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[4play]

Okay. So. [Reaching down, IV lifts a curious-looking Meowth kitten up into the sight of the camera.] This is Not my Cat.

He’s literally not my cat, but he thinks he is, or whatever else cat logic that equals making himself at home in my traveling bag means that I also ought to feed and entertain him now.

Recently not my cat has started to pelt me with small change -- is that f- I mean, is that normal? It looks like it's grabbing that amulet or whatever it has first and then poing! Always straight in my face!


[He gives Not His Cat an accusatory stare that gets met with the feline version of a :3 face. Can you blame such a cute face? It's definitely planning another coin attack and when to best spring it on its human.

Sighing, IV sets the kitten down.]


I'm also looking for anybody who'd be interested in hunting for pokemon together. It's recently ...been brought to my notice that only having one that's truly capable of fighting might not be a good thing, so any help or advice on how to build a good team would be worth gold.

Comments

[4play]

They're antiques.

Way too rare and old to still be playing with them.

[thetombkeeper]

Antiques...?!

I know you said a lot of time has passed but... has Duel Monsters changed that much...?

[4play]

[IV just shrugs his shoulders. The original cards are just foil, arts and paper, you can't expect them to last that long, especially when used much.]

We use the Overlay Network now to play most duels VR-style. Summoning has changed too, or so I've heard.

[thetombkeeper]

I remember some other Duelists mentioning synchro-summons and pendulum monsters...

If that's really how the game is now, it sounds completely different than how it is for me.

I don't know how I feel about everything turning to holograms and virtual reality. I like being able to physically own my cards.

[4play]

I'd say it merely changed some as it expanded. You can play it as mere cards on a table or wherever, after all. [Pendulum, huh? Sounds like he also talked to Yuzu.]

Most just prefer to feel the wind of their monsters as they appear and dash to engage the enemy. The repercussions for losing Life Points also makes it more interesting that way.

[thetombkeeper]

[He actually spoke with Yuya before he left.]

The holograms did the same thing to a certain extent. I don't know how Kaiba managed that. But if you can still purchase physical cards, I guess it really hasn't changed all that much outside of some mechanics...

I wish I had access to the cards. My deck is busted at the moment.

[4play]

[There's too many Yu's running around here.]

Mere holograms did? How? [Well, okay, Kaiba, fair point. Even IV has heard that the guy was supposed to be a top-grade eccentric billionaire genius. He probably had the money to waste on that.] Yeah, you buy the cards in normal ways, then the Discs link the information on them up to the system.

I'm sorry. Mine is in not much of a better condition. I could use it, but since it's my Competition Setup it wouldn't be very fair to do so. [Also, it's build around his Numbers. Bringing Numbers against non-Numbers users is just plain unfair. Which has never stopped IV before, but there's a time and occasion for that.]

[thetombkeeper]

[There really is.]

I don't know the technology behind it, I'm afraid, outside of the Duel Disks reading a chip in each card to produce the correct monster. Kaiba's program is really advanced even for my time.

[He shifts a bit, thinking of his God Card.]

I'm sorry you're kind of in the same boat. I've been wanting to get everyone together and making copies of our cards so we can sort of have some variety. Ah, to get my hands on all of the cards ever created and be able to distribute them here would be awesome...

[4play]

I bet.

[He somehow manages to keep the sarcasm out of his voice.

But then Marik says something that has IV tilt his head in puzzlement.]

All cards? Here? Why'd you want to do that?

[thetombkeeper]

Yes? Because I enjoy the game. I'd like to be able to play it. There's plenty of Duelists here. Kaiba could probably get the Duel Disks built. It's an untaped market. If I didn't have my own projects going on, I'd be tackling it.

There is a pokémon card game but it really hasn't caught on and seems to be looked down upon.

[4play]

I don't think it'll take off here. They already have real monsters, why would they want to have a fake version of it as well?

Wait, Kaiba?

[thetombkeeper]

[He shrugs.]

It's a different format. Not everyone likes fighting with real monsters.

[Blink.]

Yeah, Seto Kaiba.

[4play]

Fair point, I guess.

[Huh.]


Okay, this just became several times weirder. Is he really so obsessed with dragons as it's always said?

[thetombkeeper]

I wouldn't say obsessed. More like... drawn to. There's a particular connection.

[He isn't about to tell him about Kisara and Ka Beasts.]

[4play]

Oh? Where's the difference between those two things?

[thetombkeeper]

One's mental, one's spiritual.

[4play]

And one's sexual?

[thetombkeeper]

... I'm sorry. What?

[4play]

[He laughs airily.]

Nothing, don't worry about it. I guess the joke wasn't around back in your time. Anyway, some might argue that spiritual and mental are very much the same thing in this particular case.

[thetombkeeper]

[Hmmm. He narrows his eyes for a moment. It probably is a joke in his time but he's a tad sheltered.]

It depends. Do you know the origins of Duel Monsters?

[4play]

[OR maybe IV is just pulling his leg hard.

IV frowns at the question, thinking for a moment before he shakes his head.]

Not really. I understand that there was some great something or another about its origins at one point, but I fear I'm more of a present tense Duelist. My brother could answer your question, though.

[thetombkeeper]

I'm not surprised it's still not common knowledge. It never should be... It should have remained sealed away, honestly.

[He sighs.]

I'll make it brief for you. Whether you believe me or not isn't something I can control but I'll at least tell you. Duel Monsters started as an aspect of a person's soul they summoned forth to do battle.

Some people have connections with certain monsters even after all this time. It could be through reincarnation, it could just be through bloodline. That's what I meant by spiritual.

[4play]

....Huh.

[He isn't laughing. Sure, Marik's tale sounds absurd, but there's three cards in his deck that are burning a hole into his pocket at the very idea.]

And how do you know all that?

[thetombkeeper]

[The blonde thinks for a bit on how to answer that. He knows his title doesn't mean anything here and that he does eventually fulfill his duty to Atem but... to just come out and say it seems... weird.]

My family specializes in preserving that kind of knowledge.

[A better, vague way of putting it.]

[4play]

[Knowledge of what? How it comes about that Kaiba apparently wanted to wank to his own dragon?

...

Ok, maybe he should keep that question to himself. IV clears his throat and tries to don a neutral expression.]

So you're historians?