#and I don't think Aki's judgement of his character would end up being favourable

[inkblackorchid]

I read your blog about Aki, and I must say that it is very well written, very insightful. I really love the way you described her whole arc, and what she really feels under all that hurt and pain that she goes through, and that all she wants is acceptance, someone who truly cares for her, like how Yusei and the others do. Not for her powers, but for who she is as a person.

I’ve always been curious on what she would do or how she would react if Divine had came back again after he escaped prison and tried to restore the Arcadia Movement (the arc we never got to see). I mean, we saw how she reacted when she saw divine again during her duel with Misty, though I’ve been curious on how she would react after the whole battle with the Dark Signers. Would she be pleased to see him again, or would she be disgusted upon learning that he tried to kill Yusei and Mikage, and for the fact that he pinned Toby’s death on her, and that he actually killed him in his experiments? Would she still see him as a friend after all this?

First of all, thank you for the kind words! I'm very glad you like the super-long post, I've been sitting on the thoughts discussed in it for a while already and I'm happy to see people agree with it.

As for what Aki would do if she were confronted with Divine again after the defeat of the dark signers—personally, I think that would depend on when she would be confronted with him again. We know that despite being horrified by the reveal of what the Arcadia Movement was doing in secret, she still feels some leftover gratitude for Divine after its collapse, even if he was just using her. And though I personally think she owes him absolutely nothing, I understand why she would feel that way and think it's fair. However, that is, of course, before he makes his later, final entrance, tries to kill Yusei and Mikage, admits to killing Toby, and also mind-controls Aki during her duel with Misty. I feel like all these things in tandem with the revelations she already got, over time, might sour her opinion of him. Sure, he helped her, and I could never see her denying that and pretending it didn't happen, but in the end, he was willing to get a lot of blood on his hands, was willing to kill children (who we know Aki wants to keep safe), and even went as far as overriding her autonomy through mind control to sic her on Misty. I think even if you have a very kind heart, that's not something you could easily look past. So I think that shortly after the defeat of the dark signers, Aki might still think she owes him some gratitude... but the farther she gets away from that point, the less she'd feel like she owes him, I think. She'd need time to process it, of course; after all, the Arcadia Movement was a major part of her life and that's not something you just bury willy-nilly (though the show seemed to pretend she could). But in the end, his actions were inexcusable, and he really was just using her, so I think her opinion of him would end up tarnished and, probably, embittered.

That said, funnily enough, "Aki is confronted with Divine again after the defeat of the dark signers" is basically the premise of my first 5Ds fic, To Bloom or To Wilt, which started off my entire Aki fic series. So if you're interested in my take on that confrontation, you can read it here!