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blueeyeswhitegarden · 5 years

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Arc V Anniversary Day 25

Day 25. Most surprising twists:

The reveal of Zarc, Ray and the original world were definitely some of the most surprising twists in Arc V. A lot of fans were expecting the Dragon Boys and Bracelet Girls to be pieces of deities given human form somehow, but it turned out that Zarc and Ray were for the most part regular humans that just happened to gain powers on the levels of gods through different circumstances. As cool as the gods of destruction and creation theory was, I'm still glad that they went in a different direction for the reveal. It just made the reveal much less predictable and Zarc being an Entertainment Duelist from the original world turned evil is a much more final villain than if it was a god of destruction. Leo feeling responsible for Zarc becoming a demon and being Ray's father also made him a far more compelling and complex villain than I ever thought he could be. It still surprises me just how much that backstory and his personal motivation turned Leo from a villain I was rather indifferent towards to one of my favorite villains in the series.

Seeing what led to the original world splitting into the four dimensions was also pretty great. It was interesting to see what was the first step towards Zarc's downfall and how people kept demanding for violent duels until he started to destroy everything around him was rather intense. While we didn’t see all of Ray’s first duel against Zarc, her confidence and determination to protect her father at all cost was pretty amazing. Hearing the Dragon Boys' voices right before Zarc was split apart was also a nice touch. The reveal also explained why the other dimensions had stronger readings for their specific summoning method compared to how characters from Standard used the Extra Deck summoning methods. There was so much buildup to these mysteries throughout the series and these reveals provide such great payoff. Everything we learned during Leo's account of the original world was such a huge change for the series and even now, I can remember just how amazed I was when I first watched those two episodes.

Reira taking in Ray's spirit and playing such a key role in defeating Zarc was another huge amazing twist. I already loved how much Reira had grown over the course of the series and it was already clear that she wasn't just going to be on the sidelines, but I never expected that Reira would be needed to defeat the big villain of Arc V. There was good buildup to it too with how Reira was the only one to hear Ray's spirit and chose to help her even if it meant clashing with Reiji. That was already pretty huge considering how much Reira admires Reiji, but she still managed to give Ray a body in order to use the En Cards and defeat Zarc. Sealing Zarc in her own body was also pretty shocking. They had already defeated Zarc and he was about to split apart, which would have started the cycle all over again, but Reira chose to seal Zarc's evil heart in the hope that it would prevent Zarc from threatening the four dimensions all over again. Reira would have reverted back into a baby regardless due to what we learned about the En Cards, but the fact that she chose to seal Zarc's evil heart in the hopes of stopping Zarc's destruction once and for all was really amazing. Much like Ray, Reira sacrificed herself in order to save the people she cares about and it really was the culmination of her character development.

I really liked the goal of redeeming Zarc during the last arc, as well as Zarc's true dream. Admittedly, I never thought that the Yuya or any of the Dragon Boys would duel against Zarc. It never seemed that was possible given what they setup about Zarc, but I assumed that he would be gone for good once he was defeated. Instead, there were still lingering damages from that battle and the dimensional war in general felt throughout the last arc. I thought that dealing with the aftermath and basically cleansing Zarc's evil heart by making him smile was a more interesting and unexpected development than if he was just gone completely after his defeat. Zarc was still a potential threat even within Reira just because he could revive and attempt to destroy the world all over again. It could have happened even sooner simply because Zarc had already been revived once and would be even more eager to lash out again as a result. But by being able to make Reria, and by extension Zarc's evil heart, truly smile, his evil would be cleansed and no longer a threat. That's why Reira sealing Zarc's evil heart and the efforts to get her to smile were so important. It basically gave the heroes a chance to stop the cycle so that Zarc wouldn't revive and go on another destructive rampage. It also led to some great character moments during the last stretch of the series, such as Dennis finally accepting his true self, Yuya accepting that he is Zarc in order to overcome his fear of using the other dragons and working alongside his counterparts during the finale to truly show that they have become one. It was just such a good concept to use for the last arc and gave it more memorable moments and duels than if it was just Yuya vs. Zarc somehow.

I also really liked the reveal of Zarc's true dream. It humanized him a lot more than I thought it would. It was so unexpected, but fitting at the same time. Yuya is Zarc, so the idea that Zarc was once more like Yuya felt natural and made his downfall more tragic in a sense. He was just too focused on following the crowds to maintain his own dream of making everyone happy with his duels. Dueling more violently obviously didn't make his monsters happier and their anger heavily contributed to his downfall too. It was a small moment, but it really helped to make Zarc stand out even more to me as a villain. It was another element that made Zarc come off more like a dark mirror of what Yuya could have become if he had been raised differently or didn't have the emotional support of his friends and families to give him a strong foundation for his ideals. Seeing Yuya and Reira cry upon regaining this memory was quite sad. Even Zarc's evil heart was crying once he realized just how far he fell from his true dream. It was just such a good emotionally effective moment that really made me appreciate Zarc even more.

#Arc V #Arc V Anniversary #Arcvanniversary

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entamewitchlulu · 5 years

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Arc V Month Day 12: Favorite Ships

ohohohoho, did you mean my favorite day?? I love talking about ships, I love exploring possible character dynamics whether those are romantic, platonic, sexual, antagonistic, or whatever, and Arc V is FULL of great character dynamics as well as great potential ones that while they never interacted much or at all in canon, I still think would be really fun to play with

I could talk for hours about ships, and I have a LOT of faves within Arc V (arc v was actually the beginning of my multishipping tendencies, before this I was a strict single-ship-per-character type), but for the purposes of time and space I will talk only about my “starter pack” as I like to call it lol. Tho, if you would like to hear my thoughts on any other Arc V ship, please don’t hesitate to drop into my askbox! I love to talk about this >w<

Escapeshipping (Asuka/Osiris Red Girl)

One half of the ship may not even have an actual name, but that doesn’t stop me from being in love with this little rarepair. I’ve always liked the idea of bi Asuka, but before Arc V, there really wasn’t a female character I really enjoyed shipping her with. Arc V came to the rescue by giving her a gf (it also gave Crow a bf...Arc V said gay rights). Even though all we get of them is one flashback, it’s pretty clear that the two of them were close, close enough for the Osiris girl to confide in Asuka her treasonous thoughts and to want to save Asuka by bringing her along in her escape rather than simply escaping on her own. And it’s the Osiris girl’s sacrifice that drives Asuka to be as much of a rebel against Academia that she is. That’s the set up for a powerful tragic love story right there, and we only had half an episode -- that’s pretty epic imo.

Chaperoneshipping (Gongenzaka/Sawatari)

I named this rarepair, so it has a special place in my heart lol. I just think it’s probably one of the funniest, and yet sweetest ships I’ve got for Arc V. The two of them are pretty much diametric opposites -- Sawatari never stops moving or talking and is super full of himself, while Gongenzaka is based on standing completely still and has a pretty healthy understanding of himself and his limits. Every single interaction they had was gold, as the two of them have such different ideals and beliefs, but they play off of each other so well. They’re literally the tol gay + smol gay and I love them and their banter a lot -- plus, I legitimately think that the two of them are pretty good for each other. Gongenzaka can help ground Sawatari but also take care of him when his inevitable loss of confidence spirals back again, and Sawatari can put an exasperated smile on Gongenzaka’s face and help him loosen up here and there.

rest are under the cut so this doesn’t get TOO long lol

Darkrebelshipping (Shun/Yuto)

This is one I haven’t actually paid as much attention to lately, but I still do really enjoy it! It’s a little cliche, but I just find their relationship pretty interesting. It’s clear that they’re close friends who trust each other, but there’s also a lot of friction between them because they have such fundamentally different value systems. They both want the same things, but what they’re willing to do to achieve those things is very different, and seeing how that effects the two of them in different situations is very interesting to me. Plus, I just kind of love how they both look like they would go to Hot Topic together lol.

Moonblossomshipping (Ruri/Selena)

Am I using my own screenshot edit for these two? Yes, yes I am, because despite my deep and abiding love for this ship, they never officially got to interact while not possessed lol.

As the above mentioned lack of interaction notes, this ship is mostly in my head, but I think it has a lot of interesting potential as a dynamic. Ruri and Selena may be parts of the same person, but they have some unique differences that make their potential relationship intriguing. Selena is a very headstrong person who rarely thinks before she acts, acting on an innate sense of justice that may be skewed because she rarely takes the time to closely examine where that image of justice is coming from. She’s an angry and impulsive person determined to prove herself, and yet she’s also very disciplined in other places. Ruri, on the other hand, comes from a much softer world, and from what we’ve seen of her, she also has a strong sense of justice -- though her views on it come from a place of sympathy/empathy and a desire for compassion towards others, rather than Selena’s warrior-like take on making justice happen. That softness + Selena’s sharpness makes for a great contrast, and the fact that their two worlds are pretty much perfectly opposed in the struggle in canon also sets up for some great star-crossed lovers shit which I’m ALWAYS into.

And outside of that? They just are....so pretty. They have the best aesthetic together. I was shipping them somehow before Ruri was even revealed, I am here for the long haul.

Duskshipping (Dennis/Yuuri)

Here’s another ship that gave me less than half an episode of content and made me go absolutely wild over it. Yuuri and Dennis may have only interacted for a few moments and only twice overall, but there’s something about those moments that still captivates me. The whole concept of Yuuri being this terrifying force that people run to the side of the hall to avoid, even as a child, but then being met by a laid-back, cheerful greeting from Dennis, fascinates me. Dennis isn’t scared of Yuuri at all, in fact, he seems to find Yuuri amusing to some degree. He’s the only character in the entire show who hasn’t immediately viewed Yuuri as some terrifying monster. Part of that may be simply due to Dennis’s cheerful + semi suicidal personality, but I think there might be a little more to it than that, especially since Yuuri doesn’t seem at all annoyed at Dennis’s lack of respect. There’s this sense of relaxation to their interactions, as though they’re used to hanging out, as though they’re comfortable with each other. For people like the two of them -- Dennis, with his self-loathing covered up by a mask of cheer, and Yuuri, with his monstrous, malicious glee towards destruction, that unspoken comfort with anyone, much less people so different from each other, feels very important.

Stealthshipping (Sora/Tsukikage)

This one hit me like a frieght train all at once. For most of my favorite Arc V ships, I got the sense that I would like them early on into their character introductions. Basically from the moment I saw most of them, their first interaction or even their first introduction alone, I had the feeling I was going to love them as a ship. These two? I had no idea I was going to make THIS my favorite ship for the two of them...and honestly, my only romantic ship for either of them. And like, why would I have? Their first interaction is where Sora kills Tsukikage’s brother. Angsty, to be sure, but I barely thought they’d even meet again.

When they did, however, and how it all played out after that, I was smitten. Two soldiers who met on opposite sides of the conflict, who had every reason to hate each other, and every reason to destroy each other, who found themselves slowly, slowly putting that unease aside for the common goal ahead of them, until they became a team to be reckoned with. Sora apologizing for what he did to Tsukikage’s brother and even offering to atone any way Tsukikage wanted as long as he could save Yuzu and Yuya first, Tsukikage putting down his grudge “just for now,” slowly becoming the two of them coming to each other’s aid and fighting like a team? It was so powerful. I definitely need to create more content for the two of them.

Genesishipping (Ray/Zarc)

Let’s be honest, we all ship this one a little bit. They’re the penultimate tragic, antagonistic couple, even if they probably never actually met in the past. They’re perfectly opposed forces, creation and destruction, and Ray is more than willing to come back over and over again to fight Zarc, while Zarc builds pretty much his entire self around being able to defeat Ray again. Plus, considering all of the bonds between their counterparts? It’s obvious that in another life, these two would have been friends, or even lovers, which just makes their actual first meeting all the more tragic. They have a wealth of possibilities to explore, and it’s one of the most popular ships in the fandom for a reason.

Appleshipping (Rin/Yugo)

otherwise known as THE CUTEST OTP....I don’t know what to say about Apple that I or others haven’t said before. They are such a power couple. They’re so sweet and wholesome, but they’re also inherently kind of tragic. They grew up in a world that didn’t want them to survive, but they did. Yugo’s pure love for Rin, and Rin’s motherly nagging, probably out of fear that Yugo’s happy nature might end up with him getting hurt in this awful world they live in, hiding her own deep love for him back, is just such a sweet, beautiful combination. The way they constantly work together and constantly think of each other is just so sweet and lovely, and I love them a lot.

Lustershipping (Yuzu/Masumi)

The ORIGINAL Arc V gays, the one I shipped before I even started watching the damn show. Shallow bit out of the way first, but they’re a pink/blue ship, and their color schemes together are GORGEOUS, which is my weakness.

Past that, though, this is the first pair of significant f/f rivals we’ve gotten in YGO to my knowledge, and I’ve found lately that I’ve become something of a sucker for some brands of rival pairs. They’re antagonistic, but it drives them both to be better, and they shit-talk each other, which is great to see with an f/f rival pair, but they end up being super respectful and even grateful to each other for pushing them to get better and better. And if you don’t think Masumi’s got a crush on Yuzu at the very least, I don’t know what to tell you lol. She gave the girl a ROSE.

I’d love to play with their continuing relationship more with the pair of them as rivals who eventually become friends before they know it, and then perhaps something more :)

Pendulumshipping (Yuya/Reiji)

And here we are. You all knew it was coming if you’ve been here for longer than 10 minutes, lol. Yuya/Reiji was my fave from the beginning, and it only grew and grew and grew until it became my most important and favorite OTP of everything I’ve ever shipped.

I’ve told the story a million times, but I first began shipping them when Reiji imagined he was dueling Yuya while testing his pendulum cards. What kind of a person do you have to be to move someone as immovable as Reiji, who’s spent his entire life making himself strong and unaffected for the task ahead? What kind of person do you have to be to stick in Reiji’s mind like that? And for a while, it felt very one-sided to me, though I played around with the idea of Yuya eventually returning those feelings -- still, back then, I felt almost guilty about the ship because more than one person called it potentially abusive, and I could see where they were coming from -- canon at that point had shown them as antagonists towards each other after all. And then canon kept trucking along and showed me that it wasn’t just that at all -- a seed of trust was starting to blossom between the two of them. The moment that Yuya called out Reiji’s name by his first name out of concern to see him trapped with the Council, that’s when I realized they absolutely did both have some level of trust in and care for each other. And when Yuya shouted out his trust in Reiji despite Roget’s revelation about Reiji’s father, proving that he did trust Reiji and his judgement after all, and when their tag duel arrived, and Reiji decided he would throw in with Yuya all the way, that he would stand behind him and believe in him til the end and the two of them fought together, that was it. It’s place as my favorite OTP was sealed.

There’s just something so soft and gentle about them, despite their beginnings. They don’t have the same antagonistic air to them that most main ygo protag/rival pairs have to time. Despite their beginnings, they were always on the same side, and it was never about trying to one up the other, even at their last battle -- it was always about working together for a common goal, and making the other better. And I just really, really love that.

#arcvanniversary #long post #lulu talks #this was so much fun to talk about all my ships lol

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3w-writer-with-wings · 5 years

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3 and 19 for the salty ask?

3) Have you ever unfollowed someone over a fandom opinion?

Not really. I think I like unfollowed 2, maybe 3 people in the last 4 years that I’ve been on Tumblr due to completely different reasons (I think one person kept spamming me, one would post a shitton of random stuff every day and it was too overwhelming for my dashboard and I don’t really remember the third one). Honestly, if someone has an opinion I don’t agree with, I rather listen to their reasoning since it is interesting to see something from a different perspective. I would only unfollow if they would pester me with it.

19) What is the one thing you hate most about your fandom?

FIRST GEN WAS THE BEST! aka. people who can’t shut up how great the first generation of the first series like Pokemon and Yu-Gi-Oh! and bash any other spin-off. I’ll admit it, when I was done with Duel Monsters, I hardly watched GX due to missing the old gang but eventually I grew to love the characters and story, especially Judai, Johan, Yubel and Jim. Same went for 5Ds. I thought Yusei was going to be this edgy, cool and always glaring protagonist, but he turned out to be the sweetest and smartest guy who deeply cares about his friends. I needed a while to get used to Yuma and Yuya, but once I really got into ARC V, I realized just how much development each spinoff got. VRAINS is still going strong and now that I’m rewatching the first series, I can see that it wasn’t as perfect and that there were things missing. I wouldn’t say it was the worst, but it is quite obvious that Duel Monsters were doing a lot of things for the first time. Spin-offs so got the basis and added more elements to new ones. VRAINS literally took everything that made the previous series great and put it together in a very well-written show. I have no doubt the next spin-off will incorporate the old elements that we know and love and add something brand new to make it unique. But no, people refuse to watch anything new and claim the first generation is the one and only without any other constructive argument. When I was cosplaying Yuya, I got several responses like “Why are you cosplaying that guy when you could be cosplaying someone from gen one? That way people could recognize you.” “Oh look, it is that Yugi-wannabe.” “I never watched anything past one gen. It is the best.” I cosplayed Yuya because he is a yugioh protagonist I relate to the most. I love ARC V and being Yuya was one way to show it. Still, that one other guy had a nerve to tell me off how bad ARC V was compared to first-generation EVEN THOUGH HE NEVER ACTUALLY WATCHED IT! Like dude chill, some people actually decided to go past their childhood nostalgia and gave new series a chance. I completely understand that people have preferences, but bashing new spinoffs just because you decided the first one is the best without an actual argument is utterly rude and unnecessary. A lot of people wish for a first-generation reboot like Sailor Moon, but what is really a point of that? Yugi and Atem got their conclusive end in Dark Side of Dimensions - Atem got his well-deserved rest and Yugi can now peacefully work on his new game without saving the world. With a new reboot, this ending will no longer be conclusive and will obviously be just a cash grab. That’s the charm of the new spin-offs. They continue to tell new stories with new elements and characters and to be honest, it is going really well.

Same goes for Pokemon. My favourite generations are Diamon&Pearl and XYZ, and I absolutely prefer Eureka/Bonnie, Citron/Clement and Hikari/Dawn to all other companions. I’m sorry, but Misty wasn’t as great as others praise her to be and Brock has been with Ash for three generations. Ash will likely always be the main protagonist, so it is nice if at least his companions get switched. I remember watching the 20th Pokemon movie, I Choose You and I really liked the idea of Ash having two new companions in an alternative timeline. But noooo, a whole lot of people weren’t having it. They claimed it felt like Misty and Brock were erased. Like duh, they weren’t supposed to be in it, how else are you supposed to represent the alternative timeline? Personally, I think Sorrel and Verity were really unique and would fit well as Ash’s companion. Verity was probably the first female pokemon trainer that ever travelled with Ash (other girls were either gym leaders, coordinators, performers and whatever Iris and Alola girls are) and her energetic and ongoing persona was really enjoyable, she kinda felt like female Ash. And Sorrel? I loved every single aspect of him. From his fear of losing pokemon and recovering with the help of Lucario to his dream of becoming a professor. And somehow the two of them got so much hate, simply because they weren’t Misty and Brock. This was likely the reason why that was their only appearance. The new characters in Power of Us make sense because they were all from that main city and the main story revolved around their insecurities and them learning how to make a step forward. Still Verity and Sorrel could still fit in there in some way. And the next movie? 3D reboot of the first movie! The first time I watched the trailer I was like “What even is this?” With so many Disney live-action reboots, it was just a matter of time before Pokemon would pick up the same idea. With over twenty movies, they are slowly losing ideas and with so many fans who demand nostalgia they went along with it. I’m yet to see that movie but from what I’ve seen, I fear it will end up like Lion King remake - a complete copy without a heart (kinda ironic since it is literally about clones). I miss the creativity and passion put in other movies, I mean, the staff members travelled the world to get inspiration and used real-life monuments, towns and cultures as a basis. Are they slowly giving up in those outrageous demands from loud fans?

To sum up, yes I dislike fans who insist something that came first was the best and don’t give the following the chance. I agree the spinoffs aren’t always the best (looking at you TMNT, Digimon and Beyblade), but I don’t in any way bash them. I will express my dislikes, but I will always provide a reason why and listen to people who indeed like it. Creators are pressured enough as it is and we should appreciate their work in any way we can.

#yugioh series #pokemon

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iyliss · 6 years

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T. H. O. M. A. S. for the alphabet ask meme please :3

Ooooh thanks ! When i saw thisi was wearing my cosplay of thomas XD

T - Do you have any hard andfast headcanons that you will die defending?

It’s kinda hard because while i havestrong interpretations, aus, crossover, theories and analysis iwould die for, my hc aren’t as important… So I don’t know how tocall this but it’s the first thing i thought of :

We know that photon mode destroyphysical health, because it allows to have the power of numberswithout being possessed. And it’s most likely that the more numberskaito has, the worst his health get.

Now how do the arclights’ crest work ?I would say the same, but since it’s magic and not science it doesn’tdestroy the body but the soul. A clear exemple of that is when Mihaelgets even more power and a numbers, while turning violent in his duelagainst Yuma.

And I counted. Thomas retrieved around20 numbers, at least as much as Kaito, maybe more…

H - What is your favorite sourcetext for fandom stuff (e.g., TV shows, movies, books, anime, Westernanimation, etc.)?

I have a hard time with live action,and reading can sometimes be complicated for me, so drawn medias arethe best (comics book, mangas, animation, video games…).

Overall I think my favorite are animes,i love taking screenshot of scene frame by frame to analyze itprecisely.

O - Choose a song at random.Which ship or character does it remind you of?

This one is really hard because i havea lot of songs i relate to characters/ship but most of the time Ican’t really talk about it.

Thankfully my mp3 quickly gave meDreamless Dreams and this song is totally about Saiou.

It’s a very lonely person talking abouttheir fear of the future, of other people, and there’s some linesabout magic… Also there’s bits of love and destinyshipping thatmakes my heart melt ♥

The three parts that are the mostrelated to him must be :

« I wonder how living is, becauseliving humans are scary. »

« Is it okay if I’m such agood-for nothing ? Could I still receive some tender love ?

Is a hopeless human like me able totalk about dreams ? »

« This is just the stupidmonologue from someone who didn’t choose being alone. »

And for even more destinyshipping,there’s another song by the same voca-p, Tender rain, that is totallyfrom Edo’s point of view >w

M - Name a character that you’dlike to have for a friend.

Definetely Ryo ! Or even Bakura !I absolutely love trpg and they both seem so good at it I would loveplaying with them so much. I don’t like board rpgs, but a call ofcthulhu session with them should be incredible fun.

A - Ships that you currentlylike a lot. (They don’t have to be OTPs because not everyone hasOTPs.) Friendships, pairings, threesomes, etc. are allowed.

For anyone that hasn’t noticed already,destiny has taken over my life for some months by now. I wonder ifthere have been a single day where I haven’t thought about it atleast a bit. Thankfully a friend also love it so I have someone totalk to when im overwhelmed with how awesome this ship is.

Also i might add this… strangecrackship/threesome/idk how to call it with edo/kaiser/saiou.Basically Saiou and edo are dating, but saiou is ace and edo isn’t sohe has sex with Kaiser while not romantically loving him, but kaiserstill live with them and him and saiou becomes very good friends.

S - Show us an example of yourpersonal headcanon (prompts optional but encouraged)

I talked a lot about zexal and gx, solet’s go with arc v for this (and Sora because i love sora) :

-Sora eats lot of candies to have theenergy needed as a soldier. It’s also a way for him to keep his calmwhen stressed or sad.

-he likes sewing and make lots oflittle stuffed toys with old clothes. In academia he wasn’t supposed to do so,so he was hiding it, but after arc v he starts offering them toeveryone around him.

-he’s aro and didn’t know aboutromantic relationships til yuya and yuzu started dating someone. He’skinda afraid of their friendship meaning less once they settle withtheir romantic partner, but it never happens ♥

-when he bakes, he never follow anyrecipe. He just put what he thinks would taste good together, and italways end great but very sugary.

-There isn’t any christmas at academiaso once he starts living at standard he is incredibly excited to havea christmas party while having no idea of how it works.

-he gets very angry very easily whenplaying video games (because he takes it so seriously).

-with yuzu and yuya, he made a list ofthings he never did (like going to an attraction parc or watchingfireworks) and every week end they do one of it.

#ask meme #thanks i hope i didn't talk too much about my current passion

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darkzorua100 · 6 years

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SO since you got me with it, how about some headcanons from you for Yu4 + Zarc for the '4 head canons' thing?

Oh yes, karma coming back to bite me in the butt XD Well it is a good thing I adore these boys so much that I can talk about them for days if I really wanted to (and if anyone wanted to listen to me talk at all to begin with).

But seriously this took way longer than I though…geez lol

Guide:

Headcanon A: realistic

Headcanon B: while it may not be realistic it is hilarious

Headcanon C: heart-crushing and awful, but fun to inflict on friends

Headcanon D: unrealistic, but I will disregard canon about it because I reject canon reality and substitute my own.

Yuya

A: Yuya used to be really scared of Yuzu when they were toddlers, always afraid to get near her when Yusho, Yoko, and Shuzo put them in the playpen together. That was due to Zarc’s deep subconsciousness being worried about her bracelet but at realizing that it had no effected on him (Yuya), Yuya slowly was able to grow out of this fear for her and why none of the other boys reacted this way (since they didn’t meet their bracelet girls until they were children, in Yugo/Rin and somewhat in Yuri/Selena case, and teenagers, for Yuto/Ruri).

B: He has a huge Performapal Hip Hippo plushie from his childhood trapped somewhere in his closest.

C: Yuya has depression (yes this is like an OBVIOUS statement at this point but I just like to point out that Yuya CLEARLY had it long before the start of the show (Synchro and Zarc really didn’t help that out at all). Yoko knew something was wrong with her son as soon as Yusho disappeared but didn’t confront Yuya about it since she didn’t want him to feel like he was having to tell her about his problems and waited until he felt ready to talk about it (since she knew what Yuya was going through from her biker days and how she reacted when someone try to make her open up). Also the reason why he wears a choker and wristbands is to hide the cut and choke scars/masks when it really got really bad at one point just as his googles were used to hide his eyes and tears from sight when he was crying (well this got really sad and messed up…)

D: After finally getting Yuto, Yugo, and Yuri kicked out of him, Yuya sometimes would find himself spilling into their personality traits when the situation called for it which would cause one of his eyes to change to match his counterparts’ he was embracing in that moment.

Yuto

A: Shun and Yuto met during an overnight school trip. Shun snuck out during the night to practice his dueling and Yuto followed him, wondering where he was going. Shun was defensive at first, thinking Yuto was going to judge him for claiming that champion duelists never sleep (they were children so child logic), but when Yuto offered to help him train, the two ended up becoming best friends at their mutual love for the game (plus both thought the others’ deck was really cool).

B: Yuto plays the deck he uses today, Phantom Knights, because he got sick and tried of his opponent, when he was younger, destroying his backrow of Spells/Traps and decided to play a deck that would take advantage of his backrow being destroyed (as seen during his duel with Shingo).

C: After forcefully taking over Yuya body during his duel with Edo, Yuto felt immediately awful after the duel was over after his anger had finally lessened. He always wanted to talk to Yuya about it but never had the courage to bring it up or the situation never allowed him to bring it up and to say he was sorry. The guilt is still eating at him to this day.

D: Yuto is graysexual. He doesn’t understand it since he attracted to Ruri but finds everything else just off. He tries asking Dark Rebellion about it any chance he can get since his dragon is ace and has an understanding of what Yuto is going through. After finding out about Zarc, however, Yuto now honestly thinks that his genes just got a bad mix of Dark Rebellion and Zarc (who was in a sexually active relationship with Ray) during the split and why he’s in the gray area between the two.

Yugo

A: I don’t remember if I mention this or not, probably not since I feel like I going to get backlash for this, but looking back at it, I’m convinced that Yugo has Asperger Syndrome.

B: Even before the whole “Pawn of Fusion” thing, Yugo still got super annoyed when someone would call him “Fusion” regardless if it was on purpose or not.

C: The reason why he’s so sensitive about his whole name thing is because when he was younger, he used to be teased a lot because of it, of why someone would call their child “Fusion” of all things, and cause he had a “girly dragon” (Clear Wing was more offended then anything). Everyone who called him that only brought back bad memories for him, especially Yuri, and that’s why he lashes out like that.

D: Yugo and Yuri got a proper rematch and Yugo ended up winning this time around (since he was around Yuri’s head space long enough to figure out his tricks and how to counter them).

Yuri

A: If Yuri didn’t find out about Zarc, he would have ended up stabbing Leo in the back at some point or another just because of how power hungry he getting at that point if Leo didn’t end up stabbing Yuri in the back first.

B: The reason why Yuri hardly had an screen time was due to the fact that he was busy taking care of his plants and feeding them his carded victims.

C: Yuri became so obsessed with Yuya was due to the fact that he finally thought he found someone who he could relate to, someone who was just like him that would accept him, not because they wanted to use him or were scared of him, but because they also understood what it meant to be a demon, even if Yuya didn’t want to agree with that. Truly it made sense for them to be one again, regardless who was the winner of their duel which was why Yuri wanted Yuya to just go ahead and get it over with when he lost. There was just nothing for him that he was leaving behind that made him want to be just Yuri anymore. He literally had nothing but the will to destroy others and well, Zarc was going to do that anyway. If anything, Yuri was the only one who ended up winning in the end with that ending we got.

D: I’m still convinced that he’s Yubel’s son and no one can tell me other wise. I also like to believe that Yubel and Yuri went to all the other Yu-Gi-Oh series, grabbed their Plant Users, and brought them to a garden sanctuary.

Zarc

A: Before using his Supreme King deck, Zarc played Pendulum Magicians (and considering they are the best deck of the format competitively at the moment, no wonder he became the top duelist in the world).

B: Zarc tries to throw his dragons surprise birthday parties. Since none of them really have birthdays, Zarc just picks the days at random, sometimes multiple times a year, but Odd-Eyes, Dark Rebellion, Clear Wing, and Starving Venom always find out about them since 1: Zarc isn’t very good at hiding secrets from them (since they are always on him and can always see what he’s doing) and 2: when he goes to the bakery and orders a dragon size cake. They at least try to act surprise for him and have fun trying to figure out which one of them is having the birthday this time around.

C: Like Yugo, Zarc grew up as an orphan on the streets and the reason why he started entertaining people in the first place was to earn money as a street performer just so he could take care of himself and to mask his own sadness at his reality from his dragons and himself by making others happy.

D: Zarc was half Duel Spirit even before fusing with his dragons (having a human father and a Duel Spirit mother (so he’s a demigod I guess you could say).

#ask meme #headcanon meme #arc-v #yuu boys #zarc (arc v)

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real-life-pine-tree · 6 years

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Seed of Darkness: Hopes, Dreams, and Wishes (9/?)

All it takes it one bad seed to spoil the whole bunch. An AU collab with @violetganache42.

Although things were beginning to look bleak for Yuya, he wasn’t the only one dealing with the harsh reality of the Reverse conflict. Dennis, Sylvio, and Julia were all taking refuge on top of a building in Iceberg Zone, still trying to calm down after witnessing Celina “liberate” Zuzu. Even though they were all upset by what they were forced to watch, Sylvio and Julia were both confused and lost on why this happened and if it relates to Dipper and Reed not getting a chance to have their duel and how Yuya’s duel with Iggy ended. Dennis overheard their wonders and had a feeling these events must be connected with what was going on, so he explained to them everything he knows so far about the Reversed Duelists.

A few minutes passed and their conversation was almost done wrapping up, but it was cut short thanks to the arrival of a certain someone. A light blue light glowed in front of them and it revealed the silhouette of a young male teen. The light faded away to reveal Yuri and Dennis couldn’t be happier to see his friend again. Sylvio and Julia, on the other hand, were more baffled on how he looks exactly like Yuya and this other lookalike they saw when the Battle Royale started.

Dennis faked a smile. "Oh hey," he told Yuri. "It's you. So how's it going, Yuri?"

"Did you find her?" Yuri asked, referring to Zuzu.

That caused Dennis' façade to slip. "I did," he answered. "But..."

Yuri knew what his friend's hesitation meant. "Celina got to her, didn't she?" he asked.

"I tried to protect Zuzu!" Dennis explained. "But Celina was able to Reverse her, just like when she confronted Lulu and Rin!"

Unfortunately for him, the bad news did not sit well with Yuri; in fact, he was showing signs that he was livid about this. His eyebrows and lower right eyelid were twitching, his hands had the urge to clench into fists, and he felt his arms—and maybe his entire body—tremble. Dennis had only one job to do and it was all wasted; before he could have time to yell, Julia interjected by stating what happened. The way Celina Reversed Zuzu was unlike the usual method of Reversing Duelists; she transferred Reverse energy to her Standard counterpart instead of dueling her and it left Dennis with no time to counteract. It was most likely how she Reversed her other counterparts, but it wasn’t like he was doing a bad job at protecting her; he knew what he was doing, so seeing a different Reversing technique caught him off guard. He thought the Pendulum cards were the Reverse Duelists’ weakness, but it looked like they were fooled about it all along.

"Why did Declan even say Pendulum cards are their weaknesses?" Yuri questioned.

"He explained his reasons to me when he gave me my new Abyss Actors deck," Sylvio answered. "He actually confronted Celina, but before her associate could duel him, she stopped him and said he has Pendulum cards."

"WHAT?" Yuri asked.

"Those were apparently her exact words," Sylvio said. "Declan was the one who came to the conclusion that they're the Reverse's weakness."

Yuri let out a frustrated sigh as he rubbed his brow. "My gosh, what an idiot..." he muttered.

"I beg your pardon?" Julia asked.

"Don't you get it?!" Yuri asked. "Celina used those words on purpose to trick Declan! She wanted him to make more Pendulum cards!"

"For what?" Sylvio asked.

"I'm not quite sure," Yuri admitted. "But perhaps we can get a Reversed Duelist to..." He held up his Starving Venom Fusion Dragon card. "...cough up some information."

Julia and Sylvio looked a bit unease at Yuri's suggestion. "Don't mind him," Dennis said. "Yuri's my childhood friend. I learned to tell when he's joking."

Meanwhile, Yuya had taken cover somewhere within Jungle Zone to hide himself away from the public, fearing the Void could take over any moment to fulfill its plans further. Surrounded by dozens of trees, he was hidden away just enough for him to be alone with his thoughts. He was holding a card in his hand, which was shown to be Queen Dragun Djinn, the same card Yuto gave to him shortly after regaining consciousness. She meant a lot to him because from the moment the two boys crossed paths with each other a couple days ago, it had already evolved into a much deeper connection with them. He could feel it. The link he shares with his XYZ counterpart. Even though it was shrouded by the fear and sadness of recent events, he could sense how strong their bond is.

"Geez, can you lighten up already?"

The mysterious voice caused Yuya to look away from his card and sharply raise his head to see where it came from. He looked around to see where it came from until he saw a mysterious teen standing next to his left, staring at him with his red and green heterochromia eyes. Yuya was more focused on where he came from instead of why his coloring felt oddly familiar.

"Who are you?!" Yuya asked, alarmed. "And where did you come from?!"

"Calm down, Yuya," the teen said. "It's me, Odd-Eyes! Well technically I'm Double Iris Magician in this form, but it's still me."

Yuya examined the colors Double Iris Magician had and realized the latter was right; the hat resembled the upper half of his head, the shoulder blades were similar to his torso, the lower body mirrored his dragon legs, the gauntlets were reminiscent to his 'wings', and his dual-colored eyes retained the same red and green hues. Heck, he even has a sword based on his dragon form! He was amazed by this discovery yet curious on how Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon can transform into this Double Iris Magician person.

"How did this happen?" Yuya asked.

"I'm not even sure," Double Iris admitted. "I heard you feeling sad about this Reverse stuff when suddenly, poof! I gained this second identity." He looked at his hand as he flexed his fingers. "It kinda feels weird having a human body..."

Yuya, however, didn't respond. "I also heard this weird voice in the back of my head telling me to 'unite as one'," Double Iris continued.

“Unite as one?” Could it be this Void’s doing? Well, maybe not because it has already chosen its human host, but what about Odd-Eyes—or Double Iris, in this case? Could there be another creature of some sort persuading him into doing a dark cause? Is this creature owned by the Void? That could be a possibility because it was gradually getting stronger as the time passes by, so there was no telling what danger would unfold for his Performapals, especially his signature ace.

"Oh, stop worrying about that," Double Iris said. "Maybe that voice is suggesting us to unite as one, which could explain my new form."

Yuya let out a massive sigh of relief at this hypothesis; if that voice was telling Odd-Eyes to work together with his owner as a duo, they could stand a chance against the Reversed Duelists and maybe even the Void. It was actually neat that he was granted the ability to transform into his magician variant in the heat of the moment, possibly due to wanting to give Yuya a nudge to get one step ahead of the new enemy. Does that mean Yuto and Yugo's signature dragons also unlock something similar to what Odd-Eyes can now do?

"Is that why you unlocked this new form?" Yuya asked. "To help me out?"

"Sort of," Double Iris admitted. "But I mostly want to tell you that you're not the only one dealing with a demonic being inside your heart. I feel it too."

"How?" Yuya asked.

"It's the Void's main Unit, Omega Glendios," Double Iris explained. "Every time the Void takes over your body, Omega Glendios does the same thing to me. So far it happened twice: once during your duel with Iggy and once when you revealed yourself to Yuto and Shay. And just like how hearing Sora allowed you to fight back, it allowed me to fight back as well."

Realization struck Yuya's face. "So you're in the same spot I'm in."

"Pretty much," Double Iris replied.

This wasn’t good at all. Whenever the Void takes over Yuya, Omega Glendios does the same to Odd-Eyes—well, currently Double Iris Magician—so he becomes Odd-Eyes Joker Dragon? This was, without a doubt, a serious case of double trouble because a demon and a Unit are both working together to control an aspiring Dueltainer and his odd-eyed dragon. No wonder Joker Dragon vanished after Iggy was defeated; his Pendulum incarnation seems to be just like Yuya, transforming into a darker variant of himself before reverting to his original state.

"So this is how you're going to stop it?" Double Iris asked. "Sit and hide away from everyone else?"

"It's the only way to prevent anyone else from getting infected," Yuya explained.

Double Iris let out a small chuckle. "Then I guess you forgot the whole reason why we're here."

"Huh?" Yuya asked. "What reason?"

"To win the Arc League Championship," Double Iris explained. "Before that incident with Iggy, you wanted to win so you could become a pro. But you can't become a pro if you refuse to duel."

"But the Void-" Yuya started to say.

"Forget about that demon for once!" Double Iris interrupted. "We can't let it distract you! You need to get your head in the game so we can complete the Battle Royale and win!"

Double Iris has a strong point; the Void and the Reversed Duelists might be starting to make themselves known, but they have a tournament to win. Right now, they have to concentrate on winning the Battle Royale so that they can set their future forward, regardless of what stands in their way. It’s like what Yusho said; he has to keep pushing himself forward in order to obtain victory; that is what reminds him of a pendulum: if it swings one way, it’ll swing back, so persisting in these challenges will have a positive result for Yuya.

"I guess you're right," Yuya said, finally smiling again.

"That's the spirit!" Double Iris encouraged. "Now let's find our next opponent!"

Back with Yuri, Dennis, Sylvio, and Julia, they had inadvertently found an opponent of their own. From on top the building they were on, they saw a person walking through Iceberg Zone with an activated Duel Disk and they all made it out to be an Obelisk Force soldier, but Dennis and Yuri both knew he was no ordinary member of the Obelisk Force. The base of his Duel Disk was no longer shaped like a shield but now had the Link Joker emblem tattooed on the oval design; additionally, the blade was changed into a longer and skinnier jagged shape instead of the usual sword shape. The two Duel Academy students instantly recognized it as a Reverse Academy-issued Duel Disk, meaning this soldier was Reversed. Sylvio and Julia couldn’t determine if he really was Reversed or not, but they were informed his markings were concealed underneath his helmet, so it would be harder for everyone else to tell. The only way for them to identify the soldier as Reversed is the Duel Disk they were carrying.

Seeing how there was a good chance more Reversed Duelists could pop up any minute, confrontation was probably the best option at this point. Right now, Yuri was quite glad they chose to confront the Reversed Obelisk Force soldier because he backed him into a corner and was prepared to further back him up with the help of his trusty pet. With the required materials and conditions met, he whipped out his Polymerization Spell card in order to fuse his two Predaplant monsters since their Attributes were DARK.

"Arise, my beloved pet!" Yuri announced. "Emerge in all your wondrous glory!"

Shortly after the two Predaplants swirled around in two brightly colored aura, a dragon exited out of the “Fusion portal”, stretching his head out and opening up his mouth with streaks of saliva stuck in between the jaws, a dark yellow-green orb lighting up as his tail extended, and raising his body up to let out a roar as his red and yellow orbs and toxic green eyes began to glow on his body, joints, and face before locking into his attack position. That monster was Yuri’s ace monster: Starving Venom Fusion Dragon, a Level 8 DARK Dragon-Type monster with 2800 ATK and 2000 DEF. Requiring two DARK non-Token monsters as Fusion materials, he can gain ATK equal to an opponent’s special summoned monster on the turn he was Fusion Summoned until the End Phase. Also, once per turn, Level 5 or higher opposing monsters can be targeted and have him obtain its name and effects. Lastly, if he was destroyed and sent to the Graveyard, all of the opponent’s special summoned monsters get destroyed.

"Now talk," Yuri ordered as his pet snarled at the Reversed soldier. "Why were you ordered to not duel anyone who has Pendulum cards?"

"How should I know?" the Reversed soldier asked in response. "The Void didn't say why. All it said was to leave the Pendulum users alone until its master plan was complete."

"You liar!" Yuri shouted. "Now talk before I rip your head off!"

Dennis was alarmed by the threat. "That's enough, Yuri," he said.

"No, it's not," Yuri replied. "Don't you recognize him?"

Dennis looked at the soldier. "Should I know him?" he asked.

"You should," Yuri said. "It's Chazz Princeton of Obelisk Force Branch OK-BLD."

Dennis looked alarmed at that reveal. "So?" Julia asked.

"Obelisk Force Branch OK-BLD is home to the more ruthless Duel Academy students," Dennis explained. "They were all deemed as sadistic and twisted, preferring to kill instead of card people."

"Precisely," Yuri agreed. "The only way to get through their thick skulls is to speak their language."

Throughout his years growing up at Duel Academy, he became aware of how lethal the OK-BLD branch is, especially during the time when plans were being made to conduct their first Invasion to commence the Arc Area Project. Of course, despite it being a huge success, there were very few fatalities caused by these heartless students, including Chazz. Whenever Yuri and Dennis thought about it, it admittedly boggles their mind on how a dueling branch as cruel and torturous as them would even be permitted to conduct these murderous actions, especially since they were part of Leo’s duel school at the time. Julia and Sylvio agreed with the students because resorting to murder was just as bad as—if not, worse than—carding people; they’re both terrible tactics, but one of them certifies the fact the victim never comes back to life. Despite this, Yuri has developed enough knowledge on how to…interrogate them, to say the least, and today was the perfect opportunity to test what he learned and acquire why all Pendulum users were to be left for last.

"Now then," Yuri said, looking back at Chazz. "We can do this the easy way or the hard way." A twisted grin appeared on his face. "But I hope you refuse to corporate because I prefer doing the hard way."

A frustrated sound came from Chazz's throat. "Fine," he said. "The Void wants to encase this whole planet in its dark shadow. It gets stronger with every person who receives its gift."

"But why leave all Pendulum users alone?" Yuri asked.

"I told you, the Void never told us why," Chazz repeated. "It's almost like it's deliberately hiding information from all of us. Even asking the entity itself doesn't work."

That was an unexpected reason as to why Void told the Reversed students to avoid the Pendulum users, but at least Yuri, Dennis, Sylvio, and Julia now have a reason as to the reasoning behind Celina telling Barrett to not duel Declan. It’s not that Pendulum cards are their weakness; there’s something about them that makes them stand out above the Fusion, Synchro, and XYZ cards, but what is it? Is it because they're immensely powerful? If so, then is the Void using it to its advantage to cloak the world into darkness? Does he have something special planned for the Pendulum users to help further achieve his goal? Just when it seemed like one question was answered, more seem to pop up. Now it seems the group has to find a way to get to the main source, confront the Void, or even both. After all, it’s not human, so who knows where it’ll be.

"I see..." Yuri said. He snapped his fingers, commanding Starving Venom to grab the Reversed soldier. "Now take us to the Void or I'll have my pet snap your neck!"

A dark laugh came from Chazz. "You really think I'll do that?" he asked. "I don't even know where it is. And even if I did, I wouldn't want to ruin its master plan."

"What are you saying?" Yuri angrily asked.

"If you want to speak to the Void, go find it yourself," Chazz answered.

Using the powers given to him by the Reverse, Chazz flawlessly escaped from Starving Venom’s grasp and vanished from Iceberg Zone, leaving the dragon and the four Duelists behind. Yuri always knew the latter was arrogant under the Professor’s command, but this was just ridiculous. How on earth were they going to find the Void if they have no clue where it is?

Suddenly, a loud crash was heard nearby, with the source of the sound coming from two Duelists.

"Vat's the last time...you steer," a Russian girl said.

"Me?" an India boy asked. "I thought you were the one steering!"

"Well vat would explain how we got here," the girl said.

The boy noticed the nearby group. "Hey look, we happened upon some Duelists!"

Julia and Sylvio knew who the duo was; even though they never faced off against them, they watched their impressive duels and they had an idea on who they both were. The Indian boy was Halil and his partner for the Battle Royale was a Russian girl named Olga. They must be looking for other Duelists to face off against after Zuzu and Gong won against them. Seeing as they must have obtained Pendulum cards since then, the four were worried about them for two reasons: they’re unaware of the looming new threat from the Reversed Duelists and they’re uncertain why the Void isn’t targeting the Pendulum users, but they know it’s going to be bad and they don’t want them to fall the same fate as everyone else or worse.

"Uh... Sure did," Dennis said, faking a smile. "Care for an autograph?"

"N'yet," Olga replied. "I care for a Pendulum card."

"Sorry, but that'll have to wait," Dennis said, glancing around in case Reversed Duelists showed up. "We're in the middle of something- Yuri, what are you doing?"

"Saving their lives," Yuri said as he typed in something into his Duel Disk. Then he activated the communication feature. "Did you receive my current coordinates?"

"I did," a voice spoke from Yuri's Duel Disk. "I'm picking up on some unknown Duel Disk IDs. Which ones do you need us to transport?"

"Those two," Yuri answered, gesturing his Duel Disk towards Halil and Olga.

"Thanks Yuri," the voice spoke again. "I'm activating the transport setting...now."

Just then, the pair’s Duel Disks’ screens lit up an icy blue glow that rapidly cloaked their bodies; right before they disappeared, they heard Dennis telling Halil and Olga what was currently going on was for the best for them and that everything will be explained once they appear at the desired location. And with that, the light grew brighter from where the duo were standing before vanishing them away from the Standard Dimension. A crisis has been averted; if things go well, they will be teleported to the Fusion Dimension momentarily.

"Are you sure that was the right thing to do?" Dennis asked.

"Of course, I'm sure," Yuri replied. "As we speak, Aster is helping those two adjust to their temporary living arrangements."

"What?" Sylvio asked. "That's all?"

"There's nothing else we can do," Yuri explained. "With just about every Duelist transported to the Phoenix Resistance, the Void won't find any more potential recruits."

Of course, that was just in the Standard Dimension alone and there were still only about a handful lingering around the Action Field. One of them managed to stumble across Yuto, Gong, Shay, and more importantly, Sora, who was shocked to see that they had encountered with Syrus, one of the Void’s commanders. Devastation had crept up to the former like a shadow casting above someone because he couldn’t believe that one of his Obelisk Blue classmates had fallen victim to the Reverse; they had known each other for years and had gotten closer with their companionship, so discovering the Void had sucked it away from them shattered his heart into pieces.

But that was the main reason why Sora decided to be the one to take on his classmate; he wanted to rescue him from his Reversed prison because Obelisks have to stick together and look out for each other, even in the toughest situations. He was determined to get his friend back and the combination of his persistence and his Fluffals, Edge Imps, and Frightfurs was paying off as their intense duel progressed. He always knew Syrus became a strong Duelist under the Professor’s guidance, but seeing him with Life Pair Cycroid - Reverse on the field gradually made him livid up to the point where he was absolutely furious. Furious that the Void would do something this heinous.

With only a couple hundred Life Points left and two monsters on the field, Fluffal Mouse and Edge Imp Sabres, he began his turn by drawing a card, revealing it to be Polymerization. He then activated Fluffal Mouse’s effect; because it’s in attack position, two more copies of it are special summoned onto the field. Three Fluffals and one Edge Imp. He has the right number of Fusion Materials to bring out another Frightfur monster, one that his allies have never seen before.

"Alright, you Reverse scum!" Sora said. "Here comes the good part! Good for me, that is. I fuse Edge Imp Sabers and my three Fluffal Mice. Edge of sharpness and mayhem of mice! When the four come together, you will pay the price! I Fusion Summon Frightfur Tiger!"

A plush body was cut horizontally in half by a giant pair of luminescent scissors that glowed light purple with hints of light blues as the blades snipped shut. A plush head resembling a tiger turned around with its menacing green eyes and let out an evil laugh, with two glowing magenta eyes glowing from inside its mouth. It landed onto the Monster Zone to reveal itself to be Frightfur Tiger, a Level 6 DARK Fiend-Type Fusion monster with 1900 ATK and 1200 DEF. Its Fusion materials consist of Edge Imp Sabres and at least one Fluffal monster. If it was Fusion Summoned, it can target cards the opponents controls up to the number of Fusion materials used and are destroyed. Every Fightfur monster gains 300 ATK for every Fluffal and Frightfur monster Sora controls and he is allowed to control only one Frightfur Tiger.

"And now, Frightfur Tiger's special ability activates!" Sora continued. "So that hunk of junk is going straight to the dump!"

Frightfur Tiger extended its scissor blades forward and surrounded Life Pair Cycroid - Reverse in between them, clamping them shut to destroying it from the field. Syrus was left in a major pickle; without his Joker monster, he won’t deal 400 damage and attack directly for every Locked monster on the field…and it terrified him. He has never seen anyone muster up enough strength to take on a Reversed Duelist, let alone push them on the brink of defeat.

"Next my tiger gains 300 attack points for each Frightfur monster I have," Sora continued. "And I have one right now! So that's 300 extra points. Now, for the real Duel Academy, time to end this! Frightfur Tiger, attack! Bash some sense back into Syrus!"

Frightfur Tiger lunged itself towards the other side of the field and bared its plush fangs down on a scared Syrus. It got onto a nice grip and used its paws to lock itself into place before going out with an explosion that sent him flying past Yuto, Shay, and Gong before tumbling down a nearby ancient staircase, with his circular glasses falling off his face and landing near the stairs. Once he landed face first on the ground, all his Life Points depleted to 0; the outcome was quickly followed by Sora rushing towards the stairs, grabbing the glasses, and running down to see if his friend was okay. His allies followed him to double check if defeating a Reversed Duelist really does turn them back to normal.

"Syrus?" Sora asked out of concern. "You okay?"

Before he could have time to receive an answer, Sora and the others stopped about three-quarters of the way down to see Syrus wincing and groaning in pain. His body was coated in the same dark red aura, but something different was going on. The aura started rising up into the air from its host and briefly unveiled its bold, blood red, demonic face, complete with a short screech as it continued expelling itself. Just then, a rapid jolt sped up the process further, fully getting rid of it and leaving behind what might have looked like an unconscious Syrus.

Sora quickly climbed down the rest of the stairs and ran to where the latter laid, flipping his body over and holding him in his arms to see if he wasn’t badly injured. Based on what was shown, he suffered a minor arm injury, so it wasn’t too serious; however, there was something more attention-catching on Syrus’ face. The markings he once bore were now gone and there was no longer a shadow covering from his forehead to underneath his eyes. Speaking of which, did they also showed signs of him finally free from the Reverse? Sora lightly shook his classmate and called his name to at least try and help him regain consciousness and it felt like it would last forever until Syrus’ eyebrows started twitching. His eyes were also tightly shut, but they began to open, revealing a remarkable sight: they no longer appeared soulless and his pupils and white highlights have returned, and the first thing he saw was Sora, who was so relieved and overjoyed to see his friend had returned.

"Sora?" Syrus asked, sounding a bit drained. "What... What happened?"

"Syrus!" Sora happily exclaimed. He hugged the Roid user. "You're alright!"

"No seriously, what happened?" Syrus repeated, pushing Sora back. He noticed Yuto. "And when did Yuri grow out his hair?"

Shay and Gong turned their heads to face Yuto, who was scratching the back of his head and has shifted his eyes off to the side because he wasn’t sure if he should explain that he happened to be Yuri’s XYZ counterpart. This is now the second time that there are still people who may not be able to tell the difference between himself and the other counterparts even with his glasses on, much to his unfortunate disappointment with a hint of embarrassment.

"It's complicated," Sora said as he proceeded to type something into his Duel Disk. "Commander Phoenix should be able to explain everything to you."

"I do remember hearing something about the Professor's murder," Syrus recalled as he put his glasses back on. "But everything else is a blur- Wait, did you say Commander Phoenix?"

"I sure did," Sora answered. "I just sent him a message explaining how I freed you, so he should be activating the transport system any minute now..."

Syrus was at a loss of words after what Sora said. Freed him from what? Did something terrible occur at Duel Academy after Leo was killed? What is Aster doing, holding some kind of refuge base somewhere in the Fusion Dimension? Whatever happened, was it also responsible for making him forget what happened after learning the unfortunate news? At least he was grateful to know one of his classmates was there to rescue him from being used a puppet of some sort. He suddenly felt a small yet sharp pain coming from where his arm was barely injured; he hoped Aster was able to round up some surviving doctors to help form a medical clinic for any other survivors.

But that was what made him realize Duel Academy could still have a chance; whatever enemy it is that’s threatening all four dimensions any survivors and reverted Duelists will band together to settle the score that once caught them off guard. With this revelation in mind, he mustered up enough energy to lean forward and give Sora a hug for saving him, in which the latter returned. As they continued to embrace each other, a bright blue light flashed from Syrus’ Duel Disk and engulfed him, transporting him to the Phoenix Resistance. Sora got up from his knees and wiped away any lingering tears that might have formed; he then looked up to the sky, knowing one of his closest friends has escaped the clutches of the Reverse and there is still a spark of hope somewhere in the Fusion Dimension.

#Seed of Darkness #yugioh arc v #Yuya Sakaki #cardfight!! vanguard #Link Joker

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the-dark-requiem · 7 years

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Mun name: Winter OOC Contact: Tumblr IMs, Skype, or Discord (ask me for IDs!)

Meet my muses:

　　{ Yuto } 　One of the four boys embodying a mysterious force of destruction. After crossing dimensions with his best friend, a gripping darkness took over him, causing him to “merge” physical entities with an oblivious Yuya Sakaki. Upon learning of Yuya’s naïveté, Yuto was forced to take the reins from within but not without a harrowing internal struggle, likely as a side-effect of this darkness. His quest for vengeance against Leo Akaba and the rest of Academia continues through controlling a body not his own.

　　{ Rin } 　One of the four girls representing Nature’s very soul. Growing up as an orphan in a society with a heavily lopsided social caste, she was forced to grow up very quickly and learned to play devil’s advocate by instinct. As she had been largely unaware of her “true” role as an individual in this world, she was not prepared for her kidnapping. After being well-informed, she now fights alongside others like her in order to prepare her home dimension and even the Standard dimension for the ultimate offensive against Academia.

　　{ Yuri } 　Another of the four boys embodying destruction. On the exterior, he is the model Academia solider that his peers all aspire to become with his strength, eloquent speech and his exception loyalty to Leo Akaba. However, unbeknownst to many of his victims until they come to face Death’s door, he is his own emperor of his actions and is very much the merciless hell-raiser, rotten with immoral values down to his very core. His favourite entertainment is watching the proclaimed strong helplessly succumb to his demands.

Points of interest:

　　{ Yuto }

Highly cynical, especially towards perceived enemies

Usually sensible but keeps his genuine emotions bottled up

Skilled ventriloquist: heroic tales gradually become more ghastly

Prefers to take the most discreet way of tackling things

His pre-war self is nothing but a mere shadow of himself

　　{ Rin }

Acts like a tomboy but is more naturally more feminine than she lets on

Possesses a strong self-crafted sense of justice

Wary of all unfamiliar faces; often jumping to conclusions

Her worst fear is feeling absolutely helpless

Unconsciously longs for someone to admire and confide in

　　{ Yuri }

Incredibly eloquent in his speech & is peerless at witty sarcasm

Mental torture is his favourite playtime entertainment

Fully self-conscious of his controlling nature

Disregards everyone’s physical & mental well-being except his own

Secretly waiting for the right time to overthrow Leo Akaba

What they’ve been up to recently:

　　{ Yuto }

Actively taking control of Yuya’s body & showing less mercy

Scavenging the Synchro Dimension & warning its inhabitants of war

Secretly collecting information on Academia as “Yuya”

　　{ Rin }

Planning to break free from the Eastern Tower at Academia

Recovering from the aftereffects of solitary confinement

Contributing to the war effort with Yugo et al.

　　{ Yuri }

Torturing more helpless souls -- both enemies & perceived allies

Maintaining his loyal guise of being the model Academia model

Toying around with the fate of his same-face counterparts

Where to find them:

　　{ Yuto }

Ruins of Heartland (XYZ Dimension)

Synchro Dimension

Maiami City (Standard Dimension)

Potentially Academia (Fusion Dimension)

　　{ Rin }

The City (Synchro Dimension)

Eastern Tower in Academia quarters (Fusion Dimension)

Maiami City (Standard Dimension)

　　{ Yuri }

Anywhere in Academia (Fusion Dimension)

Potentially Synchro Dimension

Ruins of Heartland (XYZ Dimension)

Potentially Maiami City (Standard Dimension)

Current plans:

　　{ Yuto }

Manipulate Yuya by exposing him to the many dark truths

Further seeking to uncover Leo Akaba’s ambitions & Berserk Mode

Preparing to combine Yuya’s mind with his to achieve greater strength

　　{ Rin }

Becoming an ambassador for the Synchro Dimension’s war campaign

Contributing to the war effort in the Standard Dimension

Forging a stronger partnership with Ruri Kurosaki

　　{ Yuri }

Seeking new victims to torture & subsequently toss aside

Lead all Academia soldiers into a full-blown offensive attack

Taking over Leo Akaba’s role with his own ambitions in mind

Desired interactions:

　　{ Yuto }

Platonic relationships

Reluctant allies

Potentially romantic relationships

　　{ Rin }

Platonic relationships

Building familial bonds with non-family

Potentially romantic relationships

　　{ Yuri }

"Master”/”Servant” relationships

Deceptive platonic relationships

Reluctant allies

Offered interactions:

　　{ Yuto }

Work to discover the truth about Berserk Mode alongside him

Get into various coincidental encounters with him

Many other canon-divergent scenarios

Various AU scenarios

　　{ Rin }

Visit her in the Eastern Tower in Academia

Fight alongside her on Academia grounds

Many other canon-divergent scenarios

Various AU scenarios

　　{ Yuri }

Become his personal puppet like he wants your character to

Have your character force-lead him into a chase

Many other canon-divergent scenarios

Various AU scenarios

Current open post/s:

Currently none, but one or more may be created upon request.

Anything else?:

　　I am not super picky with most threads, but most importantly please do not expect egao (”smiles”) or Smile World or anything related to work on any of my muses, Yuto in particular.

　　Also, Zarc and Ray do not exist in my muses’ canon verses. However, I am open to alternate versions of these characters if it means that I will still be able to keep my own muses intact.

　　Lastly, please be aware that I have very irregular responses. Due to RL commitments that always take priority, sometimes it will only take a few days, other times many months. If you would rather not wait for such a long time, then I am probably not a suitable roleplay partner for you.

　　Roleplay threads involving multiple muses are accepted, just send me a message first and we can talk about it in more detail.

Tagged by: @the-evolving-falcon (Thanks!) Tagging: @arcofrp @yuurivy and anyone else who would like to do this

#[ out of compassion ☬// ]#long text post

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chromsai · 7 years

Note

*deep breath* we know this was coming. Yuya

i’m so

conflicted rn

cuz i know you wanna see me write out a whole entire fucking essay or something as to why i love him so much

but i literally don’t feel like i can put it all into words like legitimately i dont think i’ll ever be able to.

let’s just say just, personally, i relate to him so much somewhat in backstory (i was bullied as a kid too, tho for different reasons, etc.) but mostly in personality. like even before arc v, my most fav thing has been making people laugh & happy so i kinda did the same thing he would do at the beginning of arc v: hide my real feelings thru a smile and laugh along with those laughing at you. (i’ll admit that happened to me more often before going to college, so before arc v ever happened). so his story kinda really hit home for me in that respect. seeing his growth and overcoming his fears and learning to believe in himself and respecting himself more. but his character isn’t just all believe x believe & smiles either. he’s realistically flawed. he tends to think in his own little world a lot til someone snaps him out of it or bring others to his attention. he’s stubborn and reckless as heck. and he’s incredibly dense. but i think the most... inspiring thing about him imo is he displays all these qualities and flaws that are so relatable but also shows that, by his own will, he has great potential to become anything in his own way. plus he makes me really smile and always has a surprise up his sleeve that not even his friends expect. that’s a true entertainer right there, even if he or anyone else would say otherwise.

also he’s super goddamn fucking cute and pretty and i could stare at him all day.

*cries* uGH I’m telling you i could go on forever (and trust me i want to so badly but i’m controlling myself i need to stop) but either way it wouldn’t be enough like this isn’t even the half of it not even close.

#pxiao #ask #reply #bREATHES #PRECIOUS TOMATO SON #ugh i said all this but i'm teLLING YOU IT'S NOT NEAR ENOUGH

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pendulumprince · 7 years

Text

Title: Intervention

Characters: Yuya Sakaki, Yuzu Hiragi, Shingo Sawatari, Serena, Yuri, Sora Shiunin, Yugo, Rin, Reiji Akaba, Noboru Gongenzaka, Yuto, Ruri Kurosaki, Yoko Sakaki

Pairings: Light Fruitshipping with a dash of Predatorshipping and Brashshipping

Summery: Yuya and Yuzu are willing to go to extremes to ensure they’ll never be separated again. The Lancers aren’t having it.

Notes: My late birthday gift to cypsiman2. Warnings for my haphazard attempts at writing humor.

“Ah ha! And who might this be?” Sawatari cried, sweeping his arm across the empty room. He wasn’t talking to himself, but to the person who had just knocked on the door. He hadn’t been expecting Yuya for another hour or so, but he didn’t put it past his rival to surprise him with an early arrival. (It’s what he liked best about Yuya—never a dull moment.)

“Might it be my second-in-command? My protégé?” he continued, grabbing his duel disk. A true entertainment duelist always had to be prepared to defend the Sacred Philosophy of Egao, even against a fellow believer. “Yuya! You’ve come a hundred years too early if you think you can beat—“

A fist pounded on the door; Sawatari skidded to a stop. “It’s Serena!” the voice on the other side of the door barked. “Open up!”

Sawatari scowled. He was glad to have Serena back after her ill-conceived ascent into godhood, but he didn’t care for the way her yelling made his heart pound in such a delightfully confusing way. He opened the door, and was reminded of another drawback to Serena’s return—the overgrown parasite that now followed her everywhere. (Everyone insisted on calling it ‘Yuri’; Sawatari preferred to ignore it’s existence.)

“Serena-chan!” Sawatari leaned up against the doorframe. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”

She grabbed him by the collar, and pulled him along. “Come.”

“W-what—?”

“We’re staging an intervention!” the parasite elaborated as it roughly grabbed him by the upper arm. “For some reason, Serena thought you might be able to help.”

Sawatari tried to ignore the jagged nails digging spitefully into his skin. He whipped his head in Serena’s direction. “’The hell do you mean, ‘an intervention’?!” he cried. “On who?!”

“Yuya.”

Sawatari’s heart leapt into his chest, and images from that time violently flashed before him. “Don’t tell me—“

The parasite laughed cruelly. “Serena,” it managed between giggles, “why are you friends with this moron?”

“Shut up, Yuri.” Serena turned to Sawatari. “I’ll remind you that even if Zarc were still in existence, his revival would require his pieces to become one again. And,” she gestured vaguely in the parasite’s direction, “that obviously has not happened.”

“Then what’s wrong with Yuya?!”

“You know, I always wondered what it’d be like to get kidnapped,” Sora mused as they sped down Maiami City’s main highway. “It was sort of interesting, but I’m ready to get off now.”

Yugo looked down at Sora, who laid face down across his lap, nestled between himself and Rin. He kept his arms on her shoulders as she drove, both to maintain his balance and to keep the other boy pinned. “I told you to shut up about that! We nabbed you fair and square!”

Sora rolled his eyes, tempted to remind him that as a former soldier of Academia, they’d only ‘kidnapped’ him because he allowed it to happen. He held his tongue, but only because he didn’t want to ruin the experience. “Can you at least take this hood off, then? Not being able to see is really annoying.”

Yugo sucked his teeth, and just when Sora accepted that it wasn’t going to happen, Yugo roughly yanked the black hood off from over his head. “Happy now?!”

“I’d be a lot happier if you let me off, or at least told me where we were going. Why all the drama?”

“You don’t need to know!”

“Maybe if you told him, he’d stop his incessant whining,” Rin suggested.

Yugo sucked his teeth. “Fine.” Sora felt the other boy’s chest expand as he took a deep breath. “We’re staging an intervention, and we need your help.”

“That’s all? Why didn’t you just say that? I have loads of experience intervening in things!” Had his hands not been bound behind his back, Sora would’ve counted off his credentials on his fingers. “I intervened in the Synchro and Standard Dimensions! I intervened in Heartland before that! When students tried escaping Academia, I would intervene on them, too. So tell me, who are we destroying?”

“We’re destroying…” Sora swore he heard Yugo’s voice crack. “We’re destroying Hiragi Yuzu.”

A hot, indignant fury rose in Sora’s chest. How dare Yuya’s idiot Synchro double try to blow Yuzu off the face of the planet? “Oh? And what makes you think I’d help with something like that?” he baited, silently begging Yugo to give him an excuse.

Rin swung her arm around, backhanding Yugo. “We’re just going to talk to her,” she grated behind clenched teeth. “Yuzu’s gone down a… strange road. We need to stop her before it’s too late!”

Sora tried to think of what Rin could mean by ‘strange road’. Had Yuzu picked up on some strange Pendulum Dimension fashion trend? Had she discarded her real father in favor of the Professor? Was she trying to become an intangible force for good again? “What do you mean by that?”

Rin sighed. “You better brace yourself…”

“This absurd behavior has gone on long enough. You need to stop.”

Sawatari heard Reiji’s low voice rumbling through the halls of the Sakaki household. Serena and her parasite had filled him in on everything, but he needed to see it for himself. He was having a hard time picturing Yuya… Yuya and Yuzu—

“What do you mean?” Yuzu asked, her ever-melodic voice just a bit sunnier than usual. “This is fine.”

“No, it is not fine!” Gongenzaka roared. “This is totally unhealthy!”

“Yuya,” it was Yuto speaking now, “I understand your feelings—better than anyone. But this… this isn’t right.”

“I agree. Think of your families!” Ruri—Yuzu’s XYZ double—spoke up. “Your mother can hardly stand to look at you, her disgust is so great. And your father! Poor Sakaki-sensei is so disturbed, he’s gone out into the woods ‘find himself’. Who knows when he’ll be back!” Her voice lowered. “And that isn’t even to speak of Hiragi-san’s reaction—“

“That’s not fair, you leave dad out of this!” Yuzu snapped, her chipper tone gone.

Sawatari, still flanked by Serena and the parasite, walked into the living room. And when he saw that what the two of them told him was true, he only just managed to stifle his scream.

There they were: Yuzu and Yuya, as audacious as anyone could ever be, nestled together in one giant shirt.

“You haven’t managed to talk any sense into them yet?” the parasite drawled, an amused smirk creeping its way across his face. “Oh, you’re both so lucky you didn’t grow up in Academia. You would’ve been beaten senseless for such insolence.”

“Y-yuya…” Sawatari began, truly at a loss for words for the first time in his life. “How… how long has this been going on…?”

“Three days,” Reiji replied, his tone tight and his hand clenched into a white knuckled fist. “Three! Days!”

Sawatari was mortified. How had this been allowed to go on for three days?

“Oh no, don’t stop there. Tell him what else has happened in those three days,” Serena didn’t wait for a response before listing off everything herself. “In three days, they’ve refused to walk a step apart! The looks we get in public range from fear to pity to outright disgust! Long past are the days when one could call themselves a Lancer with pride! It seems this entire city is just waiting for us to join in on the giant shirt orgy!”

Yuya took a deep breath. “Look, all of you—“

He was abruptly cut off by the roar of an engine, just outside the house. “Shit shit shitshitshitshit—!”

There was a loud crash. The lot of them ran back into the kitchen, to find that a d-wheel—foreign to the Pendulum Dimension, destructive and excessive in all ways—had crashed through the kitchen wall.

The parasite was the first to react, bursting into a violent fit of laughter. Yuto stomped his foot on the ground. “Damnit, Yugo!”

“It wasn’t me! It was Ri—holy shit, Rin was right! Yuya has trapped Yuzu in a giant shirt!” he slammed his helmet onto the floor and started towards the two of them. “Don’t worry, I’ll save—!”

Yuzu wasted no time kicking him in the groin. He collapsed onto the ground in a heap of pain.

“Please get a hold of yourself, Yugo,” Rin remarked dryly as she unbound Sora’s wrists.

The former Academia soldier stood up a moment later, his eyes immediately honing in on his two former classmates. His normally expressive face went completely blank, and he shook his head slowly. “I thought they were lying to me. ‘Yuya and Yuzu would never do something so outrageous’, I told them. ‘My comrades have way more dignity than that’, I insisted.” He sighed heavily, and began to walk over to them. “Well, let’s get on with it, then. Take the shirt off.”

“Get away!” Yuya cried, and he and Yuzu backed away from him, together. “I’ll duel you all right now if it comes down to it! No one’s going to separate me and Yuzu ever again!”

“Oh, is that what this is about?” Yuri purred. “Don’t be such a baby. Serena and I have been separated until very recently, and look how I turned out—perfectly fine!”

“You’re not helping.” “My father has been taken care of, and Zarc is no longer a threat,” Reiji reasoned. “There is no reason to go to such an embarrassing extreme.”

“I still don’t see why everyone is so offended by this,” Yuzu complained, her voice edging dangerously close to a whine. “Why can’t you just leave us be?!”

“Because no comrade of mine is going to strut around town like… like this!” Serena spat. “If you can’t see reason, we’ll use force! Yuri, get them!”

Yuri spun around, a cold smile on his face. “Don’t you just love how masterful she is? I certainly do. I don’t know what I ever did without my little barbarian.”

Yuya and Yuzu turned to the door, and ran outside. Everyone chased after them—Yuri and Sora in the lead, Rin and Yugo starting at the rear before recovering their d-wheel, and everyone else in between. The shouting from the eventual ten-versus-two duel could be heard for miles.

An hour or so later, Yoko returned from grocery shopping to find her home in an utter state of disarray. Garbage was strewn everywhere. A discarded shoe lay cast off on the far end of the living room. Several chairs had been flipped over. The fridge door was cast wide open; someone had obviously raided it. Yuya (and Yuzu, she remembered with a shudder) were nowhere to be found.

She thought nothing of it. Her husband went missing without a trace for a solid three years, and that fiasco eventually worked itself out. She had no doubt this one would as well.

As she began dinner, she idly wondered who was going to pay for the giant hole in her wall.

#yugioh arc v #arc v fanfics #fruitshipping #predatorshipping #brashshipping #yuya sakaki #yuzu hiragi #shingo sawatari #serena #yuri arc v #sora shiunin #yugo #rin #reiji akaba #noboru gongenzaka #yuto #ruri kurosaki #yoko sakaki #pendulum dimension

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blueeyeswhitegarden · 5 years

Text

Arc V Anniversary Day 20

Day 20. Favorite antagonists

Zarc is still my favorite antagonist in Arc V. I liked his backstory when Leo first revealed it. I thought that it was an interesting concept to have what was basically an Entertainment Duelist turned evil to be the big villain of the series. It offered an interesting parallel to Yuya's own journey and it also made me think of it as a commentary on using violence for the shake of it in entertainment. Despite this, I initially thought that Zarc was going to be just another typical overpowered final Yu-Gi-Oh! villain. Overpowered villains aren't necessarily bad. It is an easy way to increase the tension. Plus, with all of the buildup they had for Zarc throughout the series, they needed to establish just how big of a threat he was by defeating all of the remaining characters.

However, my opinion instantly changed the moment Crow asked Zarc if he was that afraid of losing. That put Zarc's motivation, action and deck in a whole new light for me. It provided an in-universe justification for Zarc's overpowered cards and tied into his backstory. Zarc wanted to keep winning until there was no one left. That was his main reason for merging with his dragons for the first time around. After being defeated by Ray and split apart, of course he'd be afraid of losing again. Even his deck was more defensive than expected. His monsters were clearly powerful too, but he always had effects and combos that prevented destruction and drastically limit the amount of damage he would take. It also helped that Zarc was slowly but surely becoming more emotional with each match, so seeing his anger upon Crow making this comment was pretty fitting. Crow saw through Zarc's anger and power and realized it was a cover for his own fear of losing.

I especially love that Zarc wasn't just an evil version of Yuya. He was more like a dark mirror to what Yuya could have, and almost did, become. I always thought it was rather telling that all of the remaining Lancers were set on saving Yuya from Zarc, but there wasn't any mention of people in the original world trying to save Zarc. Granted, we learned about Zarc's downfall from Leo who thought that Zarc was always a monster, so he might not have been aware of anyone trying to save him, but it would make much more sense if no one tried to do so. If Zarc had any friends besides his dragons in the original world, then I don't think he would have fallen so hard in the first place, He would have been able to find some guidance or reassurance from his friends instead of lashing out at the world. But Yuya did have a lot of friends. He was able to connect with a lot of different people throughout the four dimensions and as a result, they wanted to save Yuya. It made the battle against Zarc more emotional because they weren't focused on just saving the world, but there was a much stronger emphasis on reaching out to Yuya because they all cared about him.

Zarc is what Yuya could have become without the emotional support of his family and friends to help guide and reassure him. Zarc was too focused on appealing to the audience's demands for violent duels that he threw away his true dream and his real self as a result. Zarc didn't have the courage to keep dueling in his own way because he gave into the demand of other people around him. His anger combined with the anger he felt from his dragons led to Zarc's downfall and the destruction of the original world. Because Yuya had his parents to lay the foundation for his ideals and his friends to provide emotional support, Yuya had a much stronger grip on his ideals. He struggled throughout the series to understand what kind of dueling he wanted to do and questioned if he was capable enough to reach out to people with his dueling, but he didn't abandon those ideals in spite of all of the hardships he dealt with throughout the series. Yuya's reaction to defeating Duel Chaser 227 perfectly shows the difference between him and Zarc. Yuya knew right away that he didn't want to duel like this and was upset even with the crowd cheering for him.. Zarc, on the other hand, threw away his ideals because he was too consumed by the audience cheering him on.

I also really liked how they handled Zarc's redemption. Zarc's true dream was to make everyone, even his monsters, smile with his dueling and it was so fitting. Yuya is the embodiment of Zarc's pure desire to make people smile, so the idea that Zarc was at one point a good person made perfect sense. Yuya and Reira crying upon remembering Zarc's true dream was pretty emotional and it made Zarc more sympathetic than I thought he could be. Even Zarc's evil heart was sad upon realizing just how far away he was from his dream. I think it also helps that Zarc doesn't get a proper second chance. He doesn't magically get his own body like I was expecting when the last arc first started. Zarc is able to learn what he couldn't before as Yuya, but that doesn't instantly undo all of the damage he originally caused or give him a completely fresh start at life. Yuya is both himself and Zarc at the same time, so it’s not quite like giving Zarc a complete do over. It made me appreciate Zarc's redemption more by not underplaying that he still effectively destroyed the original world. Zarc is just such a terrific and interesting villain. He's easily my favorite Arc V villain, as well as my favorite villain in the franchise.

I also think that Leo is a really interesting villain. For most of Arc V, I just wrote him off as a power hungry villain. I'm not sure why I was so set on that image for Leo, but I didn't really think much of him. He was an effective type of villain who was hiding in the shadows. Even with minimal appearances prior to the Fusion arc, Leo was still the leader of Academia, as well as being Reiji's father, so he still had a strong presence within the series. Leo's backstory really changed my opinion on his character. After years of waiting, his motivation was far more personal than I could have expected. Instead of being a power hungry dictator, Leo was ultimately a father grieving for his lost child. Learning about the original world also explained why Leo had no problem with turning children into soldiers or destroying an entire dimension. He didn't think any of these dimensions or people were real, so hurting them wouldn't really matter, especially when he wanted to bring back the original world as well. It made Leo into a more complex and arguably sympathetic villain than I thought he would be.

However, I really appreciate that the show didn't downplay how terrible his actions were either. While wanting to get Ray back was an understandable desire, he still hurt countless people in order to do so. Reiji called Leo out multiple times on causing so much destruction and being a bigger threat to the four dimensions than Zarc was. It was also Leo's actions that allowed for the Dragon Boys to meet and eventually merge back into Zarc after all. If Leo didn’t start the dimensional war to revive Ray, Zarc wouldn't have reformed, or at the very least I don't think it would have happened as quickly as it did. His motivation was entirely selfish too. Instead of trying to honor Ray's sacrifice and continue to live with his new family, Leo wanted to bring Ray back to satisfy his guilt and grief. Leo was so narrowly focused on reviving Ray that no one else mattered to him. Not Reiji, Himika or anyone else in the four dimensions because they didn’t matter to him as much as Ray did.

Despite Reiji pointing out how much damage he was causing, I don't think Leo fully realized this until Zarc nearly destroyed all four dimensions. Seeing that his actions almost caused such destruction again made Leo reflect more on his behavior and actions. He realized that he did hurt countless people, that the Bracelet girls did have their own lives before he kidnapped them and that he didn't deserve forgiveness. As much as I would have loved Ray to yell at Leo for everything he did upon her revival, I'm glad that went with this route instead. I think having any kind of interaction with Ray, even a negative one, would have still been seen as a reward for Leo's terrible actions. He still would have gotten a reunion with his daughter and potentially been able to deal with his grief a bit more easily because of having one more moment with her. Instead, Leo doesn't really get anything after everything he did. Plus, I think it makes his realization much more meaningful knowing that he came to it through his own self-reflection. Even though Leo is with everyone at the end of the series, I don't think he's forgiven or redeemed. Neither the series or the characters gave me the impression that everyone was okay with Leo. He realized he did a lot of terrible and unforgivable things and did what he could to help out during the last arc, but that isn't the same thing as being forgiven or redeemed. I don't think Leo would want to live with his family again, but I think he was ready to start dealing with his grief for Ray in a healthier manner after coming to that realization. Leo was just such a surprising villain for me. I already thought he was interesting after watching Arc V the first time, but I just grew to appreciate how complex and interesting his motivation made him upon rewatching the series. He just stands out a lot more than I thought he would when he was first introduced and he's definitely one of the more interesting villains in the franchise for me.

#Arc V #Arc V Anniversary #Arcvanniversary #Zarc #Leo

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entamewitchlulu · 5 years

Text

Arc V Month Day 4: Favorite Characters

A-HAHA OH GOD WHAT A HARD CHOICE, ok here are my TOP TEN: under the cut for gifs and length lol

10. Yuzu Hiragi

What a QUEEN. Love her drive and initiative, her unwavering strength, her growth, her self-confidence and ability to realize where she needs improvement and then seek that improvement out, and her unwavering trust in her friends and loved ones. What an incredible girl <3

9. Sora Shiunin

MY CHILD!!! I just love this terrible little gremlin. I got the sense that he would be an antagonist basically from the moment I saw him, but I didn’t expect them to give him such a lovely about-face back to the heroes the way they did. His internal conflict and eventual hard turn into the hero’s corner was really beautiful to see, and he has some INCREDIBLE card themes as well.

8. Yuuri

LOVE this terrible goblin, oh my god. My trash son. All funnies aside, though, Yuuri is literally not only one of the most entertaining antagonists I’ve ever seen, but the little bits we get about him are just enough to craft a rather interesting, if depressing, picture of his backstory and how he turned out the way he did. He’s pretty much got everything: meme faces, fun banter, an incredible voice actor, is one of those chaotic evil villains which are my guilty pleasure, but has a really solid foundation to explain why he is the way he is, without taking unnecessary time to overexplain it. His character just kind of bubbles up through his behavior, and I want to be able to write characters like that.

7. Tsukikage Fuma

It was such a surprise to me that Tsukikage not only ended up being as well-written and involved as he was, but just how quickly he jumped up onto my top ten. When he was first introduced, I really just thought he would be a mostly ignored side character -- but he quickly proved himself to be one of the most competent members of the team. And not just competent, but with character depth, too: seeing his relationship with Sora in the wake of losing his brother develop was such an amazing mini plot that the story could have easily skipped over, but decided to make into important character moments.

6. Grace Tyler

Ok. I’ll be honest. She’s mostly here because I’m Gay. But okay, gorgeous character design + exactly my type of fictional evil lady aside, Grace is really interesting to me! She and her sister came onto the scene as total villains, but while Gloria took some more doing to get herself on Yuya’s side, I found Grace’s pretty much chaotic neutral personality where she just follows what she finds interesting rather than having any specific loyalty to Academia to be super endearing, and honestly, her fangirling over Yuya is kind of adorable. Same, Grace, same.

5. Ray Akaba

WE STAN A QUEEN. Okay, for as little screentime she gets as herself, Ray is honestly one of the coolest characters in the show. She was just an ordinary girl who decided to take on Card Game Satan without even flinching, rather than the deity we had all thought she would turn out to be, and if her incarnations are anything to go by, she was a headstrong, tough, but caring girl who really, really loved the world she lived in, and was more than willing to put her life on the line to save what she loved. That’s heroism.

4. Rin

I really have no idea when exactly it happened that Rin shot straight up to the top of my fave Arc V girls, but I’m not complaining. She has probably one of the most appealing designs in the show, an incredible archetype that needs more cards, and she’s just?? Cool?? (no pun intended lol). She’s got a bit of the nagging girl stereotype in there, but the fact that it’s likely born out of a very understandable fear of losing Yugo especially in the kind of society they live in, it makes sense and adds a sense of tragic romance to Rin’s character. She’s a powerful person living in a world that wants to break her down, decided to become hard to deal with it, even if that sometimes means being mean to the one person she truly cares about in order to keep him safe, if only that means that he can stay soft where she can’t. Rin, like Yuuri, has a lot of depth to her character that comes out in very small, underlying tones, and I think that’s why I became so invested in piecing together her story. And anyway....her possessed evil form is really cool sdkfja;s

3. Reira Akaba

Can I get a whoop whoop for literally one of the most awe inspiring character arcs I’ve ever seen in a kid’s shonen anime??? I knew I was going to like Reira from the beginning because my internal desire to take care of small cute thins went off like an alarm the minute they were introduced. But then Reira had one of the most powerful arcs I’d ever seen? Watching Reira change from a shrinking flower too afraid to express themself, into a badass taking out 3 people at once in a single turn, to LITERALLY THE SAVIOR OF THE ENTIRE WORLD, was jaw-dropping. Who would have ever thought the little sibling character would be the one to save the world?

2. Reiji Akaba

My love for him has only grown exponentially the more time passes. Reiji hits every single one of my buttons: he’s a morally grey, yet still firmly heroic character. He is strong-willed but keeps his feelings lowkey. He’s a child who had to grow up too fast, learned to hide what he was feeling until even he didn’t know, all for the sake of protecting what was important to him. His choices are inscrutable to others, seemingly callous or even cruel, but underneath all he is is a teenager trying to do the best he can with what he’s given, forced to give in to collateral damages he doesn’t want because he cannot see any other way to protect the most people possible. He’s honestly a tragic hero in a way, and in a very different show, he might have ended up differently. But his arc ended up being one of heroism in the end, and without him, the world probably wouldn’t have been saved.

1. Yuya Sakaki

Y’all have been here long enough, you knew who was at the top. What can I say about Yuya that I haven’t said already? He’s such an incredibly powerful character with an incredibly powerful arc. His journey from depression to conviction is one that will stay with me for the rest of my life. Watching him grow, learn, and reach out to others, bringing others together through his convictions, was a life-changing experience for me. I aspire to be like Yuya as much as I can, and to bring love and smiles to the world around me.

#arcvanniversary #yugioh arc v #lulu talks #gifs

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mogikarp · 6 years

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jonghyun.

this death hit me harder than any celebrity death in a long time. i thought it must be a joke at first... i’ve been struggling to process it all day.

in august 2010, i had just come home from a month abroad and was about to go to university. i was hopeful but also scared. i thought my time away had shown me that i was too weak and like always i was ignoring my own suffering, hoping that if i went to university and found myself i would become stronger and happier, even though i was dreading and fearing it so badly and i think knew deep down that going away to university was only going to make my condition worse. in fact i was about to enter the darkest period of my life.

one day that month, i was looking for a PV of YOU by yuya matsushita and as i scrolled through a list of videos something caught my eye. it was the MV for lucifer by SHINee. i had been listening to japanese music for many years and some of the artists i listened to were korean, but only once or twice had i tried to listen to korean or chinese language music and had decided it didn’t appeal to me because i didn’t understand any of it and wasn’t used to how those languages sound, so i stuck to japanese language music. (actually, for a long time i thought BIG BANG, tohoshinki (DBSK/TVXQ), younha and BoA were all japanese since i only paid attention to japanese releases.) the screenshots of the lucifer MV intrigued me so i watched it and i was hooked. before then, i didn’t know anything about kpop and had never been interested in properly following idol groups as a fan or watching MVs and performances. once i found lucifer, i listened to the album and was blown away by so many songs - a-yo, up&down, shout out, ready or not... i immediately started looking for more like this and threw out my prejudice against korean music. SHINee showed me a new world.

thanks to jonghyun and the rest of SHINee, i discovered so many beautiful things, and their music and strength carried me through many difficult times when i was suffering and alone. over the years my interest in kpop has waxed and waned but in the past year it has been stronger than ever and i have had so much joy following my favourite groups, finding new groups to listen to and choreographies to admire. thanks to SHINee i found dozens of idol groups and other korean artists i love who have brought me thousands of hours of happiness. i started listening to music in all sorts of languages because SHINee showed me you don’t need to understand the language to truly enjoy it. i think i feel a truer happiness when i am listening to the songs i love than at any other time. just last week i finally started learning hangul and it’s all because of SHINee coming into my life 7 years ago.

jonghyun was always so kind from what i saw and it strengthened me to see someone talking about his struggles and trying to share love and kindness. although i was never a dedicated fan so my suffering is small, it’s hard to read all the messages from those who knew him and the fans who admired him so much and imagine how much they must be suffering right now. i’m especially worried about the other members of SHINee and jonghyun’s friends in case they feel responsible or that they should have been able to help him. working as an idol is so hard, you always hear these stories of people developing panic disorders and anxiety, the number of physical injuries and being forced to perform despite being sick or injured, being involved in car accidents rushing to performances, the amount of pressure and crazy work hours, the contracts and difficulty leaving a contract, the instances of abuse and sexual harassment, the pain of failure despite all their hard work, the harassment and stalking from fans and antis, and so on. there needs to be more mental health support for idols and more for everyone in general too.

i heard recently that onew might finally be allowed to promote as part of SHINee again and everyone was looking forward to it. it’s very hard to face the fact now that after all their struggles they will never get to perform as the original SHINee together on the same stage, we’ll never get to see the 5 of them return triumphantly, and if SHINee continues as a group of 4 in the future it will be very bittersweet without jonghyun.

it’s not fair that anyone has to suffer to the point they’d be compelled to end their lives. i don’t know how we can fix this but we need to do more for each other and every country needs to do more for mental healthcare. i hope i made a difference once or twice when i’ve sent messages to people who were suffering, but i don’t know. i hope so, but sometimes words just don’t feel like enough because depression turns everything against you. it reminded me today of something that happened years ago where someone in the same game guild as me sent a suicide note and disappeared, and despite my desperate efforts to contact them we never heard from them again and i don’t know if they’re alive or not today. i felt so helpless and worried and regretted not knowing them better and not being able to do anything because i had no personal information to contact them with or pass along to someone who could check on them like the police (they lived in another country). i don’t want anyone to suffer that badly and to feel so helpless, but i’m still here and if you’re reading this i hope you’ll stick around too. remember the smallest things that make living worthwhile, remember things will not always be as hard as they are now, and remember there are people out there - family, friends, or even strangers like me or volunteers at suicide hotlines or charities - who want you to be happier and want to help make your suffering less. just please talk to someone if you’re struggling. if you don’t know anyone you think will care then talk to me, i will care. if i can alleviate someone’s suffering even a little then it’s worth it. please talk to someone.

君がいるこの世界守っていきたい未来ずっと

#mogpersonal #suicide tw #don't reblog

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blueeyeswhitegarden · 5 years

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Arc V Anniversary Day 4

Day Four: Who’s your favorite character(s)?

I have a lot of favorite characters in this series. I did a list of my top ten favorite characters a couple of years ago and I've wanted to make an updated version for ages, so I figured I'd finally do that here. I keep going back and forth on the order for the first half, but the top five characters are pretty much set. It's going to be long, so I'll put the rest of it under a cut.

10. Sora: My opinion on Sora has greatly changed over time. I initially wasn't too into him due to his smug/cocky attitude, as well as fans hyping him up a bit too much for my tastes right from his first duel. However, his growth in the Synchro arc really changed things around for me. His conflict over having to choose between being loyal to Academia and protecting his friends was really interesting. It showed just how brainwashed Sora was as a child soldier when he didn't see the problem with trading Yuzu for Serena. His friendships with Yuya and especially Yuzu were quite touching, which made the conflict more believable. Seeing him slowly but surely decide that protecting his friends was more important than Academia was really great and emotional. I loved that both Yuya and Yuzu helped Sora realize that staying loyal to Academia wasn't the right choice. Yuya made Sora realize the contradiction in his statement, but Yuzu helped to make him understand about how he was putting more people in danger by helping Academia. It was a nice touch that showed how important both friendships were to him. Sora calling Yuya his teacher during the Zarc battle was also quite emotional and more heartbreaking than I ever would have expected when Sora first appeared.

9. Gongenzaka: I didn't have a negative initial impression of Gongenzaka, but I thought he'd just be a useless supporting character. I was definitely wrong in that regard. I just love his personality. He's so deeply loyal to his friends, honorable and determined to duel in his own style. I also have a soft spot for tough/manly characters who are really big softies and that describes Gongenzaka pretty well. His duel with Yaiba early on in the series pretty much made me like Gongenzaka instantly, especially when he has such a unique deck. His friendship with Yuya is truly heartwarming and while it doesn't get focused on as much, I thought that his friendship with Yuzu was also quite sweet. They do come off as a group of childhood friends. Gongenzaka doing whatever he could to help Yuya, even if it meant putting himself in danger, was quite touching. It made Gongenzaka more likable and their connection more believable.

8. Reiji: I remember initially thinking that Reiji was going to be another Kaiba clone mainly due to how all of the information revealed about him prior to the start of Arc V sounded like a Kaiba checklist. If anything, Reiji is more like the polar opposite of Kaiba. He's calm, collected, isn't focused on defeating Yuya and rarely shows his emotions. The latter also makes him quite different to most of the other Arc V characters as well given that most of them make their emotions pretty clear as well. He's a morally gray character and his actions often made both the characters and the audience think that he was being cold or heartless. Reiji does care about other people of course, but the years of preparing the Lancers and the aftermath of his father abandoning him resulted in Reiji forcing himself to be calm and collected in order to stop Academia. I especially loved how Reiji became more emotional once he confronted Leo. He spent years preparing for this duel, was shown to be a calm and collected duelist and he still wasn't able to defeat Leo. Those moments were so powerful because Reiji's own emotional mask was starting to crack a bit and it wouldn't have worked if Reiji had lost before. His friendship with Yuya was also handled quite nicely. They both became friends out of mutual respect for each other and that was a different kind of dynamic for the main lead and rival too. Reiji is easily one of the more interesting rivals in the franchise for me.

7. Serena: I really like Serena's personality. Despite being at Academia all of her life, she still wanted to duel honorably against her opponents. Her reaction towards learning the truth about Academia also said a lot about her true nature. She was horrified to learn that the honorable school she wanted to desperately to duel for was really hurting innocent people. I especially loved that her development didn't drastically change her personality. She was still assertive, confident and eager to duel strong opponents, but that aggressive attitude was never considered a problem. I found that to be quite refreshing for a female character in particular. The only problem that came from her attitude was her struggle to enjoy dueling, which she was able to learn more about through her duel with Yugo. I do wish she could have had couple of more duels, especially when her deck is pretty cool, but I still liked her overall development and personality.

6. Dennis: I really like Dennis' storyline. Even though Arc V had two Academia spies in the cast, Sora and Dennis are drastically different from each other. Sora had his friendships with Yuya and Yuzu to help him turn against Academia, but Dennis didn't really have that. He cared about the other Lancers and said that the time they spent together was the most fun he had, but that wasn't enough for Dennis to go against Academia's orders. Even though Dennis enjoyed performing so dearly, he still felt like he had no choice but to signal the Xyz invasion the moment he found Ruri. Dennis was too afraid to make a choice. He just opted to follow orders. That's also one reason why Dennis carding himself was such a shocking and powerful moment. Dennis was so afraid to make a choice and felt like he had no side where he could turn to, so it was just easier to card himself. Being that consumed by fear and self doubt made Dennis so much more likable and interesting than I thought he would be. Seeing Dennis be able to fully accept and embrace his true self was so wonderful too. Becoming an Entertainment Dueling teacher much like Yusho for the Xyz dimension offered him such great closure. It allowed both Dennis and Heartland itself to start the healing process from the dimensional war and move forward together.

5. Zarc: I'll be talking more about Zarc later on in the month, so I'll try to keep this part brief. Zarc turned out to be a much more interesting villain than I expected. I thought that he was going to be another typical overpowered final Yu-Gi-Oh! villain, but that changed the moment Crow asked him if he was that afraid of losing. Actually addressing a villain's overpowered cards doesn't happen too often, but this tied in nicely with Zarc's backstory. Much like Dennis, Zarc was consumed by fear, but in this case, he was afraid to lose. He was so focused on appealing to the crowd's desire for violent duels that he didn't want to lose. That desire combined with his anger, along with the anger of his dragons, resulted in the destruction of the original world. That was a far more personal and emotionally driven motivation than I thought we'd get from Zarc. Not to mention losing to Ray and being split apart intensified his fear, which resulted in Zarc’s deck being more defensive as he prepared for his rematch against Ray. I especially liked that Zarc wasn't just an evil version of Yuya. He was more of a dark reflection of what Yuya could have become, and nearly became again, if it wasn't for the support from Yuya's family and friends saving him from Zarc's control. Learning that Zarc wasn't completely evil and that he was at one point a good person like Yuya was really great. It fit nicely with Yuya accepting himself as Zarc, as well as the goal of making Reira smile to ease Zarc's evil heart. Zarc is easily one of my favorite villains in the franchise.

4. Reira: I never thought that I'd like Reira this much. I was worried that they were just going to be the little brother character who barely does anything beyond standing in the sidelines. Reira's backstory changed everything. That explained why they were so terrified at practically everything and were quite dependent on Reiji for emotional support. It was an intense twist and helped to make the relationship between Reiji and Reira more emotionally touching than I thought was going to be when they first appeared. I loved how Reira grew to be more confident over the course of the series, but it also didn't magically fix their trauma. Reira still had panic attacks, flashbacks to the war they were in before and was basically had moments where they were a scared little kid. Becoming a stronger person didn't make Reira unbreakable and I appreciated that. I loved how their development led to Reira effectively saving the world. Defeating Zarc was a real team effort, but that doesn't dismiss the roles Reira and Ray played in that match either. Reira sealing Zarc's evil heart was especially important given that allowed for the cycle to be broken and for Zarc to no longer pose a threat to the four dimensions. Using the En Card did result in Reira being reverted back into a baby, but instead of undoing their development, I saw it as a accumulation of their development. Much like Ray, Reira sacrificed themselves in order to save the worlds and people that they cared about and will hopefully have a happier life starting over again.

3. Yugo: Yugo is just so extremely likable. I remember thinking that he would be this serious character when he first showed up in Yuto's flashback, but then he got upset at hitting a pole and yelling at people who he knocked out cold. He turned out to be such a goofball kind of character and I'm so glad that he turned out that way instead. He's sweet, funny caring and much like Yuya, tends to wear his heart on his sleeve. He tends to get more aggressive and confrontational rather than sad, but he's still a pretty emotional character. Even though they only knew each other for a few days, his friendship with Yuzu was quite sweet and they seemed to instantly connect with each other. His relationship with Rin is really touching. Despite having to primarily rely on flashbacks to showcase their relationship, the audience still gets a good impression of how close they are and why Yugo is so desperate to see her again. Even Yugo's gag of seeing Rin in the other Bracelet Girls has a bit of a sad undertone to it given that he misses her that much. Yugo has some pretty great duels and his name gag is pretty funny too. He's just so instantly likable and fun to watch throughout the series's run.

2. Yuzu: I really like Yuzu. She has such a strong, confident personality. She determined to do whatever she can to protect her friends, but that doesn't mean that she can't be afraid or emotionally vulnerable either. I really liked how determined she was to learn how to use Fusion cards early in the series. Calling Roger out for running away after losing and especially knocking him down to send her message to Yuya were also pretty awesome moments. As much as I would have liked to see her duel more, I also appreciate that she had such a major role in the story and with other characters outside of dueling. Her connections with Sora, Serena and Yugo were all important for helping their own storylines and she indirectly saved Shun from being carded by telling Serena where to find him. Even her relationship with Shuzo turned out to be pretty important given that he was the first one to remember Yuzu after Standard became the Pendulum dimension. Dueling is the most direct way to affect the plot in a Yu-Gi-Oh! series, but it isn't the only way to do it and I don't think that Yuzu gets nearly enough credit for her impact on the overall storyline as she should. Yuzu's relationship with Yuya is extremely heartwarming to see unfold. They do really come off as good friends, which makes the shipping moments all the more believable. Yuzu calling out to Yuya after they had merged with their counterparts didn't come off as a typical female lead calling out to the male lead. It was more like the feelings between these two characters was so strong that not even merging back into their original selves could break them apart. Even though I would have liked to see Yuzu dueling more, I still liked her personality, the role she had on the overall storyline and how she played key roles for multiple characters.

1. Yuya: I'm sure that this isn't surprising to anyone. I talk about Yuya frequently and I've mentioned multiple times in just the first few prompts for this month. He's not only my favorite Arc V character, but also my favorite character in the franchise. He's just so incredibly likable, interesting, relatable and complex. I love how Yuya grows over the course of the series. He starts out being so indecisive and depressed, but he gains more self-confidence through all of his struggles throughout the series. Yuya's desire to make other people happy with his duels despite having a difficult time being genuinely happy himself makes him pretty relatable for me. He's just such an emotional character and that makes it really easy to identify and sympathize with him. They really do a good job early on in the series showing how years of bullying and losing his father affected Yuya as well.

I love that a good part of Yuya's journey is developing better self-esteem, or perhaps more accurately accepting himself. At the start of the series, he valued himself as being the special duelist with Pendulum cards. Finding out that he wasn't special like he thought absolutely crushed him and Yuya was only able to bounce back because of Shuzo teaching him that he can still lead as an example to other duelists as the one who opened the door to Pendulum summoning. Even so, he still saw himself primarily as the son of the famous Yusho Sakaki and that he inherited his father's dueling. That was one of the reasons why his duel with Jack was so important. Jack finally got Yuya to start thinking of himself as an individual and not just as someone else's son. Yuya understood what kind of dueling he wanted to do that was unique to him and he carries that message throughout the rest of the series. Even accepting himself as Zarc ties in nicely with the theme of self-esteem. Instead of burying denying everything that happened to him, Yuya recognizes that he is both Yuya and Zarc at the same time. I just love that Yuya has a better understanding of himself by the end of the series. He knows exactly what he wants to do with his dueling, he understands himself enough to know that he needs to be genuinely happy to make the audience smile alongside him and he has the confidence to pull it off. I also love that Yuya is still a pretty emotional character even at the end of the series. His problem wasn't the fact that he's a sensitive kid or that boys can't be emotional. The problem was that he was dealing with his emotions in an unhealthy manner and not accepting himself. That is such an important and powerful message that I think a lot of people would appreciate too.

It was hard to put the order of this list together and I still feel like some of the orders could change around in the future, but there was never any doubt in my mind that Yuya would own the first place rank for me. I still don't know if this writeup can convey just how much I love Yuya and how much his development/storyline connects with me. So much of his emotional struggles remind me of what I've gone through and how I'd like to hope that I've become a better/stronger person from those situations too. Just seeing pictures of Yuya or thinking about him can make me feel happier. I love so many characters in this series, but Yuya is just really special for me. I loved watching every moment of his journey when I watched the series through the first time. I know that I'll still enjoy it when I start my next Arc V rewatch to experience it all over again.

#Arc V #Arc V Anniversary #Arcvanniversary

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blueeyeswhitegarden · 6 years

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Arc V Anniversary Day 4

Day 4: Favorite Legacy Character?

Jack is easily my favorite legacy character. I really liked the impact he had on both Yuya and Reira's character development. He was pretty harsh towards Yuya at first, but Jack has always been a jerk with a heart of gold, so it was fitting way for his character to respond to someone who he saw as far below his level of an entertainer. Plus, he wasn't wrong about Yuya's dueling being about self-satisfaction. There definitely was a selfish element to Yuya saying that he inherited his father's dueling. I do think it was more of a subconscious desire to remain close to Yusho, as well as tying into his low self-esteem I mentioned back in my post about Yuya, but Jack was still right about Yuya's dueling. That forced Yuya to really think about his dueling style, which I don't think anyone else could have really done for him. His family and friends obviously care and support him, but I'm not sure if any of them would pick up on Yuya not really figuring out his own way of dueling as much as Jack would, or at least be as blunt about it as Jack was.

His impact on Reira is also really important. Hearing Jack's message about not to falter led into Reira's development quite nicely. He wanted to become stronger for Reiji, but without Jack's encouragement, it's hard to say whether or not Reira would have had the strength to move forward, especially with his PTDS, and that would have been really bad given his role in the story. I think that moment was also important to showcase more of Jack's personality. He came off as pretty harsh towards Yuya, but he was a bit more calm and gentle with Reira. Part of that could have been because he recognized part of himself in Reira, but I think it was also to show that Jack really wanted to encourage people. As King of the City, people naturally admired him and he wanted to use his strength to inspire more people. Even though Jack only sees Reira dueling brief before his rematch with Yuya, he did look genuinely happy to see Reira dueling after he was so timid before.

This also matches with how his relationship with Yuya develops. Yuya was understandably upset at Jack at first, but Jack still wanted to encourage Yuya to not falter even before their rematch. He wanted to push Yuya into becoming a better duelist and find his own dueling style. Jack wanted a challenge for himself as well, but he still basically became Yuya's mentor figure and supported him throughout the rest of the series. I loved how they did become friends. Even thinking about how two of my favorite characters in the franchise became friends still makes me so happy. Needless to say, I loved it when Jack came back for a tag duel with Yuya and helping to free him from Zarc was terrific too. Jack saying that he would drag Yuya out and get him back in his own way was probably the most fitting way for Jack to say that he cares about Yuya. Even their third duel showed Jack trying his best to help Yuya through his fear of using the dimensional dragons. I love their friendship and how it developed over the course of the series.

One aspect of all of the legacy characters that I really appreciate was just how they adapted their personalities. They have enough of their original personalities to make them recognizable to long time fans, but they also throw in a few key differences to make them more distinct. Instead of just copying their characters completely from their respective series or just making Arc V original characters with their personalities, the writers put in the effort to show that these characters would be at least slightly different due to being in a different universe. Not having the same histories or connections they did in their original series would change how they behave and treat other characters. It's something that long time fans would be able to pick up on, but it also doesn't make it hard for new fans. Knowing more about their roles in the previous series definitely adds more to their characterization in Arc V, but it isn't a requirement either. That helps to make the series easy for old and new fans to watch. It's really a great way of handling legacy characters and I really appreciated it.

I think that Jack is one of the more interesting legacy characters with this in mind as well. Arc V Jack basically had everything 5D's Jack wanted. He is King of the City, he didn't have to betray his friends to get it, he isn't even a traitor to the Commons exactly as he just couldn't change the system as much as they wanted, and he doesn't have to lie about where he came from. He openly acknowledges that he is from the Commons and takes great pride in it. 5D's Jack had to lie about being from Satellite in order to become King. Despite all of this, Arc V Jack is still miserable. He's still shown as the lonely king, sitting on his throne all alone for most of the Synchro arc. He doesn't show much happiness until he sees Reira duel and then again during his duel with Yuya. While Jack wants to encourage people around him, he also wanted a challenge to encourage him to reach new heights. That's why being able to use his Red Demon Tyrant Dragon was so important. Jack had a rival in Yuya to push him forward. I think that said a lot about what Jack ultimately wanted and needed in both universes. I especially loved how he reacted to Yuya defeating him. Instead of being horrified at losing or being upset that he still couldn't win like what happened in 5D's, Arc V Jack took defeat in with open arms and a smile. Arc V Jack doesn't have the emotional baggage that 5D's Jack had, so their reactions to defeat would be understandably different, but I just love that difference. Arc V Jack needed a friend and rival to give him a challenge and he finally found that with Yuya.

While I do like all of the legacy characters, Jack definitely holds a special place for me. He had a great role on the show and he's definitely one of the more interesting legacy characters from a long time fan's perspective. Arc V Jack may be my favorite version of the character, or at least tied with 5D's season one Jack. They have different roles and slightly different personalities, but they're both still pretty cool and likable. One of the reasons why I'm glad that they brought back some fan favorite characters to Arc V is that it allowed me to appreciate older characters in a different way. Arc V Jack is a prime example of being able to find a new way to appreciate an old favorite character.

#Arc V #Arc V Anniversary #Arcvanniversary #Jack

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