#specially Yuma and Shark

[shitpostingkats]

Yu-Gi-Oh Review Roundup: Zexal!

Favorite main character: Astral

Yeah, I like the funny little autism alien. Everyone contain your shock.

But aside from the fact that there is a main character who is a glowing floating non-human, Astral is such a well written character. He starts with some of the barest foundations of a personality, being literally an amnesiac with no idea what is going on. Over the course of the show, you watch him slowly learn about the world around him and his place in it. Same with his relationship with his co-protagonist, Yuma! They start off very combative, but then learn to rely on each other, then a blossoming friendship, until they grow into fully loving and protective best friends. And we get to see that! All the little moments of their friendship is onscreen from day one. 

And aside from Yuma, Astral is just???? Hilarious??? He has this very dry sense of humor that is so anachronistic to the rest of his general naivety and it makes me smile EVERY TIME. He’s FUNNY. 

A personal pet peeve of mine is the assumption that autistic coded characters don’t understand jokes, and the only way to make them work in a comedy setting is to have the audience laugh at them. No!!! Astral’s just got his own wacky sense of personal humor! Even as he grows closer to Yuma, he still has his witty jabs, but this time they’re affectionate. This really is the way he talks, not just some consequence of amnesia and social bluntness. I love him. He’s clever and funny and caring and learning to love and awkward and awesome.

Also, he glows and floats. 

Favorite antagonist: Vector

Vector may not be the most consistently written character, but GOD IS HE FUN.

About 80% of my love of Vector is just in the visual appeal of his design and animation. The black and grey, almost like a gargoyle, with pink accents, plus his chrysalis/butterfly/alien duel disk? Mwah. Because barians don’t have mouths or eyebrows, their facial animation has to be really exaggerated to convey expressions. Vector’s face is made entirely of squash and stretch.

Add on top of that the dub’s pitch perfect and very fun vocal performance, and I just grin every time he comes onscreen. The actor manages to sell how this guy is a wildcard and just evil for the FUN of it. The giddiness in his voice whenever tormenting someone with evil cardgames. Every one of the barian emperors is like “And then there’s this guy. What a weirdo. We’re not 100% sure why we keep him around, but he is OUR little office chaos gremlin and he is a VALUED MEMBER OF THIS TEAM.” 

 When Shark is introducing all the emperors after reclaiming his title, his literal words when he gets to Vector are just: 

“Vector! Need I say more?” 

And even after trying to kill Nash like three times, he’s still in the final Friendship Lineup for the duel of three worlds, his monster used with complete honor and seriousness, complete with a special summoning chant and battle cry. 

THEY GIVE HIM A SPACE IN THE FRIENDGROUP AFTER HE TRIES TO DESTROY THE ENTIRE WORLD.

Favorite side character: Nistro

Check it off the Spk Himbo Bingo, everyone. 

Dextra and Nistro are honestly some of the highlights of the show for me. I love it when yugioh side characters are allowed to recur and get minor character arcs that don’t subtract from the plot but still have an overarching development. The two of them show up in the duel carnival, first working security, then resigning and entering the carnival as competitors. While Dextra, professional, focused, does not make any major changes to her appearance, Nistro seems to revel in the chance to finally wear his full length flame/fur coat. It’s a subtle characterization, but it makes his ultimate turn to WWE wrestler completely believable. 

He’s excitable, hot-headed, and values his relationship with Dextra; the two play off each other very well, somewhat paralleling the dynamic between Yuma and Astral. And, I cannot stress enough how much I loved having a male and female relationship that was just. Good. Dextra is an equal and he cares for her completely, and they work well together, both in chemistry and in their literal jobs. It’s just. Nice. To have this background duo with no drama or yugioh-female-character weirdness.

Nistro just happens to be my personal favorite because he decided the best way to confront an alien hostile was to hit a baseball at them, then casually lean on the bat and smirk. 

Favorite duel: Yuma vs. Eliphas

Basically the entire show, Astral World is this big question mark in the lore. So when we finally got to see and go there, I was excited. Like, kicking my feet and flapping my hands excited. (This is yugioh, after all. It wouldn’t be completely out of the question to just never explore this cool alien world that holds a ton of answers to questions in the plot.) Also, because at this point we had been missing Astral for several episodes, and I was ready for Yuma to have his funny alien bestfriend back. 

But first he’s got to duel for it.

And boy is it a good duel.

Eliphas is a great antagonist, his archetype being based around not only being powerful, but on being levels of power far above his opponent. In one duel, we get the whole deal of Astral world: toxic superiority. His monsters are all wonderfully creatchury, tapping back into some DM era egyptian aesthetics, and just delightfully weird. Etheric Amon is also a highlight. I especially love how it calls to mind the silhouette of Monster Reborn, and the pillar fading near the base gives it a trippy optical illusion effect. 

Being the first person besides Yuma and Astral we see use Shining Draw, it’s an excellent and immediate threat that instantly ratchets up the tension. Same with the New Order numbers using exactly the same summonings and sound cues as regular numbers. The magical powers our protagonists have been slowly mastering through the entire course of the series? Child’s play. Not even anything special.

Yuma v. Eliphas also kicks off the longest chain of duels that I unilaterally love that I have so far seen in yugioh. From this to the duel on the moon, it’s just all bangers.

Favorite arc: Mythyrian Numbers War

Zexal is the first show I’ve really agreed with the general consensus on the quality curve: It gets better as it goes on. Part 2 is just exponentially stronger, and with every episode grows more into its potential. That said, I kinda like the funky monster of the week format the pre-duel carnival had.

So the search for the mythyrian numbers feels like the best blend of those two flavors. It’s basically an arc of cleverly delivered build-up for the main villains, introducing each barian emperor’s backstory one at a time. Plus, some broader worldbuilding about Astral and Barian, which after over a hundred episodes of no answers, was sorely needed. 

It gives the villainous coterie some personality. Dumon’s quiet honor and chivalry, Alito’s brash competitive streak, Girag’s raccoon-based military career. The emperors are a highlight of Zexal, and it’s in large part to this time spent fleshing out each one’s personality and past. And we still get to bounce around to wacky locations and weekly boss monsters. Then, with the mini arcs of Astral World and the three barian mercs, it just encapsulates all of my favorite parts of this series. 

Greatest strength of the series:

*points at Yuma and Astral on the cover art*

It’s them.

My controversial yugioh opinion is I didn’t really love DM. I found the pacing boring, the duels awkward, and that it never delivered on some of its strongest ideas. The basic premise, two souls in one body, one foreign and confused, contrasted by the plucky average joe? Awesome idea. How do they interact? How does that partnership develop, literally sharing a headspace? What sort of adventures do the two of them get up to, racing around the world to uncover the secrets to the amnesiac’s past?

What does this have to do with Zexal?

Yuma and Astral is everything I wanted from Yami and Yugi, and more.

While I found the number of Yami & Yugi interactions in DM frustratingly few, I liked the idea of dual protagonists, and was curious what a well written version of that dynamic would look like. Zexal makes having two protagonist really work. They’re just a delight. From the stumbled irritation of first meetings, then the unsteady alliance of companionship, to straight up would-die-for-each-other partners. They both share the spotlight, learning from each other as the show goes on, and compliment in all the right ways. Their banter feels organic and refreshing, you truly believe these two are the best of friends. When they lose each other it’s painful, when they reunite, it’s cathartic. Their bond is literally the foundation of the show, in a way that I didn’t really see in Yami and Yugi, or the criminally little time we got with Jaden and Yubel. The first time we see Astral smile is when Yuma calls him a friend. There’s a billion little moments like that. The two of them speaking in tandem the first time they work in sync. Astral’s pure delight at getting to experience food for the first time as Zexal. Yuma’s desperation when he thinks he’s misplaced the emperor's key. A massive chunk of the show goes to building up these two, and, by the end, it’s far and away the biggest success of Zexal.

Weakest Points:

A good chunk of the writing effort apparently went into perfecting Yuma and Astral’s dynamic, because other characters suffer from a distinct lack of consistency. 

Shark, love him though I might, spends 2/3rds of the plot having no real reason to be there, then hard pivots into a heelturn that’s really cool, but breaks down the more you think about it. His entire motivation for the duel carnival arc was getting back at the person who hospitalized his sister, then he helps out with the fight against the barians for supposedly the same reason? Despite them having kind of next to nothing with Rio’s injuries. You could make the argument that his hatred of the barians is motivated by suppressed memories of Vector being responsible for his sister’s death when they were humans, except the second he recovers those memories, he turns around and goes back to leading them without so much as an unkind word to Vector. 

He’s not the only villain of the series to suffer from some questionable motives. Vetrix is also a mess, wanting to avenge Kazuma and himself by *checks notes* Opposing Kazuma’s son and abusing his children. Dr. Faker is equally comically antithetical, committing warcrimes for the sake of his sons yet treating both horribly.

Yes, there’s explanations given, but nothing that feels real to the character, just last minute plot twists. Vector’s appealing because he’s a loose cannon, yes, but he has the strength of performance and writing where that’s a believable aspect. His consistency is he’s inconsistent, and takes great delight in being so. Every other main villain feels like they’re just being jerked around into the shape the plot requires of them.

Also, for how exciting it feels to get answers in the latter half of Zexal II, it’s a bit much, even for yugioh, to hold the basic worldbuilding in such a stranglehold until then. Heck, no one even asks why the barians and astrals are fighting until like, episode one hundred. Even characters where it feels in-character to ask, to investigate, they simply. Don’t. For a series this long, I’d love to see that aspect worked into a more reasonable drip-feed of information.

Most yugioh moment: 

“Pack your bags, galaxy-eyes. We’re headed to the moon.”

He says this so seriously. Does he really mean for galaxy-eyes to get its little dragon suitcase and get ready for their trip? Is this a little joke, between an eighteen year old and his emotional support piece of cardboard? HE’S SO CASUAL ABOUT JUST. HEADING TO THE MOON. They need to have a card game on the moon for the sake of the world that is the single most yugioh plot beat of all time.

[blackfeatherdragon]

I'll Become Your Sword and the Shield to Protect You!: An Aztecshipping Manifesto

Happy III day! I wrote up an entire meta post explaining Aztecshipping and why it's good!

(Also available on Ao3 here)

The Basics

Yu-Gi-Oh Zexal is one of multiple spinoffs of the Yu-Gi-Oh anime series, produced by Studio Gallop from April 2011 to March 2014. The main character, one Yuma Tsukumo, is a thirteen year old boy who breaks from series tradition by starting the series with very, very little knowledge of how to play the central card game (Yugi, Yami Yugi, Judai, and Yusei all knew how at the start of their respective series), but ends up going through massive character growth to become able to more than hold his own through his interactions with the main cast and his teamwork with the amnesiac alien Astral. Basically, Yuma is a very determined guy who refuses to ever give up or admit defeat, pushes on with his special catchphrase 'kattobingu', but at the same time still misses his missing adventurer parents dearly, to the point of choosing to sleep on a hammock in the attic where the artifacts collected through their adventures are stored. His relationship with his older sister Akari is a bit rocky due to her barring Yuma from playing Duel Monsters at the start of the series, but it's clear they (and their grandmother/guardian Haru) do care about each other.

Once you get past the shock of the Zexal protagonist being a highly energetic but unskilled Duelist of a thirteen year old (especially if you choose to start Zexal right after finishing the previous spinoff Yu-Gi-Oh 5Ds), he's actually a really fun protagonist to root for. You want Yuma to succeed and help Astral collect the Number cards needed to unlock Astral's missing memories. You want Yuma to find a way to save everyone in the final stretch, even characters like Vector, who tricked Yuma multiple times.

(That's a great protag right there.)

On the topic of shipping, there are many different pairings involving Yuma in some way. The two most popular by far are Sharkbaitshipping (Yuma/Ryoga 'Shark' Kamishiro) and Keyshipping (Yuma/Astral), with Sharkbaitshipping holding 274 fics on Ao3 and Keyshipping holding 239 fics at the time of writing this. Other ships command varying degrees of popularity too, including Skyshipping (Yuma/Kotori, 45 fics), Seraphshipping (Yuma/Alit, 35 fics), Negativeshipping (Yuma/Vector, 169 fics), and Dokidokishipping (Yuma/Kaito, 144 fics). But there is one that is, in my mind, criminally rare: Aztecshipping, or Yuma/Michael 'III' Arclight. At the time this was written in March 2024, Aztecshipping had a mere 29 fics posted to Ao3. (30 fics if you include this!)

You explained who Yuma is, who is III?

I mean, if you're here you probably know who III is, buuut he's my special little blorbo and I'm posting this for III Day so I get to talk about him.

III (birth name: Michael Arclight) is the fifteen year old youngest son of the Arclight family, a group of four people who acted as one of the antagonist groups of the first half of the series. (The other three members being his older brothers IV and V, and his father Tron.) III is the nicest of the family and is seen to defuse arguments between his brothers, but at the same time has his own problems stemming from his broken family situation.

III is shown to be intensely and unwaveringly loyal to his family, displaying a willingness to both kill for the sake of those he cares about and die for their sake. In fact, during his Duel against Yuma, he deliberately goes out of his way to mentally break Yuma and kill Astral out of jealousy towards Yuma's healthier family and desperation to protect his own, only backing down from his desperate rage when a card he played (Final Prophecy) tried to punch a hole in reality to open a portal to the Barian World.

Tying into this, III puts up little resistance to his father's scheme to get revenge against Dr. Faker, often going along with all but the worst of his family's actions. He delivers a dangerous Number card to Shark at Tron's request, knowing that the card would try to control Shark, but later expresses discomfort when Tron performs a ritual to steal Haruto's power, due to the ritual causing pain to Haruto.

(Remember III's loyalty, it's a surprise tool that will help us later.)

Finally, III has a strong interest in ancient civilizations (with a dash of Ancient Aliens style conspiracies about out of place artifacts coming from other dimensions mixed in), much like how his father was once invested in researching interdimensional portals. This is also a surprise tool that will help us later.

The Ship Summary

To explain Aztecshipping, we have to go back to Yuma and III's fathers: Kazuma Tsukumo and Byron Arclight.

Byron was working with Dr. Faker and the explorer Kazuma on interdimensional portal research, and the three eventually went on a trip to uncover one of these portals. Unfortunately, Dr. Faker ended up betraying both Kazuma and Byron, sacrificing them to open the portal.

While Kazuma ended up trapped in the Astral World after this, Byron ended up stuck in the Barian World, and ultimately struck a deal with the Barians where he was granted power to get revenge against Dr. Faker in exchange for gathering Number cards for the Barians, and eventually returned to Earth as Tron.

As for their families that were left behind on Earth, the Tsukumos were able to stay relatively healthy, with Haru taking over as guardian to Yuma and Akari in the absence of Kazuma and his wife, the severely plot neglected Mirai. Yuma still missed his parents dearly, but his family remained functional.

The Arclights were not so lucky.

With no parents in the picture and oldest son Christopher too young to act as a guardian to his brothers/busy investigating what happened to his father while working for Dr. Faker as an assistant, both Michael and his second brother Thomas were left to an orphanage, only returning to their family when Tron came back and Christopher realized the truth. Tron reduced his sons to mere pawns in his revenge scheme, forcibly renaming Christopher, Thomas, and Michael as V, IV, and III respectively and granting them special crests to give them power, and subsequently allowed his family to fall to dysfunction as he obsessed over revenge.

In this way, Yuma and III are mirrors of each other, both losing their fathers in the same incident but reacting in opposite ways. Yuma is connected to the Astral World from the start with his friendship with Astral and his father's fate, while III is connected with the opposing Barian World due to Tron's deal and the fallout of it.

To that end, Yuma and III initially opposed each other, their first significant interaction being a Tag Duel where Yuma (working with Kaito) Dueled III (working with IV) in a bid to rescue Kaito's younger brother Haruto after his kidnapping at the hands of the Arclights. However, it really wasn't long before III became curious about Yuma and his determination, going out of his way to break into the Tsukumo household to investigate (and was subsequently distracted by the artifacts in the attic/started infodumping about them to Yuma. Nerd.)

(This is actually likely where the ship name Aztecshipping comes from, between Yuma's idolization of his absent father and III's love for ancient civilizations/his favourite card being Chronomaly Aztec Mask Golem.)

Desperate to protect his family from being potentially opposed by Yuma and jealous of the actually functional Tsukumos after meeting them, III challenged Yuma to a Duel, in which he tormented Yuma and killed Astral, before attempting to sacrifice himself in a forced tie just to stop Yuma. The turning point came when one of III's cards, Final Prophecy, started trying to forcibly open a portal to the Barian World at the cost of ending the world, forcing III to share his crest power with Yuma to try to revive Astral and stop Final Prophecy's effect.

The plan was a long shot; there was no guarantee that Yuma would be able to take that amount of power. Yuma withstood it though, and with Astral back, managed to work together to defeat III and stop Final Prophecy. This was the true turning point of their relationship, as III recognized Yuma as his first and only friend and trusted him to be able to save his broken family.

Remember III's intense loyalty? Good, we're coming back to that now.

After this, III vanished from the plot for a while, eventually returning to protect Yuma from being menaced by the Barians Mr. Heartland and Semimaru by way of throwing a sword at Mr. Heartland and outright declaring that he would act as Yuma's 'sword and shield' before teaming up with Yuma to Duel Semimaru. In turn, Yuma trusted III to have his Number cards back, after III willingly gave them up to Yuma after their Duel some time earlier.

It seems that by now III's undying loyalty fully extended to Yuma, as he went out of his way to redirect an attack that would have hit Yuma and his monster to strike him instead, once again showcasing his willingness to sacrifice himself for those he cares about. After the Duel, which ended with III and Yuma working together to combine Yuma's 'Number 39: Utopia' and III's 'Number 6: Chronomaly Atlandis' to beat Semimaru, Yuma let III have the new Number card won off Semimaru: 'Number 3: Cicada King'.

III continued to stay with and protect Yuma after this, temporarily living in the Tsukumo household and sticking alongside Yuma at all times to fulfil this. To that end, III calls to mind a knight, someone willing to fight and die for the one he protects without thought for himself. III is also seen to become concerned for Yuma's mental state due to Astral seemingly dying at the hands of Black Mist several episodes prior, and after Yuma returns from a trip to the Astral World to find and bring back Astral, is relieved to see him again.

III sacrificing for Yuma came to a head when he and V went out of their way to stall several Barians to protect Yuma, Astral, and Kaito during the big Barian invasion. III knew going in that he would die doing this, but he didn't care, willingly sacrificing himself to save Yuma one more time.

Initially, III claimed to Yuma that he and V were going to confront the Barians to get revenge for IV's death earlier, saying that he'd grown sick of Yuma's optimism, but this was a lie meant to stop Yuma from following him. When it became clear that the brothers were fighting a losing match against the Barian Mizael, V opened a video link to Yuma to deliver a final message. III took the opportunity to apologize for lying, saying that Yuma was a true friend and say goodbye, before declaring that he'd be with Yuma in spirit as Mizael launched his final attack, killing both III and V.

This sacrifice caused Yuma to break down sobbing at being unable to stop it from happening due to traveling to track down the Barian leader Don Thousand.

Luckily, after the defeat of the Barians, everyone who died in the final invasion came back to life, III included. The final episode reveals that III enrolled in Yuma's middle school, somehow ending up in the same year as Yuma despite being two years older than him. III's literal final scene in the series has him declaring that he'll fight alongside Yuma anywhere, which again. Knight motifs.

Ship Dynamics

Yuma and III start off as enemies, facing off against each other as their goals and family situations clashed. However, it really isn't long before III starts viewing Yuma as a friend due to Yuma's unending determination and aid in preventing the end of the world via Final Prophecy, eventually even extending the loyalty once reserved for family out to Yuma. Once this shift happens, the dynamic changes to that of a knight protecting his charge with the power of his sword and his own life on the line, willing to die to see that charge safe.

In turn, Yuma seems rather okay with III protecting him despite their notable rough start. He allows III to live in his house for a time and even gives III's Number cards back and temporarily shares his school uniform with him just so that III isn't wearing the same clothes the whole time (this is before III joins Yuma's school, by the way). He's distraught when III (and V) sacrifices himself to hold off the Barians, breaking down in tears after watching the final blow.

It's not all III protecting and sacrificing for Yuma, either. They work together very well when Dueling Semimaru, coming up with a plan to join their monsters together via Chronomaly Atlandis's effect to stop Semimaru. Yuma also promises to help save III's family where III could not, seemingly genuinely forgiving III for his actions during their Duel against each other.

They also have a connection via their interests; Yuma idolizes his missing explorer father and has a number of ancient artifacts in his house, while III has a strong interest in ancient civilizations. It's not hard to imagine them working together on explorations and archaeology digs as they get older, helping and protecting each other as needed.

Tldr: Aztecshipping is a very cute ship with protector/protectee themes and two young nerds. They should be together.

References

-Yugipedia (Crossreferencing canon events and characters) -zexual-shippings (Various ship names) -Ao3 (Fic counts for various ships)

Specific episodes:

-Episodes 41-43: III and IV vs Yuma and Kaito. III starts to become curious about Yuma and his determination at the end of episode 43. -Episodes 46-49: III vs Yuma. III spends most of the Duel proper (47 to 49) tormenting Yuma and Astral, only coming out of his desperation and rage when he realizes what Final Prophecy is doing. III and Yuma work together to stop the effect of Final Prophecy in episode 49, followed by III admitting that Yuma is his first friend and asking him to save his family/giving up his Number cards to Yuma. Episode 46 also contains III nerding out over the artifacts in Yuma's attic. -Episodes 112-113: III and Yuma vs Semimaru. 112 has III throw a sword at Mr. Heartland to defend Yuma and state that he'll be Yuma's 'sword and shield'. Yuma also trusts III to have his Number cards back in 112, followed by trusting III to have the new Number card 'Number 3: Cicada King' in 113. -Episodes 114-116: III continues to stay with Yuma to protect and help him in Astral's absence, including staying over at Yuma's house and borrowing a school uniform from Yuma. III also becomes concerned for Yuma's mental state in the wake of Astral seemingly dying again. -Episodes 126-128: III and V vs Mizael. III claims he's sick of Yuma's optimism to stop Yuma from following him to the Duel, knowing that Yuma needed to go on while he and V stalled for time. III gets the chance to apologize for lying and say goodbye/that he'll be with Yuma in spirit right before dying to Mizael. -Episode 146: III is shown to have enrolled in Yuma's school and is in the same year as him despite being two years older. III later states that he'll fight alongside Yuma anywhere towards the end of the episode.

[kanamori-kamper-moved]

“I remember the first time we met.” For aztecshipping? :3

aaaa this is so good!!! Transfem trey as always, so she goes by the feminine pronoun

and this is a bit short! Sorry if that dissapoints you

-

Yuma has never gone on a date before. He’s sweating and shaking, roses in hand. How could he not be nervous? Trey looks absolutely beautiful, and she’s been smiling the whole way as they walk. She’s speaking, but he can’t find it in himself to be as talkative as he usually is. Yuma feels like his collar is strangling him, he gulps breathlessly. He remembered meeting her by the door, Vetrix lightly demanding, “Bring her back by nine, young man. Should you bring my darling Trey back a minute later I’ll have to let you go through Quattro,” Yuma sighed. Quattro has Never liked him, he’s like an angry rabid dog (with worms.. and rabies) whenever Yuma is around Trey, or just in general. Just the thought of even having to interact with him made his skin crawl.

“Y-Yes, sir!” Yuma gulps, shaking. “Haha, I’m just joking! Why so tense?” His laugh makes him breathe a sigh of relief, “But, really. Do bring her back by then, I’m trusting you with her.” Yuma supposed some things really never do change. Quinton, her older brother, peaks out from the side of the door, as if he’s been listening the whole time him and Vetrix had been talking.

“..I know how close you two are. Refrain from any inappropriate touching. I know how you people are about your hand-holding.”

But that was an hour ago, and now he’s sitting down to eat with the most beautiful girl he’s ever met. He wonders if he’s underdressed. He has to look like some sort of ruffian right next to her. Yuma tried his best to look good for Trey of all people. She was far too special to just wear nothing. It’s just a sweater vest over a white shirt and black pants. Meanwhile, Trey is almost like a Princess, her dress is flowy and she’s wearing white tights up to her knees.

“Sorry about my father and my brother bothering you, they tend to be like that,” She softly says, picking up her glass of water and lifting it to her soft pink lips. “It’s fine, trust me!”

“I’m just glad Quattro didn’t come out. Quattro hates you, I swear!”

“D-Does he now?”

“I’m sure you’ve noticed it. I’m not a baby anymore, he shouldn’t care who I’m dating especially when he knows you so well.” He knows she’s just trying to start a conversation, but it doesn’t help but exacerbate his already sitting nausea combined with sickening nervousness.

“Speaking of which.. I remember the first time we met.” She smiles a bit, but desperately tries to avert her gaze, “I wish it could’ve been by better circumstances, but you have to start somewhere, right?” Her laugh at the end is forced, the both of them can tell.

“Haha, right!”

Yuma remembers it clearly. Watching Trey and Shark duel, to have to duel her soon after. “I’m just.. glad you don’t hate me. For what I did to Astral.”

“Why would I hate you? You’re too beautiful to hate.” Trey looks up, her green eyes staring at him intently, “I- I mean- you’re too nice to hate!”

She giggles, it’s not forced this time. It’s filled with soft cuteness. “Of course, Yuma.” Her smile is still there, it’s soft and fluffy like cake, “Now, are those roses for me?”

“Y-Yeah!” And he almost forgets that he carried them in the first place. And somehow, his nervousness disappears. “Aren’t you sweet.” While she gets up to take the small bouquet from him, she kisses his cheek. Yumas flushed, “Aha, I-I try my best!”

Maybe tonight won’t be so bad.

[borreloadsavagedragon]

8 and 12 for the ask meme 👀

oh my god I reblogged that ask game knowing I am not a mean person AT ALL, so this is gonna push me to my LIMITS

(if you stand by anything in here, you’re cool as hell and I'm glad you interact with media, I am simply over sharing about fictional card game nerds like always!!!)

8. common fandom opinion that everyone is wrong about

I had to sit and stare at this one forever to come up with one because I am just so in my own little corner that I never really notice other people's interpretations of characters, like I have my bachelors and ph.d. in the ones that matter and I write my silly little fanfics using my deranged thinking, that's it, roll credits

BUT there is one thing I've seen a few times now across a couple of months in random liveblogs or opinion pieces that I kind of wanna touch on it

And that's that Kaito wasn't held accountable in Zexal.

I think a topic like accountability and atonement in fiction is going to differ very strongly between person to person and what they feel is the proper amount of justice to someone given their crimes, I understand that, but I just want to throw my own hat in the ring for why I disagree respectfully but wholeheartedly

Here's where I write about it in my analysis(WHICH IS 8K+ RN AND STILL GOING, GOD HELP ME)

"This is one I’ve seen a few times and I wanted to make an entire separate point for it because I do think it's a very interesting conversation to have in regards to the moral playground that a lot of the YuGiOh rivals in general have(with Ryoken Kogami from YuGiOh Vrains sitting as the reigning king in the topic of questionable ethics by some fans, but he’s another character study for another day), but the focus isn’t where I think it should be. I think it’s more fascinating that Kaito’s the character I see called out the most for his work as a Number Hunter compared to other fan favorites in the cast, especially when all we saw from Kaito since his actions in "The Seized Emperor's Key! Showdown, Kaito vs Shark" was his own form of accountability. We’ve known since the very scene following his introduction as the primary antagonist for the first half of Zexal I, Kaito despises the job and his employers based on how he can’t even look Mr. Heartland in the eye when he reports his progress and how his eyes drop to the floor when the premise of taking souls is brought up. He has a special distaste for those with Numbers because of what he was led to believe since we also learn later on he’s been fed almost nothing but lies about the Numbers so the times Kaito might have become far more conflicted with his circumstances sooner were always ripped away from him. In his mind, he's trapped and following orders is his best option right now, but if it means the only thing that matters most to him, his little brother, is ok, then he'll be the worst person in the world. And that's just the explanation for why he did it all. Because even with the truth, he doesn't excuse it.

Following Zexal I, Kaito continues to involve himself with the struggle against the Barians, and while most of it is with the understanding he's avenging the damage done to his family, it’s also in part avenging the damage he did to Yuma, Ryouga, and the many other people he’s laid a hand on. The idea that a character or a person needs to wear their guilt and redemption on their sleeve at every second is unreasonable. I also think it’s important to recognize that atonement isn’t just justice or forgiveness; Kaito, for example, never once asks for forgiveness, nor apologizes verbally. Instead, he shows up. He's there when he has to be and does exactly what he needs to do, because his actions are going to be worth more than his words are going to be. Kaito has always been and is always going to be someone who is going to act, not speak. Zexal I Kaito isn’t showing up to help handle the gang in the first few episodes of Zexal II. Zexal I Kaito isn’t taking Yuma’s place against Mizael in the duel in the sphere field. While Kaito continues to have alternate and additional motivation for his own newfound focus, he does not do these things for his ambition’s sake only.  Anytime accountability and Kaito’s treatment of his allies is brought up, I think it’s also very telling when some things are excluded, like how he pivots the entire project with Chris in the Arctic into getting Yuma sent to Astral World instead of them in order to reunite with Astral is largely overlooked. Another example is his complete turnaround behavior towards Gauche and Droite both in Spartan City, going as far to recognize how strong of a duelist and person Droite is when Gauche is possessed by Alito and that Droite is the only person suited for that duel despite him being seemingly such an asshole towards her in Zexal I. Hell, Kaito’s treatment of Ryouga is far different in one half to another, he goes from reducing Ryouga down to a waste of his time and just another punk who wants a piece of him to respecting him in his own weird little way where he has to pick a fight with him. We've all seen Zexal I, we've seen how Kaito truly treats people he doesn't like. --- I like to look at Kaito through the lens of rejection because loneliness is such a key portion of his character. I feel like focusing on those wrongs doubles down on the theme that’s in place. Kaito has hurt people. But he recognizes that, verbalizes it when he calls himself hell bound even, so he will continue to do better by those people."

THIS IS WHY IM HIS BIGGEST APOLOGIST

I just think he's so interesting, I wanna talk about him being a piece of shit because he IS, how mean he was to Yuma in I says a lot, but he's not THAT much of a piece of shit by the end, his development isn't overwhelmingly apparent, much like most rivals in the franchise, but it's VERY there

12. the unpopular character that you actually like and why more people should like them

SPECTRE!!!!! I LITERALLY HAVE PIECES FOR HIS WIG AND HAVE HAD THEM FOR A YEAR NOW!!!!!!!!!!!

I was AMAZED once to find out that people didn’t like Spectre because Spectre is so standout and fascinating. I HATE how he's boiled down to being creepy or "what happened to Aoi in their duel"-

Before it plummeted to hell, I got a tweet on my Twitter fyp from an rp acct that was like “like this if you hate spectre” and it had ~35 likes so I had to be cheeky and tweeted "what's it like to have bad taste" gjdsakldgskajg My one time with a mean streak..........

Genuinely though, what’s it like to not have taste, he's a freak, it's on purpose, I'd die for Spec

[moonlit-orchid]

Zexal Month- Belated Day 10- The Chariot Reversed

@zexalmonth

This took long simply because i knew WHAT to draw but not HOW but anyway

Introducing Heartland Middle School's Fencing club!

I headcanon that these 5 kids fence. It's actually a precious headcanon because I do fence and i love it. I actually took inspiration for the uniforms from my fencing experience.

How? Well, I dont know if i conveyed it very well, but the uniform jackets are much too big and everyone's sleeves are rolled up, which is kind of how my fencing club's uniforms are like XD, they're huge. Also again I don't know if I drew it well enough, but their pants are also meant to be very thick tracksuit pants, which are again what we're meant to wear (i say meant because some of the others would still wear thin ones with ankle socks which was a big no-no for safety reasons). Astral's that colourful mess because he has to wear Yuma's because those are the thickest he can find, and Dumon's borrowed Shark's because he doesnt own any himself.

(Also them stabbing each other without helmets is completely forbidden PLEASE DONT ACTUALLY DO THIS ITS A BIG SAFETY HAZARD)

In terms of ranking Dumon and Trey are the top, Dumon because he used to be a knight and Trey because he grew up fencing. Trey is actually better than Dumon because Dumon still isn't fully used to fencing compared to the sword fighting he used to do. Then it's Astral and Mizar. Also they have the PETTIEST beef ever. Why? Who knows.

Rio's a special case, as she's the only girl on the team because there's no girls' team. Because they're still in middle school she can still beat most boys her age, however once she reaches high school she knows she'll have to find a girls' team simply due to the size and strength difference between her and most guy fencers by that point. Does she possess the most skill? Yes. But is she smaller and therefore more easily thrown off? Also yes. (Trust me, size and stregnth do really affect fencing, as well as aggression. I speak from experience. It's very hard to be strategic when you're facing someone who's bigger, faster, and is waving the damn sword like they want your blood) Currently she can easily beat pretty much all the boys, with the exception of the bigger ones.

Mizar is CONSTANTLY getting his hair caught in the zip at the back of the jacket. CONSTANTLY.

Chris also can fence very well and happily trains the kids. He especially helps Rio to ensure that if she can't find a girls' team when she goes to high school, she can still manage to average among the high school boys even with the disadvantage her size gives her. His hair NEVER gets stuck. Ever.

Also i drew Astral without his earrings on purpose. Why?

Have you ever got an earring stuck/seen someone who got an earring stuck in a fencing helmet?

[voicesofchaos]

Zexal Month - The Empress

So this theme is supposed to talk about our favorite character. But again I feel like I have talked about Yuma and Vector so many times. It would be cool to talk about underappreciated main characters like Tron or Durbe. But I figured I wanted to do this like the Numbers post and instead look at the characters that are nobody's favorite character! So I am going to go through the minor characters in Zexal, note anything special about them and then make-up what happens to them after the series. Going to be another longer post! @zexalmonth

I'm going to start with Kotori's friends. We see Kotori spend most of her time with the Number's club but honestly I feel like off-camera she probably spends a lot of time with them off-camera throughout the whole series. Even though they are extremely minor characters in the series I feel like they are an important but separate group of friends that Kotori treasures. Epilogue-wise they stay friends with Kotori for a long time and maybe at like Kotori's birthday party they even start to become friends with the Number's club as well. Although Rio is annoyed by how much they like Ryoga.

Let's keep talking about classmates but talking about a bunch of characters that were mostly one-ofs at the beginning of Zexal II.

Except for Taichi/Spencer who debuted early and gets tricked by Tokunosuke/Flip a lot. He was also an important enough character to appear in Arc-V! So I am going to say after Zexal he got so tired of being bullied that fled to another dimension and in Arc-V's Heartland he ended up murdering the Arc-V version of Tokunosuke/Flip.

Then we have the student council guy. Not much to say about him honestly except that he becomes really good friends with Todoroki/Caswell after the series. Sure.

The flower lady continues her flower club and goes on to become a surprisingly good duelist with her Plant Burn strategy.

The comics drawing guy goes on to become an award-winning comic book artist for her his comic called, THE LUKEMAN!

One more notable classmate, Yatagarasu. I guess he is named that as a reference to being a good soccer player but why waste such a good name on a nobody Yugioh character! Yatagarasu is an iconic Yugioh card that is responsible for creating the first ban list! I say after the series he keeps simping for Rio for some time until he meets a certain someone else on this list...

Before we leave the school we need to talk about this teacher. This guy totally goes to jail for cyberterrorism. Everything in episode 3 anf 4 wasn't an act.

Moving on to World Duel Carnival! This Soccer deck guy, he dates Yatagarasu. Speaking of dating, Construction Boy dates Anna for a little bit but she ends up dumping him. Camera guy develops a crush on Akari and becomes her stalker until she gets a restraining order put on him and eventually he ends up in jail for illegal pictures. Then the Tomato guy dies of a heart attack at a young age.

Can't forget good old Charlie McCoy! This guy has one of the only on-screen kisses in all of Yugioh ever! Thus guy! You know what, I don't have anything else to say about him.

Let's move on to one-off villains! The gangster duo from episodes 11 and 12 who took advantage of Shark end up teaming up with the first guy in Zexal II the Barians brainwashed. Together their form a criminal empire that dominates the underworld. Until the Zexal version of Ushio/Trudge takes them down.

Speaking of gangsters. Did you know that only 2 fusion monsters were ever summoned in all of Zexal? Kaito summoned 1, Twin-Photon Lizard. And these guys summoned the other! They go on to become edgelord duel champions.

Again remember this guy that worshipped Kaito for literally no reason? Yeah that is all I have to say about him. He is just funny to think about.

What I want to say about Anna's friend who get married would make this post NSFW so I ma just going to skip them...

We see the mothers of most of the Numbers Club. But did you remember that Tetsuo/Bronk also has a hot sister? Just feels like wasted potential. They could have done so much with her character!

Finally we come to this idol. Fun fact, when Girag was hinted to be coming to Duel Links, a lot of people thought this idol was being added to the game as a playable character! In episode 92, Shark plays the guitar in a band with her. So my final post-Zexal headcanon is that her and Shark are friends-with-benefits on the down-low.

Hopefully you have enjoyed this very silly list of forgettable characters. I'm sorry if your favorite was so forgettable thaat they couldn't even make this list.

[cyberdragoninfinity]

Shark for the character meme!

SHARKKK MY FRIEND SHARK

First impression: "oh ok so the Zexal rival has like a water and shark motif going on that's fun. he's kind of a little a-hole i like that"

Impression now: SHARRRKKKKK he is. up there as one of my favorite ygo rivals, leaps and bounds. i love him so much. His character arc tears me asunder. So much Awful Shit happened to him and he just had to take it. His identity crisis is absolutely nuclear Danabait. This kid has so much AND he's kind of a little a-hole. He's delightful.

Favorite moment: The episode where Shark and Yuma duel on the hospital roof is, Really Really Good. Mission accomplished MFriday. Also [zexal spoilers of course] but that last Yuma and SharkNasch duel kicks my fuckin teeth in. it goes so hard.

Idea for a story: have jammed with my roommate extensively about College AU Shark working at a country club and sputtering around on a golf cart and wearing a little stupid nametag that says "Reginald" on it.

Unpopular opinion: god idek what the unpopular Shark opinions are. Hm. [spoilers] I do love the Nasch situation, with him. I wasn't sure how much I was gonna vibe with it but I liked it more than, say, what GX was trying to do with Jaden and the Supreme King. I wish his Barian form had fins so bad though.

Favorite relationship: His dynamic with Yuma is so. so special to me. I think it's up there with Yusei and Jack re: favorite protag and rival dynamics. Yuma taught this kid kindness and empathy and even when he tried so hard to throw that all away that sense of bonds and loyalty is now irreversibly part of him. They are besties to me. Also I'm Yugioh Siblings Liker Numero Uno I also adore his bond with Rio ;__;

Favorite headcanon: THE freshly out trans masc nonbinary kiddo he/they of all time. Sea predator special interest so powerful it preserved across Millennia. Competitive Pokemon player. Everyone gives Vector "horrifying nightmares of his past life" but god knows Shark gets them too and they keep him up at night :(

[thewittyphantom]

Here's Mizar's dialogue with Yuma, Astral, and Shark.

Mizar: Are you the one known as Yuma Tsukumo? My name is Mizar! Remember me well. For I am the last Duelist you will ever face! Yuma: Is he... a Barian? (I have to defeat him if I want to protect Astral! When he uses Barian's Force to Special Summon a CXyz, he steals my Overlay Units. That puts me at a huge disadvantage, so I gotta find a way to counter it. Or else, Astral's done for...) Mizar: What's wrong? Scared? Yuma: I'm never scared! Mizar: Hahahaha! That must mean you accept my challenge! Yuma: It sure does! Let's do this! Cuz I'm feelin' the flow! Astral: Yuma! What is going on? Mizar: You finally showed up, Astral. Astral: !? He can see me? Yuma: He's a Barian, Astral! (If he defeats me with his CXyz monster...) Astral: Yuma... Yuma: Don't worry, Astral! I'll never let him take me down!

Shark: You should really learn to chill out. Mizar: Shark...Maybe I would if you and Yuma would cease interfering with our missions. Shark: Only a Barian would say that. Mizar: That's because I am one. My name is Mizar. I will take possession of every Number in this world! Shark: Go ahead. What's stopping you? Oh, that's right. Me. I have a bone to pick with you Barians for what you did to me! Mizar: Am I supposed to remember what that was? Why would I remember what I did to a human? Shark: Grr! Mizar: You would save yourself a lot of hurt if you simply hand over your Numbers!

[tiredgremlintime]

CHARACTER ASK PROMPT WITH YUMA !!!! 😼 also you are so way cool

HI HI you are so way cooler!!!! >:3

How I feel about this character

He’s a HUUUGGEEE fav!!!!! I love the little guy!!!! He’s amazing and I could talk and defend him for hours!!! He’s actually in my top 3 Ygo protags!!

All the people I ship romantically with this character

Yuma is actually someone I multi ship with cause I headcanon him as bi polyam! I ship him with Trey, Shark, and Tori mostly!!! Those three ships are adorable to me! I wish Yuma/Trey and Yuma/Tori could be more popular though.

My non-romantic OTP for this character

Astral of course!!!! They are THE platonic soulmates ever!! The bond they hold is a deep emotional special one, but seeing it as romantic,,,,,gives off bad vibes, especially considering how long Astral probably lived. It was either a mutual of mine or someone I follow who once stated how Zexal is about family and how Yuma and Astral’s bond is a big example of that and I love that analyze, overall to me atleast Yuma and Astral shows how much you can love someone without it being romantic

also bonus I love making crossover friendships so some other ones I have are Jaden and Yuma, Yusei and Yuma, Yuya and Yuma, Zuzu and Yuma, Yuto and Yuma, Lulu and Yuma, Yusaku and Yuma, and Takeru and Yuma! (I’m a big crossover fan lol)

also I’m a fan of Yuma being friends with the Tenjo brothers!!! He should be an honorary brother I think cough cough

My unpopular opinion about this character

“Oh Yuma sucked at dueling ohhhh he’s the worst” wow it’s almost as if THAT’S APART OF HIS CHARACTER ARC AND DEVELOPMENT. HIM LEARNING HOW TO DUEL IS APART OF HIS STORY are y’all paying attention

Uhhhh in the past I used to get upset at him for being easily forgiving if that counts

also I think he should get to smacked some of the people who hurt him :)

One thing I wish would happen/had happened with this character in canon

I really think a duel between him and Kari would’ve been SO cool, especially before one of his big battles, like protective big sis trying to stop her little brother from possibly dying by dueling him, it would have been SUCH an emotional duel and something I would have loved, especially if it was after the barian lords reveal before the gang went off to fight

also I don’t know if this counts but in my first time watching Zexal I generally thought that Dark Zexal was gonna come back but activated by YUMA’s negative emotions instead of Astral’s due to all the emotional betrayal after Nash revealed himself

[miraivelgear]

Today on Duel Links:

Yugo autoduel AI beat Rio, Shark, and Yuma/Astral's wave duel asses in quick succession WITH NO SPECIAL SUMMONING EXCEPT RUBBERBAND PLANE'S EFFECT TO SPECIAL SUMMON ITSELF. Not even a single synchro.

I'm sorry, that was hilarious. Good job, Yugo

[gayestyugiohcharacter]

character: Shark from Zexal

ig it's noncanon but it's pretty clear Yuma is his special person and he's so tsundere that expecting anything forward from him would be asking so much. he was also the first ygo rival to not be given even a flicker of a female love interest (seto - kisara, jack - Carly, manjoume - asuka, kaito - droite). And some of the sweet faces he gives Yuma that break through his intense tsundere. Aww.

he’s added!

[magpiejay1234]

Second part of Jin Duel.

Number C39: Utopia Ray initially appears in Astral Language, so it too will get a special reprint. It will likely be the special reprint for 2026, rather than Galaxy Queen.

Jin's Shaman Deck is technically incomplete, as it lacks 4 other colours. I guess these will be covered once it gets physically released.

This Duel overall features Number 16: Shock Master, and Number 11: Big Eye. It serves as an initial showcase for high Rank Xyz monsters, and introduces Chaos Xyz Change.

A bit of a break here. Initially Chaos Xyz Change merely transformed monsters to Chaos variants, it didn't Rank-Up them (Rank-Up Chaos Xyz Change introduced in ZEXAL II is a different mechanic in animé). This is why initial Chaos Xyz Changes in ZEXAL I have the same as Ranks as their original, and why Number 62: Galaxy-Eyes Prime Photon Dragon would later get a similar Chaos Xyz Change to match Shark Drake, and Utopia.

I doubt the classic Chaos Xyz Change will be used later on in OCG, but we'll see. If it is re-used, it will likely be for ZEXAL I Numbers.

Jin is actually not connected to Kaito, he just pretended to be so, to use Kaito's status as an urban legend. I guess a hypothetical ZEXAL reboot would forget this, though.

I was also partially wrong, Lightning Overdrive support was likely referencing this Duel, since Yuma's LP is at 100 also in this Duel at Utopia Ray's debut Summon.

This duel also debuts Kurivolt presumably from Rokujuro's Hidden Deck, which was initially supposed to be Yuma's Kuriboh (hence its design), but that will be replaced Rainbow Kuriboh in ZEXAL II.

[devoted-souls-gone]

   Okay. So remember that ring Vector got from some mysterious Numbers? Whatever happened to it? Turns out, Yuma kept it. Vector didn't want any part of it, but it was so shiny! Gorgeous! What was the harm? Shark and Rio wear rings. Alit wears rings. Nothing wrong with that! However, Yuma had the entire ring redesigned, replacing the gemstones and saved it for a… special occasion. That being Christmas day.

   “ Shingetsu! Shingetsu! „ The boy called out, rushing near Vector. Yuma was happier than usual. This could have been because of the holiday or seeing his adoring Barian. Well… it was probably both! After all, Yuma loved both!    “ Merry Christmas, Shingetsu! Not sure if Barians celebrate but… you were human before! So you must know what it is! „ Yuma gave Vector a ravishing smile, bright as the morning sun that beamed down on the two of them. Reaching though his pant pockets, he revealed a miniature box.

   Without a word, the duelist opened the small package. And there it was. The same ring Vector was given, only now with amethyst jewels to match the Barian's dazzling eye color. It looked expensive, no doubt. But that didn't matter. Not one bit. Seeing Vector's smiling face was worth more to Yuma than anything in the world.    “ U-um! Since you didn't seem too interested in it… I gave it a whole new look! Maybe you'll like it now! …Maybe…? „ Foolish Yuma. He didn't realize the Numbers gave Vector that ring to give to him. …Hopefully this wasn't going to be awkward. It was still Yuma's Christmas gift to Vector, all the same.

@highfivethesky

Vector eyes didn't widen and a small yet growing smile appeared on his lips. Eyes shutting brief as he sighed. That was to give to Yuma but maybe in the future Vector can give one back.

"I love it, thank you Yuma.." Soft tone as he accepted the gift even placing it on one of his fingers to show he meant that thanks. "I'll treasure it,Like i treasure out bond. Always." Sounding sappy but the Barian did not care the fact Yuma was here meant the world to him, he didn't need anything else just Yuma. Now he had thought of gifts for the other but wasn't sure what -- though he has better ideas now.

[nialumin]

HELLO! I'm opening ko-fi sketch commissions bc I'll be moving soon. Rts and shares would be greatly appreciated! Thanks! https://ko-fi.com/milleniumlint

[quattro-arclight-the-aroace-boy]

DO NOT Repost or edit over without my permission

(Part 3)

[cyberdragoninfinity]

For the character meme I'd love to know your thoughts on Shark!

SHARRRK,,,,, OK LAST ONE OF THESE FOR REAL i do. adore shark and would love to talk about him but that'll be the last of this meme for now.....thank u all

again preface: im only half way through Zexal im up to like episode 83 or so <3 Shark Watch is still developing.

favorite thing about them: i absolutely Adore what is going on with shark's little character arc, especially in Zexal I...it is so so cool seeing a yugioh rival who's just a surly mean 14 year old (who outside of his sister probably did not have many friends growing up) become more open to friendship and kindness because of yuma's exuberant relentless warmth so now hes just like "if you mess with my friends i will fucking kill you >:(" i love it SO SO MUCH. I LOVE THAT HES STILL A LITTLE BIT OF A JACKASS BECAUSE YOU CAN TELL HE DOESNT KNOW HOW TO NAVIGATE FRIENDSHIP VERY WELL hes just such a kid!! i love him

least favorite thing about them: i dont know if i have one for him yet!! maybe after i finish the series i'll have more quibbles...

favorite line: there was this line in an ep i watched recently where yuma's dueling mizar/mizael and shark's there and he's like "i'd love to jump in and sink my teeth into this guy for yuma"...i love ALL his lines like that, where he repeatedly expresses concern or care for yuma...it's like. Uh huh, is that right, tough guy? Does somebody care about his friends, Mr. Cool?? Huh? Huh????

brOTP: HIM AND YUMA FOR REAL. already one of my favorite ygo friendships their dynamic is SO sweet AND SO SO FUNNY. the most annoying kid in the world also has the world's biggest heart and he's your best friend now. Shark literally will beat the shit out of 10+ people to defend him. They're the best!! Also really wanna see more of his dynamic with Rio....we all know I love them yugioh siblings....

OTP: dont really know if i have one. yuma/shark as a ship is cute but, again, i dont particular care too much about shipping middle schoolers i have better things to do.

nOTP: if you ship him with his sister i will rip you in half like a paper towel.

random headcanon: This kid is such a Freshly Out Nonbinary Kid of all time to me. The he/they ever. Dubverse exclusive but I hc his rich ass parents were like "ok but you need a Real name for polite company you Cannot JUST be Shark" and thats how 'Reginald' came about. Also you know his special interest is sharks and sea predators but thats barely a headcanon I think. he just came like that.

unpopular opinion: i dont even know what the unpopular shark opinions are!!! again maybe once i finish the series (i know he has. Some Plot Shit coming) i will have something more concrete.

song i associate with them: gotta be Shark Serenade by Vermillion Lies....it's just soooo "im unknowable im scary im MEAN dont come CLOSE TO ME" middle schooler angst AND it's shark flavored!!! "I'll try to spare you the pain of my jaws/But it's just in my nature to rip and to shred" like ok buddy youre 14 it'll be ok!!!

favorite picture of them: this one where he's so embarrassed about his little sister eating lunch with yuma & co (you might could say...shark's, "friends" 😏) that he sits on the roof 20 yards away from everyone.