs every two square inches. The premise is equally well crafted. The conflict between New Domino and Satellite in stark relief, and we truly get a sense for how tough Yusei and his friends have it. While it’s certainly a choice to drop the themes of classism and xenophobia in the later seasons, and one I can easily see why it was made, I still have to admire the sheer depth added to the world by its inclusion.

The Fortune Cup also introduces us the idea of Yusei Fudo. Some of my favorite moments of his character happen in this part: His duel with a decried artifact deck to prove there’s no such thing as a useless card, his fight against the warden using a deck pieced together by all his fellow inmates, the spectacularly moving first match against Akiza. All bangers. All show off so perfectly what Yusei stands for. In fact, it’s so quintessential that, for the final fight of the series, the writing returns to its roots, and has Yusei end the series with the exact same thrown-away monsters he started it with.

It’s fucking perfect.

Greatest strengths of the series:

Themes. Hands down, themes.

I made a whole post about the omnipresent themes of past, present, and future here. I won’t rehash it all here, so instead I’ll just gush about how wonderfully those motifs resonate with the message of the show.

While not as blatant as its predecessor, 5Ds wrestles with, and subverts, its very tropes for the sake of telling an impactful story.

From the audiences’ perspective, everything about 5Ds, from the world, to the characters, to the villains, smacks of a classic doomed story. There are literal prophecies in play telling of mass destruction and death. The very last survivors of humanity time travel back just to tell our heroes “The future is dark.” Every qualified being with magical omnipotence speaks of a cycle, of inevitability. Yusei will die. The world will be cruel. The battle between light and darkness will continue ad infinitum.

5Ds blends two genres: dystopic cyberpunk and prophesied heroics. Two genres where it is very easy to tell the story of a tragedy, because things are predestined; things are unchangeable. Most of the time, when there’s a tragic bend to these, the story instead becomes about what our characters can do with their limited narrative. Short, brilliant, and kind lives that burn out, yet nonetheless, make a bright spot on their history: the heroes forestall the cycle for one more millennia. The revolutionary goes down in a blaze of glory that will inspire others.

And, with the magic elements of 5Ds representing the past, while the more sci-fi parts represent the future, the theme of time is as present as ever.

A more realistic, unwilling to break the tropes kind of story might choose to focus on the present. That yeah, things may have sucked and the future may be uncertain, but at least we have the now. And while 5Ds certainly has its fair share of celebrating the moment, it is not content to merely linger in it.

Yusei and New Domino are not bound by the narrative to be tragedies. Despite everything, despite literal travelers from the future showing up and saying “This will end in tears.” Despite being doomed by the narrative two times over, bound by the past, condemned by the present, and damned by the future:

Choose optimism.

The idea that you're insufficient, that it’s not enough, having clear and direct confirmation that you are going to fail. Keep moving forward anyway because. The hope that the world can change enough through just your own refusal to despair. The idea that tomorrow will suck, 100%, but you keep going because, what if it doesn't?

Betting on a loaded dice because it doesn't matter the odds, because the number you call out defines who you are. The choice to be alive, to be human, to feel joy, is the tiniest, most laughably naive decision you can make in a doomed world.

But, by choosing it, you refuse to die. And the world might change with you.

Weakest points:

When I first made a template for these reviews, I expected each of them to contain unique entries for almost every category; after all, each of these shows is so different, such wonderfully different flavors, that surely I could say something different about every one and still have room to spare.

Right?

If there’s one section I worry I’m repeating myself, it’s this one. While each of the ygo shows so far have given a plethora of characters and plots to praise, different strengths and visuals to unpack, in one place, it’s stayed frustratingly uniform: Its flaws.

Yes, there’s the tragic case of localization, as you inevitably always hear when it comes to the first three shows. I’m one of the staunchest dub defenders of them all. I love these shows to death, if that isn’t already obvious for the fact that I’ve spent literal pages discussing them in my imaginary lecture hall called the internet. If anything, I’m thrilled that so much of this show is available to me in the way that it is. While you might not expect it of me, I actually struggle quite a bit with reading and processing words. Until I started on my current adhd medication, watching anime subtitled wasn’t just a chore to me: it was straight up impossible.

The uncompleted dubs of GX and 5Ds are a bummer. The tone of the narrative sometimes grappling with itself is a bummer. The unaired final season of 5Ds that I was happily watching on Crunchyroll until someone decided to put a decade old show behind a paywall when I had nine freaking episodes left- sorry, still a little salty.

I find the discussion around the localized yugioh a tired caveat, but a frustratingly endemic one. What better way to summarize the arc of the first trilogy, than a compelling story, left unfinished, by the sheer damning fact that, simply put, the industry was still figuring itself out?

The most true criticism one can level against yugioh, at least of the shows I have seen so far, is that everything it does, other shows have done better. Each show in unique, bringing something fresh and exciting to the formula, yet never quite innovating enough to be something great.

Supernatural partnership, deconstruction of shonen tropes, bleak and fantastical worlds taken to illogical extremes; all of these are things that exist in other anime that focuses on them more directly. Usually with tighter writing. I found the shared duality of Yugi and Yami to be the most intriguing part of DM, yet it got frustratingly little time in the spotlight. Why not just watch one of the thousand and one ghostly mystery anime featuring a dynamic duo at its center? GX asks what we do when handed ultimate power and rulership over reality, but does it manage to say anything more profound on the human consciousness than say, Madoka Magica?

What mark does 5Ds have to leave on the worn road of cyberpunk, that staples like Ghost in the Shell and Akira haven’t already long cemented in place?

Why watch Yu-gi-oh?

I would argue, there’s one thing yugioh does better than almost any tv show I’ve seen.

Sincerity.

Watch yugioh for its earnestness. Its sheer commitment to its ideas, even if some of them never land. Because in this day and age, its hard to find any story as genuine, as packed full of obvious love, as this silly card game show.

Watch yugioh for its sincerity.

And because of the super cool dragons.

Most yugioh moment:

Crow letting everyone search for a missing Yusei for half an hour before thinking to mention he was kidnapped for ransom, because, in his words: “He didn’t want anyone to worry!”

#yugioh #yugioh 5ds #yu-gi-oh #yu-gi-oh!#ygo #ygo 5ds #spk's ygo reviews #essays #review #yusei fudo #kalin kessler #kyosuke kiryu #martha 5ds #jack atlas #carly carmine #akiza izinski #aki izayoi #misty tredwell

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overobsessedfanboy23 · 11 months

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Hii, would you mind telling me why gx and vrains are your fave yugioh series? I wanna watch some of them over summer so id love to hear what you like about them :>

Oh my gosh an excuse to rave about GX and VRAINS. Coming right up my friend!

First off, I recommend watching them in sub if you decide to go for them, as the dub changes a lot of what I'm going to say here. (Ie: GX's dub was never even finished)

So GX has the certified greatest protagonist of any series I've seen. His name is Judai and I latched onto him instantly because of how cheerful and sweet and fun-loving he is. He's quite arrogant especially early on but something about the delivery of his lines in the JP version made him so charming and endearing that I could never take issue with his more arrogant moments. GX is very carried by its characters I will admit. There is an overarching narrative, but it's rather slow paced and more so focused on the more laid back day to day life in the duelling school. This gave me plenty of time to get attached to the characters and see their development, which reaches its peak in season 4 and got me very emotional, but I will admit this style isn't for everyone. For me though, GX has my favourite Yugioh cast and I loved just vibing with the characters before the hard hitting stories kicked in.

I also really enjoyed GX' duelling, especially coming right off the heels of Duel Monsters. Field advantage and monster fusion were my favourite concepts from that show and I felt they weren't very well explored so to have GX come in and introduce field spells and make monster fusion (and to a lesser extent, rituals) a major part of the duelling was really exciting. The rules were also much more defined and easy to follow, at least compared to Duel Monsters. It's very much a sequel to DM and a great one but DM isn't essential to understanding it.

And now VRAINS! This one's duelling is much more complicated (every master duel summoning method except pendulum) and was hard to follow on my first watch but it's otherwise a really engaging watch. The complete opposite of GX, the ball gets rolling quickly and the main high stakes story pretty much starts in the first episode. The pacing isn't perfect by any means but it's swift and constantly on the move, which is good since the main story and lore are really interesting. VRAINS has my favourite world of all the Yugioh series, the Ignis especially really fascinate me. It has some of my favourite characters as well, particularly the main duo of Yusaku and Ai. Without giving too much away, I love their dynamic, they're as different as two characters can be and thus play off each other really well and have great development as the series goes on. A lot of the other characters are great too, I love Soulburner and Blue Angel (and Windy though I admit that one's pretty arbitrary) and even Revolver is fun to dunk on. *tsundere noises*

Both these series are mad fun and can be pretty dang hilarious at times but as a fair warning, both of them are also pretty emotionally intense in their later seasons. I cried at both of them multiple times, with VRAINS once managing to crack me three duels in a row. These two series are about even for me personally, one impacted my personal life more and one impacted my writing more and while I will have to pick between them for my all series ranking, they're both truly my favourite.

#yugioh #ygo #yugioh gx #ygo gx #gx #yugioh vrains #ygo vrains #vrains

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saijspellhart · 2 years

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20 for the meta questions! :3

20. Tell us the meta about your writing that you really want to ramble to people about (symbolism you’ve included, character or relationship development that you love, hidden references, callbacks or clues for future scenes?)

@_@

Oh this is a rabbit hole. Uhhhh. We’ll talk about Chained.

Okay, let’s start at the beginning. I started writing Chained to You, because I’m a horror nerd and I’d just gotten back into YGO after a decade, and it was like the perfect material to write a ghost haunting fic. I was originally inspired by @xiueryn and their fantastic oneshot fanfic Cauchemar. Which is a Miraculous Ladybug fanfic, where Marinette moves into an apartment that turns out to be haunted, and she befriends a “ghost,” and they communicate using notes written on sticky notes, before moving on to a little whiteboard. In that story the ghost turns out to be a demon named Adrien, and things start getting really creepy, disturbing, and scary near the end of the story. It’s a Horror fic, through and through, so I advise anyone who reads it to go into the story prepared for that.

I adored Cauchemar so much that I’ve always wanted to take my own crack at that sort of haunting AU, albeit, I decided I wanted to write a story where the ghost was actually a sweetheart that does stupidly domestic things for his host. So, same genre and similar trope, but completely different theme.

Since I love season zero of Yugioh, (arguably the best YGO and only season of YGO that was about horror and possession, and not about stupid children’s card games.) I decided I wanted my fic to be a continuation of that. A celebration, and a love letter to Season Zero. I wanted to embrace Yami’s appearance as a shadow entity and really explore how terrifying he could be, even while he doesn’t try to scare Yugi at all.

I never wanted Yami to be able to speak in Chained, which is why he starts with a white board and progresses to a Speak & Spell. The S&S was actually just me making a dumb joke in a doodle, and people adored the idea of Yami with a S&S so much, and asked me when he’ll get it in the fic. And it ultimately made me decide to include it in the fic for realsies, and I ended up upgrading Yami from white board to Speak & Spell. I’m so glad I did. It’ll be the closest he comes to being able to talk on the plain of the living, without possessing Yugi’s body.

As far as Yami’s appearance goes. He’s going to keep that eldritch horror appearance from start to end. While he is trying to manifest a human appearance on the plain of the living (outside of the soul rooms) you’ll notice throughout the story it’s extremely difficult for him. It will never not be difficult for him, and appearing human for even a short amount of time will come with its own drawbacks and complications. You’ll get to see some of that coming up as Yami pushes the boundaries of what he can actually do, and how much power Yugi actually provides him.

Originally I was going to be serious, and give the chapter titles serious names, but I decided to fuck it and just be silly. Because I’m a horror nerd I decided all the chapter titles needed to be lame ass puns of Horror Movie titles. And I have a huge list of horror movie titles from various movies in a document, and whenever I need to name a new chapter I rifle through all the movies and try to find one that I came make a pun with that suits the chapter.

At the time I began writing Chained, I was hella depressed and not doing ok, and that fic was basically my comfort project. I wanted to write Yami doing all kinds of lovingly thoughtful and sweet things. basically performing self care on his host, since they share the body. Yugi deserves someone to take care of him after all the shit he’s gone though.

I haven’t seen very many fics that deal directly with season zero. I’ve seen fics that tip their hat to season zero, or have season zero vibes. But very rarely do I see a fic that actually directly deals with events from season zero, or actually openly discusses plot and characters. So here I am basically contributing to the fandom the kind of content that I want to see.

My inclusion of Kaiba in the fic has always been a subject of drama. And I originally included him, and Yugi’s crush on him, because I wanted to demonstrate Yugi’s capacity for forgiveness. It was meant to be a parallel of sorts. Kaiba was one of the people in s0 who did some of the worst things to Yugi and his friends, and Yugi still found it within himself to forgive Kaiba, befriend him, and in my fic even develop feels for him. This was important in the story because Yugi will find out that Yami has hurt people, (including some of Yugi’s friends) that he’s hurt and even murdered people. And if Yugi could not forgive Kaiba and develop a friendly relationship and even feels for someone like him, it felt ridiculous that Yugi could be so forgiving and even fall in love upon finding out Yami’s history. But of course people bitched so much about Kaiba, that I had to threaten to make it Flareshipping to get people to stop. And now I find every excuse I can possibly find to make Kaiba a more prominent character in the story. His role wasn’t originally going to be as big, but spite is very motivating. He’s now one of my favorite characters to write.

There isn’t a lot of plot in Chained, but one of the things I’ve built the story around is actually something that Shadi said. In the second episode that Shadi appeared in, in s0, he said that Yugi and Yami’s true power will be unlocked when they work together. (At that time in the series Yami was still suppressing Yugi’s consciousness, and he was working independently.) but then the YGO series never explored much of Yugi and Yami working together. There’s a couple points in the DM anime where they pull off some clever strats together, but it’s rare, and USUALLY Yami ends up being the person to claim victory in the end. Yugi even admits that usually he lets Yami have control and he just spectates. Anyway, that always bugged me, so I wanted to explore how Yugi gives Yami power, where that power comes from, how Yugi makes Yami more powerful, and what they can accomplish when they work together. It’s been subtle throughout Chained, but slowly I’ve been revealing tiny bits and pieces about how Yami’s powers work, what he can do, and how they are slowly increasing the more Yugi becomes aware of him and the stronger their bond becomes. (Something which makes Yami Bakura a jealous jackal.)

In my latest chapter of chained there is a horror movie poster on the wall of Yugi’s soul room. And that is meant to be symbolic of their recent conflict. The movie is a foreign film, and the English translation of the title is, “Let the Right One In.” The movie is about a sensitive kid who is suffering from bullies, and ends up befriending a strange and mysterious girl who hides a dark monstrous secret, and is connected to a string of local murders. Sound familiar to Yugi’s situation?

I’m sure there are more things I could talk about. But it’s late, and my memory is spotty at best anyway. I hope you enjoyed this little insight about Chained.

#ask answers #SaijSpellhart answers #Chained to You

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ygo5dsmonth2021 · 3 years

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Yu-Gi-Oh 5Ds Month 2021 Prompts!

Your prompts for 2021! Please note, they are only a suggestion, you can make something else, AND you can always submit something late!

Day 1 (7/7): Yusei Go!

Time to kick off the next Yu-Gi-Oh 5D's month with our shooting star protagonist, Yusei Fudo! Make sure to also wish your favorite star boy happy birthday!

Day 2 (7/8): Well-Oiled Machine

This year's theme is D-Wheels/Duel Runners! Which bike is your favorite? Or what would your own custom bike look like?

Day 3 (7/9): Yin & Yang

The clash of good vs evil, equal and opposite, light and dark, is such a classic! What two sides of the same coin in this dynamic stands out to you?

Day 4 (7/10): Training Wheels

With a blast of pure, raw energy comes Rua/Leo! He might not be the best at what he does, but his determination and love for his sister is the stuff that makes us root for him!

Day 5 (7/11): Synchro Power!

Riding duels wouldn't be complete without the gorgeous, star power of synchro monsters! Which synchro makes you want to accelerate most?!

Day 6 (7/12): Driving Slow on Sunday Mornings

Everybody knows the first rule of driving is to crank up the tunes! Would that be any of the OPs or EDs or did you have another song in mind to drive by?

Day 7 (7/13): Slow & Steady

Say hello to fairy tales with Ruka/Luna's day! She's a bit on the shy side, retreating into fairy tales, but don't let that fool you! Ruka has the skills and the sarcasm to come back swinging!

Day 8 (7/14): Time for an Upgrade

5D's is a unique Yugioh series in that so many characters come chock full of awesome powers! Psychics duelists, Signer powers, and advanced synchro summoning? Which personal power upgrade is your favorite?

Day 9 (7/15): New Suits

All the characters have unique styles and outfits, but maybe you'd love to see Ruka cosplay as a fairy? Maybe Kiryu dressed as a zombie? What outfits or cosplay speak to you?

Day 10 (7/16): Pit Stop 1

Congrats! You made it to Free Day 1! Use this day to introduce yourself, throw up a quick doodle, or take a break and relax. The pit crew will take care of the rest.

Day 11 (7/17): Blackbird

Fly off into the sky with Crow, the Bullet, Hogan! He might seem rough and scrappy, but Crow also has a heart of gold that cares for kids, friends, and family. Show this bird of a feather some love!

Day 12 (7/18): Don't Game and Drive!

Of course, we wouldn't have card games on motorcycles if this were true! What's your favorite Yu-Gi-Oh 5D's video game to play when you're not driving? Legacy? Duel Links? Over the Nexus?

Day 13 (7/19): Across Land and Sea

There are so many different storylines and arcs in 5D's! Was the Fortune Cup your favorite? Maybe Crash Town? What arc speaks to you?

Day 14 (7/20): Wheel of Fortune

All hail the King, Jack Atlas! This man burst onto stage and into our hearts. Jack might be a little selfish and over the top, but he cares deeply for his friends, and, apparently, coffee.

Day 15 (7/21): Decals

Do you have some 5D's merch on hand? Maybe a commission you treasure? A keychain you've had your eye on if only you had the funds? What's some of the best merch you're happy to have out in the world?

Day 16 (7/22): Quantum Realms

In another universe... Would Aki make a great pirate? Perhaps Yusei would be a dashing swordsman? What if Crow switched place with Qrow from the RWBY universe? Whatever you come up with, enjoy AU day!

Day 17 (7/23): Bloody Kiss

Pitch dark flowers unfurl in the name of Aki Izayoi! Never underestimate this dark beauty and her thorns! Have a day to honor this Black Rose.

Day 18 (7/24): Broken Down

Our emotions can flow one way to the other. Some days we're on top of the world, and others we're at the bottom of the ocean. Our favorite characters are no exception. Will you lean into the angst or give your fave a break today?

Day 19: (7/25): You Give Bikers a Bad Name

Here's to the villains! No heroic journey would be complete without the antagonists in the way to challenge our heroes! Which villain is your favorite?

Day 20 (7/26): Pit Stop 2

Phew! Congratulations, you made it to the next Free Day! Take this day to relax, keep things lowkey, and let the pit crew take the steering wheel for a bit.

Day 21 (7/27): Delta Eagle

Obtain Clear Mind today with Bruno! He's a little bit complicated, okay, a lot complicated, but Bruno's role is certainly interesting. What do you love about this dual-life mystery man?

Day 22 (7/28): Workshopping at the Garage

What's your favorite writer, artist, editor, or cosplayer? Take this day to give each of your faves that continues to keep the fandom a live a shout out!

Day 23 (7/29): Team Spirit!

5D's is all about the teams and teamwork to get the job done! What team speaks to you most and why? Is it the snazzy uniforms?

Day 24 (7/30): Giganto L

Depression, thy middle name is Kiryu Kyosuke. This man has seen some sh*t and then some. But Kiryu has also grown through his journey, and it's time to give him the credit he deserves.

Day 25 (7/31): Bonding with Your Biker Gang

It's OC appreciation day! Does your friend have a cool OC? Did you make a self insert to join the characters in their story? Show us where your OCs fit in!

Day 26 (8/1): Life is a Highway

It's travel day! Did you just love some of the locations the characters went to? Did you wish you could have seen Misty in Paris? Or maybe Ruka traveling to Australia could be fun? Take today to make a post card or show us screenshots of the best locations in the show!

Day 27 (8/2): Intersections

Ah, intersections, like crossroads of destiny. Except today is Crossover day! Maybe you wish Team 5D's met Avatar Korra? Or what would the Sk8 anime crew do in the 5D's universe?

Day 28 (8/3): Crewmates

We can't forget the other characters out of the spotlight that make the whole show complete! Show Martha some love, or Rally! It's their turn to shine!

Day 29 (8/4): Planetary Gears

What star-crossed ships just seem to fit perfectly together? Or do you want to show off a crack ship for fun? Maybe you have an OC you ship with a Canon character? Never underestimate the love of friendship either! Today is all about love!

Day 30 (8/5): Pit Stop 3

Be proud of yourself and take a breather! You made it to the last Free Day! Use today to take a breather to make it to the final stretch and finish strong! You can do it!

Day 31 (8/6): Over the Horizon

Our last day is here, such a bittersweet ending but at least there will be next year to look forward to! Take today to look over the horizon, towards the future, hoping for better days and times together.

#ygo5ds-month-2021 #yugioh 5ds #ygo5ds #5ds #yusei fudo #crow hogan #jack atlas #bruno #antinomy #kiryu kyosuke #kalin kessler #aki izayoi #akiza izinski #rua and ruka #leo and luna

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ladyyatexel · 2 years

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You know, I Was going to ask you about what’s up with the yugioh ship names since I’ve seen you post about them being awful but thought “oh before I put them through explaining all that why don’t I look it up?” And oh. Oh no i get it now. Like I’ve never cared for the combine a character name for a ship but at least it’s not whatever is happening here. What a bizarre and complicated way to organize.

I am both sorry and grateful you understand my suffering hahaha. There's some real nightmares out there in yugioh ship name land and you have no choice but to use them if you want to find content or have yours seen.

The most frustrating thing to me is that I can't tell what something is by looking at it because they're all impenetrable injokes or assumptions about dynamics from A Before Time. I don't want to have to consult a fucking encyclopedia every time somebody says to me, "I like [noun]shipping!" Some are at least a little bit sensible or elegant or well thought out and you can appreciate that it's cute but others are just like "they both did the same thing once at different times", others are just really, really uncomfortable because they were named in the early 2000s before we all collectively knew better about Several Topics.

I also am not a fan of name smush either but I would take it instead of this, fuck. I think the barrier there is that so many characters have name changes between dubbing. ( Which doesn't really bother me to be honest - everytime I see something about the 4Kids dub version I consider those to be completely different characters because of how much was done...) At this point I would kill for a good healthy Person/Person.

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entamewitchlulu · 3 years

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Why do so many plot points in Arc-V season 1 get dropped? LDS taking over schools never comes up again, Leo Corporation manipulating memories, Academia manipulating memories, Starve Venoms original design and so on. From what I hear, DSOD had a big impact on Season 2 and there’s hints in the sets and Hanate OP that Season 2 should have been much different from what we got, is that why?

I think you're mistaking "plot points" for just...general storytelling. None of these things by themselves were plot-breaking, they were parts of a story that needed to be told that didn't necessarily needed to be fleshed out on their own.

Like, LDS taking over schools wasn't really...a big thing? LDS wanted to get a hold of Pendulums, so they targeted the school that had them. This is just a generic big corporation thing. It's not like it was set up that LDS was this big school eater that was focused on that. It was set up that LDS was hyperfocused on some mysterious cause, and Pendulums were essential to that cause, so they wanted to stake their claim on them. So they went the generic corporation route of being like "hey we want to 'acquire' you."

The manipulation of memories was a bit glossed over, I'll admit, I would have definitely liked a bit more of a look at what happened to Masumi, Hokuto, and Yaiba and their memories, but that really wasn't a big plot point either. It was more a plot facilitator than anything. Shun needed to become a part of LDS, the other characters who would present an obstacle to that needed to be moved out of the way while continuing to build up unease and tension about what's really going on under the surface of what appears to be an ordinary tournament for the main characters. If anything, the memory manipulation is actually a really great way to set up later concepts as being feasible in this universe, such as Roget's brainwashing chip, the Doktor's brain bugs, and Leo's memory scanning technology that allowed him to find his own memories of the previous universe. The story was never set up to be about any of this stuff, so it's not a dropped plot point, it's just part of the plot.

I'm positive that Starving Venom's 'original design' was just a generic shadow they came up with because either a) the card department hadn't designed his card yet or b) they didn't want to make it that close to the actual design because Yu-Gi-Oh dragons are Super complicated and they wanted it to be more mysterious, so again, not really a missed plot point.

I'm sure DSOD had an impact on the series production, pretty much all movies have an impact on their respective anime. Hell, even big names like My Hero Academia let parts of their shows suffer when they have a movie to work on. But I don't think really anything got changed majorly in season 2.

For one thing, the people who animate the openings don't always get the same info as the people making the show. There are actually other examples of things in yugioh openings, at least (though perhaps in other shows' openings as well) showing up that don't show up in the show. It's the same phenomenon of old timey science fiction books having illustrations of aliens that look nothing like the written description, because the illustrator got a piece of paper that said "two aliens coming off a space ship" and they had to get creative. So some things showing up in an opening and not in the show really isn't the total indication that something changed in the writing room.

I really doubt that it would have been all that different anyway, since it had the same director the whole time who would have kept things as much on task as is possible for a long running serial franchise like arc v.

So I guess the tl;dr, anon, is I don't think any plot points were dropped, at least, nothing that was all that story-changing, at any rate. I think the team had a pretty good idea of what they were doing from the beginning.

#yugioh arc v #lulu answers #anonymous

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steve0discusses · 3 years

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S5 Ep5: Female Friends

So I was up hella late because of Daylight Savings screwing my sleep schedule, and I was on Twitch and one of the people I follow was speedrunning a Yugioh game (I think it was called Forbidden Memories like it was some Romance YA novel) and I was like “that’s a thing?” And I watched about 15 minutes of just complete nonsense. Like this game makes no sense when your scrubbing through 30 minutes of gameplay, but when a whole game takes 45 seconds and they have mechanics using like planets and astrology symbols? What?

What?

Y’all, I’m a little concerned your card game ain’t real. Like this is some ploy by knowing adults and this is some sort of Santa Claus situation where everyone else knows that this game ain’t real, but I’m the last person alive who’s like... “it is real though, right?” Hoping that I haven’t been played all of these years, despite having literally no empirical evidence that it is.

Just saying, I’m on to you, Yugioh.

Thanks dub.

I am pretty convinced (could be wrong) but pretty convinced that Grandpa was probably just normal horny in this scene. Like it just kinda matches what I know about horny grandpa tropes (that and Vivian is really talked up to be this hot stuff although she’s just youknow...some girl who exists.)

He immediately falls over. Like immediately, and I don’t know what’s up with Grandpa’s weird slipped disc, but luckily this is the one thing that Mokuba is prepared to deal with as a park manager.

Or what was his job again, Master of Ceremonies? That was the name of Mokuba’s actual chosen job that a 12-13 yo would choose?

Only Mokuba would have the choice to choose “a literal astronaut” and not choose an astronaut. This kid probably hates space though, with his family’s countless war machines now currently flying through the void.

The amount of times that the Kaibas have had to call a doctor for these guys.

(read more under the cut)

Bro was like “So Hawkins paid Grandpa to pretend to fall down so they could ditch Rebecca’s duel, right?” and youknow...probably. It was a pretty boring duel. They got off scott free.

Rex and Weevil do cartoon antics that actually feel like cartoon antics--which feels so weird for this show. Of course, it also has this Vivian plotline that is a little sus for a children’s show?

OK, show. You keep throwing women at Yugi Muto, and I get it’s a joke because he’s the world’s most undateable boy but there is a line of plausibility that even for a kid’s cartoon show it’s like “eh, probably not.”

Anyway, Vivian has Cho Chang energy of “I’m here for a problematic romantic conflict that never needed to happen and hamfisted diversity and uhhhhhh that’s it! I won’t exist after book 5!”

What a step down from dueling on top of the train, right? Like this whole time you could have just dueled next to it? What? In this show?

The rest of the party show up to the train station, where there’s really no other audience watching. Like where are Rebecca’s adoring fans who were asking for her autograph like 3 episodes back?

Card culture is brutal, y’all.

Vivian is not drawn like a 16 yo, being real. I was pretty surprised that she was under 25 according to a cursory Google search. Course, Joey Wheeler is drawn like a built adult, too, so I think the only convincing teenage child on this show is Pharaoh because at least he’s short. Just ignore how sometimes he’s got muscles on his arms that have no right to be there at the age of 16. (17?)

Then we had like a little Season Zero vibes where everyone just picks on Yugi for a hot minute.

And so Tea’s character development comes full circle as she realizes that this whole time, the Female Friend she needed was already here in the form of that small child who has a crush on her kinda boyfriend.

This was such an episode written by a bunch of dudes.

But at least Rebecca and Tea found something in common, although I really wish it wasn’t Yugi, considering how little on screen development he has with either of them. Where’s the reward for me as the viewer? If I cared about either of this love pentagon at all (well, hexagon...Bakura’s still in there.) there will never be a payout. You very well may be waiting forever for a relationship the writers clearly had never any intention to ever write except to act as a foil for our protagonists instead of like...a relationship.

And the show seems a little inconsistent with the relationship between Rebecca and Tea, too. They hang out a lot as the girls on the sideline, and appear to get along a lot of the time--but then they hate eachother a lot of the time as well because of jealousy? It’s just so weird.

I feel like TV shows in general have a really hard time approaching girl friendships, and speaking as a girl, I wish TV and books recognized more that our female friendships don’t have to be so freakin serious. We just act friendly and that’s freakin it.

That and these girls are going to go right back to hating eachother half the time after this is over because the main problem--Yugi not piping up and telling one of them to back the hell off--has never been addressed and never will be because Yugi is a broken, broken wet blanket.

Back at the base, Seto is also making up his own problems to be upset about in the absence of any apocalypses happening on screen.

Unless that hacker is Noah Kaiba, you’re probably fine. I really haven’t had too much of a reason to feel any fear over Zigfried von Schroeder. And maybe it’s because his character design was pretty complicated so no one wanted to draw it.

This was a ‘who’s on first’ joke but still.

...why do cards have to be like this?

Also, I didn’t see anything about this nonsense in the speedrun I watched the other night so, guys, this game ain’t real.

Anyway, Rebecca won.

We find out a little more of what happens to other duelists. Our Cowboy lost to a Sherlock Holmes boy, and I was very happy that I don’t have to come up with jokes about country music because I have none other than like...Taylor Swift jokes? Does she still count as country? I have no idea what’s going on in the country music scene.

On other side of the park, Yugioh decide to pay another tribute to the creative crotch shot with one of these:

Rex and Weevil are off to fight the big bad, and when you think “OK, we’re gonna get a wacky duel battle with these two balancing on top of eachother,” they kinda whiffed it before they made it to the stage.

And then I kind of whiffed it when I realized that Mokuba and Weevil have never spoken in the same place before and they have the same exact font color so fml.

The fact that Mokuba didn’t realize anything was wrong until they fell and revealed they were two small adults in a trench coat says a lot about most of the competitors in this duel.

It is incredible how both the Battle City Tournament and the Kaiba Corp Tourney (s that it’s name?) are both poorly managed, but in a different way. The Battle City Tourney unfortunately had a bunch of murderers in it. This tournament, no one is killing eachother, but they are still kind of sneaking in through the back door and being chronically late to everything.

(and I just want to point out that after the last match Mokuba oversaw that had Joey nearly miss the appointment, Mokuba decided to set this one in front of a Giant Clock just to get his point across)

So Zigfried has some sort of flying horse card that wiped them out right away, which makes you wonder........

.............why use any other cards?

Kaiba makes these cards, right????

Like he should be the last person who’s surprised????

Anyway, Zigfried top-decked a horse, and the guy who spends about 15 minutes getting ready his big ol blue eyes dragons every match he’s ever played was like “Yo I have GOT to get into speedrunning!”

And yes, the speedrun I was watching did not use Blue Eyes White Dragons. They were using a bunch of other stuff that I tried to look up just now and the art is completely different from what I recall so...unfortunately that means that your game is fake. Pretty sure it’s fake and you have no way to prove to me this is real.

Anyway, that’s it for now, not much to say since we’re still at the beginning of the arc. Next week I guess we’ll find out if Seto ever removes his ass from this chair.

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

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voicesofchaos · 3 years

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Yugioh Polyship Week 2021 - Day 2

Monday = Anime Rainbow! Duel Monsters, GX, 5Ds, Zexal, Arc-V, Vrains, and now Sevens! Pick your favorite anime or run through them all and tell/show us your favorite non-monogamous ships from each!

Like always, I’m late on fanweeks but it has been an awfully busy stressful week. So let’s name through them!

DM = Probably due my best friend’s influence I have grown attached to Jounoichi-Seto having a purely sexual relationship with no romance while Jounoichi has a committed romantic relationship with Yugi. Possibly Jounoichi has a relationship with Mai, either romantic or purely sexual. As well if Atem is around then Seto having a complicated relationship with him.

GX = Judai-Yubel-Yohan. A lot of this speaks for itself but Judai-Yubel is obviously as is Judai-Yohan. But Yubel also possessed Yohan for a fair bit of time and she would need to deal with her jealousy of Judai’s feelings for Johan. Creates a problematic but enduring triad.

5Ds = So I know Yusei-Jack-Crow is a super popular ship here. But strangely I see Jack’s relationship to Yusei as much more platonic than other main character-rival relationships. I can’t really explain why. And Aki is one of the stronger main female lead romances. So I really like Aki-Yusei-Crow. Probably a ‘V’ but I could see Aki and Crow having some chemistry for each other too possibly. Then Kiryu is Yusei’s comet relationship whenever he is in town. While we are at it, just give Jack a full-on Harem with Carly, the blue-haired assistant lady, and the coffee woman. Just because I find it funny.

Zexal = EVERYBODY WITH YUMA! Ok I joke but seriously Zexal could just be a giant polycule with Yuma at the middle. Shipped with Shark, yeah super popular. Shipped with Kaito, it has its chemistry. Shipped with Kotori, nearly canon and fully wholesome. Shipped with Cathy, she is forgettable to most but I love them together! Shipped with Anna, she matches great with Yuma! Shipped with III, is super cute and wholesome. Shipped Alit, is hot (throw in Kotori to that threesome). Shipped with Vector, you want problematic we have that too! Shipped with Tetsuo and probably other characters you have never heard of, sure let’s do it! Honestly Zexal is just so full of love! I also really like Durbe dating both Kamishiro twins.

Arc-V = So Yuya-Yuzu-Masumi was on of my first ships but also I have really come to like Yuya-Yuzu-Sora a lot too! Also Yuto dating both Shun and Ruri. Since the series has so many characters I like seeing all the crazy possibilities you can come up with here.

Vrains = Ehhh I don’t have much going on here honestly. But I do think Revolver, Specter, and the 3 Hanoi lieutenants all have a very closer than friends or family kind of relationship together.

Sevens = I think the 4 main characters have a real deep platonic friendship!

Please feel free to send me an ask about any of these ships for more details or other multiperson ships and I will give a grade or rating to them!

#Yugioh Polyship Week #Yugioh Polyship Week 2021 #Yugioh #Lots of ships

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mandala-lore · 3 years

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Tarot Reading Specials:

I used to do free short readings on tumblr for anons and got pretty good feedback, plus I always get great feedback from friends and family. I'm also unemployed until the fall (I hope to be working again by then) so I decided to open up some cheap tarot readings with costs and short descriptions below. :)

I tend to give thorough and straightforward readings as best I can - but we can get as mystical and complicated as you like. I've been doing this for years and I have a good relationship with my decks (Yugioh has nothing on me!)

I have several decks to choose from, including: the Fairchild (the very popular one sold at like Barnes & Noble lol), Medieval Italian, Mucha, Steampunk, Illuminati, and the classic Waite. I'll briefly describe the "personality" of each deck below and provide some pictures. I also have Gorey's Fantod pack and the Egyptian Oracle, both of which are a bit different and I explain below.

You can certainly request privacy and I'll DM you with your results, but otherwise I'll simply post and tag you with your results. I also ALWAYS provide a photo so you can choose to explore the imagery of your cards on your own too.

Prices go like this: I'll do single card quick readings for free!

2 card readings also free if you REBLOG this post

Otherwise:

2-3 cards $3

4-5 cards $5

6-8 cards $8

9-12 cards $15

13+ cards $20

And starting at $20 I'll design a unique spread for you with at least 5 cards (we'll need to DM for this probably). Price will go up slightly for more cards, but we would discuss that.

The Egyptian Oracle works differently, so any reading with it will be $20

I prefer to use venmo but if that doesn't work for you, we can discuss other options. Feel free to respond to this post OR dm me; please provide your venmo name if you request a paid reading so that I can confirm payment. :)

My venmo is: @Lore518

I'll also use ANY spread you send me or find I've reblogged or used before. Some of my favorites that I find most useful would be:

Want/Need or Do/Don't for 2 cards (free if you reblog this post!)

3 cards: I'll interpret your birth cards (you'll need to tell me your birthday); a simple Past, Present, Future reading; or Sun, Moon, Star

4 cards: simple P,P,F with an added meditation card; or Lessons to Learn

5 cards: Full Moon (works best around full moon but I do have charged candles to help); Communication spread (for you and a spirit or another person); or As Above, So Below

6 cards: I'll interpret your birth cards in conjunction with another's (again, I'll need birthdays); Identification spread (for identifying mysterious spirits or energies in your life); or New Moon (see above for Full Moon)

7 cards: Comparability (for you and anyone else)

8 cards: Shadow Self; New Home; or Wellness

9 cards: Disasters Come in 3s

10 cards: Tree of Life

11 cards: Planets; or Identify and Communicate with a spirit or specific energy in your life

12 cards: Year Ahead

You can also send me any spread you find elsewhere and would like me to use!

Feel free to browse this blog or my side blog fool-in-the-storm for explanations of these and MANY other spreads. You can also message me for a recommendation of a specific spread based on your circumstances.

You can request ANY spread with ANY deck I own. However, I would prefer to use the Fantod pack only for readings of 4 cards or less. And the Egyptian Oracle is very different so I only use 1 specific spread with it. I explain all this below where I discuss my decks, if anyone is curious.

I've also decided to offer these special rates, based on my preferences and familiarity with certain spread and deck combos. Take a look because you can save a few bucks if you choose one of these:

$3 Basic Reading: 4 card spread with Past, Present, Future, & meditation card with the Fairchild deck. A wonderful all-around reading adaptable for all sorts of situations, with my oldest/favorite deck.

$5 Birth Cards with Waite deck: I'll read yours and 1 other's birth cards in relation to each other with the Waite deck. This deck is new to me so I'd love any opportunity to get to know it with simple, predictable spreads like this. :)

$6 Shadow Self with the Illuminati deck. This deck is all about casting light on hidden aspects of our lives, so it pairs great with this spread. Get to know your shadow self, or begin exploring how to discover your shadow self.

$6 New Home spread with the Mucha deck. This is one of my favorite combos. If you're moving into a new place or beginning a new experience, this is a great choice for an overall reading. The Mucha deck is gorgeous and very approachable.

$10 Disasters Come in Three's with the Fairchild OR Mucha deck. Another one of my favorite combos. This spread identifies recent or upcoming potential issues in your life and gives some advice. These decks are my "friendliest" so I find they work best.

$12 Spirit or Influence Identification and Communication spread with the Fairchild deck. This is a complicated, nuanced spread I do often to help me ID or locate specific energies (spiritual or from people around me) influencing my life.

$12 Disasters + Lessons combination spread (see below) with Fairchild or Mucha deck.

$12 Planets spread with the Waite deck. Again, this deck is new to me so I welcome any opportunity to explore it with a predictable spread. Use this combo to discover the planets current influence on your life, or how you're currently interacting with planetary energies.

$12 Year Ahead with the Fairchild deck. We can adapt this to read from today onward, OR to reflect on the past months of this year and predict the subsequent months. This is a standard spread, with 1 card for each month.

Another fun thing to consider is combination spreads that might work best for you. For example, I love to do a Disasters in 3s spread, then use the leftover deck from whichever disaster I choose to do a further Lessons spread. This process can help refine your understanding of a reading and grant further guidance. :)

Anyway thanks for reading! Please consider reblogging and asking for a FREE 2-card reading to test me out. Single card readings (extremely simple) are also free for now.

Below I've described some of my experiences with my decks AND I'll explain why the Fantod and Egyptian Oracles are so different, for anyone considering their options. :)

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Fairchild Deck: a lot of people (me!) use this as their starting deck. It's a friendly but enigmatic deck with simple but classic imagery. I have a strong bond with mine and I usually get the most inspiration out of it. I also find it's a "no nonsense" deck that doesn't sugar coat.

This deck is extremely versatile and well-worn (there are pros and cons to this).

Mucha Deck: probably my most beautiful deck. I prefer to use this when I'm feeling down or particularly worried/anxious, as it has a way of responding hopefully while also respecting my feelings. If you're not used to tarot this probably sounds crazy but this deck has the gentlest energy of all my decks.

Medieval Italian: this deck is funky in a lot of ways. To be perfectly honest, we don't also work well together but in a way that can be good. This deck forces me to really focus and meditate on what I'm seeing, feeling, and thinking. It also has a way of making me recognize when I'm contradicting myself or trying too hard to spin things.

It's also a deck with a rich history, related to but different from the classic Waite deck.

Steampunk: I don't use this deck often as I find the imagery confusing and the energy pretty intense. But it's useful for getting a unique spin on shorter readings, especially when I've hit the wall with my more preferred decks. I need to spend more time with it before I feel I can rely on it for longer or more complex readings.

Illuminati: No, not like the conspiracy group. I rely on this deck when I'm feeling particularly lost or if I want to interact with foreign energies. I find it has a way of forcing me to confront things I try to repress, ignore, or just plain don't understand yet. A great choice for longer readings or spiritual readings.

A.E. Waite: my newest addition but by far the most well-known. The Waite deck features classic imagery, but this deck has a beautiful rainbow sheen to it! I'd love any opportunity to explore this new deck further with small readings before I dive into complex ones.

Fantod: Edward Gorey's twist on a tarot deck. It only has 20 cards, which is why I prefer it for short readings. It also has a sense of humor, so don't expect huge personal revelations from this one. I think it works best for someone who enjoys using tarot to meditate on, rather than use as a straight divination tool.

Egyptian Oracle: a family friend gifted me this. She had owned it for years and never used it, so I had a chance to experiment with it. Like the Fantod pack, it's entirely different from standard tarot and I prefer to only use the 13-card spread its booklet recommends. Feel free to DM me for more details. This would be a good option for anyone who is familiar with tarot and wants to try something entirely different. I find it works best for financial, professional, and introspective readings.

At the moment these are the only decks I own, although I find it's also possible to use a regular deck of playing cards too!

I'm also open to doing Dream Interpretations (starting at $20), Palm, Tea Leaf, or Rune readings (starting at $10) but to be totally honest, I think these are less accurate, especially online. Dream interpretations I think also work best when I know more about a person, so I'd prefer to give you a tarot reading about it. Consider asking me to choose or design a spread if you want to tell me a bit about your dream (it might end up being cheaper too!)

Thanks so much for reading and/or reblogging, even if you choose not to request a reading. :)

#tarot #tarot reading #fortune telling #tarot cards #free tarot #please consider a reblog thank u so muchhhhhh #making any little bit of side cash would be so welcome rn #but also i have lots of free time and i would LOVE to do this #mine #blog related #long post

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deejadabbles · 4 years

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The House of Anubis (Atem X Reader Halloween Special)

Part One: The Manor

One //// Two //// Three (coming soon) ///

Summary: The house was large, a manor, really. Imposing, yet striking more aw with every turn of a corner. You had never thought you'd be dragged back into the family business, but your brother needed you, and so too did his latest project. It stood alone among the trees, yet, you never felt alone when inside. Hairs prickle on the back of the neck, shivers run down spines, and hands fidget with every unoccupied moment. And the thing- or rather, person, who simultaneously eases and worsens these feelings? Atem, a man who was just as mercurial as the house itself, all smirks and light comments one moment, then lingering stares and strange musings the next. So the real question remains, will you uncover the secrets both the man and the manor are harboring?(A Halloween mini-series inspired by the show 'The Haunting of Hill House' and the movie 'The Frighteners'. The Reader x Atem themes are, admittedly, light as this mostly focuses on a spooky haunted house story, but the romantic undertones are there. Gender-neutral reader.)

A. N. Just wanted to do a little something for a spooky season, I wanted to get this done before Halloween but that's probably not going to happen. So instead I'll post the first chapter now, hopefully have the next out on Halloween, and post the ending some time a week or two after. Hopefully you guys like this and if you want something scary that's already complete, please consider reading my yugioh themed CYOA 'House of Fears'

It felt like you were driving through a decrepit, long-forgotten tunnel, vines and weeds slipping through cracked concrete and lights that had died years ago neglecting to guide your path. At least, that’s what it felt like. You found yourself once again leaning forward to peer up through the windshield, trying to find any hint of sky between the heavy canopy of leaves. The forest on both sides was so thick, that you weren’t even sure what kind of woodland creatures could wander between the trunks. And how the branches had grown to make a choppy arch above the road, you had no clue. There was some sunlight at least, gracing the road with their bright rays here and there, but the enclosed effect of this road was still a bit unsettling.

You forced yourself to lean back in the driver's seat and let out a frustrated breath that was meant to calm itching nerves. Honestly, you didn’t even know why you felt a bit nervous. Maybe it was the isolation of not seeing another living thing on this tunnel-like road. Or, maybe the stresses of the past days were still settling.

It continued to haunt you a bit, the way your heart and breathing seemed to freeze the moment you heard a calm voice on the other end of the phone announce that they were a nurse at St. Florence Hospital...and that your brother had been brought in. The nerve-wracking way a thousand thoughts had raced through your head in that second-long pause in the nurse's words was haunting too: Was he in an accident? Did someone attack him? Did he cut off a finger working with that old sawzall you kept insisting he get rid of? ….was he alive?

You had even started tearing up with the frustrating thought that you were miles and miles away while your brother lay dying in some backwater hospital- when the nurse told you that he had suffered a heart attack, but had survived.

Apparently, as your brother had informed you a frantic phone call later, he was working on his latest project when, as unexpected as it sounded, he had experienced a horrible clenching around his heart. Just to pile on the horror of the situation, he had also been high atop a ladder when it happened, resulting in a broken leg and arm; one from getting caught between the ladder's steps as he fell, and the other from hitting the ground, respectively.

Thankfully, someone had been around to call an ambulance. Even still, he was lucky to be so young, because otherwise help still might not have gotten there in time.

Seriously though, a heart attack, at his age? Apparently it wasn’t unheard of, he was almost twelve years your senior, and you were already well into your 20s. Still, it was a worrying situation, especially with how severe the heart attack had been and the doctor had implored your brother to either go back to living in the house you and he sometimes shared, or have someone come out there and take care of him until he was better.

With those as his options and refusing to abandon his latest project, he had literally begged you to spend the next few months in the quiet town of Hartstown. You understood, even as you argued with him about his seemingly nonexistent self-preservation instincts. After all, he had told you all about this dream project of his, and how he had already sunk a lot of money into it, he couldn’t abandon it now. So here you were, in a town that had two restaurants but only one gas station, and driving through a forest so thick you were sure the sky could turn to nightfall without you even realizing it.

Your brother had sent you pictures about the hundred-year-old manor, gushing in texts about how he was going to make it beautiful again, then turn around and sell it to some rich yuppy who wanted a lavish country getaway. It really was a beautiful place, years of neglect not doing much to tarnish its splendor or the possibilities you could see in it. Then again, you had always appreciated old houses, you and your big brother had grown up in numerous ones.

Your parents had made their living flipping houses, especially restoring old ones to their original glory and big brother slipped into the business with ease, genuinely finding it to be his own passion. That made things easier after the accident, in a way, he had taken on their legacy with pride. You had tried too, for a while, years of helping your parents giving you most of the experience you needed, but you just didn’t take to it the way he did. He understood, and handled the family business on his own while you pursued your own wants and dreams.

Still, your history with the business made this decision much easier. The day you arrived in Hartstown, thoroughly scolded your brother for his poor health, and announced your plan, he had insisted that you didn’t have to do this, that the house could wait until he was better, and that he hadn’t dragged you out there to pull you back into the family business. You had waved off the insistence with ease; it wasn’t like you actually planned to spend all of the coming months just driving him to physical therapy and keeping his airbnb clean.

You had spent the first week here by your brother's side almost constantly. Apparently, the first week or two was the typical window of danger where other complications would make themselves known. But, now that that window was passing and you personally saw how well your brother was already doing, it was time to get to work.

You frowned down at the directions he had given you; surely you hadn't already passed the old street sign reading 'longhorn drive', right? No, you were far too attentive for that, desperate to get off this road and looking for your escape. The map app on your phone was useless, cell service being spotty at best on this road, as he had warned you.

At least when you made this turn it was only one mile until you got to this infamous manor.

Ah! There at last, you saw the oldest road sign you had ever seen, nailed to a wooden post at the corner of a turn that went into a road even more narrow than the one you were on. At least the trees seem to thin out a bit here, hopefully it would make you feel less trapped in the last leg of the drive.

It did, especially as the trees continued to get thinner and more spacious, the sun shining on the road like a guide. With that, the drive didn’t take long at all and before you knew it you were coming up on the iron gates you’d seen in your brother’s many pictures. They were open of course, the EMTs having other priorities as they rushed him out of the house, so you didn’t bother slowing down much as you made the turn. The gates were in good shape, one of the few things that wouldn’t need replacing and the wrought iron fence accompanying it wasn’t far behind in condition. The dirt driveway was narrow and weed-infested and you made a mental note to ask if some stylish cobble stone was in your brother's budget. There were more trees, tall ones that only let you catch glimpse of the house at first, but soon enough the dirt path ended, and the house crept into view on your left.

Pictures didn’t do it justice. It was a true mansion, made of stone, three stories high with turrets on the front corners, a wide oak front door, and spacious grounds on all sides. It’s style was rather unique, almost combining gothic elements such as many tall arching windows and at least two verandas and balconies, with craftsman style roofs and the first floor sitting high above the ground. It had been built in the 1920s, but apparently, the architect liked the styles of decades prior.

The faded wooden sign beside the grand front steps read: The House of Anubis.

Anubis, the Ancient Egyptian god of death and the afterlife if you remembered right. You felt silly for it, but the name made you a bit uneasy- who would basically say their house was a gate to the afterlife? The Egyptian references did make sense though, the manor was built by an archeologist and professor who made it big during that hayday of excavations and exhibitions.

Eager to get started, despite the odd name of the place, you parked the car, killed the engine, and climbed out onto the still tall and weedy grass. The steps were those old narrow kind that made one feel unsteady, and that feeling wasn’t helped by the fact that they had several splits and cracks in them, even pulling apart where the oldest fractures lay. At least the stairs themselves weren’t anything special, shouldn’t be that costly to replace.

You were tempted to walk along the veranda first, taking in the golden and white tiles and worn down furniture that had only recently been set back into place. You could picture it now: sitting on the wicker loveseat, tea or coffee in one hand and book in another, occasionally lifting your gaze from the pages to stare out at the garden or forest without a care, feeling the cool breeze cross over your face just enough to soothe but shielded enough not to be bothered.

You shook your head, chucking at your own day dream, you really should just head inside first, there’d be time to wander later.

The front door was at least closed, but again, the EMTs wouldn’t have exactly been concerned with locking it on their way out, so you didn’t even have to use the key big brother gave you. The door creaked in a loud croone when you pushed it open and before you was an entry hall unlike any you had seen before. You almost did a double-take, wondering if ‘The House of Anubis’ had transported you to a pharaoh’s tomb. The walls were a bright pale color, almost like sandstone but with a more golden tint, and portraits of Egyptian people and hieroglyphs wrapped around the room. The wallpaper wasn’t too busy or cluttered though, the depictions of people spreading out just enough so one’s eyes wouldn’t be overwhelmed when looking at them. There were two pillars beside the grand staircase and more ancient patterns were painted on them. Some chairs, tables, and even a sofa sat along the walls, again in that style befitting a king’s resting place.

How had none of this been stolen or vandalized over the years? Your brother had told you that the manor was fairly well known in town, even though no one had lived in it for over ten years. Surely bored teenagers would have come knocking, it was odd to find any furnishings at all in houses such as these, but especially not ones in such good condition.

You had to shake off that uneasy feeling again, deciding not to look a gift horse in the mouth and moving on. Though, only after you shut and locked the front door behind you, finding yourself just a bit paranoid now.

After allowing yourself a moment to study the beautiful depictions of what you knew must be a goddess on the wall, you moved on to the tall pocket doors standing open on the left. This would be the drawing or receiving room and, as you had expected, you saw that big brother had set up his base of operations here. His workbench and draft table sat in the center or the large room, tools and even some lumber scattered about. As you approached the draft table you took note that this room followed a more Victorian look instead of the Egyptian tomb style: rosy wallpaper, a beautiful fireplace framed in dark wood, and a thick but faded rug spanning most of the hardwood floor.

The floorplans for the house were laid out on the table, pinned together with a clear sheet of plastic between each floor. As usual, the plastic was there so your brother could mark and note areas that needed repairs without damaging the actual floor plans. Currently the plans for the first floor were lifted, hanging off the table and opening the second floor plans for viewing. He had checkmarks beside a few of the notes, the repairs that had needed his attention first like plumbing issues and checking for mold. It was the same for the other two floors, as you saw when you flipped the pages; big brother had been busy in the six weeks he’d owned the place.

After scanning the blueprints thoroughly enough that you felt comfortable wandering through the house, you stepped back, deciding to check on some of those repairs he’d already made. Before you left the room, though, you almost tripped on a familiar device: his old boombox. Of course, he never worked on a house without it and you couldn’t deny the comfort of having music play while you worked. He even had his massive CD case propped up beside it, but you took a chance with whatever disk was already in there and pressed play before heading out of the room.

Some 80’s pop music echoed off the old walls as you wandered into the next area, the conservatory. Again you were left in shock with how well-intact the room was, only have two panes in its all-glass wall broken and your jaw actually dropped at the plants bursting to life around you. Most were likely weeds by now, but you still appreciated the timeless beauty, which was only accompanied by some more wicker chairs, delicate tables, and two statues sitting in the far corners. One was of a goddess, Isis, if you had to take a guess, and her companion was a god, maybe Ra, both made of onyx colored stone and painted with gold and turquoise that must have once been bright and shining. You would definitely have to map out how to return the status to their original glory once more urgent repairs were made.

Unfortunately the conservatory was only a bridge to your destination, as the double glass doors on the other side of the room led to the study. This was a room made of dark woods and moody red wallpaper. Mahogany desks and leather chairs would be right at home here, if it wasn’t for the fact that some animals had found their way in and made nests. You nodded in approval at big brother’s work, almost no sign of the nests remaining besides some scratch marks on the wood floor and walls that could be sanded down and covered at a later date. The door had also been replaced, it’s shattered panes the reason why animals had found their way inside in the first place. You were just making to cross the room to the next door- when a sound clattered not an inch away!

You choked back a gasp, then scolded yourself a second later. No, not a clatter, just your ring tone.

Shaking your head, you took your phone out of your pocket and answered it. “Please don’t tell me you’ve broken something else?” you said in place of a greeting.

“Oooh you’re so funny,” mocked the familiar voice on the other end, “Just taking my hour rest so my heart doesn’t give out, thought I’d check in on you. You got to the house okay right?”

“Yup, though that one road with the thick-ass trees went on for forever. You sure there’s not a faster route here?”

“Nope. As it is those roads are mostly just used by farmers going into town, we’re lucky it’s as direct to the house as it is.” Your brother paused for a moment before saying, “So, what do you think? Pictures don’t do it justice, right?”

“Definitely, this tomb robber really knew how to build a house, some rich history enthusiast is going to love it once we’re done.”

“I still wish you would have waited 'til I could come with you, I wanted to see the look of awe and wonder on your face,” he said with a sigh that was far too dramatic for the topic.

“Dude, they’re having you do an hour of physical therapy for each injury you managed to collect. I am not sitting around doing nothing for three hours three times a week.”

Honestly, it still shocked you how much they were putting on your brother’s recovery, when your uncle had had his heart attack, they only made him attend hour-long sessions of physical therapy. Maybe they expected more out of a younger specimen.

“Besides, with the chair they gave you it’d be really hard to get you into the house, at least until I can set up a temp ramp,” you pressed on, thinking of the large, clunky, motorized thing he was having to get by in, hopefully when his arm healed up he could switch to an easier wheelchair or maybe even crutches.

“Yeah yeah, call me an inconvenience, I see how you are,” he mocked, “So what are you doing now?”

“Oh, you know, just checking out the rooms.”

“….You’re looking over my work to see if I screwed up, aren’t you?” he accused, a disbelieving incredulity coloring his tone.

“No! I’m just seeing what’s been done, that’s all!” you answered, voice higher than you wanted it to be.

“Yeah right,” he mocked back and promptly blew a raspberry into the phone like a proper, mature adult. Someone in the distance on his end called out and he pulled away from the receiver to answer, then, “Alright, kiddo, I got to go, more breathing treatments and a test to run. Call you when I’m done.”

After a goodbye from your end, you hung up the phone, slipped it back into your pocket, and finally finished your short walk to the other side of the study. You turned the crystal-like knob of the old door opening into the library, the next room of the house most likely to impress you. Impress it did, with its two stories of built-in bookshelves, rail-guided ladder, cozy fireplace, and spiral staircase leading up to the second floor.

Unfortunately, what drew your attention more than the grandeur of the space, was the fact that there was blood on the hardwood floor.

Oh, this must have been where he had his heart attack. The tall metal ladder that had fallen near the dried smear of blood supported the theory. With a breath to calm yourself, you approached the spot, trying to assure yourself that the stain was smaller than it first looked. Besides, your brother was fine. Banged up and grumpy from lack of work, but fine, the blood meant nothing now.

With a sigh you started turning the work ladder back upright, noting the scuff marks on the floor where it must have been when he fell. After matching the legs with the marks, you looked up, trying to figure out what he had been working on. This was the only stretch of wall besides the fireplace where there weren’t any bookshelves. Instead a tall window stood there, allowing sunlight to peek in, shining directly on the fireplace, both to aid anyone cozied up in the room to read, but also to prevent sun damage from getting to the bookshelves. It took a minute to spot, but in one of the middle panes, there was a hole and spider-web cracks in the glass, he must have been trying to patch the hole with a temporary cover.

You made a note to get on that yourself after you cleaned up the blood, and began turning away, but something else caught your eye.

You squinted, peering up at the flowery wallpaper beside the window. There, just a hand-span from the broken window pane...were those tears in the wall-

“Hello.”

You let out a yell that bordered on a scream, clutching your heart as you spun around at the deep voice.

A man, a young man, stood leaning against the fireplace, taking in your startled terror with a raised brow. When had he..?!

“Where did you come from?” you demanded between still thundering heartbeats. “Who are you?”

Something flickered in the stranger’s violet eyes, “Apologies, I did not mean to scare you.” He shrugged off of the fireplace, tucking his hands into the pockets of his dark pants. “My name is Atem, and you are?”

Now that your heart was finally starting to settle, you straightened a bit before giving him your name. “How did you get in here?” was the next question on your lips, the words still a bit snippy.

He paused a moment, eyes narrowing just a bit, as if your verbal approach greatly intrigued him. “The front door was open. Again, I apologize, I suppose I got too used to coming in of my own accord while your brother has been here.”

“You know my brother?”

He closed his eyes with his short nod, “Yes. In Fact, I’ve been worried about him. When I saw your car I was hoping you would tell me...is he alright?” The stranger- Atem, flicked his gaze to the bloodstain, something darkening in his eyes. “I was the one who called for help, but I haven’t heard any news of his health. I was worried.”

You didn’t answer, not right away. You thought about just pressing on with your questions but, the look in Atem’s eyes, the way his brows pulled down low, really did say that he was being truthful about his worry. Besides, wasn’t it nearly impossible to get word from the hospital unless you were related to the patient? Made sense that he hadn’t heard any news.

“He’s a bit beaten up, but alive. He’s actually doing pretty well considering how bad his injuries were,” you answered eventually, and were satisfied when Atem’s expression visibly softened at the news, relieved. “He said he was lucky that a friend started making the habit of dropping by the house to keep him company, I guess you’re that friend,” you hesitated again, somehow finding it impossible to let go of that last thread of suspicion you felt around this man. Still, you managed an honest, “Thank you. You saved his life, doctors said that even being as young as he is, he still might not have made it if they got here any later.”

Something shifted in Atem’s eyes again, something dark casting over them and he only held your gaze a moment before his eyes drifted up to the top of the ladder where you had been staring. “I only wish I could have gotten here before it happened.”

An odd statement, you thought, your brother would have had the heart attack regardless of someone being there. Well, maybe Atem just meant he wished he’d been here to see the signs of the attack before it caused the dummy to fall off that damn ladder.

Atem blinked then, as if remembering himself. He straightened and looked back at you with a small, polite smile. “I’m glad he’s alright though. Are you here to take over the manor’s renovations? Or, are you taking him home to recuperate? He tells me that you and he share a home when he’s not working on his latest project.”

You gave a dramatic sigh, “We do, it was the house our parents left for us, but he hardly ever stays there. And unfortunately I couldn’t convince him to recover there so, your first assumption is correct. Between keeping an eye on him, I’ll be taking over all of this-” you waved your hands to encompass the room and the house beyond, “-until he gets better.”

You noted how the friendly smile slowly slipped from Atem’s lips as you answered, and now he was almost frowning even as he nodded. “He has an almost admirable dedication to this house. At least he isn’t insisting on working himself just yet.”

“He has a dedication to every house he works on,” you said, almost absentminded and when Atem’s brow lifted in yet another silent question, you shook your head to clear your thoughts. “He’s just like that with every place he buys. Our parents taught us to see the hidden beauty in all houses, and how restoring them was a kind of...I don’t know, a kindness?- That’s not the right word. They used to say houses could love a resident just as much as the resident can love a house, and how, if it’s fallen apart or been abandoned, it withers like a plant without sunlight. Renovating it- restoring it, is like breathing life back into it, so it can properly love its next resident.”

The moment the small lament was out you found yourself flushing, especially at the way the corner of Atem’s lips quirked up and his eyes softened a bit.

You cleared your throat, “Sorry, just...I haven’t worked on a house with him in a long time. Brings back memories.”

“I understand,” Atem said, the other corner of his mouth lifting to another light smile. “You both get the same look in your eyes when you talk about homes like this. It’s quite lovely.”

The heat in your face flared up even more, and you cleared your throat again before turning, looking at the library at large. “Anyway I uh- better continue my tour of the house,” you took a step towards the door opposite the one you’d entered, then, “you can walk with me, if you want.”

The offer surprised you a bit, despite having said it. Much like the oddness of Atem’s sudden appearance, the mix of feelings you felt around him was a bit baffling. You still felt a slight uneasiness, one you hadn’t been able to shake completely since he first startled you. Despite that, however, you didn’t feel particularly endangered by him. Quite the opposite, to create an odd, almost giddy cocktail of emotions, the unease mixed with a slight need to keep the man in your presence, get to know him, work out the curious nature he seemed to exude.

“I would like that,” Atem replied simply, and took a few steps to join your side.

Together you two walked to the second of the three doors in the library, and this opened into a hallway of sorts. If you remembered the floor plans right, the door on your left was a closet, and a bathroom was on the other side of the wall on your right.

“So, you said you saw my car outside Odd, what with all the trees surrounding the house, do you live nearby?” you asked, not bothering to hide your feelings airing on the side of suspicion. Hey, just because your wariness was overshadowed by your curiosity didn’t mean you were pushing everything aside altogether.

He didn’t seem to mind, in fact, he smirked at you as you two turned the corner on your right. “I often take walks in the woods and I saw your car through the trees. Several houses were built in the woods near the manor, so staff who worked here would have the option to live closer to the house and not have to travel from town.”

That made sense, despite the gothic appearance the manor was built in a time when having servants was falling out of style and becoming less commonplace, even among the wealthy. The professor who built the house might have had a cook and housekeeper, maybe even a butler, but not anything so fancy as to need live-in help. You could see the modest little houses in your mind now, but somehow, the idea of Atem cloistered up in one didn’t seem to fit quite right.

“So those houses aren’t part of the estate?” you asked as you two entered a longer, more narrow hallway; an open doorway on the left, and the hall stretching onward to your right.

“Not anymore. The second man to inherit the house, professor Arthur Hawkins, sold them. I think he did not want the hassle of upkeeping the rental properties.”

Choosing the doorway on your left, you entered the kitchen, a big, open room with white tile walls and gray floors. “You seem to know quite a bit about the house and its history,” you couldn’t help but look over at him, again making your suspicion and interest apparent.

“I guess you could say I’m a bit of a local historian. I’ve lived here a long time.”

Again, his choice in words struck you. I mean, the man looked no more than a year or two older than you, if that. Maybe he was just one of those old souls who liked to put on the air of being mature and more experienced than they were.

Deciding not to comment on it, you took some time to survey the kitchen. It was an impressive thing, plenty of countertops and an old oven fit for making extravagant christmas dinners. According to your brother's notes there was a bad leak in here that he had taken care of first and foremost, and the evidence of that was in the hole in the wall, exposing a new length of pipe and recently axed wood. That would probably be the first thing you patched up, something more simple to jump back into the family game.

“So, tell me more about the family history of the place. I know it was built by an archeologist in the 20’s, but that’s about it,” you asked as you turned around, heading for the swinging door that led into the dining room.

“Well, there isn’t much to tell. The house was built by Professor Alexander Hawkins, a man who made his wealth plundering the sands of Egypt.” The bitterness in his tone made you pause, but he continued on, “He built it with the intentions of keeping his family happy while he was away on digs, but, unfortunately, he and his wife died only twenty or so years later. Their son, Arthur, followed in his footsteps in some ways, taking an interest in Ancient Egypt.”

“Not surprising, considering he grew up in a house like this,” you added, noting the replica busts of a queen and pharaoh sitting on the mantel that looked better suited for a Cairo exhibit than a dining room.

Atem gave a nod, “Fortunately he was a bit more virtuous than his father, and made his living through more honest means. He too passed, and left the manor to his granddaughter, Rebbeca.”

Rebbeca, the woman who had sold the place to your brother. It was a story you had heard often; family home slowly losing its grandeur through the generations, until it finally passed to someone who just didn’t make enough money to afford a place so extravagant. Still, the fact that the house was still in such good condition continued to surprise you, especially given how much stuff was still here. Almost always the house was stripped of anything that was worth a dime before it was sold. Yet the granddaughter hadn’t even bothered to take the lovely dining table that sported carvings of eagles, hounds, cats, and other animals revered by the ancient Egyptians.

It was a small dining room, given the rest of the house, just big enough to fit the usual family of four and maybe a few guests. Beyond it, passed another set of pocket doors, was a lounge. Some more replicas of pharaonic treasures sat on tables and mantels, but the thing that caught your eye most were the once lavish settees and chairs, as well as the paintings hanging on the walls. They weren’t in the typical ancient Egyptian art style, rather the softer, more vibrant kind seen in the victorian era. All were depicting scenes of life that might have happened in those ancient cities forgotten in the sand; a diverse market bustling with eager shoppers looking at pottery and the work of weavers, a barge on the Nile river with women dancing on the deck and a couple kissing as they tipped their toes into the water, a pharaoh’s throne room filled with beautiful women and bowing courtiers all in awe by the king’s commanding presence atop his throne.

Not even these, the granddaughter had not even taken these? Odd, very odd.

“I thought these would catch your eye, they seem to catch everyone’s eyes.”

You jumped a bit at the sudden closeness of the voice, realizing Atem was leaning in almost near enough to brush your arm. How had you not sensed him coming closer?

He was looking over the painting of the Pharaoh’s court as he continued, “They are not particularly accurate, the colors and style of the clothes, the lightness of their skin, even the architecture is off. Still, I suppose they’re interesting to gaze at.”

“An Egyptologist yourself, are you?” you teased, even nudging him in the shoulder.

His smirk was back again, “I suppose you could say that.”

You couldn’t get too distracted, you didn’t have a lot of time left before you had to grab big brother from his therapy sessions. You would leave the inspection of the tower rooms for another day, and instead headed through the other set of pocket doors back into the entry hall.

“I should be going,” Atem began before you could make your way towards the grand staircase. “Thank you for easing my worry, I’m glad your brother is alright. It was a pleasure to meet you and... if you will allow me, I’d like to visit from time to time while you work, as I did with him.”

“That’s fine by me,” the agreement came easily to you, without a second thought. Despite his odd demeanor, you found Atem to be quite an easy person to get along with, his company should help keep this house from feeling too large and lonely.

At your reply, Atem’s expression shifted yet again, something close to interest or maybe even slight delight played in his eyes as they searched your face. “In that case, I will see you soon.”

His gaze lingered for another few heartbeats, long enough that you found yourself flushing again. You nodded your quick agreement before turning towards the stairs. A moment later you heard a soft click near the front door, but you actually paused when you didn’t hear a second. Looking over your shoulder, you found that the door was still slightly ajar. Little jerk, you’d have to remember to scold him for not closing the door properly the next time you saw him.

You only got halfway through your tour of the second floor before your phone when off, a reminder to start heading back to the clinic to pick up your brother. The clinic wasn’t in the little town closest to the house, rather a bigger town over half an hour away, but still close enough to justify you working while he was at his session. He was all eager to see you, despite how drained he looked from the exhaustion of physical therapy, and the moment he was packed into your car he was asking your options on the house.

You told him honestly how impressed you were with it, also voicing how odd it was that the place hadn’t been vandalized or stolen from given all the things left there.

“Yeah, took me awhile to get over that too,” he said from the passenger seat, fiddling with his phone in an effort to get directions to the pizza place he promised you dinner from. “I think the locals don’t give the house enough mystery to make teens interested in visiting it. Besides, there're several houses near the property, so maybe most assumed they couldn’t get away with breaking in- oh turn right at the next light.”

You did as instructed, then, “Speaking of that, who was the guy who called the ambulance for you that night?” You couldn’t help asking, you just needed to add a bit more credibility to your new friend before you relaxed around him more.

Your brother’s eyes went a bit wide, “Shit, I forgot all about Atem! I was going to ask you to find his place and tell him I’m alive. Dude’s probably been traumatized, finding me bleeding and heaving on the floor, I feel like such an ass now.”

“Well don’t worry,” you said, feeling satisfied now that you confirmed Atem’s claims, “he dropped by the house while I was there and I told him you were okay.” You found yourself biting your tongue on the words, considered for a moment, then spoke them anyway. “Something was a bit odd though, he just waltzed right into the house like he owned the place. I was looking over the library and he was just standing there, no knocking, no nothing.”

Out of the corner of your eye you saw your brother scratching the back of his head, “Yeah, he kind of does that. I get the feeling he’s sort of appointed himself as the unofficial caretaker of the house, he showed up the first day I started working on it, guess I just got used to the way he just walks in, figured if he intended to steal from the place he would have done it already.” His protective mode must have been activated after he thought for a moment, because he was suddenly dropping that easy demeanor and looking you over with his brows drawn together, “He didn’t make you uncomfortable or anything, did he? I can have a talk with him if he did.”

Again you found yourself biting your tongue, thinking for a beat before answering. “No, not really, just startled me a bit. Not used to strangers just walking in, you know?”

He nodded, easing back in his seat again, “Yeah, I get you. Atem’s a good guy though, never gets underfoot when you're working, but great to talk to. He’s a bit weird, but cool.”

“Right…”

The conversation trailed off into silence, and for some reason, even after you pulled into the pizza joint and sat staring at a parmesan shaker after you ordered, your mind kept drifting back to the strange man at the manor one way or another.

A.N. So, what do you guys think about our mysterious Atem? How about the odd house itself? Any ideas on what's going on that or how this haunted adventure might heat up? Let me know your thoughts in the comments <3

#atem x reader #yami x reader #yugioh #Yu-Gi-Oh #yu-gi-oh reader insert #ygo #Atem #yami yugi #series: the house of anubis

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redpillkieranosborn · 3 years

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Yu-Gi-Oh!

Red Pill is all about multiple realities or universes and hard decisions. Yugioh even though is just a card game fits into the multiple universes catagory all too well. Yugioh is not just a card game Konami the company making Yugioh made it from a manga of the same name. Eventually this manga would be made into an anime thats specific purpose was to promote the card game. It has had 6 series start and finish, each series spanning over hundreds of episodes the shortest series being 120 episodes long. The series I that follow a multiple universe story is Yugioh Zexal, Yugioh Arc V and Yugioh Vrains.

YU-GI-OH ZEXAL

Yugioh Zexal is the fourth series in Yugioh. It follows the story of Yuma Tsukumo a 14 year old boy with a passion for dueling. He loves dueling and believes that once you duel someone they are your friend. He has a key that he wears around his neck and once he opens a gate in his dreams and visions he releases a being called Astral. Astral is from another dimension and is from the planet Astral World. He has none of his memories but if Yuma collects all the Number cards each one they obtain will unlock another one of his memories since they were scattered once Astral was freed. Eventually Yuma gets caught up in a war between Astral World and the Barian World two worlds from Astrals Dimension. Yuma duels his way to victory and stops the war between the two worlds and Astral returns to his world after Yuma and him have one final duel.

Yugioh Zexal introduced the game to the XYZ mechanic, a new mechanic that the anime help advertise and get kids understanding how it worked. The mechanic is one of my favourites and is pretty simple. Most XYZ monsters require two monsters of the same level to summon. By putting the two monsters of the same level on top of each other you can perform an XYZ summon that matches the levels of the monster so if you overlayed 2 level 4 monsters you can summon a rank 4 XYZ monster.

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YU-GI-OH ARC V

Yugioh Arc V follows the story of a young 14 year old boy called Yuya Sakaki and is the 5th seires in Yugioh. His father had a very special form of dueling called Entertainment Dueling or Dueltaining. This method of dueling was all about exciting the crowd and summoning monsters that were very flashy and fun to watch. It was dueling built to inspire others and is how Yuya duels. Yuya’s dad goes missing and doesn’t show up to an important duel that people mock Yuya for calling his dad a coward. When Yuya enters a tournement he meets meets another boy who has his face but has different hair and eye colour but other than that they were identical. This dopplegangar was dueling another person was also looked like him their names were Yuto and Yugo. They were yelling at each other one accusing the other of killing his best friend. Yugo defending himself from Yuto’s accusations kills Yuto and Yuya absorbs him into his body on accident. They then run into a 4th lookalike his name is Yuri and he is the one who has been killing others and causing mass pain to Yuto’s dimension. The four boys are from different dimensions that were created when the 4 were originally seperated. They were all once a boy named Zarc and unfortunetely Zarc turned evil and to stop him a girl called Ray serperated him into the 4 summoning mechanics he used, Normal, Fusion, Synchro, and XYZ. This created the Normal dimension, the Fusion dimension, the Synchro dimension and the XYZ dimension.The normal dimension soon becomes the Pendulum dimension when Yuya creates pendulum summonig. This was the new mechanic this anime is pushing to promote. This mechanic was quite complex. There are now monsters that are also half spell cards and had a special number in the middle of the cards sides called the pendulum scales. You could set these monsters in the scales and if you had a scale 1 on the left and a scale 8 on the right you could summon as many monsters from your hand as you like as long as their levels were between the pendulum scale set or in this case levels 2 to 7.

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The fusion dimension wanted war and started attacking the other dimensions. Their goal was to rebirth Zarc and fuse the boys back together so Zarc can kill everyone. This causes an interdimensional war between the four dimensions and Yuya, Yuto, and Yugo doing their best to stop Yuri from fusing them together. Yuri eventually succeeds with his goal by corrupting Yuya’s mind and Zarc is reborn. Ray is also Reborn and she once again stops Zarc and this time Reborns just Yuya but lets the others keep their soul inside his as long as they work together and find peace. This works and the boys in one body start dueling in their own special Entertainment dueling.

YUGIOH VRAINS

Yugioh Vrains follows the story of 16 year old Yusaku Fujiki. He is a introverted, quiet depressed boy who was kidnapped as a kid and forced to duel for food in a prison. If he lost he would be electricuted, if he won he was given food. After he was rescued he didn’t trust others and kept to himself. He dedicates his time to hunting a group of people called the Knights of Hanoi who are the people responsible for causing him so much pain. This is all done through duels inside some called the Vrains. This is a Virtual Reality world where you duel in a virtual world so you can do things like surf on waves of data while playing card games. Yes that is correct this series is card games on surfboards (still not as weird as Yugioh 5Ds which was card games on motorcycles) This virtual world is actually a gateway into another dimension called the Cyberse Dimension. There some small creatures called the Ignis live and the Knights of Hanoi want to find and kill them since they are intelligent A.I. Yusaku captures one and calls him Ai and together they stop the Hanoi but sacrifice all of Yusaku’s new allies friends. This causes him to go rouge and he threatens to kill all the humans and replace the world with Ignis. Yusaku has to stop Ai from killing humanity and once he does he falls into a deep depression where no one sees him for years.

This series introduced the new mechanic Link monsters. This mechanic changed the game entirely. These monsters had a link rating and that rating is how many monsters were needed to summon it (this is also said on the card how many monsters is required to summon it). Link monsters have link arrows and where a Link monsters points to is also where more link monsters can be summoned to. However this was also the case for all the other extra deck monsters in Yugioh slowing the game way down for a bit but Link monsters eventually became way too powerful and recently Konami changed the rules again allowing Fusion, Synchro and XYZ monsters being summoned anywhere instead of being forced to getting summon to a link arrow. Link monsters made a lot of players mad but I personally really like them they added a fun mechanic that I quite enjoyed.

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Yugioh is a very confusing series sometimes however the stories fit Red Pill’s format. The pther series don’t follow any Red Pill aspects which is why I only mentioned these three. yugioh personally has helped me have a hobbie that brought me and my friends close together and I still play it today. The card game definitely seems intimidating but when you learn it it is a lot easier to grasp the game and isn’t as complicated as people think. It mainly just requires reading.

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the-bonehoard · 4 years

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Bonehoard Summary: Ophidian 2350

For my first psuedo article, I thought I’d outline my process moving forward and my eventual hopes for this account.

I only really want to cover card games I am able to get a hold of here, which also unfortunately means a lot of smaller card games are going to go under the raydar since they don’t have eBay listings and/or a whole lot of information on them that I can find online. Ideally I’d like some access to Scrye or Dragon magazine, so I’ll be looking into if I can find scans online in future.

So my primary research method for Ophidian was, tragically, Wikipedia. And to add insult to injury, the sources sited by Wikipedia for information on this game now longer exist...

I was able to access a couple primary sources, namely most of the information from the game’s current publisher, Hack and Slash games, seems to explain the situation pretty well.

So here’s a brief run down of the game: Ophidian is a ccg set in a scifi future where a race of reptilian aliens (Ophidians) use gladiatorial arenas to pit combatants against eachother. Players control of teams of gladiators, typically teams of four, and here would be a good spot to talk about the game’s VC (Victory Condition) but there are three, so I’ll get into those when I delve more into the rules once I play some full games.

Ophidian was published by Fleer, which was actually a name I recognised because a while back I was trying to track down some regular Spider-man trading cards. Fleer were primarily a baseball card company, and so the game wasn’t designed in house. The game was actually designed by three college students (again, according to Wikipedia with no great sources), Shaun Mahar, Gregg Schwartz and Raffi Tasci. They also developed a story and lore around the game, like any good card game should have, with a professional writer being brought on by Fleer to write stories around the game.

The game actually got pretty decent reviews, apparently a 5 star rating from Scrye which, from what I can tell, was a pretty significant feat considering a lot of the scores quick cash in games would get. Trouble was, Fleer were a baseball card company. Those sales were failing and while Ophidian was doing fairly well, it wasn’t enough to carry the company on its own and Fleer seemingly divert their resources into their primary product, cancelling Ophidian just three months after the first edition release.

Its kind of sad honestly, while the art is kinda funny bad in some cases and the cards can seem a bit cluttered with symbols and abbreviations (the rules even more so) the game does look like it would play well. The flow system it utilises in lieu of turns is pretty unique for the time and I can’t wait to give a try. On top of that, the rules describe a 120 card expansion to be released later in 2003, that must have been in the design phases at least, but that never came to fruition due to its cancellation. It pains me we might not see what these cards were. Or maybe... we already know

See in 2013 the unsold stock of Ophidian was rediscovered, and selling online for absolutely dirt cheap. A guy called Robert Shofkom had kept in touch with some of the game’s developers and was invested in hopefully seeing an updated re-release of the game, and when he discovered that the game’s stock was being sold so cheap, he saw an opportunity. He made a deal for the game’s licence, bought up the existing stock and then, with a team he put together, launched a successful Kickstarter to not only launch an updated version of the game, but to release the unreleased expansion for the game. You can buy it now even, it actually delivered which, hey, not all Kickstarter games can say.

While it is cool to see this game get some love again, I have to confess I’m not a fan of the new updated designs. There’s a charm to older trading cards that I love too much, and seeing such a huge change happen all at once is a little jarring. Magic had over 25 years to subtly change its layout and frame, so what happened seemed like a natural evolution. Unfortunately Ophidian didn’t get the same, so the changes look like a genetically or cybernetically enhanced forced evolution of the old game. Which... kind of fits the game’s theme so maybe its actually badass?

Ophidian looks to be a kind of game that some people are going to really love, me included, but honestly I can kind of see why its not taken off as massively as other card games. It is slightly over-complicated, I can’t see myself playing it with someone not intimately familiar with games, like I would Magic or Keyforge or Pokemon. But Yugioh is slightly over the top complexity-wise now so maybe I’m wrong. If you’re interested, you can pick up the new Ophidian stuff on Hack and Slash games’ website, or if you live in the US... Well you can get every product originally released for the game (sealed and new, despite the age) for just $16. You have no idea how much it pains me I can’t get these due to my unfortunate location in the UK...

Next time I’ll be covering either the full gameplay of Ophidian or some history of the Spoils.

Until next time friends

Kay, keeper of the Bonehoard

#ophidian 2350 #ophidian #tcg history

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merryfortune · 4 years

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Day 16 / Rain

Ship: Scytheshipping | Ema/Kyoko

Fandom: YuGiOh Vrains

Word Count: 1,688

Rating: M

Tags: Canon Compliant, Post Canon, Angst, PTSD, Sexual References, Hurt/Comfort, Victim Blaming (?)

Ema hates how easy it was to love Kyoko.

She had never loved a woman or man before. She was above all the romanticism and oxytocin. She was only in it for the base; for the sex and the backstabbing. She was truly her brother’s sister and her father’s daughter in that regard. People were disposable and the easier it was to hate them, the better the consecutive one night stands were; that’s why Akira got dull so quick and became a friend more so than boyfriend. But Kyoko?

Somehow, she was different.

She really shouldn’t have been. She should have been the epitome of the cheap hate fucks that Ema was fond of because there was no lingering fondness.

Kyoko had red hands the likes of which Ema had never seen before and with them, she carved the worst and most painful rivulets she had ever felt on her back. That woman was a monster. All red hair and red hands and these cold, grey eyes which burned the same way that dry ice did. She was a rough fuck and Ema liked it. They weren’t the type to get cosy after coitus, but they would share a bed and somewhere in the exhaustion, they did become that type. It was an affectionate attachment that Ema thought that she wouldn’t ever be interested in. She wasn’t some hopeless romantic teenager, after all. Love them and leave them was her philosophy.

But she couldn’t leave Kyoko. Maybe not now but not never, Ema thought as she put kind emotions into herself when Kyoko stirred on the third one night stand that they had together. Ain’t it funny how things happen in threes?

Outside the room, it was thundering atrociously. That must’ve been what had woken Kyoko up; Ema had been drowsing, mostly thinking about how she was going to ghost Kyoko later but when she felt the other woman roll over and touch her back, so gently that Ema flinched because she wasn’t used to that woman’s touch being soft. And her voice, it broke as she spoke in a terrified whisper.

“I’m scared.”

Boom. Crash. Bright lights split the sky and rain of biblical proportions continues to last the sky roof of Ema’s penthouse apartment. Thunder and lightning followed and Ema didn’t need eyes in the back of her head to know how badly Kyoko winced. Her fingers curled in on themselves against Ema’s back. It was pitiful and she wanted to sigh but instead, she found herself with more compassion than that but maybe she shouldn’t be if her hunch was right.

Nonetheless, Ema rolled over and she didn’t realise how close Kyoko had been to her until now. They hadn’t been touching but they had been so close to it. A breadth of a breath; of a hair.

“Are you okay?” Ema asked. She was afraid to reach out across those mere millimetres between herself and Kyoko; a shame given her natural instinct was to console, to touch and caress her.

“Nights like these always take me back.” Kyoko confessed.

Ema swallowed her tongue on that. Sharp and cocky. She had been right.

“It was just after Dr Kogami had been…” Kyoko’s voice trailed off and as though on cue, there was another crash of lightning which she shuddered out. Her breathing turned ragged and she grimaced; huddling in on herself, giving herself the comfort that Ema was still, albeit hesitantly, withholding from her. “It was a night like this when Spectre came home with Ryoken; seeing his face was like divine retribution. Obviously we couldn’t get rid of him but it never stopped hurting completely. Only a little less; a constant reminder of what we had done to those children.”

It seemed even monsters could show remorse. Ema’s brows furrowed. It somehow seemed easier, on her conscious and even her heart, if she pigeonholed - believed - that the Knights of Hanoi were beyond redemption and that they were inhuman.

Of course, what does it say about her; that she was willing to cavort carnally with them…?

Regardless, in the darkness of her bedroom, Ema didn’t truly see an evil woman before her. She struggled to see anything; it was all in monochrome shades, a little grey, a little blue, some black and some white. Nothing definitive; all shadowy. She sighed and her escape breath was difficult to know the meaning of until she inched in closer.

Kyoko seemed surprised. Her eyes brightened briefly when she realised that she had finally been given the approval which she was vying towards but it was still more than apparent to Ema that she was consumed with guilt.

The thin sheets that they shared laid over her haphazard over Kyoko, barely disguising her nakedness; either of their nakednesses, really. Ema’s left hand snaked along Kyoko’s upper thigh, drawing circles upon it, moving the sheets, crumpling them and she gazed sympathetically unto her. She simply dripped with saccharine sympathy but it was mixed with disgust. Kyoko couldn’t blame her.

When Ema tried to understand this woman, to find some sense of purging divide between right and wrong. Kyoko was someone broken, maybe. Broken by decisions she had made when she was barely out of high school. Ergo, she had been taken advantage of, likely given some story about a shiningly bright future, all good and pristine and that the ends justified the means. No matter how repugnant such means were and whether the end was even worth it to begin with. After all, no Ignis were left and humanity had no successor...

It was sickening. But that never meant that she had to forgo agency. So, she was cruel in her denial of it. She was someone who had abided by six months of torture for six children, barely out of preschool. And someone who had been willing to abide by it for six more months, and possibly longer, if need be…

She was atoning, now, or so Ema had been told. Ema didn’t believe it but she still stroked the idea in case it was true. In her perspective, she saw cowardice in such claims, to be bluntly honest. If she wanted to atone, she ought to do it in the eyes of justice. Not in the shadows where it was safe.She should do something as stunning as lightning and electricity. But that was just Ema’s opinion and she had only been mauled by the data of the insane twice, after all. Only twice; not thrice.

But as Ema came to embrace Kyoko, she found it difficult to maintain such heinous thoughts about her companion. Kyoko was complicated, there was no reducing that, Ema found as her thoughts and feelings fluctuated with each breath. Changing with the oxygen in her blood and lungs.

She hugged Kyoko tightly, in it all. Her body was cold and Ema snuggled in. Kyoko smiled with tears in her eyes as she laid her head on Ema’s breast. She could hear Ema’s heartbeat and she could feel it too. It was steady, not necessarily slow but it wasn’t fast either but it was sublimely comforting.

It still rained outside and violently at that. Kyoko still winced and flinched and was completely and utterly fragile as the lightning and thunder spooked her relentlessly but she did settle. She did come to dream, inhaling the smell of Ema’s sex and faded perfume as she did so. Finding some comfort in them both and in her warmth. Not once realising that Ema had cruel thoughts about her.

Even presently. Ema still couldn’t sleep and she was still considering ghosting Kyoko, leaving her out in the cold where the rain seemed to wash the world unclean in its natural violence. She probably deserved a bit more sadness in her chest like the turmoil of a storm, just like those kids and how it all spiralled out from there with those individuals. After all, she was still a monster; even when cradled in human arms but her eyes had lost that cement like bluster. There had been emotion, messy and unadulterated, in those eyes of Kyoko’s, right before they, with their sharp and pretty lashes, fluttered close and she fell asleep, calm and safe, in Ema’s arms.

The following morning came arduously and so did the day after that and Ema never ghosted Kyoko like she had planned to. She never told Kyoko about those thoughts as they lingered still. Turning to visions of futures which had the potential to come to pass but no, Ema kept them all to herself as sex turned to dating with the enigmatic Baira, sharp as medical waste syringes and as soft as the plastic bagging and as confusing as all the scientific names for all the chemicals inside little jars.

So, Ema stayed. They stayed. And somehow domesticity leaked into their relationship where it really shouldn’t have and Ema realised that her heart could come to pound when she enjoyed the familiarity that she had with Kyoko. The kisses which turned from sour to sweet, the longer that they stayed together and all the less than romantic moments in between which Ema prefered because she wasn’t that type of lady who could stomach all the sap and syrup more fitting to cinema than to her real life.

And it was all so strangely easy. As easy as breathing, to love Kyoko, Ema found. Even when she still felt that she shouldn’t because Kyoko’s hands were as red as her hair with the guilt of what she had done ten years ago and how it progressed since to hide the sins that yes, she was redeeming herself with. Or at least that’s what Ema had observed thus far alongside this woman she was in a relationship with.

Because despite it all, all the love that she had built up in her heart, Ema still had the occasional thought of leaving it all. Just like Kyoko was a monster, Ema was a ghost. It simply couldn’t be helped, even if there was a very real love, somehow at play in this situation.

#femslash february #scytheshipping #yugioh vrains #vrains #yugioh #ema bessho #emma bessho #kyoko taki #taki kyoko #clarissa turner #baira (vrains)#clover and violets #clover and violets 2020 #writing tag

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