#Zexal Week Original Post

[zexalmonth]

Hello, Zexal fans! Zexal Month 2024 is just around the corner and, for this year, we're doing the ABCs of Zexal! That's right, this year, our prompts are just based on the letters of the alphabet. Feel free to just use the titles (like A is for Astral) as the prompt or look at the following text for ideas. We can’t wait to see what art/writing/edits/cosplay/etc you produce for us!

If you are joining us for the first time: we have a list of prompts with suggestions attached! They're not hard rules though, so you can freely skip some or combine them. Tag your creations #zexal month 2024 and we'll make sure to reblog them all! Make sure to @zexalmonth on your posts as well!

Week 1: Introductions We’re going straight into it this year! For this week, introduce yourself and share with us something you like about our favourite warring factions!

1st: A is for Astral Make something involving our favourite, naked protagonist. Alternatively, draw something related to the Astral World. You can draw a character as a resident of the Astral World if you like. 2nd: B is for Barian Share with us which Barian Lord is your favourite or something you like about the world! Maybe even make another character you like a Barian.

Week 2: C to G!

5th: C is for Chaos Chaos is both a force of evil and the essence of life in Zexal. For this prompt, you can go either way. Share the craziest thing you enjoyed about Zexal or put your favourite character in a chaotic situation. Alternatively, draw a character in Zexal getting corrupted by Chaos. 6th: D is for Duel What’s your favourite duel in the series? What characters would you have liked to see duel? 7th: E is for Enemy Oneshot villains like the Fallguys, the Arclights, Don Thousand? A hero’s journey is only as good as its bad guys so let’s give them some appreciation! What do you like about them? 8th: F is for Friendship What’s you favourite friendship in the series? Alternatively, what friendship would you have liked to see? What two characters would have had a good friendship? 9th: G is for Gate The gate to the Astral world can also link to other worlds. This is our crossover prompt! Throw the Zexal characters to another world/fandom you’re in at the moment or bring other characters to the world of Zexal.

Week 3: H to L!

12th: H is for Hobby Whether it’s a character doing your hobbies or what you have headcanoned for them, show a Zexal Character (or characters) enjoying themselves with a hobby outside of card games! 13th: I is for Icicles Whether it’s icicles because it’s winter right now or icicles as in the stuff you eat at the beach, it’s time to give our faves a treat! Throw everyone in a beach episode or in a cabin under the snow... 14th: J is for Justice (Or Jail) Tell us what you thought was unfair in Zexal or show us a character that you think should be punished. Maybe show us bringing it into your own hand… 15th: K is for KATTOBINGU Kattobingu is the will to never give up without giving it your all. It’s taking a chance and moving forward with courage. What’s something positive you’ve gained from Zexal? Good memories? Fun experiences in the fandom? Friends? Share us something good you’ve gotten from Zexal or just draw characters with the Kattobingu spirit! 16th: L is for location There are so many pretty places in Zexal. Scenery appreciation prompt. What’s a place in Zexal you’d like to go to or would have liked to see more of in Zexal.

Week 4: M to Q!

19th: M is for Monsters Whether it’s a literal Duel Monster or characters that are monsters (Black Mist, Don Thousand, Tron, Dr Faker, etc.), a monster is a monster. Sshow us what you like about them. 20th: N is for Numbers Let’s give our favourite MacGuffin some love. What’s your favourite Number? What design you like? Feel free to include non-Anime Numbers here. 21st: O is for Originality There are a lot of OCs in the Zexal. Share them with us and tell us about them. Alternatively, show us some new outfits for one or members of the Zexal crew! 22nd: P is for Powers Photon mode, Barian transformations, Arclight crests, ZEXAL. Zexal has so many powers in the show. What’s your favourite? If you have an OC, feel free to show their powers if they have any. 23rd: Q is for Quotes Zexal has both quotes that hit like a truck and lines like “You just summoned your mom.” Show the scene that has the Zexal quote you like!

Week 5: R to V!

26th: R is for Ruins Whether we’re talking about the literal ruins the characters go through the series or the past (the ruin of the self), it’s all about our characters’ history. How were the characters when they were young? How will they be in the future? How would they be if they had a past life? 27th: S is for Siblings The Arclight siblings, the Kamishiro Twins, Yuma and Akari, Haruto and Kaito. There are so many familial relationships in Zexal. Show your favourite sibling group being a family or combine them together! 28th: T is for Tag Duel Did you like the Tag Duels in Zexal? Who do you wish you could have seen Tag Duel? Show us two characters teaming up! 29th: U is for Utopia AU day! Show us your AUs! Alternatively, show us something you wish to have seen from Zexal. 30th: V is for Victory Today is the last day of Zexal Month! We made it to the end! What did you like about Zexal Month? Also share with us what you liked from Zexal.

Bonus Prompts:

W is for Wonderwing X is for Xyz Change Y is for Yesterday Z is for Zexal Æ is for Aeon Ȝ is for gift ð is for thoughts “Anyone can overlay if they try.” “This isn’t goodbye!” “I’d rather do this with anyone else.”

Can't wait to see what August has to bring! -Mod Fla

[larmegliamori]

Zexal Month, Week 4 Day 3: O for Originality

@zexalmonth

Last year, I made a post dedicated to my first Zexal OC, Hoshiko, and gave a bit of her personality and backstory. I jokingly called a ragdoll, because I kept changing her story... and, well, that hasn't changed. She has existed ever since I was 14/15 (honestly can't recall), so her story was beginning to feel boring and her design too plain.

So I decided to take both matters into my hands and rework everything. As for the design, it's not a big overhaul (never was a fan of over-complicated stuff), but I'm really satisfied!

For today's entry, I broke down the reasoning behind the redesign choices I made. I always like when creators share their thought process, so it's only fair for me to do the same. I hope you'll enjoy my girl's new look and the reasons behind it!

If you want to know some more about her story, check under the cut!

So, how has her story changed? I've just started plotting it down (for study reasons), so here's some bullet points on what to expect:

The WIP is titled Controvento (Upwind) and ties to the catalyst of the whole story, a rebellion. Might change in the future.

What would Zexal be without some family issues? Expect a good deal of it, although they're centered around grandparents in this case.

You might have noticed Hoshiko's undergone a surname change. It's something I want to include and yes, it'll be relevant to character development.

The story should be set during the first season, so the WDC will be important. I'd like to include some Dueling, but I've never played the card game and I'd like some help.

Our protagonist will meet Yuma and, inevitably, it will change her life.

Your girlie likes a bit of romance in her books, and Hoshiko has always been paired up with Michael. Will this be kept in the new story? I'm not fully sure. I'd like to, but I feel both of them have bigger fish to fry...

And I think that's all! Hope you've enjoyed reading this! If there's people interested, I might post some more about it...

[newspropaganda]

Welcome back to Roasting 101: Today’s subject—fake Yu-Gi-Oh! fans who don’t know the first thing about being real. This clown keeps crawling back like he has something to prove, but the only thing he’s proven is that he’s stuck in a loop of stupidity. I already know who he is—just another troll running the same tired playbook. You can tell from his posts he's probably got some messed up agenda. But here’s the thing: he milks the hate like it's going to make him matter. Newsflash, I’ve been hating this fandom’s nonsense since 2015, and nothing you’ve said has ever phased me. I’m the original OG, like Andrew Tate is to masculinity, while you’re just screaming into the void with your social justice warrior nonsense.

5D’s is peak fiction, and your whiny comments don’t change that. Over time, real Yu-Gi-Oh! fans will wake up to the greatness of 5D’s, but you? You’ll still be stuck in your echo chamber, crying about things you’ll never understand. 5D’s is the bread and butter of this franchise—more relevant than anything mainstream media throws at us because it’s a flawless show. You’ve clearly never appreciated it, and if you’d been around in 2014, you would’ve been booted from this fandom faster than that joke ScarlightCipher, who tried and failed to make a name for himself. Yeah, I crossed paths with him back in 2015—and believe me, I roasted him so bad, he never recovered.

You just got roasted, son. 5D's fans are on a whole different level, and your weak pity posts can’t touch us. There’s a reason I’m the WW5D’s champion when it comes to roasting. People like you fold under pressure while I’m out here on a higher level, making you cry with every word. Step your game up, or step aside, because 5D’s isn’t just a show—it’s a legacy. And you? You're just another footnote in it.

I bet 100 bucks he’ll be back under a week, trying to troll again. That’s why I blocked him—he’s too soft to respect 5D's legacy. Sure, it's a card game adventure, but unlike that Bleach trash, he can’t tell me anything. 2025 is going to be the year of 5D's, where fake fans crumble, and real ones like me rise from the ashes to reclaim our fandom. And don’t get me started on Zexal fans—they think they’re the ambassadors of the community, but it’s the first three Yu-Gi-Oh! shows that put in the work, week after week, to build this legacy. These newer gens don’t know the meaning of respect.

But hey, if you think you can roast me back, go ahead and reblog this post. Tell me why I’m wrong without being a coward. There are plenty of reasons you can try, but instead, you’re busy whining under some virtue-signaling post like that’s going to get you anywhere. This isn’t Twitter, where people hide behind fake maturity. I’m a Facebook guy—over there, we handle things like men. Here, it’s WWE Champion vs. Jobber, and guess what? You’re the jobber. I’m the heavyweight champion of the Yu-Gi-Oh! community.

Real men, like Andrew Tate, always said, 'Beta males like him are exactly why we need toxic masculinity back.' He'd probably throw in something like, 'Your lack of backbone is why the world’s getting softer—you need to wake up, hit the gym, and stop crying on the internet. Real men handle business, not feelings.

You see, this is why I can’t stand America when it comes to Yu-Gi-Oh!. It’s not just politics and BS—it’s the fact that people here are so spoiled. Andrew Tate was right all along: people are getting softer. I roast the community because they attacked my show, and yeah, I admit I’m a little sensitive about it. I’m probably a '1% beta male' when it comes to other things, but when it’s about my shows, I stand my ground. It’s not all anger, though—I learned that it’s better to love a show than to support its fandom. I put my content out there, and people can decide for themselves if it’s good or not. It’s their choice to block, ignore, or support me. Personally, I love 5D’s, GX, OCG Stories, Pyramid of Light, and Bonds Beyond Time, but Zexal, The Dark Side of Dimensions, and the Rush Era? Total garbage. They just don’t compare.

And let me make one thing clear: I don’t support what anyone else says. They’ve talked trash about me, my show, and why they can’t respect me—but guess what? They’re the beta males, not me. Why do you think VoicesOfChaos, a Zexal fan, turned into a trans person? Because Zexal was like the American government, telling them what to do. Zexal is like a system that makes people feel stupid instead of giving them hope. That’s why I’ve always hated it. As for The Dark Side of Dimensions, it was just overhyped by clowns who thought it was good. I’ll take Bonds Beyond Time any day—it was more human, more real than Dark Side of Dimensions could ever be.

#Roasted

[ruikamo]

Todays Card of @zexalmonth is "Death"! And the prompts are all about the future! When zexal month started I thought I didn't have any OCs... BUT I went through my old zexal week posts from 2019 and found this one!: https://ruikamo.tumblr.com/post/186232279915/zexalweek-5 She's supposed to be the future daughter of Yuma and Kotori, so she fits the prompt perfectly ^^ I'm glad I was able to draw her a little bit cuter than the original drawing :) She STILL doesn't have a name though... Help me out if you have any ideas ^^ #zexal month 2023

[borreloadsavagedragon]

STATE OF THE WIPS

@pocketsonny tagged me in a wip sharing post so here we are gjdakslgj

WRITING:

A 3+1 Vrains Post Canon Project Summary: Exploring Takeru's view of love through 4 different relationships(Kiku, Aoi, Yusaku, Ryoken). There's break ups, celebrity crushes, unrequited love, and more. AN: I've been working on this one for at least 2 years now LOL, I really want to finish it sometime soon, I have committed far too much of my own emotions into it. Originally wanted this one done for a certain shipweek that just passed, but that was never happening because I had my Alaska trip right beforehand haha, it's also still growing somehow omfg, I'm really having fun exploring Takeru's voice, Takeru's such an important character to me gjdsklajg Current Word Count: ~ 19K

An AU I affectionately call "Rites For Warring Kings" Summary: Takes place 8+ years after Zexal concludes. Discussing past lifes, reincarnations, and the power of the human spirit, and how you don't need divinity to stand among gods. AN: This one is still in the outlining stage with me writing out various scenes and moments as they come to mind so as to not lose them. Home to my Zexal OC's backstory, though this one is just one of the endings, and also a bit of a love letter to my favorite deck, Photon/Galaxy, as well as the support that came for it following Zexal's end.

I also don't talk about this one because some of its content will not be a lot of people's cup of tea, sweats, so I may never really share it or promote it once it's done, it's truly just a self-indulgent project. Current Word Count: putting all outlines, scenes, and chapters together, ~30K

The Analysis Paper: Summary: Literally what it says... and it's about an onion, god help me. AN: I'm rewatching Zexal and company slowly so I can do this, right now it's outlined for what I wanna focus on but I need visuals and a refresh on some parts, I'm excited though, lowkey might make this one into a video essay Word Count: 9K

There's also a ton of miscellaneous AUs that pop into my brain for a week before disappearing until I wake up in a cold sweat in 4 months and have to work on them Like I want to do more with Duel Links As Canon oneshots, and I have so many writing week projects I wanna finish on principal-

---

As for non-writing, I have SO MANY cosplay wips too but right now the only cosplays I'm actively working on are Shingo Sawatari from Arc V and the Duel Monster S:P Little Night lol

I do want to remake Ryouga's wig because it sits so BAD on my head and I hate it a little, after remastering Kaito's, I just know my skill set can make a good one jfdkslaj And I really wanna finish Soulburner's props now that Gazelle is at 3 and I can play full power Salad at tournaments eyeball emojis

[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

[phantomknights]

2, 3, and 4 for the ask game 👀

2. Do you still play the game today? Are you any good? Do you use your original deck?

this one is funny because i actually started playing with my original deck BEFORE kinfirming. if my sister hadn't gotten me that box set i might not have ever realized at all lol. anyway

yes. yes i do

i think i'm pretty good but definitely not like. champion level good. i'm a little rusty but that's just what happens when you don't have to duel for your life every day

gonna answer 3 last because i could go on for literally so long

4. What’s something mundane that you recall that’s funny to you now?

ive got a few for this one

i know ive posted about kite before but i don't know what exactly ive shared SO here's all my silly kite facts. the blue part of his hair is dyed he made shun help him dye it. he snuck a minifridge into his dorm so he could keep a stash of dr pepper. one time he set loose a drone in the cafeteria and broke a light and got detention for a week. he had cat stickers on his laptop. i can't believe this man was a number hunter in zexal

also shun was camera shy and his parents LOVED showing off baby photos. deadly combination

3. Is there anything particular you remember that wasn’t shown in your source that you feel is important?

okay im going to talk about war for a little bit so this one's going under a cut. it got a little more ranty than i expected oops. all of you have been warned

ok so. first of all. people fucking died they never Talk About This but not everyone was carded people Died. even after all the carded people were brought back the population was like. half of what we started with. and it pisses me off so much when people are like "oh if x character was there they'd have won" FUCK YOU because they WERE there and it still sucked.

speaking of people who were there who aren't in canon. i put this on my kin carrd but i don't think most ppl know i have that so here

rio was there shark was there (he was annoying) hart was there iii was there iv was there. v was PROBABLY there but i never like met him or heard anything about him so idk. anna was there she taped a nerf gun to a litterbot.

also clover and spade were the same school idk why they talk about it like theyre different schools its all one school. its a boarding school also

[zexalweek]

Hello again, friends! My laptop isn't cooperating with me, so I won't be able to make a cut or add a photo since I'm making this post on mobile! I'll try and come back and make a more user friendly post once my laptop decides to work with me! (Cuz its nearly an hour past 5pm CST, when I said I'd post, I'm so sorry! I had to retype this all out on my phone TwT)

So without further ado, here are Zexal Week 2022's prompts!

Sunday, May 29th: Sports Day - Children's Card Games are the claim to fame for YGO, but in Zexal, we do sometimes see the characters in their gym class! From the springboard jumping over stacks, to the school's indoor pool, what other sports can you see characters doing? You can keep it simple and in-universe, or you can go as far as a full revamp of Zexal and make it a sports anime!

Monday, May 30th: Prank Wars - What characters are the most capable of shattering the peace, setting off a full on prank war? Who's participating? Who are unwitting victims, or amused, untouched bystanders? Does it stay simple? Do things get complex? Does someone take it too far?

Tuesday, May 31st: Mer/Maid - Its the last day of May! During May, 2 different common events in fandom take place: MerMay, and Maid Day (Held on May 10th in Japan)! As a send off to the month, use today to promote any Zexal content you made this month for those events, or make/share something new!

Wednesday, June 1st: Roadtrip - Its the start of the summer months, so we're celebrating with a roadtrip! Who's going? Where are they going? How long is it going to take? Are they making pitstops/small trips to see the sights along the way? Was it a spur of the moment trip? Was it meticulously planned to the most minuscule of details?

Thursday, June 2nd: Retro - YGO Zexal is set in a futuristic setting, but what if it was set in a more recent past? Zexal but 90's, 80's, 70's, hell even Roaring 20's? Whether or not you incorporate the card game or not is entirely your call!

Friday, June 3rd: Call to Attention - With nearly 150 episodes, Zexal definitely had a fair amount of time to introduce and explore different characters and concepts, as well give the fandom enough fuel for fan-theories galore! What is/are some aspects of the show you wish had been given more attention? Do you think a character should have been more fleshed out? Was there a specific direction you thought a plotline was going, only for it to go somewhere completely different? Was there one that just seemed to be dropped? Tell us your thoughts!

Saturday, June 4th: Free Day! - Just as it says: Do as you will, anything is fair game!

Extra Prompts:

A character(s) you relate to the most

Museum of Wonders

Coffee shop date

The Measure of a Life

Defying Gravity

We're Getting the Band Back Together!

"This is a retroactive nightmare."

"Here's to a night we'll never remember, with the people we'll never forget!"

"Lie after lie after lie, we all stopped counting the crimes. You know why we can't trust you, don't you?"

"Do you want to be the layer of the bricks that seal your fate, or would you rather be the architect of what we might create?"

"All I wanted was you."

"I'm minor in a major kind of way."

-☆-☆-☆-☆-☆-☆-

Now, as usual, the prompts are not mandatory! They're meant more as a framework for those who prefer a guideline or structure! If there's something you'd prefer to do that is not mentioned here, then by all means, go for it! We're celebrating Zexal, and doing so in whichever way you feel is best is totally fine!

Not only that, but by no means is participation in Zexal Week limited to producing content! Likes and reblogs, even leaving comments on others' posts all count as contributing to Zexal Week! Even if you don't consider yourself a creator, your actions and support help make things possible!

In addition, while I am aware that fanfic and fanart are the most common forms of fan content, I encourage all types of content, AMVs/fancams, poetry, screencap edits, even simple posts or videos of you just talking about Zexal! OCs and Self-Insert characters are also totally acceptable!

That being said, if you plan on contributing content, I kindly ask the content you share be your own, and that you're not reposting someone's work, or at the very least, not doing so without their permission and/or passing it off as your own. "Credit to the Creator" does not fly here. Having commissioned someone to make content for you is fine, so long as you state/acknowledge it was commissioned, share who commissioned it, and confirmed with the creator that it is ok to share like that!

Additionally, I will accept mature works, so long as there are clear content warnings and proper tags.

Finally! I kindly ask that you use the tags "#Zexal Week" and/or "#Zexal Week 2022", cuz those are the tags I check to see people's content! In the past years, some people's posts fail to show up in the main tags, so feel free to tag this blog in your posts if you're concerned I might not see them!

Thank you for your patience, and again, I'll try and clean this post up when my laptop stops being rude to me! I'll see you all soon!

-- Krys 💙

[cloudstation]

thoughts on ygo gx

Ok so for reference in this post when I'm talking about YGO GX I'm talking about the subbed version because that's the only one I've seen and I know the dub varies pretty greatly.

There's also going to be some comparing and contrasting to the original series because I’ve only seen the original and GX so that’s the only thing I have to compare it to. If I had any significant knowledge of the series that come after (like 5ds, zexal, etc.) I would pull from that as well, but I haven’t gotten around to those yet. Forgive me if I’ve got the details wrong, I haven’t watched GX in a minute.

So, GX as a series starts as a villain of the week scenario, basically every episode Judai must duel someone who we will probably never see again. Which in hindsight, is sort of a confusing choice from a writing standpoint because the anime (that GX is a direct spin off of) didn’t really follow that format, it was almost always about a certain story arc. The YGO manga started out as villain of the week as well, but the anime cut those parts out almost entirely and there's several things in GX that make it clear that it is based on the anime only.

That said, I do not mind that format at all! I loved the early YGO manga and I enjoyed most of early GX as well. The only thing I will say is that I did get bored with some episodes after a little while of watching when 1.) the stakes are usually pretty low and 2.) you know we are never going to see this antagonist ever again. I think that would’ve been a great time to build up Judai’s rivalry with Manjoume more and I think giving Judai one consistent rival to focus on could have done a little to keep the momentum of the show going.

Speaking of rivals, Judai doesn’t really have one clear rival the way Yugi does. Manjoume is supposed to be his rival, but as the show goes on he starts taking a backseat to other characters like Edo and Kaiser. At one point even Misawa. It doesn’t help that Manjoume also becomes the butt of a few jokes about not being a very good duelist and his main goal in the end is more about being a successful pro duelist rather than being better than Judai. Do not get me wrong, Kaiba’s record against Yugi was not exactly inspiring, but it was his insane dedication and off the wall strategies that makes it so you think he actually has a chance of winning. And I don’t think Manjoume should have been more like Kaiba, I just wished he wasn’t shoved in the “comic relief” box because it would have been more interesting in my opinion to have him and Judai be neck and neck. I think you still could have even done the thing where Manjoume is begrudgingly friends with Judai by the end and it would have all worked out fine.

The characters though are the best thing about GX. I think they are very lovable, at least the versions of them in my head. Just wish they had more to do in the first 2 seasons or in Johan’s case, introduced earlier. Judai himself is SUCH a great character when the show finally gives him a chance to show it. There are so many parallels to him and Jounouchi (one of my favorite characters period) that it absolutely KILLS me the earlier episodes weren’t more engaging.

Which brings me to my biggest problem with GX: the actual plot of GX doesn’t really start kicking in until season 3 which is [checks notes] 105 EPISODES IN. Maybe I’m remembering it wrong, but it really did not feel like that much had happened until season 3. I think a large part of that is that Judai didn’t experience a whole lot of character growth during the first 2 seasons. The whole Supreme King plot is a direct result of Kazuki Takahashi thinking that Judai had not grown enough “to beat someone like Yami Marik.” Its like the writers were scrambling for things for Judai to go through that would actually test who he is as a person and they threw everything at the fan all at once. And it worked tbh I was glued to season 3, there were so many interesting things happening AND they gave Judai a friend (Johan) who was a really good match for him and they clicked together really well. Which makes it all the more interesting when they take Johan away and put him in this terrible situation and make Judai deal with it.

My only real problem with season 3 is the way the situation with Yubel is handled. I’ve seen a lot of people say that its romantic that Yubel and Judai fuse at the end and I just could not disagree more. Yes they were in love in a past life I get it. But 2 things: 1.) Yubel says that the love Judai felt for them in their past life now belongs to Johan 2.) After all the torment and grief Yubel put Judai and his friends through, for them to fuse at the end being seen as anything, but self sacrifice on Judai’s part is kind of a slap in the face. I really don’t care about why Yubel did those things, it doesn’t excuse it in my opinion.

That said I will always have a fondness for GX because I love the characters, I just wished they were used more efficiently. Wish we got to seem go through even MORE situations. I want to see how they react when they are pushed to their limit and how they get through it. I think that’s when Judai especially shines. I think the POTENTIAL that GX has is the most frustrating part and I wish they had acted on it more. For now though I will simply be imagining my own version of GX and probably making some art.

[higuchimon]

[fanfic] Flesh Wound

Alit hadn't winced when Leo's blade bit into his arm, bright blood flowing free. But when Emperor Leo wiped the wound down with a wine-soaked cloth, he found himself hard pressed to stop a small yelp. Leo chuckled in amusement.

"My finest gladiator afraid of a little injury?" He teased softly, before picking up a second bowl, this one with vinegar, and carefully used that to ensure the injury remained clean. Alit kept his lips tightly pressed together, refusing to allow a single breath to pass until the sting eased off.

"I'm not afraid," he declared when it ended. "You just took me by surprise, that's all." He rolled his shoulder carefully; the wound wasn't serious, but he suspected Leo would want to wait until it healed before they sparred again.

The young Emperor merely regarded him with a hint of amusement in his eyes, before he leaned forward, whispering prayers to the gods of healing that the injury, small as it was, heal clean and quickly. Alit wasn't so sure if they would have any effect, but he wasn't sure if they wouldn't either. He'd always offered his prayers to the gods of combat, tactics, and victory. So far, they'd honored and blessed him, so he did the same to them. That was all he'd ever found necessary.

Truth to tell, he'd offered a few extra prayers at the temple of love, after the first time he and Leo came together. He'd not actually believed for quite some time that the Emperor himself had an interest in him. It seemed like some sort of wild fantasy, that someone so powerful and wealthy and so much better than he was would want him.

Alit had no illusions about what he was. He'd been born into poverty and becoming a gladiator was his only path to bettering himself. So he'd learned how to fight, and found a knack for it when it came to doing so bare-handed. For years he'd sparred against anyone who would come up against him, being sold from one person to another, finding those of wealth who would sponsor him in the arena.

It wasn't often that the Emperor himself deigned to enter the arena and when he did, whoever he fought against almost always lost. Those who found themselves victorious often ended up worse off than before. City gossip held that some of his councilors ensured that those rare victors were sold elsewhere, if not actually set up against someone in a death match. Death during the games didn't happen often but it wasn't impossible. Other methods could be used as well - wounds not treated properly or someone ambushed in the night - death struck in many ways.

But when Leo and Alit fought that first time, Alit refused to let him win without working for it, and he emerged the victor. He did wonder what might have happened if Leo hadn't held a hand out to him and said quite simply, "I'd like to fight against you again."

Alit stared at the extended hand for a few seconds, then clasped it in his own, the two of them smiling at one another, emotions flickering that flowered later. "My pleasure, Your Majesty."

So it had begun. They sparred against one another day after day, and all the best sponsors in the city politely lined up to offer Alit everything he could ever want. A few of the wealthier - but not noble - ones even made marriage offers. He'd turned them all down as politely as he could. He'd never found himself that interested in marriage. Though he did admit, in the silence of his mind, if it were possible, then he might have - no. Alit knew better than to have some dreams.

One day Leo would marry someone else. Alit suspected that their relationship would still continue, just on an even lower level than it was now. The entire court knew what he and Leo got up to. Leo was the Emperor - he could and did have anyone in his bed that he wanted. He might not be as open about it once he actually married someone, but it would continue. At least, if Alit wanted it to. Alit didn't know, in all truth.

For now, however, he didn't worry about it. Leo wasn't even betrothed to anyone else. All he had to worry about was the next time they sparred against one another.

"So when do you want to do this again?" Alit wanted to know as Leo wrapped his arm with a clean cloth. The wound barely even hurt anymore. It had been a clean hit and he'd won the fight anyway. As far as he was concerned, he could have gone up again without any problems at all.

Leo regarded him sternly however. "Not until the priests can assure me that this is healed all the way. I want you at your best." He grinned a bright grin, like the sun given mortal flesh. "It wouldn't be as interesting to fight you if you weren't doing the best you can."

Alit wasn't going to argue that, even if it mildly annoyed him. Leo guided him to a pleasant little nook where he could get some rest - rest he wasn't going to admit that he actually needed. But the sun streamed in and there was wine in a fine cup and a splendid meal waiting for the both of them. He settled down there, Leo next to him, weapon-hardened hand resting against his own skin. Alit could not have found a more perfect moment if he'd gone to search for one.

But he saw no reason to look when everything he wanted was right here with him.

The End

Notes: You know, post-canon, Leo and Alit would both be Emperors of a sort. Or both just ordinary people, either way. That could be fun to explore.

[saint-bestial]

it’s time...

for my list of thomas hcs. keep in mind i haven’t watched zexal in a very long time so most of this probably isn’t canon compliant. but that’s ok because i can just make stuff up. also these are all post canon and span to his early/mid 20s. might get long so i’ll be putting it under the cut. (warning for mentions of drug and alcohol usage)

ok as i’m writing this i’m realizing how depressing this list is and i’m not even including a lot of the darker stuff and such. i just wanna say he gets better lmao

(oh yeah @pridewhatpride here you go, know you said you were interested in these. thanks for encouraging me being insane)

Physical

He soft, mostly as a consequence of getting older

Lost vision in his right eye almost entirely. his vision was originally destroyed when he got his scar, but the damage was able to be reversed at least temporarily. however he was unable to afford further treatment when his sight started to degrade again.

Despite this, he’s adapted to it and is able to live mostly as he did with two eyes.

The affected eye appears milky

I’m not a doctor so sorry if this isn’t how this works lol

Developed patchy facial hair which he generally puts off shaving until it gets really bad

Susceptible to back pain

Picked up a smoking habit, smells like cigarettes

Sleep-deprived

Social

Lost his fame after receiving public backlash for several controversies, leading to a ban on his participation in tournaments

Was kicked out of the house after Christopher discovered he was stealing money to fuel his drug habit

Michael maintains contact with him, though does not know where he lives

However, Thomas will go through phases of not returning texts or calls for weeks at a time

Christopher is unaware that they correspond

Has not spoken to Christopher or his father for several years

Maintained contact with friends for a short period of time after being kicked out

Mostly keeps to himself, being irrelevant he’s usually not recognized

When drunk, he sometimes becomes much more like his old self in terms of charisma and confidence. Though this is usually to his detriment and his behavior is often seen as off-putting and obnoxious

Struggles to hold a job

Mental and Behavioral

Though he avoids harder drugs now, he filled the void with cigarettes and alcohol

Uses these to cope with stressors, untreated mental illness and trauma, and guilt

Suffers from bouts of depression that render him nearly nonfunctional

Consequently, his apartment is messy and cluttered due to him lacking the energy to clean it

Contributes to him not responding to Michael for extended periods of time

Often smokes on the roof of his apartment building

Though he was forced to sell many of his old belongings to make ends meet, he held on to some of his old cards as well as his uniform

These conjure negative feelings in him, yet he still can’t bring himself to get rid of them

Keeps a picture of himself and his family in the drawer of his nightstand

Enjoys walking with no particular destination in mind

Will still duel at times, though the practice is less enjoyable for him than it once was

Struggles to engage in hobbies

Manages to care for himself most of the time, at least enough to keep himself alive

Avoids talking about his past with others, prefers not to allow any relationship to become more than casual. Adverse to emotional attachment

Defense mechanism. But is genuinely lonely and craves intimacy

Uncategorized

Lives within the area surrounding Heartland City

Michael, on multiple occasions, has attempted to get him to reveal his address in order to check in on him

To add to this, no one he knows has actually seen him since he was kicked out

Michael sends him money when he can’t meet rent

This is done without Christopher’s knowledge

Will give leftover food to stray dogs

Can drive, but has no car

Still retains some of his sadistic urges, but feels intensely guilty about them

that’s about it for now. i might add more in the future. these are just the ones i could come up with off the top of my head cause i have too many

[zexalmonth]

Since 2021 is the ten year anniversary of Zexal, we on the mod team decided to add a little ‘magic’ to this year’s event. So, you may have noticed that this year’s prompt list is late. Our apologies, everyone! It’s taken a lot of work and is totally not because one mod’s sick and I got really drunk in July.

Regardless! Our fifth Zexal Month begins on the 1st of August and ends on the 31st! Under the cut is a new set of prompts and alternative prompts, so peruse them at your leisure. Keep an eye on this blog and the #zexal month 2021 tag for the event! We certainly had fun prepping the intro posts!

Week 1: Welcome to Heartland City

Day 1: 2nd of August

Who are you? Introduce yourself! When did you get into Zexal? What Fandom are you in at the moment? 

Day 2: 3rd of August

Who would you be in Zexal? Champion? Alien? Tomato? Alternatively, what part of Heartland City’s society do you find interesting?

Day 3: 4th of August

What’s your favourite moment or favourite episode in the series? 

Day 4: 5th of August

Who’s your favourite character? Which Zexal Characters would you like to meet?  

Day 5: 6th of August

Zexal has so many cool locations and backdrops. Where would you want to go in Zexal?

Week 2: Summer Holidays

Day 1: 9th of August

What’s your favourite team? Numbers Club? Numbers Hunters? Arclights? Barians? Fearsome Four? Someone else?

Day 2: 10th of August

Break Time! Imagine the characters chilling out and put the hold on the fighting. What will they do?

Day 3: 11th of August

Let’s have a look through the looking glass: Take a character and make them the opposite of who they are!

Day 4: 12th of August

Place your bets! Pit 2 (or more) characters against each other! In a duel? A fist fight? A game of checkers? Up to you!

Day 5: 13th of August

Super power appreciation day! The people in Zexal can fly, conjure weapons out of nowhere and purge poison from their bodies through sheer force of will. Alternatively, include a power you wished Zexal included!

Week 3: Stranded in a Brave New World

Day 1: 16th of August

Where did they come from? Show us your headcanons about characters’ origins and/or expand on established backstories!

Day 2: 17th of August

Let’s get lost! Choose a character(s) and throw them into the Barian/Astral world/the past/the Duel lodge/etc. What would they do there? Would they survive?

Day 3: 18th of August

Let’s go YA for a moment. Make Zexal a YA novel. Action? Romance? A try-hard dark story? A shameless parody? Honestly, just do what you want. YA novelists do.

Day 4: 19th of August

Everything is the same but... (It’s an AU day! Show us your Zexal AUs)

Day 5: 20th of August

Astral phone home. It’s a free crossover day! Crossover Zexal with whatever series you’d like.

Week 4: Back on the ship!

Day 1: 23rd of August

Ships, ships, ships and vehicle appreciation day! (Show us the pairings you like!)

Day 2: 24th of August

Written in the stars: Zexal is full of lore and incorporates many myths/mythical creatures. What’s your favourite?

Day 3: 25th of August

Alien appreciation! Give the Barians and Astral beings some artefacts, architecture or bling! 

Day 4: 26th of August

The true treasure were the friends we made along the way! Tell us about your OCs. 

Day 5: 27th of August

There is an imposter among us: Plot points that you liked/ weren’t prepared for!

Week 5: Home Sweet Home

Day 1 and 2: 30th and 31st of August

What’s in store for Zexal’s future? What are some memories you’ll always cherish?

———————————————��

As usual, feel free to do whichever prompts you like. These prompts are a guideline, rather than a hard rule, and you can make art, write fanfiction, make amvs/animatics or just talk about it! Just do what you can manage! No need to do all of them if you don’t want to.

Below here are the more ‘modern’ prompts. That is to say, a list of alternative prompts you can do any day. Pick and choose, go in order, RNG, combine… The sky’s the limit!

———————————————–

Alternative Prompts:

Serendipity: A happy and unexpected discovery

Jentacular: A word used to describe something related to breakfast.

Desuetude: No longer being used

Chaos and Numbers

Music / Musicals

Rain / Sunshine

The Sickness

Mythological beasts

First Time

Death / Resurrection

See you soon! Please share this around and spread the Zexal love!

<3 Mod Pyra

[lvi-o-sa]

A Quick Roundup for Zexal 2020 | Week 1: Day 1 till now [part 3]

I was pretty lazy, sticking around so I’m sorry for that 😑 mostly too lazy to post on tumblr 🤦🏻‍♀️ anyways hear me out cuz I finally mustered my strength to do this 😂 (not to mention this is my 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 on participating 𝘻𝘦𝘹𝘢𝘭 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘩)

p.s. this post might be lengthy (this is 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗿𝗱 & 𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁 so please 𝗯𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗺𝗲 🙏🏻😅) so here’s a potato for you 🥔 uWu 💕

Note: let me jump on Day 3 😂 & below were the seond part 👇🏻 (if u wanna check it out: it’s worth checking tho)

Day 3: Favourite Character(s)?

𝗧𝗵𝗼𝗺𝗮𝘀 𝗔𝗿𝗰𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 🥀 (a continuation)

Yes, he 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘨𝘰 𝘵𝘰𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘣𝘰𝘯𝘬𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝗯𝘂𝘁 this boy had his 𝗳𝗮𝗶𝗿 𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗲 of 𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗵𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘂𝗺𝗮𝘀 & 𝗱𝗮𝗱𝗱𝘆 𝗶𝘀𝘀𝘂𝗲𝘀 both from his past to present. All he dreamt was to 𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳, to see him as one of 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘭𝘰𝘺𝘢𝘭 𝘴𝘰𝘯 but no, he got to go thru hell just to achieve that; you literally can’t blame him 𝗼𝗻 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝗵𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝗵𝗶𝘀 "𝗰𝗿𝘂𝗲𝗹" 𝗙𝗔𝗡𝗦𝗘𝗥𝗩𝗜𝗖𝗘

now back on his craziness 💁🏻‍♀️ ya can’t blame me cuz as Melanie says, “all the 𝗯𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗰𝗿𝗮𝘇𝘆" now I know, Thomas 𝘪𝘴𝘯'𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘤𝘳𝘢𝘻𝘺 but know I’m referring on how he could get when he’s dueling 😌

and with all of that 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲𝘅𝗶𝘁𝘆 & 𝗳𝗹𝗮𝘄𝘀 in him made me 𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝗵𝗶𝗺 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 😩🥺🖤 *𝗵𝗲'𝘀 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝘀𝗼 𝘀𝗲𝘅𝘆*

Day 4: Power of Love/Friendship

𝗦𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗸 𝖷 𝗬𝘂𝗺𝗮 💜❤️

Yessssss if there’s one ship that I would 𝗰𝗲𝗿𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗹𝘆 𝗴𝗼 𝗱𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝗶𝗻 𝗭𝗲𝘅𝗮𝗹, 𝗶𝘁 𝗴𝗼𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝘄𝗼 and whether the topic’s 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱 𝘰𝘳 𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦, I believe these two 𝗴𝗼𝘁 𝗺𝗲/𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗱 cuz I don’t want to write a novel ‘bout me being a shipper of these two so above 👆🏻were 𝗺𝘆 𝗮𝗲 𝗲𝗱𝗶𝘁 ✨ (with ac & cc mine) & I do hope that edit would 𝘀𝘂𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗲 👉🏻👈🏻

Day 5: Favourite Zexal lore/theory

Okay so I might sound a bit off but I loved to theorized that the 𝗕𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗮𝗻𝘀 𝗱𝗶𝗱 𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗻 𝗘𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗵 𝗼𝗻𝗹𝘆 𝗼𝗻 𝗮 𝗱𝗶𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲 as it has been shown they’ve been humans before & their crimson planet doesn’t seemed to be tha place where all of their origin story came, similar that I theorized the 𝗔𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱 were some kind of "𝘱𝘶𝘳𝘨𝘢𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺". This were just purely ideas that I’ve theorized involving these three planets 𝗯𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝗮𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝘂𝗽 𝗶𝗻 𝗮 𝗺𝘂𝗹𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗲 𝘄𝗮𝘆.

And with that sums my 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘬 𝘰𝘧 𝘐𝘕𝘛𝘙𝘖𝘉𝘐𝘕𝘎𝘜 ! I do sincerely hope, I got energy for the next weeks for me to continue posting my ideas to you guys & I hope ya find this ✨ (& pray I can post it each day next week & not end up like these series I’ve made now 🤦🏻‍♀️)

@zexalmonth a 𝗵𝘂𝗴𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗸𝘀 𝗶𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂'𝗹𝗹 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗲 3 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗺𝘆 𝘇𝗲𝘅𝗮𝗹 𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗸 1 𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝘂𝗽 😭🙏🏻💓

[itsana004]

Zexal Month 2020: Day 1 - Who are you? What's your Zexal story

Hi, my username is anannir and this will be my second zexal month! Wow time flies so fast...

Anyway, on the last zexal month I introduced myself and majestically narrated with my beatiful and definately accurate English of how I met zexal and its fandom in a very long essay. And the thought of going through that again pains me, so I will keep this very short.

I've known Zexal for 6 years now, I was 10 then... I think the first episode I saw was Episode 6, specifically Yuma duelling against Flip, and Astral turning into a frekin blue egg from Monster Legends lol. I watched the Italian dub first, and then when I got into the world of anime, and found websites with subs, that's when I saw the original one. And within these years I really got attached to Droite and the Tenjo family.

I might not be able to contribute much to Zexal month since I will be really busy this month, but I will try my best to keep up, I've also reserved some special posts for the upcoming weeks, which are not finished, so I better get to work now!

See you guys soon!

[3w-writer-with-wings]

1, 5, 6, 10, 17, 19, 22, 23, and 34 for the yugioh meme?

1)  Favourite Yu-Gi-Oh! series

This is like asking me which out of my six children should survive while the other five die XD. I love all the series since they all have both pros and cons, and they all have interesting characters and stories, but I guess ARC V will always have a special place in my heart since it got me back in Yugioh fandom (I stopped after 5Ds for a while several years ago). VRAINS is currently my favourite series plotwise since it continues to surprise me and keeps me hyped every single week.

5)  Favourite opening/ending

For the opening, it’s a tie between second and fifth ARC V opening. “Burn” has an incredibly upbeat melody that makes me smile every time I listen to it. “Light of Hope” on the other hand tells a story of how there is despair but smiles will be there to make it go away. I’m rather torn between choosing either of them since they are both really nice endings. As for ending - “Close to You”, 4th ending from 5Ds. I first started watching 5Ds in English dub but once I caught up with it, I was too curious what is going to happen next so I started watching Japanese dub from that point on and that was probably the smartest decision ever. I got to see “Close to You” not only as the first Yugioh Japanese ending but the very first anime ending ever. I loved every single moment of it, of all the characters just chilling around the city, then meeting up, watching the sunrise and then riding D-Wheels with their dragons! It is an ending that is beyond perfect and really emphasises the bonds and friendship between all Signers. 

6)  Favourite character

If you had asked me this question before Takeru showed up, I would’ve probably blurted out the names of several characters and say how I love them all, but Takeru is a special case. You see, he is a character that I loved before he even officially appeared XD. I’m following the news, cast lists and summaries, so when Takeru showed up for the first time in an anime magazine (like a month before his official anime appearance), I fell in love with everything about him. Both his human self and avatar had all the right colours and designs that fit his personality well, his backstory was intriguing, I was already looking forward to seeing another Lost Child and out of all possible voices, he got to be voiced by one and only Kaji Yuuki (who is among my Top 3 anime voice actors!). Then he showed up in the new opening and ending and him being friendly and cosy with Yusaku was just plain adorable! I had no idea what his role was going to be but from that point it was clear - Yusaku is getting a new friend! And was his entrance perfect - lightning, fire tornado and then him! 10/10 Burner of Souls! Not only was he righteously hyped up, but he also continues to be amazing and I have a feeling his character will get even more development!    

10)  Favourite Duel Monster

It’s hard to pick a single monster, but I love every single card in Johan’s deck aka. Crystal/Gem Beast archetype. The designs are simple but so well executed and out of all of them, it’s hard to pick just one. I love their story, the legend and just the fact how much they all care about Johan, trying to reach out to him when Yubel possessed him. A big plus is also the fact how much personality they all have and they are always there to help up Johan.

17)  Have you ever cried over YGO and why?

You should’ve rather ask me when I didn’t lol. But yeah in every spinoff there was a moment that I actually cried. In original series there were two moments, when Yugi duelled Atem in the fourth season, letting him defeat him and then fading away in his arms and the Ceremonial duel when Yugi stumbled on his knees and cried, I cried with him cuz I also didn’t want Atem to go. Then in GX, it was basically whenever Judai would show vulnerability, cuz really, I hated his guts and his goofy overpowered persona. But then when he lost Johan, when he was afraid of Yubel, when he succumbed to the power of Supreme King and the entire season 4 when he was battling with depression - to see someone so cheerful becoming a mere shell of himself was so darn sad. 5Ds started darker but nothing could prepare me for two scenes, Yusei nearly dying, being afraid to duel and then watching his friend die in his arms and then losing another friend for real (Bruno! :’( ). Zexal made me cry a weird mixture of happy and sad tears whenever Yuma and Astral did something. When Astral sacrificed himself for Yuma I don’t know when I cried more - when Yuma watched Astral die or Yuma suffering from major depression for the next few episodes. But that scene when he got reunited with Astral was that more powerful because of it and their relationship is truly the purest of them all. ARC V, spinoff all about smiles was probably one of the saddest series, not just because of many sad moments throughout the whole thing aka. Yuto dying in Yuya’s arms for real, Yugo losing Rin, Yuya losing Yuzu, the fate of other Bracelet Girls and Yu-Boys and the overall ending, but also how inconclusive the ending felt. I kinda get the point was to show the realism of war, how not everyone can get a happy ending but it could still be executed better. Then there’s VRAINS…. *sighs* where do I even start with this….

VRAINS truly took the plotline seriously and doesn’t seem like it’s going to back down. It is like the writing staff put together a medley of the saddest moments in Yu-Gi-Oh! and were like, “Let’s make it sadder!”. From the fact that mere six-year-old children were tortured so badly, that Ryoken was so messed up by his father, that all Lost Children are still suffering in one way or another, that SOL practically killed a living being and all the drama that it’s going on between Yusaku and Kusanagi right now. Last week’s episode had me nearly tear up and for tomorrow I will most definitely cry. It’s just so painful to see someone so desperate to save their own family, to attack someone they were all set to protect just a few episodes ago… And VRAINS isn’t even over yet. I thought nothing could top Earth’s death scene, but from the looks of it, tomorrow will be getting a dose of the most painful feels.

19)  Least favourite series

It’s a tie between GX and the first series if I had to choose one. GX has a rather monotone first half when there is some stuff going on, but it’s really episodic and easily forgotten. While there were some interesting episodes, the rest was just one giant filler that tried to deliver too much nostalgia from the first series instead of developing on its own. And speaking of the first series - I know the card game wasn’t as developed at the time so tons of duels made absolutely no sense. Then it was only Yugi, Kaiba and Joey having the development and extremely long duels that were starting to feel off and annoying to watch. But overall - I know that was the very first series and the spinoff, so it was obvious it wouldn’t be perfect. What I truly love about Yu-Gi-Oh! is that it’s a franchise that continues to grow with every single spin-off, even if they’re becoming less relevant they are still getting stronger storywise.

22)  Least favourite character

This little brat is a perfect representation of how to create the most annoying character. Everything about him screams “annoying, useless and awful”. It would be completely fine if he was an episodic villain, but noooo for some reason writing staff was like, “hey let’s make this dude into Yuma’s friend”. I get it, Yuma can make friends easily, but for the love of God, why him?! Yuma has enough friends already, why bring this brat into his group? Tokunosuke has literally no purpose to be here but to cause trouble or be a plot device to bring Yuma trouble. Okay, I was fine with that one time that he got Yuma into trouble and Yuma still forgave him, but why the hell did they have a need to repeat that three more times? I feel the same way about Kotori - she has no basic purpose but to be moral support or act as a damsel in distress.ZEXAL had way too many characters and out of them all, they picked the most useless ones for major roles. 

23)  NOTP

Canon datastormshipping. I think I made it clear why I dislike it in two posts already, but I guess I could sum it up for the third time. In canon verse they are two unstable people who bring out the worst of each other. They rarely interact, their ideologies are vastly different and they are in a way obsessed with each other in a very unhealthy way. If the two of them dated it would most likely result in a very toxic relationship which would only worsen up their already broken mental states. Again, I greatly dislike this ship in canon verse (in anime up to episode 92) and my opinion could change by the end of VRAINS. I still like the fanfics and fanarts that depict “what if” scenarios where their relationship could work (I’m actually writing one at the moment and I have plans to write one where I focus on their relationship in detail), but canon shipping just feels off and dysfunctional.

34)  If you met Kazuki Takahashi, what would you say to him?

First of all, I would thank him for coming up with those amazing characters and plotlines. I still love the original manga and season 0 the most since it had so much creativity with different games, but I can see it keep getting included more with new summoning methods and unique stories. Then I would most likely present him my idea for the 7th series and its protagonist. From the start of the series, there wasn’t much about card game production or who designs them. We got some info on how Pegasus discovered Millenium Items and the tablet with Egyptian Gods and in GX it showed Hayato working as a card game designer. I would love to see a protagonist who loves games just like Yugi and wishes to create more, so he strives to become the best card game designer. He is not that keen on playing the game since he prefers to make the cards more, but when he creates a particular card(kinda like how Takato created Guilmon in Digimon Tamers) he is pulled into an adventure where he must find other cards that contain powerful Duel Monsters spirits and he has to lock them back into their cards. I would also love to have a protagonist that can talk with spirits again since while Judai had adorable interactions with Winged Kuriboh and Neo Spacians, it was still largely brushed aside and not that much explored. So yeah please make the next protagonist into a card game designer, it will be unique and open to so many interesting plotlines and potentials. 

[peppermint-shamrock]

I was thinking about that post that said something about how in the ygo fandom we have conversations where we all use different names for the same character but it’s still understandable (because of sub/dub/transliteration differences, plus when a character has multiple names in canon in some cases). And I thought about how there’s a definite difference in the prevalence of dub name usage in the fandoms for the newer ygo shows versus the older ones. Maybe it’s just my perception, and admittedly I’m only really involved in the DM and Arc V fandoms, but it seems to me that dub names are less prevalent the newer the fandom is.

With DM, I think it’s more or less equally split between dub and transliterated names, though if you include people who aren’t active in the fandom but are familiar with the show, there may even be more dub name usage. And it depends on the character, too - people who use dub names for most characters might still use “Anzu” simply because that’s easier to type since you don’t have to use an accented letter, and they don’t want to call her “Tea” since that looks like the drink. And conversely, “Yami” (a dub-only “name”, and only in the first two seasons at that) is absolutely ubiquitous even among people who otherwise exclusively use the original names.

GX has significant dub name usage as well, probably on par or nearly on par with DM. While I’m not that involved in the GX fandom, I do see quite a bit of it and I think I’m almost as likely to see “Jaden” as I am “Judai”, and same goes for most of the rest of the cast.

5DS, while again I’m not that involved with the fandom (and I haven’t watched it yet), from what I see of it, the dub names are still prevalent but less than that of GX. Of course, unlike previous series, 5DS has a lot more characters that keep their original name in the dub, which probably has a significant impact on this perception. Probably the only characters I really see having their dub name used commonly in fandom are the twins.

Zexal, again, haven’t seen the show, not involved in the fandom - but what I do see of it mostly uses the original names. I’ve maybe seen a few people use “Kite” instead of “Kaito”, but not much more than that.

Arc V I have maybe seen one or two people who have gone out of their way to use the dub names and that’s it. I am involved in this fandom, have been for a while, and 99% of the people I’ve seen exclusively use the transliterated names. The name divide here is mostly over how to tranliterate the names - most reject the official “Ute”, “Joeri”, and “Hyugo”, but I still see more usage of those than of dub names like “Declan” and “Lulu”.

Vrains, I admittedly see only a little of it on my dash these days, and the dub is still very new, but I honestly don’t even know any of the dub names and would have no idea who you are talking about if you used them without mentioning their original name. As far as I can tell, fandom usage of dub names for Vrains is nonexistent (though it is probably too early to tell).

I think the main reason behind this trend is the greater accessibility of quality subs, even official subs. The first exposure the Western fanbase had to the early shows was through the dub - no one would have heard of the show otherwise. The only access to subs was through bootlegs - which gave us the infamous Hong Kong subs that are great for shitposting, not so great for watching.

But then access started to open up. Better quality subs became available, and a lot of people grew disillusioned with the dubs. Not only that, but YGO had gotten an established fanbase that would actively seek out new content - the shows didn’t have to establish themselves like a non-franchise show would have to do. So why wait for the dubs to come out when those wouldn’t air for a significant amount of time after the show started, especially when subbed episodes could be found within a week to a few days of airing in Japan? Hell, with Vrains it’s a day, and it’s legal, official subs, even. The situation has flipped - the sub is more accessible than the dub now, and as such, the prevalence of dub names and dub canon in general in the fandom has completely dwindled compared with the fandoms of the earlier shows.