“I tribute my Dark Magician,” she stated, delicately placing the card in the graveyard, “to special summon my Dark Eradicator Warlock, which, if you have been paying attention, means that by activating my face down magic card and utilizing his lovely monster effect, you lose the duel, miss Izayoi.” 

Aki smiled. Rose was good, she had to admit, especially for a beginner. Her deck was malicious, brilliant, and flawlessly constructed. Her strategy was seamless, Aki could hardly believe the girl had never dueled before a few days ago. Hell, she had gone to school for years to be this good at the game. Still, it wasn’t for nothing, and Aki would live up to her status as top of the class and member of team 5Ds.

“I see you’ve gotten the hang of face-downs, Lalonde, good job.”
“Why thank you, now if you’d be so kind-“
“Not an expert yet though, you forgot about mine.”
Rose didn’t falter, “A trap then? It must be.”
Aki grinned, “You are good at predicting the future, aren’t you? Trap card open, Nature’s Reflection! You take your own effect damage, and I win.”
“Ah, so it seems.” Rose let her life point counter fall to zero before setting her duel disk into standby mode and closing the space between her and the other girl. “I’ll best you someday, Izayoi.”

“I don’t doubt it, ” Aki conceded, “You still have a lot to learn, though.”
“Of course, I’m still a beginner, but it’s lucky I have such a talented teacher, isn’t it?”

Rose’s hand brushed Aki’s lightly, for a fleeting second before Aki noticed how close she actually was. She realized her shoes gave her about an inch and Rose was exploiting the difference to gaze up at her with hooded eyelids. The blush was almost inescapable. “I look forward to your next lesson, Aki, synchro summons, right?”

“Y-yes…” Aki stammered out, backing away slightly, “Synchros. And I’m sure Yusei can-“
“Oh no, I’d hate to bother him. Besides, your little garden is so cozy, I doubt there’s any room for boys.” Rose winked, and turned on her heel, “But I’m sure we’ll explore that further next time. Bye, Aki.” 

Rose didn’t turn back, but she could feel the duelists blush from a mile away. Cruel? Perhaps, but with nothing but a card game and the inevitable end of the world (which she had grown used to), there wasn’t much else to occupy her time. Besides, Rose thought, Aki made it so damn easy.

And, if Rose had anything to do with it, Aki Izayoi would remember her Mark of the Rose as more than just a magic card. 

I really need to stop

There’s really no excuse for this

A new show by the director that brought you “Time Powers for Fun and Profit” and “Just Cry Yourself To Death”

Dirk reminded himself almost daily that it was just because he looked like Jake, and he was on the rebound.  They had the same messy hair, the same stupid teeth, the same goofy smile.  It was just because he looked like Jake.  But still…there were those hard truths that Dirk couldn’t ignore, and he found it was getting harder and harder to convince himself that the attraction was only desperation and not…something more.  It couldn’t be, that’d be wrong, so SO wrong for several different reasons, but… John’s laugh was his own, loud and ridiculous, just like him.

 His smile was still bright, but their was that sparkle of something…mischief, determination? Jake’s smiles lacked that.  And John was always seeking him out for a conversation (“You aren’t like Dave at all!” “You’re a pretty interesting guy” “OH MY GOD YOU KNOW HOW TO MAKE ROBOTS?”).  With each conversation Dirk could feel his resolve breaking, his exterior crumbling, his Strider TM cool slipping away with each dumb laugh, smile, stupid prank… It was just because he looked like Jake, it had to be, but… he wondered if they kissed the same, too.

Cool Kids