#Bad Brother Zarc

[cyberdragoninfinity]

god. where to begin with college/kansas au Zarc Sakaki. he's yuya's shithead way way older brother (hes 33) who moved back in with his parents recently cuz he's broke and chronically cant keep a job. he keeps trying to take off as a twitch streamer and/or soundcloud rapper. neither of which is panning out to much of anything. he keeps getting banned from tcg tournaments for throwing big nasty public tantrums and assaulting other competitors over asinine bullshit. he gets into fights with 14 year olds online (33 year old man.) aster phoenix once ratio'd him on twitter and zarc got so mad he punched one of his shitty 1982 ford fiesta's windows in and it's still patched up with a plastic bag and duct tape. he and ray have been having an absolutely catastrophic situationship for over 15 years. he bullies his brother and younger cousins for "having pronouns" (dude youre trans too??!??!) his legal name is Zackary. he sucks so fucking bad. i love him

[healeroflightanddark]

Dancing with the Dragons, Chapter 2: A Surprise

The five boys sat at the buffet table after their meal, waiting for the wait staff to come by with the check. Yuya was leaning back in his seat with his hands resting on his now very full tummy, eyes closed and a content smile on his face. He heard the sound of one of his brothers taking another photo of him, but right now he didn’t care. He was too full to care! He felt sleepy too. Full and sleepy!

“Aw, someone looks ready for a nap!~” Yuri cooed.

“Mhm…” Yuya mumbled. “Wake me later.”

“We gotta go, Yuya,” Yuto said gently. “You can’t nap here.”

Yuya just pouted without opening his eyes. “Why not?”

“Because we gotta go.”

Yuya didn’t reply, opting to instead relax happily. The waiter eventually brought the check to their table. “How was everything?”

“So good,” Yuya murmured contentedly. He sounded like he was half asleep.

“Yuya just loves to eat,” Zarc said, smiling fondly at his youngest brother as he pulled out some cash to pay the bill.

“Mm, food is yum,” Yuya mumbled. “So yum.”

“Alright, Yuya, it’s time to go!” Zarc said.

Yuya raised his arms and made grabbing motions with his hands, not wanting to have to walk all the way back to the limo while he was so full. Yuto chuckled and picked him up bridal style, being very careful not to jostle him too much. He carried Yuya out of the buffet to the limo, followed by the rest of their brothers. There was a bit of a scuffle between Yuri and Yugo as Yuto got into the limo with Yuya.

“No! No! I wanna sit next to Yuya!” Yuri said.

“You sat next to him on the way here! It’s my turn for Yuya cuddles!” Yugo whined.

“No! I want Yuya cuddles!” Yuri snapped, trying to get to the limo door before Yugo. Unfortunately for him, Yugo managed to push past him and dive into the limo next to Yuya. The tomato-haired boy was now sandwiched between Yuto and Yugo, and Yuri had no choice but to sit on Yugo’s other side and sulk.

“You two are such children,” Zarc said, sliding into his seat across from the quadruplets. He winced a little and rubbed his leg.

“Are you okay, Zarc?” Yuto asked. The question caused Yuya to open his eyes and look at the oldest Sakaki brother.

“Oh no! Is your leg bothering you again?” the youngest Sakaki brother asked with wide eyes. Back when Zarc’s leg had been broken by the crazy fan that had tackled him, the break had been pretty bad. He’d had to get a metal rod in his leg to help it stay aligned, and as a result his leg sometimes caused him pain.

“Yeah, it hurts, but I’ll be fine,” Zarc said. Yuya pouted and decided to switch seats, moving to sit next to Zarc and hug him. Zarc smiled at him and wrapped his arms around his little brother. “Thanks, Yuya.”

Yugo pouted furiously, having been denied Yuya cuddles for the second time that day. Yuya noticed and smiled at him. “I’ll give you cuddles when we get back to the hotel, okay Yugo?”

“Okay!” Yugo said, brightening up immediately at the promise. He relaxed into his seat, looking out the window beside Yuto.

“So, Yuya,” Yuto said, getting the younger’s attention. “We got some news about dad after you snuck out of the hotel all alone.”

Yuya’s head snapped up and he looked at Yuto with wide, hopeful eyes. “You heard from Dad?”

Yuya had always been very close to their dad. When the quadruplets were little, he’d wanted to be just like Dad, and tended to spend more time with him than with their mother. Yusho had even taught Yuya most of his magic tricks! Zarc, Yuto, Yuri, and Yugo were close to their father too, but they were closer to their mother. Yuya had always gotten very sad whenever Yusho left to go on tours, to the point where Yusho had to video chat with him every night so that he wouldn’t cry himself to sleep. Even now, at fourteen years of age, Yuya still video chatted with his father every night whenever Yusho or the Yu-boys were on tour.

Yuya teared up a little. “I miss Dad…”

“I know, we all do,” Zarc said, hugging Yuya. “But guess what?”

“What?” Yuya asked, looking up at him.

“Well, Dad said—” Zarc was rudely interrupted by Yuri. “Don’t tell him! Let’s make it a surprise!”

“Don’t tell me what?” Yuya asked.

“You weren’t there when Dad called,” Yuri smirked. “You were too busy wandering off! So that means you have to wait to find out! Maybe that’ll teach you not to sneak off!~”

“Oh come on!” Yuya whined. “What’s going on? Yugo? Yuto?”

“You know what, I actually think letting it be a surprise might actually be a good idea,” Yugo said.

“Noooo! Yuto! Tell me! Please?” Yuya pleaded.

Yuto thought for a moment. “Sorry, Yuya. I’m on their side.”

“Yutooooo! Is this punishment for cuddling Zarc instead of you?”

“No, I just think making it a surprise will make your reaction when you find out even better.”

“Well then, that’s that,” Zarc said. “I’ll text Dad to let him know.”

Yuya whined in frustration. “You all suuuuuck!”

“Hey! Rude!” Yuri said, pouting playfully. To which Yuya stuck out his tongue at him. And then proceeded to shriek and try to get away as Yuri unbuckled his seatbelt and pounced on him to tickle him.

“Nohoho! Yuriiii! Stohohop! I’m sorryhyhyhy! I’m sorryyyyhyhyhyhy!” Yuya squealed, batting at Yuri’s hands frantically.

“Yuri, get back in your seat and buckle up!” Zarc ordered. Yuri ignored him and simply buckled himself into the seat next to Yuya so he could continue tickling him. Zarc groaned and rubbed his temples, before deciding to take advantage of the situation and send their father the promised text without Yuya noticing.

*   *   *

Hours later, Yuya sat on his hotel bed, chatting with Yusho. “Dad, what did you tell everyone else while I was gone? They won’t tell me!” he pouted.

Yusho chuckled. “I know, Zarc told me. But I think they’re right, it would be much better for you to find out as a surprise!”

“Daaaaad! C’mon! Please?” Yuya gave his best puppy eyes, which usually got him what he wanted but he only used as a last resort.

Unfortunately this time Yusho didn’t cave into the puppy eyes. “Sorry, Yuya, but I can assure you you’ll like the surprise!”

Yuya groaned, falling back onto his bed dramatically. “The puppy eyes have failed meeeeee!”

Yusho just laughed. “I know it’s hard to wait, especially when you desperately want to know, but the wait will be worth it, I promise!”

“Okay fiiiine,” Yuya sighed. It seemed he would really have to wait.

[lilidan]

Occasionally the Sakaki brothers play League together. Most often they play in-houses together against their girlfriends, but the girls always win, not because the boys let them but because the boys argue amongst themselves the whole damn time instead of playing the game.

Yuri: top lane main who wants to destroy his opponents 1v1. He is constantly telling Yugo to get the fuck out of his lane. Definitely plays Teemo when he is in a bad mood so that nobody gets to have a good time.

Yugo: jungle main because he loves to zoom around the map. 100% mains Hecarim. 

Zarc: mid lane main, Zed addict but he loses to Ray’s Akali 1v1 every single time they play. 

Yuto: adc main. He’s totally a Vayne main but will play Xayah for the lane duo with Yuya.

Yuya: support main. He loves Rakan and Bard and just wants to help everyone out while having a good time. He’s the team’s main shot caller. 

[villabella12]

@arcvmonth Day 18: D/D/D - Different Dimension Day (Pt. II)

Second part of the same prompt since there's little context provided there but here's some concepts + an AU I forgot to add in the previous post I have for the last two on the same post but then again, I'm no writer, I just wanted to share stuff

A bit heads up: I will spoil the name of my OCs in this post but the design of them will be out next week

TW: Mention of Scars

The Cards Has Bodies In Them

Rhen Dharmas' origins dated WAY back in the early 1930s, with a farmer from a european village picking up the first ever card of its kind and slowly but surely turns him and the rest of the town into cards

A bit of a fruitshipping moments here and there (Yuzu going absolute bonkers whenever someone tries to harm her "boyfriend" while he's in his draconic form)

The thief could be a minor character from Zexal (either Erazor or that gangster duo Shark used to hangout) or someone entirely new who wanted the Rhen Dharmas to exploit them to win multiple duels

Maria was the one who brought up the entire "Rhen-Dharma" conspiracy, does research abt it, HASNT SLEPT IN DAYS, friends suspect it would be the influence that's driving her crazy, nearly drowned in her brother's bathtub, nearly SLIT HER NECK FOR A SACRIFICE, then was sent to the hospital and she's alright... for now...

Interesting lore drop between a conversation Maria and her ace monster, Ibong Adarna (they/them) have regarding Duel Monsters and their secrets overall

1V2 between the thief and Yuya (in his draconic form) and Maria (OC)

^ An INCREDIBLY intense and brutal duel that Yuya will never forget, even worst than the ones he had faced during the Dimensional War because

^ 1. The monster's effect may inflict damage but the way it did is a bit of a horrific process and 2. If they lose they'll turn into ACTUAL Monster Cards

Sawatari has character development :)

Also Maria bonding with the XYZ gang cus they like her energy + she needs more friends

Raya being sketchy (not in a bad way nor a good way)

Yuya still has nightmares abt losing control & harming his friends whilst hes in his draconic form and fears that those nightmares might come true someday (it did...)

And then he learns to find ways on how to live with it, and learns to accept it as a part of himself, despite his wishes for it to be gone

Duelists in the Backrooms

Maria also learns how to let go of the burden to protect others over herself and also lets herself be more open

Concepts of this AU is being brainstormed over so here's maybe a sneak peak of how it plays out

There are four groups that reside in a specific level in the backrooms: The Lancers (Level 170), The Resistance (Level 20), The "Signers" (Level 11.1), and The Rebellion (Level 179)

There isn't as much duels in this AU unlike TCHBIT, the duels only happen if there's a misunderstanding or disagreement

There's also solo survivors that doesn't join a specific group and/or joins them but just survive independently (i.e Maria, Meiru, Dennis, Michio, and Asuka)

Instead of dying and losing their items, they just restart to a completely different level and their items will be scattered around them once they restart (meaning they're going to be stuck in an endless loop of survival and death)

^ The wounds they have obtain from fighting the entities will also appear as scars

Theres going to be underrated duo moments here and there, some are serious, some are not

Summoning Monsters can also be helpful for combat and transportation but are limited due to certain levels being strict abt said monsters

Zarc and Ray's influence over the Yu-Boys and Bracelets Girls are stronger than in canon

Leo has something to do with all characters being stuck in the backrooms

The characters aged regularly but due to how slow the time in the backrooms are, their bodies ages slowly (in this au)

The Curse That Will Never Be Unfold

The father side of Yuya's family owns a really popular circus, with his father, Yusho, being a ringmaster and him being one of those a daredevil acrobats

His mother is a gang leader (that doesnt terrorize) like in the anime, but instead of retiring from it she continues to help others with her gang

Yuzu is somewhat a badass bard warrior, her main weapon being the violin. Her father, Shuzo, owns a instrument shop and works alongside with Yusho

Raya, Gongenzaka, and Sawatari are somewhat townies (with one of them being secretly a samurai warrior) that soon learned to fight with secret abilities they didnt know exist within them

^ Maria can transform into certain terrains (small terrains) and also animals that may represent, symbolizes, or is connected with nature

Maria is a forest spirit that is under Lethia's mentorship, alongside her twin brother, Mariano, and younger twin siblings, Olive and Oliver

^ Born from the blood of two humans that were received from a cut during their work hours that soon dropped into the leaves, grows out of a giant ass flower, then the couple proceeds to drop one into the water and then BOOM her brother is born out of a seashell

(^ Then they decide to do it again 10 years later then was given the results, a fire and air child...)

Yuto, Ruri, and Shun will accompany the group at some point, with the three of them developing a close bond the group, especially Maria

The Synchro and Fusion squad will appear but idk what their roles are still...

Zarc and Coralline are siblings, with him being the god of destruction and her being the goddess of death, underneath the alias, Morgana

^ Zarc and Ray are still bitter enemies, but over time grew close as Zarc starts to realize that he is not the villain that everyone thought of him was

^ Zarc doesnt have a close relationship with his siblings. He, Virgil, and Carolyn always fights, he and Cora arent really close, and Marilena is deeply afraid of him. He hates to admit it but, he wishes he can spend more time with them but his lust for violence prevents him from doing so

^ Also she fell in love with a human who has secret eldritch magic, in which enrages Zarc, gets teased by Virgil and Carolyn, but Marilena is oblivious to the concept of love (despite being the goddess of love herself lmao)

Cora and Maria are besties secretly, neither of their friend group (minus Cora's) knows abt it

[universestreasures]

@enterpainment​​ Happy Birthday Part 2!

At long last, the night of her inheritance ball had arrived. Ray had been eagerly awaiting this day for as long as she could remember, the day she would officially take over for her father as the head of the Akaba House. All those hours studying in the library, attending her father’s meetings, and gaining a high reputation in society had been preparing her for this moment. This was her night, and Ray was going to shine like a star.

At least...that was what should have happened.

The start of the party went as planned, her and her siblings all being formally introduced and escorted by their retainers into the ballroom. The eldest Akaba truly stood out from the rest based on appearance alone. Her usual twin pigtails had now been curled at the ends, all while sporting a lavender gown with blue flowers, jewels, and beads adorning it star-like patterns. Of course, her signature emerald hair pieces remained as well. One couldn’t exactly risk Zarc throwing a tantrum on a night like this, even if he had seemed to lighten up as of late. 

In fact, he even accepted Ray’s offer to partake in a dance, the two becoming the center of attention inside the large space. Dancing had been something she didn’t necessarily have a preference for, certainly not to the extent of her sister Serena. Though, the smile on her face as her and Zarc glided across the marble floor was plain to see. It was nice to have a person she actually wanted to dance with for once, and not some snob who clearly had no respect for her or just wanted to get close enough to her to get her fortune. 

“You’re not half bad at this, you know.” A rare compliment for her, but one she thought he honestly deserved. Zarc had really changed for the better in the past few weeks after finally listening to her. He became...pleasant to be around to the point where she didn’t like when he wasn’t around, a sentiment shared by her sisters with Zarc’s little brothers. While the situation that brought them together was not ideal to be certain, the results of it have seemingly made their lives better in some respect.

Oh how ignorant they all were...

Lavender hues shift then as Zarc suddenly lets go of her hand, the other moving away to go somwhere else without saying a word. What was going on Ray wondered? Did Zarc see something and went to investigate? Before she can ponder the thought any further, the voice of her father suddenly drags the attention of everyone in the room. 

“I thank you all for coming here tonight in celebration of my daughter, the crown jewel of our family...Ray. She is truly the pinnacle of perfection, succeeding every expectation placed on her. As her father, I could not be more proud. 

Tonight she has come of age, meaning she is able to now accept her inheritance and place as the head of the Akaba House.

However...I do not think she is ready for such a thing as of yet. She has learned much, grown much, but still has areas she needs to improve at and master before she can taken on such an important position. Thus, until I deem Ray Akaba capable of inheriting her birthright, I will remain the head of the Akaba House. 

I hope you enjoy the rest of the evening festivities, and thank you all once again for coming.”

The entire room is silent as Leo Akaba stepped away, all eyes shifting towards Ray who was now standing in the center of the dance floor alone to face the people who had all come to this party to see her step up. This...This couldn’t be happening...right? 

For the first time in her life, she had been left speechless. 

For the first time in her life, she felt...an anger bubble in her chest towards her father, who she loved more than anyone. 

For the first time in her life, her confidence had been shattered into a million pieces with a threat of never being able to put herself together again...

Ray...Ray didn’t know what to do as she stood there alone, her siblings and retainer out of reach of her. Ray thought she was one who could handle being on her own just fine. She wasn’t exactly the most social person, much like Reiji and Serena, and had often spent most of her time on her own doing as she pleased until...until..

Zarc.

“Zarc...Why...Why did you have to leave? Where...Where did you go? And why...why do I want you here next to me? To...hold me in your arms? I don’t....I don’t understand...”

The confused, hurt, and overwhelmed young lady then decides to search for Zarc, moving with purpose through the crowds to try and find where that lizard breath went. She...She needed him right now, needed him more than she’s needed anyone else in her life, even if she doesn’t fully get why.

Little did she know her night was going to get a lot worse when she does eventually find him, and hear what he had to say...

~

[zeravmeta]

Arc-V 7th Anniversary

Alright fellas here it is! It’s been 7 years since Yugioh Arc-V first graced our lives, and I thought I’d celebrate this by going over my personal Top 5 Duels in the series! This list is just my opinion, and you don’t have to agree/disagree or whatever, it’s just for fun. Let’s get to it!

#5: Yuya vs Barret, Synchro Arc

This duel is probably the one that no one expected to be on this list, but it’s actually a critical moment to Yuya’s growth as a character (I know some might have expected the 227 duel here but that one serves more towards narrative parallels and foreshadowing rather than actual character growth). This duel is here for one important reason: It’s the moment where Yuya truly let go of Yusho’s ideals. The Dimensional War had only began to get more chaotic as time passed, with Academia sending no shortage of goons after them, but this is the duel where Yuya is forced to choose: Yuzu’s (and his friends) life, or Smile World (the representation of his father’s ideals). Ultimately, Yuya does choose Yuzu, but this duel is also one of the most agonized we see Yuya after because Yuzu was still kidnapped anyways. To him, he threw away both of them by being forced to choose. However, it’s also what does encourage him to finally take that first step he needed, the buildup to the entire Synchro arc of finding his own words, and challenges Jack for their last rematch

#4: Tsukikage and Sora vs Obelisk Force, Synchro Arc

Ok THIS ONE is the one that no one actually expected, but I really do like it since it’s a good bit of character building for both Sora and Tsukikage (also I didn’t want this list to just be Yuya duels). Tsukikage was a surprising dark horse in Arc V because of how much he actually was developed. His design wasn’t anything special and he was legitimately just hired help by Reiji. However, in this duel we see a ton of incredible character defining moments for him: His grudge against Sora and Academia for what happened to his brother, his commitment not just to Reiji but to the Lancers, his trust in Reira but also his concern, and the tag team with Sora where he makes clear that he never intends to forgive Sora for his involvement with Academia, but he thanks him regardless. This is also the duel that firmly cements Sora as a good guy after about 50+ episodes of him being a villain from his initial heel face turn, where he finally decides that the friends he made in Standard Dimension are too important for him to turn his back on despite Academia being a literal child military. Speaking of…

#3: Shun vs Sora, Maiami Championship

The granddaddy of all tone setting duels in this series, this duel has a lot going for it, but it is phenomenal for one reason alone: how absolutely brutal it is. Yugioh has always gone out of its way to forgive all the cartoon violence in duels as just monsters looking cool, but this duel kicks it up a notch by showcasing just how brutal the Dimensional War between the Fusion and XYZ dimensions was. And mind you, at this point in the series, it was only slightly hinted, and we later see it in more brutal detail in Shun vs Dennis (Friendship Cup) and the duels in the XYZ Dimension, but this duel has another point to its favor: Sora’s heel face turn. At this point, all we knew was that Shun was going around attacking random duelists for no reason. However, it’s when Sora breaks out his own Evil Face™ that we really see the dynamic at play here: Sora is the spy sent to lower everyone’s guards, while Shun is the compassionate avenger that’s trying to prevent another dimension from falling the way his did. No other duel Shun has ever had as much impact as this one with the exception of his duel with Dennis in Synchro, but when put side by side, this is the duel that stands out because it’s when the series truly begins to take its darker turn.

#2: Yuya vs Jack, End of Synchro Arc

This one I feel is a little controversial, but I absolutely cannot understate just how important this duel is for Yuya’s character. The Synchro arc as a whole was considered a drag by many, and while there certainly are parts that it feels as such, it is undeniable that it provides very critical development for Yuya. This entire time, Yuya has thought that he could simply parrot his father’s ideals as a way to cope with his own insecurities (shirou emiya much? Lmao). However, Jack sees right through his game and completely humiliates him in their first encounter, telling Yuya that he isn’t worthy to stand against him unless Yuya can find his own words instead of the words he borrowed. After this encounter, Yuya tries to force his ideals again, but realizes that he needs to find another way to convey the message and ideals of Duels with Smiles that he wants. His duel with Shinji, Duel Chaser 227 and Crow all had Yuya learn different ways of expressing himself and further evolving his duel, up until this final confrontation. Deciding that instead of letting Academia and The Tops having their way, Yuya squares up and challenges Jack on his own terms for a final rematch. Throughout the duel, we see Yuya apply everything he’s learned so far, but Jack still tells him that he’s holding back and using borrowed words instead of his own, until Yuya finally hits his breakthrough: Pendulum was something he didn’t borrow from anyone, and it’s HIS OWN WORDS to convey his message. With that breakthrough, Jack has finally found an opponent worthy to test himself against once more, because he’s grown so strong that no one in Synchro Dimension was able to challenge him and his drive for self-improvement. Jack in general was such a clutch character to bring back because he’s the exact type of impetus that Yuya needed: A mentor who wasn’t afraid to tell him that he’s simply hiding behind what was given to him, and rather pushed him to achieve greater heights than Yuya himself thought he was capable of.

Alright before the #1 duel, let me list some honorable mentions bc while these didn’t make my top 5, I do still believe they are important and are all fantastic duels in their own right.

Honorable Mentions:

- Yuya vs Kachidoki, Maiami Cup - Yuya vs Gongenzaka, First Match - Shun vs Dennis, Friendship Cup  - Yuya vs Yuri, Academia Arc - Yuya vs Battle Beast, Academia Arc - Yuya vs Duel Chaser 227, Friendship Cup - Yugo vs Serena, Friendship Cup - Yuzu vs Masumi, Maiami Cup - Yuya vs Shingo, Yosenju deck Maiami Cup - Shun vs LDS Trio, Start of Series - Yuto-Yuya vs Kaito, Academia Arc - Yuto-Yuya vs Edo, Academia Arc - Yuya vs Reiji, Round 1

And now...

#1: Zarc vs Lancers, Academia Arc

By and far what I consider to be the pinnacle of all duels across the ENTIRE Yugioh series (even beating out Yusei vs Z-ONE), this is less of a duel and more of an all-out war, the culmination of 130+ episodes of masterful foreshadowing and incredible build-up that results in what I consider the best final boss reveal in the series. Arc V is a master of foreshadowing across the series, and kept giving us hints that something BIG was coming, that The Professor and Academia weren’t actually the endgame villains of the series, and after the cast barely manages to eek out a victory against Yuri, it’s ultimately a failure as all the pieces are in place for Yuya to finish his IMA KOSO HITOTSU NI fusion with all his dimensional counterparts. Every single character, good guys, bad guys, and everyone in-between watch as reality falls apart, and births the monster made by their own hands, that is Zarc. I need to reiterate here that the greatest strength of Arc-V is foreshadowing because throughout this duel, we see the application of the ideals that Yuya had developed on his own, as “his own words” are what reaches to the extended cast. It was Yuya’s duty to raise them up as the Pioneer of Pendulum, now it was their job to drag Yuya back from what he has been reduced to. And all throughout, we see how Zarc was made, how he was so similar to Yuya in almost every regard, and we are reminded of all the times Yuya failed but had his friends to help him up, and how Zarc was just a Yuya who had no one to help him when he failed. Zarc who hurt people because it was demanded of him, and ultimately embraced his role as a violent villain as his ultimate act of revenge, because his audience asked for it. And yet, we also see Zarc have his absolute ass dragged by SAWATARI of all characters, and we see just how much of a coward Zarc really was. The entire duel just has so much going for it: Jack-Gongenzaka tag team, Ray and Reiji calling out to Zarc and Yuya, Zarc’s continued insistence that he’s just a monster, It’s So Damn Good. I tell people to watch Yugioh anyways because Yugioh is a great series, but this duel is so good that I would unironically tell people to watch Arc V just so they can watch this duel (outside of the many reasons I recommend arc v). It’s so good, Zarc is such a fun villain, it’s the climax of Yuya’s entire character arc, and I hold it in high regard as the best duel in Arc-V.

Thanks for taking the time to look through this little retrospective on one of my all-time favorite series, here’s to Arc-V’s 7th anniversary!

[cipher-wise]

YGO! Questionnaire

Tagged by @joeys-red-eyed-dragon​

Favorite Series: Anyone who’s spent any length of time with me knows that the answer will always be Arc-V gfhjbjsk The animation is flawless (when it wants to be hdjsksf), the OP, ED, and OSTs are all On Point, the plot is amazing, the voice acting, the ChArAcHtErS!!!!! The decks!!! The duels!!!! This is the first YGO! series that have actually had me invested in their duels all the way through!!

It’s also the only YGO! series besides 0+DM that entertains me the most, lore and story wise. :)

Favorite Protagonist: Yuya!!!! He’s so baby and I just want to see him happy!!! But also seeing him suffer gives me Life.

I’m just a sucker for smiley characters that have.... shall we say, trouble with masks..

Favorite Rival: A tough question for sure! Objectively, I’d choose Reiji Akaba, because, well, he starts out as a pro with all summoning methods down pat already and doesn’t actually lose to Yuya until the very end. I’d like to think, that, although Yuya sees him as a sorta dick in the beginning, he would strive to be as good a duelist as him, especially with how Reiji managed to captivate an audience.

(Seto also has one of the most interesting backstories in all of YGO! ngl...)

Now, emotionally? I’d have to choose the Zexal boys. I feel so much for Kaito, and Shark.... I’m such a sucker for protective older brothers okay? Reincarnation also helps my choice 👀

(That said, who can resist Jun Manjoume bringing the Thunder?)

Favorite BFF: Hhhhhhhh Why must I Choose? 

Listen, all the Besties are so Good and Wholesome ;A; And I know this is totally biased but I’mma have to say Noboru Gongenzaka >.< He’s so protective of his friends and so attentive to them! I also really love how straightforward he is, it’s a trait I can get behind.

(As a close second, it would be Johan Anderson 👀)

Favorite GFF: Potential wise, Aki Izayoi was very interesting! However,,, 

I’d have to pick Mana and Yuzu, purely because they had the most involvement in their respective stories imo. Don’t get me wrong, I love their characters and how they bounce off their protags, but it felt like they had real agency compared to some of the others.

I also simply don’t know enough about Asuka, Kotori, or Aoi to have many opinions about them. (I’m not really a fan of Anzu either tbh.)

(I know this question is in regards to the protag’s girl bestie but my favorite girl character will forever be Yuya’s mom!! She’s so fucking badass, ja? Very Fruits Basket of her.

Droite also has my fav character design of the girls!)

Favorite Villain: Ah.

Again my bias shows because I love good guys gone bad. Yubel (and Haou) and Zarc (and the Yuubois) are my favorite villains... >.>

Number 96 and Vector also get special mentions here! (Diva has one of my fav designs tho.)

All that aside, Abidos though 👀 The best one shot villain 👌👌👌👌

Favorite Card: Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Favorite Episode: ...Of..? Each series?

Season 0:  "Don't Touch the Forbidden Game"

DM:  "Attack Me! The Fated Last Turn"

GX:  "Judai and Johan of the Gem Beast Deck"

5D’s:  "A Life-or-Death Battle! Machine Divine Emperor Dragon Asterisk"

Zexal:  "Break Through the Limit!! King of Wishes, Hope Ray Victory"

Arc-V:  "Glory on the Academia!"

Vrains: “Self Breakdown”

The reasons why I like all of these episodes the most are probably obvious, and in somewhat of a pattern..  And I haven’t watched SEVENS yet XP

Favorite Decks to Use: Okay, so. The thing is, I’d always really liked Spellcasters and thought they were all I was gonna use. I wasn’t really a big fan of Warriors, or Dragons, or anything else really. It doesn’t help that Spellcasters are one of the most popular and diverse types in Duel monsters. However.

Arc-V’s themes for deck archetypes really got me into a bunch of other types of monsters and decks. I’d never really ever been interested in the actual game before, aside form what was relevant to plot or lore. But Arc-V has decks based on circuses, actors, singers, idols, toys, plushies- well, you can see where I’m going with this.

Now (,again with my bias,) I Adore Yuya’s deck! It has Spellcasters!!! It has cute animals!!! It follows a circus theme!!!!! One thing I Did Not see, was me liking the Dimensional Dragon archetype as much as I did! You can ask any of my friends that I play Duel Monsters against lolol, a modified Dimensional Dragons and Spellcasters Pendulum deck is my primary go to.

Another thing I didn’t foresee was taking to Pendulum quite so much! It’s so versatile!!! All my decks have at least one of each type of summoning method in it, because Pendulum makes it more possible. (Keep in mind this is pre-links I’m talking about here.) My main deck, which I fondly call “Odd-Eyes Magic”, even has Ritual monsters in it! I do use Xys the most after Pendulums I guess tho.

Fusion, Ritual, Synchro, Xyz, Pendulum, or Link: Pendulum lolol

In order of how much I use each summoning method: Pendulum, Xyz, Sycnhro, Ritual, Fusion, and I’ve never Link summoned or rush dueled before vbdjbvdsk

Years in Fandom: Ever since it first came on Kids WB!! I’ve watch it since forever my guys. I remember watching it when the first episode aired.

Who am I tagging??!!!! 

@zom-bri​​ @sylvansonia​​ @1apple-fox1​​ @howaboutalittlehelpneos​​ @kayrockerqog​​ @sioninel​​

[miraivelgear]

Ok, so remember when I ordered that handmade Zarc plushie and my mom forced me to throw it away? 

IT HAPPENED AGAIN.

My nitotans were apparently delivered here on Sat while my mom and my brother were cleaning, and they DISPOSED OF THE PACKAGE WITHOUT TELLING ME because ‘that part of the world is where the virus originated’ ‘it could be carrying the disease’ ‘US relations with asia are so bad, the fbi could come knocking on our door’, etc.

So RIP my nitotans.  Mom gave me a check for what I spent and my brother offered to buy me something else I want, but it doesn’t make it right.

Thank god I was able to get Yuya plushie off amazon.  At least I’ll always have him.

[killjoy-karrot-kake]

Reiji Akaba

Why I like them/why I don’t

I like how cool Reiji is. How he’s like a really good older brother? But he’s also like just this hopeless introvert hipster at the same time :) He’s so damn chill all the time and honestly that is so refreshing in a full-on show like ARCV. Basically, the world is falling apart, there’s dancing hippos and a whole heck of other crazy shit going on and Reiji’s just there like *pushes glasses up nose* “This is fine.”  

What I like about their appearance

I like how he has glasses. I know that is like low-key the most stupid answer. But I like how he has glasses, cause, I have glasses, and it’s nice to know that we blind people can also look damn cool if we want to. Also his scarf. His scarf is just The Scarf™, honestly it’s the best thing about his design. He’s this CEO child-genius multi-millionaire who thinks he’s so cool and smart but really, when you think about it. He’s wearing a tracksuit and converses without socks. Then just chucks this gravity-defying scarf on the top that literally would put the Fourth Doctor’s to shame with it’s length. 

Do I prefer their dub names or original names?

SUB!!! Okay. I’m sorry? But DECLAN????? I don’t get it. Where did you get Declan from? Why Declan? That… it’s not a BAD NAME. It just… it’s so off the original? Reiji - Declan. I don’t get it!

OTP

Hostageshipping - Reiji/Shun OR Pendulumshipping - Yuya/Reiji (Honestly I can’t decide with this one). 

NOTP

Redlightshipping?? Reiji/Sawatari? Idk. I don’t ‘get’ that ship but idk, I don’t HATE it with a passion. I just don’t see it…

OT3

Compromiseshipping? I think? Selena/Shun/Reiji? Idk, they just all seem like the nerds that hang out together and play video games. 

Favourite card they use

Oh geez…. I can’t… uh….. D/D/D Super Doom King Dark Armageddon. Just because of the needlessly over complex name :) But real talk. Idk. I like his whole deck type. I built myself a D/D/D Deck so I like all of them, cause, y’know. You play a deck, learn the effects of all the monsters then instantly feel closer to them y’know? I also like D/D/D Dragonbane King Beowulf as well…

Favourite moment they were in

OMG. Him and Yuya? Facing Leo??? And like… Reiji insisting on saving Yuya from Zarc???????? The look of relief on his face when he sees that Yusho brought Yuya back???? (Him explaining to Reira that Yuya was talking to Yuto in his mind but idk, that’s a side moment) Best. Fave moment. Alternatively THE WHOLE LAST DUEL WITH YUYA. That just… that is one of the best duels in the show. Gotta love it.

Least favourite moment

Hmm. I mean… i didn’t really like how he was at the beginning of the show… idk… the whole. Okay. Him basically hiring Sawatari to beat Yuya up to steal his Pendulum Cards. I wasn’t a big fan of that power play…

Gonna throw a loophole here tho. I don’t like how he is in the manga. In the manga he honestly doesn’t give two shits about Yuya and that annoys the heck out of me. Like. Reiji. Come on! He hasn’t DONE anything! And your still skeptical about whether or not he can be trusted??? HE’S LITERALLY *deep breath* You are both in the same fucking boat. Be friends at least!!

Would I fuck, marry or kill them

Fuck. I would probably exclusively fuck Reiji :)

Oof. Look at dem skills - cartwheeling like a pro! :)

Thanks for the ask!!

[ichikonohakko]

I know this doesn't happen in the Flight of Heavenly Dragons, but what would happen if Yuto and Yuya (or just Yuya to make it angstier) managed to escape from Zarc forever and couldn't be found by anyone?

Zarc will probably go insane. That's how much of a control freak he is. He'd be even more overzealous with Yuuri and Yuugo, who'd both develop a codependent-dynamic due to their brothers' disappearance.

The Xyz and Pendulum Clan will probably turn the dynasty into a much more authoritarian one. The peace and balance hangs on the prospect of finding the two princes. As in the moment Zarc realizes that he won't find them, he'll destroy the entire world.

If it's just Yuuya who disappears, the Pendulum Clan will destroy the world. Zarc and the three remaining brothers will gladly help them while the rest of the Clans will try to convince them it's a bad idea.

TL;DR if Yuuya and Yuuto disappears, Zarc destroys the world. If Yuuya disappears, the Pendulum Clan destroys the world.

[higuchimon]

Arc-V Anniversary:  Day 15:  Headcanons

All right. Headcanons. Oh, do I have a lot of these and this isn't even close to an exhaustive list. Here we go. Enter at your own risk.

All Commons in the Synchro Dimension have their medical needs taken care of by the government. Not out of kindness, of course. To make sure that nothing from them finds its way to the Tops. Also, birth control is 250% mandatory for Commons. You need special permits & treatments to have biological offspring. (Because of this , there are actually more illegitimate kids born to Tops people, but they don't talk about that. Ever.)

Yuuri treats XYZ as his private hunting preserve when he is in between kidnapping bracelet girls. If anyone argues this, they get carded, and since only a Fusion person would raise an unexpected protest, said carding is blamed on the resistance. Oops, Yuuri totally wasn't there when it happened. Really.

Since the Fusion forces use the Antique Gear Hounds to track resistance members, the resistance insists everyone keep as clean as humanly possible. When this can't be done (clean water must be kept for drinking too & there's not as much clean water as there used to be), other measures must be taken. Among those is something Yuuto discovered by accident: he hid in an abandoned perfume store once and the Obelisk Force/Gear Hounds missed him entirely. Ever since he carries perfume to hide his trail & taught this to other resistance members. Shun keeps some on himself at all times, even after the war (habit by then).

Edo, Kaito, & Shun knew each other as tiny toddlers in the United World. Not enough to fully remember each other after 14 years and everything else, but they lived within a handful of streets of each other. They played in the same little park and were there together when the dimensional split hit.

Shun's parents took him to duels when he was still a small birb. On two separate occasions he met Zarc and Ray. They both liked him, and vice versa.

The Kurosaki parents died in the invasion. Not carded. Actual not coming back death.

While most of the resistance scarves are just found from whatever remains of clothing stores, Shun and Yuuto's scarves are handmade, by Ruri. Shun treasures his above all his possessions except his deck.

Shun and Reiji's scarves are both sentient and self-aware. Post-canon they mate and have two pairs of mittens. Reiji's scarf is also carnivorous.

Post-canon, Asuka works at You Show, as does Dennis. One day, Dennis happens to come in & sees her hugging a strange guy. He politely greets & asks if he can be introduced to her boyfriend. They both laugh: this isn't her boyfriend. This is her brother, Fubuki. He was running a secret resistance against Fusion during the war and has only recently been able to get back in touch with her. Other members of Fubuki's resistance include Marufuji Ryou, Marufuji Shou, Fujiwara Yuusuke, Saiou Takuma, Saiou Mizuchi, and other familiar faces from GX.

Yuugi, Juudai, & Yuusei do exist in Arc-V-verse, to a degree. Yuugi & Atemu live a quiet, peaceful life in Standard, never having gotten into competitive dueling. They just enjoy the fun aspects of it. Yuusei lives in Synchro/what was Synchro dimension with his boyfriend Bruno also happy. Juudai lives in an unknown dimension not connected to the original one or to the four summons dimensions. His home is in one of those places where Duel Monsters live. He also lives with Yubel and Johan, peacefully and happily, taking a lifetime off from having to save the world.

Yuuma doesn't exist. The events that would have led to his existence (i.e., the original war against Don Thousand) never happened.

The (not quite?) Barians do exist in Arc-V!Heartland, though. They do their best to fight Fusion. Vector set up an elaborate ruse to look as if he defected to Fusion, but got information that proved useful (he, in fact, made certain everyone in the resistance could card other people). Only Ryouga/Nasch ever knew/knows that he's not an actual traitor. They sort of are allied with Kaito's bunch but it's tenative and not as good as it could be. Also, there's a good chance they will encounter people from Fubuki's Resistance. Durbe and Yuusuke would get along famously.

Arc-V!Vector did use his position to persuade Arc-V!Mizael to sleep with him on multiple occasions. "Real nice resistance you got here. Be a shame if someone let on where they're hiding." Vector's gonna Vector. Mizael is gonna be pissed when he finds out.

Yuuri is a gardener/botanist and considers the laws of physics loose guidelines at best. He's invented demonc hellplants much like his Predaplants and some sex plants too. Post-canon he wants to go back to the Academia building and get his plants before they start eating more people. Yuugo considers this a Very Bad Idea.

Also post-canon, with four worlds mushed together, a service is set up so people can find their possessions that were lost in the reunification. This includes things like Yuugo's D-Wheel. Said D-Wheel ends up being recovered and repaired by Yoko and Crow.

Edo and Arc-V!Saiou don't meet until after canon. They would have met before then, but then the dimensions were split and Edo ended up in Fusion while Saiou grew up in Standard. After they meet, Saiou eventually learns to Synchro Summon & gets a D-Wheel of his very own.

Dennis is never sure if he trusts or is trusted enough to reveal he & Yuuri were best friends. It does eventually come out. Not everyone is thrilled. Some of them get over it, some don't.

Post canon, Rin (or Rin/Yuzu, whatever you wanna think of it as) meets Merag/Rio, and they become friends. In magic-based AUs, Merag teaches Rin ice magic.

Zarc's sadism was only encouraged by the people wanting more violence. It wasn't created by said encouragement. He could have chosen otherwise. He didn't. And the people could have not encouraged him. They did. The same goes for Yuuri. Some people are just born with tastes like that. How they choose to deal with it is their own decision.

I have a lot more headcanons, but those are some of my favorites.

[pendulum-sonata]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Akaba Ray/Zarc Characters: Akaba Ray, Zarc (Yu-Gi-Oh), Akaba Reiji Additional Tags: One Shot, Romantic Fluff, Family Fluff, Inspired by Art, ZarcRay Week, genesishipping - Freeform, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, obviously Summary:

…A reconciliation of mutually contradictory propositions, the mutual contradiction being reconciled on a higher level of truth. This is a one-shot inspired by the prompts of the Zarcray Week 2k18, because to be honest I was a little busy to do a prompt every day

[The Forest]

“Deep within the forest dwells a wolf monster���.”

The painting appeared to depict as first impression, shadowy figures surrounded by a splash of greens, blues, greys, reds and purples; the lighting of the room gave it an ominous feeling and he had to wonder if it was on purpose for when you watched from a certain spot the shadowy figures came into light and took the form of two black arms holding tight onto a feminine figure wearing red, her eyes almost glowing in what he now realized was a dark forest.

[Red Flowers]

“…Its petals and leaves remind us of lovers who never meet”

This one had a woman with a bridal gown kneeling in front a of a pond filled with red-spider lilies and as she extender her hand to grab one of them, a dark monstrous arm raised from the waters reaching out for her.

[Marine]

“Call me soulless or heartless… I do not care, I still long for you”

This time it was all blue, all shades and tonalities of it, and in the middle of it a merfolk creature, its tail was a combination of obsidian luscious scales and green and long fins some of which blanked in with the rays of light shining in the water.

Like with the previous ones, the brush work and colors were beautiful and almost held movement, this one in particular felt alive and almost out of place with the rest of the paintings.

Almost.

Until you noticed that the girl the merfolk was carrying down the sea with him was neither a mermaid nor breathing.

[Death and the Maiden]

“Give me your hand, you beautiful and tender form…”

This one was less abstract: it was a young naked girl – despite himself he felt his body fighting the blush creeping up his neck – a crown of flower resting on top of her red hair, behind her stood a figure of a man draped in a dark cloth, only his face was visible and half of it was nothing but a skeleton. The other half had a golden eye, a skeletal hand covering her eyes.

[La Sylphide]

“A waking dream…”

This one was different.

This one depicted a young man holding the lifeless form of a feminine spirit draped inside a veil, her wings withered and falling off.

He doesn’t focus on that detail though, despite seemingly reversed roles, the woman still finds her demise on the hands of a lover and once again she has a hair colored a deep red color – if mitigated by the veil – and the man who holds her has golden eyes.

[Revelation]

"It's a difficult matter to keep love in the dark..."

This was the first one that had the girl completely facing the audience without shadows or light tricks.

She was wearing a sleeping gown and holding a lantern on of her hands, her face wore a face of full surprise at the sight illuminated by the light: a bedside where a young man laid awoken and a look of anger and betrayal in his – once again golden – eyes, the young man could be called beautiful even as he had a harsh-looking grayish skin almost resembling plates or scales, wings folded behind him.

[Frontier]

“Lovers, foolish him and foolish her…”

Any doubt in his mind was cleared by this moment, but he still took the moment to appreciate the painting.

It was a woman wearing a bridal gown, leaning to kiss a sleeping young man… no, he wasn’t asleep, the skin was pale as paper and he wore black clothes and was surrounded by white lilies.

.

.

.

“I still don’t understand why I had to accompany you tonight.” Reiji told her as soon as they were alone on another section of the gallery not on exhibition.

“Oh please, I saw you gawking at these works, you love good art.” She said, a glass of wine in her hand.

“I wasn’t gawking…” Reiji muttered the obvious lie, but he left it at that, because otherwise it would be admitting the embarrassment he felt at seeing an image of Ray, his sister, naked, idealization and perspectives be dammed. “When you told me you had a gig as model, I certainly never thought this was what you meant.”

“Neither did I, I thought I would just be modeling for some art students, not for a professional artist.” Ray didn’t look phased in the slightest, and Reiji had to remind himself the lengths she often went to piss off their parents.

Just when Reiji was about to say something else, there was a person approaching them, Reiji almost dropped his own glass – which he accepted because of manners – when he recognized the features of the young man in some of the paintings; and he finally did drop it when he saw Ray greeting him by fixing his lopsided green tie, his face blushing and her eyes shining brightly at the mere presence of him.

“Zarc, this is my little brother, Reiji.” She said breaking his train of thought. “I wanted you to meet him first.”

“A… pleasure to meet you.” Reiji found himself saying, automatically as usual, thanks to harsh etiquette lessons which were already nagging at the back of his head because of the growing stain on the wooden floors.

“Same here, kiddo.” The man said with a wide grin, he definitely didn’t give the vibe of someone who could thought up such grim subjects for any type of art, but here he was.

“I’m sorry Reiji, but I didn’t know how else to introduce you two without my parents knowing or suspecting anything.” Ray did sound like she was sorry and Reiji felt his sour mood mellowing the slightest bit. “So… why don’t I leave you two alone so you can chat and become the best friends!”

There it was again, Reiji thought sighing, of course before he could formulate a response Ray has already whisked herself away.

“Uh… so tell me the truth…” Zarc started, his hand scratching the back of his head. “What do you think of the exhibition? I mean, beyond being exposed to your sister’s nudity.” He laughed at the last sentence, and Reiji was thankful for his poker face now more than ever. “That bad uh?”

“…The paintings are beautiful, although I would lie if I say I was not increasingly unnerved by the themes in it, specifically Ray perishing.” If he was going to be honest, then Reiji could do it too.

To his surprise, Zarc laughed before explaining:

“Oh yeah, that was a concept – you knoe ‘Tragic Love’ – I had been working on since before I put the announcement that I needed a model, I swear I have no sick fantasies involving Ray – well, at least not of that type – but she was very understanding and cooperative.”

“You do know she only took this ‘job’ because she wanted to piss off our mother right?” He said. “And while I hate to put it like this, it isn’t the first time she has dated guys with the exact same purpose.”

“Yeah I know; she didn’t tell me but I guessed by how much she complained about her parents during the first few appointments – she talks a lot when she’s bored right? – Another laugh from him.

This time however, Reiji was able to tell the glee did not reach his eyes and instead glimpsed the worry in his eyes.

“Still… for what is worth, she has never introduced none of these guys to me, and certainly never dragged me to any event for the sake of it.” He said adjusting his glasses and watched carefully the relief that settled on his shoulders.

“Thank you, for real.” Zarc started, “And for what is worth, even though she complains about you too, it’s never with the same spite and afterwards she always goes on a length on how smart and dedicated you are.”

“…Thank you, I appreciate that,” Reiji could only hope that the low lighting of the place hid his burning cheeks.

“I want to marry her.” He said, his eyes suddenly very serious and eager to hear his answer he supposed, because there was a deep silence after his statement.

“I have no troubles with that.” He started, surprisingly he was serious, for some reason he could imagine them living together already. “But I can’t guarantee the same from our parents.”

Especially not from father, who thought no man in the earth was good enough for Ray.

“I guessed as much, but Ray said she didn’t care as long as she had your support.” Zarc was smiling even more now and went to call Ray when she exited what he supposed was the restroom.

Despite everything, it had not been a bad night at all.

[healeroflightanddark]

Hearts of Shadow, Chapter 13: Sunrise Sleep

Zarc walked into Yuri’s room about two hours later to the sound and sight of the cabbage-head still tickling Yuya mercilessly. The king chuckled, shaking his head in amusement. If Yuya had still been mortal, Yuri probably would have given him a few breaks to breathe. But since vampires didn’t need to breathe, Yuri was more than happy to tickle Yuya until he was made to stop.

Which Zarc reluctantly had to make Yuri do now. If it wasn’t so close to sunrise, the asparagus-haired vampire king would’ve had no problem with Yuri tickling Yuya mercilessly for another few hours. But Yuya would need his sleep soon. All of Zarc’s brothers had passed out at around sunrise nearly every day for the first fourteen years of their vampiric lives. Zarc was pretty sure it was because they had originally been born at around sunrise in their first lives and had normally awakened around sunrise every morning, and since they had visions of their first lives when they slept for the first fourteen years then their passing out was probably connected to their memories. Normally vampires didn’t actually need to sleep unless they were injured, and the majority of vampires really only slept during the day to avoid the sunlight.

“Yuri, you need to stop now,” Zarc told his brother. “Yuya needs to go to sleep so he can get his memories back.”

Yuri pouted, but stopped tickling Yuya. The tomato-haired fledgling squirmed under him, trying desperately to get his older brother off of him. Yuri chuckled and climbed off of his baby brother, helping him up and kissing his cheek. “Enjoy your rest, Yuya! The first few months of the visions are pretty boring.”

Yuya hugged Yuri, eliciting a surprised smile from the older vampire. Then, Yuya followed Zarc out of Yuri’s chambers. He noticed that he really was feeling a bit sleepy.

“So how did you like your first night as a vampire?” Zarc asked, placing a hand on Yuya’s back as he guided him through the castle. Yuya thought for a moment. “Well, I got a new family, and I got to explore the castle a bit! That was pretty nice! I suppose being a vampire isn’t all bad.”

“I’m glad you’re enjoying it,” Zarc said with a smile. “When you wake up, we’ll have a talk and discuss what kind of celebration you want.”

“Oh, that sounds like fun!” Yuya said happily. They came to a stop in front of a set of grand oak doors inlaid with gold designs that depicted Yuya standing on a stage. It was the first time Yuya had seen the door to his chambers from the outside, and he admired the design. Zarc smiled and waited a few moments to allow Yuya to check out his door, before opening it and guiding Yuya inside.

The curtains to the windows had been drawn over them, blocking out any sunlight from entering the room. There was a set of red and green silk nightclothes laid out on the bed. Zarc smiled at Yuya. “I hope you like the nightclothes. They were made with the finest materials, and should be very comfortable for you. And the bed is fit for a prince like you!”

Yuya blinked in surprise. “You mean I can still sleep in a bed? I thought that vampires sleep in coffins!”

Zarc chuckled. “Some vampires do choose to sleep in coffins, but really only for protection against the sun and to keep themselves safe from hunters. The curtains over the windows will protect you from the sun, and hunters won’t be able to get into the castle thanks to all the thrall-guards and the shadow creatures that protect us. Don’t worry, you’ll be safe while you sleep, and you’ll be able to sleep in your bed. Why don’t you get changed, and I’ll tuck you in.”

Yuya smiled and stepped behind a room divider to change. The nightclothes really were as comfortable as Zarc had said. As soon as he was changed, Yuya climbed sleepily into his new bed. Zarc tucked Yuya into bed and kissed his forehead.

“Rest well, baby brother,” Zarc said with a smile. He watched as Yuya’s ruby eyes fluttered closed. And as the sun began to rise outside the castle, Yuya fell into a deep slumber.

[villabella12]

@arcvmonth Day 28: Hey, Who Hired This One?

FINALLY THEY ARRIVED: Raya and Maria!

I've finally made perfect (except Raya's) refs for them after 2 years and due to a long ass art block. These two are apart of an ARC-V AU that I don't have time to even explain on the Day 18 prompt

Raya Sylvester

Full Name: Raya Iryna Rian O'Sylvester

Age: 14-15

Sexuality: Bisexual (is dating Vivien, an OC)

Overview: A fiesty girl with a huge burst of energy, Raya isn't a kid who will not go down without a duel. With expertise knowledge of Ritual Summoning, she was able to perserve her family's legacy ever since she stepped into dueling, ready to share such information to other's who's willing to learn. Despite her absolute knowledge and strength, a part of her wants, or something that's drawing her, to unravel family secrets, mysteries, etc. All the while facing a familial foe.

Trivia:

She's a witch, like, literally a witch that casts spells and all but she's a specific type of witch called an "Arcane". Weak in magical battles, powerful in non-magical battles, usually illusion-based

Was named AFTER a friend of her mother, Ray

Due to the Original Dimension splitting, Zarc, and Ray being split into four, not reviving until later, Raya never got to meet them in person, only hearing them from her mother who used to be a part of said dimension alongside her father, whom was at the hospital due to an accident

Was closest with her father. Basically the reason why she started dueling in the first place

Is an only child, considers Yuzu as her "sister"

Besties with Gong, close friends with Maria and Shingo (a bit unsure abt him), childhood friend of Yuya's tho not as close as before

Unknown where she goes to school. Many (in-universe) speculates she's being homeschooled? Who knows

Is dating a student named Vivien, met her at the local park she always skates at, who's secretly a mermaid fish person

Excellent hockey player. Nearly broke a window at You Show's

Has a familiar named "Ramzi", which is a wolf

Student of the Fortune Prep Duel School but regularly visits You Show

Bad influence towards the You Show kids, just keep her away she'll teach them how to commit arson/j

Strong AF. She's not playing around until she carries a boulder

Has a deep connection to cryptids and cryptozoology as a whole (Been interested in them since 4 y/o)

Somehow has a book that documents all classic Duel Monsters like Blue and Red Eyes, Dark Magician and Dark Magician Girl, Elemental Heroes, etc.

Wears a green and orange tinted glasses during duels since she hates flashing lights (dont question whys that)

Is a HEAVY sleeper

Skater girl. Likes to skate in anyway shape or form, can be a bit of a risk-taker

Absolutely DESPISE vanilla. Thinks its too plain or bland

Her family blood, and the lineage, ISNT technically originated in the world she lived in (or in any dimensions). Instead, one of her ancestors accidentally stumbled upon her world and just popped her family lineage out of nowhere

Which also means that she and Seth are basically cousins, albeit just connected to each other

(Also there's an AU where she's adopted by the Arclights)

Sometimes uses the "Danger!" Deck since she has a deep interest in cryptids and cryptozoology as a whole. Also adds in Ritual Cards in the process

Maria Rosario

Full Name: Marigold Jaylen Villasca Rosariò

Age: 16-17

Sexuality: Pansexual (is dating Michael Arclight)

Overview: With the harmonies in her heart, Maria never fails to impress the audience with her musicianal talent as she riffs her Duel Guitar out in the Action Field. Student st the Leo Duel School, it was her goal to finish off the XYZ course and by the next summer, will eventually drop out and move to another duel school that fits her interest in music. With the help and aid of her ace monster, Ibong Adarna, there's always a chance once she's cornered in a duel.

Trivia:

She has a twin brother (Mariano) and younger twin siblings (Olive and Oliver)

She's as tall as Shun, Kaito, and Reiji but right around 2 inch shorter than them

Maskina, the city she lives in currently, isn't her hometown, it's somewhere else roughly around 6-8 hours to travel there

She works as an intern nurse at the Maskina District Hospital, for family purposes

Her mother left her and her family to work on a boat delivering goods from other countries when she was 10

She's alot more closer to her dad than she is with her mother for 6 years

Huge fan of guitars, owns like 5 of them and half are like gifted to her in her birthdays (didnt use them as much as her Duel Guitar)

Also has a collection of guitar picks

Her Duel Guitar was mabe by someone who knew her family for years, have met her, saw what her energy is, then BOOM Duel Guitar! Still is unsure who made it

Sometimes uses a duel disk

(Yes the whole Duel Guitar thing is inspired by Romin I just wanted to see it in a different style in other YGO mainly Zexal and ARC-V)

Listens to music while studying but gete too much into it and starts to dance in her room

HUGE fan of Dear Nevada (A famous Indie Band)

Part of a upcoming Indie Band called "Here in L.A." (she came up with the name)

Wants to try out new things, mainly food, but is push back because of how she WANTS it to taste like

Has hemophilia (blood doesn't clot properly) and asthma + colorblind (can see the world as black and white)

Has a great singing voice, but sometimes her voice cracks whilst singing high notes

Doesn't sleep as much due to work, her eyebags are covered in make-up

Like Raya, she's also a childhood friend of Yuya's, still defending him to this day from anyone who dares to hurt him

Like Yuya, she can also see and hear her monster's voices and spirits, making them her secondary friends besides humans

And can see and hear the dead as well ( like ghosts and all. Freaks out abt the revelation abt this hidden ability of hers)

Has plant powers and can manipulate and grow plants from the ground. Reason why you shouldn't fuck around and find out around her

Her family's magical and doesn't get along with each other so their powers nearly kill them

Had atleast 2 dogs, all loud af at night, love and hated them at the same time

Has different talents that she barely even do anymore: like carving, playing sports (volleyball trauma), and dancing

Not really close to her aunts (despises them) and uncles (has neutral feelings towards them) but is incredibly close to her many-MANY cousins

Dresses up adrogynously during formal events, sometimes in special occasions

Also Maria has a playlist of her music taste:

[authoratmidnight]

Since you did Yuya, how about the rest of the Yuu Boys plus Zarc for the headcanon meme?

Yuto

Headcanon A:  realistic

Is actually probably a neat freak and the biggest neat freak of the Yu4.

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

After realizing that he called Ruri cute right in front of her brother he spent a good while avoiding Shun. Shun could not figure out why Yuto had become skittish as a rabbit around him.

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

This is for my Vanguard AU but, Yuto was bullied a lot as a kid due to him being an orphan (kids are shitty alright) which is what led to him eventually transferring schools. It was baaad.

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

(Before it was shown that Yuto and Shun apparently didn’t meet till their teen years) Yuto lives with Shun and Ruri and has pretty much since they met as kids.

Yugo

Headcanon A:  realistic

He probably can’t read or write very well. Enough to read card effects and duel and that’s about it. His math skills are better tho.

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

He totally flips when he finds out that Yoko knows how to ride a motorcycle and duels. Introducing her to D-Wheels was a bad idea.

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

The first time Yoko refers to Yugo as ‘her son’ he almost cries, he’s never had a mom, or dad, before. He barely holds himself together the first time he calls her ‘mom’.

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

His D-Wheel is absolutely called Clear Wing

Yuri

Headcanon A:  realistic

On top of liking plants he actually likes animals too, cats and lizards/snakes are his favourite. He likes birds too (much to Shun’s displeasure)

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

He actually gets suuuper flustered should anyone flirt with him and has no idea how to respond. He generally just turns into a stammering mess and removes himself from the conversation.

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

Yuri was an incredibly lonely child growing up due to being ‘weird’ and later on at Duel Academy due to his strength. Very little changed after the dimensional war, in fact he was probably disliked even more.

Yuya was, pretty much the only friend he had and sometimes had to force him to interact usually by forcefully giving control of his body over to him and not letting Yuri hide in their mind space.

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

Yuri can talk to and communicate with Duel Spirits like Yuya can and for the longest time thought he was the only one who could.

Zarc

Headcanon A:  realistic

He’s actually a part of Yuya’s head space crew along with Yugo, Yuto and Yuri, but surprisingly the quietest of all and it actually took a while before any of them even realized he was you know, there.

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

Zarc as the Yu-boys big brother is both a trashy asshole who probably torments them to a degree, but also fiercely protective. You fuck with his brothers you are going down.

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

Zarc’s fragments all inherited things from him, like being able to see spirits or bits of his personality. And in an ironic twist of fate, perhaps his loneliness. Zarc himself never had a family outside of the spirits he talked to and no real friends either, which only made his isolation worse and was a catalyst to his eventual fall(seeking to do anything to win favour and acceptance)

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

Zarc is the son of The Supreme King and the Supreme King’s Consort (aka, Judai and Yubel).

[real-life-pine-tree]

Rehabilitation: Brand New Cards (10/?)

Side effects may include a loss of self-identity and individuality, frequent nightmares, questioning your own existence, severe mental trauma, constant panic attacks, spontaneous crying at random moments, and a strong desire to stay with loved ones at all cost. Co-written with @violetganache42​​​​​​​. Takes place between Chapters 6 and 7 of Arc-V Aftermath.

With the bus now leaving, Sora led the way with Yuya and Zuzu following him as they all walked down to Card Craze. Yuya scanned the buildings on his left and right, checking to see if any of them rang a bell to him; so far, nothing seemed that memorable to him because of how they’re constructed. The only things that were familiar to him were the bus driver and the Rare Hunters…and he still couldn’t shake the feeling off of him, especially this Arkana guy. What was it about him that made him stand out above the rest? Yuya doesn’t even own a Dark Magician yet there was something about his sadism that made kept on edge.

Sora approached the shop's counter. "Hiya Kenshin," he told the shopkeeper. "Got anything good today?"

The shopkeeper, Kenshin, looked up from his computer and recognized the Frightfur user. "Sora Perse," he acknowledged. "It's good to see you again. And now that you mention it, I got a new shipment of cards..." He reached into a desk. "...especially this super special Fluffal card."

"Wow, really?" Sora asked.

"Indeed," Kenshin replied. He took out the card and showed it to Sora. "I just know she'll be a perfect fit for you."

Sora marveled at the card in front of him; the image depicted a fluffy, purple cat with angel wings and a pink bow. According to the card, it was Fluffal Cat, a Level 1 EARTH Fairy-Type monster with 700 ATK and 300 DEF. If she was sent to the Graveyard as Fusion Material, a Polymerization card that is in the Graveyard can be added to the Duelist’s hand, but this effect can only be done once per turn. What made her super special is because she's a hard-to-find card, making it another reason for her to be a perfect fit for Sora’s deck.

"Whoa!" Sora exclaimed. "That's one of the rarest Fluffal cards ever made! How did you get it?!"

"Oh, never mind my reasons," Kenshin answered. "Think of this little cutie as a gift from me to you for being such an amazing cust-"

"YUYA!" Zuzu cried out.

Sora and Kenshin both turned their heads to see Zuzu restraining a livid Yuya, who was attempting to go after a fair-skinned man with dark indigo hair tied into a ponytail, dark blue eyes, and wearing a white suit with a red undershirt. Despite his appearance, Yuya could tell from how his face was genetically structured that the former was indeed Arkana and he wanted to show him a thing or two about utilizing magicians, but more importantly, treating his cards with respect and understanding to never betray them.

"You don't deserve to be a Duelist!" Yuya snarled. "You're nothing but a cheat who uses cards as a tool!"

Alarmed, Sora rushed over to the Pendulum counterparts. "What's going on?!" he asked.

"I'm not sure!" Zuzu exclaimed. "Yuya saw this person and he started freaking out!"

"How dare you cut up your cards!" Yuya continued shouting. "A person like you should-"

"Yuya, calm down!" Sora said upon realizing who Yuya was talking to. "That's Arkana! He's one of the store employees!"

"Correct I am," Arkana confirmed as he took out some playing cards. "It's my job to serve as entertainment for the customers." He started to shuffle the playing cards. "I would never tamper with these cards."

As he spoke to Yuya, he split the cards into four even piles by dropping them onto a nearby table covered in a red tablecloth. He took the top three cards from the first pile and placed it on the bottom before taking the first three from the last pile and placing one on top of the remaining three. He then proceeded to repeat the procedure three more times until all four piles were randomly shuffled and neatly organized. He flipped the four top cards to reveal all four aces, surprising Yuya and Zuzu, who let go of her friend. Watching Arkana perform a card trick like that had manage to calm the latter down; maybe he may not be as bad as he initially thought.

"You're...just a showman..." Yuya noted.

"But of course," Arkana confirmed. "I can also assist customers with the best cards for their deck, something you clearly need."

That alarmed Yuya. "How-"

"Do I know you need cards?" Arkana asked. "I learned how to detect a Duelist's aura from my loving wife, who is a talented empath. And if your aura is any indication, I have just the cards for you." He proceeded to fill over the four aces.

The backs of the aces faced up towards the ceiling, except they weren’t exactly the backs; instead, they were four Duel Monsters cards from the Odd-Eyes archetype. Yuya gasped at what each of them were: a Ritual monster named Odd-Eyes Gravity Dragon, an XYZ monster called Odd-Eyes Absolute Dragon, a Synchro monster referred to as Odd-Eyes Meteorburst Dragon, and a Fusion monster identified as Odd-Eyes Vortex Dragon.

Yuya was absolutely amazed. "This is... This is exactly what my deck was missing! Thank you!"

"You're quite welcome," Arkana replied as he gave Yuya the four Odd-Eyes cards. "Now what would the young lady like?"

"Me?" Zuzu asked. She looked a bit nervous. "It's kind of a surprise..."

"I understand," Arkana said. He gave Zuzu a large white rose bud. "Then perhaps this will help you with your surprise."

With the bud in the palms of her hands, Zuzu glanced closely at the closed petals which were showing signs of blooming yet they were still wrapped shut for a reason. She noticed small yet noticeable portions of two cards and her intrigue was beginning to show; those two cards were perfect for her to demonstrate her surprise she has been working on, and if that was the case, will they be compatible with her Melodious monsters? When she takes the bud home, she was going to find out for sure because she wanted to make sure Yuya will enjoy her surprise.

"It does," Zuzu said. "Thanks."

"Glad to be of service," Arkana said with a bow. "And feel free to look around the shop. You might find even more cards to each of your likings."

For the duration of their morning, Sora gave Yuya and Zuzu a little tour around Card Craze, explaining about how it was an ideal store for Duelists to trade their cards for new ones to help improve their decks or create unique strategies. The two Pendulum Duelists got to see a variety of cards from a broad range of archetypes, including those that were used by their previous owners and vintage prints. Zuzu did remember they were recently gaining attention and popularity and she recalled the time she bought an older Polymerization card for Rin to use. At the same time, she wondered if there will be even more archetypes available in stores now that the four dimensions were fused into one again.

As for Yuya, he soon found his eyes metaphorically glued to a display case. "Whoa..." he said.

Sora walked over to Yuya, realizing what he was looking at. "Yeah, they started printing out more Performapals," he explained. "Pretty impressive, huh?"

"No kidding..." Yuya slurred, a glazed look in his eyes.

He couldn’t keep his eyes away from these two cards; the images contained two horned ladies, one with green eyes, a blonde ponytail with pink streaks on the bangs while dressed in light yellow and purple circus clothes and one with light blue pigtails, red eyes, and a white and purple circus suit. The cards stated their names were Performapals Uni and Corn and Yuya was falling head over heels for them. Unbeknownst to him, Sora had caught a glimpse of his fingers twitching, almost as if he wanted to touch something. After putting two and two together, it became to clear to the Fluffal user that his friend was not as innocent as he thought.

"I have to get those cards," Yuya decided, wiping drool from the corner of his mouth. "They're twice as cute!"

"I didn't know you have a type," Sora noted.

At that moment, Yuya remembered his adopted brother was standing next to him. "What?!" he blurted out, embarrassed. "Who said I have a type?"

"Whatever you say, lusty," Sora said, playing along. "So do you see any other cards you like?"

Snapping out of his trance, Yuya looked at the other cards on display. "Hmm... I don't have any of these Performapals," he decided, referring to the Performapal cards Handsome Liger, Ballad, and Barracuda.

"You're not interested in those new Odd-Eyes Pendulum cards?" Sora asked.

"Wait, what?!" Yuya asked in response.

"Yeah, Leo made them as a way of saying thanks for getting rid of Zarc once and for all," Sora explained. "It's an exclusive three-card pack featuring Odd-Eyes Mirage Dragon, Odd-Eyes Persona Dragon, and Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon."

Yuya dropped his jaw out of disbelief. Three more Odd-Eyes dragons?! He was really hitting the jackpot at this place. Whatever these three monsters are, he knew they would all be great additions to his deck, mainly because of Absolute Dragon’s abilities to special summon an Odd-Eyes monster from the Extra Deck, hand, or Graveyard. He also knew he was going to spend some time strategizing and experimenting with his new dragons and Performapals, but it was going to be worth it.

"Man, I can't wait to add these new cards to my deck," Yuya happily said. "And maybe afterwards we can test them out at You Show."

That caught Zuzu's attention. "Did you say 'You Show'?" she asked, approaching the Sakaki-Perse brothers.

"Well yeah," Yuya answered. "For testing out our new decks-"

"I'm in!" Zuzu blurted out, thrilled.

"How about that?" Sora innocently asked. "All it took was one trip to this card store and you're already pumped for a duel."

"I...have my reasons," Zuzu explained.

Of course, she needed to be make sure her reasons were done perfectly because she, Yuya, and Sora returned to their homes later that day to reconstruct their decks with the new cards they purchased. She had the rose bud held carefully in the palm of her hands for the entire ride back to her house and has been waiting patiently for the petals to open up a bit more. Even as she sat on her bed, she was still left wondering if those two hidden cards were what she had in mind. Suddenly, as if it was coated with some kind of magic, the bud began to glow and ascended into the air, shocking Zuzu and grabbing Ray’s attention.

"Okay, what's going on?!" Zuzu asked.

"I honestly don't know. I get that Arkana guy is a magician, but this is ridiculous."

The glowing petals then proceeded to spread themselves wide and bloom into a fully grown rose before flashing its luminescent light and shortly blinding Zuzu. When she removed her arm away from her eyes, she gasped at what took the rose’s place: two glowing cards which slowly descended until she got a hold of them on each hand. The glowing quickly stopped and Zuzu was left breathless at the sight of the two Duel Monsters cards. These were exactly what she hoped she would get to show off her surprise.

"I... I can't believe it..." Zuzu said, looking at the two cards. "These cards are perfect..."

"I guess Arkana is more magical than we thought."

"Yeah..." Zuzu agreed. A smile slowly appeared on her face. "I can't wait to show my new skills to Yuya."

Meanwhile, Yuya was back in his bedroom giving his deck a major overhaul; he was obviously keeping his current Performapals and Odd-Eyes monsters, but he wanted to give his new cards a chance. Seven additional Odd-Eyes dragons, five more Performapals, and an added bonus: Magicians. Now you’re probably guessing that he must have bought those cards after getting the ones he wanted, but in actuality, Zarc was the one who gave them to him. They consisted of Pendulum Magicians named Dharma-Eye, Nobledragon, Oafdragon, Wisdom-Eye, Dragonpit, and Dragonpulse Magicians, an XYZ monster named Timestar Magician, and the Four Dimension Dragons’ Magician forms: Double Iris, Black Fang, White Wing, and Purple Poison Magicians. With all of these new monsters, it was pretty clear that Yuya was going to be busy with his deck reconstruction for a little while.

"Looks like someone is in deep thought. Still trying to figure out your new strategies?"

"More like trying to figure out which cards I should use," Yuya corrected, having already separated his cards into three separate stacks for each archetype. "Performapals, Magicians, Odd-Eyes... Which ones would be best for who I am now?" Zarc groaned in response.

"This again? I already told you you're nothing like me."

"But I just realized the archetypes represent who I am," Yuya explained. "Dad gave me my starting Performapals, the Magicians originated from your deck, and Odd-Eyes..." He picked up his ace's card. "Is he also a part of you?"

"Nah, you've got that wrong. Odd-Eyes Dragon was my star ace, not Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon. And look at all the new Odd-Eyes cards you got. Heck, we haven't even seen what was in the envelope that Kenshin guy gave you."

Before leaving Card Craze, Kenshin had handed an envelope to Yuya, which was now resting on his bed next to his cards. He picked it up and inspected the front and back, wondering who it was from or what was in it; it didn’t say the name of the person, but hopefully a message in there would shed some light. He opened up the sealed flap and saw there was indeed something inside, so he took them out to realize it was another Duel Monsters card and a folded sheet of paper, which contained a message for Yuya.

Hey Yuya! I'm not sure if I ever told you, but I originally joined Duel Academy to be a card designer. So, like, I made this card as a way of thanking you for helping everyone at the school.

I hope we can duel for funsies in the future!

-Grace Tyler

A light blush dusted onto Yuya's face. "Grace...?" he muttered.

"So what's the card she made for you?"

Yuya looked at the card Grace made for him; the image showed a dark-colored dragon with the same red and green eyes from Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon and has features from Yuya’s pendant, including an arc on each side of his body. This monster was known as Odd-Eyes Arc Pendulum Dragon, a Scale 8 Level 7 DARK Dragon-Type normal Pendulum monster with 2700 ATK and 2000 DEF. Because he is a normal monster, he doesn’t have a monster effect, but his Pendulum effect allows Yuya to special summon an Odd-Eyes monster from hand, deck, or Graveyard if one or more Odd-Eyes monsters he controls are destroyed by battle or card effect, but it can only be done once per turn.

Yuya noticed the description text printed on the card. "Made from miracles, this valiant and beautiful dragon has gleaming eyes that reflect an arc drawn in the sky," he read. A small smile slowly appeared on his face. "I can't believe Grace actually designed this card. It looks beautiful."

"No kidding. Kinda hard to believe this is the same girl who tried to hunt you down with a tiger."

"She even used my pendant as part of the design," Yuya said. "Could this card represent how she sees me?"

"I guess. You do have a way of attracting ladies despite Yuto having all of my natural charm."

"Not like that," Yuya said. He carefully lifted up his right hand and touched his left arm. "I never noticed it before, but I feel...different."

"Good different or bad different?"

"I'm not sure," Yuya admitted. He walked over to a mirror and lifted up his maroon t-shirt, surprising him. "What the...?"

Staring at the reflection in the mirror, he could see scars all over the front torso and all around his upper arms. He has never noticed them before, even after the four dimensions were split back, so why was he seeing the differences in his body now? Was this why he didn’t feel like himself all of a sudden?

"Yeah, sorry about that. I might have made some...modifications to your body while I took over. There are also scars on your ankles and back, so what you see isn't a big deal."

"Not a big deal?!" Yuya asked as he lowered his t-shirt. "This is my body!" He gripped his arm. "Did you also stretch my arms and legs?!"

"Nah, that wasn't me."

That took Yuya by surprise. "Wait, what?" he asked. "Then why-"

"Geez, you haven't figured it out? You're growing."

Growing? Yuya looked back into the mirror to see what Zarc meant by it and saw his face was losing some baby fat, but the biggest change he went through were seen in his eyes…literally. His eye color was no longer his usual crimson hue, but they have now transformed into something more heterochromatic; his left iris was now green while the right became red, which were coincidentally the exact same eye colors as Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon. Yuya’s face showed some mild concern as the changed he underwent, but the bigger problem was on whether or not he should like his new eye colors.

Briefly shrugging out of his concern, Yuya instead focused on how much his body has matured. "Did I go through puberty during the Interdimensional War?" he wondered aloud.

"Looks like it. You're getting older, no longer the cheerful child you were before this whole ordeal happened. Maybe your new deck should reflect that."

Yuya looked back at his cards. "Of course," he said, walking back to his bed. "I shouldn't use mostly Performapals as much anymore." He put Hip Hippo aside from his other Performapals. "I should be running an Odd-Eyes mix deck, using mostly Odd-Eyes cards mixed with Magicians and Performapals."

"But you'll still keep in Hip Hippo?"

"Of course," Yuya answered as he was about to rearrange his cards into a single deck. "He's Odd-Eyes' second-in-command. Can't run the show without him."

All of a sudden, his deck began to glow light blue in reaction to what he just said. Yuya was left breathless as the light grew brighter and brighter until it diminished around a single card lying on top of his deck. He sat on his bed, staring at his cards and wondering what happened before drawing the top card. He examined it and let out an audible gasp because he had acquired yet another Odd-Eyes card; this time, it was Odd-Eyes Revolution Dragon, a Scale 12 Level 12 LIGHT Dragon-Type Pendulum monster with an unknown number of ATK and DEF as designated by the question marks. His Pendulum effects prohibits Pendulum Summoning monsters unless they’re Dragon-Type monsters—with it not being negated—and can target and special summon a Dragon-Type Fusion, Synchro, or XYZ monster from the Graveyard by destroying this card. If he was going to be summoned onto the field, then he has to either be Pendulum Summoned from the hand or special summoned by tributing three Dragon-Type monsters: one Fusion, one Synchro, and one XYZ. His monster effect allows Yuya to discard him and pay 500 LP in order to add a Level 8 or lower Dragon-Type Pendulum monster from the deck to his hand, gaining ATK and DEF equal to half of the opponent’s LP. Also, once per turn, Yuya can pay half of his Life Points to shuffle all other cards on the field and in the Graveyards into the deck.

"Whoa..." Yuya said. "This is like the polar opposite of Supreme King Z-Arc!"

"I would agree with you, but this is a pure Odd-Eyes card, not a combination of the four dragons."

That made Yuya have a sudden realization. He took out Odd-Eyes Absolute, Meteorburst, and Vortex Dragons from his deck. "This requires tributing an XYZ dragon, and Synchro dragon, and a Fusion dragon," he said. "Like maybe my new Extra Deck cards." His eyes lit up in inspiration as he suddenly imagined brand new combos and strategies.

"I take it you're finally figuring out your new deck."

"You bet," Yuya confirmed. He proceeded to begin rebuilding his deck. "Time to get to work on this new Odd-Eyes mix deck!"

Some time later, during the afternoon hours, Yuya met up with Zuzu and Sora at You Show Duel School. Unlike academic schools, duel schools are open for all seven days of the week so that future Duelists will get as much time on their lessons and practice sessions as they needed. In their case, they chose to meet up there because they finished reconstructing their decks and wanted to test out their new strategies, so what better way to experiment with them than a Battle Royale. So with Tate, Ally, and Fredrick, and Gong watching, three-way duel began.

"Time to let the show begin!" Yuya exclaimed, beginning the opening chant.

"This performance is bound to be a wonderful delight!" Zuzu added.

"With a show you certainly won't forget!" Sora chimed in.

"So let's...begin!" the three exclaimed in unison.

Gong pressed on a button on a keyboard to activate the Action Field. This one was called Dragon Fountain Spring, which looks similar to Plain Plain but has been upgraded to have an Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon fountain in the center.

Augmented Reality Combat System energized. Generating Action Field.

Below the floor, light beams were released from the ARC System, causing them to generate the selected Action Field in the duel room. Yuya gazed at the implemented upgrades to Dragon Fountain Spring, including the Odd-Eyes fountain standing on the pedestal. He then proceed to activate his Duel Disk along with Zuzu and Sora. The text saying “Duel Mode” before switching to “Standby” appeared on their screens as the compartments housing their Main and Extra Decks popped out and their blades materialized in front of their Duel Disks. With a snap from Yuya’s fingers, Action Cards scattered all over the field and the trio exclaimed, “Let’s duel!” Starting off with 4000 Life Points each, Sora went first.

"I'll start things off with the Spell card Instant Fusion!" Sora began. "Sure it costs me a huge chunk of my life points, but it's worth it. Come on out, Frightfur Sheep!"

As his Life Points decreased to 3000, two copper buzz saw-like appendages emerged from a stuffed sheep body and the chains wrapped around him started coming loose a little. His mechanical jaws unleashed sparks from rubbing against each other before landing on the monster zone. Normally, according to Battle Royale rules, Duelists aren’t allowed to attack on their first turns, but since Instant Fusion also has an effect where Fusion Summoned monsters can’t attack, it didn’t bother Sora at all because of his other effect and what Frightfur Sheep can do.

"Then I end my turn," Sora concluded.

"What?" Yuya asked. "That's it?"

"Well yeah," Sora answered. "Which means Frightfur Sheep goes to my Graveyard, yet due to his ability, he comes back even stronger!"

The Graveyard portal opened up below Frightfur Sheep and he fell right into it, but right as he was destroyed, the particles condensed themselves into a single yellow light before unveiling the Fusion monster back onto the monster zone. His ATK rose up to 2800, leaving Yuya confused. He thought Frightfur Sheep only increases his ATK if he was destroyed by battle or by an opponent’s card effect once per turn, but Sora explained that he got a rare variant of his monster at Card Craze in which he gains ATK if he was destroyed by battle or by anyone’s card effect once per turn. They recently upgraded chain sheep's effects some time after the Interdimensional War ended, so he wanted to take full advantage of it.

The information concerned Yuya a little because he knew it was a bit of a clever strategy Sora pulled. He was going to have to be a bit more careful in this duel yet he wanted to give his new Performapals and Odd-Eyes cards a chance at the spotlight.

"My turn!" Yuya happily declared as he drew a card. "Ladies and gentlemen, today's a very special day! My new assistant is gonna make her debut!"

"Wait... Assistant?" Zuzu questioned.

"And now, kicking off her introduction in today's duel, please give a warm welcome to Performapal Uni!" Yuya continued.

Uni jumped out from the holographic light and into the air before landing onto the field. Based on her stats, she is a Level 4 LIGHT Beast-Warrior-Type monster with 800 ATK and 1500 DEF. Once per turn, a Level 3 or lower Performapal can be special summoned from Yuya’s hand in attack position during the Main Phase of the turn she was normal or special summoned. During the opponent’s turn, if battle damage was going to be dealt, her quick effect can be activated by banishing one other Performapal and herself from the Graveyard to negate said damage. While her effects were impressive, her appearance was more…how to put it mildly, suggestive. Gong panicked at what Uni was wearing and prompted Frederick, Tate, and Allie to shield their eyes.

"Yuya, what is that card?!" Gong horrifying asked.

"Just my lovely new assistant," Yuya answered. "But I'm not just summoning her during my turn. Thanks to her special ability, I can special summon a companion Performapal. So say hello to Performapal Corn!"

Placing her two fingers on her lips, a heart escape from Uni’s smooch and floated next to her before popping to reveal Performapal Corn, a Level 3 LIGHT Beast-Warrior-Type monster with 600 ATK and 1000 DEF. Once per turn, during the Main Phase of the turn she was normal or special summoned, she can target one other Performapal that Yuya controls with 1000 ATK or less and switch that target and herself from face-up attack position to defense position, resulting in an Odd-Eyes monster getting from his deck to his hand. She also has a similar quick effect in which she can banish one other Performapal and herself from the Graveyard to gain 500 Life Points during the opponent’s turn.

"And as you can see, these two girls are twice as cute!" Yuya happily said.

"Unicorn!" Performapals Uni and Corn exclaimed as they posed.

Zuzu was having difficulty processing on what happened, as shown by her shocked face and dropped jaw. She never knew those cards existed in the first place; should she be jealous by this or not?

"Now to truly begin my entertainment!" Yuya continued. "I activate Performapal Corn's special ability! By switching her and Uni to defense mode, she lets me retrieve an Odd-Eyes monster from my deck and add it to my hand."

Corn covered her mouth with her fingers and kissed out a heart that floated towards Yuya. Once it hovered over his right hand, it popped in order to let a card fall right in his grasp. This selected card was Performapal Odd-Eyes Synchron; he hasn’t used this monster since his duels against Jack and Declan, so no doubt it will be useful again. And since it is a member of three archetypes, it was a great maneuver of him to specifically choose him.

"Now to finally let this duel swing my way!" Yuya declared. "For starters, I'll use Odd-Eyes Persona Dragon and Performapal Odd-Eyes Unicorn to set the Pendulum Scale! I'm taking control of this duel starting now!"

Yuya placed his Scale 1 Odd-Eyes Persona Dragon and Scale 8 Performapal Odd-Eyes Unicorn on the Pendulum Zones, located on the opposite ends of his Duel Disk blade. His monsters then ascended into the air with the numbers 1 and 8 appearing below them and a larger version of his pendant dangling in between them. With everything set, he can now Pendulum Summon his monsters from Level 2 to Level 7.

"I'm allowed to summon monsters from Levels 2 and 7 all at the same time!" Yuya continued. "Swing far, Pendulum! Carve the arc of victory! My monsters are ready...to SWING INTO ACTIOOOOOON!"

The Pendulum portal opened up and two trails of colored aura soared out of it before landing on two monster zones to reveal themselves as Performapal Odd-Eyes Light Phoenix and Synchron. With his monsters having a Level of 5 and 2 respectively, Yuya had the necessary monsters he needed to bring out one of his newest dragons.

"Now it's time to bring out one of my newest stars!" Yuya announced. "I tune Level 2 Performapal Odd-Eyes Synchron with Level 5 Performapal Odd-Eyes Light Phoenix! Take off into the night sky and bring down a meteor shower that sparkles so bright! I Synchro Summon Odd-Eyes Meteorburst Dragon!"

The sky suddenly turned dark for a brief moment as meteors rained down and pelted the ground. One of them stood out from the rest because it looked more like a red-colored shooting star, and upon impact, chunks of dirt and soil were kicked up into the air before falling back down. As the dust settled and the sky returned to normal, a red dragon stood in the middle of Yuya’s side of the field: Odd-Eyes Meteorburst Dragon, a Level 7 FIRE Dragon-Type Synchro monster with 2500 ATK and 2000 DEF. When special summoned, a monster in the Pendulum Zone can be special summoned onto the field at the expense of Meteorburst Dragon not attacking for the rest of the turn; naturally, this effect can be done once per turn. Also, any and all monsters that the opponent controls cannot activate their effects during the Battle Phase.

"I activate Odd-Eyes Meteorburst Dragon's special ability!" Yuya continued. "Call over Odd-Eyes Persona Dragon and have him join this party!"

Meteorburst Dragon turned around to face Persona Dragon and unleashed a roar into the sky. He then sharply rotated his body to have his tail wrap the latter and drag him from the Pendulum Zone and onto one of the available monster zones; one can describe this as a similar manner to a cowboy lassoing up cattle.

"Now to make sure my dragons are protected," Yuya added. "I activate the Field Spell Sky Iris! Now Performapal Odd-Eyes Unicorn can't be targeted by any card effects!"

Right as the Spell was activated, Yuya’s pendant glowed in front of him, catching him off guard. He couldn’t find the right words to express his reaction, but his eyes slightly shifted upwards and he saw his pendant materialized above his monsters. It was slowly circling around as if someone had just picked it up by the string; as the seconds passed, however, it was picking up in speed, leaving behind a trail of light from the icy blue crystal. Just then, a portal reminiscent to the Pendulum Portal opened up and streaks of blue, green, yellow, and red light surrounded Performapal Odd-Eyes Unicorn while a thick, rainbow beam of light shot upwards from the same trail. As fast as it occurred, the portal closed, the light diminished, and the pendant vanished from the field, causing it to stop glowing. A speechless Yuya couldn’t believe the visual effects this Field Spell packed, especially the aftermath it left behind because his dragon was now coated in a surrounding rainbow aura.

"Usually I would attack at this point," Yuya said. "But since this is a Battle Royale, I have to end my turn."

"Alright," Zuzu said. "It's my turn! I draw!" As she drew a card, a trail of music notes appeared from her hand. "I set my Pendulum Scale with Beetho the Melodious Songstress and Opheli the Melodious Operetta!"

That declaration surprised Yuya. "You got Pendulum cards?" he asked.

"Well of course," Zuzu answered. "Did you think I was going to sit back and become a spectator while you continued to evolve your deck?"

"No, of course not," Yuya sheepishly admitted. "You just didn't seem like dueling these days and-"

"It's called acting," Zuzu interrupted. "I wanted to surprise you with my new cards. And now it's time to show you my brand new skills!"

She placed her Scale 1 Beetho and Scale 9 Opheli set on the Pendulum Zones, causing the word “PENDULUM” to appear on her Duel Disk blade. Her two monsters ascended into the air, and upon stopping, the numbers 1 and 9 faded in below them. Yuya and Sora marveled at what her two new Melodious monsters’ appearances; not only were they based on Pendulumstatues White Butterfly and White Flower respectively, Beetho was also a green-skinned girl who donned a piano dress while Opheli had blonde hair and dressed in black while wearing a white mask. Keeping the tradition of being based on anything music-related, Beetho’s name derives from the famous composer and pianist Ludwig van Beethoven and Opheli’s clothing paralleled to the Phantom’s appearance from Phantom of the Opera.

"Fairies of song, lend me your voices!" Zuzu chanted. "Take flight onto the stage in a beautiful harmony! I enact the Pendulum Summon of floral glory!"

The Pendulum portal reopened but on Zuzu’s side of the field as three trails of light swooped down onto the middle three monster zones. The monsters she chose were Mozarta the Melodious Maestra and two copies of Sonata the Melodious Diva. Suddenly, a bright pink glow blinded Zuzu from her right cheek, leaving her baffled by this strange reaction. What exactly triggered this glow? Was it normal or something out of the ordinary? As for Yuya and Sora, they saw the pink glow too, but because of the surrounding light pillars, they assumed it was Beetho and Opheli glowing pink whenever they’re used for a Pendulum Summon.

"But I'm not done!" Zuzu continued. "I haven't done my normal summon for this turn." She revealed the last card in her hand. "So say hello to my newest card: the Tuner monster Buten!"

A blue-eyed pig with wings flew onto the field and next to Mozarta. Like Zuzu said, that monster was Buten, a Level 1 LIGHT Fairy-Type Tuner monster with 200 ATK and 300 DEF. During her Main Phase, she can banish this card from the Graveyard in order to target a Level 4 or lower LIGHT Fairy-Type monster and treat it as a Tuner monster. Yuya and Sora faced each other and turned their attentions back to Zuzu; did they actually hear her say “Tuner?” If so, then is she going to do what they think she is going to do?

"Now watch as I tune Buten with my two Sonatas!" Zuzu declared. "Fairies of wonder, sing with delight! The queen of all fairies has arrived! I Synchro Summon Ancient Sacred Wyvern!"

In a bright flash of light, a monster sailed through the air from where the tuned materials were and landed next to Mozarta. Sure enough, that was Ancient Sacred Wyvern, a Level 7 LIGHT Fairy-Type Synchro monster with 2100 ATK and 2000 DEF who requires 1 LIGHT Tuner and 1 or more non-Tuner monsters. One of her main effects revolves around Life Points and her ATK: if Zuzu’s is greater than her opponent’s, then she gains ATK equal to the difference between the two; if it was less than the other, however, she loses ATK equal to the difference. Additionally, if she were to be destroyed by battle and sent to the Graveyard, Zuzu can pay 1000 LP to special summon her.

Since this is a Battle Royale, that meant Zuzu had two opponents to face off against, making it Wyvern’s usage of her effect more complex. She and Yuya both have 4000 Life Points while Sora has 3000, so that would make the total difference 1000 ATK. Because Sora has less Life Points than Zuzu, 1000 ATK is added to Wyvern, making it 3100 ATK.

"Wait, since when did you learn how to Synchro Summon?!" Yuya asked.

"Gong's been giving me private lessons," Zuzu answered. "Oh, and I forgot to mention one detail: because I Pendulum Summoned my two Sonatas, Mozarta gained an additional 1000 attack points."

"Oh boy..." Sora remarked.

"That's right," Zuzu cheerfully said. "My fun's just getting started!"