#Arc V spoilers

[starmakesart]

Just a puppet on a bigger stage

[pinkprimrose05]

SPOILER ALERT IF YOU HAVEN'T FINISHED YUGIOH ARC-V

So yesterday I decided to start rewatching ARC-V (for the second time, at the behest of a friend who just got into the show), and, well... shit.

There is a hint of foreshadowing I missed, and it's in Episode fucking One to boot.

Unfortunately, this hint is entirely lost in the English dub (edit: I stand corrected, it's still there, just not as explicitly obvious), and I can't seem to find any source for the Japanese dialogue of the episode (not that it'd help much, in the end; I can't read Japanese for shit and am mostly going off the romanization of structures I only barely understand). But why is this relevant here, you ask?

Well, allow me to explain.

There are several ways of referring to oneself (or one's possessions) in Japanese. You're probably already familiar with first person pronouns 私 (Watashi), 僕 (Boku), and 俺 (Ore), all of which mean "I" in English, and each of which is used by different sorts of people in different sorts of situations.

In the context of ARC-V, Yuuya normally uses Ore when referring to himself, and Ore no for possessions. But being the expert performer he is, he puts on a faux-formal persona for Entertainment Duels, so in addition to giving extra flair to...literally everything he says, he switches to the more polite Watashi and Watashi no for a more, ah, charming impression.

(In comparison, Yuzu already uses Watashi, as it is also the most common pronoun for girls. Gongenzaka defaults to the "manly" Ore, and Sora uses the softer male pronoun Boku and its derivative).

Now the kicker here is that, from the moment Yuuya acquires Pendulum until the end of his Duel with Ishijima, he uses none of the aforementioned pronoun sets. Instead, he switches to the first person pronoun 我 (Ware) and possessive pronoun 我が (Waga), which are now considered a stiff, archaic, and outdated way to refer to oneself, mainly used in fiction by characters with a strong sense of dramatic flair.

But Pink, isn't that basically Yuuya getting really into the entertainer persona?

... well yes, but actually no. I would have written this off as another flashy quirk of his, had it not occured to me that:

1) This is not a one-off occasion, and it only repeats in specific situations. I mean, we don't see this particular pronoun switch making another appearance until the tail end of Episode 39... when Yuuya goes into the Awakened state for the "first" time.

He doesn't talk much when he's like that (which, yeah, fair enough; I can't focus on talking and doing full combo at the same time either), but you may notice that his Pendulum summoning chant changes from "Appear now, my monsters!" (Arawareyo, ore no monsuta-tachi!) to "Come out, my monster servants!" (Ideyo, waga shimobe no monsuta-tachi yo!)

And guess what? The same happens in Episode 1, when he does the very first Pendulum summon.

2) The personal pronoun Ware is not only used by melodramatic characters, but also by those that view themselves as distant from, and/or superior to everyone else. Ancient spirits, magical entities, you get what I mean here...

And it sounds kinda familiar, doesn't it?

An egotistic crackhead with a strong superiority complex, who still strives for drama and entertainment despite his twisted ways. You know him. I know him. Everyone knows him.

He's been trying to hijack Christmas for six years now, after all.

...God fucking dammit.

Yes, Zarc is the only character with enough theatre kid energy to use Ware as his default personal pronoun. And yes, Yuuya copies that aspect every time magical Pendulum fuckery is involved... which, admittedly, would not register as foreshadowing until you have context for what it's supposed to be foreshadowing in the first place.

.. And it still flew over my head entirely in the first rewatch. So much for a resident theorist, lmao.

Seriously though, I think this is pretty brilliant. Sure, it's a niche linguistic detail that requires prior knowledge of the ending to understand, but it hints towards a great mystery behind the origins of Pendulum summoning, which is very damn cool, if I do say so myself.

It's worth mentioning that I also watched Episode 2, which doubles down with the more obvious, but no less neat hint of placing Yuuya on the "antagonist" side of the Duel screen against Yuzu in their exhibition match thingy.

See, this is why I love ARC-V so much. One of the greatest joys of watching this show is finding all the hidden puzzle pieces and going "Oh, so THAT'S what they meant when they did this!", and it never fails to amaze me every time.

This has been Volume 1 of Pink's ARC-V Highlights™, and I'll definitely be back with more... whenever I find another dumb tidbit to hyperfixate on.

'Till then, my Duelist friends!

[aliothbuzzsawshark]

@arcvmonth Day 13 - Villains

To me, most Arc V villains are really interesting concepts with...weird execution. This is mainly because of Arc V’s weird pacing. The only villain I feel actually got time to be properly explored is Yuri. Except that time was used poorly.

(Mini analysis below dunking on Yuri as a character)

Yuri is both a lot of things and nothing at all.

He’s a part of Zarc that’s Leo Akaba’s most trusted soldier and is the main antagonist for most of the show. That’s interesting to me, especially since he’s the opposite of Yuya. Yuya is good, an entertaining duelist, and deeply cares about others. Yuri is evil, a duelist only for war, and only cares about himself. (canonically)

Those opposites can make for a cool narrative, except that Yuri is really nothing more, character wise. Canonically speaking, (in the anime only) Yuri’s personality is just stereotypical evil. He’s a power hungry, war-loving, soldier that thinks he’s better than everyone else and that he’s amazing and oh so powerful.

It’s perfectly fine to have villains like this, but in a show where we so the complexities of Leo Akaba, the guy who started an entire war, and not Yuri, it comes off really weird to me. It’s like Yuri is more evil than Leo, when, technically, Yuri has been following Leo’s orders. Since all the other main soldiers get this type of realization that they are more that just evil, Yuri is just implied to be a bitch and nothing else.

This is what I mean by Yuri is both a lot of things and nothing at all. He’s a lot in terms of a threat, but not as a person. We get a lot of time where he can be expanded, but he just isn’t. Hell, we see him join Yuya’s side without so much as a line explaining why.

I’d also like to mention that when Zarc’s power is possessing Yuri, he acts the same, witty jabs and all, when Yuya, Yuto, and Yugo and just bloodthirsty monster repeating reunite. You can either see this as (A) Yuri having a great hold on Zarc, (B) Yuri being possessed by Zarc on default, or (C) the writers seeing evil Yuri processed by evil and going “oh we don’t need to do anything he’s already an evil motherfucker.”

I know it seems like I hate Yuri, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. I dyed my hair after this man. I love Yuri because of how everyone has their own, personal headcanons and personality for Yuri though that lack of solid characterization. That, and how he’s written in the manga makes him a person with real feelings that readers can care for. But I wish that he could’ve had just a little bit more canonically.

[yamislittleangel55]

😂😅

Awkward…

[radghostz]

Awakened Yuya doodle :3c

[zxal]

as much as the arc v ending sucks ass i think it's one of the most potential-rich ygo endings for fanfic purposes, not just in terms of fix-it value but because The Yuya Situation (+ the Zuzu Situation) is all I wanted to see from these characters for the fuckin entirety of arc v and NEVER got (aside from yuya + yuto a tiiiiiny bit in s3) and I think the potential character interactions are soooo good. Yuya is doing the action duels. Yugo is doing the turbo duels. Yuri

[nettleshuttle]

i know it’s far from congruous with the canon, but i really like to think of different dimensions in arc v as sort of worlds without protagonists?

in the synchro dimension, some things stay the same although yusei isn’t there. jack still becomes king, one way or another, crow’s still a police-fighting rebel with a few kids under his protection, the city is still divided the way it used to in 5ds — but then so many things are different: the characters haven’t met yusei, he hasn’t made his mark in the city, hasn’t transformed it the way he had in 5ds. similarly in the fusion dimension: asuka and ed are still quite similar to their gx counterparts, but they’ve never met jaden because he’s not there in this universe. and same, of course, goes for kaito and the xyz dimension.

that’s why all the characters we know from other series seem so strangely changed, so unrecognizable at times, so wrong — they bear traces of the people we’ve gotten to know through the rest of the shows, but it’s like they’ve been reset to the pre-development phase. it used to really get to me while seeing arc v kaito or ed, because why would they act like that? but they’re not the characters from gx and zexal anymore, much less from the ends of respective shows, after all their growth. i know it doesn’t even overlap with the totality of canon information we’ve been presented, though i could speculate that the rest of canon casts are not there because that’s the extent of the protagonists’ influence, but it doesn’t make that much sense. still, i don’t really care.

what i truly like about this headcannon (can i call it one?) is how it emphasizes the crucial characteristic of every ygo protag — the way they exert so much positive influence over anyone they meet. the way they change people for the better, and they make such a big difference, both for individuals and their whole respective worlds. makes me nostalgic, for some reason.

[lermisv4]

Arc-V Month Day 24: Oh. My. G.O.D.

@arcvmonth

Not a fanfic this time but a more of a confession-

The character that basically took over my brain for a bit was Ren. Why? Well, spoilers under the cut but-

He’s Yugo’s son. Or grandson. Someone so, so closely related to him, it breaks my mind just to think about. The mere thought of Yugo having children, how his name sounds so much like Rin even though she doesn’t exist in the manga, how in a way he keeps idolizing Yugo even though they are enemies now and Yugo is just a teen without even a body to call him own.

How did Yugo feel when he saw Ren, knowing who he was? What would their relationship be like? I keep imagining Ren in ARC-V proper, as in the anime, with Yugo and Ren chasing after each other. Perhaps their relationship in this context would be extremely strained.

What does Ren even mean in the context of the manga? Does he come from a dead future? Is he the proof that one day things will be okay? Is he a proof of failure?

The original 5ds had time travel, and I look at Ren and imagine him existing in the Arc-V anime, and I wonder if he runs this whale water deck to get away from all the Wind associations that his parents were burdened with.

So yeah, my final thoughts about him have little to do with the manga. But it was him who hooked me in the first place.

[raidraptor-strawberry-falcon]

Archived Event Convo!

Event code: Celina, The Girl from the Fusion Dimension!

Convo: Sora Perse/Shiunin!

SPOILER WARNING: CONTAINS MAJOR ARC V ANIME SPOILERS

[fuckyeahyu-gi-oh]

welcome to (almost) daily feed of yugioh

I try to post for at least one of each series per day & tag series/spoilers accordingly, except for duel monsters. i'll put them in the tags of this post for convenience

happy yugiohs everybody

[starmakesart]

Unsteady Hands [AU where Leo meets with Yuri one last time before the final fusion and has a few choice words for his 'son'. It doesn't go over well.]

[pinkprimrose05]

ARC-V Month Day 13: Abyss Beneath a Smile

No one is born evil, and yet some choose to let go of the light in favor of embracing the other side, for reasons one may find to be rather baffling at first glance. Today is all about these oh-so-villainous figures, so show us your favorite antagonist of choice!

Warning: Spoilers below the cut

Look, there is no such thing as an objective best villain in this show (Yuuri is as close as it gets but he sadly got the axe), so I pick favorites going off of vibes alone.

Therefore, I would like to give a(nother) shoutout to the cutest, dumbest, craziest, bitchiest, most infuriatingly entertaining and mildly genocidal master of dramatics- Mister Lettuce Clown!

(Look his hair is a lettuce to me do not even try to argue otherwise.)

Jokes aside though, while he suffers from the S3 cast problem of Not Nearly Enough Screentime, the concept behind Zarc's character carries well enough through what little we see of him, which makes for a fun time of headcanons and speculation and deep extrapolation of his personality and backstory.

We've also got him to thank for the single best show of foreshadowing we've seen in YuGiOh history, and for the eternally golden Zarcmas meme, and for pretty much setting up the best part of Duel Links' lore, and for being great food for though whenever he's brought up- at least in my humble and totally unbiased opinion.

Also, his deck is great and pretty satisfying to run, doubly so with the new plays the recent support opens. I've tried every Z-ARC Turbo variant ever -even came up with a veeeery convoluted one back in the day- and it's a very fun time mixing and matching your plays until you swing for game with the funny beatstick.

In short: I think Zarc is neat. You're welcome and very rightful to disagree, of course, but in this household we respect the Supreme King Dragon.

[lilacjunimo]

no thoughts just Echo pulling this face

[snek-eyes]

I keep thinking about what slotting the Job sequence in between the Flood and the Crucifixion does for Crowley’s arc, and his relationship to both Aziraphale and heaven.

@amuseoffyre did a great analysis of the importance to Aziraphale's arc here that sparked this thought, but it sent me down a rabbithole because A+C are both having very different experiences here.

Compare how Crowley bounces up to Aziraphale at the flood vs how standoffish he is when the angel shows up to the Job situation. Aziraphale is the one who's all friendly, "Oh it's you!" while Crowley... is pretty businesslike, at least until he gets the chance to start rubbing the reality of the situation in the angel's face. 

The flood pissed Crowley off. Job is the first time we start to see the more bitter Crowley we'll get to know. In the Garden he was bemused about overreactions and almost having fun poking this angel with questions about God's plans. Beginning of the flood sequence he was pretty playful. This whole earth thing hasn't been so bad so far, and oh here's that weird angel again, that's fun. 

But then he gets hit with God turning on their creation without warning, again. And the flood was at least in God's name ("That's more the type of thing you'd expect my lot to do," he said. Wasn't heaven supposed to be the good guys?). But now with Job? God turns their back and just... doesn't stop hell. Heaven's hands stay clean while hell dirties their evil little claws. Oh, so this is how things are, Crowley realizes. This is the part he's meant to play. Fine. 

And seeing how he acts here... I can't help but feel like he'd mostly given up on Aziraphale after the flood. After Crowley went, "Wtf, this is clearly an atrocity," and Aziraphale stuck to "You can't judge the Almighty!" ...well. Giving away the flaming sword was probably a fluke. Just another tool of heaven, that one. Disappointing, but what should he have expected? 

So all through their Job interaction he plays up his demonicness, trying to force Aziraphale to toe the party line and prove Crowley's new view on things right, once and for all. But there is a crack there, because not-so deep down Crowley would love for Aziraphale to surprise him again.

(After all... he is lonely. Try some wine with me, or have an ox rib, angel.)

(Fascinated by the difference in Crowley's gleeful "That's just how it started for me, see you in hell" vs. "I'm not taking you to hell, Angel. I don't think you'd like it." And only admitting to the loneliness once he isn't totally alone anymore; I think the original lie was more to himself than anything. He's angry, he's bitter, these righteous angels shouldn't think they're any better than him, not when they can doubt too. But when it comes down to it? No, I don't actually want to drag you all the way there. Something about guns and miraculous escapes, and his comment about Wee Morag, it's different when it's someone you know, isn't it. Hm. Anyways.) 

By the end of the Job situation they have a moment where they confirm they are more similar than they thought. But it's not a happy thing. It won't be until Rome when they start enjoying each other's company just for the sake of it. So at the crucifixion Crowley comes up to Aziraphale still prodding at him. You happy about this, Angel? You smirking over how righteous it is? But now instead of, "You can't judge the Almighty," we get "I'm not consulted on policy decisions." Implying he disagrees without really saying it. And that's enough for now, Crowley will take it. 

From the flood -> Job -> crucifixion -> Rome, we see Crowley get angry, then more and more resigned and bitter. Until Aziraphale reaches out and pulls him out of it.

[fumifooms]

What if we were both magic prodigies and it otherized us in different ways and we devoted ourselves to protecting a family member who has general other goals & priorities. What if we both did self-sacrifical devotion in opposite ways.

What if we were dark mirrors of each other and where I've grown overcontrolling you've grown complacent. What if, bought as a servant into a pretty loving home, ownership and control is what love looks like to me, and to you neglected and lonely growing up, love is gratefully taking any scraps of it you’re lent.

By belonging to someone, even if she comes back injured or fails at finding Delgal, she feels like she belongs and is cherished, by owning someone he feels safe in them not leaving him.

She’s what’s tethering him do you see… And he’s the only thing giving her direction and purpose in her state. She needs a compass and he needs a support.

They’re both so out of it 😭 It’s the weirdly intense and unearned mutual trust and reliance on each other?? They’re each other’s weird little comfort codependent teddy bear. Or at least they were headed towards that before SHE DIED THEN HE DIED THEN THEY BOTH FORGOT ABOUT EACH OTHER AND NEVER MET EVER AGAIN. Though she’s also the guard attack hound keeping him safe… And vice versa he heals her and can rewrite her very being with just one wave of his hand. They’re both so so mentally and physically vulnerable both but they cling onto each other. They can’t perceive things accurately but despite it all someway somehow they stumble into something closer to resembling companionship just before they both die. Falin is just that kind and Thistle is just that lonely. Overworked. We both haven’t lived for ourselves in a very long time, haven’t we.

They both have a similar devotion to the people they love but again the difference is that Thistle starts overtsepping while Falin is self-effacing. The other difference between them is that people care about Falin <3 People have given up on Thistle long ago, and he has given people reasons to, while people refuse to give up on Falin. Yaad has a mini arc about it dw about it it’s ok he’s not all alone in the end 😭😭 He reached out for Marcille’s hand but they already all wanted to help him, they just had to be given the chance to, Yaad just had to be given the chance to, it’s okay I’m okay

Hey what if we learned to get in touch with our own identity and the world around us and living in the present again through being in the worst codependent situationship ever.

Falin and Thistle sitting in a tree, sucking on flowers together because they’re h-u-n-g-r-y 💕💕💕

I bet he’s only ever thought of flowers as useless ornaments. Weak weeds. But she shows him they’re tasty and useful and good and pretty in their own right too and deserve existing without proving their worth and waaa <33 Thistles…... Did you know thistles taste sweet if you remove the thorns and eat them?

"Even as a chimera, her kind nature remains" you can’t suppress her in the way that matters. You can’t soothe him in the way that matters. It’s doomed. You’re doomed. It’s all doomed. Save me.

[yeyinde]

Jujutsu Kaisen | Jogo v. Sukuna S02E16 V. CHAPTER 115 & 116

Though you have managed to pique my interest. So I'll fight you with your own specialty