#zexal month 2023

[observation-no-39]

Thanks for 500 followers!

Another (belated) bonus fluff picture for all my lovely readers. Special thanks for sticking with me even though there hasn't been much happening here lately. <3

[iersei]

Zexal Month Day 4: The Empress / Women Appreciation

resident girl liker decides to draw a bunch of girls they like

~

[Zexal Month Prompts]

Prompts by @zexalmonth

[popflythesky]

1st: The Fool upright | Beginnings, innocence, spontaneity, a free spirit

[zexalmonth]

Zexal Month 2023's coming up! From August 1st to the 31st, we’ll be celebrating our 7th Zexal Month! We're doing a Tarot theme!

All our prompts are based on the 23 Major Arcana! You can follow the written prompts or just draw something based on the actual arcana for the day!

For those who are with us for the first time, we have prompts with some suggestions attached to them. You can focus on characters, concepts or OCs, as long as it’s somehow Zexal related and we'll reblog it if it's tagged with #zexal month 2023. In addition to the daily prompts, we have a list of alternate prompts at the end of the list! We hope you have fun with it.

Week 1: Welcome to the Kingdom

1st: The Fool upright | Beginnings, innocence, spontaneity, a free spirit The king calls you all to introduce yourselves. Hello, fools! Who are you and how did you get into Zexal? 2nd: The Magician upright | Manifestation, resourcefulness, power, inspired action Duel monsters are the manifestation of the soul, so show us your favourite duel monster or card! Alternatively, show us your favourite Numbers Card! 3rd: The High Priestess upright | Intuition, sacred knowledge, the subconscious mind Music can do miraculous things to the subconscious mind. You can make something based on the soundtrack or themes/motifs you like. As a challenge, put on one of the Zexal soundtracks and try to make something before the song ends! Show it to us! 4th: The Empress upright | Femininity, beauty, nature, nurturing, abundance The empress summons you to talk about someone you truly care for. What makes your favourite character your favourite? If you have an OC, feel free to talk about them! Also, we love women, so if you want, show some female characters appreciation!

Week 2: Secrets of the Royal Court

7th- The Emperor upright | Authority, establishment, structure, a father figure All hail the barian emperors! Show us a piece about our favourite alien warlords and/or Don Thousand. You can also show us a non-barian Character as a Barian or something else Barian-related. Alternatively, an upright emperor also represents a father figure. Kazama? Faker? Tron? An OC or self-insert? Show us daddy issues something inspired by them! 8th- The Hierophant reversed | Personal beliefs, freedom, challenging the status quo The reversed hierophant means freedom and non-uniformity, so it’s dress up day! Put a Zexal character (or OC) in a new set of clothes they would/wouldn’t wear! Historically accurate clothes for Barians’ past lives? Mini skirt IV? Droite in her wrestler attire? Astral in a tutu? Just show us fashion!  9th- The Lovers upright | Love, harmony, relationships, values alignment, choices Time to spread the love! OTPs? OT3s? BROTPs? Character x Reader? Character x OC? The lovers card is all about ‘belonging’. What relationships do these characters have?    Draw us your ships, friendships or your favourite group of characters (Number’s Club, Sanyuushi, Arclights etc.) enjoying each others’ company. You can also show us the families of your favourite characters and create relatives for them if you prefer.  10th- The Chariot reversed | Self-discipline, opposition, lack of direction Sure, we have a “plot” but Zexal has lots of filler episodes and fun, zany detours! Show what sort of sports or hobbies the characters would get involved with in their spare time. 11th- Justice upright | Justice, fairness, truth, cause and effect, law Time to put a Zexal character on trial! What crimes are they charged for? What is the verdict? What is the punishment?  Feel free to get silly with this (Phoenix Wright, anyone?) or be as grim/morbid as you like. Will Vector finally pay for his transgressions? Up to you!

Week 3: Into the Woods

14th- The Hermit upright | Soul-searching, introspection, being alone, inner guidance As you are banished into the woods for your hot takes, you’re able to reflect on a long-forgotten friend. Make something based on your favourite obscure or minor character. Give those one-shot duelists some love! 15th- The Wheel of Fortune upright | Good luck, life cycles, destiny, a turning point Let’s just put your favorite characters on a game show. Can you imagine a Family Feud with Arclights vs Tenjos? Does anyone get lucky?  What sort of entertainment (outside of card games) do you think you’d see in Heartland City? 16th- Strength upright | Strength, courage, persuasion, influence, compassion Fight! Fight! Fight! In a contest of pure strength, who would win? Who do you NOT want to face in hand-to-hand combat. Who would you duel? If you want to keep yourself out of the fight, show two characters in a fight/duel! Bonus points if they haven’t canonically fought before.  17th- The Hanged Man upright | Pause, surrender, letting go, new perspectives A change of perspective! Is there any character you didn't like at the start, but ended up loving, or vice versa? Who is it and why?  Alternatively, what relationships do you wish we saw? What interactions did Zexal deprive us from? 18th- Temperance upright | Balance, moderation, patience, purpose Sometimes, your friends get on your nerves and you have to be patient with them. But it’s really hard when they’re mostly middle schoolers. How do you think characters would spend a Boys/Girls’ Night Out? What about a slumber party instead?

Week 4: Exile

21st- The Devil reversed | Releasing limiting beliefs, exploring dark thoughts, detachment Show us your villains or your favourite character(s) as a villain. Does their deck change as well? 22nd- The Tower upright | Sudden change, upheaval, chaos, revelation, awakening Show us your favourite punching bag hurting emotionally (whether from a death, tragedy, breakup or something else), in physical agony, or just having a good cry. Zexal is no stranger to angst, after all (we got how many death montages at the end of the series?).  If there are triggers or graphic themes/visuals, remember to tag them! 23rd- The Moon reversed | Release of fear, repressed emotion, inner confusion Some parts of Zexal were confusing and some plot points were forgotten. What do you wish you could have seen MORE of? Alternatively, is there something you didn’t like in Zexal? What and why? Show us what you would have preferred/thought was interesting! Explore a scenario that could have drastically altered Zexal. e.g. What if Kaito died of space cancer at the end of season 1? 24th- The Star upright | Hope, faith, purpose, renewal, spirituality Let’s change the tone of this week. Zexal is full of mythology and spirituality. Show us some of your favourite themes/lore in the show!   25th- The Sun upright | Positivity, fun, warmth, success, vitality The sun represents warm feelings as much as it represents treasure/wealth. Give your favourite character a cursed weapon or treasure. How do they react? What do they do with it? If you want a challenge, grab an image of Yuma’s room and pick a treasure/object. Draw it and/or give it a story. III definitely would love to hear you talk about it! 

Week 5: Court of the Dead

28th- Death upright | Endings, change, transformation, transition How’s the future for Zexal characters? Show us what you think a Zexal character (or several) are doing post-series or how they look when they grow up? 29th- Judgement upright | Judgement, rebirth, inner calling, absolution Zexal ended a long time ago but it’s time to give it a bit of new life. It’s crossover day! How would a Zexal character look/act in the world of the fandom you're into now (or vice versa)? 30th- The World upright | Completion, integration, accomplishment, travel Scenery appreciation! (Tell us what’s your favorite location in Zexal). Alternatively, show us a location where the Zexal characters you like would go on vacation or for an adventure. 31st-  The Deck Summarise your Zexal Month 2023! What did you like? What didn’t you like? Any shout-outs you want to give?  

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Alternate prompts

As per usual, alternate prompts are meant for ANY day and you can do as many or as few alternate prompts as you like. I can’t stop you if you want to do prompt 10) thirty-one times during Zexal month. 

Holding back/recklessness

Manipulation/poor planning

Dreams/delusions

Age-swap/younger days

Insecurities 

Parallel worlds / Fused world

“But there is only one bed…”

“Can you explain why I have to bail you guys out of jail AGAIN?”

A heist!

Middle school/High school AU

Lunchtime shenanigans

Fantasy/Fairytale AU

Hygge: A very strong feeling of cosiness, of a special moment, alone or with friends, where you feel utterly content, secure, reassured, comforted, and even kinship if you’re among loved ones. 

Verschlimmbessern: To fix something but only make it worse

Backpfeifengesicht: A face badly in need of a fist.

Body Swap/Soul swap

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As usual, feel free to do whichever prompts you like in whatever order you want. These prompts are a guideline, rather than a hard rule, and you can make art, write fanfiction, make amvs/animatics or just talk about it! Just do what you can manage! No need to do all of them if you don’t want to.

Also, we have a new mod on the team to join me and Iris. Welcome mod Fla!

We can't wait for this August to see what you share with the fandom! Please share this around and spread the Zexal love!

Love Mod Pyra

[itsana004]

Zexal Month 2023 - Day 2 - Favourite Number Card

"I summon Number 86! Heroic Champion Rhongomyniad!"

My boy was robbed!!!! I REPEAT

MY. BOY. WAS. FREKIN. ROBBED

@zexalmonth

[ruikamo]

Since the prompts for @zexalmonth are based on tarot cards (which is super cool) I thought it would be fun to draw them like cards too! I tried to emulate the stats in the Anime with the frame. Also I don't think anyone would want to but you could theoretically use them as a phone background because of the canvas size!

Todays Card is "The Empress"! I wanted to draw Rio, because she has one of my favourite Yu-Gi-Oh! Designs ever. I also like how she and Shark look related without being copies of each other. I debated wheather I should do color or black and white but I feel like it's more dramtic this way^^ I hope you like it! #zexal month 2023

[thesilverlock]

| 𝑍𝑒𝒳𝑎𝑙  𝑀𝑜𝑛𝓉𝒽 |

Hygge; - ’A very special moment (...) where you feel utterly content, secure, reassured, and comforted (...) amongst a loved one. ’ 〖 Jey / Astral 〗

This fanart was more so on a whim, I wanted to draw a more fluffy and happy golden kind of just for the sake of it lmao Luckily there was a prompt that befit that!

Hope you all have a very nice rest of Zexal Month! Thank you for another great one! 🩵✨

@zexalmonth

[larmegliamori]

Zexal Month: The World, Upright

@zexalmonth

It's a well-known fact, Zexal is no stranger to beautiful landscapes: think of the Astral World and its architecture, the Barian World, Heartland with its whimsy colors and the beautiful seaside.

But Yuma's attic holds a special place in my heart.

The room itself is pretty quaint, it's all the artifacts that makes it special. And, honestly, I'd like to sleep every night in a place like that. Also, Yuma sleeps in a hammock. How cute is that? It fits his energetic, reckless character.

There's also a layer of sadness in this: Yuma misses his parents, and he sleeps in the attic, where all of their findings are stored, presumably because he wants to feel their presence even though, by the start of the story, they're gone and won't ever return...

It's so bittersweet how Yuma made it his safe place, a place of memories of all his loved ones. A place of the Past, if you will. And still, it can also breathe Present and Future: Yuma lives in it, bonds with some characters, rearranges his deck for the battles to come...

[purpleleafsyt]

Day #4 - The Empress Upright | Women Appreciation

Femininity, Beauty, Nature, Nurturing, Abundance

I love a lot of women in yugioh! I just don't have the motivation to draw all the women in Zexal, so I hope a messy, happy Kotori is enough :]

@zexalmonth <3

[pyrachan]

@zexalmonth

4th: The Empress upright | Favourite Character Yuma Tsukumo has always been my favourite. He's just a kid, trying to be a good person. He's cheerful, optimistic and just funny, honestly. I adore him wanting to help everyone he meets, even if he's a moron.

I draw him in PJs because hes a cutie

[iersei]

Zexal Month Day 11: Justice / Trial

in honor of i have recently finished the first ace attorney game. shark in his alone in the rain era standing trial for his complicated feelings <3

~

[Zexal Month Prompts]

Prompts by @zexalmonth

[popflythesky]

fave barian charas?! @zexalmonth

[barian-run-amok]

ZEXAL MONTH 2023 - 8th Day

@zexalmonth

the school said it's his turn to play dress up!! (he still decided to teach the lessons anyways)

[itsana004]

Zexal month 2023 - Day 4 - The Empress upright

To no surprise, Droite is my fave, for anyone who knows me

Why? You don't want to hear me ramble and write paragraphs trust me, she's a badass and is fine as hell what more reasons do you need

@zexalmonth

[ruikamo]

The Magician is todays card of @zexalmonth! We were asked about our favourite Card and honestly I don't really have favourite Cards I think... I tend to just like the Decks of my favourite characters...

However I wanted to draw gagaga girl because her design is so cute! She also fits the Magician card quite well I think. (I guess gagaga magician would've been even better but I just really wanted to draw her!) #zexal month 2023

[moonlit-orchid]

Zexal Month Day 21- The Devil

@zexalmonth

Time to someone who had every right to be evil and destructive BE evil and destructive :D

This prompt made me think of an au I made in my head ages ago when watching yugioh 5Ds

Meet the son of the ceo of Astral Corporations, Adrien Sangrave, who duels under the alias named after the family business: Astral.

Yuma's eyes widened when he saw his opponent walk into the arena. This guy... His mind flashbacked to that alley, the day the WDC had begun. The bodies of hurt, broken duelists. Heart pieces not just scattered, but shattered. The figure of somebody in a flowing cloak and hood perched up on that wall. The already completed Heart glistening in his hand.

That cold, piercing look in those mismatched eyes.

Those mismatched eyes that were glaring at him now

------

Yuma Tsukumo.... how annoying!

What did that child know about him?

On that first duel, he wouldn't stop talking. Talking about friendship and dueling and fun.

So annoying!

Astral's eyes hardened, his fist clenching. It was time for their second duel, after he had beaten Yuma in the earliest round. It was annoying how that boy had lost to him yet still manage to qualify simply through blind luck. Luck!

Yuma and his constant talking. About what dueling meant.

He wanted to talk about what dueling meant?

Fine! He will show him what dueling meant.

Especially when dueling a monster.

As you can see, in this au Yuma and Astral cross paths due to the WDC, and end up dueling each other quite a few times. Astral's backstory is partially based off of Akiza- he's a pscycic duelist whose cards and monsters become real with his duels, and he duels wanting to hurt others because he's been hurt. Unlike Akiza, however, rather than running away or being pushed away for his power, his uncle Elias forced him to train his powers and want to use his powers to gain more power after the disappearance of Astral's father Dominic two weeks after Astral's powers first manifested, leaving Astral, his big brother Damien, and their mother Ena at the mercy of their uncle Elias! And instead of fulfilling Dominic's unkept promise to help Astral learn how to control his power and live a normal life, Elias forced him to make his powers stronger, even at the cost of his health.

Essentially, he's a bitter child soldier, and when he duels he duels with anger, intending to cause pain to others the way he feels pain. Especially to that annoying naive Yuma! How could that child possibly understand his pain? Even if both of them have lost their fathers... Not that Yuma would understand Astral's pain anyway!

Also if you're wondering about the Black Witch thing, that part of Akiza is given to Astral's brother Damien, who ran away from home to escape Elias's nightmare training and insults, and became part of a gang of psychic duelists under the name 'Black Mist', and Astral hasn't seen him in years.

Of course with the WDC, who knows who you'll meet....