#pinkocean316

[checkurselfb4umachuwreckurself]

Leo Akaba

imagine wanting to endanger- no- KILL 4 innocent children, as well hundreds, if not THOUSANDS of bystanders [children, adult, possibly even animals] by sealing them in cards and extracting their lifeforce, just for one person.

one single person. one of which who was not afraid to die. of which whom never asked to be avenged. never asked for anything but to save the world.

abandoning your wife, your child [of which is almost an adult even] for this one person.

can you imagine the most selfish man on earth, grasping desperately to regain the most selfless woman on earth. how could two people so opposite in nature be related.

dude you need therapy

[pendulumprince]

Since Vrains is very integrated with the digital world, what kind of memes/viral trends/references do you think are mostly likely to appear in the show?

If I’m gonna be honest, i’m not well versed enough in internet trends to really comment on which ones I think could show up (and anyone, feel free to jump in with any predictions). We already got the dab, so we should be getting a few more.

It also wouldn’t surprise me if in-universe memes are a thing? Though they would have to be executed well in order for the jokes to be funny to us. Blogs that center around memes can be quite popular, which is why I feel like a shitposting memelord duelist may rear their ugly head soon. 

I’m just crossing my finger’s it’s Naoki, because he seems to be on top of Link Vrains culture more so than any of the other characters. It’s something he seems to be passionate about, and he’s also a comic relief, so it could work. 

But getting to something that I can (sort of) speculate on, I different modes of social media could show up in Vrains. We already have Charisma dueling itself, which is sort of like youtube, but others could come. 

So popular Charisma Duelists could have something like a twitter, where they keep their fans updated on everything from when their next duel will be to events in their daily lives.

Most Charisma Duelists/fans could have something like a tumblr, where they talk and share pictures and talk about duel monsters.

Almost everyone could have something like a facebook page, used mostly for irl activity.

Things like snapchat or vine could also be used, and things created there could go viral.

I mean… this is all pretty slice-of-life stuff, and Vrains is currently moving at breakneck speed with the plot. So unless the plot slows down at some point, I’m not expecting this. But it’s within the realm of possibility. 

[askkaibaseto]

For days 22 and 23 do we simply have the drawing, or do we need a bio/info as well?

@pinkocean316 Either! It’s up to you--however you wish to do it! :) Thanks for participating!

[relentlessadherence]

Dare: do the Smack Cam prank on either Seto, Isono, or Yugi. Your pick.

truth or dare time. send my muse truths or dares!

“Sounds stupid.”

[scarlet-blues]

✰

((aaaa don’t be afraid to talk to the floof! he doesn’t bite, neither I ;v;))

[rockman-ds]

*make my muse happy meme* If you ever want to talk or a hug, I'll be here. I'm soft and squishy... REALLY SOFT AND SQUISHY!

“...” He just pokes the squishy.

[checkurselfb4umachuwreckurself]

Can you do 47 for Reiji?

47. If they were to fall in love, who (or what) is their ideal? 

someone who can help them commit tax fraud likely

idk. never seen them as a very romantic type. and if they do have a crush they just calmly explain it to Nakajima and Nakajima tells them it’ll pass if it’s that uncomfortable.

[checkurselfb4umachuwreckurself]

Crow

(send me a character and ill tell you why they got kicked out of walgreens) 

because they caught him shoplifting? obviously? what else is crow doing in a walgreens

[checkurselfb4umachuwreckurself]

☾☆★☠ - Reiji

☾ - sleep headcanon 

Frequently doesn’t do it enough, lol. Reiji often pulls all nighters and generally no one (besides Nakajima) notices

☆ - happy headcanon 

Reiji rarely shows very strong emotions, but does smile seeing Reira slowly learn to have fun dueling (inconvenient as it is)

★ - sad headcanon 

They were the one to sew up Barry. Himika said to just get a new bear, but Reiji knew what it was like to have something important just be replaced with something nowhere near as good, so on they sewn

☠ - angry/violent headcanon

When irate, Reiji will mainly yell. They know how to shift their tone to sound stern rather than enraged, so they’re able to not be too obvious about their emotions.

[checkurselfb4umachuwreckurself]

If you're still accepting the fanfic mashup, then 13 + 63 for Reiji and Tsukikage

I feel I’ve heard of this ship- yeah it’s Covenant

13. Detective AU + 63. EverybodyKnows/Mistaken for Couple

I know so little about detectives oops

Reiji and Tsukikage sat in a booth at the mostly empty restaurant. The two had a primarily one sided conversation- Tsukikage rarely saying more than a headshake.

“The case isn’t going anywhere,” Reiji said, sliding their glass towards the middle of the table. “Our suspects must be hiding in plain sight if they’ve been this hard to find.”

Tsukikage nodded. They had only recently joined forces and they already got thrown into every two person job- which is not to say they worked perfectly together. Tsukikage was silent, making Reiji look chatty by comparison, which was not their look.

The waitress came by to drop off the food. She gave a sweet smile to Reiji’s face. “You two make quite a cute couple!�� She said.

Reiji’s face scrunched. “I am not an a relationship with that man.” This wasn’t even the first time Reiji got accused of dating Tsukikage. Damn those pairing people.

Tsukikage smiled behind his facial mask. He took Reiji’s hand which was sitting in front of him, and in a rare occurrence, he spoke up. “Aww, don’t be like that, honey.”

The waitress giggled, Reiji’s face burning up. She walked off and Reiji stared daggers at Tsukikage. Worst thing is, who would believe them saying that Tsukikage said more than five words at once?”

[pendulumprince]

So Akira knows Blue Angel's identity, but he's leaving her alone. I think the reason why is because Blue Angel is (currently) Aoi's outlet. His job doesn't let him be home often, so that must make Aoi lonely. She seems happy in Link Vrains, and if it distracts her from the problems at home, then let her do it. As long as she doesn't fall behind on school, it's all good. So he doesn't mention it to her and gives her some privacy as a silent approval.

Great reasoning! I mean, I stand by my original assessment that Aoi thinks Akira is stricter than he actually is. 

Because he knows she’s Blue Angel, and yet hasn’t asked her to stop. But it’s also interesting that he hasn’t been up front with her about knowing, he’s just silently letting the situation sit. And I’m still wondering why that is.

As you said, if could be that Akira is very aware of how disconnected he and Aoi are, because of his demanding job. And if our impressions on Aoi are correct, he may see his withdrawn sister and think, ‘she’ll be so embarrassed, she’ll delete her Blue Angel account if she finds out that I know.’ Maybe he doesn’t want her to destroy the only outlet she has. 

Because she’s so happy as Blue Angel. She lights up. She’s confident. She doesn’t shy away from challenging the likes of Playmaker. She’s on billboards, probably magazines/TV too. Internet articles have likely been written about her. She’s the poster girl for Link Vrains. Everyone loves her, and she’s in bloom under the spotlight.

But only there. She’s the opposite in real life. And hey, she’s still a top student, right? She’s still obedient. Her actions as Blue Angel haven’t caused any problems between him and his bosses (yet). 

So why in the world would Akira take away something that makes Aoi happy.

[pendulumprince]

You know how some kid shows have episodes that discuss sensitive topics? If Vrains were to do that, what subjects do you think they would cover, and how would they be presented?

Very, very interesting question.

I know you said only what I think Vrains will cover, but I decided to also include elements it isn’t likely to cover. In part for the hell of it, and in part because I think anything is technically possible—the less-likely elements would just appear in coded language.

Sexual Assault - Extremely, extremely unlikely that this would ever be tackled head-on. The only way I could possibly see this being discussed is in veiled language. So for example, someone from the main cast is kidnapped, and when they’re recovered they display signs of PTSD, Rape Trauma Syndrome, can no longer tolerate being touched, don’t want to be left alone, ect. The other characters also display an unusual amount of vitriol towards the person responsible, with even non-vengeful characters wanting retribution.

These elements could, in theory, come up. But they would likely be explained as ‘torture’; the word ‘rape’ would never be used.

Incest - I’ve brought this up in my Aoi and Akira posts, but this is also extremely unlikely to ever come up. Whether it’s Aoi and Akira, or Shoichi and his brother, or another sibling duo: if it by some chance came up, it would be presented in veiled, coded language. For example, if consensual, the siblings in question would be quite possessive over one another, keeping tabs on each other, and warding off any outside romantic interests. It would be a very enmeshed relationship.

If not consensual, that intense jealousy would still be there, but on the part of the coercive sibling. The other sibling could be presented as either deliberately rebelling against this, or as beaten down and unwilling to reach out for fear their sibling’s reaction. But in either case, the relationship would never be explicitly labeled as sexual, or even psychosexual.

Divorce - Arson, murder, and jaywalking at it’s finest. This mainly has to do with precedent. I can’t recall not one divorced couple in YGO, even in cases where it would have been justified on even the strictest of moral grounds. Yoko didn’t divorce Yusho even after the latter disappeared (read: abandoned her) for three years without a word, and it’s implied that Himika goes back to Leo the War Criminal in the finale. So I just don’t think Vrains is going to have it, either.

And to be clear, I’m not saying that silence on these issues is a good thing. I’m just analyzing precedent.

Now, onto things that are more likely to show up:

Suicide - I think this element has a shot—not a particularly good one, but it’s not a near-impossibility like the others. I put suicide in this category because if it is brought up, I think it would either be explicitly mentioned, and/or be accompanied by explicit imagery. For example, someone throwing themselves off the roof of a tall building in the real world. A character in the troughs of despair saying that they don’t want to live anymore, or don’t deserve to live. Or, if we’re looking to symbolism, perhaps someone throwing a serious duel by directing an attack against themselves (bonus points if the penalty for losing is death, in which case it wouldn’t be so symbolic anymore).

Pandemic/Plague - YGO has never really explored this, but it’s neutral enough that I can’t see any reason why it would be avoided. In a futuristic settling like Vrains, it would seem almost archaic—but that’s the beauty of it, no? That no matter how safe you feel, something can still come and turn your world upside down?

And I count this as a sensitive topic because it explicitly deals with disease, just on a mass scale. This would entail things like constant fear of being infected, the death of loved ones (or the main characters themselves), and the breakdown of society. For example, there’s an outbreak of some illness that proves to have a high mortality rate. Several people in the supporting cast die what are depicted to be terrible deaths. The characters have to race against the clock and duel some antagonistic organization into submission in order to get the cure.

Exploitation - This one, I actually count as pretty likely. The whole Charisma Duelist element is practically begging for it. So for example, we could have a popular Charisma Duelist being forced to dress, behave, and act in a certain way by a controlling manager and/or family members, both in Link Vrains and in the real world. They see this character as nothing but a means to an end.

Abandonment - This one is very likely. We already have Aoi’s feelings towards Akira, which seems to have shades of emotional abandonment. If Yusaku truly doesn’t have a family, he may have been abandoned by them. There’s also the potential that Ignis may have been abandoned by the other AIs at some point by virtue of being hated (before the Cyverse was attacked ofc).

And this can be taken further. For example, maybe the Zaizen parents aren’t dead, maybe they just up and left one day. Maybe Shoichi’s younger brother wasn’t taken by the KoH, and he actually he ran away. Maybe Yusaku was the one who ran away from his family in order to find out what happened in his past. Whatever the case may be.

Death - Okay, this is a near certainty. Every YGO series has death, even Arc V had Sergey. But here, I’m talking an explicit, permanent death among someone either neutral or allied with the main characters. Just one would suffice, because one is enough.

I thiiiiink the last time this happened was with Bruno, all the way in the 5Ds era? It’s high time we had another. For example, Shoichi dies trying to bring his brother home. Akira dies trying to protect Aoi from SOL. Revolver is killed by Specter not long after he defects. Ema crashes her D-Wheel. Naoki finally becomes a duelist who fights for justice, and dies fighting the good fight.

And if they wanted to be especially dark and edgy? Kill off Aoi or Go. Delete Ignis. I would say even Yusaku’s up for grabs, but I really can’t see things going that far. Even so, permanently killing off one of the protags besties or partner would be more than enough.

[pendulumprince]

Am I the only one who wants to see Yusaku and Ignis have more of a parent/child dynamic?

I mean, I don’t want that, but I’m sure you aren’t the only one. And I don’t see anything wrong with that happening from a storytelling perspective.

Though I’m curious: who would be the parent, and who would be the child?

[pendulumprince]

Bruh, I'm now torn between Go x Yusaku and Shoichi x Yusaku. And the show hasn't even started yet. I'm blaming you for this shit.

I’ve worked long and hard poisoning the fandom with my ridiculous headcanons and baseless speculations. Bringing people on board my two prized warships is proof of this.

Hell yes, you should blame me.

[pendulumprince]

Looking at your blog has me speculating arc v, and I just realized some shit. Did Kaiba not have any idea of what was happening at Academia? Does he ever find out? How do you think the series would've gone if he was involved?

Interesting question!

The one thing that we should probably always keep in mind is that KaibaCorp was the main force behind the development of duel holograms (season 1 of DM) and later, duel disks (DM through 5Ds). Just as we can’t the separate the contemporary card game from Pegasus, dueling technology can’t be separated from Kaiba. He and his company created the foundation on which every other dueling-related technological advancement stems from.

Which means that no matter what universe we’re talking about, Kaiba had to have existed in it. His life and his work is a ‘fixed point’, so to speak. And we know that although the meat of his story was told in DM, that he had a presence in both 5Ds (through the Momentum Generator) and GX (through Academia). Even in Zexal, the fact that duel gazers existence can be taken as proof that Kaiba was once alive.

Arc V’s version of Academia would not exist without Kaiba. But in order to fully answer this question, we’d have to look at the timeline of the five spinoffs and see how they connect.

@astraldirectrix and I were just talking about this recently, and we came up with a tentative theory. There are some vague points just because there isn’t any canon evidence either to support or refute the theory (though if anyone can think of anything, by all means, jump in). But stick with me, I have a method to my madness.

We know that DM-5Ds was one continuous timeline, but that things started getting dicey in the Zexal era. Unlike the first three, Zexal took place not in some incarnation of Domino City, but in an entirely new setting—Heartland. There were instances of people using Advanced, Fusion, and I thiiiiink even Ritual summoning, but not a word on Synchro. D Wheels were also never mentioned.

It’s almost as though… Zexal is what the world would have become, had Zero Reverse never happened.

Old theory, I know. But again, no matter the timeline, Kaiba exists. Zero Reverse was caused directly by the overload of Momentum, a form of energy developed by the MIDS group… founded and funded by KaibaCorp. So working on the assumption that 5Ds and Zexal are two completely different timelines: Zexal is specifically a version of the world where KaibaCorp never went into developing Momentum.

I know you asked about Kaiba and Academia. Don’t worry, I’m getting there!

Now, we know that one of Kaiba’s main, defining character traits is ambition. He’s a risk taker; the threat of disaster doesn’t deter him if he considers the goal to be worth it. So what would stop him from pursuing the development of Momentum?

We can theorize that in what would become the Zexal timeline, something happened to Kaiba towards the end of GX/the beginning of 5Ds’ backstory. Frankly, the only thing I could picture stopping Kaiba from running his company is death, so let’s go with that. Kaiba dies. Mokuba takes over. He continues to conduct research into dueling technology, but does not pursue Momentum energy. Thus, the development of D Gazers, the absence of D Wheels, XYZ instead of Synchro, ect.

So 5Ds and Zexal take in concert with one another, on alternative timelines. They happen, they end, that’s it.

Remember, DM and GX took place before all of this.

Then… something happens to merge the two timelines back together, thus creating the Original Dimension. The only thing I can think of is the creation of solid vision—a momentous occasion that would give duel monster spirits a physical host in the corporal world. We can theorize that it happened at once, in both timelines, allowing the worlds to merge.

And it’s necessary for this to happen, because both the history of 5Ds and Zexal would need to be present in the Original Dimension—because this is the only way both Synchro and XYZ monsters to exist at the same time.

And then, we all know what happened: Zarc goes wild, Ray stops him, the Original Dimension splits up into 4.

Because of this, the timeline is reset. The events of DM, GX, 5Ds and Zexal never happen. Several characters are reborn/remade to fit this new reality (Asuka, Jack, Crow, Kaito, possibly others). Everything is given a clean slate.

One of my favorite Arc V theories is the one stating that Zarc somehow took out our previous 4 protags, and replaced them with his own reincarnations. He would want to minimize the chances that his revival would be stopped, right? And if he couldn’t take out Ray specifically, then the least he could do was take out 4 proven, capable heroes.

And this is supported by the fact that the boys are all foils to the protags who correspond with their main summoning method. Yuya foils Yugi; Yuri foils Judai; Yugo foils Yusei; Yuto foils Yuma.

Back to Kaiba and Arc V’s Academia: Kaiba became the character we all know and love largely though his interactions with Yugi and Yami. Think back all the way to DM’s first episode: Kaiba attacks Grandpa, Yami duels and defeats him… and as a result, is able to exorcise the evil in Kaiba’s heart.

But in Arc V’s time, Yami isn’t around to do that, because Yugi isn’t there to finish the puzzle. So Kaiba stays just as he was in DM’s first episode, with every ounce of vitriolic evil that comes with it. And because everything happening in the four dimensions is happening in concert, there is no time for him to go through character development by any other means. Evil!Kaiba develops duel holograms, develops duel disks; Leo comes in with solid vision. The Fusion Dimension is morally decayed as a result.

I also believe that evil!Kaiba would have been the founder of Academia—whether or not he intended it to be a military school is unlikely, because even at his worst, he never wanted to be like Gozaboro. He founds it to operate as part duel school, part orphanage (seeing as Serena, Yuri, and possibly Sora were all born and raised there).

He runs the school from afar for a few years. Then Leo, in Standard, regains his memories, and for some reason chooses the Fusion Dimension as his base of operations.

And it’s here that we enter the realm of pure speculation. I… don’t see Kaiba willingly selling the school—evil or not, we know because of his history that he wouldn’t want it to be a place churning out child soldiers. I also don’t see Leo successfully deceiving Kaiba with what his intentions for Academia are, nor would he have been able to con Kaiba out of ownership.

You see where I’m headed, right? Leo likely took Academia from Kaiba by force. There’s no evidence that they were ever in any sort of partnership, and knowing them, they wouldn’t have worked well together anyway. There was probably a duel. Kaiba likely lost that duel. Leo, if he had the technology for it already developed, would have carded Kaiba to keep him out of the way.

So to answer your first two questions: Kaiba likely would have had an idea of what Leo’s plans were. He likely didn’t live long enough to stop them.

Now, for your last question: how would the series have gone had he been involved? Remember, Kaiba is still his early DM (possibly even season 0) self. He’s evil. He may not care for child soldiers or war, but that doesn’t make him a good guy. I could see him entering a partnership with Leo, all the while making plans to dispose of him at the right moment.

Would Leo tell Kaiba about Ray, and what his true plans were? Depends: would Leo know about Mokuba? Would this, their only true source of common ground, be something these two villains would ‘bond’ over?

Keeping in mind that here, Kaiba is evil��as opposed to Leo the anti-villain—I don’t think Kaiba would be sympathetic at all. He would regard Leo as laughably weak for not being able to protect his daughter, or his original home. I think he’d also be one of the few to see plain as day that all Leo’s plans are really doing is accelerating Zarc’s revival.

So things would have been different in that Academia’s internal structure would have been disorganized. There would be staff loyal to Kaiba, and staff loyal to Leo. Leo would have to deploy his troops behind Kaiba’s back. Kaiba, again, would be working constantly to get rid of Leo—because this is his home, his school, his students, his legacy, his domain. To Kaiba, Leo is an interloper who has to go, ASAP.

And let’s say he does get rid of Leo? If it’s before the invasion of Heartland, then fine. Leo’s gone, things go back to normal. Kaiba rules the Fusion D with an iron fist but doesn’t wage total war on a defenseless population—mostly because he’d have no reason to.

But if he isn’t able to do away with Leo until after the invasion? Especially if he’s already taken Ruri and Rin? Then shit just got real—because now the boys know when and how to find each other.

What he’d likely do is stop the invasion and send the girls back home, but… the boys still know how to find each other. Yuri has tasted enough power—and Yuto and Yugo, enough grief—for Zarc to awaken and influence them towards each other. So Zarc will be coming; it’ll just take longer. And by the time it does happen, Kaiba likely won’t intervene (seeing it as not being his problem) until it’s too late and the Supreme Dragon King is destroying Academia proper.

Above all, Kaiba would not be a hero here. He’d only be heroic in that he’d oppose Leo; and he’d only oppose Leo because their goals and values wouldn’t have much overlap.

As for Kaiba’s presence in Standard, the Sycnhro D, and the XYZ D? Kaiba could’ve been the one behind The City’s toxic capitalism-gone-wild political structure. Perhaps Standard is only as good as it is because of Yusho’s influence. We don’t know enough about the XYZ D to say why it’s a utopia, but… well, Zexal is the one world where Kaiba, presumably, wasn’t around to see himself. So maybe that could explain it.

[scarlet-blues]

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((aaaa don’t hide...! ;v; no need to be shy around me friendo i don’t bite))