#does isono have a full name???

[millenniummmbop]

Kaiba family outing for @dxmichelle​

o(*￣▽￣*)ブ

[likemesomesalads]

I know I keep reblogging ask games from you from my GW2 blog and I always feel guilty about not asking you one of them. I just don't know anything about your characters, but I want to. Might I indulge you to tell me about the lovelies?

This will be a Long one since I have many of them and not all of them is fully flushed out, but here I go!

First up my main: Thoernen:

He is a thief, literally, his occupation in his first 8 years was a thief. He ran away from his Wyld Hunt in fear of death and for years he tried to avoid any contact with undead or other dragon minions (not always successfully but always letting others solve the problems). Alas, in the end, he got baited into joining the Vigil and from there as a vigil soldier he worked against Zhaitan, eventually (following the personal story) forming the Pact with Trahearne and becoming the Commander.  After defeating Zhaitan he got a bit more confident in his work so continued to be the Pact Commander, forming a brotherly bond with Trahearne. Which made it really hard for him once he had to kill him in HoT. In the jungle, he also lost sight in his left eye and got several scars which made him look as miserable as he felt. Also in Maguuma, he saved an ex-mordrem, Dau who later ends up being his dear heart.  Personality wise as a sapling he is cheerful and keeps up the sight of that even after he runs away from the Grove and becomes Soundless, though as he fulfills his Wyld Hunt he gets more serious and broken even, especially after All or Nothing. He can’t take Aurene’s Death and steps off as Commander. he also loses his left arm because it was hit by a blast of Kralky’s and started to turn him branded, which he cuts off himself, not having anyone around. After he retired he and Dau moves back to the Grove to try and live peacefully.Aevelyhn:A helpful, tiny sylvari roaming Tyria and helping where she can. She doesn’t have a specific Wyld Hunt, rather she follows what she was in her Dream, which was helping others. She is often found in Divinity’s Reach, with her friend, Jaquline Du Ciel. She enjoys shopping for pretty dresses, dancing and practicing her elemental magic in her free time.Ainlon:A necromancer who awoken from the Dream with the face of Trahearne in his mind. He took it as a sign that he had to help him so after a few months of training himself, while Trahearne was in Orr and he waited for his return, Ain joined the Firstborn. It was a rocky learning curve to get used to living in Orr but he and Trahearne had a really good mentor-student, then a sort of brotherly relationship. He has a boyfriend, Quinlan back int he Grove who he always love to return to.Quinlan:Ainlon’s boyfriend and a gardener in the Grove. Mildly jealous of Trahearne being able to spend so much time with Ainlon, but knows Ain loves him and he trusts him.Sheara Swiftpaw:The leader of a Warband and member of the ash legion. Very skillful ranger has a pet stalker called Jul and loves hunting trips. She is very tomboyish and not very friendly, however, she does indeed have friends. A norn, called Rhaevee and an asura, Eaxxy.Eaxxy:Crewe leader in the college of dynamics. She loves to come up with new ideas which she usually forgets about as soon as she has the next, so her lab is full of half-finished projects and ideas. however, if she indeed finishes something than it’s the best it can be. She is rather sarcastic and loud. Has an unlikely friendship with Sheara and Rhaevee. Rhaevee:A journeywoman, who loves to travel and collect strange animals as pets. Has a big family with seven younger brothers. She is the only girl in the family which made her the protective big sister. She loves her family very much. They own a pub up in Shiverpeeks and make their own beer as well. Besides collecting animals she also loves to collect recipes from all across Tyria (and later Elona) and shares them with her mother who then tries to make them in the pub and home as well. She follows the Spirit of Raven yet her companion is a white wolf, called Morrigan. She saved Morrigen when he was a pup and his pack was slain by Sons of Svanir. She was led to the pup by a white raven. She is loud and strong, a true norn woman.Jaquline Du Ciel:A second born child in a noble family. She aspires to be a Shining blade member, currently a recruit, to be able to spend more time with her all-time crush so that she can live up to her idol, Countess Anise. Her best friend is Aevelyhn whom she loves to invite to tea and chat about the happenings in Tyria. She is a big lesbian and she does not hide this fact.Aeris Moonsong:Priory researcher and hobby gardener. She lives in Queensdale, near Divinity’s Reach and loves researching ancient artifacts. She also loves gardening but deadly scared of spiders.Cayde:Nightmare Courtier, Duke of Peonies or more commonly known as Dog of Faolain. He and his pod twin, Soléine were lured in a trap pretty much right after their awakening, by Inquest asuras. They both were curious and naive and paid the price for it. They were separated and experimented on. From the painful, torturous experiments Cayde turned to Nightmare and Faolain was there to welcome him. He has quite murderous tendencies and anger issues, resulting in him murdering many other courtiers and captives, for which Faolain had to assign a special ‘sapling sitter’ beside Cayde who can keep him in control. He is obsessively trying to turn her sister to Nightmare and kidnaps her from her loving home. Despite all of his flaws he has a boyfriend, @ascalonianpicnic‘s Aselif who he loves dearly and for whom he would do anything.Soléine:Cayde’s pod twin. She suffered the experimentations as well but was strong enough not to turn to nightmare, barely. She was saved by a group of soldiers, including Canach, who was the only one who could convince her to leave with them and the only one she actually sees as her savior. After she is rescued, she clings to him closely and they grow to love one another. She saves a half-dead fern hound in the human city and decides to take it home and heal him. and since then Isonos is by her side and she finds a passion for healing animals, learns more and becomes a vet.  At the time when Canach is in Maguuma Cayde kidnaps her ( or more like commissions @mystery-salad‘s Aezlin to do it for him) and tortures her, trying to turn her. That nightmare ends when the Court falls apart and she can escape, having again zero trusts in people and clinging to Canach just as she did in the beginning. She is shy and soft and loves animals and Canach.Lusus Naturae: They are Cayde’s 'sapling sitter’. Their pod was taken from the tree by the Inquest working with the fresh Nightmare Court in 1307. The name of the project and the one they ended up having was: Lusus Naturae (aka. Freak of Nature).  Their pod was just freshly sprouted so it had a lot of growing to do. Since they were severed from the Tree at such a young state they have no connection at all to the Dream, to the Pale tree or to other sylvari. It also caused them to take much longer to bloom. It took 16 years for them to be ready and when they were born, due to the lack of connection to the Dream, had the mentality of a newborn. The Inquest rectified the problem with connecting their brain to a computer and uploading the needed data which had them very confused for a while. (The implant which they used to do that is still embedded in the back of his neck.) After they were deemed to be a somewhat successful experiment, not counting that it took them way too long to awaken, and another series of tests, in which they tested their capabilities and discovered their fast regenerating abilities (tested for limb loss, high blood loss and many more which caused their Nociceptors to  shut down, thus they are unable to feel pain.), the Court took them over and they worked for them ever since. First, they worked under a Duke who was a Mesmer and learned from them (eventually broadening their abilities and learning Chronomancy by themselves), but a few years later they were assigned to keep another Duke, Cayde in control for his murderous tendencies. They work with him ever since.Tristrham:A revenant who is not at all proud of his abilities. He got his revenant powers by letting his guildmates die in the Mists when they accidentally found a way there. He actually had to kill one of them himself to be able to escape. (He killed more but didn’t want to think about it and we don’t talk about it. They basically were killing each other due to illusions.) Since he is out of there and once he got used to the voices in his head he went on about in the world, working as a mercenary, ending up in the Heart of Maguuma, where he was fighting to not give in to the voice of Mordremoth. He pulled it off for quite a while and giving in practically just before he died, so he has a short mordrem past, of which he doesn’t remember nor he wants to. After the jungle, he took a little break, trying to relax and heal but eventually ended up joining the Pact and is there ever since.Xeneviev:A spy in the Grove for the Nightmare Court. He joined the court because he has a HUGE crush on (again) @mystery-salad‘s Aezlin and he didn’t have much of a love for his supposed to be purpose either. In the Dream, he saw himself in nothing more than endless fields and mud and he really wasn’t about that. He hated it to the core so it wasn’t hard for him to throw that away for something more intriguing. He loves fashion, Aezlin, doing his job right, Aezlin, designing outfits, Aezlin, looking good and, you guessed it, Aezlin.Dau:His full name is Daulion but he doesn’t like that, so just Dau. He was in an abusive relationship with a courtier, named Alvanil and it took him years to be able to run away. But as soon as he did Mordremoth awakened and he was too weak to not give in, so he became a mordrem. He doesn’t have a lot of memories from that time but he still fears that he’ll turn mordrem again even after the dragon’s defeat. Thoernen saved him in the jungle after he successfully killed the jungle dragon and he fell for him at first sight. He joined the Pact and started to follow around the Commander, lending him a lot of emotional support in the desert, during PoF and they slowly formed mutual feelings and got together. Alvanil:Dau’s cruel, abusive Courtier ex-boyfriend. He loves to make others suffer, especially if they are weaker than him. Not many characteristics, only that he is an asshole. Gotta work on him more.Saberlily:Naive little sapling turned to Nightmare by Gavin, who is her mentor now. She kept her cheeriness even in Nightmare as she thinks there is nothing wrong with how the Court thinks. They want to free the sylvari and anyway, other sylvari do bad things too for no apparent reason. She loves sharp and shiny things. Has a very weird obsession with sharp weapons.Asteracéa:A soundless sylvari courtesan, living in Divinity’s Reach. He had to use his body as payment once he was stuck up in the mountains with no money or anything. (Not like he really had to have to but that was the first thought he had and it worked.) He ended up there by hiding from the Nightmare Court in a caravan. Ever since then he hasn’t returned to Caledon Forest and is a greedy, but highly requested courtesan. He loves to be fancy and even figured out a way to change the color of his body without much hassle. Has a roommate I am yet to name but he loves to hang out with him in his free time. He also obviously very much likes his job and the activities coming with it.Philix:A sweet, furry teenager, raised by two lesbian salads in Lion’s Arch. Works on the docks and as a part-time tour guide. Loves to get in trouble out of work and flirts a lot around. A true teenager.This two is not yet up in my character list, because I am lazy but:Endellion:You can call him En, Endy or Lion. Anything goes with him. He is a hairdresser/foliage dresser?  He loves his job a lot and doesn’t just excel at sylvari foliages he is great with hair or fur too. Residential in the Grove or  Mabon Market from time to time. A cheerful sunshine salad.Dhealaichte:He is Trahearne but not really. He is his reincarnation. Looks and sounds alike has his memories as well, but not his abilities. He bloomed a few years after the defeat of Mordremoth with the name Trahearne but he decided to change when he had enough of being compared to his previous life. He has no memory of his Dream this time though so he doesn’t have a Wyld Hunt.  Once Dheal was full of everyone wanting him to be someone he isn’t he left to discover Tyra for himself and then stayed in Lion’s Arch for a while, working and eventually learning to be a doctor. As the elonian refugees’ numbers grew he decided to go to Elona and help there, so as of now he is in Amnoon doing his best to help people.

[purplecladblondie]

KaiJou Week - Day 3 (Older AU)

A note before you begin:

This is told from the perspective of a very special OC.

I’m frequently asked, “What’s it like to have two dads?”

“Surprisingly normal,” I answer.

Although... Otousan can be a bit hard headed. And if you don’t know him well, you might think he’s cold hearted.

And Papa is… well, he’s kind of fiery, but he’s always upbeat and fun.

But both of them would do anything for me. They love me more than anything.

Papa checks to make sure I’m awake every morning, knocking on my door and using a sing-song voice to tell me, “Himeko-chan! I’m makin’ breakfast for ya!” I never go to school hungry, but I know he did.

I’m usually dressed in my school uniform and in the middle of putting on a bit of makeup when he calls for me. “I’ll be right out, Papa!”

It’s the same every morning. I finish my makeup, just a light layer of BB cream and eye shadow, with a hint of eyeliner to accent my eyes. It’s well within my school’s policy on makeup. I pull my dark brown hair into a ponytail and then gather up my school bag before making my way to the dining room to face the greatest uncertainty of each day, whether or not I will find Otousan sitting at the table.

He’s there today, reading glasses perched on the tip of his nose and his tablet in hand as he looks through work documents.

“Good morning, Himeko-chan,” he says, looking up momentarily to give me a smile.

I grin, happy to see him. “Good morning, Otousan.” I set my school bag down on the extra chair at the table and go give him a hug around the shoulders, leaning my cheek against his greying hair. He gently squeezes my arm in return.

I’m one of the few people who gets to see him like this, relaxed and smiling. It’s a privilege granted only to Papa, Uncle Mokuba, and me. I take pride in knowing that I’m one of the reasons Kaiba Seto smiles.

“Himeko-chan, can you stop by my office after school today?” he asks.

I unwrap my arms from around him and sit down in my chair to his left. “Yes, I can. Can I ask why?”

“Nothing too serious.” His blue eyes, the same shade as my own, are dancing with mischief, and I can’t help but raise an eyebrow at him. “I need your help selecting a gift for Katsuya’s birthday.”

“You’re slacking,” I jokingly admonish. “I already got Papa a gift two weeks ago.”

“That’s why I need your help.”

Otousan has never referred to him as ‘Papa’ in front of me, opting instead to use his given name. I don’t mind, but some people have told me that it’s strange. But what do they know about any of us? They’re opinions don’t matter, and I have no qualms telling them as such. It’s not as though Otousan or Papa care if I put people in their place when they’re out of line. They’re both too good at it; it’s only natural that I am, too.

Papa bursts out of the kitchen with a tray full of food. “Here we go!” he announces as he places the tray on the table in front of us, piled high with individual portions of miso soup, omurice, toast, and sliced strawberries for the three of us.

In unison, we say, “Itadakimasu,” and then serve ourselves breakfast. It’s quiet while we eat, mostly because Papa is too busy eating to say anything. He carries all of our conversations, talking about anything that comes to mind. He is the first to bring up his upcoming birthday. “So… my birthday’s in a coupla days, right?”

“Yes, Katsuya,” Otousan replies. “We’re both aware.”

“I was thinkin’ of invitin’ Shizuka and her kids over and havin’ a party.”

I’m excited at the idea of having Aunt Shizuka over. I can talk to her about girl stuff if I don’t feel comfortable bringing up to anyone else. Friends are well and good, but sometimes you want an adult perspective. She and I share a special bond, and while I don’t necessarily consider her my mom, she still is. She gave birth to me, after all. Papa wanted to have a baby, and Aunt Shizuka, his sister, offered to have me.

I’m sure it took a lot of persuasion to get Otousan on board with the idea. Knowing what I do about his childhood, I’m kind of surprised he ever agreed to have a biological child. But I’m glad he did. I’m always thankful for how much they wanted me. How much effort everyone went to in order to bring me into this world. And how much they still make me feel so loved and wanted.

“Just Shizuka?” Otousan asks dubiously. “I would have expected Yugi and the rest of them to be on your list.”

“I mean, I could, but I kinda wanted it to be just family, ya know?”

Otousan sighs. “If you’re making it a family event, at least invite Mokuba and his family, too.”

The conversation lingers on for a bit longer, Papa and Otousan discussing the specifics of who should be invited. I stifle my laughter as their conversation devolves into banter, exchanging light-hearted insults. I let them have their fun, scrolling through my phone. It’s 7:45 when I announce, “I’ve got to get going to school. I’ll see you two later.”

Their bickering comes to an immediate stop, and they stand up.

“Come and give me a hug!” Papa states. I do so, wrapping my arms around his torso. His unruly blonde hair is still visible in my peripheral vision as he squeezes me tightly against his chest. I’m about to complain about not being able to breath when he finally lets go. “Go and give ‘em hell, Himeko!” he says as he steps back, grinning ear-to-ear and holding out his fist, which I enthusiastically bump with my own.

“You got it, Papa!”

I turn to Otousan, who is standing back, but I know he wants to say goodbye to me, too. He always does, even if he’s not the best at expressing it. I sidle up to him and wrap my arms around him, and he returns the gesture. “Do your best today. And don’t forget we’ve got an important meeting this afternoon.”

“I won’t,” I assure.

He unwraps his arms from me, and I stay in place, head bent waiting for him to kiss the top of my head. “I love you, Himeko,” he whispers before gently kissing me. I know he does because he wouldn’t say it if it weren’t true. I stride over to grab up my school bag and give them one last wave.

“Love you two!” I proclaim. “See ya later!”

Together, they say it back to me. I dart out of the house, right in time for Isono to bring the car around, and when he opens the door for me, I slide into the back seat.

“Off to school, Himeko-sama?” he asks as he settles into the driver’s seat.

“Like always,” I reply with a nod.

It’s normal and routine. No different from anyone else, except maybe for the whole having a personal chauffeur thing.

And the only thing I, Kaiba Himeko, would change is having Otousan make it to breakfast every single day.

[rainstormcolors]

Okay, so the Super Maid and Isono are totally my fanon YGO characters and here are some details I’ve decided to build into them.

I’ve apparently named the maid Himeko (which translates in part to “Princess”), and she’s 22 years old. She’d been enrolled in medical school and was working as a maid at the Kaiba manor for tuition money. However, when Seto fell into a coma, Himeko became a full-time live-in maid to care for him, dropping out of university. She does not hold any bitterness for this in the end, and carries genuine love and tenderness for the Kaiba brothers. She’s closer to Mokuba, and Mokuba in turn is closer to her while Seto maintains a firm emotional distance. Himeko’s a quiet and introverted person, and she’s the kind of person who has stuffed animals in her bedroom, drinks chamomile tea, and part of her wishes she had a small pet like a hamster or mouse though she has yet to request permission from either of the brothers (Mokuba would say yes and she knows this). I have more details to her backstory that I’m hoping to reveal if I’m able to keep writing fanfiction.

I have Isono’s age set at 30. I believe he’s a relatively new hire, hired on to Kaiba Corporation after the betrayal of Seto’s previous employees in the name of Pegasus. He’s something of a right hand man to Seto, with oddly miscellaneous duties (Head of Security, personal security guard to the brothers at times, the announcer at tournaments but only if Seto is personally involved, etc). Outside of his work duty, Isono’s friendly, warm, and socially clumsy. Currently he’s single. He has an honest protective nature towards the Kaiba brothers. He definitely sends them small birthday gifts and New Year’s cards. I adore the idea of him growing closer to them; a family friend and maybe even a kind of surrogate parent at times.

[pharaohsparklefists]

EPISODE 90, ALL ABOARD THE TERROR TRAIN!! ~choo choo~

Everyone gathers around Rishid, who is still unconscious. It doesn’t make much sense to me that Jounouchi seems to be 100% fine while Rishid is approximately 0% fine, when they got hit by the same attack? You’d think it’d be more like 60%, 40%. If Rishid got hit by WORSE lightning than Jou did, then it’s even more unfair that Kaiba applied a “whoever doesn’t die” rule as a tiebreaker but whatever.

... This is a perfect mixture between “physical” and “psych” meaning I have no idea whether the doctor means the damage was physical or mental. I’m guessing physical, but this is SOME typo, lads.

OH HONEY. Maybe just leave now.

Jounouchi ascribes his and Rishid’s different reactions to their support networks or lack thereof.

No one was actually rooting for Rishid, so that’s why he doesn’t have the strength to get up. (Isis should REALLY have attended this match.) He tells the others how he dreamed they were there to help him up, which is a really sweet moment that he immediately sets on fire...

whyYYYyyyyyYYYYyyyYYYYyyYy

Like REALLY. What about Mai’s presence specifically in his dream is more embarrassing than either (a) anyone else’s presence in the dream or (b) anything else Jounouchi has ever done or said in public in his life.

I have never related more to Anzu in my whole life. #usefulscreenshot

So immediately, Mai identifies with Rishid: technically not alone, but with no one to rely on to cheer them on

The person who was just starting to place her fragile trust in her first ever group of friends withdraws completely to protect herself, which is VERY UNDERSTANDABLE.

She and Kaiba stand apart from the group, because they don’t really consider themselves part of it. Which is a damn shame because Kaiba REALLY needs a friend to critique his TERRIBLE one-liners.

that’s a low blow!

Meanwhile, Yami Malik starts as he means to go on: very politely

oh no wait I mean, murderously

Please note he has already divested himself of the lilac crop top, meaning he stopped off to change clothes on the way to his murder appointment, a fact which bizarrely means that Malik’s ostentatious androgynous dress-sense actually saves Rishid’s life. If Yami Malik hadn’t simply HAD to change clothes to better suit his dark and evil #aesthetic, he would have had time to murder him!

But the draw for the next pairing is being live-broadcast throughout the blimp, and yes, it’s Mai vs Yami Malik

... He’s holding up Mai’s ball (she’s number 4) and saying the name Rishid entered under, because they now know that Namu was a fake name adopted by Malik, who has now been replaced by his violent alter-ego, meaning that Isono doesn’t have the correct number, name OR person in this screencap.

Everyone heads back up to the roof of the blimp (sigh) where Mai is indignant

“What else would we do? We’re all trapped on this blimp and this is literally the only entertainment.”

Yami Malik opens with Revival Slime and the slime factory yoke that the Doll used against Yami. Yami tries to help, scared for Mai, but she shuts him down.

IS THIS TRUE?? Everyone’s been cheating like crazy!!

Anyway she turns out not to need Yami’s help, because she has Harpy’s Crazy Powerful Feather Duster in her deck, which makes short work of Yami Malik’s initial strategy

Triggering a wave of massive understatement from the watchers

“a lot of trouble” = he almost died

“creepy guy” = enthusiastic wannabe serial killer / cannibal

Wait. Cannibal??

APPARENTLY CANNIBAL

Like I know everything’s kinda More in the Japanese, and Yami Malik is pretty fucking creepy in the dub, so he was going to be More creepy in the Japanese, but I didn’t actually expect him to go full cannibal in duel one.

So, it’s time for a Shadow Game! Everyone puts their own spin on the Shadow Games they design: Pegasus’s were all show and drama but actually very straightforward penalties; Yami’s were obviously all tricksy and the penalties were supposed to teach the loser a lesson / give them a personalised punishment; Yami Bakura’s are deliberately terrifying and the penalty is just death. Yami Malik has his own spin, and his spin is psychological torture! 

He connects his and Mai’s memories to their Monsters...

Because he’s figured out that she’s insecure about her friendships and worried about being left alone. T___T

Not that he DOESN’T include death.

Jounouchi reacts with considerable surprise to this, the least shocking thing Yami Malik’s ever said. I mean, sure, Jou doesn’t know him very well yet, but he’s been introduced as the WORSE VERSION of the guy who keeps trying to kill people at the end of duels.

And so....

Mai’s Monster gets sliced in half and so does her memories of Anzu

#thatsfuckedupman

Because somehow, Yami Malik is better than Jounouchi / the Nerd Herd at recognising that Mai isn’t standoffish or a natural loner or too cool to care about friendship, she’s lonely, and now she’s watching her very memories of her only/first group of friends be stolen from her

T_____T

[card-gays]

Aaaaaaah, thanks for answering, that was so good! I love it. I actually squeaked, "They name her Amane, don't hurt me like this!" At the end because that was too sweet! I wasn't gonna ask about Prideship because I didn't want to spam your askbox, but your addendum about Atem's reaction to Kaiba saying their honeymoon could be at the space station was So Good that I /have/ to know, if you don't mind answering: what about Prideship?

I’m glad you enjoyed it so much! And akdfslkdj yeah sorry for the baby Amane feels but I just.. I love that headcanon A Lot. Hope the sweetness balanced it out ^^;

Now on to the goods… >w>

(fair warning, I said it’d be about a mile long, and I uh.. I delivered.)

PRIDESHIP & MARRIAGE

Atem and Kaiba are complicated people. Complicated in a way that means they tend to make better sense to one another than they ever do to anyone else. Which means, even to those closest to them, their relationship remains an enigma. Atem trying to tell Yugi about the significance of Kaiba’s wording makes him sound like a conspiracy theorist, except he’s actually totally right. Kaiba trying to explain to Mokuba in the first few months why it’s important that they don’t use the guest room Atem prefers for anyone else sounds.. equally like he’s completely projecting his feelings and imagining importance. And yet, he too, is totally right.

So one could see the fact that they operate a lot on subtleties a lot of the time, the sort of coded mutual understandings that only work between two people that somehow ask and answer each other’s thoughts multiple times throughout the series without explanation, and assume it will take awhile for them to grow as close as they clearly want to. The ultimate regency romance modern AU, essentially. But.. the reality is less simple. They’re more used to losing things than having them, so when they’re ready to accept how important they are to each other, they don’t really feel like wasting time. But they’re also far too nervous to be direct.

Which means Atem spends a great deal more time at Kaiba Manor than people would have expected, Kaiba takes a lot more off of his plate at work to make that be time together than anyone could have guessed. Atem stays late, and often, and while everyone else is shocked to hear when Atem is offered his own room there… Atem isn’t. Surprised, yes, but more touched than anything at the meaning of the gesture. There’s no ‘just to be polite’ afforded by Kaiba’s personality, so when he looks at him from the chair beside his in the gaming room one night when Atem mentions the hour and says “I had a room made up for you”, Atem knows he’s telling him it’s because he wants Atem to stay. Just like, when Atem tells him that it ‘makes more sense, thank you’ Kaiba can’t help the small, private smile. Because it doesn’t make more sense for practicality’s sake, Atem doesn’t live very far and none of his clothes are at the manor. He means it makes more sense because he doesn’t truly prefer to go home anyway. And all of this sits comfortably for them before so much as a first date.

This is important to the marriage headcanon because, for them, everything’s just slightly shifted in that way.

Because it feels to the both of them like they’re Together well before they are, it feels… ever-present, who they are always carrying them along that path even if they’re not On it yet. It’s there, it’s comfortable, it’s part of who they are and they don’t look for anything or anyone else outside of that feeling. But coming out with romantic intentions could disrupt that. To Atem, even if Kaiba’s interested he could still get spooked by too much too fast. And to Kaiba, after everything the thought of being turned down or Atem wanting to move out is pure agony. So by the time they’re both sure enough to share that first gentle kiss (on a business trip-turned-vacation to New York, one bad snow leading to them staying through New Years…), Atem’s already an established part of the household to everyone who lives and works there. Atem says “us” and “we” and “our” about the place, the renovations, the newly acquired art and technology. They go on what are family vacations in everything but name. Atem instructs Their personal staff, and even Isono slips and responds Yes, Mr. Kaiba by mistake one day because Atem is just….part of them now. 

And when they start to date, Atem moves his things into the master bedroom right away like he’s always been there. Because he’s always belonged there. 

(Kaiba murmurs one night, drifting close enough to sleep for unprompted sentimentality “If this is what destiny is, I think I can learn to live with it.”, and Atem almost doesn’t let him go in the morning because he’s still not.. quite done cuddling him after that. Kaiba’s fifteen minutes late, and he’s perfectly fine with that.). 

So basically… there’s a point in their relationship where Atem feels married to him even if they’re not. He has no doubts of the permanence of his place in Kaiba’s life, in their home. The commitment feeling no less important or strong without the ceremony. So for his part, Atem assumes for one reason or another- that’s exactly how Kaiba wants it. No big proclamations, just unstoppable love and devotion. And Kaiba makes him feel treasured, he can feel the fierce loyalty and care always. That devotion ringing clear and true in his endearments and caresses and gestures, in his embraces and his kisses. In how Kaiba sees the envious look just Once on Atem’s face as he spots a couple cozied in public and at least admits he Wants to do that, he just needs more time. And Atem would want to marry Kaiba, would want to exchange rings and vows and make it Official in front of their loved ones, but if he can’t then that’s okay. He doesn’t need it to feel everything he actually requires from their commitment.

So when he jokingly says he’s a bit jealous of the planetarium idea, in their dining room as they share a quiet and romantic dinner at home, the very last response he expects from Kaiba is a casual (if a bit shy) suggestion that “Well… we could always honeymoon on the new station. It is almost finished…”

And poor Kaiba hears the clatter of the fork when Atem drops it in surprise and fears the worst — that he was wrong somehow, and that Atem didn’t consider this where they were headed at all — but Atem doesn’t look anxious or put off when he finally looks up. Just caught off guard, and the look on his face is something Kaiba’s only seen when he’s surprised Atem with something huge and sweet and terribly romantic. And his “Oh?” is sort of delicately hopefully. Like Atem is the one trying not to scare Kaiba off. And Kaiba relaxes, can only smile as he realizes that maybe he wasn’t as obvious in his intentions as he thought. And Atem was going to stay with him anyway.

“If you want to.” Kaiba says. And Atem says yes more quickly than he has to anything else in his life.

(surprise number 2 comes a few months later, when Atem realizes that wasn’t even the actual proposal. protip: when a flashy billionaire proposes to you, you’ll know)

Planning a wedding is something everyone tells them will be difficult, but isn’t. They agree easily on where they want the wedding (an open space, mostly outside), what they think the color palette should be (light and happy and absolutely elegant), and how formal an affair they want. (the most) 

The few things they can’t quite agree on, like the exact band or certain foods or the flavor for the cake- they try to debate it out as reasonably as possible. Which for the edibles pretty much always means “fine, we’ll get both, and whatever is left over we’ll donate it”, and if Atem’s gotten his way a few too many times in a row then he’s just gonna have to deal with it and let Kaiba pick the band.

You may be thinking “well how much food could they possibly have to donate?” Well… haha.. hah. here’s the thing.

As nervous and unsure and careful as Kaiba is about his private romantic life at first, when he comes into his own there is No standing in his way when it comes to his relationship with Atem being another very public point of pride. Atem is gorgeous, brilliant, his equal in every way, and if you think he’s not going to bring him to every party, every press conference, just be that Will Smith gesturing at Jada Smith meme all the time? You are mistaken. By the timeSeto and Atem announce their engagement, it’s worthy of being Front Page News.

And that wedding? Is an Event. Planetarium wedding? Adorable, sure. But how about getting married in the projection stadium? Any setting Atem could possibly want, with thousands of virtual cherry blossoms in the air. Not to mention a less formal full-on festival with vendors and everything just outside for the public to enjoy.

It doesn’t hit Atem until the morning of that, for all intents and purposes, Kaiba planned a royal wedding. Yugi, meanwhile, has been pointing it out for weeks. (“I’m not sure what royal weddings looked like in your day, but this lines up with literally every fictionalized depiction I’ve ever seen.”) It’s.. a feeling when he realizes it. Lots of feelings, for lots of reason, but they’re all good. Everything about that day is just… good.

And the day itself… does not go off without a hitch, but Kaiba’s gained enough self awareness by then to know better than to leave himself in charge of it, instead delegating to Mokuba, his best man, and Yugi, who’s Atem’s. So whatever fires need to be put out are put out well before Kaiba can smell the proverbial smoke. All he needs to worry about is not sweating so much he wrinkles his crisp white suit, which is easier said than done. But Amelda’s there to help, and help he does, and Kaiba manages to make it all the way to the main platform without worrying too much that Atem will suddenly ‘come to his senses’ and not show up.

Atem, on the other hand, doesn’t worry about a single freakin thing all day. Mai helps him with his makeup (because Atem doesn’t trust strangers with his face, sorry), and Yugi gets sent off in time to help him get into his frankly stunning ensemble (complete with veil, for the dramatics), and as far as he knows Kaiba wasn’t having any measure of panic before he sees him there, the sound of a personally commissioned wedding march hovering all around them. And oh… that moment when he sees him. Kaiba’s never seen anyone so beautiful, has never smiled so sweetly in front of so many people. Atem smears just a bit of his allegedly waterproof eye makeup with how watery his eyes get, but Kaiba’s a good boy and uses his pocket square to carefully dab up so it doesn’t ruin Atem’s clearly carefully applied makeup. Atem laughs and it’s the sweetest sound anyone’s ever heard. Basically, they don’t exactly manage to wait until the end of the ceremony to kiss..

(Even Jonouchi cries a little, seeing how loved one of his best friends truly is. Especially knowing so well how rocky that road to happiness has been for Atem. Though if anyone asks Jou if he so much as sniffled, he will literally never - ever - admit it.)

And they do honeymoon in space, Kaiba taking the opportunity to maybe murmur a little ~something~ about being under the stars to his husband at their reception that’s worthy of a laugh but also a little blushing. Atem’s not even sure how the newly rebuilt space station could be even more beautiful than the one he’d observed (briefly) Kaiba in the first time, but it is. The whole place designed in a way to feel welcoming and warm, to highlight the beauty of space, and not the isolation. Their bed carefully positioned in this beautiful heavily-windowed chamber so they can see the stars… “Pillowtop,” Kaiba says, somewhat offhandedly, as he watches Atem smile in amusement at the somewhat cheesy arrangement of rose petals. Waiting for the joke to sink in.

“……spared no expense.” Atem finishes, rolling his eyes at the recurring line Kaiba had taken to throughout the entire wedding planning process, even as his smile grows.

(he almost can’t remember a time when he didn’t smile this much, laugh this much, he’s reminded as Kaiba steps in close to place a kiss on a spot on his neck he knows is ticklish) 

It’s a wonderful weekend, just the two of them, quite literally away from it all. Or, well, more honestly it’s likely a four day weekend. Or… maybe five full days off. 

Okay, okay. They probably push it to a full week. But just a week, just the 7 days… 

and maybe one long afternoon.

;3

(Astoundingly, it never comes out that they’d actually… already gotten married? About a month before the actual wedding, without telling anyone. Though, in Kaiba’s defense, Atem did look absolutely adorable that morning. Fussing with his hair, still sleepy-eyed from the early hour… how could he not at least ask? And honestly, with a proposal like that? A second proposal, at that.. How could Atem say no?)

Now, as for kids, I feel like it’d take one of their friend/s having one for Kaiba to open up about kind of wanting one of his own one day. He’s nervous about the kind of dad he’d be, but he’s always wanted to adopt a child, or two if they’re— “Siblings?” Atem asks, and Kaiba smiles a bit. “Yeah.. or close enough to be.” Atem thinks that’s wonderful, and doesn’t have any doubt that Kaiba would do an amazing job. Whenever he’s ready.

Originally, they planned to wait until they stopped feeling like total newlyweds, wanting to give themselves plenty of time to enjoy that phase of their relationship. But years pass and… that day never comes? They’re always going to be sickeningly adorable, completely infatuated, and so they’re well into their mid 20s when they decide, hey, let’s just do it. They wind up adopting a little girl, and an even littler child she calls her “baby sibling”.

They make an adorable family.

———

(If they stayed in Aaru, a lot of this would be the same. The same sort of royal affair, but by the river. Atem’s parents in attendance, and Kaiba’s mother from his past life. Mana and Mahaad and Kisara and Shada and Karim… all there. Though this time I think their idea of a honeymoon would just be to travel, to explore. Atem had never had the desire to before, but with Kaiba he’d find himself invigorated to find out how far the sands extend. What, if anything, lies on the other side. Resources are bottomless on this plane, and springs are never too far away. It’s comfortable, it’s exciting… it’s another kind of adventure than the one they’d have on earth. but in both cases, at last, an adventure together.)

———

Hope this scratched that itch, anon~ I’ve been thinking about this so much lately, it felt great to get it all out there.

Also, just fyi, it’s never spamming to me~! I love each and every one of the messages you all send in

[evilkitten3]

Ad Nihilum, Chapter Five: Reunions

AN: This story is getting attention! Yay! I even got a fic rec! I'm pretty psyched about that, as you can imagine. I'm so happy that people are enjoying this story, and I hope you continue to enjoy what's to come! Please let me know what you think, and have fun reading! Kitty out.

Warnings: Flashbacks, nightmares, death, various dark shit, disassociation, poor life choices, more existential nonsense, more dialogue than I'm used to writing, and possibly also a hug (Kaiba-style, so it's less of a hug and more a grunt of acknowledgement)

That night, Yuugi – and Marik too, most likely, even if he can't remember it clearly – dreams of knives and fire and cruel laughter. He wakes up sobbing, Atem rubbing his shoulders, and has to feel his face to make sure it's still intact. He wants to apologize to the Thief, but the look on the other's face when he comes in clogs up the words in his throat like hot molasses and he spends fifteen minutes in the bathroom hunched over the toilet (nothing comes out, which doesn't help alleviate the queasiness).

A few minutes after Yuugi leaves for school, Atem finds a drawing of some kind of insect, half-eaten and still twitching. He wonders if it's some form of an attempt at communication or just the Thief's way of flipping them off. Maybe it's both, he thinks, smirking a little. It's a bit amazing how he can find anything about this situation amusing, but his sense of humor is different than it was in Yuugi's body (Anzu says there's probably a scientific explanation – something about chemicals, maybe – but he doesn't know anyone science-y enough to figure it out).

Atem spends a few minutes staring at the drawing and picks up the phone.

The orange of the setting sun and the reddish brown of the desert bleed together, colors mixing as Nut and Geb's fingertips brush against each other for mere moments until they are separated once more.

"It really isn't fair," Aren says, and Bakura – three years old and too young to understand what it means to be in love – looks at him with the wide eyes of a child who doesn't know what you're saying but is curious enough to listen anyway. "It isn't fair," his elder brother says again. "To be separated like that. If you love someone, you should be allowed to be with that person."

Bakura continues to listen as his brother talks about the girl he saw when he went with their father to the market place in a bigger city – how she smiled at him and laughed at his jokes and showed him how to write his name in Hieroglyphics and how he thinks he might want to marry her.

"So marry her," he says, shrugging. "Like Ashiya and Elder Sister, right?"

But Aren just shakes his head and says that it's different, that there are too many reasons they can't be together. He doesn't elaborate. "I'll tell you when you're older," he assures him.

"How much older?"

"Hm… two years," Aren promises.

Two years later Aren is dead and Bakura is watching from behind the ruins of a cupboard as his brother's fingers twitch when a soldier yanks the stone axe out of the back of his head.

The pencil snaps in half and veers off the paper. The Thief stares down at it in disgust, half of the face he'd been drawing grinning at him. It felt like mockery – the squiggle left by the broken pencil, taunting him over– over–. He wasn't sure. He thinks he should feel bad about breaking the pencil, since he only has so many and he certainly isn't going to ask Anzu for more, but he can't muster up even the slightest bit of "oops".

Everything is broken here, he thinks to himself. Everything and everyone is broken here. He doesn't know where "here" is, so he snatches up the failed drawing and tears it in half, again and again and again, until the floor and bed are littered with tiny fragments of what was nothing more than just another failure.

He laughs, and it feels like dying.

Kaiba knows who it is before he picks up the phone.

"Yuugi," he says anyway.

"I have a name of my own, you know," the Pharaoh replies and Kaiba can see him smirking in his mind's eye.

"What do you want?" Cold, collected, professional. No room for emotions that could show weakness – no escape for the discomfort building within the both of them.

"I'm simply surprised you haven't asked me to Duel you," Atem says, and Kaiba scowls. Arrogant bastard, he thinks to himself. The irony doesn't escape him.

"Yuugi is the King of Games now," Kaiba reminds him. "Why would I aim for second best?" It's bullshit and they both know it.

"Yuugi says you haven't challenged him either."

"I've been busy."

"Not too busy to answer my call."

"What do you want, Atem?" The word feels strange on his tongue, almost like he's broken some sort of taboo. There's silence for a moment.

"So you do know my name," the Pharaoh is trying not to laugh, and Kaiba refuses to indulge him any further.

"I'm free at 2:30," he snaps.

"No, you're not," Atem tries to sound stern, but there's no point.

"I am now," Kaiba corrects him, and Isono wordlessly reschedules his 2:00 appointment.

"One would think that's bad for business," Atem notes, and Kaiba resists the urge to snort.

"2:30." He says again and hangs up. Four hours, twenty-seven minutes, and thirteen seconds, Kaiba thinks, looking at the clock.

And then he pushes the thoughts of Atem and Dueling out of his head and returns to work, because he is Seto Kaiba and 'Atem is back' isn't enough to keep him from getting some work done.

The Duel is private, because Kaiba really shouldn't be putting off work (or school) for this, but Isono's there with a camera recording everything anyway, just in case. Atem arrives exactly on time, and Kaiba can't help but be annoyed by his punctuality. Just had to time everything perfectly, didn't you, he thinks bitterly, like he's never done exactly that.

It goes about as expected, with both of them doing fairly well until Atem magically drew the exact card he needed to secure a victory. The only difference is that the Black Magician's smirk is much more meaningful now that he knows who Mahado is (or rather, was), and Kaiba has to resist the urge to flip him off when he does that annoying finger wag. All in all, it's a rather anti-climatic battle.

"I don't suppose you have an understanding of brain chemicals," Atem says, for lack of anything else to say. Kaiba rolls his eyes.

"I'm a computer scientist, not a neurochemist," he sneers. "That's not my area of expertise. Why are you even asking something like that?" Atem sighs and sits down and Kaiba wonders who the hell told him he could stay and chat.

"Just curiosity," he waves off the question. "But I do need your help with something." Of course he does. It stings, surprisingly enough, that Atem didn't just show up to Duel him.

"And that would be?"

"How do I communicate with an emotionally stunted asshole who's tried to kill me and my friends in the past but is now someone who doesn't seem to be able to function on his own?"

"I can 'function' just fine," Kaiba retorts, and Atem can't stop himself from laughing.

"For once, Kaiba, you aren't the emotionally stunted previously murderous asshole in question," he says, smirking. "Although I must admit, I find it amusing that you immediately assumed I was talking about you. Come to think of it, you do fit the description…"

"Listen, I–" Kaiba begins and then stops as curiosity overcomes the desire to make a witty comment. "Wait, how many 'emotionally stunted assholes that have tried to kill you and your friends in the past' do you know?" Atem thinks about it for a moment.

"Does Rishid count?" he asks.

"The guy who wasn't Marik?"

"The guy who–" Atem can't hide his grin. "Yes, Kaiba, the guy who wasn't Marik." He coughs, trying to push the conversation back to a more serious tone. "If you count him, then it's four. Otherwise, it's just you, Marik, and the Spirit of the Millennium Ring." Kaiba raises an eyebrow.

"He's back too?"

"You didn't know?"

"I… haven't exactly been at school much lately," Kaiba confesses. "I've had a lot of work to do."

"You've been avoiding Yuugi, you mean," Atem corrects, unimpressed. Kaiba doesn't bother to deny it.

"I assume you're talking about him, then?" He asks, and Atem nods. "What do you expect from me? I barely know the normal Bakura, much less his evil alter ego."

"I should've asked Mokuba," Atem says, shaking his head. Kaiba takes a minute to process that.

"Okay, well, screw you too," he mutters before he can stop himself. Atem rises.

"I should get going," he says. "And… Kaiba?"

"What?"

"Thank you."

During lunch, Yuugi tells his friends about the dream – less solid than the others, he says, which only made it scarier. Marik doesn't remember his dreams still, but apparently Rishid was worried about him (which might not mean anything, because when is Rishid not worried about Marik). Bakura hasn't come back to school yet, and Kaiba's still not there either, and the conversation eventually peters to silence.

"I dunno how much longer I can deal with this," Otogi says, sounding a bit hoarse. "I know that's– that's probably really selfish, but–"

"It's not," Anzu cuts him off sternly, frowning. "This isn't something any of us know how to deal with. We can't just play a game and solve the problem, and the fact is that that's what we've gotten used to. It's good to help your friends, Otogi, but you also need to take care of yourself – and, in your case, you have a job as well."

"I sorta thought you'd say 'friends have to stick together' or something," Jounouchi comments. Anzu gives him a funny look.

"Why would I say that?" she asks, brow furrowing. "Friends do have to stick together, sure, but part of that is understanding people's limits. On top of that, we still don't have a solid idea of what's going on. I can't expect Otogi to throw everything aside and devote his full attention to this situation. No one can do that, not even me. I learned that from you," she adds, looking at Yuugi, who nods.

"I wouldn't want you to do that anyway," he agrees. "Marik and I made a mistake; it's only fair that we're the ones who clean up the mess. We've dragged enough people into this as it is, really."

"That's what I keep telling Isis and Rishid," Marik wrinkles his nose, as though his sandwich had done something to personally offend him. "But you know how they are." He shrugs. "At least Isis stopped lecturing me for the moment."

"She'll use it against you," Honda warns. "Older sisters are like that. She will never let this go." Marik snorts.

"I have no doubt of that," he grumbles. "I once hid one of her earrings as a joke. It was nearly a year ago, but she's still mad."

"Little sisters are much better," Jounouchi laughs. "Shizuka wouldn't do that at all." He turns to glare at Otogi. "Speaking of Shizuka," he growls. "Why are you on a first-name basis with my sister?" Otogi shrugs innocently.

"I just wanted to make her feel more included," he winks, and Jounouchi lunges at him. Anzu yelps in surprise as the two boys begin to tussle, and prepares to break it up until she sees Yuugi laughing at the scene and decides to let it go for now.

"'Hiroto'," Honda mumbles dreamily. "Wonder if I could get her to use my name…" Jounouchi glares at him over his shoulder.

"You're next, Honda! Stay the hell away from my sister!"

Ryou Bakura's smile is a little too forced when Sugoroku lets him in.

"You should be in school," he reprimands quietly. Bakura nods in agreement.

"I need to talk to him," he says. "I'll go back soon, I promise, but–" Sugoroku puts a hand on his shoulder to stop him, and silently steps aside. "Thank you."

The Thief's room has little pieces of paper all over the floor, but the occupant is fully conscious.

"Why are you here?" he rasps, and Bakura crosses his arms.

"You better clean that up," he tells him. "I think you've made enough messes for one lifetime – or several," he adds, pointedly. The Thief scowls at him.

"What do you want?" he asks. Bakura leans down until their noses are almost touching. His eyes are narrow and the Thief takes that as a challenge, narrowing his own as well.

"Did he know how to read?" Bakura asks calmly. There's no question as to who "he" is, and the Thief shakes his head. "Who did?"

"A few people," the Thief says after a moment. "A couple of the elders, I think."

"The old woman?"

"She was blind."

"Her granddaughter, then?" Bakura knows he's hit the mark when the Thief breaks eye contact. "These aren't my memories," Bakura tries to keep his composure, but it's difficult to force down the anger.

"They aren't mine either," the Thief reminds him.

"Cut the connection," Bakura demands, and the Thief laughs.

"Even if I knew how, I wouldn't," he says. "It's not over until they're free. For either of us." Bakura's fist connects with the Thief's cheek, sending him flying off the bed. It's a bit concerning, since Bakura isn't really all that strong, but the Thief weighs almost nothing.

"This isn't my anger," Bakura repeat, trying to reassure himself. The Thief laughs again, blood running from his nose.

"It's your something," he grins, and Bakura storms from the room before he can hit him again, slamming the door shut behind him.

"It's not mine," he whispers as his fingernails dig into his palms. "Not mine," he says again hours later when he's eating dinner and rage comes from nowhere, bubbling up inside of him (it smells of tar, he thinks). "You're not mine either," he tells the enormous white creature hovering behind him.

Diabound doesn't reply.

AN: I feel like Otogi would be the least equipped to deal with all this nonsense, honestly. But anyway, there's a bit of humor in the middle of the story, just so it doesn't get too dark. Also because I feel like each chapter should at least reach ten pages so I don't end up slacking off or something. That said, it feels like the word count in each chapter just gets shorter and shorter… I should start wrapping things up, but I have a couple plot points that I need to have happen, and I've only mentioned three members of TKB's family (Ashiya, Bitya'a, and Aren), two of whom aren't even blood relatives. So… I'd like to know how many more people from the past the Thief should have flashbacks about, 'cause I'm definitely going to introduce his sister and parents, but that's probably gonna be it.

Speaking of the flashbacks, you might've noticed that this one was a little bit different from the last two. The reason for that is that I want each flashback to occur differently, because TKB would've had a different relationship with each of them, and trauma is really weird about the memory.

I do have to admit that the Diabound thing was a bit last minute – not the place that particular idea is going; that's been planned out from the beginning, but the bit about having Diabound being physically in the story didn't occur to me until fairly recently. That said, it'll all make sense fairly soon (well… as much sense as anything else in YGO makes). I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and please let me know what you thought! Kitty out.

[themillenniumscribe]

Yu-Gi-Oh: Brilliancy (24)

Her name is Clarisa Swansea. She was born in Hong Kong to a wealthy yet loving family, a father, mother, and two older sisters. A competitive beast in women’s lacrosse with a pretty face to match, there was no mistaking that she was striving for greatness far beyond any expectations. But, when one accident took her family along with her mobility, her life took an intriguing turn into the world of chess.

The wind was just as freezing as it was during the first round. Clarisa wasn’t sure why she expected it to be any different than before. The bone chilling pinpricks seeped into her pale skin, radiating down her semi-feeling legs and settling into her feet. Her hands also suffered the same fate if she attempted to grab the wheels on her own.

“We will now begin the second round of the tournament!” Isono called from his platform, the field slowly ascending into position. “Katsuya Jounouchi versus Malik Ishtar!”

Both groups took their positions on either side of the platform. Yugi and his friends were on the right side while Kaiba and Mokuba took the left. Clarisa was placed next to the CEO and Charles made his position known just behind her left side. Everything seemed to be set.

“Oh, it’s been a while since I’ve seen that!” She heard Honda remark. “Jounouchi staring someone down!”

“Yeah! Jounouchi is full of spirit!” Yugi piped up, his tenor voice ringing over the swishing wind.

“Right! He’s never lost a fight when he’s done that! Although, that’s only for fistfights.”  

Clarisa could hear the dark chuckle under Kaiba’s breath and it made her hair stand on end. Her grey eyes narrowed, shooting him a disapproving glare that was blatantly ignored.

“I don’t know why, but, I’m a bit nervous…” Shizuka’s feeble murmur was barely audible but Clarisa caught it. She could hear the uncertainty in her voice.

“Oh yeah,” Anzu interrupted. “This is your first time seeing Jounouchi duel.”

“Yes,”

“Just do your best to cheer him on throughout the game, Shizuka!” Though Clarisa found it irritating, she did have some appreciation for Anzu being as encouraging as she was. No sooner had she made the suggestion, Shizuka’s confidence rose in her rousing affirmation.

“I think you’ve shuffled the deck enough already…” Isono reminded Jounouchi, the latter still in a deadlocked glare with Malik. He jerked a few more card shifts before shoving the deck into Malik’s hand. Though he was clearly furious with the man, Malik was oddly stoic, his gold eyes maintaining a powerful presence.

And yet, there was something off about them.

“Remind me,” Clarisa turned over to Mokuba, her brow furrowing. “Who is this Malik person and why does Jounouchi hate him so much?”

“He’s the leader of the Ghouls.” Mokuba replied quickly. “He’s the one that was mind controlling Jounouchi at the harbor during him and Yugi’s duel.”

“Well, if that’s the case, why doesn’t he just use it to mind control Jounouchi into losing the duel?”

Clarisa spoke too soon. When those words left her mouth, Malik had taken the opportunity to pull out an all too familiar golden artifact. The Millennium Rod shimmered with a sinister silver light, the moonlight being responsible. Jounouchi recoiled at the sight and Clarisa could see everyone on Yugi’s side of the field tense with anxious anticipation.

“Can you stop talking about things only to have them happen?” Mokuba hissed at Clarisa, his hazel eyes narrowing.

“Let me get back to you on that…”

Much to everyone’s relief, Malik slipped the rod into his belt without attempting to use it. It appeared that he was going to fight this duel fairly.

“Big brother, does this Malik guy really hold the third God Card?”

“I am at least certain he is the leader of the Ghouls.” Kaiba replied, his azure gaze unwavering from the duelists. “But, I won’t believe it until I see it myself.”

‘Spoken like a true skeptic…’ Clarisa thought, buttoning her lips for the first time during this tournament. Her mouth formed a hard line, her eyes roving over Kaiba’s form in a judgmental scowl. When he took notice of it, his gaze shifted to her in silent warning. The only response she gave was a half-hearted shrug and a turn to the duel.

A cacophony of cheers erupted from across the way. The life points counter had barely registered when a gust of wind nearly took Jounouchi’s first hand away. His scrambling produced a plethora of embarrassment for the observers but Clarisa couldn’t help but smile at his charming foolishness.

“That would be me as a duelist…” She mused, chuckling lightly.

“As if you would even get to this level.” Kaiba responded coldly, his shoulders stiffening.

“Go stick a fork in your duel disk, Mr. Kaiba.” She snapped.

The duel began with an intriguing start. Jounouchi, true to form, came out with monster after monster, reflecting his aggressive tendencies. However, Clarisa had to admit that she preferred seeing all of the monsters putting forth the blows rather than raining down trap cards on his foe.

However, it was Malik that caught her interest. He played a unique system of trap cards with very few monsters to take Jounouchi on. Though Clarisa was uncertain about what each card did specifically, something in the way he presented himself was not as…sinister as he had been made out to be.

“If a mummy doesn’t come out of that box in the temple, I am going to feel cheated.” Clarisa muttered, earning a snort from Charles.

“I was thinking Marilyn Monroe singing ‘Happy Birthday’ would be a better choice but a mummy is probably more fitting.”

“Put her in a Cleopatra outfit and it’s pretty much the same thing.” Clarisa smirked at her helper, his red bearded face averting and shoulders shaking with laughter. She could barely see the look of disapproval Kaiba was sending her way when Jounouchi found himself in a bind.

All three of his monsters were instantly destroyed by one of the traps laid by Malik. On top of that, he lost over half of his life points. Though most duelists would consider that a reason to give up, Jounouchi’s lips curled in a triumphant grin, challenging Malik to give it his all from that moment forward.

Needless to say, many of his friends groaned in response save for Shizuka, who shouted out words of encouragement.

“Man, Jounouchi…” Mokuba sighed. “Well, you have to admit that he’s pretty impressive. He doesn’t seem the least bit flustered.”

“Maybe he’s just too stupid to feel the pressure?” Kaiba retorted. Clarisa wasn’t the least bit surprised by his sass. She wanted to say something back at him but when the comment fit the person, it was hard for her to speak up. Jounouchi presented himself as one of those people who was too dumb to notice danger.

“Alright then, Malik!” He roared, pointing aggressively at the tattooed man. “It’s your turn, so lemme have it!”

Malik did as was instructed but it wasn’t how Jounouchi wanted it. He laid two more cards down and turned the game back over to the eager youth.

“Now, maybe I’m stupid but, what is Malik doing exactly?” She shot Kaiba a dangerous glare when she saw the insulting smirk curl on his lips. He didn’t need to say anything for her to hear his remark.

“Well, he is using a trap deck so, most of it is going to be waiting around for Jounouchi to attack and trigger them.” The younger brother replied.

“Can’t Jounouchi take him out by summoning enough monsters?”

“Yeah, if he could manage to keep them on the field or attack right away with powerful enough monsters.” Mokuba smirked, rubbing the tip of his nose with his finger. “He has some powerful cards in his deck but nothing like what Seto has. If he was in this situation, there would be no trap issues.”

“It seems like Malik’s deck is built perfectly for attack based decks,” Clarisa remarked. Her blue eyes roved over the field, trying not to smile when she saw Jounouchi take a more defensive route. He refused to attack on his first turn, waiting for Malik to push back with some kind of attack. Unfortunately, it only resulted in Malik passing two of his turns and a growing agitation for Jounouchi.  

“Big brother, his strategy is easy to read.” Mokuba remarked flatly. “But, the match will never end if none of them attacks.”

“No, it doesn’t seem so.” Kaiba sounded so nonchalant until the smirk returned on his lips. “Looks like the idiot has been completely overwhelmed by the pressure.”

“It’s hard to say he’s overwhelmed when he hasn’t even done anything yet.” Clarisa pointed out. Kaiba’s eyes flickered her way but that was the only acknowledgement she received for her reply.

Unfortunately, she did have to eat her words when Jounouchi made the reckless move to summon another monster and launch it at Malik. The latter took control momentarily, stealing the monster to attempt an attack back on Jounouchi. Fortunately, with some quick thinking, Jounouchi escaped unscathed long enough to earn bragging rights on discovering the weakness of Malik’s deck.

“Your deck’s mostly Magic and Trap cards.” He grinned triumphantly, rubbing his chin. “In other words, you don’t have a single Monster. So, no matter what Traps you have, if I can get rid of them and you have no monsters to guard you, then beating you will be a piece o’ cake!”

“That’s easier said than done, dude!” Honda hissed through his clenched fists. Once again, Shizuka was a beacon of unwavering support while everyone else rolled their eyes.

“Unless they make some kind of trap card that serves as a monster…” Clarisa muttered quietly, pausing for a moment before glancing over at Mokuba. “They don’t make anything like that, do they?”

Though Mokuba shrugged, he once again locked eyes on Clarisa when Malik did just that. After taunting Jounouchi with the possibility of such a card, Malik played a card that summoned three snake like beings to the field, their glittery gold accents appearing in a way that was eerily life like.

“Risa, two things.” He held up his fingers as indication. “One, are you psychic and, two, are you sure you haven’t played this game before?” She sighed, rubbing her temples. With all of the supernatural happenings at this time, she certainly was starting to question these things but certainly in no particular order.

“Jounouchi,” The deep voice penetrated Clarisa’s thoughts, her eyes opening to look at Malik.

“Like a rat in a trap, you set food in my trap door into Hell.”  He purred softly, Jounouchi grimacing at the observation. “Now, prepare yourself to fall to the very depths.”

This was certainly not going to end well.