Creator of Neshiki AUs

👼👼DAY 7 of NANAMI WEEK: FREE DAY👼👼

One more, to go with the other reboot Mickeys Christmas Carol.

I have made a lot of memories with the Yu-Gi-Oh! franchise for 13 years now. Getting into the shows to checking out some amazing fanwork are among the good times, the bit that was bad was largely learning what the Bridge era manga were like and watching GO RUSH!! seasons 2 and 3, and some were even nostalgic whenever I listen to songs that make me think of old tribute videos I watched on YouTube. That being sad, it's safe to say the saddest memory for any YGO fan is the death of Kazuki Takahashi, who drowned four years ago yesterday trying to help Maj. Robert Bourgeau rescue a Japanese woman, her daughter, and a US soldier from a rip current they were caught in. As we take the time to remember who he was as both an influential mangaka and an amazing person, what better way to honor him than reminisce about particular memories we cherish the most. For me, that memory was becoming best friends with @real-life-pine-tree.

It was around late November of 2016 when I first encountered her blog. I remember scrolling through the Yu-Gi-Oh! posts she had posted and reblogged, and it triggered what ended up being the second YGO phase in my life. I decided to follower her as a result, and after I started reblogging her posts starting on the 23rd, we started interacting with each other. First it was through my inbox, then we began chatting through DMs, and soon enough, we became really good friends. Over the years, we have collabed on fanfics, discussed past and ongoing episodes, and even shared a number of other interests that we either have enjoyed our lives or obtained down the road. Coincidentally enough, our 10th friend-iversary is coming up this November, so this month's prompt was one of the reasons I felt it was perfect to reflect on how me and Pine Tree first met.

Another reason? Like I said earlier, it was to honor the late Kazuki Takahashi. I don't know if any of you remember this, but back when news of his death broke out during the morning hours of July 7, one of the posts that appeared on my dashboard was this mangaka note:

This is one thing I've seen literally nobody talk about, and it could be very significant to the story.

prob what Kris felt like when they stuffed the soul in the balloon

ps. I finally found my preferred coloring style in fresco let’s gooooo.

Okay, so you know how Kris will walk Susie back to Castle Town WITHOUT OUR INPUT after getting the balloon for her? Well, it's given me an interesting theory about the level of control we have over them and why they still go along with it!

So it's very clear that Kris has much more self-control than we once thought. Here we see Kris not only resisting our control, but making it seem as if we're not even there! So, with that in mind, why do they still, for the most part, go along with every little input we make?

Well, think about it? Have you ever been frustrated with poor controls or faulty inputs? Have you ever gotten mad when your character fails to follow your commands because of glitches or faulty design? Exactly!

Gaster needs us to fulfill whatever he's doing in this world, as evidenced by the fact that the original download of Chapter 1 was called "SURVEY_PROGRAM". And it's also clear that the SOUL being in Kris is needed for this experiment and that Kris knows they need us to fulfill whatever plan they got roped into. But if Kris keeps resisting our inputs, then the so-called game would be "buggy" and "glitchy," and if we can't play the game properly, then that means it wouldn't be fun, and if it's not fun, then we would leave it, and if we leave it, then Gaster's experiment will remain unfulfilled.

So while Kris can still afford to act independently sometimes, they can't do so too much because, as much as they resent us, they know that we're still a very critical part of this plan, and if they make us "quit the game" because our character won't "follow our inputs," then it would all be for nothing!

My preteen now stops at the school office and calls to inform me that he will be an hour late because the big snow hill is extra big, or he is going to a friend's house!

This is because on the day he came home 2 hours late WITHOUT informing me, instead of grounding him for a month and taking away his screens (like his friend's parents had) I acknowledged that he'd had no way to know that informing me was important, but it WAS, so could he do it in the future please? I might have worried that he was hurt, or lost!

So now he calls me, and I thank him, and we both express delight about the size of the hill/the joy of having friends! No anxiety, just him being proud that he remembered.