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Falisha blinked as she heard the quite loud ovation of boos coming from one of the seperated arenas, "That's... not directed at me it doesn't sound like." She frowned as she made her way back to her team, smiling and waving to the crowd that had watched her match. As she walked in she puffed out her cheeks a bit, placing her hands on her hips as she bent over, "Yo what's with the boo's? Nobody lost like turn 1 right?" She crossed her arms before blinking seeing as she entered at what appeared to be a point that they were getting on Sai for... playing a heel it sounded like? "Oh wait that was the boo's. I mean if that was the goal then kudos, I heard it from my match." She laughs and gives a small shrug, "Hopefully it doesn't reflect poorly on our other teammates' duels, though it didn't seem like it did mine." She hums as she slips into a chair and places her face in the palms of her hands, looking between all of our teammates, "Hopefully I don't make everyone upset seeing this but as much as we're a team we're also individuals, we're all going to have different ways of achieving our goals. Granted I haven't seen this duel yet so like, excuse me while I go watch it before I fully butt in, yeah?" She gives a laugh as she goes to look at the replay, nodding to herself, "Hmmm... mhm... let's see... oh that makes sense!" After a few minutes of watching the play Falisha would clap her hands, "Sai you're a dick!" Before she clapped her hands again, "Dick you're also a Sai and still a member of the team, I think some of us may just be shocked, though granted if that's how ya duel obviously I'm not gonna stop you, you know you'd make like a pretty good tournament like... oh gosh don't some guys get hired specifically to target out tournament participants? That'd definitely be a good career choice!" She hums and rubs the back of her head with a light smile, "Though that to be said, I can't exactly fault the rest of the team for being upset either, y'know? My head still hurts a bit from all of the baiting out I was doing of Sorrel. Like yes I -sounded- like I was playing nice but if you pay attention to my gameplay I feel like I spent a lot of the game pulling her around. Granted it was fun and there were a few spots where she almost got out." Before she took a deep breath, "Wait, what about my replay?!" She immediately went to the screen playing her replay, seeming to keep her eyes glued to the screen, "Please tell me they didn't catch it, please tell me they didn't catch iiiit...!" She takes a breath after a certain point, "Okay that's good at least... cool, don't have to worry about that." She wipes her brow a bit before grinning, "Anyways, I had fun and I hope everyone has an enjoyable experience in their upcoming duels!"

Sai waited patiently as Kendra went off at him. She seemed terribly confused about who he was, why he was here, and, most importantly, the effects his actions would have. She was new to the pro scene, so it wasn't a misunderstanding he would hold against her. He looked to Vega, who was carefully analyzing each of them gathered there. It was notable to Sai that Kendra said Daichi was the only one to have garnered good will. While it was not something he himself was making any attempt to earn, he felt that such a comment was awfully dismissive of their turbo duelist. No matter. Then, the team captain Rosalia spoke up, albeit after a sigh long enough that Sai questioned her lung capacity, unabashedly staring down at her chest as she spoke, Sashisematta." She sounded timid, yet looked him directly in the eye as he brought his back up to meet her gaze. "Is there a reason for what you did out there?" Unlike Kendra, she was seeking to understand. It seemed that she was aware that Sai took no action thoughtlessly. However, before he could respond, Rin spoke up. "Does there have to be one?" Yes, you idiot. I'm not a magic 8-ball. Sai frowned, but allowed her to continue. Perhaps she would strike gold, and at least she seemed more open to radical ideas than the teammate Sai doubted was even awake for the entire match. Hell, she would probably be angrier if she were. "Er, I mean, yes, he maybe said some things that were out of line. There's always going to be heels like that, and I'm not saying we should encourage it, but his actual turn? That was fine, right? Whether you make your opponent go to exactly zero like Falisha or make a display of power like Sai, winning at our debut is a great start. Plus there's that saying... all publicity is good publicity. Or something. I would've been rooting for him, at least, even if we weren't teammates," just like that, Sai's frown dissolved and a smile crept to his lips, his sharply-pointed teeth ever-so-slightly visible. Maybe it was the subtle accent they shared, but somehow these words made more sense than any said previously in the conversation. "Oh, we should get something tasty to celebrate our first win. My treat." All things considered, it was remarkable that this was the first point in the conversation that Sai laughed, his face pointing to the sky as his jaw hung open. "Rin, my dear, you cannot afford my taste. I'm afraid my gluttony extends far past dueling." Sai quickly refocused, his hair falling neatly as he jolted his head back in place to look down at the rest of his team. "Kendra, if Vega was concerned I might make her look bad, she wouldn't have recruited me. She knows exactly who and what I am, and doesn't need you to defend her honor." Raising his arms as well as his voice, he addressed the group, "In fact, she's the only person here who has beaten me, but I don't see her complaining." Tilting his head at an unnatural angle, he turned it to face the team captain, once again meeting her evidently nervous gaze. Despite the nervousness, however, she didn't look away. Sai smirked with pride, before continuing, "I am glad at least one person on the team would surmise that there is more to it than just being cruel for fun." With a grand gesture, he indicated toward a massive screen, showing clips of Falisha winning her duel, with a good chunk of the crowd still excitedly watching the replays. "Does that look like someone dragged down by their devil of a teammate? I think our resident geologist has earned quite a few fans today." As the screen changed to now show Avery's valiant, but futile effort against Sai, he quickly positioned himself between his team and the view, using his fan-shaped duel disk to further expand his silhouette, "As for my own duel, surely you understand that infamy is just as powerful as fame? No. They will line up out the door hoping to see me lose. To think that I disregarded the image I would be giving is comical. Every single action I took was one of cultivation. And not just of myself." Taking a step toward Rosalia, he folded his duel disk, slamming it on the ground between them. Leaning down with both of his palms against it as if it were a cane, he was now at eye-level with Rosalia, scarcely a foot aware from her. It was clear that she was bothered by the closeness, yet she still refused to falter. "Is that a good enough answer, Captain Dragunov?" Suddenly, he straightened his back, bringing himself back up to tower above the rest. "You had a wonderful duel, Tomodaichi. It is unfortunate you were not able to pull through, but as far as I could tell it truly was just a matter of fortune. If you believe you may have misplayed somewhere down the line, I would gladly coach you." "So, what are we getting to eat?"

”I know, Kio! You should use your own quirk!” His straightforward answer made Kio hold up a finger for a second, pausing in confusion, only for him to crack a smile soon after. "You know what, Sun? I think that's a great idea! Simple and clean!" Truly, it was the best answer. Maybe the monkey wasn't such an ignoramus after all. He laughed a bit, as he was suddenly whisked off of his feet, and onto the monkey-boy's shoulder. It took only a second for Kio to figure out how to balance himself, and get a feel for Sun's own positioning. ”So I just have to carry you around, right? I do this for Ayane all the time, since we both live here at school, this should be easy! Cling to me like a baby and I will run as fast as I can!” "A baby wouldn't have the muscle mass to hang onto you from this position, so I'll cling onto you...like a hero?" It kinda felt embarrassing, with Sun putting it like that. "Just make sure I don't fall, and we'll have a blast!!" ”Let the games--BEGIN!” Kio placed a hand in front of Sun's face to stop the ape from possibly charging into the inevitable fray without thinking. "I know it's not the most fun option, but I think it's the most logical and optimal." Kio stewed in thought for a moment, using Sun's head to rest his elbow as he cradled his head in his hand. "Let's think...the most mobile teams are likely going to try and hoard their points, right?" As he noted this, he saw one team head off into the sky. "We're gonna have to either get more points than them by the end, or hope some other team takes them down a few meters. That way, we can swoop in and take points from the less mobile." Kio glanced at a scuffle on the battlefield. Ayane and some other student he didn't recognize, most likely due to the suit he was wearing, were already roughing it out with another team. One made up of a boy who could seemingly tear his body to shreds, and the other who had crazy physical output. Those were some quirks he'd love to get his hands on. "Let's sit back for a moment and observe. If I study their quirks and movements long enough...this should be cake." He only had 10 minutes, so he had to make this quick. ”I mean…” Meru looked at the boy, as he flexed his muscles. She couldn't help but blush a bit, as she waited for his response. ”Yeah, I should definitely have enough time to carry my weight through this. Let’s win this one, Konishi!” "Righ!" Meru pumped her fists close to her chest. "I won' le you dow!" Meru's tongue shot out of her mouth, elevating her high enough so that she fell right onto Tai's shoulders. "Les show them wha we ca do!" ”-BEGIN!” "TAI! LE'S GO FULL THRODDLE!" Meru was feeling confident, now that she had the strongest classmate on her side! She gave Masque back the scarf that she hid behind this whole time! Now it was time to show the world what she could really do if she let loose!

There was a perk for losing your match first...you were able to watch the other two matches and see how your teammates were doing. So too was Daichi, his duffle bag with his costume slung over his shoulder as he watched the two Duels in tandem with each other...and well...on one hand, he was excited and proud of one Duel, and on the other...it honestly hurt him. Like...A LOT... "Next time you have lofty ambitions, back them up with more than platitudes." Hearing those words honestly made his stomach churn, his skin crawl. Daichi wanted to go over and deck Sai right in the face for that attempt of an entertaining Duel...but alas, he couldn't. It just wasn't in his nature to do that. If anything, the booing of the crowd just reinforced that idea. Sure, end result was that they won. Team Genesis was the victory of this match, so...why did it leave such a terrible taste in his mouth? And it's that Duel there that Daichi couldn't help but dwell upon. “Congratulations, guys! It’s always seen as a great sign if you win your premier, though it’s usually against an established team… but, either way, you did it! I hope this serves as a source of morale moving forward! However, I would like you guys to… discuss what took place here today, before we go. Of course, you don’t have to, but it’ll just be moved to next week’s discussion, so it’s either now or then. Would anyone like to weigh in first?” Daichi and the others made it into the booth, the words from the coach lingering in the air. No one wanted to say anything at first about the Duels that were had. And then...well...the team began to weigh in HEAVILY... “Yeah, just a quick question. Sai, what the fuck?” "Sashisematta. Is there a reason for what you did out there?" It was like they echoed the sentiments that Sai's Duel in particular was surely the weak link. Then again...even Kendra made mention of between him and Sai, that he...Daichi...was the reason they had any good will with the audience. It made him...happy somewhat to hear this, but despite the smile he wore...inside... He shook his head slightly after Evelyn spoke up, Daichi was about to speak up...but, who would pipe up next, but Sai himself. Oh...this would be good... "Kendra, if Vega was concerned I might make her look bad, she wouldn't have recruited me. She knows exactly who and what I am, and doesn't need you to defend her honor. In fact, she's the only person here who has beaten me, but I don't see her complaining." Daichi kept quiet, seeing Sai explain himself...seeming to echo what Evelyn spoke. To an extent, he supposed that they were both right. At the same time, however, he found this to not sit well with him whatsoever. Why go the route of infamy and having the audience hate you when you could get the audience to enjoy every second and be cheering for you? It didn't make any sense to him whatsoever. However he was brought back up from his thoughts, hearing Sai address him specifically. "You had a wonderful duel, Tomodaichi. It is unfortunate you were not able to pull through, but as far as I could tell it truly was just a matter of fortune. If you believe you may have misplayed somewhere down the line, I would gladly coach you." He was silent for a moment or two, before simply displaying his trademark smile. "Thanks for the praise and the concern there, but I think I'll pass on the lessons, dear theater buff." Daichi said, waving his hand dismissively. "All I know is that I had a genuine blast against Miss Honey. Things didn't pan out my way, but there's always next time. The fact that I could make the audience smile and cheer, in conjunction with having a dance partner…so to speak...that was able to match it was more than I could've asked for in my first match. Nevertheless, I do apologize for not winning. I promise I'll do even more to make up for this. Definitely gonna be starting with looking into the effects and side effects of the different Field Spells and their corresponding Action Cards. That's what ultimately turned the tide in Miss Honey's favor." He turned towards Falisha and gave her a thumbs up. "That said, the Turbo Duel was fantastic. Falisha had it under control from turn one, that was clear to see. There was even some excitement and applause from your end!" he continued, before simply sighing, glancing back in the direction of Sai. "And then...of course, we have the other Duel...the one where we got a standing ovation of boos from the audience. Yeah...that one...I'm not even sure what to say on that. Maaaaaaaaybe next time do something a bit more...audience friendly? After all, don't think the audience can deal with much a of Heel when most of the Duels they witnessed today were pumped with positive energy."

Fen was glad that Aduain had seemed to have a better grasp on everything that was in the rec room than she did. Though, she couldn't help but be left confused by every term that he had used. She hadn't heard of "ping pong" before and the "pool table" certainly didn't live up to what she thought it would be. A pool, as she understood it, was just a hole filled with water so she couldn't understand why a table designed for it would need to be lined with felt. Or why it was so shallow for that matter. Looking at it more closely she thought that perhaps that was what the holes in it were for? Regardless, it had seemed like the ideal game for Aduain. She walked over to the terminal as the fish boy had sat down, looking at what was there as if it were in another language. Sure, she understood every word individually - except for perhaps "foos" - but either the strings they were put in or just what they were supposed to imply she couldn't figure out. So, instead, she looked over to the glass pane on a stand that Aduain went to go inspect as well. He, once again, seemed quite comfortable with the technology as he made the box come to life with moving images and sound. She had seen magic before that had made projections like this, but the closer she looked at the glass the more she realized how elaborate all of the sounds and images were. She nodded in agreement with Aduain's statement, but she was actually far less focused on the odd horse race on screen then just the screen itself. Curiosity taking her over, the girl walked over to the television set and looked at it more closely, seeing a series of buttons. Fiddling around with it, she pressed one that caused seemingly nothing to happen. Instead of pressing it again, she instead held the button down which caused the volume on the device to quickly escalate so loud that there was a chance that everyone on the first floor could clearly hear it. Panicking a bit, the girl started to press the other buttons on the device, one causing the images to flick and relight with an entirely new scene on screen. The girl kept trying to find the right button until she finally pressed a button that caused the screen to go black. "Whoops..." The girl muttered, before pressing the game and causing the incredibly loud scene of a pair of boxes duking it out for a crowd came on. "Uhh..." The girl winced at the sudden spike of volume, until she finally found a button that she pressed down, causing the volume to slowly and steadily return to normal. Letting out a sigh of relief, the girl thought aloud, "these Prana devices have their own set of hidden dangers on top of their marvels." The girl nodded to herself.

←Previous Post -- Next Post→ Phase 14 -- Turning Point Or: They Will So yeah they’re dating now, like, it still takes a bit longer to get there because of some nonsense but yeah, they are actually dating by the end of this episode, so that’s nice to finally get out of the way. Romance is kind of the episode’s main focus, though, so it does need a little bit more examination than that for this post than a brief aside at the end of last week’s. To be more specific, the show is again turning its focus towards the capitalist landscape and how it affects the individual, or individuals in this case. I’m probably stepping outside my wheelhouse to say this and I’m sure there are counterexamples, but romance in the traditional sense flourishes when the two participants regard each other as equals, or at least without care for the labels foisted upon them by the world. Countering this, of course, is corporate structure, which not only has a hierarchy put in place (even ignoring the much-discussed managers and executives ruling over the actual labor of the company), but also basically encourages a dangerous social game as well, a la “Who knows who, who’s related, therefore who can’t be messed with,” the sort of thing that Arvind worries about basically every time he’s been a major player in an episode. There are three romances going on in this episode, though. The first is, obviously, Hachimaki and Ai’s relationship finally turning the corner and becoming official, sealed with the kiss that they weren’t able to do back on the beach. Ironically, despite the major focus, theirs would be the one most likely to bloom under this read, given that the only hierarchal obstacle is that Hachi has been with the company longer. There is something to be said, of course, for the danger of bleeding relationship drama into work (as evidenced every time Hachi and Claire are in the same scene together) but still. The second is the one in Third Division between the scientist and the receptionist, an example of that encouraged set of hierarchies: a receptionist is generally regarded as lesser than a scientist (though maybe that’s my own biases showing here), but the receptionist is the daughter of Third Division’s Chief, and he, of course, throws a fit so that’s the social web aspect, which serves as the throughline of the episode, both inspiring Arvind’s brief office romance ban and being the main conflict in the episode’s third act. Love wins, of course, because that’s the solution Planetes has for the conflicts it has presented even if the only character saying so so far is Ai (and maybe Yuri): people together are stronger than anything that might hold them down. Finally, there is the introduction of Claire and Hakim as an item, which isn’t going to show up as much onscreen since neither of them are major characters just yet, but it is important to note that it happens now, and particularly important to note the final line of that scene: “I suppose I’ll never be one of the nobility.” There is a sense here that this is why Claire has been taking on all this extra work: to earn that respect, and though she has earned Dolph’s because that’s what he values, other higher-ups at Technora have either already turned on her or have started to after her work with Temara and his space suit undermined the orders they gave her. That’s her conflict now, and something that, through implication at the end of this scene, we can see endears Hakim to her. This is the first episode of Planetes’ second half, and we can see elements like this -- things that set up the show’s future developments -- everywhere in the episode. Chang-shen is seen reading a brochure for the Von Braun (oh hey it’s that name again, but we’ll still get to that when we get to that), a spaceship that’s going to Jupiter, and it’s similarly mentioned when executives are discussing Claire’s recent performance. The title “Turning Point,” like many episode titles, has multiple meanings, and many of them are in regards to this. We’re still not abandoning the episodic nature of the show just yet, though. It is starting to blur the line between that and serial, but then again, maybe it was always blurred? And isn’t the show about blurring all these boundary lines anyway? -r Next time: For Edelgard’s episode, she wields a gun. ←Previous Post -- Next Post→

"There you are. You're lucky they managed to finish up and get hidden while you were running away." "Running away?" Lindow repeated with a frown. Was she really daft enough to think that he of all people would pass up on fight? Before he could say anything else, a thunderous roar shook the area. It was close. So close that Lindow found himself taking cover behind a nearby tree before he even realized it. After glancing over to be sure that Madelyn had done the same, he silently drew his bow before peaking out into the clearing. Even with the trees obscuring his view, it was obvious that this massive beast was nothing like anything the witch hunter had ever seen before. Soon after, the sounds of it feasting could be heard, even from where Lindow standing. He felt himself breath a sigh of relief. It appeared that they all had managed to go unnoticed somehow. Lindow listened intently for another moment to be sure. "Ah." He mouthed with a deep exhale. With no signs anyone else initiating the attack, he steeled his nerves. Crouching low, Lindow slowly began creep through the forest. Circling to the right around the clearing, he did his best to place himself away from where the other where likely hiding. With the monstrous specimen of a lizard finally in his sights, Lindow took a moment to study its muscular build before nocking an arrow and taking aim. "Let's get started then, shall we?" He chirped as he watched the first shot of the battle soar through he air. His arrow found its mark in the creature's neck, causing the beast to rear up with another titanic roar that shook Lindow entire body. He watched from the brush as it turned its massive head in his direction. Nocking another arrow, Lindow took a deep breath before standing tall so that he was clearly visible. It was apparent that the lizard had spotted him at this point. Though before the creature could drag its hulking mass into motion, Lindow took another shot, intent on taking one of its eyes. The shot dug into the lizards face, missing it's eyeball but still provoking it enough charge towards the tree line. Lindow grimaced. For split second he forgot that this was exactly what he wanted. One would be surprised how quickly twelve feet of fangs and muscle coming at you jogs the memory, however. With the angry lizard and its mouth full of fangs getting closer and closer, Lindow began to quickly back peddle to draw it deeper into tree line. When the beast reached the point where he had been hiding, he turned and broke off into a sprint towards where the other lay in wait. "Here it comes!" The thunder chosen called into the brush ahead as he weaved between the trees. The lizard was not too far behind, easily nocking over the smaller trees as it chased Lindow down.

That was it, then. The duels were over, with a 2-1 score overall for Team Genesis. They were pretty exciting duels, too. Evelyn could hardly ask for a better real intro to pro dueling on this side of the Pacific. “Would anyone like to weigh in first?” “Yeah, just a quick question. Sai, what the fuck?” Oh, that? Out of the three duels the team had partaken in, Daichi lost his, Falisha won hers, and then there was Sai. He also won, but unlike Falisha's modest victory, Sai finished the game with a display of brute force and sheer power. “...Did it never occur to you that the crowd wouldn’t like what you did?" They sure didn't like it. They even booed him for his performance. It was pretty rude, to be honest. "We’re not just trying to win, we do have to get some support. It doesn’t matter how good we get if the crowds refuse to show up for us.” Were... were those two not one and the same? “I understand you have your own views on this. I don’t even disagree. You need strength to back up your convictions. But what you did was beyond a show of strength. It made us look like bullies. It makes Vega look bad. It makes me look bad. It makes Rosalia look bad. Your duel will affect how we’re all perceived. First impressions matter. And the first impression we made now is that we’re willing to talk down to our opponents. Demean them. Treat them like that when there was no reason. When people talk about your victory, it’ll be in the context of how unnecessary your behavior was. Daichi, despite his loss, is the main reason we have any good will with the audience.” "Sashisematta. Is there a reason for what you did out there?" This felt like a matter everyone should weigh on. Including Eve. After waiting a bit to make sure nobody else had anything to say - and a brief moment of surprise at Sai's lack of an immediate answer - Eve presented her thoughts. "Does there have to be one?" Wait, no, that came out wrong. "Er, I mean, yes, he maybe said some things that were out of line. There's always going to be heels like that, and I'm not saying we should encourage it, but his actual turn? That was fine, right? Whether you make your opponent go to exactly zero like Falisha or make a display of power like Sai, winning at our debut is a great start. Plus there's that saying... all publicity is good publicity. Or something. I would've been rooting for him, at least, even if we weren't teammates," Evelyn concluded with a shrug. Then, as if it hadn't occurred to her until just now, Evelyn added one last thought, unrelated though it may have been to the matter at hand. "Oh, we should get something tasty to celebrate our first win. My treat."

I'm Pomu

Angelfood LIGHT FIend/Effect ATK 1000 | DEF 1800 If this card is sent from the hand or field to the GY: You can Ritual Summon 1 Non-Effect Ritual Monster from your Deck. This effect of "Angelfood" can only be used once per turn. The result of some drawing practice I felt like making into a full card. A pretty straightforward effect that's probably significantly more powerful than I imagine it to be. But hey, those dusty Performance of the Swords and Crab Turtles in your box of old cards deserve some love.