Tumgik
#he will roast any Kaiba’s
Braiding Yugioh Hair Headcannons
Me writing this came to me in my dreams actually
You’re the Kaiba’s adopted sibling that’s just a year younger than the gang!
Yugi Muto:
* The only place that you can actually braid properly is those yellow bangs and it still sticks up awkwardly
* The amount of products and hairpins you have to use to braid his hair in his head and have it stay on his head is enormous
* The only way that you didn’t go broke by buying the products and hairpins was by tricking Kaiba into wanting to see yugi with his hair braided down
* Aka telling him he would never be able to get the products to keep his hair down, it works really well
* Honestly yugi was just happy to spend so much time with you despite the hectic process
* The braiding sesh was actually fun for him and Yami was so confused and amazed when he was in control of the body
* Yugi also enjoyed the shocked looks he received when others especially the gang saw his hair completely braided down
* A lot of people thought the world was gonna end lol
* His hair was back standing after 3 weeks
* 2 weeks with products in before washing it out then another week of the hair slowly rising back up
* He enjoyed his time with braids
* You tried braiding his hair without products
* But to keep it down you had to place either a bunch of clips or hair ties and it ended up giving him a headache
* “Yeah Y/N these clips aren’t going to work, sorry!”
* It was a shame too seeing as you got him dark magician hair
* So it was flying braids or spending a lot of money to keep them braids down
* Your pick
* The only time it works without product is when his hair is soaked
* But then it’s frizzy and weird when it dries, better to not do it
* At least once every 3 months Kaiba buys the products to relax Yugi’s hair in order to braid it cause you bother him for it
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Seto Kaiba:
* Don’t you dare touch my hair
* This rule applies only before work and important meetings or galas
* Ofc you can braid his hair any other time and he’ll wear it pridefully out of work
* Kaiba is weak to his younger siblings (cause they’re his only family members)
* He doesn’t wear it to work only because a whole crew of valuable people almost got fired for making fun of the braids his sibling did
* “It seems you guys don’t value your jobs huh?”
* He still comes in to work time to time with braids and clips but no one dared to j joke or laugh about it now
* Yeah he has short hair, but he grows it out just enough for you to make some braids in it
* Mokuba enjoys braiding his hair too
* You guys add a bunch of BEWD clips into his hair also so Kaiba walks around even more prideful
* He enjoys his clips
* Braiding Seto’s hair is bonding time whether it’s just the two of you or all 3 siblings
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Mokuba Kaiba:
* Braiding his hair is also sibling bonding time
* He gets his hair done on the regular though and takes great pride in it
* His hair is really messy and gets tangled easily so the braid is the best thing for his hair
* You joke often and call him Rapunzel
* A bunch of Kuriboh pins are added to his hair much to Seto’s disgust but he doesn’t say anything
* Almost threw hands at school for someone making fun of it
* “My older sibling did it for me, I bet you wish you had two cool older siblings like mine huh?”
* Despite hands not being thrown the other kid was roasted so bad you had to pick him up cause the teacher took him out of class
* “They started it by making fun of your work!”
* That kid better pray their parents don’t get laid off cause Seto is petty af
*You’re also really pissed when he cuts his hair later, but convinces him to not cut his hair as short as canon
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Joey Wheeler:
* Doesn’t like his mullet being changed
* But through the power of you and Serenity he eventually relents
* His hair is great
* You give him cornrows cause of the “Brooklyn Rage” joke to mess with him
* He likes it
* This session also cause Serenity to get her hair braided
* It turns into a bonding session between your boyfriend and his sister
* It’s really cute and he enjoys this time
* But ain’t no one catching him outside the house with the braids
* He’s got a reputation to upkeep
* But I’m the safety of his or your home he’ll gladly wear it
* Or wear it with a hat
* He only wears it at your house cause Seto refuses to make fun of your work
* Actually is kinda cool with Seto cause he also gets stuck in the hair braiding bonding time so they spend time together anyways
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Ryou Bakura:
* Have you seen his hair?
* It’s most likely Mokuba quality but fluffier
* He enjoys having his hair braided
* It’s relaxing and destressing
* Has definitely fallen asleep with you braiding his hair
* But he’s def tender headed
* So no box braids or super tight twists, plaits, or braids
* Reminds him of doing his younger sister’s hair
* And when his mother did his hair before he left to be by himself
* When he comes over for hair braiding day at the Kaiba place the staff knows it’ll be a calm day
* Man can make the situation calm af on this day
* Takes care of everyone’s hair and makes it’s hair not tangled
* Mokuba loves him cause of this reason and approves of the relationship
* Seto and Ryou works on promotional art, ads and other business stuff Ryou during the hair caring sessions
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Marik Ishtar:
* OMG ITS HAIR BRAIDING TIME AINT IT?!?!?
* Loves his hair getting done with you
* Enjoys your hand in his hair
* Brings him great comfort as it means someone isn’t scared to touch him and actually loves him
* Reminds him of the time his father was actually nice to him and ruffled his hair and he braided his dad’s hair
* Also reminds him of the peaceful times when Ishizu braided his hair and when they did Rashid’s hair
* You bring back the sessions and he’s very happy about
* Actually the whole family is
* Always has some drink with him for this time
* Is actually part of his self care schedule
* It specifically says in his routine list:
* “Y/N braiding my hair”
* Very good family banding time
* Good job on helping bring the family back together!
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Duke Devlin:
* Has you often braid it
* Finds it fun and relaxing
* Crap ton of dungeon dice monsters and dice monster hair accessories made by Kaiba Corp specifically for him based on your request
* Speaking of which, he would also be someone to do business during the hair sessions
* But the staff knows it’s gonna be a chaotic day when he comes over
* Screws around with Seto but genuinely helps Mokuba with his hair
* Has you try to do his hair in multiple complicated styles
* His hair is silky smooth but thick af
* Sometimes he falls asleep when you card your hand through his hair before braiding it
* Loves the time you spend together doing hair and make up the most outside of cuddling
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Maximillion Pegasus:
* In this case Pegasus is your adoptive father and you’re friends with the friendship gang through Duelist Kingdom
* Hair care day is a weekly thing
* Minimum of once a week it happens but it usually happens every single day
* He wants to connect with the child that reminds him of his dear wife
* This is how he first connected with you when you were newly adopted and still shy
* Eventually you become comfortable with him but the braids are really bad
* Now we speed up to the present and you’re an expert hairstylist and your braids are immaculate
* His hair is silky smooth and thing too
* When you’re sad he comes in and it’s a hair makeover session!
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Tags: @reallyromealone @jkloserdazai @kokonoiscoconut @gaybitchfx
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changeling-fae · 4 months
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G, L, Y, U for the asks!
Thanks!
G - Have you ever had an OTP? If so, do you remember your first one? Who was in it?
Lol, boy, and how! I live and breathe otp’s. My very first otp was probably Seto Kaiba x Serenity Wheeler, from YuGiOh. They were the first fanfic I ever read on fanfiction.net, lol. First otp ship I ever contributed to fandom for was Sesshomaru x Kagome from Inuyasha, where I wrote my very first fics and did fanart.
Though if we want to get really cheeky, I could argue that my very first ship was the knife and the spoon, from cutlery and making them kiss as a tiny kiddo, lol.
L - Say something genuinely nice about a character who isn’t one of your faves. (Characters you’re neutral about are fair game, as are characters you merely dislike. Characters that you absolutely loathe with the fire of ten thousand suns are exempt, as there is no point in giving yourself an aneurysm over a character that you hate.)
Hmmm, this is weirdly tough for me, not the complimenting part, but because I have a weird metric of how I view characters. Hm, let’s go with… Mizora. I’m overall neutral on her but I appreciate her petty bitch energy. If I were a cambion, I’d like to be as ambitious as Raphael but in reality I’d be like Mizora and I do appreciate a good petty play. It’s the Gemini in me, lol.
U - Three favorite characters from three different fandoms, and why they’re your favorites.
I have many favorites but I’ll go with Harley Quinn from Batman, Grunkle Stan from Gravity Falls, and since brainrot be real, Raphael from BG3.
Harley Quinn has been a favorite character of mine since I was a kid watching Batman the Animated Series. I’ve always been a fan of theatrical aesthetics (circus, theatre, commedia dell’arte, etc) and she’s just such a fun character. I’ve really liked over the years how she’s waffled between villain and anti-hero and how she’s not a perfect victim. Also Harley Quinn x Poison Ivy is a top tier ship.
Grunkle Stan because one of my biggest weaknesses in fiction is a sad morally grey older man but who is also protective of his family. He’s fucked up in his life so many times but he keeps trying. I’m a sucker for that. But also he’s just a great character. He’s made me laugh and cry and honestly that’s just a good criteria for any character. I’ve 100% played the fanmade Grunkle dating simulator and no regrets or shame.
And speaking of morally grey, or in this case, completely terrible older men. Raphael, my beloved. I played BG3 in its EA days and the very first time he appeared I was smitten. His voice obviously but also he had my favorite introduction into the game (and still does). The fact that his devil transformation involved a snazzy belt and different shoes is what really sold him to me. He’s so stupidly extra and it calls to my theatre kid nature, lol. I do miss the EA days of him roasting our camp 5 sec after inviting himself.
All that being said, I just enjoy his character within the game too. I like that he’s obviously a villain but he’s chill with us. In part because he wants something from us but I like that it kinda transforms for him into a double obsession. Obviously, crown comes first but there’s something just so delightfully fun about him writing about our character in his journal (entry number 2 is the stuff ships are made of). That he’s a cringefail theatre kid with daddy issues while being thousands of years old is partly what makes him endearing. I loved finding his fanfiction in his house and I love how stupidly bad his hell domination plan is (you’re doing amazing sweetie).
And one other bonus to liking his character is I got to make new friends and moots in particular in his corner of the fandom. 💖
Y - What are your secondhand fandoms (i.e., fandoms you aren’t in personally but are tangentially familiar with because your friends/people on your dash are in them)?
Hm, I’d say currently, Helluva Boss, I’ve got a couple friends into that show. It’s certainly on my list of things to eventually sit down and watch but for now I see it through what my friends show me. Looks good though!
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rainstormcolors · 6 months
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I know I just sent one but also, 3, 17, 37 and 41 for Seto Kaiba? Please and thank you!
Hello again! I don’t mind answering another ask from you at all. You’re sweet. I previously answered 17 and 37 for Seto, and I’ll copy/paste the answers at the bottom after the two new questions.
3. Obscure headcanon
I’m not sure what counts as “obscure.” I feel like writing fanfiction ends up developing our ideas outside of canon. I’ve encountered more than once the idea that Seto’s biological father may also have committed suicide, whether actively or passively, and even I’ve played with that idea in my head before. Readings of young child Seto seem to vary. I personally tend to lean towards a melancholy and more socially cold reading of him. These don’t feel obscure to me as ideas though.
I once included Seto not eating any roasted carrots in a fanfic, and a little detail like that feels more obscure to me.
41. If they could have lunch with anyone in the world (living or dead, from any fictional universe or the real world), who would it be?
Man… this feels like a loaded question for Seto with all the ghosts in his life. I feel like some of them he’d be afraid to see and others he holds so many thoughts and questions for.
“Atem” kind of feels like an answer he gave in part of canon admittedly.
--
17. Quotes, songs, poems, etc. that I associate with them
The song The Last Day by Moby is a go-to for both Seto Kaiba and Noa Kaiba. The song Dark Star by Moby also feels Seto-ish to me.
For a poem, The Committee Weighs In by Andrea Cohen.
Some quotes:
“Why does tragedy exist? Because you are full of rage. Why are you full of rage? Because you are full of grief.” Euripides, Grief Lessons: Four Plays by Euripides, tr. Anne Carson
“No greater desire exists than a wounded person’s desire for another wound.” Georges Battaille, Ecstasy, from Guilty, tr. Bruce Boone
“I burn, I freeze; I am never warm. I am rigid; I forgot softness because it did not serve me.” Catherynne M Valente, from Deathless
“I wasted so many years being miserable because I assumed that was the only way to be.” Bojack Horseman, from Bojack Horseman
37. What they really think about themselves
Seto’s mind and heart are cloudy and tangled places in canon. I think he wants to see himself as strong and powerful and capable and that he does not feel lonely and that he does not need friends or warmth or love. He’s very defensive to cling to those ideas about himself. He holds himself to a standard he cannot reach. I think he has very complicated feelings about Gozaburo he can’t examine closely – it was easiest to ignore those feelings after Gozaburo’s death at first and then to realize how much he hated Gozaburo and to focus on that. The complications of these feelings leached out regardless. That Seto is lonely and feels his weakness leaches out regardless. If Seto himself answered this question, I think he’d write down lies he tells himself are true. I also think he does know on some level that something is wrong here and that he needs to change. He is trying to save himself but he's very clumsy at it. He does reach out to others at times but he does so in self-sabotaging ways.
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winkle-pickers · 7 months
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I’m gonna be extra and ask for “I’m trash p2” AND TTYE 🥸
Thaaaanks!!! 😇
LMAO GOING STRAIGHT FOR THE JUGULAR HUH
I'm trash p2
I don't think any Spidey mutuals follow me on this account lol, but: Have some Tony & Natasha needling each other <3
“Look,” Tony says, gesturing across his property. “This is the picture of domestic fucking bliss. Garden, two kids, shithead alpaca, porch to sit on and reflect on my dawning old age. Why the hell would I want to go back to climbing into a tin can and letting enhanced fuckfaces smack me around.” It’s a rhetorical question, so he states it, rather than asking. It doesn’t matter. Natasha has never once in her life grasped the concept of a rhetorical question, because she thinks she knows everything. Natasha shrugs. “I’m just saying, there’s maybe a middle ground between full-time Iron Man and removing yourself entirely from society by fucking off to the middle of nowhere and only showing your face in the city twice a year for Stark Industries shareholder meetings.” “I don’t even show up for those anymore,” Tony cackles. “I do ‘em remotely, and then when I’ve had enough I can just say the internet out here sucks and fake my connection breaking up.” “That doesn’t work as well as you think it does. Anyways, that’s not the point.” “The point, then, Romanoff,” Tony says, making little walking motions with his fingers. “Get to it.”
Ten Thousand Year Elegy
I was so torn between posting this snippet or a shorter Hondadorf one. But I really love Anzu/Kaiba bickering and Honda/Jounouchi sweetness so, here's one from the next chapter!!
“I can’t believe you’re willing eat plain ostrich legs roasted on a fire, but not the barbequed ones with the delicious dry-rub Link invented,” Anzu was saying to Kaiba. Kaiba huffed. “What’s confusing about that? Jounouchi just killed this one. It hasn’t been sitting out on a filthy rock in the open air growing bacteria for god knows how long.” The familiar bantering and bickering was sort of soothing, in a way. Even in a confusing and highly disorienting world where Honda Hiroto could suddenly use ancestral Goron magic, at least he could count on the unwavering constant of Kaiba choosing random nitpicky hills to die on. Jounouchi was sitting beside Honda, and was currently engaged in a spirited conversation with Yuugi about different ways they could season the ostrich next time, even though they didn’t have all the ingredients for Link and Aji’s dry rub. While Jounouchi talked through a massive and disgusting mouthful of food, he casually put his hand on Honda’s knee. No comment, no concerned look. Just: Hey, man. I’m here and so are you. Kaiba may have been predictable, but Jounouchi Katsuya was the one thing in Honda’s life that had always been as reliable as the sun coming up every morning.
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kcuf-ad · 2 years
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16 and 7
16. Favourite AU.
It all depends on the fandom, but I will just say my three favourites.
Altertale
This is, IMO, the best Undertale AU out there. I love the premise that Toriel and Asgore switch places with Sans and Papyrus. I love the art of the creator. I love short/tall ships. I love the designs. It is a Soriel AU.
10/10
God of Thunder
This is, without question, the best My Hero Academia AU of all time. The story is that Izuku Midoriya finds Mjollnir in a forest 10 months before UA and has Thor as his mentor. I love how they made Sero into a Naruto fan. The interesting thing about it, Izuku doesn't have One For All, Mirio does. This fic/AU is a must read if you love MHA. Also it is a Midotsuyu ship.
10/10
Seto adopts Jaden/ Tag Force: Heroes and Villains
I know I said three, but these two are so 👌, that I couldn't resist.
Seto adopts Jaden Au is an Au where Seto Kaiba, after he realizes that the winner of his contest went into shock thearpy, adopts Jaden Yuki and more or so kills his parents. The changes are some of my favourites of all time period. Like him, Chazz, Aster, Bastion, Alexis, Atticus, Adrian and Echo being childhood friends, Seto roasting the shit out of Sheppard and my personal fave, Jaden adopting every other protag and more. Please for the love of god follow this.
Tag Force: Heroes and Villains is the best fanfic I have ever read in my entire life. This follows Wilona Konami, an OC, and her adventure with her friend/crush Jaden Yuki across 3 years. It finished season 1 and I am waiting for an update. This has so many changes such as Seika Being in here, Jesse being part of the gang mid way the fanfic, Sora Perse and the Tyler Sisters being here, New Shadow Riders such as Revendread Slayer, Judai Being a separate character from Jaden, New cards etc. This is a most read.
Both 10/10
7. Favourite fandom to write/read on
I guess you know what fandom I like writing on, huh?
The two I love writing the most are Yugioh GX and My Hero Academia. On my AO3 page I mostly either write duels, short one shots od the characters Being chaotic and Dadzawa. I am planing on writing MHA x Ben 10 with Jaden Yuki in it, of course.
But reading is pretty much any show that I love so for example: Ben 10, Gravity Falls, Total Drama, Yugioh, Mha, Komi etc.
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02 Do they believe in aliens? Have they ever seen a UFO?
05 What is their favourite food? In their opinion, what’s the best kind of comfort food? What would they eat if they wanted to treat themselves?
09 What is their favourite animal?
19 Favourite ice-cream favour?
July - 31 Character Headcanon Questions:
02 Do they believe in aliens? Have they ever seen a UFO?
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He believes in life on other planets, but not in any conspiracies that they've come to earth or secretly built the pyramids, and he hasn't seen a UFO. In an infinite universe, there’s probably some planet out there that's able to support life like Earth does-- that just seems logical to him. (Kaiba wouldn't mind being the one to discover something like that, or personally meeting life on another planet. That'd be cool.)
05 What is their favourite food? In their opinion, what’s the best kind of comfort food? What would they eat if they wanted to treat themselves?
Steak, specifically filet mignon with foie gras sauce. (Though I think foie gras is illegal in most countries, so it'd be whatever the closest imitation is, or just some other kind of sauce.) His rich ass probably considers that a 'comfort food'-- a warm meat or fish dish with a side of roasted potatoes or veggies. He also drinks green tea and chamomile tea often, the latter to help him sleep.
As for treating himself, he does that with pastries. Lemon mille-feuille is his favorite sweet, but he also likes macarons, cruller donuts, eclairs, creme horns-- any lemon-flavored french pastry, really.
09 What is their favourite animal?
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I won't cheat and say dragons.
Not much of an animal lover, honestly. You might think sea horses, since that's what 'Kaiba' means, but he finds them small and weird. If he has to pick an animal to be his favorite, he'd want something badass and cool, not small and cutesy. Big cats are up there-- like cheetahs and snow leopards. He also likes oxes and hercules beetles.
19 Favourite ice-cream flavour?
Lemon sherbet!
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deejadabbles · 4 years
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More YGO DWTS crossover headcanons!
@readerinsertfanfiction our main post was getting so long so I figured I’d spare our followers the frustration of scrolling trough it yet again XD
The producers who ship it till the day they die also know how to work the crowd when it comes to Anzu and Yugi’s teasing, non-confirming remarks about their possible crushes on each other. The producers pull up pics from their high school years, one where Yugi’s blushing as Anzu puts her arms around him, or ones where Anzu seems to be looking more towards a certain cute friend more than anyone else in the pic or even the camera itself. Fans love and hate it especially since the two are experts at “Oh yeah, I remember thinking how nice her hugs are while taking that! Anzu gives the best hugs :D” and “Well I mean, do you see Yugi’s adorable smile in that pic? How could I not look at him ^.^”
Also the judges commission a tank top for Atem with “The original YuZu shipper” written on it so he can wear it during practice session. It’s now his fave shirt and is unashamed when photobombing Yugi n Anzu’s Instagram posts while wearing it.
But what other couple are they going to tease the crowd with? Imagine them deciding the song for Atem and Reader’s final dance and it’s something like Do I Wanna Know by The Arctic Monkeys or maybe something more sweet and romantic and just flat out says “Yes they’re in love!” like Roses and Violets or Sleeping At Last’s cover of I’m Gonna Be 
Also lets not forget Jou and Honda, who were the first ones to post “OMG did they just kiss??” during their live tweets of the finals. They also roast Kaiba during the whole thing “Lmao his partner isn’t even smiling in any of the backstage shots, feel bad for the poor girl” and “You call that a tango Kaiba??? Seen more passion in a plank of wood bro”
After the finals, at first, even Atem and Reader themselves aren’t truly sure where they stand, there’s definitely too much between them now to deny anything in private, but who really needs to talk about it? So what if they spend the entire wrap party within arms reach of each other (and some of that time actually in each other’s arms)? Who cares if they decide to go out to dinner the next night to celebrate their spot in the finals in private? And all those shy smiles and lingering glances and casual touches?? They speak for themselves, no one really needs any labels, and as the weeks post-finals go on they know what’s between them without a doubt, and with out words.
And dear gosh all the posts during the ensuing holidays! If Christmas wasn’t bad enough (people are still meme-ing the shot of Jou and Honda post-accidental mistletoe kiss) news years is even worse because reader is once again showing up in the gangs photos of the party, and when midnight hits Atem posts a pic of him hugging reader, lips pressed to her forehead #happynewyear #newyearskiss #bestpartnerever ATEM DO YOU MEAN PARTNER AS IN DANCE PARTNER OR?????
And Valentines day! Oh, oh v-day. Reader makes some posts of melted chocolate with the caption “making special chocolates for that special someone <3″ but then she posts reactions of her passing them out to her bff, and literally everyone in the gang not just Atem. ExCuSE YOU GIRL we saw the singular wording of your post, we know you passing them out to others is just a ruse!! Right...right?!!
The most ingenious thing to continue this will-they won’t-they though? The DWTS team deciding to host a “champions” season where the fan favorite finalists from previous seasons come back to compete again! Guess which couples are at the top of the list *wink wonk*
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get-chazzed · 3 years
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@lemusegallery​
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"Pah!" Jack snorted over Majoume's comment and also roasting at him.
"Please! At least the ones who brought me down in a fair duel. Especially Yusei and Yuya proved themselves worthy of being a true duelist to my eyes as well as worthy of getting a taste of my soul monsters. But mark my words I will regain my throne in my own way. That is a fact." Then he paused for a moment as he sipped his black tea and added.
"Though I cannot say the same for you, Manjoume Jun. Especially with the choice of monsters that you bring. Plus, I am nothing like Kaiba Seto in any regard."
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“A toast to the lost throne you will definitely regain, then, King,” he said sarcastically. “Bottoms up.”
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“It’s funny you should mention being defeated by worthy duelists- like Hell Kaiser, Edo Phoenix and Yuki Judai are no-name good-for-nothings. Since, you know. I’m in their league? And have actually secured victory against them at times? And Yuya. Please. He’s like what, 5? Have some self-respect, old man.” He shook his head as he finished the sentence.
“Oh, yeah, I’m very sorry for actually being good enough at Duel Monsters to manage to win even when using Ojamas.”
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steve0discusses · 5 years
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Yugioh S4 Ep1 Part 2: The Soul Stealing Motorcycle Card Gang With an Australian Accent
So a lot of things that happen at once in this episode, and one of the wild things is something that has been building for 3 entire seasons of Yugioh but because all this other stuff is happening, it’s like...secondary. Slowly, we’ve been watching all of these cards becoming more and more real to the point that yes, they are in fact Physical now--other people are noticing, it’s finally happening. the cards are finally real. Magic exists. This is a very big deal.
Like I’ve seen some of y’alls comments about how S4 is kind of crazy and well...cards becoming real was my one and only guess as to what crazy thing could happen in S4 and that happened halfway through the first episode so...it’s all uphill from here
But what’s crazy about this is that although this has been built up for so long,  all our main characters are so freakin distracted, that they look up at the sky and see...youknow...this tapestry here:
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And treat it like they’re looking at a flock of really weird birds or something. Like this is world breaking, terrifying, end of the world, Independence Day level red alert and yet instead of the military marching down and shooting lasers at all of these things, everyone is going to just simply walk home.
No one is going to evacuate. Yugi’s Dad isn’t going to show up in a Mad Max style motorcycle in jean cutoffs and be like “I knew it was happening, Son, this is what I’ve been doing for the past 3 years PS, it was worth it now, huh?” no, that isn’t happening.
Instead we’re going to very patiently, and very carefully just not panic and walk home.
Everyone’s just gonna...walk on the sidewalk home, huh? Patiently follow traffic laws? Wait for the light to turn red and everything?
No one even slightly wants to know what any of these monsters taste like? Just me? I mean this is your one opportunity to cook and eat a scapegoat and you know that thing’s got to be delicious under barbecue sauce.
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And the funny thing is, people saw this happening and was like “I should call that game company and let them know that there’s real ass dragons that look like their video game flying around.”
Like imagine that Nintendo became real and there’s just...Goombas everywhere. Would I be...calling the Nintendo Hotline?
Hell No. I would be checking all food blogs everywhere for how to roast a Goomba on a grill, because you KNOW those things would be nuts after a few hours in a marinade, draped with fried egg on rice.
But in Yugioh, they’re like calling up Kaiba Corp and hoping that customer service can somehow make the living, breathing dragons and whatever that flying turtle thing was just...stop existing. They’re pretty sure Kaiba can “turn off” the flying monsters.
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I think I’m still spelling it wrong, too.
Also, Kuriboh is real now and that...sucks.
That’s a lot of gross hair just flying around and I guarantee it’s gonna give everyone lice. That nasty ass sentient ball of hair you pulled out of your shower drain is just...flying around outside with huge googly eyes.
Freakin sucks. You can’t possibly eat a Kuriboh, it’s way too much hair and I guarantee when you skin that thing it’s like just a meatball to put on the tiniest little skewer and that’s it.
Sorry Bro just informed me that Kuriboh is a ghost??????
???
Also one of the cards is straight up an American Quarter.
I just want to bring up that there’s one (1) cursed ass American Quarter somewhere on Earth and that is going to be a real shocker for the one person that picks up that Quarter and doesn’t realize that when you flip it, it can kill people.
And I just did hunt to figure out what the hell the quarter card is called and I’m starting to think maybe the the show made it up? Wtv my memory is patchy when it comes to the cards.
And for all the cards that are just people but with more muscles, what are they gonna do? Is Dark Magician gonna have to go try and get a reception job to pay the bills? Is anyone going to hire Dark Magician in this economy?
(read more under the cut)
On their pleasurable walk home amongst all the horrible abominations and I guess a couple of bizarre magician hats floating around, they come across...this:
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They just left them there in the middle of the street next to this nasty ass Gecko that would ABSOLUTELY eat them.
Also that Gecko...that’s just an alligator that can climb walls, right? Like this is Florida level of insane terrible creature you never want to have climbing walls? That was the one thing we had on alligators--vertical walls.
Youknow, Florida is probably the only place on Earth in this Universe that is actually completely fine.
On the other side of town, Roland is having his best day ever.
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I do enjoy that Roland's line was “Mr Kaiba assured me that it’s not their company’s fault” which makes it sound sort of like he had some serious doubts. And might still have some serious doubts. And that he’s so sure that it was Kaiba, that he’s just going to say the “company” isn’t to blame.
And so they decided, well instead of evacuating the city, lets go have dinner at the Muto house. So, they all decided to not check in with everyone else’s parents and family and instead had a fun hang out sesh and watched TV.
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They went to school with this guy.
Like they went to school with this guy like a month ago and now he’s giving press conferences in front of a dictator-style tapastry.
The imposter syndrome in Domino High must be pretty wild if you’re always getting compared to Seto Kaiba, is all I’m saying. Maybe that’s why the rest of the class has just decided to drop out.
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*Cut to Pegasus’ island where there’s like 80 dead wife zombies running around and Pegasus and Croquet have locked themselves into the bathroom while they watch the zombie wives eat whatever’s left of PaniK.*
It looks like my dream ending of Yugioh, that Seto Kaiba’s company gets sued to hell and back and everyone goes to prison isn’t quite realized yet but it’s looking slowly and surely more real every day.
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Kind of surprising that they assume so quickly that Kaiba is lying when they’re sitting next to Pinocchio over here.
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So once you think, well...they can’t add more to this episode, no, we’re just gonna straight up knock out Yugi’s Grandpa...again. He needs a life alert. Does Yugi wear a life alert?
And you’d think they’d assume that a monster did this, right? Nah. It’s people. Real ass people did this but not one of the many huge ass monsters that apparently are kind of like Pokémon and don’t feel like doing more than just flap their arms and sit on stuff.
Anyways, the God Cards are gone. Goodbye, Deux ex Machina cards.
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Feel a little bad for the one building just directly under the shadow of obelisk, looking up and just seeing a giant, glittery, blue ass.
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And then a whole bunch of motorcycles showed up??? Like MOTORCYCLES. And I was like “BRO are they gonna play cards on motorcycles!?” because one of the only reasons I decided “OK Bro, lets actually watch Yugioh” is, and I’ve said this before, because someone mentioned on twitter that they’ll play cards on motorcycles but no.
No one plays cards on motorcycles this episode, they just show up to rev their engines and shine their brights.
Also at least one of them has like the thickest stage Australian accent and it is...rough. He said “bum” once instead of “butt” and you could tell it was just...they said bum to make him sound a little bit more Aussie because we don't really know how to do Australian in the States. We don’t know how this accent works, I’m so sorry.
But anyways, apparently after the God Cards got their energy sapped out, they can now just...be played by whomever? Not entirely clear.
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And then they just...drove away.
Like they drove away without even telling them where to go?
And I was like...maybe they just went to that building under construction right there that is...somehow directly across from Yugi’s house which is...directly across from a super wide 12 laned street?
But...that can’t be right, right? I’m sometimes a little confused by the geography of this show but it’s a cartoon and they’re hard to make so we’ll forgive it.
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Anyway, while Grandpa Muto counts up the damages to send to the insurance company, they figure out where to go, probably by following the God Cards which are...summoned here like holograms although...they are real? Right?
Like...
...so if there’s monsters just flying around, and it’s all the monsters of the duel monster deck, then there is a version of Slither just hanging out somewhere already, right? Or is the one they summon with the card the real Slither?
The show never thought that hard about it honestly. You can both play duel monster cards which I believe are no longer holograms when you play them and also they just inherently exist now so...Lets not think about it and just go to a brand new fight club roof. You know how much these kids love construction equipment.
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Also is this the roof of a freakin IKEA? Look at the size of that thing.
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This cultist just begging for Seto Kaiba to run a helicopter straight into him. Which Seto would probably do all over again if Seto were here.
I guess Seto decided to either go the hell to sleep and hope tomorrow will prove today was a bad dream, or he is celebrating the very best day of his life with his brother, sight seeing all the dragons and desperately trying to lure the dragons into his home with carrots under a box trap or something.
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This guy ABSOLUTELY does Shakespeare in the park and only gets like minor, very minor roles, right? Like he’s the understudy for King Lear’s manservant who has no speaking lines and just pours water into a cup in one scene? And he takes it VERY seriously?
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Yo these side burns.
So bro was like, who do you think would have more product in their hair? This guy or Yugi? And it’s like..well...here’s the thing about Yugi’s hair, he’s got a lot of product, but he has enough scalp to tease the hell out of it. But how do you tease your side burns? How do you tease your side burns so they have the lift of an old timey moustache? you can’t. Those side burns are 90% Elmers glue.
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Hello there, offbrand Final Fantasy guy I see you got a Cloud shoulder pad but you wear two of them.
...
It’s a look they chose.
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I...there’s a lot going on with all of these looks, especially the guy who is straight up wearing pieces of armor on his shoulders in the middle here for no reason but oh I will get to the looks when we see them in more detail later.
But it’s like, do you think Mr Monocle, who’s only character design trait is a single Monocle, will stay in the show very long? Compared to these guys?
Hm.
I guess we will see.
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Thanks, Pegasus.
Thanks for giving us absolutely NO heads up about any of your disaster cards you produced and let loose across the world. Congrats on that. Congrats on printing this freakin card that steals people’s souls and delivering it out there where children could find it in their happy meals.
Like do you think he printed the Orichalcos card before or after the God Cards? Because I’d like to think that he finished up shoving the God Cards onto Ishizu and then was like “phew, crisis averted” and then immediately painted a weird geometric shape and was like “Damn it! I did it again!? Every time I decide not to paint my dead wife I just paint something even worse!”
Anyways, it’s aesthetic takes me back to a much simpler time of my life, and when it shows up the Titanic song pops up in my head? I can’t explain it. It’s just very...very...
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It just screams edgy Riverdance to me, maybe it’s just me, but I feel like it should be accompanied by Enya? Just me? The runes just seem very old world Europe.
Bro really wants these to be the runes above Noah’s fireplace and he’s been holding this in for like an entire season, but that’s not going to happen.
Because I have the receipts:
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Evidence again that Noah’s fireplace was just what Noah thought art was, since he’s a computer and all. He rendered perfect fire and then got to the art and was like fuuuuuuuuuuu just like anyone else who first gets into Unity.
Anyway, Joey got knocked over, so Pharaoh decided to save his friends and it got him nowhere because, like we already figured out last episode and basically more and more every episode of Yugioh, Pharaoh is a freakin idiot.
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So fun fact about the 00′s I’m sure everyone here fondly remembers unless you’re 12 (in which case, why are you on tumblr?) Remember how much we were OBSESSED with glowy blue-green lines and dots on everything in concept art? I really think that trend lasted until about James Cameron’s Avatar when we realized “we took it too far y’all” and then it just kinda died. Still hangs around, but it’s not quite as obvious as the 00′s when it was like “ah I see you have a glowy pastel magicky thingy in your art. A+, lets put it in a grimdark dystopian YA fiction.”
...It was a phase and seeing this shade of green as a glow just really brings me back to the halcyon days of a little less than 10 years ago. It’s very something that would have been in steampunk.
They also get this logo on their head when they use this card, just like Pharaoh but significantly less cool. And it’s on all this guy’s monsters too, so everyone gets the power of branding. With this logo that looks like a joke Portlandia would make about indie logos.
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Pharaoh kind of shrugs this off because like...his soul lives in a freakin necklace and he has magic so...whatever.
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And then we get the full cheese spread--look at this cheese!
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WOWOWOWOW
Look at Dieselpunk Amelie! Here I thought that now Marik wasn’t around we’d have no more stupid crop tops, but it’s back and man I am so happy it’s back. Damn. Everyone has a popped collar covered in as many square inches of belts as they could fit on em. Belts just hanging off willy nilly in every direction so you can barely walk through a hallway without your belt slapping on the edges. Them walking through a revolving door must be the most dangerous game outside of Duel Monsters.
woah.
Oh man, and I didn’t even noticed that they made the middle guy ripped as hell for no reason. His arm looks like a Payday candybar.
But MAN.
Someone give that guy on the right a sword the size of himself because...holy hell his jacket is so massive that it has an accordion shoulder pad for some reason???
Oh shoot I didn’t even realize guy on the right has about 6 rivets on his fingerless gloves, too. Wow.
Oh man it’s a lot to take in.
Do you see em? Do you see how many weird ass accessories are all over these characters these underpaid animators will have to draw SO MANY TIMES?
Oh man, the poor cosplayers! It must be so hard to go from Bandit Keith--a fairly easy cosplay--to the Accordian shouldered 11-belted jacket on Mr I-Dare-You-To-Cosplay-These-Sideburns.
And then this guy screws himself:
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I’m not gonna add him to the Yugioh Death Counter yet, but I have a feeling, especially after seeing how few belts this guy has on...I just have a really strong feeling he’s absolutely going to die.
Goodbye, normal guy, you were too normie for this bizarre world.
Anyway, feel free to leave in the comments, if Yugioh cards became real, which one would you immediately eat and how? (and we can count plant cards as actual plants for the vegans, even if they can talk or whatev--them’s plants, they’re kosher.)
(realizes I have no idea if there’s even plant type cards in Yugioh or if that’s just a pokemon thing)
Anyway that’s all for now but if you just got here, this is a link to read all my Yugioh recaps in Chrono Order, fair warning...this is S4.
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alectoperdita · 5 years
Text
Fictober - Day 16
prompt: 16. “Listen. No, really listen.” fandom: Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters pairing: Jounouchi Katsuya/Kaiba Seto rating: PG warnings: none a/n: more post-canon MUA!Jou (part 1, part 2, part 3). have some Jounouchi POV 
Yep, Kaiba was definitely pissed. His white coat flapped behind him like a war banner as he stormed away. 
Jounouchi wondered, not for the first time if he’d miscalculated. Some of his friends would be quick to point out he’d always been shit at math. Honda, in particular, would say he’d screwed himself by messing with Kaiba in the first place.
He ran a hand through his hair, not caring if he messed up his styling. He knew he’d been playing with fire. Of course, he did. This was Kaiba fucking Seto they were talking about. Narrow-minded. Pigheaded. Enough pride and ego to steamroll God Himself on good days. 
Jounouchi never fucked his clients. Even he wasn’t stupid enough to make that mistake. But some good-humored teasing went a long way to helping them relax. It was Jounouchi’s job to bring out their best side.
So taunting Kaiba had been all fun and games. At first. Jounouchi had expected a return to old civilities, namely verbal sparring. Instead, Kaiba had asked questions. He’d listened as he flared his nostrils and licked his lips. All while a faint flush crept up his elegant swan neck. Before Jounouchi knew it, he’d descended into full-on flirting. He wanted to touch Kaiba more. To apply direct skin-to-skin contact and see how he’d react.
He blamed it on Kaiba’s stupid face. Jounouchi had always been a sucker for a pretty face. Unfortunately, that weakness only grew worse with his current line of work. God, Kaiba was easy on the eyes. He'd always been tall and lithe, but he used to clash against the backdrop of the world in the same way poisonous animals wore bright colors as a warning. Age had blunted some of the sharper lines and angles prominent in their teenage years. It made him more approachable—human even.
If Mariko hadn’t interrupted, Jounouchi definitely would have done something impulsive he couldn’t take back. Whatever fantasies he harbored after that should have gone with him to his grave. But his gigs kept intersecting with Kaiba’s media obligations. He did his best to keep his distance. He knew better than to linger too long around temptation. 
He couldn’t hide behind his usual shield of professionalism at Yuugi and Anzu’s party though. Sure, he was happy for his friends. But he was also jealous. He’d been single for two years since he and Mai split. He didn’t pine for her, and she was now married. What Jounouchi missed were the connection and intimacy. Sex also didn’t hurt. Throwing himself at Kaiba had been a stupid move. But there was something heady and delicious about being wanted, especially by someone like Kaiba. 
He had looked forward to seeing Kaiba again. Hell, he’d been looking forward to today’s gig all week. He just hadn’t expected Kaiba to react in this way. Aloof, maybe. Be his usual smirking dick self, sure. Either of which Jounouchi could have easily managed. Instead, Kaiba acted as if Jounouchi had murdered his entire family. Why the hell was Kaiba so angry? It didn’t make any sense.
“Jounouchi-kun, we need you for a touch-up,” said the PA who stuck her head through the doorway and was gone just as quickly. 
Already? That was fast.
Sighing, Jounouchi slipped a few brushes and compacts into his apron pockets before heading to the studio. As usual, the lights were blazing, hot enough to roast a yam. Kaiba cut an imposing outline out of the charcoal gray backdrop. Their eyes met as Jounouchi approached. Kaiba narrowed his eyes before turning his head away in a deliberate snub.
This was why you shouldn’t sleep with clients, he reminded himself. 
Jounouchi touched up the foundation that had run under the studio lights. It was his own fault for forgetting to set it in the first place. He kept his voice low as a whisper, knowing Kaiba would hear him. “Look, can we talk afterward?” 
Kaiba’s glacial eyes zeroed in on him. He didn’t have the same qualms about controlling his volume. “I have nothing to say to you, deadbeat.”
He winced. It was never a good sign when Kaiba reverted to old duel-ring insults. Out of the corner of his eyes, he spotted the photographer throwing them concerned looks. He finished his work and stepped back to join the rest of the crew. If Kaiba wanted to treat him like an eyesore, he’d act like one. 
Kaiba’s hackles immediately rose after noting how Jounouchi stayed. Served the asshole right.
Uenoyama, the photographer, maneuvered Kaiba into various postures that emphasized his long legs and neck. Petulance flashed across Kaiba’s face every time he shifted positions. He was as stiff as a board. His face remained as severe and as inviting as an oni’s. He held himself so unnaturally that no amount of creative camera angles or posing would flatter the man. Jounouchi only grew more frustrated the longer he watched. Kaiba may not be a model, but he had enough publicity training to perform at the amateur level. Instead, he fought the photographer’s instructions at every turn, dragging out the shoot with his diva attitude.
It was unprofessional. Childish. Stupid.
“Fifteen-minute break!” Uenoyama snapped, He held an unlit cigarette between his fingers as he stalked out of the studio.
The PA immediately stepped up to Kaiba and offered him bottled water. Kaiba glared at her until she scurried away. The rest of the crew gave him a wide breadth.
Jounouchi snuck a peek at the day’s schedule. There were three more duelists scheduled to take their promo shots after Kaiba. The asshole’s inability to cooperate would delay everyone. Fed up on behalf of his colleagues, Jounouchi took Kaiba by the elbow and dragged him out of the room. For a moment, Kaiba looked like he might throw Jounouchi off. Then he wiped his face clear of any expression and allowed himself to be drawn away.
They took several blind turns down a handful of hallways. It didn’t take long before Jounouchi got turned around. He had worked with this studio before, but not enough to familiarize himself with the building’s layout. Hopefully, they were far enough from prying ears. 
He spun on his heels to face Kaiba, who fixed his gaze on a framed photograph hanging behind Jounouchi. He snapped his fingers in Kaiba’s face. This time he was ready to take on the full brunt of Kaiba’s wrath. “Listen—“ 
Kaiba opened his mouth to say something.
Jounouchi wouldn’t let him get a word in edge-wise. “—No, really listen, you need to stop that bullshit out there.”
Kaiba bared his teeth, his eyes sharp and steely like his stupid dragons. He looked ready to eat Jounouchi, but not in a good way. “You presume a lot to think you can speak to me like that.”
“I’ll ‘presume’ whatever! You’re pissed at me! Fine! Whatever! But do not—“ He jabbed a finger at Kaiba’s sternum for emphasis. “—take it out on everyone else in the studio. Do you even realize how far back you’ve pushed the schedule with your petty ass bullshit?”
Kaiba barked a razor-edged laugh. “You’re one to lecture me on professionalism, mutt.”
Oh, that stung. That stung way more than “deadbeat.” How long had it been since Kaiba called him a dog? Fucking years. He balled his hands into fists. “Imma hella lot more professional than you. If you’re only here to waste our time, get out. We got better things to do than entertain your fucking temper tantrum.”
“Watch your damn mouth,” growled Kaiba. He stepped forward, trying to use his height to intimidate Jounouchi.
“Fuck you. You liked my mouth just fine when I was sucking your dick,” he volleyed back with a vicious smile. Jounouchi should have outgrown this juvenile bullshit years ago. How did Kaiba always bring out the worst in him?
Kaiba blanched, then turned bright red. The turnabout happened so fast that it gave Jounouchi whiplash. But in that quicksilver moment, he spotted a breach in Kaiba’s defense—that spark of hurt that fanned the flames of his anger. Kaiba didn’t do fire-spitting mad. That was more Jounouchi’s territory. It was a diversion meant to distract himself and others from seeing the real issue.
Thoughts racing, Jounouchi reviewed everything that happened since Kaiba first stepped into the dressing room. Wait, Palau. How did Kaiba know about he’d gone to Palau? It wasn’t as if they talked about it at the party.
“Holy shit, that’s why you’re mad at me. You were looking for me…” Jounouchi gaped. 
“Don’t flatter yourself,” snarled Kaiba, but he took two steps back. 
“You gotta be kidding me. Ya got all prissy over that? What the hell? You couldn’t pick up a phone? It was fucking Palau! Not Mars. You’re the CEO of a multibillion-dollar corporation. I think you can afford an international phone call or two. Unbelievable!”
Kaiba’s expression shuttered. Jounouchi could practically hear the mental gates slam close. “Why bother? It’s clear there’s nothing left to discuss.”
He turned and left, once again leaving Jounouchi to gawk after his swishing coattail.
Don’t worry, more of this tomorrow with semi-sexy results ;)
Check out other puppy/violetshipping ficlets I’m writing all #fictober19 long
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draconicmaw · 4 years
Text
Burning Skies (Prideshipping)
Note: Generally, when people do a Dragon AU with Prideshipping, Seto is the one who is turned into a giant flying lizard monster. So I thought I would turn the tables with this drabble.
I found this too short to post on either AO3 or FFN, but it was a nice little thing to work on to try and get over my writer's block.
***
Kaiba froze where he was crouched in the brambles.
In the clearing, the massive beast slumbered. Great sleek expanses of ruby red scales. The underbelly plating was glittering gold and abyssal charcoal. The wings, one furled and the other tucked over the huge head, were stripes of gold and black and scarlet all nestled starkly against one another. The broad red back rose and fell with each of the beast's sleepy breaths. The tail, thick yet elegant and tipped with golden bolt-shaped spikes, was curled delicately over four sets of relaxed, formidable talons.
Kaiba gulped. It was huge, yes, but it was small for a dragon, even a male one. But what it lacked in size it made up for in sheer majesty and color. He wished it would move its head or its wing so he could see its resplendent head.
But he made to slowly step back. It was better to let the bull sleep than awaken him. If Kaiba valued his life.
But a low, rumbling voice -- so deep Kaiba felt his very bones vibrate -- cut through the air and over the whispering of the leaves and the grass.
"I know you're there," it would have been booming like thunder if any louder, but now it was soft and sleepy.
Rustling -- that wing was moving, the long neck flexing, and then piercing violet eyes were squinting over at him. Red and black crests flared with curiosity, and long golden horns caught the streaming sunlight and flashed like fire.
Its tired huff of breath was audible. It shifted its position, more upright but still laying, wings tucked delicately at its sides.
"Come out. It's only polite to introduce yourself," the dragon continued, and though its deep voice was formidable and frightening, it held no malice. "It is, after all, quite rude to watch one as he sleeps." The long neck curved like that of a swan, and the magnificent head tilted.
Kaiba stared up at the sky a moment. Shit. If the beast decided that Kaiba was of poor company, he'd surely be roasted alive.
And Seto Kaiba wasn't exactly known for his splendid social skills.
But he carefully parted the bracken and stepped onto the uneven ground of the clearing.
He watched sharp violet eyes assess him quietly. His heart throbbed, and the blood rushing through his head made him dizzy and his vision blur. The beast turned its head away, and the great jaws parted -- fangs and tusks flashing -- in an impressive yawn.
"Pardon," the dragon murmured, wings tensed and flexing, a stinted stretch. It shook its head as if to banish the last of its sleepiness, and Kaiba was mesmerized by the flashing of scale, crest and horn. But then those violet eyes were suddenly affixed to him again, and the intensity and curiosity lurking deep within them made Kaiba shiver. "Mind if I ask for your name, human?"
Kaiba's fingers trembled, but he tightened them into a fist. "Kaiba. Seto Kaiba." His voice came out more composed than he thought it would. It even sounded terse, confrontational, his usual tone when he wasn't awestruck by majestic red beasts reclining in dappled sunlight.
"Seto Kaiba," the dragon intoned slowly, the tip of its tail flicking again.
Something shuddered beneath Kaiba's skin.
"Now you tell me yours," he choked out, somewhat amazed he could be so demanding in the face of such a beast. Humans were pathetic and easily swayed and intimidated, but this was a fucking dragon.
A fucking dragon.
The dragon tipped its head and hummed. It was a low, soft sound, but it rumbled through that armored chest like a growl. "Atem."
"Strange name for a dragon," Kaiba snorted.
A chuckle, it seemed, shook those plated shoulders. "Perhaps." The head lowered, more on eye level with Kaiba, and the crystalline depths of those violet eyes struck him dumb. "What brings you to these woods, so far from others of your kind, Seto Kaiba?"
His tongue was heavy in his mouth, but he managed to grit out, "Like it's any of your damn business."
The head arched back, crests flaring, and Kaiba's mouth went dry, but Atem seemed to find no offense. If anything, the dragon seemed amused. "Now, that's no way to talk. And of course it's my business -- this forest is my home, and I'd like to know the intentions of my visitors."
"I'd heard there was a dragon here. I'm a little disappointed. Figured it would be full-grown."
Kaiba nearly slapped himself. It wouldn't be the first time that his lack of a brain-to-mouth filter would get him in trouble, but it would probably be his first and last time getting singed to ashes for it.
But Atem snorted, and the faint smell of wood smoke drifted on the air. "Big talk from a frail human. Tell me, when you heard this tale, were you hoping to slay the dragon? Are you here to kill me as I sleep, Seto Kaiba?"
"No," Kaiba scoffed.
The bull hummed again, and it delicately crossed its forelegs. Massive black talons flexed languidly into grass and earth. Kaiba imagined those ghastly claws rending men into gory pieces. "Then for what did you seek?" Those brilliant eyes were shuttered by red lids before they were once again focussed unnervingly on Kaiba's face.
"I…" he paused and took a deep breath. He tasted sun and forest and fire. The beast seemed to bring with it the smell of ashes and flame. "I came here to see you."
Atem laughed, a thunderous sound, but it was melodic like the warbling of a songbird. Those crimson haunches bunched, scaled feet easily finding purchase on the grass, and then Atem was standing, so much more foreboding. Yes, he was a small dragon, but he towered over Kaiba, with his long, graceful neck and muscular tail and flaring wings that flushed brighter with color as they caught the dappled sunlight.
"And have you seen enough?" Those wings expanded further, and the deep voice was challenging but thick with humor.
Kaiba's breath caught in his throat, and his mind reeled with gold and black and the most beautiful ruby red and deep violet.
"No, I have not."
THE END
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dxmichelle · 4 years
Text
The 12 Days of Fic-Mas (Day 10): Sapphire Road Snippet
Ideally, the entire chapter would have gone up, but I simply ran out of both time and motivation to get it done by the end of this challenge.
Instead, I have the entire first section of Chapter 6!
Hermione reached up once again and pulled at the bars to the window, and like the other three times she had already tried this – they didn’t budge. She had woken in the tower facing off the cliffside of the castle overlooking nothing but a vast desert standing between the Witch’s fortress and a large mountain far in the distance.
She sighed, rubbing at her arms as she turned back around. The tower was cold. Whoever put her in here took her beaded bag, and with it, all of her supplies. Which made her pause – who pulled her from the flowers? They made her so tired when they were trying to cross. Was it the winged cat creatures that brought her here? Seto wasn’t in the room with her, so was he elsewhere in the castle? Or did they leave him, possibly injured or worse, back in the fields?
A stray flower petal was stuck to her shirt and she plucked it away. She didn’t seem to be hurt. At least not physically. There was something, a feeling that she couldn’t place, that something wasn’t quite right. At the least, she guessed it was from waking, disoriented, from a nap that was anything but restful.
How could it? She had succumbed to some sort of magical sleep, and woke on the floor of the tower room that was sparsely furnished. A small dais sat in the center of the rounded room, with a tall, hard armchair set up in front of a massive crystal ball that had to be at least ten times bigger than anything she had ever seen in Professor Trelawney’s classroom. Both the chair and the crystal ball were covered in a fair amount of dust. Clearly, no one had spent much time in here.
The door to the tower was large and felt incredibly heavy when she pounded on it before, and it was predictably locked. If anyone heard the knocking from the other side, they didn’t acknowledge it.
There had to be a way to get out of here. Hermione gave another glance about the room. A broken mirror hung near the barred window, a small table bare of any decoration stood along the opposite side. She didn’t see anything that could get the door open, or knock the bars off the window.
There had to be something around she could use. The last thing she wanted was to find out what the Witch had in store for her. She needed to get out and find Seto. They could regroup and come up with a plan.
She swallowed, anxious, as she peered as well as she could out the window and down the tower. It was a long way down. Getting out safely that way was out of the question.  She tilted her head to see around one of the window bars and felt something cool against her neck.
Hermione froze. She wasn’t wearing any jewelry. But when she moved to stand before the broken mirror along the wall, she saw herself wearing a strange, metal collar. It definitely hadn’t been there when she and Seto entered this world, or he would have said something. He was observant; there was no possible way he would have completely overlooked it. Someone must have placed it on her while she was unconscious.
But why?
Some sort of runic inscription wrapped around the center and around to the back but it was impossible to tell what it said and didn’t look like anything she had ever seen in her three years of studying various runes.
Hermione reached up to tug at it and immediately yanked her hands away the instant they touched it. It was hot. …But how was that possible, to be cold on one side and the complete opposite on the other? If she really tried to take it off, she was likely to burn her hands. Not an ideal scenario.
…Until she knew what it was for, it would just have to stay on.
The latch on the other side of the door clicked and it swung open. Two winged cat creatures leapt inside, followed by a rather short woman in a tall pointed hat and glittering red shoes that clashed horribly with her pink dress.
The Witch flashed Hermione a wide, sugary smile, one Hermione was all-too-familiar with, and like all the times she had seen it before, knew it couldn’t possibly be genuine.
In a world where everyone they had so far come across resembled people that Seto mainly knew from Domino City, it was quite a shock – yet surprisingly fitting – to see the spitting image of Dolores Umbridge standing in front of her
“Well,” said the Witch, her voice full of the false sweetness that Hermione remembered from those two years at Hogwarts, “Isn’t this lovely? It isn’t often I have visitors! How very nice of you to come and visit me in my loneliness.”
“I didn’t come here by choice,” Hermione said.
Umbridge raised her eyebrows innocently. “Oh? I thought I was doing the proper thing and rescuing you from my garden. The very one you and your friend were attempting to cross to reach my castle. Only a fool would make the journey through the flora without proper protection…and you just waltzed right in.”
So it was the flowers that did her in. Suspicions validated. “What have you done with Seto? Where is he?”
“Seto? You mean the boy who was with you?” Umbridge’s wide smile transitioned into something awful. “Nothing. By now, he’s probably dead.”
Hermione’s jaw dropped. “What?!”
The Witch stepped closer to the crystal ball in the center of the tower and raised her hand over it. “Come, see for yourself.”
Hermione eyed the Witch cautiously before stopping on the other side of the crystal ball in time for the grey smoke inside to start to swirl around and change colors. It finally cleared out showing the field of flowers , and Seto, sprawled out in the flowerbed alongside the edge of the hidden sapphire road. The faint bits of smoke still swirling inside the ball made parts hard to see, but she thought she saw bits of red along the side of his face, and she had to hope those were only broken flower petals resting on his skin and nothing else.
Knowing that the cat creatures had tried to attack them more than once though…the odds were not in her favor.
Umbridge circled around her. “I’m sure you’re aware by now of the natural sedative emitted by the flowers. Why, if one isn’t careful they could go down for a quick nap without anyone else the wiser. And naturally, the longer you breathe in their deceptively pleasant aroma, the more potent it is. And if there isn’t anyone to wake you, why, you could just sleep forever!”
Umbridge slyly grinned at her cat demons. “I had instructed my pets to collect you both, after all, but I’m afraid they didn’t feel safe. Not after he roasted one of their own.”
“But – he would have been asleep!” Hermione said, “There was no need to leave him there!” She turned back to the crystal ball, pressed her hands against the cool surface and looked down at Seto again. He appeared to be sleeping, but she could only see him from about the neck up. What if one of the creatures ran him through with his sword, and then just left him? He could be dying and they were so far through the field that no one would be able to safely get him out without succumbing to the flowers’ magic themselves.
“Please,” Hermione pleaded, starting forward towards the Witch. She must have gotten a step too close for one of the cat monsters swooped down, snarling at her, and she immediately froze. “Don’t leave him there, he could die!”
“Well, he could already be,” the Witch said with a dismissive laugh. “Bringing him into my castle would have been out of kindness. But he managed to severely hurt one of my little darlings. I don’t need that sort of danger in my home,” Her grin widened. “Besides. I don’t need him. Only you.”
What? “…Why?”
Both Umbridge and one of the creatures took a step forward, and Hermione took an equal step backwards, hit the armchair with the back of her leg, and fell into it.
“Why, because you have the gift, dearie.”
The what!?
The Witch tilted her head, studying Hermione carefully. There was a look aimed at her that she couldn’t quite place. They’ve never truly met before, yet there was some sort of angry recognition on the girl’s face. But to draw a blank look when speaking of something so obvious – did she really not understand?
“The gift,” said the Witch, “Magic. You are a crafter of spells, are you not?”
Hermione glanced back again, briefly, at Seto in the crystal ball and then back up at Umbridge. “Why does that matter?”
Umbridge laughed, and started circling around the chair like a vulture. “Oh, it matters a great deal. You came from Scarletton City, did you not? Surely those illustrious do-gooders told you all about me.”
She stepped up suddenly on the step before the chair and loomed in, smirking as Hermione shank back, startled. “So, tell me. What did old Mayor Kaiba send you off to do?”
Hermione avoided her gaze.
“Tut tut,” said Umbridge, tilting Hermione’s chin back towards her. She snapped her fingers with her free hand, and the picture in the crystal ball faded back, leaving the original murky smoke. “Eyes on me, dearie. Play nice, and maybe, I’ll send one of my pets to fetch your friend out of my garden.”
Hermione narrowed her eyes at her. “You don’t know? We can’t be the first people to come to your castle. There have been others who came from Scarletton City and were never seen again. What did you do to them?”
“Well now, it depends, doesn’t it,” said the Witch, looking fondly over at her two demon pets. “I’ve transformed a number of pesky intruders into soldiers for my bidding. But they didn’t have the gift that you do. Pesky troublemakers like you have to be treated a bit more…delicately.”
“Why does it matter if someone has magic or not?” said Hermione, “If you’re capturing them and transforming them into monsters, what harm can they possibly do to you? You’ve killed people, and ruined others’ lives…for what – a pair of shoes?”
Umbridge’s grin widened. “Aha, now we get to the heart of our little matter. You came for the Ruby Slippers. But why – what did the Mayor tell you about them?”
Hermione glared at her.
“Well, you’ll have to do better than that if you want me to go after your friend.”
Hermione scowled. “That’s it’s the most powerful artifact in the land…and that the Enchantress kept them in Scarletton City to keep peace across the realm.”
“Is that right?” the Witch laughed. “Is that what you were told?” She shook her head slightly and began circling around Hermione again. “The Ruby Slippers are indeed powerful, but they don’t belong on some pedestal in that glass prison back in Scarletton City. The Enchantress has no claim to them. I forged the shoes for my sister, known as the Witch of the East, and she was senselessly killed by the people and their lust for power. The shoes are rightfully mine and no number of traveling ‘heroes’ sent by the capital city are going to get me to give them up.”
She eyed Hermione, eyebrow raised. “What do you say about that, hm?”
“I have no reason to trust anything you say,” said Hermione, “For all I know, you’re lying to me.”
“And the Mayor of Scarletton City is any more trustworthy?” The Witch snorted. “You’ve known him just as long as you have me.”
“The people of Scarletton City aren’t the ones attacking anyone. You came and got your shoes back from the town, yet your minion still terrorize the towns,” Hermione snapped, “If it was just a matter of collecting a family heirloom, the attacks should have stopped. Face it – you’re benefitting too much from the power trip that the shoes give you and you use it to take pleasure in hurting innocent people! Perhaps the Ruby Slippers are better off locked up where they can’t be used to harm anyone!”
“And that’s not your decision to make,” said the Witch. “I will do whatever is necessary to protect what belongs to me. The little soldiers-for-hire that the cities send out – I don’t care about them. What’s another new pet to help maintain control over the land? But every now and then…”
She planted her hands along the sides of the crystal ball and loomed over it. “…Someone comes along with the gift.”
“Like us…”
“Oh yes. You are a problem that I soon will have eradicated.”
“I haven’t done anything to you,” said Hermione. “And clearly Seto and I aren’t powerful enough to touch you. We’re not a threat!”
“Mm, nice try, dear,” said Umbridge as one of the cat demons snarled. “Passing through the country on a nice little bounty quest? Of course you are a threat to me.”
She straightened back up. “But I needn’t worry for much longer. Your friend is going to die out in the garden. By now he’s probably breathed in enough of the poison that he won’t wake. And with the two of you having traveled so far into the thick of the field, there is no way anyone would be able to save him without succumbing themselves.”
Umbridge flashed a sugary triumphant smile. “And as for you…I think a change in scenery is in order.”
Hermione drew back. “What do you mean?”
“I can’t risk someone with magical gifts overcoming my transformation spells. It’s far too dangerous for me to keep you here. Which is why I have sent word to the Nome Kingdom. A courier will be here at dawn to transport you to the Nome King’s mountain, where you can join the rest of those so-called ‘heroes’ in mining for enchanted stones. And then I won’t have to worry about you ever again.”
“What’s to say I won’t escape and come back?” said Hermione. There was no way she was letting herself get shipped off like owl mail.
Umbridge let out a high-pitched cackle. “Oh, dearie. No one escapes from the Nome Kingdom. And even if you managed to do the impossible and get out of the caverns, you won’t be able to return to Šwt without magical means.”
Sensing the next question on the tip of Hermione’s tongue, Umbridge’s smile widened and she raised a hand to briefly pat at the base of her neck. “I’m sure by now you’ve noticed the gift that I gave you…”
She didn’t bother waiting for Hermione to acknowledge her. “That collar will suppress your magical ability, rendering it useless.”
The cat demons in the room swarmed around her as she moved towards the door. “I’d make yourself comfortable, dearie,” said Umbridge, barely turning her head to look back to Hermione, “Until the Wheeler’s arrive, this room is your new home. And I wouldn’t try anything funny about getting out. My protectors aren’t very fond of you and your friend. And without any magic to protect you….
She let her words sink in, and then smiled another one of her awful smiles. “Sweet dreams, hero.”
2 notes · View notes
ryouverua · 6 years
Text
Can this even be called training anymore
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Clammy, has chills, lethargic -
YEAH HE DEFINITELY HAS TO GO TO THE BATHROOM
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Are we all still buying this? Is this really the route we’re going???
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Kaito and this whole situation will end up being the death of me fml
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If anyone doubts how smooth Kaito is, never forget the moment he managed to pull this fast one over a trained assassin and a bloody detective.
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So after some general mood-setting stuff where Kaito, once again, is forced to confront the fact that his two best friends are introverts - both who he practically dragged out of their respective rooms on two different occasions to get them to socialize with other people - he takes charge. Considering he enjoys having an audience for his big speeches, I guess it’s a good match - though not so much for ~ conversation ~.
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“Are we really going to have our FTE now? In front of Shuichi? Isn’t that a little... inappropriate?”
“Kaito, Maki, what in the world have you been doing in your FTEs?!”
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I know this is supposed to be a nod to their budding relationship but the idea of him asking what her favourite blood type is, as in Kaito thinking that this would be a natural question to ask an assassin as an icebreaker the same way you’d ask a detective about his favourite mystery novel, is absolutely hilarious.
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Oh man when Sweetcheeks is calling you out for being bad at socializing, you’ve got a problem!
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but I was terrified to for obvious reasons
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Yeah, that’s actually a good question. What feels like 100 years ago, I made this note in reaction to Maki and what she said because what she said kinda made me react to... something, and actually sent me off on some of my original theories in the first place, about swapped, downloaded and/or fabricated talents. I mean, in the end it turned out she didn’t have that title at all but.... still. She was just so not into being a Child Caregiver, and she wasn’t exactly hiding it 8′D
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Kaito where do you even get off telling someone not to be direct -
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KAITO YOU ARE ABSOLUTELY RIDICULOUS
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I.... I can’t believe it.
Maki.... got Kaito to stop talking.
aha no I’m just glad we’re finally hearing something from Maki that isn’t her roasting someone else 8′D
also trying and failing not to reference fukuin or wammy’s house or w/e orphanage the Kaibas were from
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Makes sense. Since she was there since she was little, she was probably a fixture the others could rely on to always be there. I do find it a bit hilarious that kids love her, though? I’d say that ‘they know she’s all bark and no bite!’ but you don’t really get the title of ‘Ultimate Assassin’ without any bite!
I mean I guess if she dispatched kids the way she nearly did with Kokichi earlier, then the number of kids that like her vs not like her would becoming the overwhelming majority... >3>
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I get that Kaito is trying to encourage her because being an assassin is clearly not something she likes about herself but I feel like suggesting something else that she doesn’t like doing as an option isn’t... that... great either...
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Seriously, barely any of the students like their talent! It was pretty unusual in the last games for the students to disparage/abandon their talents, and it’s completely flipped around this game!
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THAT IS.... SERIOUSLY SKETCHY AS HELL.....
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Honestly I feel like that could have ended up even worse somehow.
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A ‘willing’ sacrifice, so-to-speak. It probably work out for whoever was in charge for the ‘talent’ to be doing it from their own free will, even if they were coerced into it. I think I remember from Maki’s FTE (I think I’ve only done the one, though) - it was fashioned after a cult, right? Or at least, that was the front they were wearing.
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Yikes. That’s... well, it’s super shitty. Explains the ‘no choice’ part, that’s for sure. So looking at the illustration, she can use knives and guns - but she doesn’t like katanas, if I remember correctly. How did they choose which ones she would go after? Did they need to pick up a ‘nobody kid’ for the sake of anonymity? Was she the only one from her orphanage chosen? I guess those are FTE questions...
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:(
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I feel like assassins come up in media a lot. Money is usually a big factor, but not so much when they’re meant to be seen sympathetically. I’m really glad they made the choice to tie being an assassin and her alias of ‘child caregiver’ here. It’s... interesting, though. Despite her declaration of not liking kids very much, she’s doing an awful lot for their sake. 
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I’m guessing these were the ‘walls’ Kaito was seeing around Maki. With that said, I imagine Maki has built these walls up over years - so how in the world did Kaito clue into the fact that there was something there for Kaito to ‘save’? Was it something in the library meeting way back in chapter 1 that tipped him off? He defends her without any particular reason (that we know of) in the chapter 2 trial and after her talent reveal, goes out of his way to include her in the group he starts creating. I like that it’s going this way - it’s a bit overdone, but I’m a sucker for this sort of story - but I’m trying to pinpoint the moment something happened to send Kaito down this path, and I can’t... quite... find it.
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Yeah... there is a 99% chance that you’re going to survive this. We’ve already had one ‘killer’ die, but that was only because it was part of his shocking reveal. If Kaito is going to lose to his illness, or be pushed to desperation because of it - and I’m still worried that DR is aiming to build him up just to push him off of his pedestal in order to reveal that he’s flawed and human, despite how he sees himself - Maki’s probably going to end up ‘carrying his spirit’ in the way Shuichi is carrying Kaede’s. For that matter, I guess Himiko is also carrying Tenko and Angie’s spirit forward, unless the game pulls a switch on me..
So that’s three likely survivors - which leaves two more (I don’t believe DR and them telling us there will only be two 8′/). I don’t think it’s a secret that I’m hoping Kokichi will survive because that could be wild, but if any of the others survive and have the same themes... K1-b0 and Miu could work as each others’ torch bearers, I think, so it’ll be one or the other (probably K1-b0?). And then between Kokichi, Gonta and Tsumugi... I mean, I’m seriously afraid for Gonta’s life this chapter. Tsumugi and Gonta seem to have a bond, so Tsumugi (or Kokichi, for that matter, he does seem to have a bond with Gonta) could carry on for Gonta? Or something? Or maybe someone else is carrying the torch for someone already dead and just hasn’t revealed it yet?
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Shuichi: immediately goes for the heartfelt, incredibly heavy words of sympathy
Kaito: damn that sucks
It’s hilarious thought because every time it works. Every!!! Time!!! It’s like his answer to Angie’s Atua-loving hugs!
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Shuichi’s face omfg I’m actually laughing -
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oH GODDAMNIT in the moment I was swept away by his motivational speaking, and I guess that was the point, but now typing away here after the fact I can’t get over the irony of Kaito spouting off these lines when he’s hiding being sick from all of them!!! SOMEONE NOTICE KAITO’S SICKNESS DAMN IT!!!
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God Kaito you’re such a sweetheart...
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AAAAAAAAAH NEW MAKI SPRITE! AND IT’S FUCKING CUTE WHAT THE HELL
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They’re all... smiling..... and it’s so precious... 
Please, please say this isn’t the last time they’ll be like this. I keep saying the Gonta and Miu death flags are waving nice and high, but this is also a pretty good setup for one of these guys to unceremoniously kick the bucket fff
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good fucking luck
39 notes · View notes
winkle-pickers · 1 year
Note
12, 27 and 29 for the wrapped writer ask!
HEY YOU!! 💖
12. How many WIP’s do you have in your docs for next year?
Um. Oh god. About a million. Including a Spider-Man/YGO crossover that's closing in on 100k words. (I'd vowed to never publish it, but if Ten Thousand Year Elegy is any indication, apparently my weird niche YGO crossovers actually DO have an audience, so...v( ‘.’ )v)
27. What do you listen to while writing?
I have a playlist for Ten Thousand Year Elegy that nonsensically contains everything from typical fantasy adventure music, to Bach, to Canadian folk music. For everything else I write I usually get utterly hyperfixated on a random song per chapter. In Occam's Razor these ended up being the chapter titles (◌˘◡˘◌)
29. Favorite line/passage you wrote this year?
OH GOD IT'S A TIE I'M SORRY I'M GOING TO CHEAT FOR THIS QUESTION.
From 'on fulcrums and floral blends:'
Mokuba looked at Hiroto expectantly, and Hiroto realized that Kaiba was going to be utterly useless in this situation. He cleared his throat. “Ahem. Do you wanna…do something together on Sunday, Kaiba? “I bet he does,” Mokuba said under his breath, so quietly that Hiroto almost didn’t catch it. Hiroto pretended he hadn’t, because he wasn’t prepared for the possibility of the world’s cutest sixth-grader roasting him with a disturbingly snappy innuendo. Kaiba finally managed a grunt that didn’t sound like one of his “fuck off and die” grunts. “You two should exchange numbers,” Mokuba said slowly, over-enunciating like he was trying to teach two gorillas how to speak Japanese, “so that you can figure out the details.”
From 'Ten Thousand Year Elegy' as the Yuugi-tachi follows a Korok through the Lost Woods. Honda has just asked the Korok how they navigate through the woods:
“So anyways,” Chio continued, “I listened real hard to that music. And I realized that the music is friendly! It wants us to find our way home.” “Huh?” Jounouchi said. “Who’s playing the music and how do you know they’re friendly?” “Keep up,” Chio chided. “No one is playing the music. The music is friendly.” “Okayyyy,” Honda said. “Got it. So to find your way around, you just...” “That’s right! Follow the nice music! It always takes me home.” “We’re going to die out here,” Kaiba deadpanned. “Probably eventually,” Chio agreed cheerfully. “Death is not so bad. You just fall down on the forest floor and sleep for a while, then all the little bugs come and make you into dirt, and then you get to be a home for plants. Maybe even a tree if you’re real lucky.”
Idk I just really liked writing the Koroks, they're so ridiculous and cute!!
Always a delight to see you in my askbox michelle!!! <3
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nolifepoints · 6 years
Note
“May all your marshmallows burn.” You choose the ship!
I know this has been in my ask box since December. Sorry for the wait! I got… a little carried away. I sort of wanted to contribute to Pridecember even though I’d never written pride before, but I also wanted to add another ship Cupcake likes, and… my brain chose puff.  Which I’d also never written before. Lol.
So, please, enjoy this silly fic about Jounouchi inviting everyone to a campout after Atem returns in a secret bid to get to know him better and promptly getting mad that Atem and Kaiba are “ignoring” him. :v
Post-canon, returned Atem AU, established pride, unestablished puff, 1.8k words.
Excerpt:
“Thought you hated‘em,” said Jounouchi, leering at him.
Kaiba shrugged. “No,I just don’t find them very exciting.” Nonetheless, he extendedhis stick and allowed the marshmallow to ignite. Atem did the same,taking the opportunity to brush shoulders with Kaiba.
“That’s it?Just… ‘not very exciting’?” Jounouchi squinted at Kaiba. “Youfeeling okay?”
Another shrug. Thelittle glance at Atem told Jounouchi everything he needed to know,and the encouraging smile Atem returned? Damning.
Atem crouched by thebonfire. As it flickered, the firelight drew out the shifting,alchemical hue of his eyes, a color Jounouchi had never been able toput a name to. So like Yuugi’s. But the face was different now –familiar, in the abstract, a song he could recall only in fragments.As Jounouchi watched, Atem inched closer to the fire.
“Just, uh… becareful,” said Jounouchi, wringing his hands. He knew,realistically, that Atem understood the boundaries of his physicalform – even before he remembered himself, he’d piloted Yuugi’sbody, after all. But part of him still worried, especially now thatAtem was mortal again – as far as any of them could tell. Jounouchiwasn’t eager to test it.
“It’s alright,Jounouchi. I can handle myself around fire.” A smile played onAtem’s lips.
“Right.”Jounouchi flushed. Atem had probably been around a lot more firesthan Jounouchi ever had, now that he could remember them. “So, youwant to-” He paused as Atem moved back and settled beside Kaiba.Several quilts were spread around the makeshift campsite (which wasreally just a secluded corner of the Kaiba estate), but of courseKaiba had taken up residence on the one furthest from Jounouchi. Ofcourse Atem had to join him.
“To what?” Atemblinked up at him, still smiling. At least he looked eager enough.
“Maybe… roastsome marshmallows?” Jounouchi indicated the bag at his feet,alongside several clean sticks he had gathered earlier in the day.
Atem rubbed hishands together. “Sure! That’s definitely something I’ve neverdone before. I’ve never had a marshmallow at all.”
“They’re hardlyremarkable.” Kaiba scooted a little closer to Atem. “Just sugar.”
“You’re hardlyremarkable!” snapped Jounouchi, waving a stick in Kaiba’sdirection. “Don’t listen to him. Marshmallows are great,especially over a fire.”
“Can’t wait,”Atem said, letting his leg touch Kaiba’s. Kaiba said nothing at all– only glanced at Atem, who met his gaze and smiled. This touch wasnot accidental.
Jounouchi sighed andbegan spearing the fluffy confections. Even if he had invitedeveryone, in his heart, he had done this for Atem. He didn’t needto know him to love him. He already did, just as much as he lovedYuugi. Yet, their entire relationship passed in the shadow of oneworld-rending crisis after another. They would always have DuelMonsters, but what else was there? When had there been time foranything else?
It was just… beingalone with him was a little intimidating. What if they reallydidn’t have anything to talk about but Duel Monsters? What if…
He just had to workaround it, that was all. Ease in. Get everyone together. Theimportant thing was that Atem was here again. If it lasted forever –great. But they didn’t know that, and Jounouchi wasn’t going totake any chances this time around. The problem was Kaiba.
(Wasn’t italways?)
He didn’t protestKaiba’s presence here, in theory. Aside from the fact that he letthem use his yard for their faux camping trip, Kaiba could use anyreprieve you lured him into. Jounouchi suspected that, if not forAtem, he wouldn’t be caught dead here.
It wasn’t likeJounouchi begrudged them their happiness, either. Atem was happy– Jounouchi couldn’t deny it. It was even kind of nice to seeKaiba smiling to himself when he thought you weren’t looking. Hecould pretend he didn’t have feelings all he liked, but it wasobvious to anyone who spent five minutes with him that he was one ofthe most emotional people on the planet. They just weren’t usuallypleasant emotions. It was a change of pace, anyway.
But did they have toalways do this? Right in front of him? Leaving him completely out ofthe loop? To make matters worse, it would be a while before anyoneelse arrived. He was the one who organized this, so he came early.Kaiba lived here. And Atem… probably had been here already.
When he handed themtheir sticks, something else troubled him: Kaiba didn’t complain.He didn’t snipe. He just… accepted his.
“Thought you hated‘em,” said Jounouchi, leering at him.
Kaiba shrugged. “No,I just don’t find them very exciting.” Nonetheless, he extendedhis stick and allowed the marshmallow to ignite. Atem did the same,taking the opportunity to brush shoulders with Kaiba.
“That’s it?Just… ‘not very exciting’?” Jounouchi squinted at Kaiba. “Youfeeling okay?”
Another shrug. Thelittle glance at Atem told Jounouchi everything he needed to know,and the encouraging smile Atem returned? Damning.
“Well,” saidJounouchi, “how nice to see the great Kaiba lowering his standardsenough to eat marshmallows with a peasant like me.”
“It’s… not sobad.”
Jounouchi paled. Notonly was Atem flaking out on him, now Kaiba was, too. Not thatJounouchi really wanted to get into it with Kaiba tonight, but theyhad – a certain relationship. It was just how they were. Somethinghe could depend on.
Apparently, though,Kaiba had more important things to concentrate on right now. Likesneaking his gloved hand over Atem’s beneath their coat sleeves. Ifthey thought they were being subtle, Jounouchi would hate to seeobvious. “May all your marshmallows burn,” he whispered.
“What?” askedAtem, head swiveling in Jounouchi’s direction.
“Oh, nothing…nothing at all.” He tried to grin, though it was more of a grimace.There was nothing like witnessing a flirt fest to remind you that youdidn’t have a date for Christmas Eve. Or Valentine’s Day. Or theforeseeable future. Not a single romantic prospect to speak of.
Well. Maybe one. Butthat was – no. Just a little gaming here and there, and even thathad probably only happened because Shizuka had to drop out of thecampaign for a while. If he’d made a habit of staying aftereveryone else left, laughing into the night, enjoying the company ofthe dungeon master… that wasn’t so abnormal, was it?
A rustle drewJounouchi’s attention. Atem sat up now, drawing his hand away fromKaiba, and started forward. “Oh!” With satisfaction, Jounouchinoted that both of their marshmallows had burned… as had hisown.
“Oh, come on…”Jounouchi yanked it out of the fire and blew furiously, feelinganother pang of satisfaction as Atem observed him and did the same,and his heart softened as Atem stared at his charred marshmallow witha furrowed brow. “Aww, don’t worry about it,” he said. “Somepeople even like ‘em burnt. You have to try it at least once,right?”
That did the trick.Atem brightened, and, before Jounouchi could stop him, popped theentire marshmallow into his mouth. His eyes widened, and his handsshot up, hovering in front of his face. “Hot-!”
“You gotta let itcool more than that!” He started to say something else, but Kaibaclutched Atem’s arm in concern, and nobody was looking at Jounouchianymore. Again.
“I’m fine,”said Atem, murmuring thickly around molten sweetness, though therewere tears in his eyes. He swallowed hard and stuck out his tongue,sighing as the cool air washed over it.
“Do you needanything?” asked Kaiba, grabbing Atem’s hand. “A drink?”
If Jounouchi had towatch another minuteof this…
“Hello, everyone!”
There he was. Anangel, here to rescue Jounouchi from this unfolding disaster – tosave him from his loneliness. And also from himself.
“I’m not late,am I?” asked Bakura. His eyes swept over the deserted campsite, andthen – over Atem and Kaiba, hands still entwined. “Ah.” Heflopped down directly beside Jounouchi, who could almost cry. Atleast someone was nice enough to sit with him. Very close, infact. As close as Atem was to Kaiba.
“Not at all,”said Jounouchi, peering down at him. It wasn’t the first time he’ddone this, of late – sitting a little closer to Jounouchi thancircumstance strictly necessitated. Until now, Jounouchi had chosento interpret this innocently: Bakura simply failed to register hisintrusion on Jounouchi’s personal bubble. He was, after all, soeasily distracted. Now, though… with their shoulders nearlytouching… Jounouchi swallowed. “You cold?”
But that wasn’treally the question Jounouchi was asking. Of course he was cold. Itwas cold. He wondered if someone as… self-absorbed as Bakurawould even pick up on it, but the look in his eyes when he noddedbanished all doubts. Steeling himself, Jounouchi draped an arm overBakura’s shoulder, and when Bakura relaxed against him, he relaxed,too. “No one’s really here,” he continued Casting a sharpglance at the others, he added, “We’re hardly even talking.”
“Sorry, I- got alittle distracted,” said Atem, scooching away from Kaiba. “Let’s-”
“No, no, don’ttrouble yourself about me now,” said Jounouchi, frowning.
Atem and Kaibastared at each other, blinking. “Are you… not having a good time,Jounouchi?” Atem asked, genuinely confused. “I just thought-since you and Kaiba don’t get along so well, we were trying to-”
How could Atem be sodense? Jounouchi’s free hand balled into a fist. “Me and Kaibaget along just fine when he’s not ignoring me!”
“Ignoring you?”Kaiba was just as bewildered now. “I thought I was…” Hewrinkled his nose. “’Behaving myself.’” Obviously not hisphrasing. Jounouchi had one guess for whose it was.
“It doesn’treally matter now. You can keep ignoring me. Whatever.” He squeezedBakura’s shoulder. “I have Bakura now.”
Bakura laughed andgave Jounouchi’s arm a mock slap. “Be nice. They’re justenjoying each other’s company.” Atem couldn’t help but smile.Kaiba set his jaw, but he didn’t deny it.
“I guess,”Jounouchi said, narrowing his eyes at them. He couldn’t keep thesulk out of his voice. “It’s just-”
“Shh.” Bakurasnagged a marshmallow out of the bag and shoved it into Jounouchi’smouth.
“Mmph!” Herelaxed and swallowed the marshmallow, flushing deeper as Bakura’sfingers brushed his lips on their way back to the bag. Satisfied,Bakura offered him another, gentler this time. He took it, wide-eyed.
“There,” saidBakura. “That’s better.” Leaning close, he whispered, “Thisweek was awful, and I didn’t sleep at all last night. If you wantto show them up, take advantage of my temporary lack of shame anddesire for companionship.”
“Um,” saidJounouchi, swallowing his marshmallow.
“Even if it’sjust to spite them, you know, I really don’t-”
“No!” saidJounouchi, managing to startle all three of the others, tearingKaiba and Atem from their own whispered conversation. Now thateveryone was looking at him, Jounouchi wasn’t so sure hewanted it anymore. “What’re you waiting for?” he said, wavingdismissively at Atem and Kaiba. “He’s right. Enjoy each other.”
They gave up andscooched back together. Atem’s hand found its way to Kaiba’s– perhaps emboldened by the current state of Jounouchi and Bakura. It wasn’t the end of the world. Jounouchi would have other chances
Bakura, on the otherhand, peered at Jounouchi, head tilted. “No?”
Jounouchi sighed,whispering back. “I mean, it’s not- it’s more than-” Heexhaled, gratefully accepting the marshmallow Bakura extended, givinghim a moment to think. “Are… you doing anything on Christmas?”
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Any ships you won’t write? | Pet peeves? | What is on your wishlist? | Short, medium, or long threads? | Favorite themes to write?
Mun Questions
Any ships you won’t write?
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[[Ah, y’know, just the standard stuff, I think. No incest, no underage business. (No, Seto won’t be hooking up with Mokuba or Noah for a million different reasons.) But aside from that, if we’ve had enough interactions to see that the characters have chemistry, I can end up shipping anything lol.
Oh, also, I’m not the hugest fan of toxic ships on paper, but I won’t take it totally off the table. Depends on how it’s set up and who it’s with, I suppose.]]
Pet peeves?
[[For better or worse, I kinda go with the flow with anything, so I don’t have too many of these. One that comes to mind is, if I give two or three options (usually deciding what kind of thread to do/muses I’m interested in/verses to use), getting “Any of those are good!” in response stresses me out. It probably shouldn’t-- I’m sure the other person is trying to be nice, and I probably should be forced to make decisions more often, but... to me, it feels like it puts a ton of pressure on me to decide what’s best for both of us. I need some input from the other person, or I won’t feel secure that the thread is something we’ll both enjoy. It’s why I give a list of options, so the other person can say which one they like best, and I’ll know we’re both into it.]]
Wishlist?
[[Answered here!]]
Short, medium, or long threads?
[[I’ll say medium, which is rich coming from me, because I’m queen of  responding to a single paragraph with, like, four. But three-ish paragraphs feels pretty comfy, enough to have substance (and write all that juicy inner-monologue) but not enough to feel overwhelming.]]
Favorite themes to write?
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[[I love writing characters having to act differently than normal, which probably stems from me playing so many cold/jerkass characters. Villains/anti-heroes having to play nice with the heroes for a common goal, cold and stern characters being caught in moments of extreme weakness and needing to ask for help, characters snapping and having breakdowns, magical influence/manipulation that’s causing a character to act evil/not like themselves, drunk threads, body-swaps, very-different AUs (like @countrybxykaxba), anything like that. 
Aside from that I’m pretty basic for the usual themes-- angst, fluff, occasionally slice-of-lifey stuff depending on what it is. I’m sure I can be incredibly boring to write with at times lol, I can and will write two characters talking/bickering for forever. It doesn’t even have to be an interesting conversation, I just like writing dialogue. I’ll find a way to write 4 paragraphs about Kaiba describing how he likes his steak cooked and the ideal side dish for it, and how if you eat mashed potatoes alongside a steak then you are disgusting and he wants you out of KC immediately, roasted potatoes are the only acceptable potato side dish and he will die on this hill--]]
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