#Zexal Week 2021

[canonmisogynyvictimstournament]

TOURNAMENT PARTICIPANTS

Greetings, everyone, our contestants have been finalized, and I want to provide a certain opportunity before the preliminaries begin. Namely, to provide additional propaganda for competitors in need of it. So, I have created a form to collect this new propaganda, and a list of both preliminary and non-preliminary participants under the cut. An asterisk next to a name indicates they have fewer than three pieces of propaganda, which is the amount that will be included in each poll. This form will be open for the duration of the tournament. You can make as many submissions you want for any character.

NOTE: The order of participants does not reflect the bracket matchups. Preliminary matchups will be announced next week, and the complete bracket will be announced after the preliminary round is finished.

UPDATE: Additional characters have been added in bold because I failed to fill out the bracket by counting incorrectly. One has been added to the preliminary round, and the others are regular competitors.

PRELIMINARY PARTICIPANTS

BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER/ANGEL

Cordelia Chase

Illyria*

Kendra Young*

Winifred "Fred" Burkle

DC COMICS

Alex DeWitt - AUTOMATIC ENTRY

Barbara Gordon

Cassandra Cain

Katma Tui*

Koriand’r aka Starfire*

Pantha*

Stephanie Brown

Talia al Ghul

Tara Markov*

JOJO'S BIZARRE ADVENTURE

Dragona Joestar (JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: The JOJOLands)*

Holy Kujo (JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders)*

Lisa Lisa (JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Battle Tendency )

Lucy Steel (JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Steel Ball Run)

KAMEN RIDER

Is (Kamen Rider 01)*

Kanon Fukami (Kamen Rider Ghost)*

Poppy Pipopapo (Kamen Rider Ex-Aid)*

Saki Momose (Kamen Rider Ex-Aid)*

MARVEL COMICS

Elektra Natchios (Marvel Comics)*

Elektra Natchios (NMCU)*

MY HERO ACADEMIA

Ochako Uraraka - AUTOMATIC ENTRY

Magne (My Hero Academia)*

Momo Yaoyorozu

Nemuri Kayama*

Toru Hagakure*

STAR TREK

Deanna Troi (Star Trek: The Next Generation)

Jadzia Dax (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine)*

Kes (Star Trek: Voyager)*

Seven of Nine (Star Trek: Voyager)

Tasha Yar (Star Trek: The Next Generation)

T'Pol (Star Trek: Enterprise)*

SUPERNATURAL

Bela Talbot

Charlie Bradbury

Eileen Leahy*

Mary Winchester*

THE LEGEND OF ZELDA

Tetra (The Legend of Zelda: Windwaker)*

Zelda (The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom)*

WARRIOR CATS

Bumble*

Leafpool

Spottedleaf

Squirrelflight

YU-GI-OH!

Aki Izayoi/Akiza Izinski (Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's)*

Aoi Zaizen/Skye Zaizen (Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS)*

Kotori Mizuki (Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL)*

Mai Valentine (Yu-Gi-Oh!)

NON-PRELIMINARY PARTICIPANTS

Abbie Mills (Sleepy Hollow)*

Ada Vessalius (Pandora Hearts)*

Agent Texas (Red vs Blue)*

Alex DeWitt (DC Comics)

Allura (Voltron: Legendary Defender)

Alys Brangwin (Phantasy Star IV)*

Amber Volakis (House MD)*

Amy Amanda Allen (The A-Team (TV))*

Amy Pond (Doctor Who)*

Amy Rose (Sonic the Hedgehog)

Ann Takamaki (Persona 5)

April O'Neil (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2012))

Arcee (Transformers)

Asuna (Sword Art Online)*

Athena Cykes (Ace Attorney)

Azula (Avatar the Last Airbender)

Britta Perry (Community)*

Brunhilda aka Mym (Dragalia Lost)*

Carmelita Montoya Fox (Sly Cooper )*

Casca (Berserk)

Celica (Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia)

Chi-Chi (Dragon Ball)*

Chloe Bourgeois (Miraculous Ladybug)

Chloe von Einzbern (Fate/kaleid liner PRISMA ILLYA)*

Clarke Griffin (The 100)*

Daenerys Targaryen (Game of Thrones)*

Dahlia Hawthorne (Ace Attorney)

Elya Musayeva (Топи/The Swamps (2021))*

Eve (Paradise Lost)*

Flora Reinhold (Professor Layton)

Gamora (Marvel Cinematic Universe)*

Grelle Sutcliff (Black Butler)*

Gwen (BBC Merlin)*

Gwen Stacy (Marvel Comics)*

Hélène Kuragina (War and Peace)

Hinata Hyuuga (Naruto)*

Irene Adler (BBC Sherlock)*

Iris Sagan (AI: the Somnium Files)*

Jade (Dragon Quest 11)*

Jade Harley (Homestuck)

Jane Crocker (Homestuck)

Jennifer Lopez (John Dies At The End)*

Jiang Yanli (Mo Dao Zu Shi)

Julia (Hellraiser)*

Julia Wicker (The Magicians)*

Juvia Lockser (Fairy Tail)*

Kaede Akamatsu (Danganronpa V3)

Kairi (Kingdom Hearts)

Kallen Kouzuki (Code Geass)

Kamala Khan (Marvel Comics)*

Katara (Avatar the Last Airbender)

Katherina Minola (The Taming of the Shrew)*

Katherine Pierce (The Vampire Diaires)*

Konan (Naruto)*

Laurel Lance (Arrow (CW)*

Leia Organa (Star Wars)*

Lisa Cuddy (House MD)

Lucy Heartfilia (Fairy Tail)

Madison Paige (Heavy Rain)*

Malty S Melromarc (Rising of the Shield Hero)*

Margaret Houlihan (MASH (Movie 1970) )*

Marinette Dupain-Cheng (Miraculous Ladybug)

Marwa (What We Do In The Shadows (TV series))*

Megaera (Hades)*

Mikaela Banes (Transformers)*

Mikan Tsumiki (Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair)

Mikoko Sakazaki (Kaiji)*

Mikuru Asahina (The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya)*

Mildred "Millie" Knolastname (Helluva Boss)

Milla Maxwell (Tales of Xillia)*

Misa Amane (Death Note)

Misaki Unasaka (Buddy Daddies)*

Nami (One Piece)*

Naomi Misora (Death Note)

Natasha Romanoff (Marvel Cinematic Universe)

Natasha Rostova (War and Peace)

Nemu Kurotsuchi (Bleach)*

Nezuko Kamado (Demon Slayer)*

Nya Smith (Lego Ninjago)

Ochette (Octopath Traveler 2)*

Ophelia (Hamlet)*

Ophiuchus Shaina (Saint Seiya)*

Orihime Inoue (Bleach)

Padmé Amidala (Star Wars)

Pussy Galore (Goldeneye)*

Pyrrha Nikos (RWBY)

Quiet (Metal Gear Solid: The Phantom Pain)*

Ran Mouri (Detective Conan)*

Rey (Star Wars)

River Tam (Firefly)*

Sakura Haruno (Naruto)

Sansa Stark (Game of Thrones)*

Skye (Lost in Blue)*

Sonia Hedgehog (Sonic Underground)*

South Dakota (Red vs Blue)*

Stephanie “Steph” Nocanonlastname (EverymanHYBRID)

Susan Pevensie (Chronicles of Narnia)*

Sweet-P (The Caligula Effect)*

Sylvanas Windrunner (Warcraft)*

Sylvia (Two Gentlemen of Verona)*

Teresa (Maze Runner series)*

Throné Anguis (Octopath Traveler 2)*

Yan Hui (Back From the Brink)*

[cyberdragoninfinity]

ok it’s time for dana to hoot and holler about zexal

finished ygo zexal for the first time last week and i absolutely adored it and am STILL thinking so much about it (as i will be probably for. a While now if my relationships with the other ygo spinoffs ive seen are any indication).....time again for me to do my little personal rambly yugioh series retrospective post as the brainworms truly start to set in. kattobingu feel the flow high five the sky build the overlay network let’s goooo!!!

more under the cut. a lot more lol. spoilers for a decade old anime, naturally

GOD. YEAH. THIS ONE MIGHT BE MY FAVORITE YUGIOH SERIES IVE SEEN YET. HOLY SHIT. 2021 Dana was really out here thinking Zexal looked kind of annoying (based on mild DL characters/plot osmosis) and not terribly interesting and I want to go back in time and shake her shoulders and say NO. NO YOU DON’T UNDERSTAND. ZEXAL FUCKING ROCKS. every yugioh has some degree of Danabait to it (probably because. watching Duel Monsters as a child was the catalyst to what Danabait even is lol) but JESUS MARY AND JOSEPH Zexal is like being hit by one nuclear bomb of shit genetically engineered in a lab to make me insane after another.

THE ART STYLE. OF ZEXAL, FOR ONE. makes me absolutely rabid animal bonkers--I LOVE seeing the way the ygo art style has been honed and developed and evolved over time. YGO influenced my art style more than I can articulate, and then zexal comes in swinging with the ygo art style at its Most Zany. The EXPRESSIONS in this show!!!!!!!!! Fucking rule!!!!!!!!!!!!!! A MASSIVE CHUNK OF THE CAST DOESNT HAVE MOUTHS HALF THE TIME AND YET STILL ARE SOME OF THE MOST EXPRESSIVE YGO GUYS EVER!!!! Constantly making expressions I LOVE to draw!!!! and oh my god the COLOR DIRECTION OF YUGIOH ZEXAL?!?!? genuinely absolutely phenomenal and one of my all time favorites i’ve seen in any cartoon, western or anime. you mean to tell me we got a lighting and color budget now??? we get yugioh scenes looking like this??!??

THE BEST. THE BEST. THE BEST. OBSESSED WITH IT. ABSORBING ZEXAL’S COLOR AND EXPRESSION PROWESS. STEALING ITS POWER.

ANYWAY as usual with my ygo watching i was primarily watching the dub (absolutely thrilled to have a Completed Yugioh Dub to watch for the first time since DM, MAN.) but I did end up watching...over half of Zexal II’s sub; stuff just gets so absolutely insane with the Barian Emperors that I desperately wanted every possible inch of their lore so I ended up watching both (sometimes back and forth at the same type like an unhinged wild animal) for the full picture. I like Zexal’s dub a lot!! its comedic timing is ON POINT, EXTREMELY FUNNY DUB. and really like..all of the main dub VAs are so, SO good (as they usually are.) There are a lot of bizarre things they cut though, a lot of childhood flashbacks and little character moments and the like. It’s a shame! I can only imagine a lot of them were cut to leave more room for ad time which. Sucks a bit 🥴A lot of duels do whip a lot harder in the sub too, especially in the back half..... still though, enjoyed my time with the dub. there’s a remarkable amount of stuff i am SHOCKED they actually did keep in?!??! The car crash that killed Shark’s parents is just straight up presented as is with like one or two small cuts. A LITTLE GIRL’S DEAD BODY IS SHOWN?? ON SCREEN??? ZEXAL DUB!! KIDS LOVE IT SO!!! MY GOD!!!

ok enough on that. some breakdowns/specific points like I usually do with these roundups:

Stuff I Didn’t Like: always get this one outta the way first. There really wasnt a whole lot I straight up disliked with this one!! It’s extremely solid all around. It does, of course, have some...Choices, being made, like. Girag’s lips. and. Girag’s backstory. Love the guy but oh my god why did they do that to him 😭Yugioh Racially Questionable moments ride again!!! At this point it’s just par for the course, definitely not the first time a ygo has. Done stuff like that. Ah well. Worth mentioning though.

What’s really a shame is that Zexal has some of the COOLEST, MOST FUN GIRL CHARACTERS, and time and time again they just dont do anything with them!!!!!!!!!!!! IT’S SO FRUSTRATING. i LOVE rio but the poor girl is fridged for literally 2/3s of the series!! She’s in the hospital like five times!!!! Rio and Anna and Tori and Dextra and Kari are all like, some of my favorite ygo gals YET but they have maybe 5 duels between them. Konami let your girls DUEL CHALLENGE. PLEASE.

hm what else. I guess also the final showdown with the series “Big Bad” was. uh. kind of let down lmao. But to be fair I was positively spoiled last series with the Z-one duel lol. Can’t win ‘em all. As cool as the concept of “the protag and rival team up to duel the Big Bad” is, and as cool as Don Thousands Entire toxic manipulative dynamic with the Barian Emperors is for like the Entire Rest of Zexal II is, they just....don’t. Do much with him for that last Donny T duel?? Would have loved more backstory elaboration or just like. Anything. It was over so soon and I was like “...that was it??” HDFHGSDFG thankfully the last two duels of zexal whip like hell so we bounce back!!

i also kind of wish don thousand kept his sick as hell demon armor form but c’est la vie i suppose. sad! well there’s other guys.

Favorite Season: I actually have no idea how Zexal is split up into seasons, so I guess Fav Arc would be a better term? Anyway I loved the World Duel Carnival Arc, I’m one of like 5 people who actually enjoy tournament arcs but i think theyre FUN and this one is a blast. There’s Arclight Family Agonies coming from every direction and there’s the INSANE DUEL ROLLER COASTER and Vetrix is bouncing around being a little freak, it’s GREAT

anyway and then Zexal II came in and grabbed me by the head and threw me into the drywall

LIKE. MY GOD. ZEXAL HAS THE FUCKING EMOTIONAL PACING OF MORAL OREL. YOU HIT Z2 AND SHIT STARTS GETTING REAL AND GOING HARD AS HELL AND IM OUT HERE GETTING MY BRAIN SCRAMBLED. I love like. All of the arcs of zexal II it’s hard to pick a favorite but I DO really like just that first third or so where the Barians are just starting to show up and the horrors haven’t quite begun and everything’s so silly and Ray Shadows is Very There. gives me gx season 1 vibes a little bit. it’s a delight.

Favorite Characters: oh right I should. talk about that. pained smile.

i joke about this a lot but usually every ygo series has like. A Character That’s My Actual Favorite, and A Character That Makes Me Absolutely Insane (syrus vs. zane, leo vs. aporia, etc.) but, uh. this time I GUESS THAT’S JUST. THE SAME CHARACTER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

SORRY. TO BE BASIC. BUT WHY DID THEY DO THAT TO ME. WHY DID THEY PUT A CHARACTER IN ZEXAL WHO ALREADY LOOKS LIKE MY ART STYLE. ALREADY LOOKS LIKE I DREW HIM. AND THEN MAKE HIM FUCKED UP AND SILLY AND A SAD LITTLE JACKASS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ABSOLUTELY NEFARIOUS!!!!!!!!! 2021 dana had no CLUE they were hiding this fucker in the back of one of the ygo spinoffs. never could have predicted it. vector’s genuinely one of the best ygo characters of all time to me. what if a yugioh character had the most absolutely bonkers expressions youve ever seen and he was constantly doing little bits and acting like a little funnyman and then the devil fucking Kills Him. he’s perfect. the madness has only just begun to infect me i fear.

ANYWAY other than The Carrot in Question, I fucking love like...all of Zexal’s cast; I think this is the first time for any ygo where a series just didnt really have any characters I straight up Did Not Like. it’s such a solid, colorful cast that just checks so many boxes for my fav kinds of characters. I didn’t think I was gonna like Yuma but I ended up LOVING HIM!!!! I LOVE SEEING A YGO PROTAG THATS LIKE..ACTUALLY BAD AT THE GAME, THAT GROWS BETTER AND STRONGER OVER TIME BUT STAYS SO SILLY. I love what Zexal does to “traditional” yugioh character archetypes--Shark and Kite are both such cool rival characters and the shit they do with Shark especially?!?! NEVER COULD HAVE IMAGINED THEM DOING THAT. WITH A YUGIOH RIVAL. KAIBA COULD NEVER.

Narrowing down a top five fav Zexal guys is so hard, they really came in swinging with Catostrophic Families AND insane alien guys, but after pondering I think I’d have to say rn it’s Vector, Shark, Nistro (my fuckin  MAN!!!!!!!), Trey, and Alito. Immediate runnerup also being Tori. I fucking love Tori, new favorite main ygo girl. She bore witness to All That Shit and never folded. SHe’s Yuma’s FRIEND his CONFIDANT his EMOTIONAL SUPPORT!!!!! Absolute boss. Yuma would be dead in a ditch somewhere by episode 20 without her around.

Favorite Duel: BEEN GOING BACK AND FORTH ON THIS A LOT but I think my favorite duel was and still is the Trey vs. Yuma duel in zexal I, it’s just fantastic. The COLORS AND LIGHTING!!!!! The stakes!!! The SICK DUEL ARMOR!! Trey literally threatens a world-ending murder-suicide because he wants his family to be proud of him and well i’ll just explode into bits all up and down the road about it. Goes hard as hell. Trey and Yuma’s dynamic is one of my favs in Zexal but that’s it’s own post.

I also love all of Alito’s duels (especially the tag duel with Nistro, which is one of the most atrociously danabait duels ever (slash pos) and his last duel against yuma, which ALSO has some of the fucking coolest shots and lighting of any yugioh duel to me) and the last duel between Shark and Yuma. Shit rocks.

Zexal is also pretty unique to me in that it’s the first time i can really concretely say ive had favorite EPISODES as opposed to just favorite duels. There are so many episodes left and right that just make my fucking head explode. The BASEBALL DUEL FRIENDSHIP GAMES EPISODE. The EPISODE WHERE YUMA AND SHARK ARE IN THE HOSPITAL. The “VECTOR GETS STRAPPED INTO THE ALIEN GOD THRONE AND MR. HEARTLAND IS BEING INSANE AND THE ARCLIGHTS ARE IN A SUBMARINE AND ERAZOR IS GOING TO FUCKING KILL YUMA’S FRIENDS” episode. THE. UM. THE EPISODE WHERE THIS HAPPENS

^BROKE MY WHOLE DAMN BRAIN IN HALF. I AM STILL RECOVERING FROM THE DAMAGE zexal II comes in swinging with episodes that just knock your tits clean off and you LOVE to see it!!!!

Miscellaneous Other Zexal Gushing: IT’S JUST FUCKING GOOD!!!! THERE’S SO MUCH TO LOVE!!!!! I love the cast, I love Yuma and Astral’s dynamic and just how much love is there. I LOVE yuma’s friend group, they are SUCH perfect dweeby little middle schooler weird kids. I love the ways Zexal parallels Duel Monsters (and imo takes a lot of elements from DM and does them even better), I love Yuma’s grandma and Kari, ABSOLUTE REAL ONES!!! I fucking love Orbital 7. I love the Number cards and how theyre just completely thematically not related to each other at ALL (sometimes it’s a bug! sometimes it’s a guy! sometimes it’s an entire floating civilization!!!) I love the ABSOLUTELY BONKERS RELIGIOUS MOTIFS AND SYMBOLISM FLYING AROUND IN ANY AND ALL DIRECTIONS. THEY DID THAT FOR ME!!!!!!!!!!!!! ASTRAL CHRIST ALLEGORY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And I just...adore how fundamentally Zexal is about kindness and hope and love, and also about how it’s so important to not lose yourself or your sense of fun as you grow up!! That theme absolutely EVISCERATED ME when gx came out swinging with it in its last season, and it’s GETTIN ME AGAIN HERE!!! IT’S ABOUT HAVING FUN!! IT’S ABOUT THE BONDS WE MAKE WITH OTHERS!!! IT’S ABOUT HOW CEASELESS KINDNESS CAN BE AN UNSTOPPABLE FORCE THAT MAKES EVEN THE IMMOVEABLE MOVEABLE. yuma has SO much joy and love and forgiveness in his body and it makes me WAIL.

Duel Monsters really ends on this note of “goodbye” with Atem leaving, and it works well for that story’s themes of grief. Meanwhile I think it’s very special that while Zexal also ends on a goodbye with Astral leaving, it feels so much more like a “see you later.”  That hanging note of “we’ll meet again.” It’s so sweet. The themes of past and future at play really just make you root for these kids and hope they grow up into the best versions of themselves.

Also it’s so fucking funny that like All of the Cast That Died and Went to Hell Came Back Except Mr. Heartland Who Definitely Died For Real. gay WRONGS.

God. what else. I’m sure I’ll think of 8352389 more things I love about Zexal immediately after I post this. It’s just that good. So thrilled I gave it a go. I love you Xyz Monsters I love you Dyson Sphere I love you Vector’s dub and sub voices I love you Duel Monster Based Off of the Titantic I love you Dr. Faker’s absolutely insane character design I love you Barian World I love you Arclight family I love you Zexal II Dub Opening Song That’s Sung By Bruno 5D’s VA I love you YUMA AND FRIENDS!!!!!!!!!!! ZEXAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

cant wait to port all these kids to the college AU. it’s already happening. I love them so much

[borreloadsavagedragon]

Maybe Mizael and/or Takeru for the ask meme?

OH! I'll do both absolutely

MIZAEL

First impression: TERRIFIED!! He was stupidly pretty and had a dragon, I knew he would end up a favorite, but I didn’t know how MUCH of a favorite, I needed to know what his problem was dhdhdhd

Impression now: I can't even put into words how much I love Mizael sometimes omfg, he had such an impact on me and I'm a little saddened at how quickly he was removed from the story in the end I need to rewatch more of his scenes, I'm very insecure about how I write Mizael and I really want to get his voice down One day I’ll finish his cosplay wig too, if I style all of the wigs for my favorite ships, I can convince people to cosplay with me surely (copium)

Favorite moment: His introduction is wild, like both him arriving to Alito and Girag but also him challenging Yuma Miza just shows up, shoots Tori with an energy blast, and then is just like we're dueling But then COMPLETELY forgets about Yuma as soon as Kaito shows up and whips his dragon out Also love when they have their little Barian meetings where they just bicker, they're truly real housewives

Idea for a story: I always have Mizael and Kaito ideas gjdkslajg Whether they're fics or oneshots, time usually tells, but my drafts definitely have quite a few for them saved Usually lots of dragon focused ones, obsessed with the idea of Photon and Tachyon eloping and them having to just deal with it Mizael going over dragons with Haruto...

Unpopular opinion: I don't know if there is anything the small Miza community doesn't agree on honestly jgdsklaj I'll just start drama, Miza's not a natural blonde

Favorite relationship: I feel like I don’t even need to say haha, Kaito and Mizael are incredible and I am cursing Zexal forever for not giving them more time because I feel like I'm blowing out steam looking at all of the loose threads I also love how much Durbe and Mizael respect each other, there's clearly a bond there between them, wish we saw it more I also wish we could have seen more of Mizael and Nasch since you can tell Mizael revered him quite a bit-

Favorite headcanon: Mizael 100% moved in with the Tenjos!!!!!!!

TAKERU

First impression: Oh I KNEW I was gonna love him the second I saw his face omg I did the bad fan thing where I had to pull up the wiki bc the Vrains episode I was watching at the time didn't answer a really niche question I had about something someone said and the "related pages" tab on Yusaku's character page had Takeru's face on it So I had to find him I speedran my Vrains watch to get to him and boy was I rewarded

Impression now If you asked me in 2021 who my favorite yugioh was, I'd tell you Takeru Homura in a heartbeat Literally was only dethroned as my favorite by Kaito recently Takeru would be the next character I deep dive and dissect if given the chance, I just think he's so cool, I love how well done he is, I think he's one of the best done characters in the franchise His deck is fun, his design is fun, I've cosplayed both Takeru AND Soulburner now, working on slick back look one day when I don't have cosplay deadlines I just... love him, he's one of my favorite voices to write through, I always find an excuse to drabble as Takeru, whether it's something I post or not, and I am always at home when it's with him

Favorite moment: ALMOST ALL OF THEM!!! BOTH OF THE DUELS WITH REV! HIS INITIAL ENTRANCE! HIS FLASHBACK SCENES! BEING CRINGEFAIL!!! AAHHHH!!!!

Idea for a story: Oh I've got a REALLY hefty 3+1 fic that's gonna tie in with recoil week that explores all of Takeru's relationships gjdkla Here is a very small bit from the first chapter:

The first time Homura Takeru thought he fell in love, he was a young boy intimidated by a pretty girl. He doesn’t remember many of the details of how he met Kiku. It was a portion of his memories that lived in what feels like a lifetime ago, before everything had suddenly slipped out of his young grip. He just knew that he was a scared boy overwhelmed by her kindness and spirit the moment they met while he was on a trip to visit his grandparents.  It was an instant connection. Kiku had pulled on his hand and pulled him into the light, smiled and laughed with him whereas the other kids at the time hadn’t. He’d almost call it foreshadowing. Having her in his life made the sudden change of up and moving out to the country after his parents’ deaths a little easier. Within a month of moving, they were almost inseparable. And the following years as well, no matter how hard it got.

So stay tuned for that!

Unpopular opinion: I'm so sorry but I'm about to be a hater But the fact that Takeru haters even exist is really fascinating to me since most of his other counterparts are rather beloved Like he's got more fans that haters for sure, but I've seen every single one who has a think piece say "Takeru's only there to show off the card game" as if Salamangreat wasn't released in the OCG until July while Takeru has been showing off the deck since May, but I digress Yusaku's entire arc was finished in season 1, he got all of his answers, protected Ai to the very end, and was ready to move on. Yusaku just being a fix-it man for an entire second season? Would be BORING. So they needed a second voice to duo-lead, a new one with new motivations who hasn't already been shown, but could be tied back in a meaningful way. And what characters were left we knew very little about? The Ignis. What was unveiled in Season 1 about the Ignis? They're tied to six children, and we've now seen 2 of them. Also it's? Yugioh? Do you expect them NOT to show off cards and real strategies so you go spend your real life money on product? Remember Yuri randomly using an Ancient Gear deck in Arc V when the structure was starting to come out? Or most of duelist of the week duelists from GX? The animes are nothing but product placement and rule explanations (nit picking hating, but takeru's also written strangely sometimes, it's rare but some will make him way dumber or submissive than he is)

Favorite relationship: I'm a degenerate and beyond predictable And I've mentioned that I love Firestorm already, but if we're being very honest for a second, I always see it as one-sided with how Yusaku's written with Takeru,,, Like sometimes we overcome that gap and look at the potential because oh my god giving Yusaku someone like Takeru was SUCH a good idea, but I usually see it as a one-sided pining, but a VERY close friendship Yusaku in my head ALWAYS goes to Takeru's village post canon to apologize for leaving BUT I'm a degenerate, as I said about So to say I love Takeru and Ryoken's dynamic, from start to finish, is an understatement I love that they draw out the best of each other and push each other beyond their preexisting limitations as well as the shackles of their pasts I love that Ryoken respected Takeru's feelings so much that he didn't want to insult him by outright refusing the first challenge, but couldn't bring himself to duel knowing it wouldn't resolve anything I love how Soulburner accuses Revolver of not following up on that in Duel Links I fucking love "I'm so glad I met you", above all else I love finally seeing a conclusion to one of the many side rivalries, and I had a renewed appreciation for it after finishing Zexal and realizing what could have been there I also actually like how the dub handled their farewell scene, the promise of future challenges, Revolver promising to be there when they need him, the fond little chuckle

Favorite headcanon (more drug cw on this one!!) It's a weird one and it's kinda personal I guess, but I always write Takeru as sober gkdsa As a punk, I can imagine him dipping into more unsavory behaviors as a way to cope and express when he's struggling to find the next step, so when he decides to start fresh and live a new life, he cuts terrible habits like those cold turkey

[pallotdip]

hello zexal tumblr

goodbye zexal tumblr

[nialumin]

Two distant souls destined to meet

my one zexal week drawing. I didn’t follow the prompts because im not creative lol

[zexalweek]

Hey, everyone! I’m here to reveal the prompts for Zexal Week 2021! For those who can’t properly see the above picture, Zexal Week will be Sunday, June 13th through Saturday, June 19th!

You’re in no way obligated to participate, though if you do, you don’t have to do every day if you don’t want! You can do half the days, every other day, even only one day if you want!

Feel free to get creative with how you celebrate Zexal Week! I know the most common mediums of producing content are usually through fanfic or fanart, but anything goes! AMVs. cosplays, a lil mini vlog, GIFs, simple texts posts just wording your thoughts, whatever you can think of is cool! (Even mature content is acceptable, so long as it’s marked mature somewhere in the post, for those who wish to filter that content!)

And remember, participating in Zexal Week isn’t simply limited to producing content! Contributions are as simple as reblogging each others’ works and posts, or commenting on what you find enjoyable, even if it’s something as simple as a “thank you!”, “I love it!” or even a thumbs-up emoji!

Without further ado, the prompts will be presented beneath the cut!

Sunday, June 13th: 'A Parallel Self' - Let's acknowledge the talent that voice actors brought in bringing the Zexal characters to life! Do a little digging to see what other anime characters share your favorite Zexal character(s)'s voice! (For example: Astral's Japanese VA also voices Koushi Sugawara from Haikyuu!.) Share with us your finds, and maybe indulge in a little crossover of sorts if you'd like!

Monday, June 14th:  'Mythological Twist' - Akin to YGO DM's use of Egyptian Mythology, Zexal uses bits of Christian and Greek Mythology for its series. (i.e., Utopia/Hope being a 'Guardian Angel', The Barians being named based on the Big Dipper, the recurring theme of Carnivals in the first half of Zexal [which, I have discovered, are festivities rooted in both Christian and Greek cultures, apparently?]) Take this time to either go all in on those mythoses, or apply a different one to the Zexal story!

Tuesday, June 15th: '10 Years Later' - Seeing as it is Zexal's 10th year anniversary, what do you think the Zexal cast would be doing 10 years post-canon?

Wednesday, June 16th: 'Challenge the Game!' - Aside from the Duel Monsters card game, what game(s) could you see the Zexal characters getting into? Be it a different card game entirely, board game, video game, sports game, mobile game, etc.!

Thursday, June 17th: 'Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Blue' - It's June! Likely named for the Roman Goddess Juno, the patroness of Marriage, let's see what Zexal spin you can put on weddings! Be it a ship getting married, a marriage tradition(s) you think a specific character(s) would have, etc.! (suggested by JKDiamondGold)

Friday, June 18th: 'Cosmetic Cybernetics' - Inspired by the AR Vision was introduced in Zexal (Duel Gazers, Duel Tattoos, and those who could augment their eyes to the AR Duel fields), what Cybernetic enhancements do you think the characters could have? Would they have them in-canon/post-canon, or in an AU? Are they purely for cosmetic purposes, or do they aid the character in some way?

Saturday, June 19th: 'Free Day!' - Just as it says: a free prompt day! Do whatever comes to mind!

Alternative prompts:

Fun in the Sun

Medieval Fantasy AU

Flower Language

Bucket List

Treating Wounds

"I'd go to the ends of the Earth for you."

"Your memory may be gone, but your heart knows who you are."

"A picture's worth a thousand words, though in your case, this one's worth a million."

"Honestly? There's no place I'd rather be."

"It took letting go to realize... I was holding onto nothing."

Ultimately, all these prompts aren’t mandatory! They’re more of a baseline, I guess; Something constructive for those seeking specific prompts! But if you want to do your own thing for any or all of the Zexal Week days, then go for it! This is a weeklong celebration of Zexal, and I don’t want to stifle your creativity!

For those participating, I will be tracking the tags “#Zexal Week” and “#Zexal Week 2021″ to find your posts and reblog them here! Though I would suggest also tagging this blog somewhere in your post just to be safe! Last year there were several occassions where posts made weren’t popping up in the tags I was searching in!

If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to shoot me an ask! Anonymous is on, like always!

Thanks for your patience, and I’m sorry again for posting the prompts and rundate a couple days late! Also, here’s hoping this post doesn’t get eaten by the tunglr tag demons! I’ll keep reposting this as needed, until the tag demons accept it!

See you guys in a month!

-- Krys 💙

[doveamongangels]

Zexal Week Day 5!

Not a wedding, but I thought already married Keyshipping would be nice

[seqka711]

10 Years Later - The Seven Barian Emperors adjusting to adult human life

So I just discovered it's Zexal week! I'm actually doing a rewatch of Zexal right now, my roommate has decided they want to watch all of the YGOs and having finished GX and 5Ds, we're now on Zexal! Zexal is my second favourite YGO show and I have a huge soft spot in my heart for the show!

As for the characters ten years later, I DO have some thoughts.

Specifically I really want to talk about the Barians. 10 years later, they would all be between 22 and 25. For some reason, Astral just decided that some of them are older than others and I don't know if there was any logic behind that Numeron Code decision. Regardless of age, I feel that some of the Barian Emperors are far better equipped for adult human life than others.

Shark and Rio would be just fine, for obvious reasons. Shark genuinely enjoys competitive dueling, as we saw in the flashback before IV screwed him over, so I think he could definitely make a living off of it. He would use the prize money to help the other Barians, especially Durbe and Rio, who are in school. Shark also has to deal with fame now that he's the Asian Champion, and with that fame comes a lot of fans, hassle and memes, all of which he handles extraordinarily badly. But he keeps going for love of the game.

As for Rio, she is the most ambitious, and I see her becoming a doctor/nurse. She wants to take care of people (like we saw in her past life) and her life was saved by doctors multiple times in the series, causing her to look up to them. So she's currently in medical school, which is very difficult work. However, I also think she plays a role in protecting the human world and the Astral/Barian combined world from outside threats. In early season 2 we saw that she clearly has gifts of prophecy, and I think she would definitely use those gifts to help protect the worlds. She's also the whip that keeps the other Barians in place when they get too rowdy, especially when they all get together.

The third Barian that I could see adapting really well to personhood is Durbe. In school I think he would ignore classes like Japanese and Math to fixate on history. Not necessarily history from his own time, but rather trying to tie together the history of duel monsters and how the world got to where it is now. Even though his teachers tried to tell him that a degree in history wouldn't get him very far, he didn't care and went for it anyway. He's also a menace to the Barians who aren't getting higher education, which is most of them.

The Barian least well-adjusted is Mizael, who has basically abandoned human civilization and is now living on the combined Astral/Barian world. He completed middle and high school (entirely against his will) and now only goes to the human world to duel Kaito or because the Barians are holding a party. Mizael can no longer Barianphose, which sucks for him because he doesn't really like his human body, something he mentioned a couple of times in Zexal. He and Astral have also become surprisingly good friends over the years. The two of them are the kind of friends who like being in the same room but doing separate things. He also deepened his friendship with Kaito, and Kaito and V are the people he goes to when he doesn't understand something about humans, which is often.

Girag, Alit and Vector are all somewhere in the middle. Vector is struggling with the human world a lot. But unlike Mizael, he isn't willing to simply abandon it. Vector hasn't been able to find happiness in the human world, but he doesn't think Astral/Barian would make him any happier. He ran a gang all throughout high school, but when he turned 19 he abandoned it, and now he doesn't know what to do. He doesn't really have the energy to hate Nasch or Yuma the way he used to, but he doesn't really like them either. He's emotionally numb in a way he never used to be. Yuma is trying to help him find a goal to get him "out of the boring world" and encourage him to kattobing. But after living with hatred for hundreds of years, living without it is an adjustment that, even ten years later, isn't easy.

Meanwhile Alit has adjusted pretty much right in the middle. He isn't really thriving or struggling. He took a bartending job at the BARian, and he likes it well enough that it can support him while he does the stuff he actually cares about, which is sports, dueling, and hanging out with his friends. And dating, A LOT of dating. He engages in a lot of casual hook ups and parties. To the rest of the Barians, whom are either fairly milquetoast or not at all interested in relationships with humans, he's kind of embarrassing.

Lastly there's Girag, who basically takes adult life one challenge at a time. He's sort of like Alit, in that he lives for his hobbies. But unlike Alit, who has a steady job, Girag is kind of a mess and goes back and forth between employed and unemployed a lot. Whenever he's unemployed, he usually makes a run at professional dueling. He never really succeeds at pro dueling though, since his skills just aren't polished enough. He actually spends a lot of time at the Duel Lodge, because Ponta likes it there, and he'll do whatever Ponta says.

So the Barians, from most to least adjusted adult (in my own personal headcanon, anyways) goes something like Rio, Ryoga, Durbe, Alit, Girag, Vector, and lastly Mizael.

[nightfurylover31]

Day 1: A Parallel Self (with a twist)

I took a different take on this one because I found a lot of similarities between Yuma Tsukumo and Sakura Kinomoto from Cardcaptor Sakura.

athletic, but clumsy

habit of forgetting things and often runs late

on a mission collecting special cards

magic "keys" worn around neck

older sibling they often bicker with, but is very protective of them

phrase for encouragement (Kattebingu/feel the flow; "I will definitely be alright")

others are drawn to their cheerful personalities

prophetic dreams

at some point had to risk losing their most important thing/feeling, which involves someone they’re very close to

rival character who also collects cards, but later becomes a close friend

I also want to acknowledge that Astral and Flame from VRAINS, who have very similar personalities, are both voiced by Marc Thompson in the dub. That was the one of my biggest hopes for or the English version.

[shifuto]

ZW 2021 prompts #2 - ‘Mythological Twist‘

Centaur!Yuma and Werewolf!Astral AU A play on Yuma having “horse” on his name and Astral having canines in his conscience/heart

@zexalweek​

[honeys-bnbdc]

I'm gonna try n do zexal week y'all,,,, tho I might be late or jus miss a few days lmao

Anyhow, have Rio, Momiji, n Gon fer tha first day; n I totally didn't draw momiji assa bunney bc I didn't wanna draw a 3rd person🥰🥰🥰

@zexalweek lol

[canonmisogynyvictimstournament]

We're less than a week out from the official tournament start (hopefully, but don't quote me on that just yet), so now is the time to remind everyone that you can still submit additional propaganda for characters in the tournament here:

A list of characters who still have fewer than three pieces of propaganda, including characters still in the preliminaries (although I have to add that just because a character isn't on this list doesn't mean they aren't in need of more thorough propaganda!):

Ada Vessalius (Pandora Hearts) Alys Brangwin (Phantasy Star IV) Amy Amanda Allen (The A-Team (TV)) Asuna (Sword Art Online) Britta Perry (Community) Brunhilda aka Mym (Dragalia Lost) Carmelita Montoya Fox (Sly Cooper) Celica (Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia) Chloe von Einzbern (Fate/kaleid liner PRISMA ILLYA) Clarke Griffin (The 100) Daenerys Targaryen (Game of Thrones) Dragona Joestar (JoJo's Bizarre Adventure) Eileen Leahy (Supernatural) Elektra Natchios (Marvel Comics) Elektra Natchios (NMCU) Elya Musayeva (Топи/The Swamps (2021)) Eve (Paradise Lost) Grelle Sutcliff (Black Butler) Hinata Hyuuga (Naruto) Holy Kujo (JoJo's Bizarre Adventure) Illyria (Buffy the Vampire Slayer/Angel) Iris Sagan (AI: the Somnium Files) Is (Kamen Rider 01) Jade (Dragon Quest 11) Jennifer Lopez (John Dies At The End) Julia (Hellraiser) Julia Wicker (The Magicians) Juvia Lockser (Fairy Tail) Kamala Khan (Marvel Comics) Kanon Fukami (Kamen Rider Ghost) Katherine Pierce (The Vampire Diaries) Konan (Naruto) Kotori Mizuki (Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL) Laurel Lance (Arrow (CW)) Madison Paige (Heavy Rain) Malty S Melromarc (Rising of the Shield Hero) Margaret Houlihan (MASH (Movie 1970)) Megaera (Hades) Mikaela Banes (Transformers) Mikoko Sakazaki (Kaiji) Mikuru Asahina (The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya) Milla Maxwell (Tales of Xillia) Misaki Unasaka (Buddy Daddies) Nami (One Piece) Nemu Kurotsuchi (Bleach) Nemuri Kayama / Midnight (My Hero Academia) Niki Nihachu (Dream SMP) Nya Smith (Ninjago) Ochette (Octopath Traveler 2) Ophelia (Hamlet) Ophiuchus Shaina (Saint Seiya) Pantha (DC Comics) Poppy Pipopapo (Kamen Rider Ex-Aid) Pussy Galore (Goldeneye) Quiet (Metal Gear Solid: The Phantom Pain) Ran Mouri (Detective Conan) River Tam (Firefly) Saki Momose (Kamen Rider Ex-Aid) Skye (Lost in Blue) Sonia Hedgehog (Sonic Underground) South Dakota (Red vs Blue) Susan Pevensie (Chronicles of Narnia) Sweet-P (The Caligula Effect) Sylvanas Windrunner (Warcraft) Sylvia (Two Gentlemen of Verona) Teresa (Maze Runner) Tetra (The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker) Throné Anguis (Octopath Traveler 2) Toru Hagakure (My Hero Academia) Yan Hui (Back From the Brink) Zelda (The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild)

[marchsage]

zexal week day 1 - “a parallel self” from @zexalweek

what a fun prompt !! belial (granblue fantasy) and iv (ygo zexal) are both voiced by hosoyan :) they’re both >:3 energy

[thesilverlock]

| 𝑍𝑒𝒳𝑎𝑙  𝒲ℯℯ𝑘 | 

DAY 5 - 'Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Blue’

Very, very happy to help with the suggestion this year! ^^ Decided on some good ol’ headcanon 𝑙𝑜𝑟𝑒 !  Was a close draw between this or sketching my favs in a wedding dress, but I’ll leave that to the fandom’s greater artists lol

@zexalweek​​

✧ The roles involved are all kept gender neutral, but if wished, there are traditions where the persons can elect to be given status typical of ‘bride’ or ‘groom’ adjacent roles. Such as, whomever is proposing must wear silver in the ceremony, and whomever is proposed to must wear gold.

✧ Proposing is done less so with jewelry. Rather, something the astriens find personally priceless or significant to the couple themselves. It could be verbal, an action, not materialistic per se (though it of course still can be). So long as it means something special to the two involved.

✧ If you feel like getting jazzier with it; The aisle can be preceded by a Rainbow Kuriboh, who flurries back and forth to send tails of rainbows casting around. Beautifying the place up.

✧ They don’t have your traditional wedding tuxes or dresses, but they are given a lot of decorative astralite crystal around their bodies. Particularly their shoulder area. As well as an ornate crown, with dangling crystals - they even have an old wives-tale which says that the sound of the crown charms tinkling wards off malefic chaos or evil energy. 

✧ The time of day you wed is very important, and each hour holds some significance. For example, marriages at dawn symbolize the union as a rebirth of their lives as one. Wheres marriages at sunset symbolize more specifically the exit of their former lives, entering a new time or adventure together that even a coming darkness cannot break.

✧ During the ceremony, it’s customary for the couple to be presented their own unique glass bowl from which they sip purified astrien water. The bowl is then passed down through the couple’s closest family members to drink from too. This is seen as a welcoming and conjoining of the two families, if them have.

✧ Similar to the Indian tradition with “mehndi”, some astral world newly weds integrate the bestowing of mirrored tattoo marks over their bodies. These designs can be simple and traced all over, similar to that of the Higher Ranked “Will” or the savior Envoy of the Astral World. But they can also be more detailed and harbored in one particular area on the person, such as the face, or specific limbs. 

[voicesofchaos]

Yugioh Zexal Week 2021 Day 2 -  'Mythological Twist‘

Please note that I am not jewish or any related religion. But thanks to one of my favorite manga (666 Satan) I am a big fan of the Kabbalah, Sefirot, Qliphoth, etc. So I arranged the heroes and villains of Zexal into the Sefirot and Qliphoth. I did this really fast so it is far from perfect but here is a summary of the roles.

1 - Crown = Astral

2 - Wisdom = Droite

3 - Intellect = V

4 - Mercy = III

5 - Justice = Gauche

6 - Beauty = IV

7 - Eternity = Anna

8 - Glory = Kaito

9 - Foundation = Tron

10 - Kingdom = Yuma

10i - Materialism = Don Thousand

9i - Chaos = Vector

8i - Avarice = Durbe

7i - Lust = Alito

6i - Ugliness = Dr. Faker

5i - Cruelty = Merag

4i - Oblivion = Mizael

3i - Disinclination = Girag

2i - Ignorance = Eliphas

1i - Pride = Nasch

Yeah it is not perfect. Mostly because none of the Arclights match their number and the 6th Sefirot is ruled by the archangel Michael and it is not III! But I did it mostly based off the value. I considered several other characters but getting it down to just 20 characters is actually hard when Zexal has so many great characters! I hope you enjoyed this! @zexalweek

[itsana004]

Zexal week 2021 - Day 1

My deepest apologies I have to give 0 context to this, here is the quickest sketches of my life and as much as I wish to do the others, I must stop before unleashing hell for the sake of humanity and the zexal fandom

Certain someone was the catalyst behind the second one

Now I must exit

@zexalweek​