#trying to figure out ygo design

[warchord]

iii doodle!!

[bestygogirl]

BEST YGO GIRL: ROUND 5, ALL GROUPS

Group B Finals!

please use this as an opportunity to say why you like a character, not why you don't.

Propaganda under the cut!

Yuzu Hiragi

The entire show would not work if the cast wasn't obsessed with her, and they're all right to stan her, literally gets Sora and Serena to defect from Academia with her sheer charisma, beat Masumi at their gay little rivalry, Yugo spends a few days with her and is ready to die for her, Yuya is simply just the loudest about adoring her And why not? She is so clever and determined, doing the most work out of anyone to figure out the myth plot. Actively trains to keep up with the rest of cast. Even when the universe is conspiring against her and trying to keep her down, she fucking headbutts Roger and tells him off or manifests to help save the world in the ultimate girlboss team-up that was the Arc V finale. Truly any dimension without her is worth upending. - The mysterious magical bracelet that isekai's her to different worlds, the Can-Do attitude, the cool poses (fusion summoning), the ADORABLE character design, AND she was 1/4 of a world-saving hero in the past?? If it weren't for the meddling writers, she would have been the main character - yuzu is everything. literally the plot of arc v hinges on the fact everyone who meets her become just as obsessed with her. and they are totally right to do so

Dark Magician Girl

she is iconic, basically the unofficial mascot of the anime. She has so much merch and so much fanart she is THE girl ever dark magician girl is what made me realize that i like women and that should be reason enough to vote her. and she's also a complete ICON of the show. THE YUGIOH GIRL OF ALL TIME. the moment she was first summoned by yugi is one of the most iconic in the entire show

[mixelation]

give me a fandom and i'll make an OC

IDK what i expected to happen LOL. okay here's two OC concepts I've thought about for YGO

the first concept was the product of a conversation between me and a friend a looooong time ago. our concept was this: yugi's dad's company sent him abroad for work several times, and he had an affair with someone in the US that ended up with Yugi having a half sister. this is also why we never hear from yugi's dad-- his mom divorced him and then did her best to never interact with him again lol. so yugi is aware he has a half-sister in the US but he's never, like, talked to her.

this OC wasn't into duel monsters, but we wanted her to be into SOME sort of gaming and I think we picked puzzle games? but if i were to tweak her design i think i'd make her a twitch streamer who does a lot of weird challenges on popular games. i don't think we named her, but she's a lazy person who only wants to work enough to support her hobbies. oh also my friend and i got into an argument over what Yugi's hair would look like grown out and i drew this with my track pad:

if we had a plot in mind i don't remember what it was. if i made up one now: at some point yugi becomes famous and suddenly OC keeps getting asked questions about if she knows about this king of games guy because they have the same hair. isn't that funny?? and OC sees him on TV and is like: oh god i think that's my brother. she doesn't reach out because her mom is like "LOL they hate us" and also her japanese is awful. but meanwhile, yuugi keeps getting @ed on social media that there's a mildly popular twitch streamer with his hair. isn't that funny?? so eventually yugi reaches out and then... idk. stupid semi-magical shenanigans.

second concept: ryou has an online friend.

i think i've pitched ryou having an online presence before. i think this makes sense for him: every fiend he has gets their soul stolen by the evil ghost haunting him, but what can bakura do to online friends? be rude to them? so ryou posts a lot on online monster world forums and maybe plays some games via an online platform. i think bakura IS rude to people sometimes but ryou is like "sorry that was my evil alter ego :(" and in early 2000s online culture that's just a normal thing for a teenager to do/say.

OC is therefore someone he's know even longer than Yugi, just via various online platforms. She's talked to Bakura and been confused. She's "there, there"-ed Ryou between extremely bizarre sounding incidents and hospital stays. Post-canon, after they both graduate high school, the two of them make Big Plans to meet in person. OC wants to write her own TTPGs, so Ryou invites her to stay with him in Domino for a few weeks because it is THEE gaming capital. Also it would be fun to try and make some models for her ideas!! Maybe they can even playtest some!!

OBVIOUSLY something has to go wrong, and that is my favroite YGO trope: the day OC is supposed to turn up, Malik shows up on Ryou's doorstep and is like GUESS WHO MYSTERIOUSLY JUST HAS HIS OWN BODY NOW. it's bakura!!!

(OC, meeting him: you're real?)

the Shenanigans that follow would be one part having to figure out what to do with an evil ghost made real, one part trying to enjoy your last summer before university, and then one part OC insisting on meeting shady people from the internet who turn out to be hardened criminals about 95% of the time.

my concept for OC's personality is that she's very creative and emotionally supportive of her friends, but she's also one of those people who's very into how From The City she is and sometimes that causes her to make wild decisions. in my original concept, i wanted her to be the most stereotypical new yorker, but she could be from any major city

Malik, seeing the address of where she's meeting Some Guy to buy a limited edition Monster World player's manual: girl you are going to get mugged

OC: I CAN TAKE OF MYSELF. STREET SMARTS--!!

(obviously she goes, and ryou makes bakura and malik go with them because YOU JUST SAID SHE WAS GOING TO GET MUGGED, but also OC is very confident because she got pepper spray through TSA. nothing can go wrong.)

the plot would be typical yugioh game-based shenanigans but everyone is like 80% more likely to throw hands.

[enter-the-performapals]

@arcvmonth Day 26: Action Magic - Crossover!

So uh.... I'm a huge Sonic fan, surprise? For today I decided to make the Dragon Boys and Bracelet Girls into Mobians, the species that sonic characters are.

The girls are bunnies because I love rabbits, and my favorite sonic character is Cream the Rabbit. I also really wanted to make their ears into their hairstyles because I thought it'd be super cute.

I decided to make the boys into wolves because of the stereotypical rabbits and wolves contrast. Also, I like the Lone Wolf (Ute and Joeri) to Domesticated Doggy (Yuya and Hugo) aspect of wolves.

I find Mobians super easy and fun to draw. Because of their more simple anatomy, it really helped me to figure out how to pose characters. With how crazy the character designs can get in ygo, I find that a lot of characters can look pretty good in the Sonic style!

My favorites are definitely Hugo, Ute and Ruri. All of them fit pretty well in this style except... Well... The goddamn tomato head. His color palate Just Looks Bad when it comes to Mobianizing him. Here's another try I gave, inverting the green and red:

After seeing these, my IRL friend who's also into ygo gave me the idea to turn a villain into Dr. Robotnik, so as a final extra, here's an Eggman Shaped Roget.

[sunnsfighter]

tdlr updates :

if no body makes a buddyfight/vanguard/ bushiroad community i sure asf will.

going thru some identity searchin and following more LGBTQ type blogs - I am ambi/poly and im actively wanting more partners, and if that bothers you, please unfollow!

my stories and art will be back super soon! im working on a base to go off first

help me find the SU community plsss

new pinned post soon!

long form:

general:

been awhile, once again lmao. ive been in a art block for the longest time , and its been a hectic few years for me in hindsight- from getting dumped in a mono ship , to being in a failed poly triad , to now navigating my life with my remaining partner and polyamoury , and figuring out who i am and what i want . .. ill def make a side blog for nsfw stuff cuz i want to interact with it - but im gonna wait untill side blogs can join communities. due to a lot of new info and to simplify my stuff, im redoing my pinned post .. i wanna find a ton of communities and finally make like minded friends

art:

im gonna actually do normal art i swear ;-; i want to post more of my humanoid stories and art and see how it goes- maybe ill find new mutuals?? im hoping to trim some ocs and add some too

tumblr stories:

im doing a template system across my storylines so i have a grip on whats going on , what character roles i need and want filled , and the story i want to tell before i start any new ones or do any new art - meaning the YGO aus i actually wanna do are on hold... but dont fret ! when im done ill be wayy more organized and even might have other stuff to share!!

buddyfight specific:

since the yota project has more info and needs less done , it will be prioritized . I have the yota project all planned for the most part , i just need to get the timeline figured out ... a new fankid is gonna be made since i redid a ship, im working on more extensive parent bios and lore and i do plan to evenually do ship charts , and colored adult designs..

i have time to binge ace frfr- i wanna binge it when im in the actual mood to- but ill also go info hunting prolly lol

my fanseasons in the shipping/character phase ( and the pairs are just as odd , spanning across the old seasons- so i have to do couple lore for that too lmao)

on both i have to figure out buddies ( who has them , updates and designs on current ones , etc.) , and worlds for anyone who still plays the game... been acting like they dont exist for the longest time ngl

other:

im also trying out 3d models for like .. vrchat/vtubing?? im really doing that as a mood based thing , and i wanna join that community too.. i wanna join vrchat again, but i needa crew first and a model i like ..

[blueeyeswhitegarden]

Day 21: League of Dueling Seriously @arcvmonth

I really like the Lancers. They're a group of fun and likable characters, but I wanted to focus on Reiji for this prompt. I really like his design. I love his long red scarf. It's so ridiculous that it comes back around to being cool. It's some peak YGO fashion. His deck is really cool. It has some great monster designs and I've been using it a lot in Duel Links. I tend to favor power decks, so being able to easily summon something like D/D/D Dragonbane King Beowulf on the first turn can be really helpful. He's also the second Arc V character that I was able to fully level up in Duel Links.

I also think he's pretty underrated among the fanbase. I think at least part of that is because it's easy to misread his character. It's easy to see his calm, distant demeanor as being cold, heartless and basically making him to be a bigger jerk than he is. That was the case with me at least when I was watching the series as it was airing. It took me a long time to like Reiji, especially after his second duel with Yuya where he was being really harsh in trying to push him. But he does care about other people. He spent years preparing to fight against Academia and doing whatever he could to protect Standard. That doesn't mean that everything he did was right, but that he wasn't this heartless person either. Unlike the vast majority of the cast, Reiji isn’t openly emotional. He keeps his feelings close to the chest, focused on what he needed to do instead of his own feelings. This was most likely the result of finding out his father's plan three years prior to the start of the series. Thirteen year old Reiji was a lot more emotional, demanding answers from Leo, while sixteen year old Reiji is more calm, collected and reserved. Finding out that his father abandoned him and his mother to effectively start a war forced Reiji to grow up too fast. There are moments where his feelings break through that demeanor, such as when he was so angry hearing Yuto's recount of what Academia did to Heartland, so he clearly was upset over what his father had done on top of abandoning him and his mother.

I also like Reiji as a rival. He felt pretty refreshing when he wasn't a traditional rival or had a traditional kind of rivalry with Yuya. Not that those are necessarily bad things. Traditional rivals and rivalries can be really solid, but I think I was a bit tired of that format after the past few series. It helped to make him stand out and he's my second favorite rival in the franchise next to Jack. I like that both Yuya and Reiji are polar opposites in regards to how they handle their emotions. They both lost their fathers, even if the circumstances were quite different since Yusho didn't intend to abandon his family like Leo did, and that had a huge impact on both of them. Reiji trying to push Yuya into becoming a stronger duelist was also a different take on how rivalries typically go, even if it did seem like pushing Yuya too hard and harshly after the Battle Royal.

I think that it was smart choice to have Reiji duel sparingly for the first two seasons. Admittedly, I'm sure that it was at least partly due to Yoshimasa Hosoya's busy schedule, but I think it still worked out in their favor. Reiji is easily the strongest duelist in the cast with being able to summon Fusion, Synchro, Xyz and Pendulum monsters relatively easy. But he never felt overhyped to me like I think some past and future rivals kind of fall into. He didn't come off as broken or overpowered to the point where I wondered why he didn't just face Academia all by himself. It also fit with his personality. Reiji doesn't jump straight into battle. He observes from the sidelines, figures out the best strategy to go with based on what they know and only take direct action when he deems necessary. Plus, I figured that he wouldn't lose to anyone who wasn't Yuya and maybe Leo, so that would limit how much tension they could get from his duels. While that did limit how much dueling he could do prior to getting to Academia, I thought that it still worked well and he still had some good moments in Synchro even before getting to duel Roger like calling out the City Council and having some bonding moments with Reira.

I also really like his friendship with Yuya. It felt like it was based on mutual respect and was pretty believable. While Yuya was understandably upset with Reiji for a good chuck of the Synchro arc, Tsukikage told him that he wouldn't be working with Reiji if he didn't care for his allies. Afterwards, Yuya stared to call Reiji by his first name instead of Akaba Reiji, which I think meant he didn't see Reiji in the same way anymore. I don't think he could have really argued with Tsukikage when the evidence that Reiji was still keeping an eye on the defeated Lancers was right in front of him. At the end of the arc, Yuya stood up for Reiji, knowing that he wasn't the kind of person that Roger was trying to paint him as after revealing his father was the Professor. And when they confronted Leo at Academia, Reiji returned the favor by standing up for Yuya. After seeing Yuya's duels in the Synchro Dimension, he believed in his skills and chose to help Yuya instead of helping his father. It was a pretty nice moment and I think having a less antagonistic rivalry helped to make that development more believable.

I really loved Reiji's reactions to finally meeting with Leo again. Even after he learned the truth about Leo's plans and that Yuya is Zarc's reincarnation, Reiji still stood up for Yuya, called him his friend and tried to help him even with Zarc trying to take over Yuya’s soul. Of course Reiji wouldn't choose to work with his father after all they've went through, but Leo could easily counter Reiji's strategies. Even when his plans didn't go smoothly or there were unexpected problems in the past, Reiji was usually able to keep calm, collected and figure out where to go from there But his calm demeanor was starting to fade here with Leo calling him out for being too honest, straight forward and basically predictable. Reiji spent years planning this confrontation and had more than enough reason to be confident in both his and Yuya's skills, so he was taken aback by Leo calling him out like that. This moment wouldn't have been nearly as impactful as it was if Reiji had struggled against more opponents throughout the series. Reiji is easily one of my favorite characters of the series, as well as one of my favorite rivals in the franchise, and I don't think he gets enough attention from the fanbase.

[copperdaisy]

Today sucked ass and I spent the first half of my shift trying not to have a stress induced meltdown on the sales floor. Spent the whole time tearing up when I was not helping customers. But, tomorrow will be a new day, and hopefully it will be better.

Came home to find that Omen on Subeta had sketched a bust of my girl Sanura on their freebie board. Instantly made me feel a little better. I’m really happy with her design (she spent more than a decade with no visual reference whatsoever, and this is the third iteration of her design that I’ve thrown together since I started writing with her again back in 2020. This one was made with the Subeta wardrobe and it is by far my favorite). Equally happy to know that other people like it as well and seem to have fun drawing her.

Now if I could just figure out ‘permanent/official’ designs for my other YGO OCs. Only have uh. Four others. If I don’t count all of the second gen characters.

[diabounds-den]

Charlie (Change Of Heart)

Decided to update Charlie's design, they often get mistaken as a lost four year old. They usually don't mind because people usually offer to give them food while they wait for their parents, and there's always possession if someone peeves them off. 

They go by They/Them pronouns. 

Other then that they're usually silent and don't tend to hold grudges (except against one person in which case that individual can rot in a void for all of eternity). They can cry on cue. 

Charlie can switch between the form on their card and this one. They just prefer this one. Like the others Charlie’s wings are retractable, other then that they have horns and a floating heart in front of their chest.

[aquilamage]

accidentally realized there’s some similarities between simon blackquill and seto kaiba and my life has not known peace since

[deejadabbles]

Heres some post-canon-Atem-stays-AU headcanons bc I will forever be in denial that the ending of ygo ever happened.

First off can we all address the fact that Atem would have an accent!?! He knows Japanese bc of Yugi but once he has his own body back, his muscles and brain are used to different speech patterns, therefore we get an accent! The first time the gang hears him talk and this (adorable) accent they're floored but love it, it kinda helps further cement that he really is his own person apart from Yugi (not that the gang really needs that but still).

I think this would also lead to Yugi asking Atem to teach him some Ancient Egyptian. He says it just because he's interested but really he wants Atem to feel slightly less alone now that literally no one else speaks his language.

Also. Contrary to what some (*cough*Kaiba*cough*) think, Atem knows how to work modern tech. Like, come on he shared Yugi's body for years, he knows how to work a phone and computer. Now, he may be a bit of an old man and prefer not to use some modern things, but he's competent at least.

(okay okay but can we entertain the idea of Atem making "back in my day" jokes bc he thinks it's funny and Honda n Jonouchi take to calling him "old man" and it's just a big running joke between everyone?? that'd be great.)

Another misconception I think Atem would prove wrong is that he actually doesn't have all too much trouble adjusting to being a "commoner" and having to live a normal, rather un-luxurious, life. Again, he spent years watching Yugi interact with the world and live in it as someone who wasn't royalty, or even rich, and did that with no context of his previous life.

So yeah when Atem returns to earth with his own body he doesn't like...expect to have everything provided for him, or be waited on hand and foot like some ppl expected since he was royalty. Sure, he may not actively think "oh, I have to get a job in order to live now" on his own (mostly bc I think he's just still amazed he's alive at all, a lot of things don't come to mind), but when the subject comes up Atem isn't astonished or taken aback by the idea or anything weird, logically he knows he has to provide for himself now and knows at least the basics of how to accomplish that in modern times.

Okay but seriously can we all take a minute imagining Atem getting a fast food or clerk job to get by until he figures out what he wants to do next. Jou and Honda thought he'd be too prideful to "stoop that low" as ppl say, but Atem's fine with it. If dishing out fries to shitty customers or ringing up cigarettes at a gas station ensures that grandpa and Yugi don't have to carry him through life he's fine with it.

That being said, I can see Atem just being...forgetful that he has to take care of himself sometimes. He's not ignorant of the modern world, but he also has his memories back now, so I can see him laying in bed for a good 10 min before he finally remembers "oh yeah servants aren't coming to dress me, okay lets do this". And sure he knows the basics of life from his time with Yugi, like cooking and doing laundry for himself. But there's times where he just runs out of clean clothes bc he forgot to do laundry, things like that, but hey that's stuff even us non-ex-royals do as Adults so that's okay.

My point is that Atem adjusts to the modern world and not being royalty really well. He's just a forgetful dork sometimes.

Okay but going back to my "Atem gets an entry-level job" headcanon. Now I'm thinking about Kaiba finding out that Atem got a fast-food job instead of coming to him for work. Next thing Atem knows Kaiba storms in (probably cutting the line because of course he would) and starts this melodramatic speech about how no one has the right to employ the rival of Seto Kaiba besides SETO KAIBA himself.

Atem, who was already chewed out by a customer for getting the wrong sized drink, is having NONE of this and is completely ignoring him, trying to serve the next customer in line. When all Atem will say to him is "sir if you wont buy anything please leave" the petty giraffe known as Kaiba slams a pile of bills on the counter ....this then leads to Atem matching his pettiness! You know that tiktok, it's basically that. Atem takes the entire stack of bills, looks Kaiba dead in the eye, and tells him to get his own chicken nuggets.

Next thing we know Atem's managers are trying to pry them apart because Kaiba hopped the counter. There are nuggets and fries everywhere, someone threw a large coke, the customers are filming. It's a big mess.

OMG imagine the headline "Local billionaire has melt down at McDonald's"

Okay, moving on from that, sorry I just had to get that outta my head.

Once again I'm going to drive home my "touch starved Atem" headcanon by saying that Atem actually likes not being royalty in his 2nd life because Yugi and his friends aren't afraid to show him affection. This boy craves touch so much and is loving the fact that no one thinks it's offensive to hug him. Atem's the type that once he's comfortable with someone, expect hugs for every hello and goodbye. He's also known for putting his hands on shoulders and sometimes playing with hair (only if the other is comfortable with it of course!).

The hair-playing thing is because he has these precious memories of brushing and styling Mana's hair when they were younger (and once or twice being able to beg Mahad to join their hairstyling sessions). Now he loves doing it because he equates it with affection and unconditional friendship. He especially loves playing with Ryou's hair since it's so long and soft, and even bought Ryou these tarot card themed hairpieces just so he could style his hair with them.

After experimenting with alcohol a bit, Atem finds that he likes some wine cooler-type drinks but sometimes he'll crave a beer, since that was the drink of choice in ancient egypt. He weirds ppl out though because he prefers them warm, cold beer is too harsh on his sensitive teeth and he's just not used to it. Also, it took a long time to find a beer brand he likes because most aren't up to the quality he had "back in his day" lol.

At first Atem only knows how to cook basic things (again, what Yugi knows) but he soon realizes that he enjoys cooking. He gets a Pinterest account just so he can save recipes he wants to try (he starts saving other things though, he likes aesthetic boards and interior design!). The whole gang ends up loving this because he cooks meals for them sometimes and they're so good! While they're still in high school he makes Bentos for everyone about once a week and it's the highlight of their week <3

He does get a bit sad though, when he tries to recreate meals from his culture and they just don't taste quite right.

oKaY I WAS going to go on about what career I think Atem would eventually pursue, but they got really long and this is already long so I'm going to put them in their own post. All I'll say right now is: college student Atem and later, professor Atem.

That's all for now, expect more in the future though because I will never not support Atem stays AUs <3

[fairknights]

May I ask for the how the ygo characters act around their crush but for gx?

Of course you can. These crushy asks are fun to write hehe I got a bit carried away

Yu-Gi-Oh! GX

Crush Headcanons

Yuki Judai (Jaden Yuki):

Wants to be around his crush as much as possible. Will introduce them to his friends and want to hang out with them all the time. He’d want to learn as much about them as he could, so he’d be asking them all about themselves.

His favourite way to get to know a person? Challenge them to a duel. He thinks you can tell a lot about a person by the deck they’ve built and how they play it. He’d be really excited to duel them, a huge grin on his face as he faced opposite them.

I think he wouldn’t even realise it’s a crush at first. He’d try to befriend them first and assume that’s all it is, but I don’t think it would take him too long to realise. Hopefully. I imagine he’d just be laying there one night thinking about his crush and getting all gooey, and then he’d just sit up, suddenly realising he feels more than friendship towards them and be like ‘oh damn’.

He’d probably want to confess to them as soon as he’s realised his feelings. He’s not good at hiding his emotions anyway, so maybe his crush or people around him figured out he had a crush before even he did. His confession would be awkward but kinda excited too, he just can’t help it around them.

Marufuji Sho (Syrus Truesdale):

Shy boy. Doesn’t know what to do around people he finds attractive. He usually stares at the ground, face flushed red, stuttering on his words. He gets incredibly frustrated with himself for not being able to act naturally around his crush.

Will absolutely ask his friends for advice on how to act around them. Once the teasing settled down, I’m sure his friends would be happy to help him. How successful their advice would be is another story.

I think he might try sending them an anonymous love letter, just to get his feelings off his chest. He doesn’t know what to write, though, so it might end up never reaching his crush anyway.

One thing about Sho is that he will always face his fears in the end. He realises that he needs to get his feelings off his chest so that he can move on with his life, whether his crush rejects him or not. So after stewing on his feelings for who knows how long, he’ll definitely approach them with determination and awkwardly confess.

Tenjoin Asuka (Alexis Rhodes):

She’s usually so calm and collected; sure of herself and what she wants. But having a crush on someone really throws her off. At first, she’s a bit frustrated with this person, coming into her life and making her feel butterflies and turning her face red. I think she’d be a very mild tsundere towards them at first, only because she doesn’t know how to deal with her feelings. If anyone were to notice her acting strangely towards her crush and tease her about it, she’d be most indignant. No, she doesn’t have a crush. Hah. Nope. Not at all. She’d be blushing bright red while denying it vehemently.

I think after some time, she’d come around and decide to befriend her crush. She doesn’t leave a lot of time in her life for romance, but the ice would naturally melt as she spent time around her crush. 

She gets a bit awkward sometimes, because she’s still got no idea what to do with herself. But she tries to tone down her defensive reactions as much as possible. She wants to get along with her crush.

I think it would take a good while, but she’d pluck up the courage to confess to her crush eventually. I think her big brother might have something to do with it if he finds out she’s crushing on someone. His matchmaking schemes might fall completely flat most of the time (he would absolutely try to set Asuka up with her crush), but his encouragement is sincere, so Asuka would eventually give in and approach her crush.

Johan (Jesse) Anderson:

I think it would be difficult for anyone to realise Johan has a crush honestly. He’s usually so friendly, and I don’t think he’d treat his crush all that differently to his friends. He’s actually surprisingly good at hiding his feelings for them behind friendship. Unless you knew Johan well enough, you might never know he’s got a crush.

He’d want to duel his crush, or watch them duel, as often as he can. He’s like Judai in that he thinks it’s the best way to get to know a person. He’ll compliment their deck and card designs enthusiastically. It’s hard not to get caught up in his enthusiasm.

Though he’s usually chill around them, sometimes they might do something that would make him blush and/or stutter a bit. He’s generally quite extroverted, but he can be a tad awkward at times.

I don’t think he’d want to confess to his crush for a good while. He wants to be their friend and not ruin it, and honestly he’s not sure what he’d even say to them.

Edo (Aster) Phoenix

He’s Edo Phoenix, pro duelist. He hasn’t got time for crushes or romance or anything like that. He throws himself into his work, distracting himself from his crush. He won’t really want to do anything about his crush unless he’s too distracted by them to actually do his work or finds his dueling performance is dropping because he’s thinking about them.

He’s a big ol’ tsundere honestly, so he’s not going to make anything easy for himself. They make him feel vulnerable and he hates that. So he might end up actually pushing them away accidentally. This is even more frustrating to him. He’s already wasting his time enough as it is, and now his crush thinks he hates them.

Settles down after getting to know his crush a bit more. Once they become more relaxed around one another, Edo’s crush would only increase. But he’s trying hard not to get all worked up about it again, because he really doesn’t want to drive them away.

I think if he were to confess (and he might not because he still thinks he has no time for this), he’d set it up so he’s got them alone, maybe on his boat in the evening. He doesn’t want to make a big fuss of it, trying to play it off like it’s nothing. His awkward little tsundere self would probably have trouble making it seem like nothing though.

Tenjoin Fubuki (Atticus Rhodes):

Flirty boy is so used to being the one who gets chased. Having a crush that he wants to chase himself is a new one. He thinks he’s really smooth, and can sweep anyone off their feet but he’s not as cool as he wishes he was. Totally shows off around his crush, trying to get their attention. Wanna watch him duel? See him surf? He’ll make sure his crush is around to see him do something cool. Just hope he isn’t too distracted by his crush being there and doesn’t like, fall of his board or something.

He’s not used to feeling awkward around anyone, but I think he’d get that way around a genuine crush. He’d be all awkward chuckles and head rubs, and losing his train of thought around them would be common. He’s able to deal with finding people attractive, the flirt that he generally is, but a more emotional attraction would be a whole different story.

Tends to hang around his crush a bit. Not so much that he’s overbearing, but he’ll be around them quite a bit. Wants to make them laugh a lot because he loves the sound. If he can make them blush as well he’d be over the moon. He’d definitely low-key flirt with them quite a bit.

I think it would take a bit longer than you might expect for him to take the plunge and confess. He’s a bit more calculating than he generally lets on, and I think he’d like to test the waters first. He’d want to be sure he’s not going to drive his crush away if he confesses. Even if his crush doesn’t accept him, he wants to be their friend.

[bestygogirl]

BEST YGO GIRL: Round 3, Group B

Match 1

please use this as an opportunity to say why you like a character, not why you don't.

Propaganda under the cut!

Yuzu Hiragi

The entire show would not work if the cast wasn't obsessed with her, and they're all right to stan her, literally gets Sora and Serena to defect from Academia with her sheer charisma, beat Masumi at their gay little rivalry, Yugo spends a few days with her and is ready to die for her, Yuya is simply just the loudest about adoring her And why not? She is so clever and determined, doing the most work out of anyone to figure out the myth plot. Actively trains to keep up with the rest of cast. Even when the universe is conspiring against her and trying to keep her down, she fucking headbutts Roger and tells him off or manifests to help save the world in the ultimate girlboss team-up that was the Arc V finale. Truly any dimension without her is worth upending. - The mysterious magical bracelet that isekai's her to different worlds, the Can-Do attitude, the cool poses (fusion summoning), the ADORABLE character design, AND she was 1/4 of a world-saving hero in the past?? If it weren't for the meddling writers, she would have been the main character - yuzu is everything. literally the plot of arc v hinges on the fact everyone who meets her become just as obsessed with her. and they are totally right to do so

Yuna Goha

Yuna is great. She's an absolute bully whenever she's in conflict with the other characters (so sorry to Sky), which honestly? fun. Amazing energy. and then she has gay energy with Rovian and Asaka. Yuna has a surprisingly dynamic character arc, going from just following Rovian around in between bullying people, to taking on the task of inventing a new card (which is very hard work in this universe), and maturing to being one of the town's leaders. She's clearly someone in the process of learning who she is and I've really enjoyed seeing her get to go on that journey. SHE HAS A BASICALLY CANON GIRLFRIEND PLEASE I AM BEGGING BECAUSE ROVIAN GOT ELIMINATED ALREADY

[higuchimon]

[fanfic] Her Best Welcome

Asuka drew in a steadying breath, trying to get herself settled.  Warm sunlight brushed against her skin and when she breathed in, instead of the stench of unwashed bodies having baked in the sun for days there came the aroma of the ocean and the trees brought by the wind.  She wondered if she could get away from here long enough to get to Obelisk Blue and get a shower.  She didn't envy the Red and Yellow students, who would likely have very long lines to get cleaned up.  She didn't want to live in Obelisk Blue right now but she still had access to it for certain things like getting washed up.

She'd barely taken three steps away from Juudai, who didn't seem interested in anything outside of his own thoughts right now, before a voice cried out her name and a pair of arms wrapped around her, hugging her hard.  Asuka sighed and for once, didn't step away from her brother as he hugged her, at least not right away.

"Hello, big brother,"  she said, trying to get a little farther away.  She really wanted that shower.  Bu Fubuki kept his arms around her.

"You're back!"  He squealed.  "You're safe!"

"Yes, I know."  Asuka wouldn't mind talking to him about this once she'd had that shower and maybe something to eat.  But the shower first.  "Everyone's safe."  Well, almost.  She tried not to think too much about Johan and what had happened there.  She didn't even know what happened, but he wasn't there.  They'd figure out something about that later. 

Fubuki hugged harder. "I knew you'd be all right.  What happened?"  He turned her around so they could look at each other, and she was surprised to see the worry in his eyes, no matter what he said. 

"It's a really long story,"  Asuka told him.  "And I don't' want to tell it right now."  She didn't even know all of it.  She thought Juudai might know more but he wasn't in any condition to tell anyone the time of day, let alone anything else. 

Fubuki nodded, but she knew that he still wanted to know.  Maybe she'd be able to tell him later.  Her stomach rumbled and she frowned, still wanting that shower before she ate.  Fubuki sniffed lightly.

"Come on,"  he said, still with one arm around her, and guided her towards the Red dorm.  Her first thought was that everyone else there would need the showers before she could get to them.  Then she remembered; Manjoume had set up that magnificent bath.  That would definitely do.

She could see Shou making his way over to Ryou as the two of them headed away.  She wouldn't mind having a talk with him herself.  She'd heard about what he'd done the previous year, but she'd never yet had the chance to talk to him about it.  Once she'd no longer been part of the Society of Light, she'd been more interested in learning what she'd missed around school than anything else.  After getting that sorted out, she'd tried to e-mail him but he hadn't responded.  Maybe I can talk to Fubuki about it?  Ryou was his best friend, after all.  If he knew anything, then he'd let her know.  But whatever Ryou's problems the year before were, clearly they didn't prevent him from helping now.

Fubuki guided her to the Red dorm.  She could still feel the grit of the desert on her skin and if she hadn't wanted that shower so badly she would have demanded to get something to eat first and foremost.  Priorities first.

"You go on,"  he said, nudging her towards the blessed clean and unlimited water.  "I'll get you something to eat."  She caught sight of the grin when she looked up at him.  "If you don't eat something soon, you're going to start chewing on me and I'm not that kind of delicious."

He paused for a second, mouth opening, and Asuka shook her head.  She had a good idea of what he wanted to say, and she didn't really want to hear it.  She waved one hand, wanting him out of there, and once he headed out, she closed and locked the door to the bathing area, sagging against it for a few moments.

Home.  They were really home.  Fubuki was really there, and being his usual pain in her side self.  She'd never been so glad that he was there and bothering her.  She'd missed him during the last few days, far more than she'd been willing to admit.

It's probably for the best.  He might've become a duel zombie.  She trusted in his dueling talents, but she also knew him.  The first moment he'd seen Manjoume as one of those creatures, he would have rushed out to try to help him, and it would have been all over for him. 

Would she have tried to save him?  As much as she wanted to think she would have known better, a tiny part of her suspected otherwise.  She'd lost him once already.  If it had happened again, and he'd still been there in front of her, she suspected she would have done exactly like he would for Manjoume.  That would not have been good for anyone in the long run. 

At least it hadn't happened like that.  They were home.  They were safe.  That thought glowed warm and secure in the very center of her heart. 

Getting the dust and dirt and sweat off didn't take all that long.  But Asuka couldn't stop herself from just soaking in the water once she'd cleaned up, at least not until a knock came on the door.

"Little sister?"  Fubuki's voice drifted through.  "I brought you your favorites!  It's unagi and Hatakosen Raspberry!" 

Asuka jerked up; she hadn't thought she'd been in here long enough for him to get food.  Especially not her favorite food.  Fubuki didn't make up stories about food, though.  She quickly dried and found one of the uniforms she'd kept in here before heading out. 

In the main room, where most of them gathered during quieter and happier times, Fubuki set up two places.  At least her meal was set out there and there were two chairs, one across from the other.  He settled into one, staring at her as if he thought she might not be real.  Asuka settled down into her own chair and quickly started eating, satisfying the first surge of hunger before she looked up at him again.

"What happened here while we were gone?"  She asked.  She could guess a few things; she knew that Edo and Ryou were involved, as well as that strange Professor that Misawa seemed to know.  But most of the details had escaped her.

Fubuki trailed his fingers over his side of the table.  "Well - once Principal Samejima knew what happened, he counted up who was still here and who wasn't.  Then he started calling for help from KaibaCorp.  Kaiba-san sent President Pegasus."  His lips twitched a little.  "I heard him talking to Principal Samejima about it.  Something about "He's the one who designed the cards.  Let him worry about a world where they're real.""

Asuka held back a small giggle.  From what she knew about Kaiba, that was a lot like him.  As she kept on eating, Fubuki told her more - about how they'd finally found Johan's Rainbow Dragon and started to make arrangements to make it a card. 

"Something did happen there, but I'm not sure of what."  Fubuki shook his head.  "We already knew then we were going to need a strong duelist, and Edo suggested we find Ryou."

She sipped at her drink, listening.  It sounded somewhat bland compared to what they'd been going through, and bland was exactly what she wanted right now. 

"He wasn't there when I showed up at his apartment,"  he continued, "but he got back pretty quick.  I told him what was going on and then we headed over here."

Asuka raised one eyebrow.  "Is that all?"  She'd seen somewhat how Ryou was these days.  She doubted that just telling him of what was going on would have been enough to persuade him to come and help. 

Fubuki shrugged.  "More or less.  I kinda of did have to explain it a bit more, though.  Anyway, Edo brought us back here on his boat.  Do you know how fast that thing can go?"  He shook his head, eyes wide and gleaming with delight now.  "I have got to get him to take me out on that again!"

Asuka drew in a breath and smiled.  Even if Fubuki had been a duel zombie, he wouldn't have changed a great deal.  She wondered if he would have been going "Surf!  Surf!  Surf!" instead of "Duel! Duel!  Duel!"

He picked up the tale again, though there wasn't much left to it.  "Once Pegasus finished the card, we got it ready to go to you guys, and got Ryou ready to duel Johan."  He leaned his head back and sighed a deep sigh.  "I saw it.  Ryou's gotten so much better than he used to be and I didn't think that was possible."  Again his fingers danced over the table.  "It's weird, but I think being Hell Kaiser has really been good for him."

Asuka wasn't ready to go that far just yet, but she'd not talked to Ryou enough to be sure.  She made a noncommittal noise and listened as Fubuki told the tale of the duel from what he'd seen.  She'd been too busy trying to survive in that world to notice if he'd been in sight or not, and it was good to know that he'd been safe regardless. 

She rubbed her wrist as he talked, still trying to get adjusted to the fact her Dis-belt wasn't there anymore.  She'd worn it for so long -  over a month - that it seemed strange for it not to be there.  She glanced over to Fubuki

"Do you still have your Dis-belt?"  She'd noticed that everyone who'd been in that world had lost theirs . But those who wore it and hadn't been taken along?

Fubuki raised his wrist.  "Nope.  It fell off just after you guys got back here.  What were they for, anyway?"

"As far as I can tell, gathering duel energy.  It helped create those zombies."  She wasn't sure of what else it had done.  She wondered how much she'd missed, being half unconscious after the charge to get Juudai to the duel against Martin.  Perhaps it wouldn't be a bad idea to find the others and have a talk.  She didn't think Juudai would be helpful, not unless Johan had suddenly turned back up in the last hour or so.

"I wish I'd been there for you,"  Fubuki said, a little more serious than he usually sounded.  "You were in danger and I wasn't there.  What kind of a brother am I?"

"The kind who was safe where I didn't have to worry about you!"  Asuka snapped back without a breath of thought.  Fubuki stared at her in surprise, before he softened and smiled. 

"You worried about me?"

Asuka closed her eyes.  "All the time you were gone.  And I'd rather not do it again.  Stay safe.  You've been gone long enough."

Fubuki leaned back in his chair and stared up at the ceiling. She wasn't sure what he thought about but she had her own thoughts to consider.  Slowly she pulled herself to her feet.

"I'm going to go find the others."  She thought by now they'd probably also cleaned up and might be feeling better.  They needed to figure out how to help Juudai and maybe get Johan back - if there was a way to do that.  She wasn't even certain of what had happened to him. 

Fubuki nodded, getting up as well, clearly going with her.  Together they headed out, and Asuka couldn't help but smile.  It was true. They were home. 

The End

Notes: Of course they won’t stay for long. But Fubuki should have shown up sooner in season three. I have done my best to repair that in a little way.

[ygocollablove]

@augustwritingchallenge‘s 2020 monthly prompts have come to a conclusion, and YGO Collab Love would like to present all its members who participated this year!

Before that, I would like to give thanks/applause to @cieryuu for creating the banner above (and another round to @darkmagiattack/@crshrs for making the template). Look how adorable it is! <3

There are many pieces still in progress even after the challenge’s end day, and we are excited for the day that the fics will all come to completion. Otherwise, please give love and comments and feedback to the pieces listed below!

For Art submissions...

scemo vampire yami Bakura by @crshrs Vampire AU Rating: Teens and Up Blood warning

For General Audiences...

Step One College, Step Two Take Over the World by Souless_Robot ( @soulessrobot ) Status: COMPLETE College AU Characters: Chazz Princeton & Ojama Brothers Summary: “Step one: get into Neo Domino University,” Chazz lifted one finger and waved it in his spirit partners’ faces. “Step two: get a Ph.D. in dueling. Step three: get hired to teach at Duel Academy. Step four: take over the school.”

Dueling Royalty by Elexica Status: COMPLETE Modern AU Pairing: Puppyshipping (Seto Kaiba x Joey Wheeler) Summary: Kaiba will block you on Twitter.

Diagnostic Don’ts by Souless_Robot Status: COMPLETE Hospital AU Characters: Jack Atlas, Seto Kaiba, Alexis Rhodes, Duke Devlin, Atem Summary: Dr. Seto Kaiba very much does not want any fellows in his diagnostic department. Unfortunately the hospital administrator Atem has different ideas. That's how Kaiba ends up with three fellows in his office. It's a good thing Kaiba doesn't plan to keep them for very long. He'll bet Wheeler he can get them to quit by the end of the week.

Mr. Jounouchi Will See You Now by Elexica Status: COMPLETE Role Reversal AU Pairing: Puppyshipping (Seto Kaiba x Joey Wheeler) Summary: The CEO of Jounouchi Corp. is known for being charming and lucky—not just a shrewd businessman who bravely took over the company for his alcoholic dad. Seto Kaiba is a bright kid who really needs to pay for his brother’s eye surgery.

Succ's to be You. by Elexica Status: COMPLETE Flower Shop AU Pairing: Puppyshipping (Seto Kaiba x Joey Wheeler) Summary: Kaiba is the worst at office plants.

For Teens and Up...

Cafe Nervosa by Elexica ( @elexica ) Status: COMPLETE Coffee Shop AU Pairing: Puppyshipping (Seto Kaiba x Joey Wheeler) Summary: Good morning, Domino! Dr. Seto Kaiba runs a call-in psychiatry radio show, and whether he wants to or not, he's listening. His sound engineer, Joey Wheeler, unfortunately has to listen too.

All the King's Men by Souless_Robot Status: COMPLETE Soulmate AU Pairing: Rivalshipping (Chazz Princeton x Jaden Yuki), Spiritshipping (Jesse Anderson x Jaden Yuki), Supreme King x Chazz Princeton Summary: Or Chazz is the Supreme King's soulmate but not Jaden's.

Wasted by Elexica Status: COMPLETE College AU Pairing: Puppyshipping (Seto Kaiba x Joey Wheeler) Summary: Kaiba gets drunk at Mokuba's fraternity initiation party and does the cute orientation leader's calculus homework. He's bad at flirting, but he's good at math.

Blank Slate by KitsunePhantom09 ( @kitsunephantom09 ) Status: COMPLETE Soulmates AU Pairing: Kingcrabshipping (Jack Atlas x Yusei Fudo) Summary: Everyone has a mark signifying their soulmate. Yusei doesn't.

The Voice in My Head by Elexica Status: COMPLETE Soulmates AU Pairing: Puppyshipping (Seto Kaiba x Joey Wheeler) Summary: The month leading up to when you meet your soulmate is the only period in your life where you will hear another voice in your head, their thoughts streaming through your mind. For Jounouchi, it's hell.

Demon Days by Souless_Robot Status: COMPLETE Angels & Demons AU Pairing: Puppyshipping (Seto Kaiba x Joey Wheeler) Summary: Joey never meant to be permanently assigned to earth after the events that take place in the Garden of Eden. Still, now that he is he really wishes he would stop running into his least favorite demon. Unfortunately, it seems the creator has other plans.

Cancelling the Apocalypse by Elexica Status: ONGOING Chapters 1/3 Post-Apocalyptic AU Pairing: Puppyshipping (Seto Kaiba x Joey Wheeler) Summary: Are Joey and Kaiba drift compatible?

Straight to the Top by Souless_Robot Status: COMPLETE Band AU Characters: Joey Wheeler, Seto Kaiba, Yuugi Mutou, Chazz Princeton, Jaden Yuki Summary: Joey is a folk singer trying to break into the mainstream with her childhood friend Yugi. Too bad she gets nothing but problems most from the Kaiba corp record label run by the young CEO and music prodigy Seto Kaiba.

A Good Match by Elexica Status: COMPLETE Superheroes/Superpowers AU Pairing: Puppyshipping (Seto Kaiba x Joey Wheeler) Summary: Or, Kaiba and Jounouchi can't wait for the whistle to start fighting.

Good Eggs by Elexica Status: COMPLETE Farm/Ranch AU Pairing: Puppyshipping (Seto Kaiba x Joey Wheeler) Summary: Kaiba is forced to work as a farmhand the summer before college. Joey doesn't mind the company.

Mercy by Elexica Status: COMPLETE Crime AU Pairing: Puppyshipping (Seto Kaiba x Joey Wheeler) Summary: Kaiba's a bit tied up at the moment.

Who You Gonna Call by Elexica Status: COMPLETE Treasure Hunters AU Pairing: Puppyshipping (Seto Kaiba x Joey Wheeler) Summary: Ghost hunter Joey and skeptic Kaiba enlist Yugi's help in answering the question: Are ghosts real?

For Mature audiences...

And Quoth the Raven, “Nevermore.” by KitsunePhantom09 Status: COMPLETE Vampire AU Characters: Yusei Fudo Summary: Rule #1: Never answer when you hear them knocking.

Dark Web by Elexica Status: COMPLETE Pirates AU Pairing: Puppyshipping (Seto Kaiba x Joey Wheeler) Summary: You wouldn't download a car. Kaiba would.

The line that stands between us is 100 lives worth living by SwordsAndSwongs ( @blue-eyed-priest ) Status: ONGOING Chapters 8/32 Pairing: Prideshipping (Seto Kaiba x Atem), Rivalshipping (Kaiba x Yuugi Mutou), Stoicshipping (Kaiba x Priest Set), and Puppyshipping (Kaiba x Joey Wheeler) Summary: In a world full of multiverses, who will Kaiba meet? Is it his Pharaoh, his enemies, his few friends? Or is it himself, waiting at the end of every step taken?

Demon in a Bottle by Elexica Status: COMPLETE Angels & Demons AU Pairing: Puppyshipping (Seto Kaiba x Joey Wheeler) Summary: Kaiba overdoses.

Addicted (You’re My Favorite High) by KitsunePhantom09 Status: COMPLETE Crime AU Pairing: Kingcrabshipping (Jack Atlas x Yusei Fudo) Summary: Yusei has never felt like this before, and he desperately doesn't want it to end.

Netflix and Chill by auroraXborealis ( @xauroraxborealisx ) Status: ONGOING Chapters 11/? Pairing: Puzzleshipping (Yuugi Mutou x Atem) Summary: When the department of Human Resources from Kaiba Corp decides it is in the company’s best interest to send some of its employees on a team-building seminar for a whole weekend, Atem does not think his bonding experience with his colleagues will turn out to be this intense. Especially when he is thrown into a downward spiral of strange events with the one coworker he dislikes the most: Yugi. Now, they must work together to survive and figure out all the clues to make it back home.

Enemy Fire by KitsunePhantom09 Status: ONGOING Chapter 5/? Pairing: Kingcrabshipping (Jack Atlas x Yusei Fudo) Summary: Jack has just escaped a horrible alpha, but is in dire straits – heavily pregnant and out on the streets in the middle of winter does not bode well. But as his darkest hour arrives, so too does his savior.

Catalysts for Kindling by bewdofchaos ( @atems-leather-pants ) Status: ONGOING Chapters 11/? Pairing: Puzzleshipping (Yuugi Mutou x Atem), Puppyshipping (Seto Kaiba x Joey Wheeler) Summary: In the eight months that Yugi and Atem have been roommates, they have formed a fast friendship over their fondness for coffee, late-night study sessions and video games. But recently, something has not been quite right. When Yugi receives a mysterious parcel, he is sent on an unexpected journey where each new step makes him reconsider everything he ever knew to be true… but mostly his relationship with his roommate.

The Dark Woods Circus’ Monster by KitsunePhantom09 Status: COMPLETE Circus AU Pairing: Kingcrabshipping (Jack Atlas x Yusei Fudo) Summary: Once, the circus was meant to wow and inspire its audience with feats of grandeur. Now it horrifies and terrifies them with unholy creatures of man's own design.

Time to fight fears, for once and for AUll by Seiyofira ( @seiyofira-doesntknowshiet ) Status: COMPLETE Chapters 11/11 Summary: These will be some scattered works for AU-gust 2020, which will either revolve around Yu-Gi-Oh! DM or JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, I will put the used AU prompt as well as either YGO or JJBA at the beginning of each chapter. They do not build a consistent story!

For Explicit audiences...

Forgiveness by KitsunePhantom09 Status: COMPLETE Angels & Demons AU Pairing: Kingcrabshipping (Jack Atlas x Yusei Fudo) Summary: An angel is offered as a sacrifice by a cult to appease their lord.

Scrubs by Elexica Status: COMPLETE Hospital AU Pairing: Puppyshipping (Seto Kaiba x Joey Wheeler) Summary: The door to the supply closet doesn't lock, but that doesn't stop Drs. Kaiba and Jounochi from having an intimate moment.

Embrace me, Love. It's been a long day. by Cleopatra ( @writelovetomeempress ) Status: ONGOING Chapters 20/33 Pairing: Flareshipping (Seto Kaiba x Atem x Yuugi Mutou) Summary: Atem is gone, back to the Afterlife when the Ceremonial Duel was complete. A piece of Yuugi's heart went with him. Kaiba, with all his genius and all his tech, has found a way to use the Quantum Cube to claim the victory he was denied. Per a reluctant deal, Kaiba brings Yuugi along. All the bravado in the world couldn't prepare Yuugi for that final goodbye, and with shaky hands, he broke their world completely.

Porcelain Wings and Shattered Dreams by Life_0r_Death ( @life-0r-death ) Status: ONGOING Chapters 11/17 Pairing: Kingcrabshipping (Jack Atlas x Yusei Fudo) Summary: Paradox has come to take his revenge against Yusei Fudo, but a former king will sacrifice himself for the love of the greater good. Too bad sacrificing doesn't mean death, but a perpetual prison of different worlds, different dimensions where Jack gets to witness what could have been.

For fics Not Rated...

Doin’ Time by Elexica Status: COMPLETE Childhood Friends AU Pairing: Puppyshipping (Seto Kaiba x Joey Wheeler) Summary: Joey is trying to get a contraband cell phone in Juvie Hall. Kaiba is a little more ambitious.

A huge round of applause for everyone who participated and who are still fighting the good fight of completing their fics! We hope to join again next year and provide a plethora of amazing YGO-related fics for you all to read! Congratulations everyone!!

[finding-fallen-stars]

YGO Questionnaire Part 2 Electric Boogaloo

So, my gf/bf @howaboutalittlehelpneos tagged me to do this again a... good long while ago, and I had wanted to wait until I'd finished my GX rewatch before trying this again. But ouch oof I accidentally also got through all of 5Ds again before getting to this lol

But the 5Ds rewatch definitely reshaped a lot of my thoughts, so... cracks knuckles. This won't be spoiler free, fair warning~

Favorite Series: ugh the formatting killed my original essay on this but okay GX and 5Ds are pretty tied in my book, now-- I love them equally, but in different ways! GX fulfills my love for subversive coming-of-age stories with a heartwarming, humorous, and also soulcrushing touch, and I love how each season brings a new story and new characters-- it's like reading installments of a novel series, and I think the formatting works wonders for it as a whole. It has some absolutely phenomenal character writing, too-- even the characters I dislike are ones I can appreciate for what they introduce to the story! And honestly, not enough people give the first two seasons of GX the credit it deserves: they're half the charm, really. How are you going to feel the full impact of the heartbreaking content in seasons 3 and 4 if you aren't properly attached to the characters?

But on 5Ds's side of things... it fulfills my love for stories with time loops, found family, human nature, and of course, love and death and how they intertwine. I love how the leading characters are just a bunch of broken kids from broken circumstances who all find a home with each other, and of course, how it highlights class disparity and how fucked up the prison/"justice" systems are. Yea, sure, maybe it underwent executive meddling and all, but I genuinely love it for what it is and I wish more people appreciated it... my only problem with 5Ds is the untwist with Z-ONE and then the ending s m h I adore it overall and I could go off for a long while on it. Overall, these are my two instinctive recommendations for anyone getting into Yugioh!

(look at these boys they're so important) Favorite Protagonist: Oh, believe me, absolutely nothing has changed here-- Yusei Fudo is and always will be my favorite protagonist, and my rewatch only solidified that.

I just... love him so much? He's seen so much hell in his life and carries so much guilt on his shoulders, but he still has room in his heart to believe in others and to believe that anyone can defy fate and find hope even at rock bottom. I love that he's initially introduced as this quiet, brooding figure when he really just turns out to be a huge softie who wears his heart on his sleeve half the time and wants to bring about change for Satellite and its people. Plus I just really love that his greatest flaw is something that would ordinarily be a positive trait-- he's Overly self-sacrificial, to the point where he's basically setting himself on fire to keep others warm, and that's not really framed as something Heroic

Just... he makes me so happy. I have two Yusei charms that I ordinarily keep on my keys (one was a gift from Zenzen) and they're a constant source of serotonin for me. He's Peak comfort character for me. Best protag in my book Favorite Rival: Same deal here-- still Manjoume!

look at him he's so important

While he spends a lot of the anime getting the good old damsel in distress treatment (getting suckered into a cult, getting knocked into a coma, becoming a zombie, getting fucking Killed, etc), I still think his character arc is really well-written overall and I only appreciated it even more when I watched GX again. I love the fact that he's got a soft heart he buries beneath the edgy facade, and that he's simultaneously really sharp and also kind of dense lol. He's just a fun character and watching how he evolves from episode one to episode one hundred eighty is such a satisfying journey.

Plus, props to him for being such a versatile duelist-- 50 wins in a row is HARD as is, let alone with a deck full of cards he just found laying around in the Arctic. Three ace monsters, three different archetypes... he's a really good duelist and I'm proud of him for it

Oh, but honestly, I don't really dislike any of the rivals-- I'm neutral towards Revolver and Reiji, but the remaining four (Kaiba, Manjoume, Jack, and Shark) compel me. yes I accidentally wound up liking Jack Atlas shhh Favorite BFF: Honestly, I really like most of the characters who fit this archetype-- Joey, Crow, Gongenzaka, Soulburner... I still lean a little bit more towards Joey, but I really appreciate all four of them. I'm gonna say Joey again, just because I find his evolution as a character the most compelling, but I appreciate the other three a lot. Soulburner has the best design though Favorite GFF: Oh absolutely still Aki, but I honestly... really love most female Yugioh characters? I'm assuming this is lead girls only, but like. I'm dumb and gay and I love Girls so this is naturally the most difficult one for me to answer lol

Aki just resonates with me the most because she's the prime example of how trauma doesn't always manifest in palatable ways-- when we first meet her, she's angry and lashes out at anyone and anything just because she wants the world to suffer in the same ways she's suffered, and then... we get to watch her grow from that, once she's free from Divine and able to heal the way she needs to heal. I know the second half of 5Ds didn't give her character the attention it deserved, but I'm still proud of her for winding up on the path she did-- seeing her channel her power and energy into wanting to heal and help others was just so good and was one of the few things I really Loved about the 5Ds ending.

oh, but like. Asuka Tenjoin and Aoi Zaizen are very close seconds for me!!! Aki just has a vice grip on my heart Favorite Villain: Okay, it's still technically Vector-- I think he's the most entertaining, well-written, and effective villain out of all of the ones we've seen so far, but... I also want to add Takuma Saiou and then all of Yliaster as honorable mentions?

As someone fond of tarot myself, I was naturally pretty intrigued by Saiou the first time I watched GX, but my attachment to him only grew the second time around where I actually got the chance to understand his character better. Plus, like... the visuals with him are fucking astounding and he's always so interesting to watch.

As for Yliaster, I just... really love how the big bad of 5Ds turned out to just essentially be a broken man desperate to save anyone and anything and three robotic reconstructions of the friends he'd lost. I still think the untwist with Z-ONE was stupid and I much prefer the idea of him and Yusei being the same person, but I'm still compelled by the other three-- well. Paradox less so, because we don't get a lot of Paradox lore, but. Aporia and Antinomy for sure.

ugh Yugioh has some damn good villains

Favorite Card: now that I actually play the TCG game...

Stardust is always going to be my favorite of all cards because it checks every box for me (my favorite YGO character's ace monster, space theme, what more could I want), but Aromaseraphy Rosemary has really become one of my aces in my best TCG deck! I'm still mastering irl plays, but I'm happy with my progress and I love my plant gang...

Favorite Episode: alright, here's where there's actually been a Lot of change, so...

Season 0: Episode 16: "Turnabout by a Hair's Breadth - The White-Robed Crisis" -- The more I think about this one, the more I love it; there's a... lot of corruption in the medical industry, and I've seen a lot of it firsthand, so just. Seeing a corrupt doctor get what he deserved at the end was cathartic, in a way? Plus, a Jounouchi-centric episode is always a good time.

Duel Monsters: Episodes 96-97: "Darkness vs. Darkness/One Turn Kill" -- this hasn't changed, I still love seeing Marik and Bakura bitch at each other for two whole episodes LMAO

GX: Episode 152: "Activate Super-Fusion! Rainbow Neos" -- This one hasn't changed and it likely never will-- I take so much pride in seeing Judai push forward, past the fear and guilt he's carrying, all to save Johan... it's cathartic and I never get sick of watching it.

5Ds: sweats. still all of Crash Town, but also episodes 137-147-- the Ark Cradle is one of my favorite parts of 5Ds and one of my favorite YGO arcs period, and even though each duel is a fucking gut punch, I love the emotional intensity and weight in each episode... It hurts but in a mostly good way

Zexal: Episode 143: "The Aloof Duelist 'Nasch': The Destined Final Duel" -- this one hasn't changed! Still hurts, still love it, I still weep over Ryouga Shark Kamishiro on a daily basis

Arc-V: Episodes 81-82: "Our Respective Battlefields/The Ultimate Falcon VS The Black-Feathered Thunder" -- Okay, honestly, this was hard because I... genuinely. really don't like Arc-V very much at all lol (it's just not my cup of tea, but more power to those who do like it!), but I thought this duel was a lot of fun! Shun is my absolute favorite from Arc-V and I really like the friendship he struck up with Crow a lot, so here we are

VRAINS (so far): Episode 25-26: "Virus Deck Operation/Three Draws Leading to Hope" -- honestly I am so biased because I just really love Blue Angel and I loved seeing her get a well-deserved victory like this lol. I'm not done with VRAINS, so this is probably gonna change, but anytime Blue Angel or Soulburner are on screen, I'm happy

Favorite Decks to Use: Aromages will always have my heart, but I adore Cyber Angels too! I'm building my Trickstar deck, my Synchron/Stardust deck (just waiting on Dawn of Majesty...), and my Magician Girls deck, too! Fusion, Ritual, Synchro, XYZ, Pendulum, or Link?: Synchros my beloved... but also Ritual Years in fandom: I've been here for just a little over one year now! and I wuv it... I'm never looking back Who am I tagging: no one I'm too shy

[sage-nebula]

For whatever reason, I started thinking about what I would want to see from a Yu-Gi-Oh! sequel on my drive home from work today. (Note: I’m specifically talking about a sequel to the original manga; the various anime adaptations, sequels, movies, et cetera will have no bearing on this whatsoever. No hate to anyone who likes them, they’re just not my jam. I’m just invested in the manga and the manga only.) Obviously I’d want a female protagonist, particularly since I think it’s pretty ridiculous that we still haven’t received one in the various anime sequels in all these years, but that train of thought led me to think about what that protagonist’s name would be, and from there what her character would be like and what her story would be, and well, these are the thoughts I have so far, though be warned they’re not the most fleshed out in the world.

— As a sequel series, I’d like this series to take place at a specific point of time in the future from when the original story ends—say, ten years. So by this point, the original cast of teenagers are all in their mid-twenties, Mai is in her thirties, so on and so forth. Should they make any on-page appearances, their designs would be updated accordingly, i.e., no one is going to be stuck in a time loop of looking exactly as they did in the previous story.

—— On that note, everyone who died in the original manga is still dead for this story. RIP, Pegasus J. Crawford. —— Also, since the original series ended ~1997 in-universe, I’d imagine that this series would take place in 2007 as a result.

— So, our protagonist. I imagine she should be a teenager, just like our previous protagonist, and we can make her the same age as he was, 15. Her name would be Kusakabe Yuuna, with the kanji for her given name containing the kanji for “play” as Yuugi’s did, as well as the kanji for “bird cage” for some spoiler related symbolism. (I looked this up in a kanji dictionary, it checks out even if I’m too lazy to copy-paste the kanji here, just trust me.)

—— Since Yuuna is 15, that means she would have been 5 when the original series started, aww. ——  Also, yes, I’m aware that the . . . Zexal? . . . protagonist’s name was Yuuma, which is close, but it’s still not the same name, so let me live. (Unless the kanji match, but I don’t think they should, but also I’m too lazy to check, so this is where we’re at now.)

— Along with having a name that contains “Yuu” in some form or another, YGO protagonists must also have ostentatious hair. For Yuuna, I’ve decided that her hair is something that actually plays into her backstory and therefore shapes her personality. When she was a child, Yuuna was in an accident with her parents (car accident or train accident, something along those lines). Her parents died (since having present parents is also a no-no for most shounen protagonists, not just YGO ones), but Yuuna was left heavily scarred. She has burn scarring all down the right side of her face, as well as along that side of her scalp which prevents her hair from growing in on that side, at least to any real degree. (Like she might have some stubble there but that’s it.) The stress her body underwent as a result of the accident also drained pretty much all pigment from her hair, so while her roots might still be black (or like a really dark grey), her hair looks white when grown out. So it looks like she’s rocking a half-shave with the hair on her left-side going down to her chin, but it’s not intentional. That’s just how her hair has been ever since the accident.

— When her parents died she was taken in by her aunt and uncle. Her aunt home-schooled her through the rest of elementary and all through middle school, because she felt that the scarring was unsightly and would lead to Yuuna being bullied by her classmates and perhaps even her teachers (which isn’t necessarily wrong; bullying is a real problem). Because her aunt impressed upon her that no one would want to see her scarring / would treat her badly if they did (and because Yuuna herself did receive a lot of staring and whispers whenever she went out without some sort of hood to pull up over her head), Yuuna never ventured out to try to make friends. Instead, she stayed inside almost all the time, entertaining herself with a myriad of games (though she had no one to play with), cartoons, comics, and the radio. (Here’s where a past-series cameo can come in: Yuuna loves games, so she likes to listen to Jounouchi’s radio show since he talks about games a lot, and given that his style of broadcasting is so relaxed and friendly she often likes to pretend he’s talking directly to her, even when she knows he’s not.)

— The problem is, Yuuna’s aunt and uncle had an unhappy marriage. There was never any outright abuse, but due to having to take on the burden of running the household, working part-time, and homeschooling Yuuna due to her husband’s apathy, Yuuna’s aunt was unhappy in the home and was essentially counting down the days until she could leave. You see, school is only compulsory in Japan through middle school. High school is optional. So once Yuuna graduated from middle (home) schooling, Yuuna’s aunt packed her bags and left, leaving Yuuna behind with her uncle. And again, there was never any outright abuse . . . but when he wasn’t at his own job, Yuuna’s uncle usually drank himself to sleep in front of the TV. He never abused Yuuna, but that’s because he was never really aware of her presence enough to abuse her. (Never mind that neglect can be its own form of abuse.) So Yuuna was left without a home school teacher, and thus had to enroll herself in a high school if she wanted to continue her education. Which, she did, but . . .

— Yuuna attended high school for a grand total of one (1) day. The staring, the whispers, the stage-whispered name calling — all of it was too much for someone who wasn’t used to it and whose years of insecurities built up by everything her aunt told her could and would happen whenever anyone saw her magnified everything and made it ten times worse. She ducked out before the day was even through and decided she was never going back.

— Of course, games have to be brought back into this at some point, and also there needs to be a plot, so . . . on her way home from school (hood up over her head, probably crying a little) Yuuna sees a little pouch in front of her on the sidewalk. She picks it up and looks inside to find dice — specifically the kind of dice that you use in tabletop games. Yuuna enjoys tabletop games just as much as she enjoys all other types of games, so she shakes the dice out into her palm to examine them . . . and they start glowing as soon as they touch her skin.

— If no one approached her then, Yuuna would figure they were cool trick dice and just take them home with her, no biggie. But at that moment another teenage girl around her age runs up to her, and while Yuuna’s first instinct is to clam up and back away, she doesn’t get much of a chance to do so before the girl is telling her those dice are hers and—oh. They’re glowing? They don’t normally do that . . .

— Long story short, the dice are magic, but they only light up like that when held by someone who has the capability to use the magic within them. So far, no one has been able to get that particular set to light up until now. Yuuna, of course, is skeptical, but the other girl — who tells Yuuna that her name is Kujou — urges Yuuna to follow her to people who can explain everything. Yuuna doesn’t really want to, she’s very much not used to interacting with people, but Kujou isn’t reacting negatively to what she can see under Yuuna’s hood, and Yuuna doesn’t have much else to do, and magic dice sound cool . . . so she agrees.

— Even longer story short, there’s an underground organization dedicated to making change via gaming. They’re made of people from all over the city (perhaps even all over Japan, perhaps even farther than that) who believe in the cause, or have a goal they feel that the organization can / will help them reach, or perhaps have no one else who will accept or have them and so they’ve found a sense of belonging with each other. This organization can and does use magic; Kujou hurriedly tells Yuuna that it’s not cheating or anything like that, but rather, there’s true magic in gaming and that when there’s a special connection between a player and the tools they use, they can draw it out to make a difference. It’s like, Kujou goes on, how certain Duel Monsters specialize in certain cards, like how Mutou Yuugi used magicians and Kaiba Seto relied on the Blue-Eyes White Dragon. 

—— “But this is . . . real magic. It glows.” —— “Well, yeah, but have you ever seen the recordings of the Duel Monsters matches from like, Battle City? That was real magic, too.”

— Kujou brings Yuuna to at least one of the leaders within the organization, who sees that she can activate the magic in the dice and, as a result, does a very good sales pitch to lure her into the organization; tells her about the people they help with the winnings they make from tournaments, how they’re all like one big family, how they’ll care for her and help her reach her goals, etc. And since it’s not like her uncle will even notice if she’s gone anyway, and since both Kujou and this leader person are being so kind to her (and Kujou even says her hair looks cool), and since she would like to, maybe, at some point have enough money to get surgery to change her face . . . Yuuna agrees and moves into the base this organization operates out of.

— Of course, unbeknownst to Yuuna, she has just joined the villains, dun dun dunnnnn. This “organization” is actually more of a crime syndicate or cult; think like the Ghouls from the original manga, with perhaps a dash of yakuza thrown in. (Could there mayhaps be a Hirutani cameo at some point? Knowing me, if I can get away with it, abso-fucking-lutely.) For about the first third of the series Yuuna is put into tournaments where she essentially crushes characters who would otherwise be the heroes or protagonists of a more straightforward shounen series. You know how people have commented that in recent Pokémon games it feels like you’re the asshole rival? That’s essentially Yuuna. She’s sent in to sabotage tabletop tournaments (despite how bad she feels doing so because she’s a big fan of Spirits & Sanctuaries, a TRPG created by one Bakura Ryou), collect the winnings from Duel Monsters tournaments, etc. (Dice games are her specialty, given her magic dice, but she can draw magic out of other game pieces as well.) Though she feels bad about doing things like this, she has a real sense of belonging in the organization, a nice room, people who are kind to her and want to be around her. While at the beginning of the series she was very withdrawn, she starts coming out of her shell more and being genuinely happy. We’d get to see this unfold over the chapters, the juxtaposition between her performances in game tournaments and the like and how she is with the other members of the organization.

— So Yuuna pushes away any doubts she has over what she’s doing in favor of how happy she is with her new family, and even resolves to stop listening to Jounouchi’s radio show when he warns people about their organization and their “crimes” on a broadcast, because they’re not criminals, that’s not true, and she knows about his history and how he came from poverty himself, so who is he to judge? But then at some point Kujou, whom she’s grown very close to during this time (spoiler: Kujou is both her best friend and love interest) comes to her and is like, hey, I’ve been suspicious for a while, so I’ve done some digging and I think this whole thing is evil. :/ 

—— “That’s ridiculous. How could you say that?” —— “I’ve got the receipts, on tape, right here on my phone. See?” —— “That’s a flip phone. How am I supposed to see anything on that?” —— “This story is set in 2007. Work with me and let me live.”

— Yuuna still doesn’t want to believe it, so she goes to talk to the leader person about it herself, and whoops, overhears him being evil with other higher-up members in the organization. So she goes back to find Kujou and is like, you were right, they are evil, and Kujou is like, I know, I already packed our bags, let’s bounce.

— So Yuuna and Kujou run away together (perhaps bringing a few other trustworthy teens from the organization with them), and then the remaining two-thirds of the story are spent with them fighting against the organization to bring them down, using their own magic (because Yuuna does still have magic and now she knows how to use it . . . kind of . . . mostly . . . she’s trying) to do so.

And that’s all I’ve got for now, but I think it’d be a cool successor to the original manga, with cameos here and there from the adult versions of the original cast. I’m especially quite married to the idea of featuring many games over the course of the story, since YGO was a manga about many games originally, before it became obsessed with Duel Monsters (though a TRPG did play a big role in the last arc and we will forever stan that).

(Oh, and in case you’re wondering: the symbolism in Yuuna’s name is because the two kanji together bring to mind a playful bird in a cage. It’s symbolism because at the start of the series Yuuna is in a metaphorical cage due to all her insecurities and issues and the circumstances of her life, and then even in the organization she’s still caged by them because they’re using her, but her personal journey is breaking free of both cages to release the spirited (playful) person that she is within, becoming more confident and, yes, never getting cosmetic surgery because her personal growth gets her to a place where she owns it and loves herself, scarring and all.

And if you’re wondering why there’s at least a handful of teenagers in this organization, if not more: It’s because they prey on young kids who come from bad homes or have nowhere else to go by offering them a sense of community and belonging, which is something gangs do in real life, and is yet another way the organization is shown to be evil aside from the Board Game Crimes they commit on the daily.

Anyway, stan a YGO manga sequel with wlw protagonists, good night.)