toraawa

[toraawa]

So, I've gotten some messages from people. 8 in total. A DM on Twitter, 3 DMs here on Tumblr, and an ask. All burner accounts/anonymous. Though it's a small fandom, my stuff gets a lot of traction and I tend to respond to all comments I get on Ao3, so I assume that makes people more comfortable about contacting me directly.

They all asked me two things: if I live in America (because I don't talk about my private life publicly at all), and, upon answering in the affirmative, what's going to happen to my fics. "Will you still post fics?" "Will you still draw and write?" "You won't delete your Ao3, will you?"

Do you hear yourselves?

Those are the first questions you ask. Not any sympathy about this election, not any concern about my wellbeing, not any well wishes and hopes that I will be okay. No. Your first concern was about the damn content I provide for you. Because apparently having your fics is more important than our rights being taken away. I know none of you are American; I've gotten a couple DMs from people who are, and they are the exact opposite. I know you've seen the posts. Hundreds have committed suicide already. Lists of what Project 2025 entails are everywhere. People are already losing their jobs because of the new tarriffs policy that isn't even in place yet. The list goes on.

Since you don't give a fuck, I'll tell you now: yes, I am fortunate to live in a blue state, albeit in a red pocket with a shit ton of Trump supporters and a big military/law enforcement population. Add being a woman and black on top of that. But many others in this country aren't so fortunate. Many are trapped in the hells of conservative America.

You don't care to know that, though. Because you would have asked.

I don't want Ao3 to go, either. I love Ao3. But when your first words to me are concerns about the content I make upon finding out I'm American, I don't care if you can't read my fics anymore. I don't want people like you reading what I create out of passion. You don't see the person on the other side; only a machine churning out content for you.

I blocked you all without remorse.

You cannot act like you care about your American content creators, mutuals, or friends if your only concern about this election is, "Will the fics be okay?"

Screw your fics. You don't give a shit about the people writing them.

[toraawa]

serena doodle

[toraawa]

Serena with accidental thigh-highs :0

[toraawa]

Excerpt from Nepenthes.

[toraawa]

posted this a while ago on twitter for the ocg thingy and forgot to do it here. slightly edited.

[toraawa]

ive been a fan of yours for a while and i gotta say, i think you have the best grasp of yurisere/predatorshipping in the fandom. you actually take their characters into consideration and acknowledge their complexity as two stunted individuals who are very different but similar instead of diminishing them to memey single-trait characters. its amazing how many other other fans reduce serena to only "edgey mean girlboss" and yuri to only "nasty psycho" and then call any other version of the ship than constant hate fucking, backhanded affection and beating each other to a pulp "wrong". very tiring how only a handful of us dont like that to be the only thing they ever do

btw, your fics on ao3 are a godsend. judging by your stats im definitely not alone in loving how you write yurisere. thank you for doing the lords work. cant wait to see more updates

First of all, thank you for the high praise! It's the second time this week I've been told something similar, lol!

Though I will say anon, the rest sounds pretty charged towards something or someone particular in the fandom, so at the risk of aggravating some current stuff I don't know about...

Yeah. I agree. A lot. You pretty much summed up my thoughts perfectly.

"Edgy mean girlboss" and "nasty psycho" for Serena and Yuri respectively is... extremely accurate, lol, to the point where I kinda have to laugh bitterly for how pervasive it is. Like, I know they both got shafted hard by canon, but it's a bit annoying when so many people override Serena's multifacetedness to fit the girlboss mold and accuse Yuri of being one-dimensional. I'vs seen some even get strangely angry at the prospect of him not just being the sadistic plant guy. I just don't think him only being that is true. Then again, I'm a staunch defender of the assessment that most of Yuri's character is shown, not told.

Unfortunately, the fanon interpretation of characters overriding canon is something that happens in pretty much any fandom, so there's not much we can do but ignore it and find like-minded people. It's super annoying, but it can't be helped. There's also a broader phenomenon of prioritizing tropes and meme-y dynamics over actually appealing characters, so there's that too.

Since we're all waiting for more canon interaction, I'm definitely in the minority in that I don't think Yuri and Serena's interactions in Duel Links will be a pure hostility fest the entire time. I've also gotten accusations over the years that my Yurisere writing is objectively "wrong" for a plethora of reasons, many of which you stated above, so... there's THAT, too.

At the same time though, that isn't to say Yuri and Serena would never fight or bicker or even be mean to each other — I never expect them to be completely nice and friendly to each other right off the bat. And people are free to write and draw whatever they want — I want to express my disagreement and only that here — so if I don't like it, I ignore it. The people who don't fall into fanon have a much more appealing, deep, and romance-forgiving interpretation of yurisere to me, so I just focus on that!

Anyway, thank you once again for being a fan of my writing! I'm honestly surprised at the following for my current fics on ao3. The Arc-V tag doesn't get much engagement despite being updated every day. It's always great to know there are others who enjoy and share my idea of Yurisere, so to anyone lurking: don't be afraid to reach out!

[toraawa]

what's your favorite thing about yurisere?

Anon, I have am SO sorry this was sitting in my inbox since May and I never saw it until now. For some reason, I don't get notifications for asks... ;-;

Anyway, it's hard to pinpoint what my favorite thing about yurisere is, just because there's so many things about it I do like. I love the blue-girl-pink-boy aesthetic (moreso purple in Yuri's case) and think they look really good together. I love how versatile the ship is; you can examine all the gaps canon left and piece together different paths in which their relationship would develop all according to their personalities. I love their similarities and differences as individuals and how those would come together. They can go between bitter and sweet depending on the time. Amongst other things, of course.

But if I had to choose a favorite, it would probably be how their respective backstories form their dynamic as a ship. Them growing up on a restrictive island together yet never knowing the other because a third party kept them separated, and likewise, deeming Serena too precious and Yuri too dangerous for them to ever be with each other. I'm a huge sucker for that forbidden element! And that backstory has caused the both of them to have a "gap", so to speak. An area of their life that isn't quite filled. It's more obvious that Yuri would have turned out very different if he had someone who never feared and hated him, but it's less acknowledged that Serena would also have someone recognize her strengths and give her a true challenge (and possibly distract her from constantly vying for Leo's attention :0). Serena is pretty fearless and Yuri likes giving out praise, so it stands to reason that they would fill those "gaps" in each other. And if you go the enemies to lovers route, you get to see them realize what they've been missing their whole lives, which I really like.

Also, they're hot and unbeatable together and it'd be good to see them fall in love. That's the easy, shallow answer, lol.

[toraawa]

[toraawa]

I love this addition here, and I definitely agree that Yuri is in a special class of his own above everyone else. It's only him and Leo himself wearing all that purple, after all. I imagine that the color is strictly reserved for the Professor and whoever is special enough to be the closest to him. It makes complete sense why Yuri and Serena are in the positions that they are (highest and lowest).

I feel like Sora represents the common Academia soldier—someone constantly competing with his peers to reach the top. I'd say that he's the top of the Obelisk Blue class. Some say he's Obelisk Force, but his surprise in working with them to bring Serena back makes me think otherwise.

As for Dennis, I think he's a special operative of sorts in the same league as the Tyler sisters. Graduates, maybe? I doubt people who graduate Academia can leave back to the mainland. Or maybe if they reach high enough in the foodchain, they can choose between Obelisk Force or becoming a special operative. Idk.

It's all very interesting and fun to think about!

For anyone curious, Sora and Yuri were Obelisk Blues (high ranking soldiers and special ops), Dennis was Ra Yellow (intel and espionage), and Celina was Slifer Red (basic units and grunts). I know this because I made it up.

[toraawa]

Why Serena Can't Hate Yuri (and What May Happen in Duel Links) Part 2

Link to part 1 here.

As I said before, Serena hating Yuri would be very hypocritical, and I hope the analysis part demonstrates that. It's OOC, and I also believe it's OOC for Serena to be cutthroat about forgiveness.

In Arc-V, Serena's first impression of Sora is really bad. She sees him defeat Shun and make him roll down a whole flight of stairs, and she's horrified by it. Sora is one of the worst offenders of Academia's cruelty, right below Yuri himself—his glee in defeating Shun and the hunting game in Xyz mirrors Yuri's own glee for victory and carding others. Sora portrayed exactly what Serena found disgusting about Academia's soldiers.

But in Duel Links, Serena has no problem with him whatsoever, because she understands that he was heavily conditioned like she was and broke out of it... and is also happy to hear that Academia is changing!

I think these two examples are very poignant. Serena despises Academia, but she's not dismissive about the fact that they're trying to be better. It even makes her smile. Yes, Serena, who swore to fight against Academia with everything she had. This shows that Serena isn't against forgiveness at all, as long as you're trying to change for the better. Both Sora and Academia are trying to do that, and she gives due recognition for it. Past actions aren't going to make Serena hate someone forever.

And it's precisely because so many others have extended the same grace to her. She's been given a second chance herself, and understands how valuable it is. It would probably crush Serena to be seen as only evil because of what she did in the past, no matter how much she regrets it and tries to amend her mistakes.

Although, I think Leo is the one person Serena isn't ready to extend much understanding to, just because of how much damage he caused.

Another interesting aspect is how Serena reacts to Sora vs. how she reacts to Yuri in the anime.

When Serena sees Sora again after she's hit by the nerve gas, her immediate reaction is distrust and disdain. She tries to tell him to get away from her. But she doesn't outright deny Sora's claim that he hasn't come to take her back; Serena just questions him further with a lot of skepticism, and when Sora outright says that he's on their side, Serena is surprised (and seems to accept it somewhat). This is another example that Serena doesn't let her judgements remain set in stone. She allows someone who she thought was terrible, like Sora, to explain himself and prove that he's an ally. Serena has broken out of refusing to listen to others like she did in Season 1 with Dennis.

This also implies that Serena doesn't hate Academia's soldiers; rather, she just holds a very intense disdain for them and what they do.

And remember, Sora is pretty much the closest to Yuri in terms of being a reprehensible person. But to refuse hearing Sora out and forgive him (and explicitly be on good terms with him in Duel Links) would be extremely hypocritical of Serena, because so many people have done the same for her. People like Shun, who have every right to hate Serena forever for who she used to be despite her conditioning, but is now on very good terms with her in Duel Links.

And then there is how she reacts to Yuri.

I'll admit, I was always a bit puzzled by this scene, because I expected a lot more hostility from Serena—some demands for Yuri to not mess with her, or to shut up, or something like she did with Sora. Yuri's in control of the Obelisk Force, for crying out loud. He's very obviously a special enforcer who reports directly to Leo, yet all Serena can muster is repeating his words and giving a scowl here and there. Anyone explicitly tied to Academia immediately garners her hostility, yet with Yuri, Serena just seems confused. And surprised at his dragon. I still can't find a good explanation for her behavior here that isn't simply a headcanon.

The most I can think of that isn't just her feeling a connection to him a la Bracelet Girl and Yu-boy magic is that she recognizes him from when they were kids in Yuri's flashback sequence. (Either is technically possible, but I'm trying to not let my bias for this ship affect this analysis LOL.)

I bring this scene up because Serena has a strange lower level of hostility towards Yuri, and because there is a sprite of nerve gas Serena in Duel Links's internal files, which suggests that this scene may be expounded upon when Yuri finally gets added and can talk to her.

This reaction from Serena also ties into when she finally mentions Yuri in Duel Links. And come on, Serena smiles when talking about Yuri. She's aware of his faults, and was targeted by him to be brought back to Academia, but her reaction towards Yuya mentioning him is nowhere near as hostile as when Sora asks about Leo.

In the Japanese version, Serena's line is a bit different; she says Yuri is someone she doesn't know well, but well, he'll come eventually when he feels like it. Either way, she's not fussed about him like she is with Leo. She doesn't express any dislike towards him coming at all.

We can go into all the characterization reasons for why Serena can't hate Yuri, but if this isn't a blatant confirmation of it, then I don't know what is.

At this point, I realize that it sounds like Serena can't hate Yuri but that her forgiveness towards him will be swift. And I want to assure that I definitely do not think that will be the case.

I think Serena's handling of Sora is good insight into how Serena will treat Yuri. In short, Yuri must show regret for his actions and strive to do better. If he does, then I think Serena will outstretch an understanding/friendly hand towards him. She has a very intimate understanding of the conditioning he went through by Leo's hand, after all. But if Yuri doesn't show remorse, I think Serena will be disapproving of him, while also keeping her understanding that this is how both Leo and Zarc made him in her head.

Between the two, I think the first option is a lot more likely.

I could cite the ending of Arc-V, where Yuri has a strange off-screen redemption and shares a smile with Serena in the last episode, but I hesitate to because Duel Links is actively rectifying many of the fans' complaints about the ending. I honestly don't know if they're going to keep that smile or not. I do believe that Yuri's redemption is an integral part of his character arc, however, and that Duel Links will focus a lot on it. Yugo's dialogue with Sora sort of implies this:

In the Japanese version, Yugo says that he doesn't want revenge because they were one until very recently, though it still has the implication that he got to know Yuri in that state.

I also think that with this knowledge that Yugo got to know Yuri, we're going to have additional insight on what pushed Yuri to embrace Zarc completely. Yuri's character depth is very shown and not told, but it's implied that he was desperate to become with his counterparts because he was so tired of being alone. Everything Yuri went through in Academia was enough to sway his #1 hater, in any case. It's likely that these deeper aspects of Yuri may be revealed with Serena as well, as she may be wanting to push for details of his life, but that's speculation.

Yuri's redemption in Duel Links seems eminent, and if he shows the resolve to change for the better and acknowledge his wrongdoings, I'm fairly certain that Serena will view him positively.

Redemption, forgiveness, and acceptance is a central theme in all the Fusion characters' arcs, after all.

[toraawa]

Why Serena Can't Hate Yuri (and What May Happen in Duel Links) Part 1

This post is a mix of analysis and speculation, with specific focus on Serena's character and the similarities between her and Yuri due to their shared upbringing at Academia, as well as specific scenes in Duel Links that clue us in on what Serena's possible perspective on Yuri is.

It's a common idea in the fandom that Serena would hate Yuri and vice versa, but a closer look at her character reveals that there isn't much support for that idea at all. In short, it's OOC.

There's many reasons for it that I will outline below. But for one, if Serena hated Yuri, it would make her a massive hypocrite.

Before Serena betrayed Academia, she was willing to attack any and all people who used Xyz summoning. She had no qualms about hurting people as long as she got what she wanted and believed it was right. As we all know, her motivation was carding the Xyz remnants so Leo could recognize her abilities. This resulted in her carding Hokuto (and most likely other LDS students as well) and waving the card in a mocking gesture. Very Yuri-esque behavior.

There is also her duel with Dennis, which portrays how Serena's self-certainty and arrogance was so strong that she refuses to listen when Dennis says he is not an Xyz remnant. Even after she realizes he wasn't who she is looking for, she is dismissive of the fact that she could have hurt someone uninvolved with the conflict. This Serena would most likely brush it off as collateral damage if she did end up carding him.

(Interestingly enough, even though it's implied that Reiji brushed Hokuto's carding under the rug, Serena is never shown to reflect on the mistake even after meeting Shun. But that's for another day LOL.)

Serena, like Yuri, was generally arrogant and overconfident in her abilities, and saw herself as superior to all other duelists. Her desire to be recognized was a selfish one, even if it was so she could be useful to Academia's goals that she thought were honorable and just. That's how Academia's culture is—constantly proving that you're better than everyone else so you can climb the hierarchy. But a large part of Serena's character is introspection. She reflects on her past mistakes, and realizes the horrible things she did in the name of Academia—and her own pride/ego.

I believe that with the amount of self-reflection Serena does in Arc-V, it's only inevitable that Serena compare herself, or her past self, rather, with Yuri. All the reflection of everything she has done and what has happened to her probably makes Serena think that Yuri is the person she could've become had Leo given her what she wanted. A fate she escaped, in other words.

Of course, there is also Serena's horror at what Academia did to Xyz, which most likely still would have rocked her core even if she did achieve her dream of fighting on the front lines. She wanted to fight honorably, and is disgusted at her former peers for treating it like a "hunting game". This contrasts with Yuri, who is shown to not care at all about all the innocents carded in Xyz. But when it comes to hurting others for selfish gain, both Serena and Yuri have shown to be very capable of it, and to be bad people in general.

It's all about conditioning. Serena, a kind and compassionate person at heart, was able to be conditioned to feel superiority and arrogance and attack anyone to impress Leo, which she thought was wholly justified. Just about everyone in Academia is conditioned to be bad, though it's interesting how some are more susceptible than others (a poignant point in real life as well). What is it that makes some people more willing to engage in the "hunting game" and take glee in dominating others, like Sora, and some people horrified at the behavior of their peers, like Serena, Asuka, and the girl she tried to help escape? Is it being entrenched in that part of Academia's culture enough? A willingness to abandon one's humanity because they think there is nothing else for them? Or is it a desire to prove something?

Which then brings up the point of Yuri's own conditioning, and how it parallels Serena's.

I know a lot of people in the fandom think Yuri was completely bluffing here, and while I agree he was pretending to be swayed by Asuka's words, I do think his upset and grief was genuine. Otherwise, they probably wouldn't have shown flashbacks of his childhood. This scene is from Yuri's point of view, after all!

We know little of how Serena was as a small child, other than she was constantly frustrated with Leo's treatment of her and wanted to prove herself to him, but Yuri's childhood more clearly shows how Leo got through to him. Yuri didn't start out as a bad person at all—he actually seems good, as all the Yu-boys are without Zarc, but his conflict was that everyone hated/feared him for being too strong (It can safely be assumed that it was Starving Venom in particular, or Zarc's benign influence). He was confused that someone like Asuka could be simultaneously strong and well liked, and was envious of her. At this point, all Yuri wanted was to duel others and have fun defeating them... and hopefully make a friend out of it.

It's obvious, but Leo finding him in the midst of his isolation was the perfect way to manipulate him. Yuri immediately idolized Leo for reaching out to him, and thus accepted carding people with no second thought because of it. There were no questions asked; Yuri embraced it immediately, just like how Serena embraced carding her own opponents and fighting the other dimensions to create Leo's "utopia". Both Yuri and Serena only cared about pleasing Leo at first.

(Interestingly, in the English dub, Yuri screams that Leo ruined his life and he was too blind to realize it).

This devotion to Leo obviously falls apart for Yuri later, and I'll get to that. But there is something very striking about these lines in Duel Links that encapsulates Serena and Yuri's conditioning by Leo perfectly, and just how much pain and self-deprecation Serena's hindsight brings her personally:

Serena and Yuri never, ever, ask any questions.

Ever.

I mean, every time someone in Arc-V demands for Yuri to tell them why he's kidnapping the girls, he doesn't bother with thinking about it. As long as it's an order from the Professor, Yuri will obey without question. And Serena tells Yuzu that Leo's words are absolute in Academia; she believes in a utopia with united dimensions because it's Leo's idea. No questions asked.

They just don't bother with thinking.

Yet another similarity between Serena and Yuri's conditioning is that they do make way for their own pursuits outside of Leo's orders. Yuri does everything he does because Leo tells him to, but his more central goal is deriving pleasure and excitement from chasing the girls and carding whoever else. Serena goes so far as to directly disobey Leo, but it's only because she thinks he's making a mistake in not recognizing her ability—she harms her loyalty to become more loyal, in a sense. Though Serena wants to be helpful to Leo's goals, boosting her pride and sense of superiority is her more underlying central goal. It's the same with Sora and Dennis, too. They follow orders without question, but they were both more interested in other things: the hunting game for Sora, and entertainment for Dennis.

Academia's culture not only cultivates absolute, unquestioning loyalty to Leo, but also a huge ego fest in which everyone wants to be superior. They're never given the opportunity to do much else. Serena says so herself in Duel Links, when Yuzu is sad upon her saying that no one was waiting for her to come back.

In Japanese, Serena says it's because she was under house arrest in Academia since she was little. Either way, both versions convey that there is only so much you can do at Academia but fall in line with the paths they paint for you. This is doubly so for Yuri and Serena, who had special circumstances.

With all this in mind, it's clear that Serena understands very well how Academia conditioning works. How it can transform you into a bad person who only sees one way of life, and how Leo can make your worth revolve around him. Serena despises Academia and is hostile towards everyone affiliated with it, but that doesn't erase her understanding of these things. She's extremely familiar with how easy it is to embrace something bad with no questions asked, under the pretext of impressing Leo or believing it's good.

To allow herself to recognize the manipulation she was subject to and how it made her capable of terrible actions and not extend the same understanding to Yuri (or anyone else from Academia) would be very hypocritical. It would be a different set of rules for her and a different set of rules for others, in short, and I don't think Serena would stand by that. She believes strongly in fairness and integrity.

If Serena were to hate Yuri, who exhibits very similar behavior as she used to, she would have to hate herself too.

The limited paths Serena and Yuri have been subject to their whole lives paints yet another close parallel between them.

Serena learns the truth about Academia from Yuzu and Shun, and eagerly takes the path that leads towards the light. She's surrounded by people willing to give her a second chance and prove herself. Yuri knows nothing except how to win duels and please Leo, and when he stops caring about the latter, he only sees a path into the darkness. Everything Yuri does at this point is a means to an end. He's going to card everyone, keep satisfying himself, let himself be absorbed and resurrect Zarc, and die. This is all there is to him; there's nothing else anymore, because Yuri is incapable of having faith in any other possibility, or in any other version of himself. He doesn't understand them. It's how it's been for as long as he can remember; why would it change?

It's never explained why Yuri suddenly stopped caring about Leo (maybe because the Arc Area Project was pretty much complete and he saw no use for Yuri anymore), but I find it really interesting how surprised Leo is when Yuri says he doesn't care about making him happy anymore. It shows that Leo genuinely believed Yuri would always be wrapped around his finger. His manipulation over Yuri is much more severe than Serena.

Perhaps there was a chance for him to escape Academia like Serena did, and Yuri briefly considers it right before the flashback, but that's impossible when he sees nothing else but what's in front of him. With Zarc's influence in full strength, Yuri thinks carding and satisfying himself is all there is. That it's all he is. Ironically, Yuri's reducing himself to what exactly Leo made him: a carding machine. Except this time, it's on his terms (like that makes it any better, because it doesn't).

What is most ironic about the paths Serena and Yuri take is that Serena goes from bad to good—an arrogant, selfish soldier with no qualms about hurting uninvolved people in the crossfire to a more compassionate fighter for justice, while Yuri goes from good to bad—a child who only saw joy and fun in dueling to a heartless attack dog. Who Yuri used to be is highly reminiscent of Yuya, who only wants to entertain and connect with people through duels, and it is that very quality that Serena eventually learns to enjoy for herself. Basically, what Yuri lost is what Serena gains, and what Serena lost is what Yuri gains.

Either way, they were both majorly screwed up by Academia and Leo.

There's definitely more analysis that can be done regarding Serena and Yuri and Yuri's character as a whole (who is unfortunately seen as one-dimensional and any further insight is even shunned by some), but with that foundation established, let's focus more on Serena's possible perspective on Yuri.

I'm running out of picture space, so part 2 continues here.

[toraawa]

This—

This can't be a coincidence 👀👀👀👀👀👀

(Btw the standee is merch from the 10-yr anniversary cafe collab ヾ(≧∇≦)ゞヾ(≧∇≦)ゞ)