#little dragon Zarc

[cyberdragoninfinity]

keeping my brain busy in the wake of All the Bullshit by assigning the Arc-V Pokemon teams and making little pictographs for them <3 you can really see the slow progression of me fighting for my life trying to find good little character icons as time went on

anyway under the tag are all my rambling rationalizations for all my choices too if anyone wants to read my however-many-hundreds-of-words howling <33

YUYA (mostly c/ping this from an older ask since his team didn't really change):

Zygarde 20%: i think it’s fun giving him one of the ‘incomplete’ Zygarde forms since he himself is an incomplete piece of Zarc. That's Silver Claw.

Tyrantrum: He needs a terrestrial Dragon type, huge, since Odd-Eyes is the only dimensional dragon who doesn’t fly… Odd-Eyes is also very dinosaur like! :^) Plus the king motif and it’s even red too!!

Delphox: challenging myself to give at least all of the yuboys a fully evolved starter, and I really like delphox for Yuya…invokes stargazer and timegazer magician and all the other Spellcasters in his deck, the showmanship of fire, powerful supernatural abilities. also yuya with a fennekin is SOOO cute. in universe I like to think Dennis traded him the fennekin in exchange for Yuya's original starter (Sobble)

Hippopotas: Hip Hippo, of course!

Gengar: he needs something smiley, and Gengars got that prankster mischief energy that I think could play nice on a Yuya team. Plus it being a spooky purple ghost for the purple Zarc Energy. Mega Gengar is even stated to be able to travel to other dimensions <3

Roaring Moon: for Awakened!Yuya and Odd-Eyes Raging Dragon, monstrous violent dragon that bares a striking similarity to another Pokemon from another region, another world…hmmmmm who does that sound like…..

ZUZU:

Cherrim: Specifically its Sunshine form, noted for its high energy and cheer! It has her color palette AND EVEN LITTLE 'HAIR' DOODADS LIKE HER TOO?!? she would adore this thing

Floette: Truly a very Bloom Diva/Melodious feeling Pokemon, I think it suits Zuzu perfectly... hers probably has the red flower i think :-) Maybe at some point it evolves into Florges, invoking some of the more 'grown' Melodious ladies.

Scream Tail: Pink, tough, and a little scary lol. I think it's fun if she AND Yuya both have Past Paradox Pokemon...matchies. Jigglypuff invocation for Melodious/Zuzu's musical motif too!

Leafeon: Giving all the bgirls an Eeveelution!! Zuzu deserves Leafeon naturally :3

Lilligant: Plant/Flower Lady, elegant, pairs perfectly with Sora's Whimsicott. A no brainer for me.

Meloetta: fuck it giving all the bgirls a Legendary too!! Gotta go with Meloetta for Zuzu, especially the Aria Form. Like. That thing's a Melodious monster. also something something the way it can alter people's emotions vs. Ray Akaba's power over Zarc or what have you. I'm seeing visions

SORA:

Hydrapple: For Frightfur Chimera's three heads, also literally a sticky candy apple monster. Syrup Bomb. It's so perfect for him.

Bewear: Frightfur Bear of course!! ANOTHER PERFECT ONE FOR HIM. Cute giant plush bear that is actually Fucking Scary and Can Hurt You So Fucking Bad.

Mimikyu: ANOTHER NATURAL PICK spooky haunted stuffed animal lookin beast!! Looks cute but can be vicious. Mimics something friendly to hide its truth self underneath. Very Frightfur compliant.

Slurpuff: This kid does not walk around with 4385289345 different sweets on hand for me to NOT give him the sticky sweets fluffy dog Pokemon. What if a Fluffal was made of candy. Soramon unlimited.

Whimsicott: Frightfur Sheep! Also mischievous and surprisingly powerful, and it compliments Zuzu's Lilligant! BECAUSE THEY ARE BESTIES!!!

Kartana: I'm giving all the Fusion dimension kids an Ultra Beast because I can <3 extradimensional fuckery representation <33 Kartana is imo the one that works best for Sora, being small and sharp edges like an Edge Imp. Little fucker that will cut you.

GONG:

Iron Hands: AINT MOVIN. BIG METAL ROBOTIC MACHINE BEAST. THE JAPANESE INVOCATIONS OF HARIYAMI. THATS A SUPERHEAVY SAMURAI.

Kingambit: Another Samurai that notably stays put for the most part. Esteemed and respected and strong as hell and when its friends fall it only grows stronger to not let their sacrifices be in vain.

Aggron: has a cry like a train, thus reminding me of Gong's insane train SHS. Also just extremely Gong-relevant animal to me...big protective wall of might and metal.

Kleavor: Another Pokemon with classical feudal-Japan/samurai-relevant vibes. Has bigass eyebrows. In PLA its Hidden Ability was Steadfast, also.

Mudsdale: Like. Gong just needs a Ground type. To me. Hardworking and powerful but extremely slow. VERY good at using Heavy Slam. "It remains calm and unmoving no matter the situation." like...bro.

Ogerpon: FUCK IT GONG GETS A LEGENDARY TOO. For Superheavy Samurai Ogre Shutendoji and also Ogrepon cares so much about her friend(s) and so does Gong!! I KNOW it'd be rocking the Cornerstone Mask mostly, too. Solid as a rock....

SYLVIO:

(Shiny) Sneasler: For his Yosenjus, also the entire Sneasel family is just so Sylvio to me....shiny H-Sneasel/Sneasler especially. It has his stupid yellow bangs!! SLASH POS

Floatzel: Also another smug weasel Pokemon with lots of oranges/yellows in its palette. I actually can't fully remember why I gave him Floatzel but it could very well just be my bias cuz I love Floatzel lol

Quaquaval: THE SYLVIO STARTER EVER. SHOWY GAY WATER DUCK. ABYSS ACTORS. QUAXLY ALWAYS FLICKING ITS HAIR QUAFF. OVER THE TOP PERFORMER. MR. SAWATARI....

Cetitan: For Mobius the Mega Monarch/that smattering, and also Cetitan is kind of shaped like some of Sylvio's big bulky Abyss Actors (Evil Heel, etc...)

Unfezant: Another pompous male Pokemon with swoopy hair things <3 "Intensely proud." Also a little dart-like to me.

Toxapex: Really just another Pokemon that looks like an Abyss Actor. Also probably something in there with a Posion type vs. Sylvio's early TOXIC AS FUCK ATTITUDE, SIR!!!

DECLAN:

Metagross: Supergenius Pokemon made of four fused Beldums <3 Analyzes its foes with expert calculations. Incredibly strong. Just tremendously Declanmon to me.

Empoleon: D/D/D Wave King Ceasar!! Also just the royal/emperor aesthetic in general, would it right at home with the D/Ds. And "It avoids unnecessary disputes, but it will mercilessly decimate anything that threatens the safety of its colony" BRO THAT'S DECLAN.....

G-max Duraludon: The LID building <3 Also like the idea of him wielding Gmaxs AND Megas AND probably Z-movies and Terastalizing too, as a parallel to mastering all the summoning mechanics.

Escavalier: D/D Proud Chevalier, another tremendously brave in the face of adversity Pokemon, also UMMM THE LANCERS!!! also I like the implication he and Moon Shadow traded to get their respective evos with Shelmet and Karrablast lol.

(Shiny) Mega Gardevoir: Again, wielding Megas just as easily as Gmax... has his color palette, plus Gardevoir in general has that 'tremendously loyal to the person it cares most about and will protect them at all costs' thing which just. screams Declan and Yuya's dynamic a lot to me.

Regigigas: lmao, "Reiji." The trio master of the Regis just like Declan is the leader of the Lancers. Insanely powerful creation-diety ass Pokemon vs. Declan's position of being an Akaba and that narrative weight re: Ray. Also would be right at hoem with some of the big bulky D/D/Ds.

YUTO:

Ceruledge: well now this is just a Phantom Knight for real.

Hydreigon: Dark Rebellion!! Brutal and relentless (in its objective)...I like the idea that Yuto's Hydreigon is pretty chill when not Fighting in a War though <3 His frienddd

Decidueye: His requisite evolved starter, I think Lulu traded him Rowlet originally~ Also on that Phantom Knight swag with the Haunted Cloaked Ghost Archer Everything.

Aegislash: AND AGAIN. THE PHANTOM KNIGHTS FOG BLADE. THE PHANTOM KNIGHTS TOMB SHIELD.

Absol: A stoic and tremendously goth beast, plus the way it's so attuned to knowing when disaster will strike + Yuto having gone through The Horrors of War just pair up very well.

Zacian: He DID have Zamazenta too but he traded it to Lulu :^) In general both dogs are so wonderful for him... weaponry clad and endlessly noble and brave. Busted as fuck, I'm sure there's some commentary on PKs in there too lol. I imagine its mostly in its battered Hero of Many Battles form for the most part....

SHAY:

G-Max Corviknight: TRULY THE RAID RAPTOR RISE FALCON OF IT ALL. absolutely GIGANTIC metal bird that launches feathers like missiles. This thing WOULD be like rank 8 or some shit. ALso something something Raider's Knight.

Staraptor: ok well now thats just kind of what Shay looks like. Giant emo bird of prey <3 Incredibly strong and fast and Here to Fuck You Up Bad

Ninjask: ok this is a wild pick for him but I LOVE him and lulu having ninjask and shedinja, also Ninjask's whole deal of being Extremely fast is right at home with Shay's birds. It's also described as if "not trained properly, it will refuse to obey the Trainer" which like.... very Shay joining the Lancers-esque <3 Guy who is difficult to work with.

Braviary: "For the sake of its friends, this brave warrior of the sky will not stop battling, even if injured." "They fight for their friends without any thought about danger to themselves." "With its brave disposition, it fears nothing—not even death." DAWG THATS JUST SHAY OBSIDIAN FROM YUGIOH ARC-V.

Talonflame: RAID RAPTOR BLAZE FALCON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! FUCK IT BRAVE BIRD FUCK IT BRAVE BIRD FUCK IT BRAVE BIRD

Blaziken: This thing has Speed Boost and it's about to be your problem. Powerful, brave, nimble, perfect for Shay and his like insane acrobatics he's always busting out. Perfect Pokemon for guy who beat the shit out of like 8 cops at once. 🔥

LULU:

Altaria: TRULY A LYRILUSC OF A POKEMON Humming and singing and incredibly powerful bird. Soft and warm and "with a kind disposition." I know she would love this thing so much.

Swellow: For Lyrilusc Sapphire Swallow/representative of all her swallow-adjacent songbirds

Shedinja: Again really fun in a pair with Shay's Ninjask. 1 HP to mirror how Lyriluscs are all level/rank 1!

Sylveon: and here's where my Flying TYPE Eeveelution would be... IF I HAD ONE >:( WELL. I do think Sylveon suits Lulu very well too, an exemplary compliment to her kind and friendly nature. AND transgender colors #lulugendermoments

Togekiss: Peace-loving angel-esque bird!!! Dueling shoudn't be used for war but making people smile!!!! "it visits peaceful regions, bringing them gifts of kindness and sweet blessings." LULUMONNNNNN

Zamazenta: Yuto traded this to her out of hoping it could help protect her ;w; Hero of Many Battles mode for the most part. The shield/protective motif also I feel ties well with Lulu's nonaggressive but remarkably adept at standing up for what she cares about character.

CELINA:

Liepard: IDK WHY IT'S SO HARD TO FIND GOOD LUNALIGHT EQUIVALENT POKEMON BUT ALAS lunalight panther dancer! ok it's a leopard but shhh. Also "moody and vicious" and strong and stealthy.

Pyroar: and Lunalight Leo Dancer too!!!!

Sensu Oricorio: For the bird Lunalights, and also its fan-feathers remind me of Cat Dancer :3 WAIT ITS HEAD FEATHERS ALSO LOOK LIKE CELINA'S BOW AND HER PONYTAIL...OMG

Umbreon: Naturally Celina's Eeveelution!! The moon associated one, hunts prey in the dark, glows in the moonlight (evolves through friendship 🥺celina did too.....)

Hisuian Lilligant: Compliments Zuzu's Unovan Lilligant (BECAUSE THEY ARE FRIENDS!!!) also an elegant and powerful Fighting type that moves like a dancer. This has always been a big Alexis Pokemon for me too but what can I say Fusion girlies rocking out with the Skater Dancer Plant Lady.

Celesteela: More moon motif!! Also Celesteela's Princess Kaguya inspiration honestly parallels Celina as a character really well too

YURI:

Silvally: we all know I associate Silvally with the yuboys in general, but teamwise I think it belongs the most on Yuri's--hodgepodge chimera monster experiment built in a lab and kept away from 'normal' Pokemon and populations. blasphemous emulation of god. Definitely absolutely kept Poison type mostly. 💜

Vileplume: PREDAPLANT CHIMERAFFLESIA.... I was torn between Vileplume or Victreebel but I think Vileplum works the best. It's Yuri's colors <3 *spews toxic spores at you*

Mega Sceptile: Grass/Dragon-type, literally has Starving Venom's colorful orb things, extremely fast and powerful... Sceptile is already the perfect starter for him but Mega Scepty just checks all the Venom Boxes.

Scolipede: Its horns look like Yuri's hair prongs <3 He deserves at least one big purple bug imo. It's also described as HIGHLY AGGRESSIVE and RELENTLESS and damn if that aint Yuriful.

Carnivine: truly one of the Most Predaplant of all Pokemon. This bitch eats meat!!! also I think it's funny if Yuri has a Pokemon that kind of chronically sucks bad but he loves it anyway.

Nagadanel: AND OF COURSE YURI'S ULTRA BEAST IS ALSO STARVING VENOM :) why the fuck is it like Yuri's hair color(s) exactly. Like Poipole too of course but still omfg. its poison is described as an adhesive too which i think is just perfect as a mirror of Yuri's sticky nasty ass dragon. slash pos.

DENNIS:

Meowscarada: JUST KIND OF DENNIS'S TRUEST POKESONA. TO ME. Dark type masked showman magician, master of misdirection....kind of has his haircut....gay.... uhhhh. meow!

Star Trim Furfrou: WELL. YOU KNOW. 🐩 also Star Pattern in particular for matching the 'performer' vibes and being the same blue as the blue in Dennis's stupid stupid outfit.

Inteleon: I'm privvy to the truth (Yuya traded Dennis his Sobble and got his Fennekin in return) but also like. This is justalso a Dennis Pokemon Bigly to me. Gay Sniper Spy Chameleon.

Mime Jr.: Performage Trick Clown!!! And the Performages in general. Little clown for this fucking clown.

Copperajah: For Chaos Ancient Gear Golem :,) I imagine it can Gigantimax and REALLY have that "giant fucked up war machine" mood down back. Also something something circuses and elephants.....

Blacephalon: LIKE. HE COULDNT HAVE ANY OTHER ULTRA BEAST, REALLY. Weird unsettling clown that sets off fireworks and literally blows its own head off 🥴 dennis might as well be a damn blacephalon. "It slithers toward people. Then, without warning, it triggers the explosion of its own head." dennis literally did this in front of a cruise ship full of people .

YUGO:

Rayquaza: Yugo's perfect Legendary choice AND a perfect Clear-Wing equivalent! Sky/Wind related green dragon, only arms, no legs, hell its yellow rings even remind me a little of Synchro rings.

(Shiny) Flygon: Also just reminds me of Clear Wing a whole lot <3 green, fast, long stripey tail, rhombus wings.. the shiny palette is also Yugo's colors!

Cinderace: I had such a hard time picking a starter for Yugo but I think Cinderace is the best pick... literal jock that plays toys and is described as "losing its cool easily," "it gets pumped up when cheered on," and "if it starts showboating, it could put itself in a tough spot" which just comes off like a laundry list of Yugo roasts HFDGUSD he would love this bunny rabbit.

Starmie: Mostly I just love Yugo and Rin have counterpart Pokemon but also Starmie has Speedroid vibes to me!!! Spinning star toy. Also fast as fuckkkk

Dragapult: HI-SPEEDROID KITEDRAKE!!! DRAGON THAT SHOOTS DARTS. FUNNY FAST VEHICLE LOOKIN ASS LIZARD.

Miraidon: ok Im pulling the "Yugo is one of my favorites he gets two Legendaries" card HE JUST DESERVES MIRAIDON. DUEL RUNNER DRAGON. CAPABLE OF BEING SILLYGOOFY AND ALSO LOCKING TF IN. one yuboy having a Past Paradox 'mon and one having a Future Paradox mon makes me a little craayayayzayy

RIN:

Froslass: Truly one of the most Windwitch of all Pokemon to me. Powerful ice witch lady fuck up your whole world.

Bronzong: A big fuckoff Bell. For Windwitch Freeze Bell. And Diamond Bell. And Crystal Bell. And Winter Bell. And

Hatterene: AND ANOTHER POWERFUL WITCH POKEMON FOR THE WITCH QUEEN also the trans flag colors just like rin's riding gear outfit. transfem rin is real btw

Glaceon: easy Eveelution pick for her ❄

Cloyster: Counterpart to Yugo's Starmie! Big weird floating Ice-aligned spike covered shape, which also described like 5 different Windwitches! Rin with Shellder is also really cute.

Glastrier: Really had to mull on what Legendary to give her but I love the idea of her also having a 'rideable vehicle' Legendary (horses are rideable vehicles.) Also Glastrier is a busted ass powerful as fuck belligerent ice monster and I think RIn would deeply appreciate its cunty spirit. 💙

MOON SHADOW:

Lunatone: Naturally!

Greninja: NATURALLY AS WELL!

Basculegion: The whole thing with Basculegion being powered and driven by the souls of its dead loved ones is just so perfect for the way Moon has to carry on after Sun Shadow got carded. Plus those very archiac Ainu design elements present just suit him well I think.

Accelgor: LIKE. I GOTTA. NINJA SWEEP also again i love the idea he had to trade his karrablast with Declan to get his Accelgor in return. Lancer synergy

Golisopod: Defense-oriented shogun armored type beast, pairs up well with invoking Moon's Twilight Ninja archetype. Also the Emergency Exit ability reminding me of all of his nimble ninja escape tactics we get to see.

(Shiny) Pawniard: A.) has his color palette B.) ninja-ish cadet at the command of a higher up (Bisharp), but also C.) that's Riley 🥺

RILEY:

Espurr: they just look like one. Riley Pokemon of All Time.

Oshawott: I love the idea of Riley having a baby Water starter to compliment Declan's Empoleon, and Oshawott's got that nice light blue and white palette and a design that evokes Riley's teddy bear a little bit. Plus its scalchop as a neat parallel to the C/C/C Weapon Monsters.

Beldum: Another baby form of one of Declan's monsters, also representative of C/C Critical Eye--one menacing red eye included!

Gigalith: All of Riley's C/C/C Rock Battle Monsters <3 (Armor, Blaster, Sword.) Also has eyes like Critical Eye too a little.

Ralts: one more mirror of Declan's team, but also this is another Pokemon Riley kind of just looks like. them big ol eyes. And the whole thign with how it flees when strong emotions are present :(

Terapagos: a cute and harmless looking Pokemon capable of absolutely horrifying reality shifting powers, just like Ray through Riley's body is capable of mildly terrifying ablities <3 I think Riley and Terapagos would also just be buddies 🥺

ZARC:

Zygarde 100%: FUCK IT. GIVE THE SUPREME KING ALL HIS DAMN DRAGON LEGENDARIES i just really love the idea of him especially having 'stronger' forms of the Legendaries the Yuboys wield--also like. Zygarde 100% Freakass Fulled Reunited Giant Green and Black Superweapon Dragon With Red and Blue Undertones (the colors of the pendulum scales)... it's too perfect.

Mega Rayquaza: Ultra-strong green and black terrifying giant dragon... 2!!! <3 The evolution of Yugo's Rayquaza. Giving Zarc all the crazy battle gimmicks too like he lords over all the summoning mechanics. Green for Synchros too <3

Eternamax Eternatus: ANOTHER WORLD-ENDING GIGANTIC DRAGON MONSTROSITY FOR THE ZARCMAN overloaded with power.. violent and unpredictable... the counter to Yuto's Zacian (and previously owned Zamazenta).... Fusion colors also.

Arceus: IT IS DRAGON TYPE NATURALLY the original vs Yuri's remix (Silvally)....fuck around and become God and all powerful. :,) Creation deity moments! White for Synchros as well.

Guzzlord: Also a bit of a parallel to Yuri's Silvally, but just in general I Gotta Give Him This Giant All-Consuming Dark/Dragon Extradimensional Abomination. All devouring.... Zarc in a way devoured the four yuboys too, huh.

Regidrago: Wildcard Dragon Legendary for the final spot but I do have my reasons <3 Big black dragon skull, "said to have the powers of every dragon Pokémon," just fires blasts of Dragon Energy at foes. Also just this sort of "ancient incredible power" feels very along Zarc's lines too

RAY:

Eevee: All the bgirls get evolved Eeveelutions, but I just love the idea of Ray's partner Pokemon being just a plain Jane unevolved Eevee that fought God and won.

Shaymin: En Flowers 🌸(also En-Wind for Sky Form Shaymin)

Lunala: En Moon 🌙 (also En-Windish, plus the Ghost typing a fun element with Ray effectively being dead and haunting that goddamn narrative.)

Lugia: En Birds 🐦 (also En Wind for all its storm conjuring capabilities)

Enamorus: ok I thought about Tornadus at first for En-Wind but A.) Ray needs a Fairy type for the 'dragon killer' implications, B.) Enamorus being this extremely powerful female Pokemon that fortells spring, brings the world back to life, and 'violently punishes' those that disrespect any living being is just, like, too perfect.

Regieleki: Its arms look like her ponytails <3 Honestly in general it looks a lot like when she was a glowy yellow spirit form. Also the only Pokemon to learn Thunder Cage, which feels quite appropriate for Ray stopping and containing Zarc. And oh well it's just a neat little counterpart to Zarc's Regidrago because I love when they have counterparts and I love divorce <33333 #EQUALITY: GIVE RAY LEGENDARIES TOO.

[talaofthevalley]

If you can count on me for anything it's getting emotional over the dimension dragons despite Zero character.

But hey you ever wonder how they felt following Zarc in his rise as a duelist and then his downfall after pressure from the public to be violent, not able to do anything despite Zarc having the ability to talk to them. Then Zarc is obliterated and all four of them are separated as thoroghly you can imagine, and now they've got new, tinier little masters. And they look just like Zarc but do not act like him and now in their grief and first taste of loneliness they have something new, small and vulnerable to love and protect.

You know, things that definitely were present in Arc V.

[shitpostingkats]

*SHAKES YOU AGGRESSIVELY*

TELL ME ABOUT YOUR “Zarc is an incarnation of The Supreme King” THEORY I NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THIS YOU HAVE GOT ME HOOKED I AM OBSESSED WITH THESE FIRE TAKES YOU ARE SPITTING OP

Jaden and Yuya are now my favorite dynamic of all time, and now that I’m being shown the similarities I’m wondering if it’s really just a coincidence GX and Arc-V are my absolute favorites out of all the Yugioh series this is insane 👀

Hehe. Gladly <3

(Uh. This got long so it's going beneath the cut for the sake of people's dashboards)

Well, first off, there's just a lot of similarities between Zarc (the original Zarc, before he split into the Yu-bois) and Jaden. Both can talk to duel spirits, both start out chipper and are driven to the edge by grief, both split into various personas/people (Jaden with himself and the supreme king, Zarc obviously into the Yu-bois), both fuse with their ace monster(s), and both carry the title of "Supreme King". Most interesting, to me at least, is how both shape a lot of their identities around what they think people want from them.

Zarc was content to be an amazing duelist, but felt pressured to put on a good show, to be more brutal. Jaden, more subtly, constructs most of his personality off being easygoing, chill, and carefree, because he internalized that his emotions are dangerous, and people would rather deal with happy Jaden than the emotional disregulation mess that he actually is.

And both of them, when they get overwhelmed, adopt a mentality of "Well, the world might as well burn with me."

Jaden, rather than feel his grief, locks off his own trauma behind a brick wall and goes on smiling. Yuya, rather than deal with his dads disappearance, does the same.

I'd also like it noted that supreme king Jaden and supreme king Yuya have yellow eyes.

And some teal/orange eye asymmetry

Honestly, even dragon form Yuya and the Supreme Kings armor have similar silhouettes.

Mostly its in the spikes on the shoulders and elbows, and the fact that Zarc Yuya forms a weird chestplate (and that this is the same art team and visual style)

Another thing I get hung up on is that both Jaden and Yuri have super poly. In GX, Jaden had to go through an entire arc of misery to get that card, and Yuri just? Has it?

So my little headcanon, is that in the original timeline, before the dimensions were split, Zarc had the spirit of The Supreme King, able to command duel monsters and wield The Gentle Dark. Unfortunately for everyone, he got a teensy bit traumatized before he could enact his destiny of defeating The Light Of Destruction. Using his powers, he fused with his dragons, nearly destroyed the world, etc, etc. When he split, the Supreme King couldn't just split into four the same way the rest of his soul could, and so while the dimensions split, the past was rewritten to attach the power to a different soul, with a different guardian to boot. Similar to how the timeline got all borked to set everything back to a late nineties world of duel monsters.

Which would make Yuya 1/4 of an alternate universe version of Jaden. And I think there's a lot of fun to be had with that idea :)

[enter-the-performapals]

@arcvmonth Day 18 D/D/D- Different Dimension Day!

Even though its a little late (because I wanted to color these lol) I wanted to talk about my Mermaid AU- concepted while I drew my big piece for Mermay this year! I was originally going to turn it into a series basing them on the En cards, but I didnt have time (maybe next year?)

This is a high fantasy AU, of course, and each of the stories happen around the same time-which Ill get into later. All of the Bracelet Girls, Dragon Boys and Zarc + Ray are in their 20's here, with romantic interactions between the expected couples (Fruit, Apple, FallenAngel, Predator, Genesis). All of the stories are unrelated but take place around the same time, with the the exception of the Genesis which takes several decades before.

Just slapping the word 'Mermaid' on a character and not basing them on a sea creature has never been an option for my autism brain, so I based the girls off of sea creatures I thought suited them!

Yuzu is based on a Betta fish- the only freshwater mermaid out of the five- mainly because I think theyre gorgeous with their lovely flowing tails, but also because theyre highly territorial, which I will get into later.

Rin-Rin is based off of one of my favorite sea creatures, the Lionfish. Bright and beautiful, but venomous and a ruthless predator. She's also Siren.

Ruri is based on a Parrotfish. Beautiful, iridescent scales and placid nature who live in coral reefs. Also, bird pun becuase I couldnt resist.

Serena is a Human-Mer hybrid whose based off an Angler fish. Scary creatures who use beautiful light not to illuminate their surroundings, but to draw in prey. She requires more oxygen than a normal mermaid, so like a mudfish, she can chill out near the surface of the sea and take in oxygen when she needs to.

Ray is based off of a Sea Angel, which is apparently a sea slug. It's pretty and I dont know much about it, which is the exact same thing I can say about my girl Ray.

Under the cut ill get into my thoughts for each of the AUs! Including a minific which kind of adds a little context to my piece from Mermay!

Ill go over all my ideas for the different storylines - marked by their ship- and at the end is minific! Sorry for any punctuation/spelling mistakes!

Genesisshipping:

Zarc is an apprentice boatsman on his first voyage on a big ship. After smashing into rocky bluffs, the boat he's on capsizes and falls into the ocean. Almost drowning, he is rescued at the brink of death by Ray, who takes him to an uninhabited island to bring him back to life. Over a year or so, the two fall in love and while Zarc does want to escape the island he beleives its futile and doesnt even try. Eventually a ship does come to rescue him, and he promises Ray that he'll make it back to the island one day to be with her.

After hes back on land, people ask him what happened, howd he survive, ect; he eventually lets slip that a mermaid saved him. This makes it around, and eventually wealthy prospectors hear. Entranced by money and power wished to him, he leads hunters to the island to capture Ray.

Thinking that hes back to start a life with her, Ray's shocked when other people come from the boat and try to capture her. Realising Zarc had sold her out, she escapes to the sea, never to be seen again. Realising the error of his ways, Zarc decides to stay on the island after the disgruntled hunters leave in an attempt to attone for his greed and to hopefully see Ray one more time.

Appleshipping:

Hugo had always heard tales about sirens in books and wanted to if they were real or not. After attempt of humours faliures to become part of an actual reputable ship crew, he falls in with some pirates who decide to take him out to the seas. On his maiden voyage, he is so nervous that he cant fall asleep on his first night. Thats when he hears it. A siren's song in the distance.

The rest of the crew asleep, he steals a rowboat to find the source of the singing. He finds it- the most beautiful girl hed ever seen, singing the most beautiful song hed ever heard. He falls head over heels for her at first sight.

While Rin just wanted a meal, she now has to put up with idiot pirate trying to woo her. She is severly displeased about it, and makes it known. Then she realises- this dude is a grade A idiot with the luck of god on his side and now has to live with a human taking up her favorite rock. Ridiculousness insues

FallenAngelShipping:

Ute grew up in a port town that had a great relationship with the fellow merfolk. He and Ruri grew up together, and eventually became a couple. One day, the village was raided by hunters, who both killed and captured the humans and merfolk, burning the town to the ground.

While hed somehow escaped from the raiders, he knows he has to break in to the enemy camp as they transport prisoners and set everyone free.

After weeks of planning and watching them from afar, he finds the perfect moment and storms the encampment, setting everyone free, including his best friend Shun and his lovely Ruri.

While they are displaced, remaining survivors help rebuild the city, and they try to rebuild their lives. Now with round the clock border security :)

Predatorshipping:

Joeri is a wealthy buisness man who found success selling various snake oils in his teens. Feeling bored of scamming people out of their cash, he goes to a beah town in an effort to refresh, regroup his thoughts, and figure out his next buisness move.

While walking a beach in the dead of night, he notices a glow coming from a little cave in the distance. Sneaking a peek, he notices Serena stting, resting, and his mind races. Mermaids are uncommon, but not unheard of but most people havent seen one, so what if he could show her off?

Practically smelling the money from the buisness opportunity, he approaches her. She startles, and draws a weapon on him. That night he tries to talk her down and using all of his sales knowledge and charisma, tries to get her to warm up to him.

While it ends up in faliure, the next night she is in the cave again. And he makes up his mind to convince her to join him, whether that be by convincing her with his words, or bribing her with anything he can get his hands on. He has a goal and wont stop until it's realised.

Fruitshipping:

Feeling wanderlust in his early teens, Yuya decides to dedicate his life to becoming an adventurer to see all the beautiful sights hes read about in his beloved father's old travel diaries. After about a decade of seeing what the continent has to offer, he takes a wrong turn (not the first time) and accidentally stumbles into a serene clearing blanketed in cherry tree blossoms nestled in between foothills. In awe, he explores the adorable little field, picking wild dasies as he goes, and spots a lake fed by mountains. As he investigates, he is jumpscared by a mermaid who warns him to leave immediately or face the consequences.

After a breif moment of shock, he starts to laugh. Yuzu is flabbergasted, as most humans would have fled at that point. He tells her that meeting a mermaid was always on his bucket list and that hes pleased to make her acquaintance, which leaves her even more shocked.

While she is standoffish at first, Yuya sets up camp near the water's edge to really drink in the scenery, subbornly telling an annoyed Yuzu that it was the best vantage point in the clearing.

While he'd oly planned to stay for a couple of days, as he talked to Yuzu- her sharing enchanting stories about the depths of the lake and the merfolk who lived there and in turn, her avidly listening to Yuya's travel stories- he decided to stay through the end of spring... and then summer... until eventually autumn's chill prompts him to eventually- begrudgingly- forces him to start packing up his temporary home.

Over the months the two talked and talked and became best friends. Through the wilting daisy chains they made, to the silly splash fights they shared on hot days, to almost sombre monitoring of deciduous leaves starting to fall as the lake theyd made memories in starts to slowly develop its winter shell, baring the aquatic from the terrestrial.

As they say their goodbyes, Yuya noticing Yuzu shivering slightly as she sits above the water, he promises her to come back in the spring with even more travel stories, handing her one of his earrings in a jesture of his vow. And she is overjoyed.

As they part ways, he catches her tightly gripping the blue crystal of his earring before she slips below the water, and he wishes that winter would just leave and never come back.

Over the winter, Yuya can't stop thinking of his time in the clearing. The curiosity that Yuzu would have for the camp meals he'd cook. The sparkle in her eye as he'd describe one of his adventures. Her concern over even the most miniscule of old wounds hed accrued over the years. Her witty remarks that never failed to get a laugh out of him. That no matter where he went, he'd always wonder what Yuzu would think if she'd been there with him.

As the weather started to turn from hail and snow to bright skies and sunshowers, he practically made a mad dash to the little clearing tucked away on the forgotten road near the foothills, hoping that the ice had melted in the area- if not for the whole pond, at least around the crude dock he'd put together to sit with Yuzu on, so close to where he'd set up camp.

As he approaced the sea of sakura, the blooming daisies, the grass rejuvenated after it winter hibernation, he noticed a figure waiting where she always was early in the mornings before he awoke, brushing her beautiful magenta tinged hair, facing toward the mountains in the distance.

He grinned and picked the prettiest of the wild daisies he could see on the bushes around him.

He was back home and couldn't be happier.

[omarwolaeth]

Actually, on a similar note to last post (abt ritual au stuff), it actually made me look into bracelet girl ace monster design a bit. Specifically around their faces.

The bracelet girl's ace monsters have a single unifying feature: empty eyes. They have eyes, sure, but they're a single colour with no defined iris or pupil - they look distant and out of place in comparison to the other monsters of their archetypes... well, they mostly have this trait.

And I'd argue its Natural Energy related (rambling below the cut)

Melodious is a little bit outlying here, all things considered - Both Mozarta and Bloom Diva are ace monsters, and both have empty eyes, so they don't look hugely out of place given each other's existences.

The same occurs with Windwitch - Winter Bell - even if half of the Windwitches don't even have eyes to contrast them. Fusion monster Crystal Bell is a recoloured Diamond Bell with some changed design elements, but needs Winter Bell as her named fusion material (Diamond Bell not showing up in anime at all does not help), and has the same eyes as Winter Bell.

The phenomenon appears most obvious in Lunalight. Any Lunalight with visible eyes have more human looking eyes than Cat Dancer, of whom just has blank yellow eyes. (Leo added for reference on this, and also because of Duel Links.)

Its this same phenomenon that breaks as soon as Lyrilusc is brought up. Assembled Nightingale is the only extra deck Xyz Lyrilusc we see Ruri use, which is pretty fair to her considering it can close out games on its own effects (add Wagtail to her collection of overlay units and watch your opponent squirm),

but then... we have Independent Nightingale. Not by choice, granted; Independent is one of the two Parasite Fusioner-made monsters alongside Crystal Bell, and- and what's this?

So- So Independent Nightingale has the empty eyes, but not Assembled? And I did double check the other Xyz 'luscs, and lo-and-behold; it really is only Independent (who, now I'm looking at her, I realise her wings have talons on the ends.)

Anyway. Now we've gone through the ace monsters shown in anime (and at least one that wasn't but was very related), what would this have to do with the Natural Energies?

I have to talk about the girls super briefly for that. In order shown in the post; we have Hiiragi Yuzu (Flowers/Melodious), Rin (Winds/Windwitch), Serena (Moon/Lunalight), and Kurosaki Ruri (Birds/Lyrilusc). Each of them were made by dividing Akaba Ray up like Zarc was; divided by a Natural Energy interacting with the dragon it counters.

All of Zarc's Dragons have the same empty eyes trait as all of the above monsters (minus Assembled) - again, same order as above;

Which, if we take these things into account, imply the empty eyes should be dragon eyes instead (through influence of the Natural Energies). This, also then, implies that Lyrilusc might not be crafted to suit each bracelet girl as closely as the others seemingly were (I'm staring directly at Rin with regards to this), assuming the Natural Energies crafted monsters in their images.

But, Lyrilusc aren't the only birds Ruri theoretically has. Through Kurosaki Shun, who is her brother, we have Raidraptors. And we know he learned Lyrilusc to teach it to Ruri, so assumedly it fills the bracelet girl equivalent of Performapal existing before its Yuboy does? I think it'd be neat if it turned out she did know how to play Raidraptor (to everyone's surprise or not.)

By virtue of being giant mechanical birds, all of them have the empty/dragon eyes trait as the other monsters here (Rise Falcon for reference.)

Does it mean anything? Eh, probably not? It appears to be a "this is designed to counter [dragon], because it was made in said dragon's defeat", which Lyrilusc achieves on its own anyway - low attack stats bolstered by repetitive attacking and just ignoring that your opponent has monsters.

Is it an inconsistency that will bug me to the end of time? Yes.

[blueeyeswhitegarden]

Day 7: Of Amores, Per the Prophecy @arcvmonth

My favorite pairing is Fruitshipping by far. Initially, I wasn't too into it. Yuya and Yuzu had plenty of cute moments in season one that showed off their friendship and hinted at some romantic feelings between them, most noticeably their cute moment after Yuya gives Yuzu Polymerization back and when Yuzu's second round victory made Yuya smile, but I didn't become a fan of the pairing until season two. Yuya openly crying when he thought that Yuzu had been carded just broke my heart. He always wears his heart on his sleeve, but he would try to hide his tears with his goggles, even when he was a little kid. Not even attempting to hide back his tears just showed how losing Yuzu hit him hard. He already had been through a few really difficult days at that point, but Yuya clearly can't handle losing people well after his father disappeared. Just seeing Yuya go through such a raw emotional breakdown and attempting to punch Reiji after blaming him for what happened just made me love the pairing instantly.

I think it also helped that their friendship and connection never felt one-sided to me. Yuzu's entire world didn't revolve around Yuya. Their relationship was always important, but it didn't mean that she couldn't have other important relationships either. They were supporting each other throughout the series. It wasn't just Yuya reaching out to save Yuzu. She would reach out to him through her first match in the Friendship Cup or when she made that speech during the riots near the end of the Synchro arc. Even during the last stretch of the series, Yuya wanted to save Yuzu and Reira after they had saved him. While having a love confession during the finale would have been nice and appealed to my inner hopeless romantic, I don't think it was necessary. Whether people saw their relationship as romantic or platonic, they clearly loved each other. Both Yuya and Yuzu had gone through so much throughout the series to find each other again, so it was clear that there was love between them. Reading their relationship as platonic isn't worse than romantic or vice versa, which gives the pairing a kind of universal appeal in a way.

I also like Appleshipping. While it is primarily through flashbacks, it's still enough to give the audience a good insight into Yugo and Rin's relationship. Even Yugo's gag with mistaking both Yuzu and Serena as Rin can be taken as as sign for just how much he cares about her. Yugo always looked so excited at the idea of Rin suddenly appearing and he was over the moon when he kept seeing Rin while dueling Serena. It’s just really cute and sweet pairing. Much like Yuya, I don't think Yugo realized how much he cared about Rin until she was gone. Their reunion at Academia was emotional and I'd like to think that right up until the creepy smile, that was really Rin talking and crying to Yugo. Their duel was also pretty emotional and shocking. Now I actually do like the ending as a whole and don't read their ending as depressing or tragic either. They are permanent fusions with their respective counterparts, but they still exist and are reunited through Yuya and Yuzu.

I also really like Genesisshipping. While it seems unlikely that Zarc and Ray knew each other in the Original World, I just like the idea of what if they had been able to form a connection. Zarc's downfall obviously had to happen since without it, we wouldn't have a story or any of the characters. Not just the counterparts, but none of the different characters throughout the four Dimensions would have existed either. But the idea that Ray's friendship could have helped Zarc is just appealing. Almost all of the Bracelet Girls were able to develop strong connections to their respective Dragon Boy, which always made me think that Zarc and Ray could have become friends if they had been able to meet prior to Zarc's downfall. It would have helped Zarc to have a connection, but I think it would have been able to help Ray as well. Seemingly no one else besides Zarc and Ray could understand monsters' feelings in the Original World, so having someone else who knew what that was like could have been helpful to both of them.

[healeroflightanddark]

Dancing With the Dragons, Chapter 7: Yuri's Pride

After their dip in the pool, the Sakaki family went back to their hotel rooms to shower and change their clothes so they could go to the movie theater. Yusho called for a limo to pick them up, and the family headed to the theater.

On the way, Yuri was happily talking about the little girl that had approached him for an autograph. “She was so sweet! She was showing off the autograph to everyone in her family!”

“I told you you have fans!” Yuya said, hugging his cabbage-haired brother. Yuri hugged back, “Yeah, I know, it’s just I don’t normally get to meet them.”

Zarc ruffled Yuri’s pink-and-purple hair with a smile. “You have more fans than you realize, Yuri,” he said. “I’ve seen a lot of people online calling you the hot one.”

Yuri’s cheeks turned pink, and he seemed to get a bit of his pride back. “Well naturally! I was always the handsome one!”

“Hey!” Yugo said in annoyance. “You’re saying the rest of us aren’t attractive!”

“Not at all!” Yuri said innocently. “I’m just the most attractive one!”

Before Yugo could argue, Yuto spoke up. “Well, I did find a poll online once for people to vote on which teen celebrity they thought was the most attractive… Yuya and Yuri were tied for the top spot.”

“Makes sense,” Yuri conceded. “I may be the handsome one, but as we all know very well, Yuya’s the cute one!”

“Honestly, that’s exactly what most of the comments under the poll said,” Yuto agreed. “Yugo and I were tied for second place, but there was only about a three vote difference between first place and second place in the end. Most people called me the mysterious one and Yugo the himbo.”

“I saw that poll,” Zarc said, amused. “Third place had like five hundred votes less than you two.”

Yugo calmed down a little knowing that there was only a three-vote difference between him and Yuri. He still glared at his older cabbage-haired brother when he noticed the self-satisfied smirk on his face.

[puzzledmemories]

Verses

I figured I really ought to make a list of verses for anyone (including myself) to reference, to help keep things organized, and probably to start tagging verses as well (at least some of the time).

I'll be updating this as the need arises!

Ties of Friendship (Post-DSoD, Atem comes back with his own body) | Tag

(This verse is exclusive to Yugi, Yami/Atem, and Ryou, and also serves as their primary verse.)

Ties of Friendship takes place after Dark Side of Dimensions. Atem returns to the world of the living from the afterlife, with his own body separate from Yugi. I don't have specific details for how and why Atem comes back set in stone... This can always be played around with on a per thread basis! As a default, I like to think the reason he came back was as a punishment for helping Yugi during Dark Side of Dimensions, but I by no means have to stick to this. I like to be flexible.

In this verse, Yugi is still working towards his game design dream, Atem is getting used to being alive in his own body, and Ryou is adjusting to life without the control of Yami Bakura, and is finding his own dream to work towards.

Play your Strongest Card (Canon + Headcanons) | Tag

(This verse serves as the primary verse for Rua, Rio, Yuri, and Yusaku, as well as the secondary verse for Yugi, Yami/Atem, and Ryou.)

For this verse, everyone's in their canon settings, pretty much. Somewhere before the media's end. Yugi, Yami/Atem, and Ryou are in the world of DM, Rua's in the world of 5d's, Yuri's in the world of Arc V, and Yusaku's in the world of Vrains. For Rua and Yuri and Yusaku specifically, this verse can also include post-canon. All my muses are also subject to my headcanons here. I don't have a full list or anything for my headcanons, they kinda just come out where they come out. However, I will tell you that all my muses are some flavor of LGBTQIA+.

Back to Square One (Oops! All DM - the spinoff charcters brought to DM verse)

(This verse is exclusive to Rua, Yuri, and Yusaku, and serves as their secondary verse.)

Since I know DM is more popular than the spinoffs, I wanted to make a DM verse for my spinoff characters, in case anyone is interested in interacting with them but isn't familiar with their canon. I'll split this explanation up by each character who has a part in it.

Rua: I don't think very much here will be different, honestly. Rua (along with his twin sister, Ruka) live in an expensive penthouse in Domino City, instead of Neo Domino City. Their parents are still gone a lot, and the twins are left to themselves. Rua attends school online. His sister can still see and talk to spirits, and is able to travel to the spirit world. Synchro Monsters are just Fusion Monsters in this verse, if that matters to any threads. Rua very much loves his favorite card, Power Tool Dragon. Rua hasn't met any other Signers in this verse besides obviously Ruka, if there even are Signers in this verse. I'm not super sure on that right now.

Rio: WIP

Yuri: In this verse, Zarc and Yuri have no connection. Yuri is an orphan who grew up in Domino City. At the age of 14, Yuri hasn't been adopted, and is living in an orphanage. Yuri isn't counting on getting adopted anytime soon. Yuri is a little too into dueling, and wants to be stronger than any opponent that faces him. He attends a local public junior high school and has higher than average grades; he's a bit of a teacher's pet. Yuri still has Starving Venom Dragon, and it's still his favorite card. Yuri only has a Predaplant deck in this verse; no Ancient Gears.

Yusaku: In this verse, Yusaku lives in Domino City. The Lost Incident still occurred: Yusaku was kidnapped at the age of six and wasn't rescued until six months later. During those six months, Yusaku was forced to duel nonstop, with losses being punished with electrocution and food withheld. The Incident forced Yusaku to become a skilled duelist in order to survive; however, Yusaku no longer enjoys dueling after the Incident. At the age of 16, Yusaku lives on his own in a small apartment that only contains the essentials. Yusaku's favorite food is hot dogs. Yusaku still feels stuck in his past, trapped in the Incident that ended a decade ago; however, in this verse, he has no leads to pursue revenge or answers. Yusaku attends school and does homework just enough to get by and be considered passing. Yusaku has not met any Ignis in this verse.

Your Turn (MHA Verse) | Tag

(This verse serves as a tertiary verse for Yugi.)

At the age of 23, Yugi is a pro hero! (Agency currently undetermined.) Yugi is a graduate of UA's hero course and wields the quirk Kuriboh, which allows him to take on the form of a Kuriboh! His cuteness and kind attitude has allowed him a decent standing in terms of popularity, which may earn him the disdain of heroes below his ranking. Yugi, however, is not ranked high enough to even dream of competing with the top 10. (WIP)

2BA Master (Pokemon Verse) | Tag

(This verse serves as a tertiary verse for Yugi, Yami/Atem, Ryou, Rua, Yuri, and Yusaku.)

These Yugioh muses are living in the Pokemon world! Under mysterious circumstances, each of them has obtained a partner Pokemon! Their partners are:

Yugi: Hikari the Shinx Yami/Atem: Rogue the Tyrunt Ryou: Seishin the Espurr Rua: Dratini Yuri: Mimikyu Yusaku: Sprigatito

Legend of the Dragons (Dragon Verse) | Tag

(This verse serves as a tertiary verse for Ryou.)

Ryou has obtained a little ice dragon baby named Frostbite! Rua has obtained a dragon named Windrider!

(WIP)

Undefined | Tag

If I'm not entirely sure what verse a thread belongs in, it'll get marked as undefined. If I know what verse it belongs to later on, I'll go back and change it.

Other | Tag

This is a catch all for any thread that doesn't belong in the above verses. If I have multiple threads that would belong in a verse together, it may become a verse that gets its own tag and is added here.

If a thread belongs in Undefined or Other, it might not always get tagged as such.

[breakinberserk]

"You desire for control is understandble, but inefficient in your methodology. The war you intend to wage would destroy necessary resources, people." Saburo stated, closing his book and looking at the other male. "There is a way to do it without firing a single shot. First we must attain control, then we can destroy. Your original method was brutal and simple, but would leave us as kings of a wasteland. My method would preserve human infrastructure, I'd live like a god amongst men."

Zarc is about to fuse with his dragons before hearing Saburo's statement, growling a little at how true his words were. "So, what do you have in mind? I want to show these people true fear as soon as possible!" He clenches his fist as he tries to keep his anger under control.

[pinkprimrose05]

ARC-V Month Day 13: Abyss Beneath a Smile

No one is born evil, and yet some choose to let go of the light in favor of embracing the other side, for reasons one may find to be rather baffling at first glance. Today is all about these oh-so-villainous figures, so show us your favorite antagonist of choice!

Warning: Spoilers below the cut

Look, there is no such thing as an objective best villain in this show (Yuuri is as close as it gets but he sadly got the axe), so I pick favorites going off of vibes alone.

Therefore, I would like to give a(nother) shoutout to the cutest, dumbest, craziest, bitchiest, most infuriatingly entertaining and mildly genocidal master of dramatics- Mister Lettuce Clown!

(Look his hair is a lettuce to me do not even try to argue otherwise.)

Jokes aside though, while he suffers from the S3 cast problem of Not Nearly Enough Screentime, the concept behind Zarc's character carries well enough through what little we see of him, which makes for a fun time of headcanons and speculation and deep extrapolation of his personality and backstory.

We've also got him to thank for the single best show of foreshadowing we've seen in YuGiOh history, and for the eternally golden Zarcmas meme, and for pretty much setting up the best part of Duel Links' lore, and for being great food for though whenever he's brought up- at least in my humble and totally unbiased opinion.

Also, his deck is great and pretty satisfying to run, doubly so with the new plays the recent support opens. I've tried every Z-ARC Turbo variant ever -even came up with a veeeery convoluted one back in the day- and it's a very fun time mixing and matching your plays until you swing for game with the funny beatstick.

In short: I think Zarc is neat. You're welcome and very rightful to disagree, of course, but in this household we respect the Supreme King Dragon.

[infinity-squared-comics]

Cards entrusted. Part 1:

Darkness. Yuya woke up to see clouds of darkness surrounding him, spreading out in every direction. “Huh. This place is new” he said to no one in particular.

“My apologies”. Yuya was startled by a voice suddenly appearing from behind him he turned around, and saw-

“Zarc. Nice if you to finally drop by!” Yuya was honestly still a little terrified of his original form, but he tried his best to hide it. After all, the poor duelist had already suffered more than enough. Yuya didn’t need to add to that.

“Zarc. Hearing that name, it brings me such pain. The name of a monster. It’s been years since I heard my real name. The only one left who knew it was professor Akaba, and to him… to him, and so many others, and even to myself, I’ll never be anything more than the monster I became”.

“Well… I don’t think you’re just a monster, Zachary.”

Zarc- no Zachary- but did he even deserve such a name, with the suffering he had caused? Did he deserve to be treated as anything other than a terrible monster? He was shocked, how could this child, this poor child, who he caused such torment, how could there still be kindness in his heart for a monster such as he? Finally, Zarc spoke. “Thank you, Yuya. Though I doubt I deserve it, your act of simple kindness means more to me than you’ll ever know.”

“So, what’s going on here? I’m guessing you didn’t show up without reason. You’ve been a hard duelist to track down, Y’know.”

“Yes. That is… by design. It would be utter foolishness to think I would be welcome in your conscious mind, with others to whom I brought such pain. No, a lifetime of oblivion is a fitting punishment for my crimes. However… I still wish to help you. You are a remarkable duelist. You have the potential to be the great dueltainer I never was. But first, I must be sure you can never fall as I did. I would like to show you something.”

“A memory.”

“Yes. I would deign to reveal unto you the story of my life, so that you may never make the same mistakes I did. Please. Observe.”

Zachary stood in the hall of an orphanage. Yuya had seen pieces of this memory before, but with no one to guide him, he had never been able to truly understand what was happening. Now he saw everything, exactly as Zachary had.

“Now! By normal summoning a performapal, I can summon performapal helpeincess from my hand. Next, I use hip hippo’s effect! It lets me tribute summon a level seven or higher monster in addition to my normal summon. Now rise! Odd-eyes dragon!”

“He’s certainly full of energy. What do you think, love?”

Zachary hadn’t known it at the time, but looking back through his eyes, Yuya knew who these people were. They were Zachary’s fathers. This was the day they met.

Several months later, Zachary was dueling against his papa. He controlled performapal salutiger and helprincess, while his papa controlled an xyz monster dressed in the robes of a samurai, with flowing black hair wielding a single-edged sword. “Now! I overlay my two monsters to call upon the most dangerous of dragons! Rise up! Dark rebellion xyz dragon!”

Years later. Zachary was signing up for his first unofficial tournament, at one of the first arenas to incorporate solid vision technology. The man at the counter spoke to him. “This tournament is fully anonymous, so we won’t be using names. Just write down your first initial and the first three letters of your last name, and we’ll be able to find you when your duel starts”. Zachary complied, writing the required information on the given form: Z-Arc.

Zachary’s first championship match. He had clear wing and starving venom on the field. He drew. “I activate monster reborn, to bring dark rebellion xyz dragon back from the brink of oblivion! But it won’t be staying around for long- I tribute it, along with its brethren, to bring forth a revolutionary new monster! Shining silver dragon of dichromatic eyes! Come forth, and bring with you my victory!”

Yuya spoke for the first time throughout this journey. “That monster-“

“Yes”. A voice from behind him again. “That was the true form of our most powerful monster, before I corrupted it with my own pain. This was the potential I squandered. I put my everything into pleasing the crowd, to the extent that I neglected my own joy. But when the pendulum swings one way, it must eventually swings the other. I pushed myself so far, I had nothing left to do but fall, fall into pain and loathing and anger and selfishness. Do not repeat my mistakes, Yuya. Please. Duel for others, yes, but never forget to duel for yourself.”

Yuya woke up, in his real bed this time, at home in the pendulum dimension. He wondered. He got up, and snuck carefully towards his nightstand so as not to disturb the dog sleeping at the foot of his bed. He unlocked the topmost drawer, and looked inside. “What in the world are you doing in that drawer, Yuya?” Came the voice of Yuri from inside his head. So the others were awake.

“Just checking something. You don’t need to worry. None of us do, I think”. He pulled from the drawer it’s sole occupant, a single card. As he expected, it had changed.

“Huh,” the voice of Yuto echoed in his head. “Odd-eyes Revolution Dragon”.

“That’s certainly different from when we locked it in there.” Yugo. So they were all here.

“It certainly is” said Yuri.

“But in a good way” came Yuto’s voice.

“Yeah,” Yuya agreed, “definitely good.” A pause. “I promise, Zachary. I’ll make you proud”

[cyberdragoninfinity]

A while ago, you did a thread on Yugioh rival symbolism, but it was early enough in your Arc-V watch that you didn't have anything major to say on Reiji/Declan. Now that you've experienced Arc-V in full, what do you think about Declan and his symbolism?

OHHH GOOD QUESTION!! god i love declan so much. i feel like i still need to Really Ruminate on him to fully grip all of the potential symbolism he's got but there's definitely some stuff I'm already locked on that I really like.

I dont think I realized until someone pointed it out that the Akabas all have a card suite motif but it rules so hard; Declan's definitely got such a kickass design especially with that in ind... the diamond earrings, his bangs, the red in his color palette. It's subtle, it's tasteful, I really like it. I like that his character goes hand in hand with what the Diamond suite tends to symbolize too (progress, prosperity, career advancement--diamonds are also apparently associated with the element of air sometimes too, which is insanely funny considering Declan's scarf that can achieve flight in the manga (?!??!).)

In general it's really funny to me that Declan kind of has this "business and corporate hierarchy" motif, with the diamond symbolism and also that thing where D/D/Ds have like corporate titles and are just as much about the landscape of business as they are about Sickass Demons. And I think it's fun how even though Declan is a businessman first and foremost, he isn't really like.... a corrupt businessman, especially not in the way businessmen in yugioh can be. i could write an essay and a half about how declan is such a genuinely caring person but that's it's own story for another time. He's crafted his wealth and business connections into a weapon to fight his father and his deck also weaponizes contracts and businessmen to destroy opponent, it's a cool parallel.

GOD SO MUCH OF THIS IS JUST "WHY DO D/D/DS HAVE LIKE 8 MOTIFS GOING ON WITH THEM" but like practically all of them relate back to Declan as a character in some way! It's so cool! Cuz you have these Different Dimension Demons, but theyre all named after ancient kings and warriors and great scientists, and Declan in general has such a vast Medieval Warrior King/Prince/Royalty type symbolism. The Lancers are his knights right down to the logo. He assumes the 'throne' (LID Presidency) after his father fucks off to Evil Duel Academy. He fights a goddamn dragon (Zarc). Hell even the paler grey in his hair looks very crown like. It's making me a little sicko mode to think about especially through the lens of viewing Arc-V itself as a creation myth or a fairy tale. BUT THAT AGAIN IS ANOTHER KETTLE OF FISH.

hang on wtf is the symbolism of the King of Diamonds, actually

OH!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ALRIGHT!!!!! YEA THAT'S DECLAN BABEYYYY

hey haha also i didn't know Akaba means 'red horse.' hahah which horseman was that again

AH.

also. one more thing. does make me a bit ill thinking about how his deck is entirely Fiends and he uses them to spar with Yuya (who of course has devil motifs whether he wants them or not)....something in there maybe....blinks wet eyes

[svxlua]

Have you ever thought about what decks the bracelet girls would play aside from their own?

to be honest i don’t really know a wide range of yugioh decks so this question is somewhat difficult to answer.

but i can say that i have definitely thought about what deck ray would use — and it’s a little headcannon that she probably used all of the bracelet girls decks (in a similar way that zarc used the four dragons)

[merryfortune]

Life is Like a Box of Chocolates

Written for the Choco Box Challenge with a Femslash February flavour

Prompt: Midnight Snacks

Title: Life is Like a Box of Chocolates

Ship: Fairytaleshipping | Mieru/Mikiyo

Fandom: Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc V

Rating: T

Word Count: 1,449

Tags: Post-Canon, Canon Compliant, Fluff and Angst, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Developing Relationship, Pre-Relationship, Crushes

   Mieru didn’t really get the expression, “Life is like a box of chocolates.”

   Every box of chocolates that she had ever delightfully indulged in, it came in a box. What a shocker. Moreover, said box had all sorts of information on how to identify the different chocolates inside of it. Whether it was colour coded foils or the actual shapes and decorations of the chocolates themselves, well, she always knew exactly what she was getting out of a box of chocolates.

   She didn’t even need to use her extra-sensory perceptions to work out exactly what she was getting. If she wanted dark chocolate with a raspberry cream centre, too easy.

   So yes. It seemed like a rather ineffectual expression to Mieru, especially to symbolise how chaotic and unpredictable life could be. A much better expression, in Mieru’s experience would be… Life was like a building that stood tall until a monster smashed through it unexpectedly. 

   Well a monster, or a fiend, or a dragon. Something like that. To her, that seemed much more fitting of an expression and much closer within the realms of what Mieru had never predicted, even with her talents and aptitudes in the psychic field. 

   To her, that best symbolised, that which she could not foresee. That put pressure on the bounds and perimeters of what Mieru believed constituted reality. Before that moment in which Zarc awakened within her darling, Mieru thought she was a master of all which was and was not possible. 

   Apparently not.

   It was a good vaccine against arrogance, even if it had shaken her and it wasn’t a dosage that she had wanted, let alone asked for. But pride always comes before a fall, this would be good or better for her in the long run. That’s what she was trying to convince herself, anyway. She just needed to build up her confidence again after a literally earth shattering revelation at a time.

   One chocolate at a time.

   Mikiyo had been so kind as to bring a box around. Even if it was late at night because Mieru had been desperate and phoned Mikiyo’s parents on the landline and they had allowed her to come around. She was a good friend. No, Mikiyo was an excellent and wonderful friend, actually. Mieru’s first, and truth be told, only friend. Having a reputation as a teacher’s pet made her kind of disliked, as much as it made her very admired in her school.

   Elementary school seemed so much easier in hindsight, Mieru sighed. She had an excellent memory and so remembered the days she struggled with tests clearly, the days when the other children had bullied her for her abilities, and the general drama that comes with putting too many children in the same place. 

   Moreover, she pined for the days when she and Mikiyo were inseparable, she had always been by Mieru’s side, never making fun of her and never milking her too far for her talents, either. They both dreamt of starlight, though. However the stars they both had in their eyes, they differed slightly. Mieru wanted to study the constellations, Mikiyo wanted join them as a starlet. They seemed destined to split until then, they were holed up in Mieru’s bedroom, like they were kids on a playdate. 

   “My readings have been off ever since that day.” Mieru confessed. “It makes me feel useless if I don’t have this thing. I’m not book smart, I’m not tall and pretty. But I have this. I had… this.”

   “Oh, dearie.” Mikiyo emphasised.

   “The world’s changed and I think that change took everything I took for granted with it.” Mieru worried.

   She drew in closer to herself. She turned into a little ball, propped up by frilly pillows behind her, she put her chin over her tucked up knees. Mikiyo reached for her and stroked her leg.

   “You're being too hard on yourself, possum.” Mikiyo consoled her. “C’mon, do me a reading. Right here and now. My usual spread, please.”

   “I’m really not in the mood.” Mieru said.

   She turned her head to the side, to face the wall. A deliberate choice for if she had turned her head to the right, she would have to reckon with the deck of Arcana Force cards on her bedside table. She had never realised it before but the strands of her psychic ability, she had heard of them, once upon a time, the Duel Monsters who were alive and well inside her decks. 

   She couldn’t hear them if she didn’t look at them but Mieru hadn’t heard them for a couple days.

   “You never turn down a reading.” Mikiyo pouted, “Come on. Just one little reading. Don’t even bother with your cards if you don’t want, er, uh, I know! Here.”

   Mikiyo shoved the box of chocolates that she had bought Mieru closer to her. 

   “Tell me my fortune based on what flavour you get me.” Mikiyo said.

   “Huh? What? Chocomancy? But I’ve never done food based divination, you know I prefer cards and crystals.” Mieru pouted.

   She had to face Mikiyo to glare at her but Mikiyo just smiled. It was bright, like the suns, like the stars, and it made Mieru melt.

   “That’s exactly the point.” Mikiyo said. “Doing something different always get me out of a rut. If I can’t do drama, I do comedy, if I can’t do comedy, I do horror, if I can’t do horror, I do drama. Voila. Now try it.” She made the box of chocolates rattle and shuffle inside the box.

   “Alright.” Mieru said.

   Mikiyo opened it in a way that Mieru couldn’t see the colour codings on the inside panel of the lid. Mieru shyly poked her hand past the cardboard and she found herself trembling. She didn’t know why.

   She had never liked nor understood the expression life was like a box of chocolates… until now. Until a monster had wrecked the worlds. Yes, worlds, plural, that was also quite shocking to learn, not that it mattered now that there was well and truly one.

   Mieru took a breath and… she drew.

   She pinched a foiled chocolate between her fingers and pulled it from the box. She smiled. She hadn’t known what she was going to get but somehow, she was not surprised by the pink and white foil on this treat. She knew exactly what it symbolised: both in flavour and in terms of Mikiyo’s future.

   “White chocolate and strawberry cream.” Mieru said. 

   Mikiyo placed down the box in her lap so she could applaud Mieru. She grinned, eager. “What does it mean? What does it mean?” she asked, eyes gleaming.

   “White chocolate symbolises artistic decisions and creativity, it warns again double-crossing commitments. Make strong decisions and stick to them! As for the strawberry cream, it represents purity and abundance. Together, this sweet symbolises a short-term future in which you will do very well in your professional life, so long as you keep it that. Professional. And you will be well received for your strawberry style if you adhere to white chocolate’s reading.”

   “Wonderful, thank you very much.” Mikiyo said.

   “You're welcome.” Mieru said, embarrassed, in a small voice and she gave Mikiyo the chocolate.

   “Yum.” Mikiyo chirped to herself and then she opened the box again. “And one for you as well.” 

   She rummaged around at random and gave her a chocolate she didn’t double check the flavour of against the pictures on the inside of the box’s lid. She didn’t even ask Mieru if it was a flavour that she even liked. She simply handed over a purple foiled chocolate with a smile.

   “Thank you.” Mieru said.

   It was pure milk chocolate, she discovered when she unwrapped it. She stole glances at Mikiyo as she, too, unwrapped her white chocolate and strawberry cream treat. Mieru felt her heart skip a beat and she heard it again. The whispering of her Duel Monsters, the thrum of aural energy around her, all the vibrations of the world were becoming known to her once more.

   Milk chocolate, Mieru mused to herself as she let it melt in her mouth, innocence and childhood. The comfort of the familiar and she couldn’t help but allow her thoughts to grow rosy as her gaze softly fell upon the oblivious Mikiyo.

   Mieru had chosen not to foresee, or even check the chocolate box, when Mikiyo had handed her that foiled chocolate and so, she hadn’t expected to receive a piece of milk chocolate. So maybe life really was as destructive as an unknown creature wreaking havoc on all she knew just as much as it was the quiet pleasure of eating chocolates with her crush at midnight. 

[chibi-taylormoon]

How would zarc react if he got into Ray's body?

I doubt Zarc would be very happy, especially if its at the stage when he really starts to change due to the audiences of the duels wanting the violence. Also if he's suddenly in someone's body, the dragons wouldn't be very happy either. He wants to the strongest duelist, but all of the sudden he's in someone elses body, no less someone who wants to stop his violent duels. Zarc would go a little berserk wanting to get his own body back, his dragons would respond to that anger. not ideal!

[magpiejay1234]

One more for today, this time the Yuuz.

Yuzu’s Kanji name is spelled 柊 柚子, Hiiragi Yuzu. The Kanji 柊, hiiragi refers to hiiragi plant. Plant’s name etymogolically comes from the old Japanese verb, hiiragu, which means pain, or suffering + ki, tree, since this plant is prickly. So its alternate spelling is 疼木, hiiragi/hiiraki, suffering tree. This is similar to sakaki, divine tree.

The plant’s historical context:

It is mentioned twice in the Kojiki, the oldest surviving historical record of Japan.[8] The first mention, under the name hihiragi, is in connection with the name of a kami, Hihiragi-no-sono-hana-madzumi-no-kami[12] (translated by Chamberlain as "Deity Waiting-to-see-the-Flowers-of-the-Holly"[13]), with the word madzumi (rarely seen) being used to describe the plant's characteristic of its flowers rarely blossoming, as interpreted by the scholar Tominobu.[8][14] Its second mention occurs during a passage referring to how a holly wood spear, made of material from the tree and spanning "eight fathoms long",[15] was presented to the Prince Yamato-take by the Emperor prior to him being sent to subdue the East.[8] Its prickly and non-prickly variations are sometimes described as "male" and "female" respectively, though this does not have a relation to the plant's gender.[8][16]

The plant, unlike Sakaki, has no direct religious significance, though. Hiiragi is an uncommon, but real surname in Japan, much like Sakaki. Much like sakaki, it is an evergreen plant with white flowers.

The Kanji 柚, yu, just means citron, or yuzu. It can also be read as yuzu on its own. The reason it is seperate from 柚子 is because to make it superficially look like the “Yu” (Play) Kanji going on with Yu-Gi-Oh! protagonists.

The Kanji, 子, spelled zu here, but is generally used as ko, means child, though in this context it is diminutive suffix, so Little Citrus, or Little Citrus. It has other meanings that we discussed before, though.

The zu Kanji’s uncommon spelling here is borrowed from Anzu’s name, since Yuzu’s name is a scrambled version of Anzu Mazaki/Masaki’s name, 真崎 杏子 (Truth Peninsula Little Apricot).

The alternate spelling would be Yuzuko, or Yuko, which would allude to Yuya’s mom, Yoko. Thanks, Shin Yoshida.

Yuzu’s name also contains the 渦, uzu, vortex/swirl, sound (as in Naruto Uzumaki), which generally means maelstorm, or eddy, though in the context of Yu-Gi-Oh!, it refers to Fusion (see Odd-Eyes Vortex Dragon), as Fusion is generally characterized as a vortex/black hole monsters get sucked into. It can also indirectly refer to lightning bolt, since Katakana spelling of Vortex ボルテックス, contains ボルテック, Voltic, which is why GX, and ARC-V Fusion animations have lots of lightning.

A bit deeper dig into this:

**The vortex pun is likely partially why some of the classic Fusion Monsters are WIND Attribute (Chimera, Flame Wingman etc.) Though each of them have their own symbolisms.

**Uzu pun might be partially why both Ruri, and Rin use WIND Decks, since unlike the Yu-boys, who were designed by Naohito Miyoshi invidiually for both manga, and animé, the rest of the bracelet girls, and Ray are merely designed off Miyoshi’s design of Yuzu by the ARC-V animators (which means in a meta sense, Ray, and Zarc are clones of Yuzu, and Yuya). It is also likely why they all use Fusion in the animé.

**This might be part of why DoSolfachord Coolia is a WIND Attribute, since Duel Links seems to trying to retcon Solfachords for Yuzu due to absence of Pendulum Melodious.

**Vortex can also refer to Synchro (Vortex the Whirlwind), but much more rarely.

**Uzu can also be spelled as “ka”, referring to both the song Kanji, and flower Kanji, both used in relation to Yuzu.

Yuzu’s name has no direct melodic connection, except maybe allusion to suzu (little bell), which can also be spelled as rin, or tsuzumu, drum, which can also be spelled as ko. The common spelling of zu Kanji ko can also allude to ko as in light, or koe, voice.

As a final addendum, the reason why Yuzu has pink hair despite her name being literally yuzu is because pink hair is often used in animé in replacement of blonde hair, due to assumption of strawberry blonde hair being a type of blonde hair (it is actually a type of red hair). This is also why Ruri isn’t blonde despite her bracelet’s color, since Yuzu already covers the “blonde” slot.