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queenmina37 · 5 years ago

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#103: Parade

It was the Grand Reopening of Link VRAINS (again) and the streets of the virtual world were filled with avatars. People looked around, ran around the place, laughed and chatted, making new friends.

Playmaker was standing away from everyone else, hidden by the shadows. He watched as people chatted with Soulburner and the rest of his comrades, and their Ignis. Even Ai was there, having run there after complaining about him being a wallflower. The Ignis was currently chatting with Ghost Girl, who was smiling down at it.

“So?” Ghost Girl asked. “Where’s Playmaker?”

“Right there…” Ai pointed to where he had left him, but as he turned to look… he wasn’t there.

While Ai was internally screaming, Ghost Girl smirked. “Oh? Did he abandon you?”

While Ai started screaming at her while being completely ignored, Soulburner hummed, worried. “Where is he? The parade is about to start.”

“Are you guys a part of it?” Ghost Girl asked, smiling.

“No.” Soulburner laughed. “They tried to have us there, but we refused. But Blue Angel and Go Onizuka are there, right?”

They chatted for a while longer, before the sky suddenly turned dark, like the lights had been turned off. Everyone turned to the end of the long street they were standing by as two commentators let their voices reach out throughout Link VRAINS. “Ladies and Gentlemen!”

“We have the privilege to welcome you all to the new and improved Link VRAINS!”

“To celebrate this unforgettable night, a parade of the greatest duelists shall walk right before your eyes! Let us all welcome them!”

“First, we have the undeniable Queen of Link VRAINS, who fought alongside the toughest and bravest heroes against the evil! Blue Angel!!”

Blue Angel was standing on top of a moving platform, smiling and waving to her fans who cheered loudly for her. Some of her monsters were also on the platform, dancing and giggling.

As the platform moved to make room for the next one, the same voice called out. “And here we have the King of Link VRAINS, Go Onizuka!”

The cheers continued as more and more famous duelists made appearances. Charisma Duelists put on a show, as did the others, though not as much as the Charisma Duelists. The crowd watched, cheering and waving back to them, taking photos, videotaping it. Music filled the air as people danced, laughed and chatted excitedly with others.

When the parade was nearing its end, Blue Girl ran to them, looking around. “Did I miss the end?”

“No.” Ghost Girl looked at her. “Why? Is something interesting happening?”

“Yeah.” Blue Girl shrugged her shoulders. “Or, well, I don’t know. The commentator from Neo Domino City was really excited about the last group. I talked with others before the parade, and one of them, Harald from Team Ragnarok, said that they weren’t there yet and someone else said that they’d make a dramatic entrance or something.”

“Team Ragnarok?” Unnamed turned to look at the, currently, last platform. “Those three?”

“Yeah.” Blue Girl nodded. “They’re supposed to be the last ones, before Team 5D’s, I think was the name.”

“Ladies and Gentlemen! It is time for the last duelists to take the stage! And though they’re the last, they’re most definitely not the least!”

The group watched, surprised, as all the 3-man teams vacated to the sides of their platforms, turning their eyes to the last platform that appeared behind the long line. There was no one on the platform. It was completely empty of people, of monsters, of everything.

“What?” Soulburner blinked. “Isn’t there supposed to be…?”

Suddenly, the platform lighted up in an eerie red glow. On the top of the platform, red lines appeared, making up some kind of mark. And, then, just as the mark was done, something dark, something akin a tornado, burst up in the middle of it. Black feathers floated down from the sky, making people let out noises of awe. Then, two red slits appeared in the tornado, before it disappeared with a loud flap of wings, almost as if they were the reason it disappeared. Now, standing on the platform was a black dragon with red eyes, a young man with orange hair in front of it. The man was grinning, waving to the crowd where fans were suddenly squealing and cheering.

“Let us welcome, Crow ‘The Bullet’ Hogan, the Tail of the Crimson Dragon!”

“The Crimson Dragon?” Ghost Girl glanced upwards, to where the two commentators were. “What’s that?”

They had no time to ponder, though. Crow and his dragon quickly jumped to the side of the platform, balancing on the edge. The platform lighted up in that eerie red glow once more, but this time, the mark was different, looking almost like a claw. When the lines had become a mark, it was like lightning shot from the heavens. Red rose petals flew in the air as a strong gust of wind blew, whirling around. It disappeared as soon as it appeared, though, and the rose petals hovered to the ground, like the black feathers earlier. On the platform, there was a black dragon with wings made of red rose petals. In front of it stood a young woman with dark burgundy hair, a smile on her face as she looked around.

“The Foot of the Crimson Dragon, the Black Rose Witch, Izayoi Aki!!”

Aki winked to the crowds, making the people gasp. She then jumped to the other side of the platform, nearly facing Crow as she turned her back to the crowds. The platform lighted up, again, lines appearing to make a mark. The moment it was done, flames shot up from out of nowhere, burning brightly and hotly. A loud roar was heard long before the silhouette of a dragon was seen through the flames that condensed around the dragon’s fists, revealing a black-and-red dragon with an almost demonic look. In front of it stood a blond man, dressed in a white coat.

“The Wings of the Crimson Dragon, Former King of Riding Duels, Jack Atlas!!!”

Obviously, there was something fun with what the commentator said, because a lot of the famous duelists started laughing, some trying to hide it, some not. Crow was one of the ones who didn’t try to, and Aki tried to. Jack himself shot the man a glare.

“Oh?” Unnamed chuckled. “I wonder what that’s about?”

“Who knows?” Soulburner laughed.

Before they could say anything else, though, there was another light. Jack jumped to the side, to stand a little further away from Crow. The lines made up a mark, almost like a claw that held something. Then, there was a large cracking sound and a burst of light. The sound of jingling bells was heard, as well as the sound of large machinery parts falling to the ground. When the light disappeared, there were two dragons there, one blue and almost like a fairy, one brown with a spear or something attached to its other arm. In front of the dragons were two youngsters, maybe 14 years old at most, with green hair and otherwise identical looks.

“The Hand and Heart of the Crimson Dragon, the Wonder Twins, Ruka and Rua!”

The duo laughed, waving to the crowd. Then, they jumped to the opposite sides of the platform, Rua to stand on the same side with Crow and Jack, Ruka to stand with Aki. They smiled and stood there, laughing, and then they waited.

They didn’t have to wait for long. The platform lighted up once more, the eerie red glow becoming stronger than before. The lines quickly moved, making a mark. But unlike before, the mark wasn’t obscured as a dragon made an appearance. No, the spectators were instead left to gasp as something glittery rained down on them. As they turned to look up to the sky, they saw a white and blue dragon that was softly roaring as it flew over the street, over the people, its wings softly flapping. Whatever the glittery substance was, it was like it fell from the dragon’s wings.

When the dragon flew over the platform, though, something dropped from on top of it. Or, rather, someone.

People gasped, horrified and worried, as they saw someone freefall from that height, head first, straight towards the ground. They flipped over in the air, though, just before they hit the platform, landing on their feet in a crouch. The dragon landed behind them, letting out a soft roar.

“The Head of the Crimson Dragon, Satellite’s Shooting Star, The King of Riding Duels, Fudo Yusei!!!”

“Oh my, and who is that in his arms?!”

It was then that people realized that it was indeed two people, rather than one, that had dropped from the dragon. Yusei was holding the other in a tight grip, holding them bridal style. And that other person…

Ai gasped, shouting. “PLAYMAKER???!!!”

“I’m going to kill you, one of these days.” Playmaker ignored the loud shout of his name, no doubt coming from the Ignis. Instead, he gave Yusei a glare as he was let down.

“You would have already killed me if you had any plans to do so.” Yusei chuckled softly, ignoring the crimson red tendrils that began appearing in the air around their platform. “Now, come over here.”

“Why?” Playmaker gave him a suspicious look but stepped closer. “If this is another one of your…”

Yusei pressed his lips against Playmaker’s.

At first, it was deadly silent. Then, people were screaming, because did some bigshot from Neo Domino City just kiss Playmaker???!!!

The red tendrils began fusing. People noticed them, making confused noises as the tendrils began to take another shape, curling around the platform that was, once again, glowing an eerie red color. The tendrils began to make a snake-like body, like the lines on the platform… making a tail… feet… wings… hands… a head…

Yusei pulled away, smiling as Playmaker glanced upwards at the replica of the Crimson Dragon that had curled around the platform. “… Isn’t it bad to make fun of a god like this?”

“We’re showing our gratitude in our own way.” Yusei chuckled. “The Crimson Dragon would understand.”

“… Yeah, you guys are unique like that.” Playmaker laughed, which made the crowds pause. “The Crimson Dragon would totally understand.”

Yusei smiled and gave him another kiss before turning to the crowd and waving. His teammates and Playmaker did the same. The dragons roared in tune with the replica of the Crimson Dragon. It was truly a spectacle to see.

#hackershipping #yusei fudo #yusaku fujiki

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managician · 6 years ago

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🔥 s p i l l

d/m and 5/ds are the worst written ygo series with the worst protagonists as well. 3/4 of d/m is pointless filler that is literally just there to give atem an excuse to show off his ~~coolness~~ in duels against one standoff characters that literally no one remembers; plot is scarce and has a very basic premise (recover lost memories while i fight baddies off lol), supporting cast might as well not fucking be there because they do nothing. character development keeps going back and forth and the last arc was a fucking hot mess that introduces a shit ton of characters at the same time and expects me to remotely care about what’s going on.

5/ds’s first... 20-30 episodes or something are solid maybe lmao. but yusei has no real visible personality traits other than “look at me be cool and stoic while i talk about friendship” which is something that all the ygo series do anyway, the arguably most interesting characters (aki and rua&ruka) get to do nothing because the focus shifts all the way to yusei/jack/crow trio, the duels are fucking lame and involve yusei having a oddly specific trap that is literally never used again, plot is predictable as hell and so grittily executed that i might as well go watch a dystopian movie.

and all ygo shows suffer from poor animation at times but these two really were animated with the budget of a paper clip and a gum wrap that has been tossed to the ground a hundred times. it’s a pain to look at the shots most of the time. there are a few good characters on each show but as a whole they’re quite literally not worth your time.

also yuma and yuya are best protags i don’t make the rules lol. they showcase perfectly normal personality for people of their age and have progressive development throughout all the show, as well as lasting relationships with the main cast that make the plot surrounding them feel cohesive and compelling. they actually are allowed to fuck up and learn from everything they go through.

plus, their arcs are arguably the most interesting out of all the ygos because they’re the only protagonists that feel like real people instead of cardboard designs with two (2) character traits and tropes slapped onto them.

#its a shame bc 5ds especifically has many interesting storylines and decks but as a whole it just feels bland and unmemorable to me #thanks for the ask ayy #sonia answers #transyuugimuto

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killjoy-karrot-kake · 7 years ago

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Mini things you might have missed in ARC V

I’ve found and kept these facts literally forever, so I think it’s about high time I show them to you. A lot of them are obvious, but who knows what you might learn and hopefully find interesting!

Yuri was the only one of Zarc’s reincarnations not to duel against Sawatari Shingo.

Yuri was also the only one of his counterparts not to be in any sort of relationship with Serena (the Fusion dimension’s incarnation of Ray)

Yuya, Yuto, Yugo and Yuri’s clothing and colour schemes are based on the card background of their dimension.

In the Japanese dub, Yuya and Yuri share a voice actor while as Yugo and Yuto’s voice actors are twin brothers. This is similar to how their characters look the same and were originally one person. Yuzu and Serena also share a voice actor like Yuya and Yuri do. Interestingly, Yugo, Yuto, Ruri and Rin’s voice actors, all immediately retired after ARC V finished in much the same way as their characters were ‘killed off’ in the earlier stages of their appearances, Yuto, Rin and Ruri in particular.

The second ending in ARC V (Future Fighters) is sung by Yuya/Yuri and Reiji’s voice actors. One of the singers for the second ending (One Step) is also the same voice actor who voices Ruri Kurosaki later in the show.

2 characters from GX (Edo and Asuka), 9 from 5D’s (including Jack and Crow, Yeager and many other minor characters) and 3 from ZEXAL (most noticeably Kaito, with two minor characters) have cameos in ARC V. No characters from Duel Monsters were added, however, Reiji Akaba shows many similarities to Seto Kaiba.

Yuya is the only Yu-Gi-Oh protagonist to date, to lose in the last 60 episodes of their show, suffering defeat against Sergey in the Synchro Dimension arc.

Yuya, Yuto, Yugo and Yuri are all the same height, factoring in height of face/chin level and hair ’extensions’ to character design.

If you take a letter from each of Yuya, Yuto, Yugo and Yuri’s names (In that specific order and take 1st letter of Yuya, 2nd letter of Yuto, 3rd letter Yugo, 4th letter Yuri) The word formed is Yugi, Japanese for game and the name of the first series protagonist.

LITERALLY EVERY SINGLE DRAGON IN ARC V is animated AT LEAST ONCE in CGI

Yugo rides a TK2000PS model D-Wheel

Yugo’s use of luck and dice rolls on some of his cards is like Jounouchi from DM, and several of his monsters bring Rua's Morphonic monsters to mind, such as Speedroid OMK Gum, which even transforms like one. His interactions with Rin even can remind viewers of how Rua annoyed Ruka, albeit Rin and Yugo are love Interests and not siblings.

Yugo’s deck is one to Yusei’s, being comprised mostly by Machine-Type monsters and having a WIND Synchro Dragon as its ace, but also a little with Jack's using the same Power Deck tactics. His Hi-Speedroid Puzzle also seems to be a nod to Speed Warrior.

Yuri is meant to be Yuya's opposite in every way: Yuya's kind, understanding and wants to make a person smile; Yuri's cruel, impatient and loves filling someone with terror.

In contrast to the other dragon boys, who can routinely win without needing their dragons, Yuri's strategy is pretty much "Fusion Summon my Dimension Dragon as quick as I can, then wreak havoc with it because it's so good I don't need anything else."

In all Yu-Gi-Oh ‘VS’ screens and duels (aside a few in GX) the ‘hero’ or ‘person you are going to root for’ is ALWAYS placed on the right hand side of the screen. The ‘villain’ on the left. However, in the second episode of ARC V in the first and only duel with Yuya against Yuzu. Yuzu is seen on the right hand side. Yuya on the left. This is most likely a direct reference to how Yuzu’s previous incarnation Ray, defeated Zarc, Yuya’s previous incarnation and saved the world, thus becoming a hero. While it is a small easter egg, it is a direct reference to how, while Yuya seems to be a hero, he is also the main antagonist of the series. The FORESHADOWING!!!

#fun facts #ygo #yugioh arc v #arcv #things you might have missed #interesting #ive had these facts literally forever #have fun

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whatacartouchebag · 7 years ago

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Suppression, Chapter Eighteen

The What: What happens when Incan bindings meet Egyptian magic? Well, there’s a little crossing of the streams that never should have happened and amnesiac pharaohs find themselves flung into the future.

The When: Set immediately at the end of Bonds Beyond Time.

The Who: A band not appearing in this fic. Set in the world of 5D’s, so expect a bunch of peeps from there to pop up.

The Who’n’Who: Yusei Fudo/Atem, aka Synchroshipping.

The Rating: A nice and cozy E, since no-one is actually misbehaving or doing naughty things, but there’s talk of recovery and heavy depression.

The sun bled through the sky with the first light of dawn, rays warming the horizon as the city moved into life. Motion stirred within the heart of Neo Domino, and with it, the day began anew as people awoke; the sounds and sights of the city pulsing to the tune of commotion and commerce.

Even the outer districts stirred with that same life; people going about their affairs as the morning light brought new promise. The highways stretching across the ocean to Satellite stood dotted with vehicles, making their daily commute or trade; business continuing as usual.

Yet some life was not at all content with the promise of a new morning.

Aki lay upon the upstairs couch, eyes tracing the lines of the ceiling above her. Weariness wrapped about her like the very blanket she had burrowed beneath, but it had nothing against the worry that clung to her thoughts like a vice. What few hours of sleep had blessed her seemed to be worth naught as she drew in a quiet breath, releasing it in a gentle sigh.

No, there were so many things that had plagued her mind in the darkness, and laying there while the sun hung in the sky would solve none of them.

Pushing back her covers, she sat upright, feet grazing the rug as she ran fingers through her hair. She didn’t doubt that the others in the house had as little sleep as she did, what with the silent anxiety still hanging thick within the air.

She only hoped that there would be answers with the dawn of a new day, so with a quiet sigh across lips, stood and walked to where she knew coffee lurked.

With the silence that hung thick in Poppo Time, she knew that she was the first one to rise, and had it been any other sort of day, she may even have relished the time to herself. Now though, it felt almost stifling, and Aki knew there would be no enjoying this morning.

Slender fingers ran through her hair again, stopping midway as brown eyes closed and fingertips massaged her scalp deeply, almost relishing the feel as weariness tugged at her senses. It was an action she used almost religiously when it came to long nights of study, yet she never thought she’d be using it to relieve this kind of tension.

“Penny for your thoughts?”

The gentle voice startled her lightly, and she jerked about to face Crow. The redhead could only snicker softly as he finished descending the ladder, and the soft smile found her lips once more.

“You’re quiet as a mouse, you know that?” she remarked, shaking her head.

Crow could only wink at her. “You learn to tiptoe around kids that are light sleepers,” he answered simply. Fingers reached for a second mug, and Aki drew the sugar jar towards her, knowing his preferences. Another by-product of raising his children, no doubt; that sharp, yet occasional, sweet tooth of his.

“Not thanks to surviving in Satellite?” she asked with curiosity, eyes wanting to wander over to him as she made them both coffee.

The simple question lingered briefly in the air, and Crow only gave a brief noise of acknowledgement. He made his recent past no secret around the young woman; she was as genuinely curious as the twins, and he saw no reason to deny them the truth. There was no hesitation in his answer, and he shook his head lightly.

“Probably got it from there first, but it’s handy around the kids secondly,” he gave a quiet sigh between teeth as a steaming mug was slid towards him. “Makes it kind of hard to teach them proper morals when the only way to raise them is to use improper ones,” he added, lifting the mug to his lips and blowing on it lightly.

“Mm, you’ve lived there longer than they have, and I see no evidence of that in you,” Aki replied simply, as if it were as plain to see as the red in his hair. In her eyes, it really was. “You did more than survive off improper morals, Crow. You learned what was right and wrong, and you stuck to your beliefs.” Fingers dipped into the fridge, hunting for something suitable to eat, and she settled for eggs. Everything could be solved with eggs, her mother always told her as a child, and she saw no reason to ignore that now. Perhaps when everyone else was up, she could prepare some for them, too.

“Even if you aren’t with them now,” she continued, “you’ve given them a firm foundation of proper morals, as was given to you as a child. They know the difference between right and wrong; they’re good kids, Crow, and they’re in good hands.” She lifted her eyes, meeting his with a gentle smile. The redhead could only return the warm gesture, feeling something in his chest swell with something akin to pride at her words. He cradled the mug a little closer to his chest and could only give a soft nod for a moment, words faltering on his tongue in light of her praise.

Aki ducked her gaze away, feeling the weight of that gaze upon her as shyness crept through her once more. “It’s just... really easy to see how much they look up to you, so I doubt they’d do anything to disappoint you. Nor you disappoint them,” she finished softly, flicking the stovetop on and setting a frypan atop it.

“To answer your question, though... well... I was just worried about what today would bring,” she added, staring aimlessly at the empty pan.

Crow gave a faint murmur in response, casting grey eyes to the ladder. “You mean Atem,” he replied. “Yeah, today’s going to be... interesting.” He gave a heavy sigh and rubbed at the back of his neck. “He’s a strong guy, but so’s Yusei, and I’ve seen him break under the weight of something terrible before.”

The young woman’s brow knit as gathered her ingredients together. “You think this is just as bad...” she murmured, already knowing his response. The nod from the corner of her eye confirmed it for her.

“Without a doubt...” the redhead breathed, trailing off and closing his eyes as he took another sip of coffee. “Last night... when I found him, he could barely get his words out, but there was one sentence he couldn’t finish back there. He almost told me something about ‘everyone,’ and from his actions, I can only guess it was his friends from his own time.”

Aki blinked at him, surprise covering her features as she replayed the events of the previous night in her mind. Just what had happened in the Spirit World to cause all of this? Her brow knit faintly and she glanced at Crow, but the words dried upon her tongue. How best to phrase this?

The Signer drew her bottom lip between teeth, turning back to their breakfast as she poured it into the frying pan. “I might be overthinking things, but... the area we found him in last night... I don’t think it was a coincidence. He went there because it was somewhere familiar to both Yugi and himself.”

Crow could only stare at her, running the layout of that area through his head. Old Domino was... well, of course it would be an area familiar to him, but why would Aki be so sure of that particular place?

“When they first passed it a few weeks ago,” she began, as if dipping so easily into his thoughts, “Rua was quizzing him on places, helping him remember them as they were, and how they looked now; almost like a game between the two of them. Atem recalled the place easily, so I... I think it was somewhere familiar to both he and Yugi,” she finished softly, stirring her scrambled eggs.

“So he went somewhere familiar to them...” Crow trailed off, sadness creasing his brow. He gave a quiet sigh, grey eyes closing momentarily. “It doesn’t surprise me; not really. I mean, I guess if we all had the chance, we’d do the same, right?”

Aki watched him for a moment, gaze trailing back to breakfast as she lifted the pan from the stove. “I guess you’re right...”

“But?”

Her eyes met Crow’s once more, and he gave her a brief raise of his brows. “There’s a ‘but’ in there, I can tell,” he told her simply. The gentle smile found her lips and she split up breakfast for the two of them.

“Well... not so much a ‘but...’” she began, moving to clean her work as she spoke. “That area... even though it’s Old Domino, we... learnt about a little of it in history once; back when I was a little girl. Even now, they’re still teaching it to those who study duel history, but that area is as close as you can get to where the original Kame Game shop once stood.”

Crow stiffened with shock as grey eyes widened. Aki was surprised he didn’t drop his mug with the sudden reaction.

“Then last night... he...” the redhead breathed, realisation blanketing him. He reached up to bury a hand in his hair. “Geez, no wonder he was so distressed about everything... On top of what he found out, he also had to deal with finding that out.”

Aki gave a faint nod, sliding his plate over to him. “I didn’t realise it myself until this morning.” She stared down at her own plate, worry lining her brow for a brief moment before she closed her eyes with a heavy sigh. “But...”

The young woman reopened her eyes with a warm smile, fixing her gaze upon Crow. “No matter what, all we can do is help him the same way as we help each other.”

Crow returned her smile with a bright one of his own, lifting his coffee mug to clink against hers. “You’ve got that right. He’s one of the team now, and that’s that!”

With a gentle laugh from the young woman, it was decided, and the anxiety that ran through the silent building seemed to slip away, if only for a moment. The world about them relaxed, and took a deep breath as their eyes fixed upon the future.

As life began to stir within Poppo Time, the remaining residents descended into what could only be called a stifled sensation of business as usual. Everyone could feel the tension that lay thick in the air; even Aki and Crow, who had spoken at length with the others about their conversation earlier in the day, found the pressure of remaining hopeful to be an arduous one.

The only one who remained absent was the person at the centre of their concerns.

Yusei only confirmed that the pharaoh had chosen to remain where he was, refusing to budge from his place, buried beneath the covers, and could not deny him. Later, was all he had been told.

If the mechanic was seen throughout the day absently running fingers across the neck of his shirt, or along the back of his neck, or even chewing his bottom lip, surely it was a habit borne of worry, the others thought. Everyone was concerned, so of course Yusei felt the burden of worry upon his own shoulders, no matter the distractions of the day. If only they knew he still had the memory burning over and over in his mind of the pharaoh buried so close to him, sobbing brokenly against his chest until exhausted sleep claimed him.

As the sun rose across the sky on that second day, and hours slipped between them all unnoticed, the day seemed to come and go without any sign of Atem. Rua had been the first to anxiously peek through a crack in the door – just to make sure he was even still in the building. The sleeping form in a tousled pile of blankets did nothing to sate his worried heart, however, and the boy slipped back from the room, worrying his bottom lip.

Night soon wrapped about the city, the stars dotting the velvet sky as much as the twinkling lights of Neo Domino itself. Yusei slipped into his room, closing the door gently behind him and padding silently across the floor. Only when he neared the bed did the figured within stir faintly.

“Yusei..?” Atem breathed sleepily, voice dry and coming from somewhere beneath the covers.

The mechanic swallowed lightly, silent as he gently lifted the blankets and slipped in behind the duellist, curling an arm about his chest and holding him close.

“I’m here,” he replied softly, pressing his lips to the crown of Atem’s head. “I’m here...”

The pharaoh’s composure remained steadfast for only a handful of heartbeats before it began to fray anew, and fingers tightened over Yusei’s. The Signer merely held him firmly, feeling him tremble.

Even at the gentle feeling of those fingers holding him safe and sound, warmth enveloping his senses and threatening to ground him against the tidal wave of ache building in his chest, Atem could do little else but realise with startling clarity that all was lost to him. It was an entirely alien feeling and it left him feeling absolutely gutted; even in the wake of losing his partner so many times.

At least during those times, as heartwrenching and tragic as they felt, there was some small amount of comfort in knowing his friends remained by his side, supporting him, consoling him in times of grief, and simply being there for each other.

Yet here?

Neo Domino felt as cold and broad and empty as his heart.

“I'm here...”

True to his word, the mechanic stayed, warm and gentle at his back. All through the night, strong arms held him close, letting him spill his pain against their skin. As the first tint of deep purples began to settle across the sky, heralding the coming dawn, only then did the pharaoh succumb to slumber, exhaustion dragging him under.

Only then, when he felt that ragged form relax within his arms, and breathing slip to something less burdened, did Yusei close his own eyes, lips pressing gently to that dark hair.

As both of them held each other in rising of the sun, both remained oblivious in slumber to the tender crimson glow surrounding marked flesh, as if the Crimson Dragon himself shared the very grief of that burdened heart.

***

Blackbird gave an explosive roar of throttle as it began the slow approach to Poppo Time, its rider gearing down effortlessly and guiding the sleek machine along the final stretch of road. Crow almost bit back the heavy sigh as he drew closer, knowing that in the days that stretched on there had been little change within their normally happy household.

Still, as heartless as it sounded in words, life for the Signers and that of Neo Domino wound on for the next week. The duellist knew in his very soul that there was no coming back from what Atem had experienced that night - regardless of what that really was.

The frown creased lightly on his brow. Following what he knew, piecing together what information he had... there was only so much that could point them all in the right direction without the pharaoh telling them in his own words what that really was.

Crow suspected enough, and it was no wonder he was suffering.

He could never put a timer on grief, no matter its form, yet the pharaoh had reduced himself to an utter shell of what he once was. Something had to give, but he had to wonder exactly what that would be before the tension snapped, and something shattered all over again.

Grey eyes blinked as he nearly missed his destination, realising he'd been utterly caught up in his train of thought, and turned neatly about the fountain and into the awaiting garage. For all his thinking and overthinking, he was going to end up like Yusei, came the soft taunt in his mind, wringing the faint smile to his lips.

He glided to a stop within the warehouse, killing the steady thrum of the engine and sliding Blackbird forward on her stand. It was only as he was shedding the comforting weight of his helmet did he glance up to spy Atem watching him arrive from the landing, and Crow greeted him silently with a warm smile and a simple wave.

Grief may have had no timer in his mind, but there was something to be said for stagnation.

It was a subject that Crow himself knew all too well, and wished only to release the flow once more.

"Hey there, anything exciting happen while I was out?" he called to the pharaoh, sliding off his bike and setting his helmet upon the seat. It might not have been normal by any standard, but it was anything to help the young man cope. Atem parted his lips to reply, hesitation changing his mind for a moment in time.

"No, ah... though... Bruno did ask me to tell you he and Yusei have gone to register for the WRGP," the quiet words came from him like a whisper, and Crow had to fight not to frown at how frail they sounded.

"Oh right, that was today, huh..." he murmured, rubbing his chin in thought. Well, at least the opportunity gave him a chance to plan. Or at the very least, wing something blindly; something he was very good at. "Say, can I ask you something?"

The pharaoh stared back at him, a mute nod as he began to walk down to the garage level.

"You're just about due to have that thing off, right?" Crow tapped his forearm for effect. "If you don't have any other plans for this afternoon, I could take you."

Atem stopped at the base of the stairs, staring in realisation at the brace that still wrapped about his arm. Had it... really been two weeks already? Time seemed to be slipping from him faster and faster these days. Crimson eyes narrowed faintly, brows set to a light furrow as he avoided that piercing gaze. Perhaps, then...

"I'd like that," the words slipped from him before he could really think about it.

Crow walked to him, that warm smile never budging as he placed a hand to his shoulder, oblivious to the surprise that swam within the other.

"Great! Wanna head out now?"

That caught the pharaoh by surprise, and again he held a moment of hesitation on his tongue. No, his mind breathed from its depths; to make a decision is to follow it through to the very end. Something that he once told others so proudly and firm. Absently, he reached a hand up to lightly curl about the brace on his arm.

"It's not going to be a bother, is it?" he asked quietly.

"A bother? Psh! A bother is Jack spending all our money on that acidic slop he calls good coffee," Crow replied with a short laugh. He gave a gentle squeeze to the pharaoh's shoulder. "This is just a guy helping out a friend."

Atem finally raised crimson eyes to meet those knowing grey eyes, surprise swimming within their depths. The warmth of those words, something so simple, felt like someone pulling the stitches from a wound unseen, and he swallowed against the lump of coal that rose to his throat. The simplest thing, the simplest words, and still...

Warmth welled in his eyes and the faint smile found his lips at last.

"... thank you..."

He didn't trust his voice to say anything further, and Crow - bless his wonderful soul - did nothing to press the issue, merely gave his shoulder a gentle pat as he drew away, retrieving a spare helmet and tossing it lightly to him.

"Best get going while the day's still warm. It'll be a squeeze with two of us, but it's better than walking," he said brightly, sliding Blackbird back off its stand to turn it aboutface.

Atem stood still, eyes upon the helmet in his hands as a thumb idly traced a seam upon it. For all that he had lost, there was still so much to gain...

Crimson eyes narrowed for a beat. Perhaps, then...

The riding duellist slid himself upon Blackbird once more, the soft leather giving a faint creak of well-worn protest. At least she was warm, which made the startup just a tad quicker, Crow mused as he tucked hair back within the confines of his helmet. With the faint click of electrics connecting, Momentum thrummed in response and the engine exploded to life once more.

He felt Atem tuck in behind him, one arm snaking about his waist.

Crow gave a faint smile at the other duellist's quiet but solid response. It was nowhere near alright, but at least he was trying so, so hard. He reached up with a gloved hand and gave a faint squeeze to the other's.

With a short rev of the engine, he gently guided Blackbird from the garage, taking his time as they moved through the quiet backstreets of their little suburb and into the steadily growing traffic of the highways.

Neo Domino sprawled out in the distance from where they rode, all but ablaze in the light of the setting sun, and Atem couldn't help but stare idly at it as traffic streaked past them. It still felt like some lucid dream that he was waiting to awaken from. Yusei's world... how long had he been here now? Only a month? Two? And yet already so much had happened.

Brows furrowed as he recalled all the ways others had helped him from his arrival. The hospital staff, that officer - Ushio - a name that still seemed so strange to hear. Yusei himself and all his friends. Even though things had gone strangely awry between the Signers and their connection to Atem, they never once baulked at the chance to help him. To offer him assistance in this new world. To show him new things.

To be so patient and understanding.

Crimson eyes closed as he felt his grip tighten ever so slightly upon the riding duellist. He would never be able to repay their kindness, even if he were given another chance entirely.

Yet here he sat, realising all of this as the weight of grief began to shift. Ever since that night, it had all but blanketed his entire existence in a shrouding fog of loss. Everything had been pushed aside in the wake of that one moment as he learned the truth.

Utterly everything.

It was so oppressive that in his smothering wave of grief he forgot that there already were people here who cared deeply for him. Those who could help him heal, and those who never knew when to quit.

Atem opened his eyes, drawing a steadying breath and letting it slip from him in a shaky exhale. He brought his gaze up, glancing over Crow's shoulder and watching them weave between the traffic and below an endless array of signs as they began their approach to the city.

No, it wasn't alright; it would never be alright.

Yet there was always another tomorrow, and there were always others to help him see that tomorrow through.

The whisper of a smile glimmered on his lips.

It was time to start looking forward once more. One foot in front of another.

"Not going to sleep on me back there, huh?" Crow's voice cut through his thoughts like a hot knife through butter, and the pharaoh blinked at him for a moment, the smile still sitting on his lips.

"Just admiring the city... It's so beautiful in the sunset," he murmured through the headset. Memory tugged at the back of his mind, and he couldn't help the soft chuckle that fell from his lips. "...I never imagined the future of Domino City to be like this."

Crow matched that smile as he gave a firm squeeze to the hand still about his waist, not realising the significance of those words.

"It's something special alright," he replied, peeling off from the main highway and onto a nearby exit ramp, heading directly for the heart of the city itself. "I still prefer the nights, but that's just the Satellite boy in me talking," he added with a laugh. He raised an open hand to the sky, caught in his own memory for a moment. "That far out from Neo Domino, you can see the stars shining so brightly during the night; our own private light show. I mean, there's a good reason we chose to live so far from the city itself nowadays. Even Jack missed the view; though he'd never admit to anything."

His delighted words brought the gentle laugh from the pharaoh, knowing exactly what he meant. All those weeks ago, as they sat at the fountain in the plaza... the stars twinkled as bright as the moon, and they all shared it together without a care in the world.

It was also the same night... Atem's thoughts drifted further past thoughts of the clear night sky, settling firmly upon a darkened room, gently whispered admissions, fingers gliding across skin, and he ignored the way his memories brought the soft heat to his cheeks, swallowing lightly.

He really did lose so much... only to gain something so special...

Crimson eyes slid shut once more, and he laid his head against Crow's back, keeping a firm hold upon the riding duellist.

"...thank you... truly..." he breathed into the wind, barely caught by the other.

Crow almost missed the faint snatch of words at his ears, and he blinked lightly, allowing the warm smile to settle upon his lips. It would take far more than simple time needed to heal those wounds, but it was already a step forward.

One step at a time, Crow's mind whispered.

***

Atem sat quietly in the examination room, arm held out as the nurse looked over the simple brace about his skin. His fingers brushed smoothly over the fabric-like material and he made a positive sound, drawing back to reach for a small pen shaped apparatus on the desk.

“Looks like you've been keeping it clean and dry, which is always a good start,” the nurse told him. He placed the device to the inside of Atem's elbow, keeping it steady. “Just rotate your wrist one-eighty degrees a few times, nice and slow.”

As the pharaoh did so, there sounded a few small blips from the little device, a green light appearing at the tip as the nurse drew away. He reached for one of the bands near his elbow, tapping the device to it and allowing it to detach from him skin, like a shackle falling from his wrists. Atem blinked as that strange cloth-like material between them began retracting back into the one at his wrist; the nurse going about the simple procedure to remove that one as well.

“Alright, good as new,” he told him happily. “The doctor's got your report already-” he waggled the little pen, “-but if there's any issues, we'll be in touch. Other than that, you might want to give your arm a gentle, but thorough, scrub when you get home, and hold off on the strenuous stuff for another couple of weeks.”

He glanced down at the deck on Atem's hip.

“And uh, no riding duels for a while, okay?”

Atem gave a soft laugh at that, holding up his other hand in protest.

“Don't worry, I think I'll give up my license for a while,” he replied, standing up and brushing fingers over newly exposed skin. It felt strange, even after a mere couple of weeks. “Thank you, for all your help.”

The nurse got to his feet, heading for the door. “Not at all; it's my job to help people get back on track after something like this.”

The simple way he spoke struck the pharaoh, and he blinked down at his arm from where it rested in his hand. To anyone, it was a truly insignificant line, but to him, it seemed to be what felt like a string of little things lining up for him. He allowed the soft smile to reach his lips and he turned his eyes back up to the man.

“Well then, you've got one very satisfied patient,” he told him. The nurse gave a soft laugh at that.

“Good to know, have a good rest of the day then,” came the cheerful goodbye as Atem gave him a light wave, heading back into the sparsely decorated hallway.

Crow looked up from where he sat perched on a chair, idly flipping a magazine in his fingers. At the sight of Atem, he flicked it back onto the pile and strode up to him.

“Hey, how'd it go?”

Atem gave a brief nod. “All better. As long as I take it easy and look both ways when crossing the road, I don't think I'll be back for a while,” he smiled wryly at him. Crow couldn't help the snicker that fell from his lips and he threw an arm about Atem's shoulders, walking them both out towards the carpark.

“Well that's a relief! You seriously want to avoid this place as long as you can; it's bad for your health,” the redhead told him as they stepped into the twilight air. Crow stepped away from the pharaoh to stretch his arms up high, feeling joints pop lightly from sitting so long. “Mm... a long ride home is just what I need after all that waiting.”

Atem glanced away briefly, giving a soft chuckle. “Ah, sorry about that...”

“What?” Crow blinked back at him. “Pfft, I'm the one who offered, alright? Don't get so hung up on it.”

The riding duellist kept pace with his companion as they made their way to Blackbird, reaching for a helmet and slipping it over his head. He tossed the other lightly to the pharaoh, who caught it easily, and they both sat down in the limited space. Yusei hadn't been exaggerating when he mentioned that Jack or Crow's D-Wheels wouldn't have much room to accommodate two passengers; he could hardly imagine what it would be like trying to squeeze in behind Jack's tall frame.

Though the stray thought did bring the crease to his brow as Blackbird roared to life beneath them. Even if they didn't have the means, this group of friends always seemed to offer anything without a flicker of hesitation.

It was like a welcoming family who hadn't seen him for years, opening their doors and ushering him in out of the cold. Except in his case, it was rescuing him from the hospital and solving the veritable mystery surrounding his very existence in this world.

Crimson eyes narrowed lightly as Crow steered them out into traffic once more, the wind brushing past his skin.

He had the answers to his little mystery.

Now all that was left was telling the others.

***

“It's going to be perfect!” Bruno exclaimed excitedly as he scanned the diagnostics on the screen before him. “Maintaining the dissipation of energy as a scattered particle release will take the strain off the housing entirely, which means we can focus more on the increase of pressure within the generator itself.”

He couldn't help the bright laugh that slipped from him as he clapped a hand to Yusei's shoulder. The riding duellist returned the smile with one of his own, giving a brief nod to his friend.

“Exactly. You've done an amazing job with this idea, Bruno,” he told him, turning blue eyes over to the code on the screen. He reached up to scroll through it, his gaze drinking in the rapid blur of text as it zipped by. “I'm not seeing any potential issues from the outset... and it already sounds like our best chance at completing this new engine in time.”

Bruno beamed at that, giving his shoulder another happy clap.

“See? I told you it would work out in the end!” He pushed himself away from the desk, walking over to an adjacent workbench to the D-Wheels, placing his hands flat against the surface, already running the schematics through his head. “Though we'll still be down to the wire to push out both a test type and production type if we want to refit all of them...” Yusei gave a faint noise of thought as he stood, walking to his own D-Wheel.

“Perhaps, but at least it'll keep us as busy as Crow,” he replied, already tugging at the chassis release, drawing the laugh from his companion.

“You're not wrong there; I don't think he knows how to turn down a job,” Bruno said, already reaching for a blank blueprint and plucking a pencil from his jacket. “Alright, let me get started on this design, and I think we should be able to start collecting materials for a build in a few hours.”

Yusei nodded, kneeling down next to his machine as he began reaching through the wires and components, going through the motions of carefully disconnecting and rerouting things where needed for the upcoming barrage of tests it was about to receive.

He placed the tip of gloved fingers in his mouth, tugging the offending fabric from both hands, pushing his sleeves up and slipping fingers deep within the thick trunk of wires that lay before him. Some things were far easier to do by touch, and he already knew his machine intimately, so it was little effort to snake his hand into well up to his forearm, find the appropriate connections and tweak them out as needed.

Time slipped past his senses, and he soon found himself lost to the methodical task of withdrawing components and spilling thick coils of wire onto the ground, looking for all the world like tree roots bursting from the machine.

His ears pricked at the sound of an approaching D-Wheel, and he glanced over his shoulder to see Blackbird turning into the open warehouse door. It was only as he spotted Crow's passenger that he blinked in surprise, withdrawing his hands and standing up.

Crow drew to a stop and tugged his helmet off with a satisfied sound, shaking his wild hair loose. “Good thing I know this place like the back of my hand, or the rest of that traffic would've been a nightmare,” he laughed brightly. Atem mirrored the sound as he placed his own helmet on Blackbird's seat, the soft laugh causing Yusei to draw a faint breath.

“I think you had it covered,” the pharaoh told him. “Having a bike in heavy traffic is an old move. It's probably been around longer than I have,” he added with a wink, drawing the laugh from Crow once more.

Yusei couldn't help the warm smile that blossomed across his lips. Seeing Atem looking brighter than he had for some time now, joking and even laughing with someone else... it warmed his heart immensely. He knew his journey was far from over, but if he'd actively taken the first few steps to heal-

“Yusei,” Atem's voice cut into his thoughts and blue eyes blinked back at the young man. The pharaoh realised he'd interrupted whatever it was going on upstairs, and he raised his arm, proudly showing off the lack of a cast. “Look, all better.”

The riding duellist gave a mute nod at the action, knowing it must seem rather awkward that he was doing little else but stare at the young man. He walked towards him, stopping before him as words seemed to evaporate on his tongue. Opening his hand, he held it out to the young man.

“May I?” he asked, and Atem placed his wrist in that waiting hand. Yusei couldn't help but be relieved beyond compare at how much change Atem had undergone in the last couple of days. What kind of decision had he reached to draw such a response from him? He swallowed lightly as his fingers sat upon warm skin. Whatever was on his mind, whatever had settled in his heart, he was so, so glad for it.

“See?” Atem's voice whispered as he reached up, placing his own hand atop Yusei's, secrecy not even on his mind. “All it needed was a little time...”

Yusei's fingers gave a gentle squeeze as the soft laugh fell from him, slipping back from that warm touch.

“Good to hear it...” he breathed, wanting nothing more than to draw him tight in his arms and hold on.

“Ah, that means an extra pair of hands to help out!” Bruno exclaimed happily, drawing everyone's gaze as he kept his eyes firmly upon his blueprints, pencil still making short, quick marks on the paper. “We're going to need as much help as we can to get this engine done in time.”

Atem let the soft chuckle slip from him. “Of course,” he replied smoothly. “Though I do still need to take it easy. No... strenuous activities. Doctor's orders.”

Dark blue eyes widened, and Yusei couldn't help but glance back at him, taking full note of that faint smirk sitting ripe upon lips. Oh he wouldn't...

No. No, he really would.

“Don't worry,” he told the pharaoh, facing him fully. “I'm sure we can find some light duties for you. You're still quite capable with your hands, right?”

Crimson eyes blinked back at him, feeling the flush of heat under his skin at the words as he glanced away. Of course Yusei wouldn't be easily dissuaded by such a simple bait. He parted his lips to reply when Crow cleared his throat loudly, drawing their attention.

“It's been a long day so if you don't mind, I'm going to hit the first shower before Jack steals all the hot water,” he told them sharply, grey eyes widening slightly in fierce, unspoken warning to the pair.

Yusei gave a brief nod, his brain furiously hitting rewind as their shared words began to hit him one after the other. True, Bruno might've been oblivious with his head buried in schematics, but he sure wasn't blind, and continuing like they were was likely to get themselves burned. He ducked his gaze away briefly, mentally tucking himself back into shape and gave Crow a brief smile.

“Ah, sure thing. We'll get finished up here and get started on dinner,” he assured his friend.

“Alright, just remember it's only for five tonight; Aki and the twins won't be joining us until the weekend,” came the stern reply as he began to head up the stairs. That drew Atem's attention, and he brought a hand to his mouth in thought. That meant he had to wait a couple more nights for everyone to be together.

He gave a brief nod to his own thoughts; so be it. If he had to wait a little longer to tell everyone, then he would do just that. He couldn't see the point in sharing his story to the occupants of Poppo Time, only to have nearly half the team miss out on the very same information. That certainly wouldn't be very fair at all.

“What's the matter?”

Yusei's perceptive gaze stared back at him as Atem lifted his head. Of course he wouldn't miss a thing...

“Just thinking to myself,” Atem replied softly. “I... want to tell everyone, but the timing...” he trailed off for a moment, shaking his head lightly. “I'd rather wait for everyone to be together.”

The riding duellist didn't have to guess what was meant by those words, and he offered a soft smile to the pharaoh, reaching up to place a hand on his shoulder.

“It's alright. I think everyone would rather you take as much time as you needed,” he told him gently, fingers giving a faint squeeze. “I'm just glad you've got your smile back again.” Atem couldn't help but feel the warmth settle deep in his chest at those quietly whispered words, ducking his gaze away briefly.

“Thank you... truly.”

Fingers gave another gentle squeeze to his shoulder before slipping away. “We should really keep our promise to Crow. You head up and get started; I'll be there once I've finished here,” Yusei continued, the amused smile sitting on his lips. “It's best not to get on the bad side of the person who helps keep everyone fed.”

Atem couldn't help but snigger at that, holding up a hand in acquiesce. “Alright, that's a very good point,” he replied, already walking past him and heading for the stairs. “Bruno, we'll call you when it's ready.”

The mechanic, not moving his eyes from the schematics before him, raised a hand in a half-hearted wave of acknowledgement, caught somewhere between mathematical problems in his mind. The pharaoh, already smiling and shaking his head, knew it would be pointless to try and garner any further attention from the man, and he headed up the stairs.

Whilst he may not have had the skills of one Crow Hogan, he certainly knew his way around the kitchen. Yugi himself was instrumental in his acquired knowledge, and he reached down for where he knew the larger pots were kept, placing a couple upon the stovetop. Perhaps something that would use up the rest of the vegetables altogether... a stir fry? No, they had something similar last week.

He gave a sudden snap of his fingers as inspiration struck. Goulash would be perfect, especially with the nights starting to cool off a little. Something hot, hearty and filling would be just what everyone needed. And it would last them all for quite a few meals. With a quiet hum, he started reaching through cupboards, collecting what spices, sauces and ingredients he needed and placing them within easy reach.

Recreating the recipe from memory wasn't all that hard, he thought, and luckily Crow kept most of the basics here, ready to use. He reached for a knife, and one after another, began dicing through the vegetables and meat needed for dinner, placing each one in their own bowl. It was quiet, methodical work, and it gave him a simple moment to himself, using skilled hands to make short work of the ingredients.

It was only as warm arms suddenly encircled him from behind that he startled lightly, staring over his shoulder as Yusei's cheek came into view, that bright splash of yellow marker tracing his skin. He relaxed in a heartbeat, fingers reaching up to rest gently on his arm, enjoying the quiet moment of contact; how warm and content it made him feel, as if his very presence could still the turmoil in his heart.

Crimson eyes closed briefly as he lay his knife down, letting his head rest against the cheek of the other, as all dinner plans were suddenly put on hold in that simple respite.

“I've been thinking about this all day...” Yusei's words breathed across his ear.

Atem couldn't help but smile at him. “If you were that hungry, you should have said something earlier...”

The soft chuckle tumbled from Yusei like a waterfall, and he squeezed his gently.

“Maybe I wanted something else from the menu,” came the quiet tease of voice. Now it was Atem's turn to smirk.

“Pity for you the kitchen's been closed for repairs.”

That got the desired reaction, and Yusei had to turn his head away as the sharp laugh tore from him, short and bright; a tone that Atem hadn't really heard before, and he couldn't help but let his own smile split across his lips. He felt those arms give a brief squeeze to his frame before slipping away, leaving hands to linger at his shoulders.

“Don't worry; I know a good mechanic,” Yusei told him softly. “Now, what are we making?” Atem stared back down at his handiwork, everything sorted and ready to start cooking.

“Something that Yugi's mother showed me how to make,” he replied quietly. “Though I suppose in hindsight, it was more her showing him how to make it,” he added.

Yusei cast his gaze over everything, taking note of the extra spices and sauces off to the side with a nod. “It looks basic enough,” came the soft reply. It was also the first time in... a very long time that he'd heard Atem mention anything about his home.

“It is, but I'm sure you and the others will appreciate it.” The pharaoh reached for the large frypan, settling it onto the burner and flicking it on, taking a step to the side. “Tell you what... you stand here, and we'll make it together.”

The smile never left Yusei's lips as he watched him for a moment. He really was trying so hard to pick himself up and continue on. Even if it was only for this one day, he had pushed himself forward with all his strength and was allowing himself to heal, little by little.

He took the handle of the frypan within his fingers, reaching for a little cooking oil as Atem told him to, and he began the step-by-step process of cooking up the different ingredients. Time wound on as Yusei listened to the simple instructions dictated to him, and together they began to prepare something that smelled utterly wonderful, filling Poppo Time with a rich warmth.

All Atem was attempting to do was try, and that was all Yusei could hope for.

He would do everything in his power to make sure he healed with a smile on his face.

#Synchroshipping #Yusei Fudo #Atem #Suppression #Cart writes #Cart actually writes #all aboard the rollercoaster kiddos!!

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chippadore · 7 years ago

Text

Stereo Hearts

Day 6- Stereo Hearts- @ygo5dsmonth2018

Your local friendly Stage Manager™ is here with all your Yugioh 5ds hits. If you hate musicals, you’ll definitely hate this, because this is all musicals. Welcome to theatre hell! I have a link attached to every song I mention.

Yusei Fudo- Boy Falls from the Sky (Spiderman: Turn Off the Dark)

I'd be myself/If I knew who I've become/You don't have to fly too high/To get too close to the sun/See the boy fall from the sky

Jack Atlas- Not a Common Man (American Pyscho the Musical)

Look at history, open the books/There are statues with great looks/There are gods, there are kings/I'm pretty sure I'm the same thing

Aki Izayoi/Akiza Izinski- Monster (Frozen the Musical)

A monster, were they right?/Has the dark in me finally come to light?/Am I a monster full of rage/Nowhere to go but on a rampage?/Or am I just a monster in a cage?

Crow Hogan- Proud of Your Boy (Aladdin)

Tell me that I've been a louse and loafer/You won't get a fight here, no ma'am/Say I'm a goldbrick, a goof-off, no good/But that couldn't be all that I am

Ruka/Luna- In My Own Little Corner (Rodger and Hammerstein's Cinderella)

In my own little corner/Just as long as I stay/In my own little corner/All alone/In my own little chair/I can be whatever I want to be

Read below for more characters, ships, and OC Fun!

Rua/Leo- My Shot (Hamilton)

Oh, am I talkin’ too loud?/Sometimes I get overexcited, shoot off at the mouth/I never had a group of friends before/I promise that I’ll make y’all proud

I don’t think the song exactly matches Leo word for word, but the tone certainly does.

Bruno- Who Am I If the World Turned Upside Down (Finding Neverland)

I ignored the beat inside my heart for too long/Had accepted what was right/But always felt wrong/It's the second hand of time I'd been a slave to/But inside there was a feeling/Something I always knew/When the world turned upside down

I could’ve put Who Am I from Les Miserables to be a shit, but I decided to be serious. While If the World Turned Upside Down is a short song, the lyrics (in my opinion) describe Bruno/Antimony’s conflicting feelings with what was happening around him.

Sherry LeBlanc- Here I Go (If/Then)

Now I know all the motions/The steps to every dance/And I count cards at the table/I never bet on chance/I leave nothing to the gods/I know all the odds and even so/Still, here I go

Sherry is a wild card who doesn’t believe in fate, and will do anything to achieve her goals. I feel this song is an accurate representation of that!

Kyosuke Kiryu/Kalin Kessler- Raise a Little Hell (Bonnie and Clyde)

I can't take no more of this/This nightmare has to end/In this godforsaken place/Death would be a welcome friend

This is what I find myself thinking Kiryu would feel during his last moments in the Facility, or even while in his last fleeting moments before being arrested.

Jack/Yusei- Playing His Game (Death Note the Musical)

He's on the brink/He could win/I can't use the same plan/Time to start thinking like him

Not exactly a ship song, but hey, it’s an amazingly perfect rival song for the pair of them. And I can shamelessly promote Death Note the Musical.

Faithshipping (Yusei/Aki)- A Part of That (The Last Five Years)

And then he'll smile/His eyes light up and deep within the ground/Without a sound/A moment comes to life/And I'm a part of that/I'm a part of that

Yusei is the hero of the story. A lot of the time, he’s in his own world that Aki may not understand, but he tries to include her as much as he can.

Firebirdshipping (Aki/Crow)- Easy to Love (Anything Goes) and Perfect for You (Next to Normal)

So worth the yearning for/So swell to keep every home fire burning for/Oh, how we'd bloom, how we'd thrive>

I can't fix what's fucked up/But one thing I know I can do/I can be perfect for you

I had to pick two songs. The first one is sweet and slow. It describes how Crow loves Aki, despite the fact she might not believe she can be loved. The second describes how neither are perfect, and that’s okay.

Scoopshipping (Carly/Jack)- You’re Getting to be a Habit with Me (42nd Street)

No, I can't break away/I must have you every day/As regularly as coffee or tea/You've got me in your clutches/And I can't break free/You're getting to be a habit

I couldn’t not pick this song. Imagine this as a montage during Jack and Carly’s fun day at the park. It’s cute, quirky, and describes both Carly and how Carly ended up in Jack’s life.

Retributionshipping (Dark Signer Carly/Jack)- Dyin’ Ain’t So Bad (Reprise) (Bonnie and Clyde)

Seems you get to live your life just once/If that's how it's gotta be/Then I'd rather breathe in life than dusty air/Dyin' ain't so bad

This song was picked because both Jack and Carly were ready to die for each other. In the end, Carly may have saved him, but Jack was prepared to go down with her.

Toolshipping (Bruno/Yusei)-You Walk With Me (The Full Monty)

Is it the wind there, over my shoulder?/Is it your voice calling quietly?/Over the hilltop, down in the valley/Never alone for you walk with me

I was going to pick something else, but this song came on. I can hear this playing after Bruno’s passing. It’s such a sweet, but sad, song that describes what Yusei could be feeling after the fact.

Treasonshipping (Kiryu/Yusei)- Ever After (Bare: A Pop Opera)

So much for our ever after/I thought the good guys would triumph/I trusted the hero, I didn't hear his goodbye/I guess it was lost in the talk of a straight-acting coward

Yusei and Kiryu (Or Kalin, whatever you prefer m8) definitely had a rocky relationship up until the last notes of Satisfaction Town. This song specifically works for the Dark Signer Arc.

Roseknightshipping (Aki/Sherry)- Fight for You (Heathers)

Hey could you face the crowd/Could you be seen with me and still act proud/Hey could you hold my hand/and could carry me through no man's land/It's fine if you don't agree/but I would fight for you/if you would fight for me

This song is cute. Sherry was the one who introduced Aki into the world of Turbo Dueling. This song just fits.

Psychicshipping (Divine/Aki)- Dangerous Game (Jekyll and Hyde)

The frightened princess/Doesn't know what to do!/Will the ghosts go away?/Will she will them to stay?/Either way, there's no way to win!

This song is so so chilling. Meant to Be Yours from Heathers was a close second, but this one won out in the end. It’s just too perfect for me, and describes the abusive relationship Divine and Aki had.

Bonus:

Lina Kazukata- Journey to the Past (Anastasia)

Home, Love, Family/I will never be complete until I find you/One step at a time/One hope, then another/Who knows where this road may go/Back to who I was/On to find my future/Things my heart still needs to know/Yes, let this be a sign!

Lina is my OC from a fanfic called The Game Begins! This song, while she doesn’t have amnesia like Anya, accurately covers Lina’s fears of self-identity, finding family/where she belongs, and her hopeful optimism.

Lina/Yusei- No One Else (Natasha and Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812)

And your childlike eyes/And your distant smile/I’ll never be this happy again/You and I/And no one else

I feel this song perfectly captures the innocence of Lina, and of her relationship with Yusei. I don’t have a cool ship name for Lina and Yusei. Fite me. Shout out to Crazier than You from the Addams Family for being a close second!

Yuuka- Where is the Justice? (Death Note The Musical)

Show me what's right about/The wrongs that we allow/Real people need to feel/Protected here and now/This whole damn system's broken way beyond repair/It's just law, not law and order/Not much good and seldom fair

This is based on Yuuka Sasaki from @dearlybelovedfeels fanfic calling Waking Up Normal. Why this song? This girl is all about equality and justice, that’s why.

Stellarshipping (Yuuka/Yusei)- Shouldn’t I Be Less In Love With You? (I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change)

Shouldn't I be less in love with you?/Shouldn't I address what time can do?/Shouldn't I be more inclined to flee?/Shouldn't I explore all I can be?

I tried finding a musical song I knew you wouldn’t know. I can see this song covering their lifetime together.

Bonus Satellite Angst Songs

Bonus Satellite Angst songs!? On my Tumblr post?! Yep! These are just some songs I feel capture that Satellite aesthetic ™

Facade (Jekyll and Hyde)

There's a face that we wear/In the cold light of day/It's society's mask/It's society's way/And the truth is/That it's all a façade!

Will I (Rent)

Will I lose my dignity?/Will someone care?/Will I wake tomorrow/From this nightmare?

Rent (Rent)

How do you start a fire/When there's nothing to burn/And it feels like something's stuck in your flue/How can you generate heat/When you can't feel your feet/And they're turning blue!

Scrap (The Full Monty)

What I want? That's easy asshole/I want a job/I want to feel like a person instead of a slob/I wanna wake up knowing where I'm gonna go/Not going nowhere

Skid Row (Little Shop of Horrors)

Poor! All my life I've always been poor/I keep asking God what I'm for/And he tells me "Gee, I'm not sure/Sweep that floor, kid."

The Dark I Know Well (Spring Awakening)

There is a part I can't tell/About the dark I know well

Want to debate songs or add more? Send me a message. I can talk musicals all day. Try me ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

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worldstraveller · 7 years ago

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My most favourite pairing/shipping of all time

1. Fudo Yusei x Izayoi Aki ( Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D’s) (Edit: I have given links of the collages of my favourite moments for a better view and understanding of why are my favourites)

They are my most favourite couple/pairing/shipping of all time, before Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's aired, it was SakuraxShaoran, then YuseixAki came, for some years I was quite undecided which one I liked most, there was a time it was equally. Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's is a very special for me as Yu-Gi-Oh! spin-off, even as an anime, animated series and tv show, because it was the first one I watched from the beginning, I knew before it aired in Japan, I will never forget the memories I had watching in livestream in RAW right in the morning before going to vocational school, online friends that I have fond memories shipping together YuseixAki, it was fun, theories and speculations about the plot, I still hold some grudge and issues in season 2 regarding the story development and lack of limelight and focus in some main characters (season 1 was pretty good, I think Fortune Cup story arc is the best arc in 5D's). How I came to start liking and then loving this shipping as much as I do today, when the series aired in Japan, I did catch up with japanese dub with an excellent translator who given the subtitles in .ass file, I was bit wary at first about these two while on edge to jump into shipping them, due to pairings in YGO doesn't usually appeal me or doesn't satisfy me enough in terms of hints and development (I like MaixJounouchi, KaibaxIshizu and Priest SetoxKisara in a indiferent way), let's say I was with low expectations, so I wouldn't get disappointed (a bit like Eleteo), it was fun finding the hints and you could tell there was a special connection between them, it actually kinda started as rivals as well as not because involves the plot and their character development, their duels, technically two, it's very nicely done and usually moved me, their duels are some of the most emotionally, metaphocally and symbolically charged, I get a little moved or very moved. It was after their first duel I started to ship them hard, when they become friends officially, they're always there to support each other, trust each other while giving hints they like to love each other in romantic way, they even have a "date" and many sweet moments.

Why I love this pairing so much to even be my most favourite:

- Most of you who follow me don't know much about Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's, Izayoi Aki is a bit of a tragic character (unusual for a female lead in YGO), she is a psyhic duelist, a card game player with psyhic abilities through duelling, in her case, she can materialize the cards she uses, in order words, she can cause physical damage with monsters cards, spell cards and trap cards (but can heal if she uses cards that restores LP - Life Points), however she couldn't and didn't know how to control her powers, in result she was ostracised and feared by society, at first when she met Yusei and during the tournament, she was very wary of Yusei, despite of her being ostracised, Yusei was the first person who step up in wanting to understand her and her pain, to help her and be her friend, it took a while for her to accept his friendship and trust him, Yusei became her very first friend and person willing to genuinely understand and help her, he even helped her parents to reconcile with her. (I didn't expect the first reason to be this long, wow...). - Before them becoming friends, as I said above, Aki was wary of Yusei in the beginning due to her past and his always serious expression were bit intimidating and so his skills, Yusei, well... is a bit difficult to make out due to his poker face, he did also felt a bit uneasy about her, not really because of her psyhic abilities (even though is natural for one be scared of her) but her duelling skills, their skills and posture are closely matched, but Yusei was most curious and eager to understand her side, while Aki being wary of him prefered to avoid him, the main reason being they are are signers (exists 5 of them, 5 chosen ones of the crimson dragon). - How Yusei tried to help Aki by her opening up to him bit by bit and himself taking all of her pain and hatred, trying to convince she can think for herself, loving herself and save herself from the hatred in herself and society who always shunned her for her powers, while implying the marks they both hold in their arm and they share all the pain this mark gives and share between signers in trying to guide them, in other words, that they're friends (this happens in their first duel) - In their rematch, Yusei tries to help Aki once again since last time they were kinda interrupted when their last duel ended (by the crowd shunning Aki and the leader who is using her as psyhic duelist to escort her back to the organisation), he says he sees her as a friend (dearly and secretly holding romantic feelings for her as eps 40 implies), helps her and her parents to reconcile. (the post has become a little too long, so I had to cut a little, that’s to be expected to be my most favourite pairing...)

- When they become friends, Yusei is very supportive of Aki and Aki gives personal space to him when he needs it. - After sometime has passed, their friendship has grown stronger, Aki feels more confortable around people, specially her friends, she feels very grateful to Yusei for the support and help he has given her, being her first friend, so she is eager to help him in return (it's a bit obvious she holds some romantic feelings for him by this time). - Both Yusei and Aki have soft spot for and protective of the fraternal twins (Rua and Ruka) and each other. - Their trust in each other grows deeper and closer, sometimes they argue a little but is in matters in protecting and saving each other, their connection is quite strong to a point when one of them is in trouble, only their marks glow (even when the 5 signers are present), she has such absolute trust in Yusei to open up to him when they become closer friends, when says she wants to get her riding duel license in order to understand Yusei better and her friends who are D-Wheelers (Jack and Crow) as in return for Yusei effort to understand and help her. - As it reaches the end, they don't exactly confess their feelings but they imply to each other (in a sense is more of a declaration). - By YGO main pairings standards, they're one of the most sucessful and well done pairings in making it quite obvious and clear in YGO that they have a romantic connection, specially compared to it's predecessors. - they are the first male and female lead characters when both do not follow a "duelist" path, instead they become doctors in their respective fields, Yusei being more of developer-physician doctor while Aki in becoming a medical doctor. - also their personalities do match well, they hold similarities such as they are serious, level-headed and both reserved, they have differences, Aki is a very fiery and emotional person under her calm and reserved posture, Yusei hardly shows any emotions unless from people who know him for years (even so, he still behaves serious), he is more of introspective nature than Aki, kind and faithful to his ideals, they do bring out each other what they lack and need (Aki has bit of a challenging personality and middle wise between emotional/fiery and calm/serious (it only becomes problematic when she is feeling emotinally vulnerable or very unstable), for Yusei who is mostly serious and more reserved, so is natural he would be drawn to someone who is able to be calm as much emotional without overwhelming him, in Aki's side, well Yusei given everything she needed and still does, so Aki is very eager to help him).

Favourite Moments:

for better view of the picture click here

1. episode 154, it's when Aki goes to his house to say farewell to Yusei (she will study abroad to become a medical doctor) and try to confess to him, but in the end Aki tells him that she was glad she met him and Yusei replies it was the same for him, then they talk about their first impression they had of each other when they first met, they admit they thought of each other as scary, she got a bit angry, then comes the romantic lines and scene from each other, starting with Yusei saying to Aki...

Yusei: Aki, don't forget to smile. There's no one in the world with a smile better than yours. as he holds her hand while saying this, tightly holds her hand and Aki one hand holds his hand tightly in return, then Aki's other hand holds over his hand and replies: Aki: You're the one who put that smile on my face...Yusei. then they look into each others eyes, Aki closes her eyes, it's implied they kissed (it wasn't shown, so we can't confirm, but there is rumours in the DVD, there was a scene that was cut of them kissing in this scene, so we can't be sure), then they let go of each others hands, you see there is hesitation in them in let it go of their hands and say goodbye, then Aki leaves and Yusei looks at the door from where she left for a awhile and turns around...it's a very beautiful and romantic scene, even a romantic insert song starts playing in this scene. what they say to each other, is not exactly a confession but more of a declaration. I was actually quite surprised about such a romantic scene even their lines...

for a better view of the picture click here

2. episode 75, the "date" episode between Yusei and Aki, Yusei to help Aki to get her sense of balance in riding motobike for evasive techniques for her license in Riding Duel, he takes her to a rolling skate rink, while the twins watching them from the rink bench (to not interfere with Yusei helping Aki) and making the conclusion it is a date, it's very likely Yusei had this intention in mind a little, since Aki didn't skated before, Yusei ends up teaching her, as she gets the hang of it, Yusei and Aki are so well synchronised skating.

for a better view of the picture click here

3. episode 40, this happens before their rematch, Aki is in the hospital unconscious dreaming of her sad memories regarding her past and recent memory she dreams is the first person who approach her genuinely trying to help her being Yusei and tears starts to come up as moved by his words, Yusei was brought by Aki's father for Yusei to help her wake up, when he arrives by the side of the hospital bed where Aki is unconscious, he whispers her surname "Izayoi..." (probably would be behaving too familiar with her if was just her name), removes his glove in order to remove her tears, their marks starts glowing, she finally wakes up.

for a better view of the picture click here

4. episode 42, It's right in the beginning of the episode, when the secretary Mikage of Public Security of Domino City presents evidences about the organisation for Psyhic Duelists about abducted children and living test recordings, the organisation Izayoi Aki was in, revealing the real intent of the organisation was to use psyhic duelists as soldiers for war-torn regions and she was chosen to be one of them, she was disgusted, slightly shocked and hurt by this reveal and she leaves the room, Yusei who was watching her reactions worried followed her and found her sitting in front of a table lost in thoughts about the recent info, when she talks about her feelings regarding this reveal of the true intent of the organisation, Yusei was able to cheer her up, affirming to her he won't reject her and that they're friends/comrades and that there is people that will trust and need her now.

For a better view of the picture click here

5. episode 99, there is three great scenes and both very moving between these two, around beginning, middle and ending, I don't know which I like it more...it happens in the middle of a team vs team riding duels...in the beginning, Aki's turn is coming and she is feeling very nervous, Yusei in effort to relax and encourage her and points out her parents are watching to support her and says she isn't alone anymore...

For a better view of the picture click here

6.episode 99, in the middle of the episode, it's revealed that before she started her time to riding duel, Yusei borrowed and entrusted his ace and favourite card, Stardust Dragon to her as token for her to have fun riding duel, between duelists and D-Wheelers, it's a very big deal, it's a sign of unwavering trust towards her (and romantic feelings for her, it's obvious he also wanted her to see schryncro summoning his fave card) and his rxcited reaction when she summoned his monster while doing the summoning chanting...

for a better view of the picture click here

7.episode 99+100, at the end of the episode and beginning of episode 100, Aki is feeling quite down, because she lost the duel but was able to keep Yusei's card that he borrowed her and two of her facedown cards to Yusei, after Stardust Dragon being put in his duel disk by Rua, Yusei puts his hand over the card gently and tells her "I've carried on your feelings. Let me handle the rest.", he is quite touched by her gesture and intentions...he has intentions to make up for it and more determined in not wasting her efforts... (there is much more moments I could include, but I went a little overboard with this post...)

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tipsycad147 · 5 years ago

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Celtic and Druid Spirit Animals

By shirleytwofeathers

Below are listed some of the animals denoted by Celtic Shamanism and Druidism along with their spiritual denotation:

Adder, Snake (Nadredd):

The snake has long been associated with wisdom, reincarnation, and cunning. The Poisonous adder of the British Isles has the same reputation. Although there were no snakes in Ireland, the Irish Celts knew about them. The Druids were known in Wales as Nadredd. The Druids also carried an amulet called gloine nathair (Serpent Glass); which was supposed to be formed from the eggs of an adder.

Badger (Breach):

This animal is unyielding in the face of danger and is noted for its tenacity and courage. In the Welsh tale of Pwyll’s courting of Rhiannon, a badger is mentioned as a guide during dreaming. The badger will teach you to fight for your rites and defend your spiritual ideas.

Bat:

Associated with the underworld or Awwyn, as the bats radar guides it through the night avoiding obstacles and barriers, so it can teach you to do the same.

Bear (Arth):

Although the bear was native to the Isles, it is now extinct there. The word Arth, means bear, which is the root word for the name Arthur. The bear was noted for its strength and stamina. It is said to help give you balance in life and the strength to do what is necessary.

Bee (Beach):

The bee is revered as industrious, single minded when performing a task, and fearless when defending its home.

Blackbird (Druid-dhubh, Lon Duhb):

Legends say that the birds of Rhiannan are three blackbirds, which sit and sing in the World Tree of the Otherworlds. Their singing puts the listener into a sleep or a trance which enables him/her to travel to the Otherworld. It was said to impart mystic secrets.

Boar (Bacrie):

Important in the arts and myths of the Celtic people, the boar was known for its cunning and ferocious nature. A famous legendary boar was Orc Triath, which the goddess Brigit owned. In the Arthurian tales of the Mabinogion the boar Twrch Trwyth was a terrible foe to Arthur. The White Boar of Marvan sent inspiration to its master to write music and poetry.

Bull (Tarbh):

A common animal figure in Celtic mythology, the bull symbolises strength and potency. Certain divination rituals required the sacrifice of a white bull. In the tale of the Tain Bo Cuailgne (Cattle raid of Cooley), two special bulls are coveted by two rulers. The Tar-roo-Ushtey (Water bull) is said to haunt the Isle of Man.

Butterfly:

In many cultures the butterfly is thought to be the souls of the dead and keepers of power. There is said to be no negative energies experienced in any Otherworld area when there is the presence of butterflies. It is said that they will help you to view matters with greater clarity.

Cat (Caoit, Cat):

Many of the Celtic legends picture the cat as a ferocious, evil creature, but that may have been because cats at that time were untamed. In Ireland Finn mac Cumhail was said to have fought a clan of “cat-headed” people. The cat is a strong protector, especially when placed in confrontation.

Cock:

In several Celtic legends the cock chases away ghosts and unwanted spirits by his crowing at dawn. It represents the power of the word to dispel negativity.

Cow (Bo):

Once so important to the Celts it was used as a form of currency or monetary exchange. Ancient Irish lords were known as bo-aire or cow-lord. The cow was sacred to the goddess Brigit. The cow symbolises contentedness, defending the inner child, and providing for daily needs.

Crane:

At one time the crane was a common animal in the British Isles. One later Celtic tradition, apparently originated after the arrival of Christianity, is that cranes are people who are paying a penance for some wrong doing. The crane is associated with the Cailleach and Manannan Mac Lir, who made his crane bag from its skin. The crane with its colours of black, white, and red, was a moon bird, sacred to the Triple Goddess. Magick, shamanic travel, learning and keeping secrets, reaching deeper mysteries and truths is said to be taught by the crane.

Crow (Badb):

This animal is to be treated with care. Along with the raven, the crow is a symbol of conflict and death, an ill-omen associated with such Goddess as Macha, Badb, and Morrigan. The Irish word for crow is badb, which is also the name of a Celtic war Goddess. Although the crow was ill-omened, it was also considered to be skilful, cunning, and a bringer of knowledge. It teaches you to learn from the past, but not to hold onto it. It is of most value when trickery is in need.

Deer (Abhach) or Stag (Sailetheach):

In its form of the white doe or white stag, the deer was often a messenger and guide from the Otherworld. Following such an animal led the unsuspecting human into contact with supernatural beings. The antlered headdress of Cernunnos is a symbol of the stags stature. The deer represents keen scent, grace, swiftness, and gentleness. These are the ways of reaching our goals without using force.

Dog (Abach, Mada) or Hound (Cu):

Devoted hounds are often mentioned in Celtic myth, such as Bran and Sceolan which belonged to Finn mac Cumhail. Underworld hounds, such as the Welsh Cwn Annwn belonged to Arawn, are always white with red ears. The Underworld Hounds run down and punish the guilty. Dogs represent tracking skills, the ability to scent a trail, and companionship.

Dolphin:

This creature was associated with the sea deities. It deals with dreams and harmony, and recognising and balancing the rhythms of your body with those of nature.

Dragon (Piastras, payshtha, Horn):

The dragon in Celtic-British mythology has more varieties than the standard legged form; it is sometimes represented as a water serpent or worm-shaped beast. There are many references to serpents or dragons in Celtic myth. On many occasions the Fianna fought huge dragons in lakes. Most cultures consider the dragon a benevolent dweller of caves, lakes, and the inner Earth. It was an ancient symbol of wealth. The dragon symbolises the power of the Elements, especially that of the Earth, but also of the treasure of the subconscious mind.

Eagle (Lolair):

A bird noted for wisdom and long life in Celtic stories. The eagle represents swiftness, strength, keen sight, and the knowledge of magick. It helps you to see hidden spiritual truths.

Eel (As-chu):

One of many stories in which the eel is mentioned is the story of the swineherds who battled through a variety of shape-shifting forms. In their final forms as eels, the swineherds were swallowed by cows who later gave birth to magickal bulls. Cu Chulainn’s spear Gae-Bolga got its name from the eel. The eel symbolises adaptability, wisdom, inspiration, and defence.

Fox (Mada Rua):

In Taliesin’s Song of His Origins, the Bard says he assumed the shape of a satirising fox, a reference to the cunning, slyness, and ability of the fox to make fools out of those who chase it. The ability to watch the motivations and movements of others while remaining unobserved is the skill which we may learn from the fox.

Frog:

In many cultures the frog is a symbol of magick. It can teach you to leap swiftly from one level of consciousness to another, from this world to the Otherworld. The frog can also help you find the courage to accept new ideas, nurture yourself, and find connections between ideas.

Hare or Rabbit (Coinin):

An animal sacred to the Goddess Andraste in particular. Its movements were sometimes used for divination; Boudicia used a hare this way just before her last battle with the Romans. It is associated with transformation, the receiving of hidden teachings, and intuitive messages.

Hawk (Aracos):

Celtic oral tradition lists the oldest animal as the Hawk of Achill. As with other birds, the hawk is a messenger between the Otherworld and this world. However, it is of greater skill and strength than other birds. It symbolises clear sightedness and longevity of the memory. If you hear a hawk cry during a journey, be alert to upcoming situations that need boldness and decisiveness to keep from being thrown off balance.

Horse (Cab-all, Capall):

A popular animal of the Celts. Sacred to the Goddesses Epona and Rhiannon. The horse was considered to be a faithful guide to the Otherworld. It symbolises stamina, endurance, and faithfulness.

Lizard:

The lizard symbolises the shadowy plane of manifestation where events are constantly changing shapes and patterns. If you see a lizard on a journey, be alert to all below the surface activities going on around you.

Lynx:

This creature is considered the keeper of deep secrets and hidden knowledge. It can help with divinatory skills and the development of psychic senses. Sometimes it symbolises the need to look deeper within yourself to see that which is often hidden.

Magpie:

This bird is said to deal with omens and prophecies, as well as the mysteries of life and death.

Mouse (Luch):

The mouse is often mentioned in Celtic folklore. In a Welsh story with Manawydan and Pryderi, a mouse is portrayed as the shape shifted wife of the magician Llwyd. The mouse represents secrets, cunning, shyness, and the ability to hide in times of danger.

Otter (Balgair):

These animals were considered very magickal by the Celts. Otters were said to appear and help during the voyages of Maelduine, Brendan, and others. The otter is a strong protector who helps with gaining wisdom, finding inner talents, faithfulness, and the ability to recover from any crisis.

Owl (Caillech):

These birds were most often associated with the Crone aspects of the Goddess. The word “cailleach” in the Scottish Gaelic means “owl.” The owl is often a guide to and through the Underworld, a creature of keen sight in darkness, and a silent and swift hunter. It can help unmask those who would deceive you or take advantage of you.

Pig (Muc):

A swine was considered to be the magickal, sacred food of the Tuatha De Dannan and an animal of Manannan mac Lir. In the Mabinogion Pwyll received a gift of pigs from the underworld God, Awrawn. Their later theft by Gwydion caused the death of Pwyll’s son Pryderi. The writings of Merlin say that he spoke with a little pig in visions. Symbolic of the spiritual food necessary to the Druids who were said to be swine herders.

Rat (Francach):

Rats are not mentioned in a favourable light in Celtic folklore, but they have their place. Rats are sly, sometimes aggressive, creatures who can track down whatever they seek, defending themselves ferociously.

Raven (Bran):

Take care when dealing with this bird. An important animal of the Celts. In Ireland the raven was associated with the battlefields and such Goddesses as Morrigu or the later Welsh Morrigan, just as the crow. The bird was connected with Bran the Blessed. In Welsh, bran means, “raven.” Although its reputation is dubious, it is an oracular bird. It often represents the upsets and crisis of life that are necessary for new creation.

Salmon (Brionnfhionn):

A very wise, magickal creature in Celtic lore. A salmon of great knowledge is said to swim in the Well of Segais, eating the mystical hazelnuts that fall into the well. When the Irish hero Finn mac Cumhail burned his thumb on a salmon and then put the thumb in his mouth, he gained shamanic knowledge. The salmon teaches how to get in touch with ancestral knowledge and how to put it to practical use.

Sow (Airc):

The Goddess Cerridwen was known as the White Sow. The sow was considered a very powerful creature in the Underworld. As a creature of Cerridwen, it was associated with the Sacred Cauldron and the granting of inspiration; also a creature of death and rebirth.

Squirrel:

This creature is always preparing for the future; it is said to have shown the druid how to do this in a practical way. Sometimes its appearance heralds changes, even adversities. Plan ahead so that you may always be prepared.

Swan (Eala):

A mystical bird who finds its way into several Celtic stories. Its feathers were often used in the ritual cloak of the Bards. Swans are connected with music and song. Swans also help with the interpretation of dream symbols, transitions, and spiritual evolution.

Turtle:

The turtle is a slow moving, methodical creature, carrying its protection constantly with it. It is said to teach the druid to be grounded, how to stay in tune with Earth energies, the wisdom of flowing with the cycles of life, and to be gentle with the body’s needs.

Unicorn:

This mythical Celtic creature had the body of a white horse, the legs of an antelope, tail of a lion; and a single horn on its head. It is the symbol of supreme magickal power. It teaches that every action is creation, so make every day count.

Wolf:

The wolf is a cunning, intelligent creature, capable of out thinking hunters. It can teach you how to read the signs of nature in everything, how to pass danger invisibly, how to outwit those who would wish you harm, and how to fight when needed.

Wren (Dryw, Dreoilin):

A sacred bird to the Druids specifically, its musical notes were used for divination. As with many other birds, the wren was considered a messenger from the deities.

Source: Father Oak

https://shirleytwofeathers.com/The_Blog/powers-that-be/celtic-and-druid-spirit-animals/

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em-exceeds-change-zearu · 8 years ago

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I’ve mentioned this a few times on plurk, but I personally actually like the 3rd season of 5D’s despite it’s weird turn into slice-of-life absurdity while the writers tried to figure their way around the plot rewrites mandated after executive meddling crashed down on them. Scenes like this crop up every now and then during the season which more or less imply that despite Neo Domino City and Satellite reuniting, things aren’t hunky-dory and wonderful like your generic shonen anime would do when rejoining two divided factions. No, there’s still dissent and the city is still not quite reunited despite whatever spiel they want to put about the WRGP being the celebration of the reunited city and the Daedalus Bridge being the symbol of that and etc etc etc. We see that with all these background details-from the three boys’ expenses almost constantly being in the red, to that one episode centered about a young man’s family being hounded by sleazy debt collectors despite them finally being Neo Domino’s citizens, and so on. The earlier filler episodes even have small bits that are intended to drop more plot hooks-Yusei and co go to get an old man out of the reconstruction sites in Satellite, they meet with Saiga at Martha’s and find out about the mysterious falling tablets; Yusei goes to settle issues at Duel Academia, Sly the student who has an unnatural interest in Stardust Dragon is introduced. Some plot hooks are used, some aren’t, but the fact of the matter is that there was some attempt to seed in plot through all the filler works.

That being said, I feel like Season 3 would have been stronger if it was instead set during the 6 month timeskip between the Dark Signer arc and when actual! season 3 begins. Think about it. You have a grungy Satellite that crawled up to become the new King of Riding Duels under dubious circumstances (you can’t tell me people wouldn’t have questioned the validity of a duel that literally happened in a flash of light to everyone else), the former King who was recently revealed to be from Satellite and therefore a fraud, a completely markered up criminal, the Black Rose Witch, and a pair of twins who have largely been isolated from the outside world due to Ruka’s spiritual shenanigans. All of them don’t fit into Neo Domino’s social world at all, all of them are now trying to find their own place to fit in after being brought together by the Signer War, all they have at this point is each other.

Give me Jack fighting for his reputation and his new identity, insisting on carving his own way to be the King while making himself open to the people-all of the people from Satellite and Neo Domino alike, the kind of King Carly wanted him to be. There's resistance of course-he's lost fans, there are people insisting he's a fraud, there are others who hate this new persona of Jack's because he is different and challenges their standards and flawed and human instead of an ideal and a figurehead, but he soldiers on, unrelenting. Give me Aki still struggling with the stigmas that being the Black Rose Witch put on her, trying to fit into a normal life as a senator’s daughter and not quite adjusting because whatever her parents feel now, that doesn’t change the fact that she spent her formative years emotionally and physically apart from them, that doesn’t change that the place she feels validated and loved was at the Arcadia Movement (and now, with her fellow Signers), and it doesn’t change that she sees hostility no matter where she goes. I think it was @stierhai that mentioned this idea of Aki taking over what was left of the Arcadia Movement, or at least working with all the psychics that were displaced by the movement’s collapse, some having been taken in under Security’s care and others roaming free, working with the internal politics and wresting them away from Divine’s influence and making it into what it should have been, a haven for psychics to learn their craft without being stigmatized (and making it her own “place” as a result). Give me the twins deciding to go back to school and make friends their own age, but finding it difficult due to their own reputation during the Fortune Cup and Ruka’s still admittedly weak physical ability, never mind that they’re also friends with the other Signers. Give me Crow reluctantly having to give his kids up to Martha-because with the Daedalus Bridge being built and the B.A.D. area being renovated, he just doesn’t have a place to live anymore and can’t get by thieving like he used to, struggling to make any kind of income because he’s got markers up the wazoo despite all his charges being cleared, having to deal with more stigma than his other friends (because at least Jack has two years of being beloved as the King and a fresh clean face to get by, and Yusei has the current title as King to deflect some hatred) to the point that it’s a wonder he’s able to hold down any job at all until he flat out decides to make his own business with nothing but his D-Wheel and a jacket with a hand-drawn logo on it from his kids.

Give me Yusei, who, despite being the protagonist of the series, actually steps back this arc and becomes more of a background character, a quiet thread of support that keeps all these oddball misfits together. Yusei, who by default is the only thing all the other Signers have in common, bringing them together until they end up as their own interconnected network. Jack and Aki, being used by Iliaster and Arcadia respectively, hunting down evidence of those opposing factions and their ideals and their plans, working together in public to tear down the conspiracies and dealings that built Neo Domino into the faux-utopia it became, with Yusei a quiet moderating force between their easily inflamed personalities. Aki and the twins bonding more as they try to attend the academia together, with Aki trying to help smooth things along for Ruka so she at least doesn’t have the same rocky environment in school that she did in her youth and Rua and Ruka being a supporting, healing place for her to go when school becomes too much (and please, please, let Aki take down Heitmann, she has more investment in this matter than Yusei does and it can help her reputation in the school as well). Crow being the fun big brother for the twins (Yusei is nice, but steady and a little distant, Jack admittedly bonds with Rua and sort of takes him on as an apprentice but he’s still raw and open and figuring out this New King stuff and can be hard to tolerate in large doses, and Aki is a good big sis but also has her own issues) and the twins being a rooting force for Crow-while they clearly don’t need to be taken of the same way his own kids were, they’re also lacking the care and doting affection of a parent that his own kids have, so he’ll take care of them in his own weird big brother way. Yusei, who sits back and helps to facilitate all this happening, because now he knows better than to just shoulder all their burdens himself, knows that it’s better to support and be supported, and while he still has his own doubts and fears about the city’s future and his place in it, he knows with them he can find an answer some day.

Give me the results of this when they go into the WRGP together-still a team that’s not quite in harmony yet, but they’re trying. They lose against Team Unicorn the first round-because even though Yusei tries his damned best, he can’t make up for the mistakes they made and the quick eliminations of Jack and Aki that happened because of it. From this they learn what is needed-how to combine their unique abilites, and when a rematch happens (because this time Team Catastrophe’s failure does not set off Placido’s robo-army just yet, there’s still a chance that the Unicorn-5D’s rematch could result in the Signer’s elimination), it takes full advantage of the fact that the WRGP takes place all over the Daedalus Bridge’s duel lanes, and the fact that it happens with no autopilot.

The rematch happens-and to Team Unicorn’s surprise, Aki is the first wheeler out. She deserves her chance to show her real skills after falling so quickly to Andre, where all she was able to do was pass on Stardust Dragon. A free wheeling chase across the Daimon Area happens-the alleys she knows better than anyone else, the alleys she prowled as the Black Rose Witch, the alleys that once cracked and split open at her call now neatly paved and pristine. Even as she calls out her plants and they bare their fangs, not a single brick is broken out of place, not a single street is damaged, because instead of rampaging and letting out all her sorrow she is determined to follow her new purpose now and show just what a Psychic Duelist can do other than spread fear. She evades all of Andre’s attempts to block her attacks, triumphant.

The Second Wheeler? Crow, who takes off across the Daedalus Bridge’s roads with glee at being able to freely cross the divide between Satellite and Neo Domino, who leaps from Duel Lane to Duel Lane with the wings of the BlackBird, and who can easily power through Breo’s deck destruction with a surefire kill thanks to all the cards that got sent to the graveyard (because if there’s a master of someone using things discarded like trash, it’s someone from the deepest depths of Satellite). Crow, who can finally enter a tournament like the WRGP and show everyone from Neo Domino just what he’s made of, and finally, finally get a reputation beyond the few people who willingly take his house calls, and create his first stepping stone to bigger and greater things.

The Last Wheeler is not Yusei, but Jack, who leads Jean on a drive all around the newly reconstructed Satellite, his knowledge of just where every building is and where reconstruction is still going giving him the edge when it comes to dealing with no autopilot. Jack showboating like usual-driving up buildings, turning backwards, but all being done just to show off how well he knows Satellite, how much of his skills are real without using autopilot, and just how much growing up there has shaped his dueling and who he is today. (Because who knows the deepest depths of Satellite better than the duel gang who took over it all, who roamed every inch of turf and claimed it as theirs, who powered through every single adversary in their path because their strength was absolute!)

Team 5D’s wins, and not because Yusei was the savior who dragged them all to victory, but instead because they bonded together into something stronger, something who could effortlessly tear apart a team who bested them when they were fragmented and still not quite together, because they made the field into something that demonstrated their own strengths, their weaknesses, their pasts, and their dreams for the future.

just. god. give me a season 3 like that. pls. god. if only we could have had this.

#5d's #a '5d's au where post' brought to you by gale #ygo 5d's #yugioh 5ds #gale shitposting #[SLAMS HANDS ON TABLE]#WE COULD HAVE HAD IT AAAAAAAALLLLLL #long post #anyway that wa a long rant

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sojourner-between-worlds · 2 years ago

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Sorting characters into Hogwarts Houses is OUT; sorting characters into Avatar Nations is IN.

(I mean, I could do both but. Not in the same post.)

Criteria used for sorting comes from Iroh's explanation to Zuko in "Bitter Work" and this reddit post: Water: the element of change and of mind. Fire: the element of power and of emotion. Earth: the element of substance and of body. Air: the element of freedom and of spirit.

Yusei: Water Tribe, hands down. He is both a healer and a protector, so it makes sense he would have the one element that allows him to do both. He's the king of being able to adapt in less-than-ideal situations (the prison duels, anyone?) and quite obviously values community.

Jack: Fire Nation, obviously. C'mon, it's the element of power, for crying out loud! And he absolutely possesses the energy and drive to achieve his goals. Nothing makes more sense to me than Jack being a fire bender.

Aki: Fire Nation. I see-sawed between and fire and earth honestly. A lot of her monsters are fire types, but they are also plants. She is similar to Jack in desire and drive, but she is also strong and persistent. In the end, this one came down to character arc, in a sort of "learning there is beauty here and not just destruction" way.

Crow: Air Nomads. I hesitated on this one, but it wouldn't let me go. Everything from his bird-themed deck down his color scheme screams "air bender!" ...even if the philosophy doesn't quite match up. I can't really see him being entirely detached from the world. I also can't see him with a bald head. He'd have to be a bit of rebel but really, that's already his personality anyway. Not to mention, he collects orphans already. His canon living situation isn't really that different from Air Nomad culture in the "no parents, everyone lives together" kind of way. Also...can you imagine him with a gilder????

Rua: Water Tribe. The twins were so hard, ya'll. In the end, chose water here because of their sense of community and love that gets them through anything. Sounds an awful like Rua in my opinion. (Also. While its doubtful it would take so long for him discover he's a bender... it's also the element of change which works well with him eventually becoming a Signer.)

Ruka: Water Tribe. Debated Air Nomads (despite it being different to her brother) because she can talk to spirits and she's really not a fighter by nature, but in the end, I think water works better, partly because of the community aspect and partly because I just think healing would be more her wheel house (though if push comes to shove, obviously she can fight fiercely as well).

#yugioh 5ds #ygo 5ds #yusei fudo #fudo yusei #izayoi aki #aki izayoi #akiza izinski #crow hogan #jack atlas #rua and ruka (5ds)#i did this instead of working on the next chapter of my fic #whoops #you can debate me on the twins because i really had to think on them and i'm still not sure i got it quite right lol #jack you cannot debate me on. because i'm right.#(i'm half joking. if you see jack in some other nation i'd be VERY curious to hear your reasoning actually)

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pendulumprince · 8 years ago

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Last night, a realization hit me (probably a bit too late) concerning YGO6.

And it was inspired by this post, which draws parallels between DM/Zexal and GX/Arc V. If the trend continues, that means that YGO6 will parallel 5Ds.

And as the post points out, we already have some inkling that this will be the case, as Yusei “dueled on a moving object for a majority of his series”, and Yusaku “will probably duel of a moving object for a majority of his series”. There’s also the fact that they’re both ‘older’ than the average protag (I know Yugi was 16 and Judai ended off at around 17-18, but Yugi never looked it and Judai still started out quite young). And even past that, if the speculation is right on Yusaku’s demeanor being on the more serious side, that’s another thing he’ll have in common with Yusei.

All this also means that the broad strokes of YGO6′s plot will mirror that of 5Ds. This… both excites and concerns me, probably because there are some aspects of 5Ds I love more than anything else in the entire franchise, and others I hate with a passion. I obviously don’t want this to repeat with YGO6; I want to be able to love it in it’s entirety, at least as much as I love Arc V.

And because we’re still in the utterly useless, 100% speculation/hopes-and-dreams phase, there’s no harm in me putting my guesses and hopes out there, if YGO6 indeed mirrors 5Ds:

So for a moment, allow me to get my tvtropes on, because their definitions are the best ones I can think of for this first point. 5Ds, at it’s core, is a story of The Chosen Many, which works beautifully with it’s overall theme of the bonds between people being of the utmost importance. But the Crimson Dragon’s judgement wasn’t infallible (as seen in their initial decision to give Rudger the head mark), and two of the (eventual) six signers—Crow and Rua—started out as The Unchosen Ones. They had to prove their heroism before they got their marks.

I would say that because of this, YGO6 will also be a story of The Chosen Many, but… Arc V just did that in the 8 counterparts. I really doubt the writers would repeat this trend back-to-back; but this does leave The Unchosen One trope. So, first speculation/guess: Yusaku will start off not being ‘chosen’ for much of anything. Destiny isn’t going to give a damn about him at first, but things are going to start happening for him very quickly once he proves his heroism (whatever that may entail).

Do I want this to happen? I’m still primarily holding out for my initial hope—that he’ll be the incarnation of a benevolent force/being. But if the writers went this route instead? I wouldn’t be mad at all. There’s nothing quite like a story where a normal protag rises above and beyond the expectations of fate and totally changes things, forever. I wouldn’t mind if this was Yusaku’s story.

Another one of the big themes in 5Ds was society itself. You all know the deal: Neo Domino/the OSD was a post-apocalyptic dictatorship that had a massive disparity between the classes. Gang warfare was a huge problem. Poverty was rampant. If you were in the OSD you literally could not leave. Convicts had tracking marks burned into their skin. There was very little hope of which to speak.

I don’t think the YGO6 world is going to be like this, but if it is? Yusaku will be on the other side of things. He’ll be living in YGO6′s equivalent of Neo Domino, and he won’t have to think about ‘the poors’ until the plot hits him in the face, after which he’ll naturally change his tune and fight for a more just society.

But I think it’s more likely that YGO6′s society will have some other huge, disturbing problem that Yusaku and his band of merry thugs will eventually have to contend with. This could be anything, but the one that most readily comes to mind would be something like a quasi-Orwellian, big-brother surveillance state. So you can be a dueling Youtuber, you can have your hobbies, you can live something of a normal life… just don’t step out of line. Because you’re always being watched. And if you ever do try to fight the system for a greater degree of freedom or transparency, your life is over.

It would certainly be true to life (*waves to the NSA*). But it doesn’t have to be this. I guess my broad prediction is that YGO6′s society is going to be fucked up in some noticeable way, and one of the main themes is going to be fixing it (whether that be simple reform or full on revolution).

Do I want this to happen? … I think it’s obvious by now that I think this would be great. I just hope that it’s handled in a way closer to 5Ds itself, and not The City of Arc V.

Now, for what I don’t want to happen?

Yusei… went through a degree of character development. But not nearly enough. From where I stand, he’s the protag who went through the least development, period (some say Yuma went through even less, but I can’t agree or disagree because I haven’t watched Zexal). He learns to loosen up and have fun with his duels, but other than that he remains pretty much the same.

You can maybe attribute that to his ‘advanced’ age (by shonen protag standards), but I disagree. An 18-19 year old is nowhere near done developing as a person. And as Yusaku is all but surely younger than Yusei, there will be no excuse if he remains static.

And… y’all know by now what killed me with 5Ds. Fucking Z-one. The light of my life, the man who sparked a thousand analytical posts, the one thing that would have given Yusei untold amounts of depth, and… it was all pissed away. I get mad just thinking about it.

To date, Yusei’s the only protag who’s never had his ‘dark side’ take hold (Yuma also counts, arguably… from what I know about Dark Zexal, it was Astral who lost it, not Yuma). Frankly, there needed to be at least one YGO protag who didn’t jump off the deep end, in order for it not to become too predictable for future protags. The fact that it was Yusei is fine. But us being teased with what appeared to be his eventual descent into villainy? To present us with the beauty of Yusei’s greatest enemy being himself, only to snatch it back at the last moment? That was fucked up. That was unnecessary. That, imo, totally ruined 5Ds’ already weak second half.

Because Yuya’s darker nature was a continuous, series-long problem, I don’t think Yusaku’s potential dark side will be—or if it is, it will manifest in a very different way, and will be fueled by something other than anger. But no matter if he has a ‘dark side’ or not, I just don’t want to be teased in the same way as the Z-One fiasco.

What else? No robots. No time travel. No western style mini-arc that has no impact on the rest of the plot. No distant future finale.

Anything else is fine.

*looks at the length of this post* lol why do I do this

#yugioh 5ds #yugioh vrains #5ds criticism #vrains hopes and dreams #yusei fudo #yusaku fujiki #my posts

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sojourner-between-worlds · 2 years ago

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Well, if no one else is going to point out the hole I found a few hours after posting, I'll just have to do it myself, lol -- especially since I can fill it in and I will never miss a chance to talk about my current spin. So here we go.

The hole: Yusei and Jack's first duel. If there is no real connection between the dragons and signers, and the dragons don't really matter, and Yusei wasn't a signer yet, why did the Crimson Dragon show up at all?

This may have turned into a bit of a rabbit-hole response, but allow me to explain my theory on how the Crimson Dragon chooses signers anyway.

It's all about willingness to fight.

Jack is a fighter by nature, always has been and always will be. Canon doesn't give us exactly when the mark showed up for him, but he initially calls it a 'birthmark', implying it's been there as long as he can remember. But this makes sense with his character, given what we see. He may have made some questionable decisions (read: really horrible decisions), but it was always him fighting for something -- whether that was for others (their gang days; Carly later) or for himself (doing what he had to do to obtain a better life for himself). He's always been a fighter.

Aki received her mark mid-duel, in a refusal to stop fighting despite her father being called away. After that, she never stopped fighting. She may have gone about it entirely the wrong way (with the Arcadia Movement), and she may have given up her will to think for herself, but she still never stopped fighting for equality and acceptance (even if that goal was skewed into something sinister).

Ruka is a little different from the others in that her fighting spirit comes from a different set of circumstances entirely. Her will to fight came from the promise she made to Ancient Fairy Dragon. She may have forgotten that promise for a while, but when she remembered it, she was all-the-more motivated to keep it.

Even Rudger/Roman Godwin fits this same picture. We don't know a lot about him, but we do know that he fought the effects of Uru for as along as he could and then went as far as to cut off his own arm so that humanity would have a fighting chance. (Even Rex, who was not actually chosen, exhibited a fighting spirit rightfully attributed to those who are chosen, in seeking to find the others and trying to contain the damage -- as terrible of a decision as that really was, it came from a place of wanting to fight the darkness. This is how he managed to unify the marks on himself even though he hadn't technically been chosen himself. More on that later.)

(I don't need to talk about Crow again since that was in the original post, but he rightfully ended up with the tail mark when they were redistributed because he fought without even needing to have been chosen first. The same goes for Rua; he resolved to keep fighting when everything was against him and rightfully earned his place.)

And then we get to Yusei and the hole I mentioned. If the dragons and signers aren't connected really, and if the dragons are irrelevant, and if Yusei wasn't a signer yet, why did the Crimson Dragon show up?

It's entirely possible the Crimson Dragon showed up because of the dragons because its entirely possible that the Crimson Dragon, after the successful battle 5000 years earlier, thought that the same dragons would still make good allies for the next battle. Because of that, the Crimson Dragon showed up because two of those allies were fighting and it didn't want that.

It shows up because the dragons are fighting and so is one of the people its already chosen to be a signer. The other human -- well, he's not a signer but he sure is fighting hard to hold onto Stardust, the monster he treasures the most. And the Crimson Dragon thinks to itself "maybe this one." Only maybe because this one...he's not a fighter -- not in the same way as the others it has chosen, at the very least. So it temporarily marks him, gives him that potential -- just to see what happens.

This explains why only Yusei's mark comes and goes initially -- because Yusei is a fighter but only when he has to be. And this isn't a fight he's decided is his yet.

His mark doesn't stay until after his second duel with Jack (if I remember correctly; it's been a while since I watched the whole arc through, so correct me if I'm wrong). It finally stays after that point because, after seeing the future, that is when Yusei decides that this is something he has to fight for. Once he decides, the Crimson Dragon gives him the mark to keep.

The Crimson Dragon doesn't show up to that first duel because Yusei and Jack have both already been chosen; it shows up because of the potential.

This idea further makes sense of two things that happen in the second half of the series. In Yusei vs Placido, Yusei is struggling to keep fighting and is, honestly, on the verge of giving up. At this point, we see his mark lit up, but it's not the steady glow we're used to -- it's flickering. Why? Because that power is based on resolve and Yusei's resolve is crumbling in that moment. Additionally, when Yusei is facing Jose, he very easily unifies the marks. Why? Because his resolve to fight is strong.

The Crimson Dragon did not chose its signers arbitrarily, but those choices had nothing to do with the dragons themselves, either.

The Dragons Don't Matter

(And why you shouldn't get hung up about Black Feather Dragon especially.)

Before I dive into this, I want to make one thing clear: yes, I know this isn't what the writers intended. I also don't care. Because when it comes to Yugioh world-building, sometimes you just have to take your idea or theory and run away from the writers really, really fast, okay? Okay. This is purely about world-building, not show-writing, so don't come at me from a writing standpoint. Now that that's settled, we can move on.

First, I'd like to introduce you to a theory that isn't wholly mine but is based in what I've seen other Yugioh fans posit about world-building and time lines. (I can't entirely credit any of them because I've watched so many yugitubers in the last year that I just. don't remember who said what, but if you're into Yugioh and on YT, you'll probably already know what I'm talking about, haha.) At one point, someone mentioned that all of the "past events" across the franchise probably take place about the same time, two of the "past events" in question being things like the Crimson Dragon battling the Earthbounds happening at the same time as some battle in Egypt that's referenced in the original DM. I am not well enough versed in any series outside of 5Ds to make any comment on this, so I'm taking that at face value here.

Why does that even matter, you might be asking? I'm getting there, but first I need to introduce another theory, and it's this: duel spirits have existed since the beginning of time, and because of this, it is the spirits that create the cards rather than the cards creating the spirits. This is supported by the fact that duel monsters is an ancient game (I don't remember much from watching DM as a kid, but I do remember this much, lol) which means that spirits like Dark Magician and Blue Eyes existed far before Pegasus turned them into cards. In other words, all monsters that will ever become cards already exist in the spirit world. This idea is also not wholly mine; it has come from some yugituber as well, and I piggy-backed off of that, wherein said person posits that summoning types are discovered rather than created -- meaning they already existed and someone just had to figure them out. While this was solely on summoning methods, I feel like this applies to monsters, as well.

To sum up: duel spirits have always existed and the creation of cards was a discovery of those spirits rather than an actual creation of the spirit.

(Now is a good time to add that I realize there are exceptions to this rule, such as Red Nova Dragon, but it is just that: an exception, rather than the rule.)

So now we can get into why the dragons themselves don't actually matter.

We have to start by asking ourselves what is so special about the original five dragons in particular? Stardust, Red Demons/Archfiend, Ancient Fairy, Black Rose, and Life Stream. Why them? If all duel spirits already exist (with the noted few exceptions), then there are tons of dragons available! Not only dragons that had already appeared in a previous series (like Red Eyes and Blue Eyes), but ones that wouldn't appear until later (like Firewall)! (Even if you only take past cards [for that writing standpoint that I will not argue on], there are still so many dragons! Red Eyes and Blue Eyes and Chaos Emperor and Judgement!) So if we go with the above proposed theory, then there is no reason at all that these five were necessary in and of themselves. In fact, there would have been other dragons that would have better suited since their effects...really don't matter here. If we're going on pure strength, Blue Eyes would have been far better suited than Black Rose or Stardust, or example.

So, then, why those five? No idea. Maybe because of other conflicts going on, they were the only ones available (Blue Eyes off fighting in Egypt? all of them dealing with other world-ending catastrophes?). Maybe they were personal friends. Maybe they just happened to be in the right place at the right time. But the fact of the matter of is, there is no relevance. The Crimson Dragon could have chosen any five dragons it wanted. It could have chosen spirits that weren't even dragons if it had wanted to. For that matter, it kind of did when it also chose five humans. But the humans and the dragons? They weren't actually connected at the time. They weren't even technically fighting together because the humans were channeling the Crimson Dragon's power, not the other dragons' powers.

Also consider: if those specific dragons were vital, then only four of the marks would have ever shown up in the first place because they only had four of the dragons -- technically, they only had three, actually, since Ancient Fairy was stolen away. Yes, Ancient Fairy was "fated" to land with Luna/Ruka, but the fact remains that she had her mark long before she had her dragon, meanwhile Yusei had his dragon long before he had his mark. The two things simply are not connected in a way that actually means anything.

Additionally, they did not have five dragons fighting the god of the underworld anyway. Only two faced off against Godwin, and only ONE actually attacked the god of the underworld, and it wasn't ANY of the original signer dragons at all. It was Yusei's Majestic Star Dragon.

This is why I just kind of have to chuckle when I hear the argument "but Black Feather Dragon wasn't one of them that fought in the past!" because yeah, man, neither was Majestic Star but here we are.

Those who were bestowed the mark of the Dragon were first and foremost just servants of the Crimson Dragon. Which is why it makes perfect sense for Crow to end up with a mark (even excluding later when he gets a dragon) because he chose to stand up and fight without having to be chosen first. It doesn't matter that his dragon wasn't at the fight 5000 years earlier. It doesn't even matter that he has a dragon at all. It's irrelevant because that's not how the Crimson Dragon choses its servants -- not in the past, and not in the present.

This also makes sense of how a sixth mark manifested later for Leo/Rua at the conclusion of the series. Because it didn't matter that Life Stream was "hiding" in Power Tool because the dragon itself is irrelevant. What mattered was that Rua kept choosing to fight when everything was against him. The Crimson Dragon honored that. (The original number of five was always arbitrary, too. The number never mattered. It was just a number.)

This is also why their marks disappear at the finale. They aren't needed anymore. They don't need to serve the Dragon anymore, so the Dragon took back its power from them, but guess what? They all still have their Dragons. Why? Because the dragons never mattered -- not really.

The Dragons were chosen, but so were the people to bear those marks. And, just like how the people change, so can the dragons.

#yugioh 5ds #yugioh 5ds meta i guess?#will anyone read this? probably not #not any more people than read first part probably lol #oh well #*chucks into the void of tumglr dot gone*#sometimes i just need to type things out and post them so they aren't spinning around my head relentlessly instead lol

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tipsycad147 · 5 years ago

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Celtic and Druid Spirit Animals

By shirleytwofeathers

Below are listed some of the animals denoted by Celtic Shamanism and Druidism along with their spiritual denotation:

Adder, Snake (Nadredd):

Badger (Breach):

Bat:

Associated with the underworld or Awwyn, as the bats radar guides it through the night avoiding obstacles and barriers, so it can teach you to do the same.

Bear (Arth):

Bee (Beach):

The bee is revered as industrious, single minded when performing a task, and fearless when defending its home.

Blackbird (Druid-dhubh, Lon Duhb):

Boar (Bacrie):

Bull (Tarbh):

Butterfly:

Cat (Caoit, Cat):

Cock:

In several Celtic legends the cock chases away ghosts and unwanted spirits by his crowing at dawn. It represents the power of the word to dispel negativity.

Cow (Bo):

Crane:

Crow (Badb):

Deer (Abhach) or Stag (Sailetheach):

Dog (Abach, Mada) or Hound (Cu):

Dolphin:

This creature was associated with the sea deities. It deals with dreams and harmony, and recognising and balancing the rhythms of your body with those of nature.

Dragon (Piastras, payshtha, Horn):

Eagle (Lolair):

A bird noted for wisdom and long life in Celtic stories. The eagle represents swiftness, strength, keen sight, and the knowledge of magick. It helps you to see hidden spiritual truths.

Eel (As-chu):

Fox (Mada Rua):

Frog:

Hare or Rabbit (Coinin):

Hawk (Aracos):

Horse (Cab-all, Capall):

A popular animal of the Celts. Sacred to the Goddesses Epona and Rhiannon. The horse was considered to be a faithful guide to the Otherworld. It symbolises stamina, endurance, and faithfulness.

Lizard:

Lynx:

This creature is considered the keeper of deep secrets and hidden knowledge. It can help with divinatory skills and the development of psychic senses. Sometimes it symbolizes the need to look deeper within yourself to see that which is often hidden.

Magpie:

This bird is said to deal with omens and prophecies, as well as the mysteries of life and death.

Mouse (Luch):

Otter (Balgair):

Owl (Caillech):

Pig (Muc):

Rat (Francach):

Raven (Bran):

Salmon (Brionnfhionn):

Sow (Airc):

Squirrel:

Swan (Eala):

Turtle:

Unicorn:

Wolf:

Wren (Dryw, Dreoilin):

A sacred bird to the Druids specifically, its musical notes were used for divination. As with many other birds, the wren was considered a messenger from the deities.

Source: Father Oak

shirleytwofeathers.com/The_Blog/powers-that-be/tag/spirits/

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