#challenge-mfb

[lyriablackfrost]

Title: The Witch of Dragonrest Fandom: The Great Ace Attorney Ship: Barok/Kazuma Warnings: Minor violence, blood and injury, mention of death, mention of torture Words: 5646 (ch. 1) - ~21k (total) Synopsis: The vampire Barok receives the task of capturing a dangerous witch who has been hiding for years. When he finally meets Kazuma, however, he realizes that he is different from what he was told.

Prompts used: @badthingshappenbingo - Incapable of Disobeying @hurtcomfort-bingo - Hiding an Injury + Branding @mfbingo - Magic AU @seasonaldelightsbingo - Protecting Someone + Found Family.

My cards under the cut.

[artichow]

huh.

[spinning-top-hell-revamped]

A friend and I have been going through metal masters and I challenged myself to finish a drawing from that episode before it ended, hence why some of these look rushed 😭

[sky-of-dusk]

Inspired by the manga ofc.

[maukiki1-but-cringefail]

I be shitting on the whole wtf goin on in beyblade (trend?) but the way th people who havent watched the show in a decade spell beyblade/character names is the funniest shit. Heres a personal collection on ones ive stumbled upon: “damien” “Jinga” “jenga” “jignka” “gingna” “gkinka” “gjinka(thats a whole different word?)” “jenka” “gikna (how)” “jiknka” “jikna” “rayuga” “ryuaga(😭)” “reyuga” “hades kerbeck (1)” “raystricker” “mosamonay” “subasa” “tubasa” and bonus round youtube auto subtitles keep picking up “masamune” as 1. Moose and moonay 2. Mass and mooney 3 massive moon something i forgot. Edit: oh, and also, “Gingoat”

[moonjuiicee]

“i’m hoping to do all of the mayblade days” wow i lied right out of my ass 😭😭

my semester is ending and it hit like a truck oh my god. maybe i’ll play catch up, maybe not…i’ll probably replace days i don’t have ideas for with the days i missed lol

[stormyrainyday]

How to Read MFB Like a Professor: Chapter 1

Every Trip is a Quest (Except When It's Not), ft. The Silver Pegasus

Key Concept: When a character goes on a trip, pay attention to what they learn about themselves.

What's this? Read the series intro post.

A seemingly innocuous trip in media can, if analyzed through this lens, reveal insight about a character's growth and motivations. In order to see how, you have to understand that every quest has 5 defined components:

The person going on the quest (obviously)

What they hope to achieve (May or may not be a tangible object. Think of it as their "Holy Grail" so to speak)

Their stated reason for going on the quest.

Obstacles that make the quest difficult (terrain, other characters, personal flaws, etc)

The most important part: The real reason for going on the quest. This must be different from the stated reason, and is the thing that grants your desired insight on the character.

In the episode The Silver Pegasus, Gingka returns to Koma Village after losing a battle with Ryuga at the Dark Nebula Headquarters. Hokuto then tells him of a shrine in the village which may have an upgrade for Pegasus and might thus help him gain the power needed to defeat Ryuga. Gingka goes on a fairly obvious quest in this episode, but for the purposes of recap and the analysis, let's break it down into its components.

The Quester: Gingka himself

The Holy Grail: A sacred text, which may upgrade Pegasus's strength

Stated Reason: Get more power to defeat Ryuga

Obstacles: Snow, ice, avalanches, and Gingka's shattered self confidence

The real reason: I'll get to this in a second

As 1-3 are pretty straightforward, I'll start by discussing the obstacles on Gingka's quest. These obstacles can be internal or external, but as you will see as we go along, dividing them is pretty arbitrary.

The harsh terrain poses a challenge physically but isn't the primary thing that is hindering Gingka in his journey to get to the mountain shrine; the wind and snow are merely representatives of the internal struggle taking place. His preoccupation with defeating Ryuga gives him motivation to keep going in the beginning of his quest. Note that this is his stated reason for going, and this makes sense. The reason he is consciously aware of is what provides him with the fuel to persist through these initial challenges.

Of the first of these dangerous obstacles in his quest are icicles which fall from above. These don't seem to faze him at all, though. With a cry of rage, he unleashes Pegasus and shatters them all mid air.

However, when the ice is gone and the danger is passed, Gingka realizes he is still screaming. His face softens into a look of deep sadness. To me, this foreshadows how using his pain to drive him forward is only going to hurt him in the end, leaving him hollow. The prolonged screaming shows that if this is how he chooses to drive himself forward, he will only continue to struggle and feel pain even after he has no reason to.

Driving this point home is the next shot: Gingka proceeds into a dark cave, seeming very small against the backdrop and very notably alone. If you listen carefully, you can even hear the echo of his footsteps before the scene cuts away

Though this scene is short and the obstacle is, at the end of the day, pretty trivial (he had no issues getting past it after all), it's the first sign of the emotional backdrop of this quest and the feelings weighing heavily on Gingka at this point in time. Remember that during the battle with Ryuga, we see Gingka in a rage unlike any we've seen before, and any we see again in the future

As we see in this part of The Silver Pegasus, though, this rage isn't good for him. In L-Drago Awakens it directly leads to his defeat, and similarly, The Silver Pegasus shows that it only leads to isolation and continuation of his grief.

Not only that, after losing and telling Kenta about the death of his father, Gingka disappeared to Koma Village without any notice. He abandons his friends and can't bear to share the burden he is carrying. It's only emphasized further by his small frame against the gaping, empty mouth of the cave.

Still, though, Gingka moves forward. His journey isn't complete yet.

The next obstacle he faces is a wall of ice in his way. He deals with it similarly (launching Pegasus at it, as one does in Beyblade), but notably, on his first attempt he isn't able to break it. Gingka is visibly irritated, and when he tries again, he tells Pegasus to "crush it to pieces".

Again I feel this drives home the rage currently fueling him, and while this allows him to brute force his way through this tougher obstacle, it doesn't come without consequences. Immediately following this, an avalanche threatens to crush him.

It's not explicitly stated that the avalanche is caused by the force used against the ice block, but given that it occurs without a break to show what his friends are up to in Koma Village (as all the other obstacles in this episode do), I think it's fair to read it that way.

The show does tell us that the avalanche represents Gingka's feelings about Ryuga, though. You could say the floodgates have opened, and Gingka is forced to confront what is driving him forward.

He remains steadfast in his stated goal, though; above all, he is concerned about beating Ryuga. Nothing else is on his mind.

When he clears the avalanche, though, it is quiet once more, and Gingka is once again painfully reminded that he failed to beat Ryuga when it mattered. He even questions whether the upgrade to Pegasus is waiting for him at the end at all, demonstrating the doubt that plagues him the further along he goes.

The final obstacle in Gingka's path is a snowstorm, weather that reduces his visibility down to zero. Gingka's confidence now has deteriorated fully, and he is at the hardest part of his journey to the top. This is represented by the low visibility in the storm: Gingka has quite literally lost sight of himself and the path before him. In the snow, he imagines Ryuga laughing at him and insulting his father, and though this fills him with just as much rage as before. He raises his launcher in bitter retaliation, but his spirit is broken: he is unable to launch Pegasus, and it falls uselessly from the launcher just as it did when he attempted to battle Osamu a few days prior.

Gingka sinks into the snow, defeated, his confidence in himself truly shattered. Ryuga's laugh still rings out in his ears and he apologizes once more to his father, but this isn't enough to get him back on his feet. His rage and grief were never enough to sustain him, and he is forced to reckon with that fact now, at the final obstacle of his quest.

Importantly, Gingka is only able to get back up and continue onward once his motivations shift away from grief and revenge.

Only the thought of his friends gets him to reopen his eyes and face Pegasus again after his failure. This is his reminder that he isn't fighting alone, and is the first step in understanding what the real purpose of Gingka's quest is.

Pegasus glows in response to Gingka's words, as if in agreement.

This is where he realizes that his friends are behind him, and that Pegasus is beside him. He was never in this journey alone, despite what he may have believed. He pleads with Pegasus for its strength, and sharing the burden with his partner, his bey, is what allows him to get up and continue on.

Here we see the path to his goal open before him amidst the snow, symbolizing the beginning of his understanding. Of course, change isn't instantaneous; the persistent snowstorm represents the continued struggle against the emotions that have been holding him back up to this point. Now, though, Gingka has found it within himself to move forward, and he is willing and able to take that path.

Now, all that is left for Gingka to do is retrieve the upgrade to Pegasus, and go challenge Ryuga again. Right?

Except there is no upgrade. There is no sacred text. There is no easy way out for Gingka.

I almost forgot to mention. More often than not in a quest, the character will fail to achieve their stated goal. Whether they fail on the path or, in this case, the Holy Grail simply doesn't exist, there will usually be something that causes the initial reasons for the quest to be a failure.

This doesn't mean the quest is a failure, though. In fact, the inability to achieve the desired goal is what causes the self reflection necessary to move forward. The character's action when confronted with this failure is what reveals the true reason for the quest at all.

The Silver Pegasus actually tells us this point explicitly:

In fact, the true reasons for Gingka's quest are told to the audience as well: Reaching the shrine shows that he was never as weak as he believed himself to be, and that so long as he believes in himself and his bey, he can persevere through any challenges. He is then able to see his loss to Ryuga for what it is-- a setback, not an abject failure or a reflection of his ability.

Gingka exits the shrine to light shining on his face and the snowstorm gone. This is symbolic of his restored confidence and the hope he now has going forward. He smiles, and declares his belief in himself.

At the bottom of the shrine, his friends are waiting for him. They could not follow him on his quest, but this is confirmation to him that when he needs them, they will always support him. They have been there for him all along, even when he fled from the promise of their comfort.

Again they are all bathed in light and Gingka holds Pegasus up to the sun, another declaration of hope, confidence, and belief in himself and the people (and bey!) who support him.

Gingka concludes the quest then, having restored his spirit and grown as a person. From the beginning, the show hammers in again and again that one's spirit is what determines the outcome of a battle. This episode is Gingka's first recovery from a major setback, and the quest he goes on foreshadows how he will overcome similar setbacks later in the series. It puts into play this core principle of the show in a way that is easily digestible, and one that will resonate with the audience even if they don't consciously realize when it comes up again later on. In essence, Gingka's quest here encapsulates his future character arcs and is even mirrored by others' in the series (such as Kyoya a few episodes prior, when he realizes Leone was by his side all along; he fails to defeat Gingka that episode, but is able to let go of the bitter resentment he held toward Gingka as well as the relentless need to solve everything alone-- but that's an essay for another time). You could go as far to say that it spoils the rest of the show.

For how cut-and-dry this episode is, it provides a lot of insight into Gingka as a character, both now and in future arcs. Quite frankly I wasn't expecting to glean that much from this; I thought the concept of the quest was shallow until I tried applying it for myself; only after I started writing did I realize just how much was going on underneath the hood.

It was a lot of fun! I look forward to doing more of these as I keep reading the book. The next chapter is about communion, so I'll have to review which episodes have characters eating together.

Thank you for reading!!

[taximaximus]

I think we deserved some more silly episodes in mfb that allowed characters to bond, like the changing parts one with Kenta and Benkei in Fusion. Stuff that obviously shows off what beys can do but not in typical battle format

Like what if after the gang infiltrates Doji's place for the first time, after the Ryuga reveal and all that, Gingka brings up the fact they had to deal with insane obstacles and they're probably only gonna get more intense or weird if they wanna face the guy again. So he's like, "Why don't we do some special training?" and it's just stupid challenges. If you launch your bey vertically on a wall, how far could it go? If the ground was shaking beneath you or if you stood on a rolling log in water, how well could you hit targets? How well can your bey smash through different surfaces? Something unorthodox

But we know Gingka, Kenta and Benkei. They'll obviously make everything a competition. So it's just a whole comedic relief moment of them trying their damned hardest to pull off these challenges and claim that they're better. Kyoya eventually being like, move aside, I got this, and either smashing every challenge and fueling everyone's anger more or becoming just as invested as the others

Idk they just deserved more episodes that allowed them to be friends without worrying about the destruction of the world or some massive high stakes competition or something

[amethysia]

So with the announcement of Julie and Frank merch, it reminds me how I've been on the hunt for more dolls to modify into the Welcome Home characters!

It is insanely hard to find plus size male dolls that aren't a bajillion dollars and are specialty collector dolls. There's one Hagrid doll that I can use for Barnaby and thankfully I can get it second hand, it's just wild that out of all the dolls out there (other than the Jack Black action figure for the minecraft movie and a Maui from Moana doll), there aren't many plus size male dolls. I know that mattel is slowly getting on that with the Barbie main line with different body types, but still! Plus dying the Hagrid doll's skin is going to be a learning experience for sure.

Other than that, Frank and Eddie would most likely be Monster High or Ever After High dolls, so they can be taller than Wally and Julie and have the proper head size(debating on Manny Taur for Eddie but we'll see. EDIT: Found some Bratz boyz that would work great for them). For Sally, there are soooooo many possibilities. She could be any doll, really (there's Glo-up girl dolls that'd work well). Howdy may be a challenge, but hopefully not as hard as a hunt for a doll for Barnaby. My brain is like, Howdy is like the Man in the Big Yellow Hat xD Then for Poppy, I'm thinking either a My First Barbie or an ILY doll, because the MFB is a very tall doll, and ILYs are a 12" tall like most fashion dolls, but their head size would match the cave club dolls of Wally and Julie better.

One day I'm gonna mod them all and build a doll house and it's gonna be fun~

But for now, it's a slow journey lol

[mfb-oc-week]

MFB OC Week Rules and FAQ

This post will describe what exactly MFB OC Week is, as well as establish a few rules so that everyone can enjoy this event better :)

---

What is MFB OC Week?

MFB OC Week is a online event that takes place on a currently undecided week sometime in 2024, dedicated to celebrating all the wonderful Metal Fight Beyblade OCs out there. All forms of media are accepted for this event as long as Tumblr supports it, so art, stories, edits, memes, music, and videos are all allowed. 

Participating in this event is very simple. All you need to do is make content of your MFB OC, and tag it with either/both #mfbocweek and #mfbocweek2024 . You may also tag the MFB OC Week account in case we miss the post. While this event will mainly take place on Tumblr, any creator who would like to share their creations to other social media platforms is welcome to.

Although both moderators (@masterofdemise and @lady-lazagna) are mainly into Metal Fight Beyblade, fans of all the other Beyblade generations are welcome to participate as well. Whether you are a Bakuten Shoot, Burst, X, or Beywheelz/Beyraiderz fan, you are allowed to take part and we will still reblog your work!

You can find the 2023 prompt list for this event here: link

Let’s get into some rules.

Do I have to follow the provided prompts?

Technically no. They are there to give general ideas and inspirations, but they are not set rules that you have to follow. The main idea is to celebrate Metal Fight Beyblade OCs, so if you have an idea that you want to pursue that doesn’t go along with the prompt of that day, you can still tag your work under MFB OC Week.

I might be busy and not have enough time to participate during the two weeks, can I still participate outside of the official time period?

Absolutely! We know this event is taking place in the summer so while many will be free to do the prompts, there will also be many who will be too busy. While the official event takes place from the specific week of the year, you are welcome to treat the prompt list like any other art challenge list. We will continue to reblog Beyblade OC Week creations up until the last day of year, so feel free to participate later in the year if that fits your schedule better.

Can I still make content of the canon characters?

Canon characters are allowed as long as there is the presence of at least one original character present. After all, this is an event to appreciate the original characters of all the different Bey generations.

Are crossovers with non-Bey media allowed?

Of course, much like the canon characters,  just as long as your Bey OC is featured.

Can I draw other people’s OCs?

You are 100% allowed to, especially since there is overlap with this event and Artfight. The only rule is that if you do draw another person’s character, you must abide by whatever character permissions/rules the creator established for their OC. Any OC content that is made to harass/slander/bully the creator will not be tolerated and will result in an immediate ban/block. This event is supposed to be fun, so any form of harassment against another person or their creations is not permitted.

Is NSFW, sexual or gore content allowed for this event?

Beyblade is toy kids media, meaning there are most likely plenty of minors within the fandom. To keep this event safe for work and a safe space for more people to participate, we will not be allowing NSFW or any overly suggestive/sexual works. Mild gore is permitted, but it must be hidden with either the read more feature or the community label. While neither of us can really stop people from making NSFW content for their OCs, we would suggest either not posting it, or hiding it with the earlier mentioned Tumblr functions as to respect other peoples boundaries since not everyone will want to see this sort of content in the tags. Let’s be mindful of all the different members of the fandom. 

Failure to properly hide/tag NSFW or gore content will result in the moderators not reblogging your works for the rest of the event if you refuse to comply with this rule and do not fix the post after being asked to by moderators. If this rule is broken several times, you will be banned and blocked by the account. The moderators have the right to block your account if you engage in inappropriate behavior outside of the event.

How come my post hasn’t been reblogged?

Although both moderators will be checking the tag, we will inevitably miss a few due to Tumblr not always showing posts. If we haven’t reblogged your post in around 24-48 hours, please feel free to DM or tag the blog so we can see your post easier. We would like to be able to help share your wonderful OCs with everyone. The only other reason we might not reblog a work is if it breaks any of the rules established (see above for rules on NSFW/Gore and any derogatory works of other people’s OCs).

What other rules should we keep in mind for this event?

Any form of stealing/reposting/re-editing of art/writing/music/use of AI without the permission of the original creator or claiming their work as your own is forbidden. If you are caught doing any of the following and refuse to delete the offending work, you will be banned from participating from this event.  Since Bey OC Week is an arts centric event open to many different art forms, we want to make sure everyone is being respectful of people’s original works since original characters can mean a lot to their owners. Just in general, this sort of behavior is not tolerated even in regular art communities so do not think about taking someone’s handwork and claiming it as your own.

As mentioned before, the moderators have the right to block your account if you engage in inappropriate behavior outside of the event.

It’s okay to post after the event is over, but since the prompt list is out early, can we post before the official start date?

Preferably not, just so the post doesn’t end up getting buried and so we can have more fun during the official event time. Feel free to start making your content as soon as the prompt list is out, but wait until the actual start date to begin posting.

—

If anyone has any further questions, please feel free to send questions to this blog. We will continue to update this rule list if anything new comes up. Happy OC content making to everyone participating :D

[andro-dino]

I think this is a good one, if you like to rant a little, what are the (in your opinion) the 5 mfb characters that get misunderstood/mischaracterized the most, by the fandom?

oh my! surprise 5 things? in my inbox? more likely than you’d think

also this is such a good one I have so much to say on this

5. Kira’s frequent mistreatment makes me sad because he’s a very interesting and complex character with SO much to explore in regards to his upbringing and trauma and how that affects his character in the present and going forward, but a lot of people tend to portray him as a very one note crAaAaAzy villain and sexualize him to some of the worst degrees just because of his character design. It’s really unfortunate because there’s so much to love about him but it is a minefield trying to find anything for him

4. I’m not gonna blame people for misunderstanding and mistreating the garcias bc the show doesn’t even respect them but I’m still gonna be upset about it. I could go on and on about why the garcias were so poorly handled but like, when you think about their characters a little harder, you can really easily understand them from a more sympathetic view and how not only their environment but the way they were treated and used by the adults around them shaped how they behave throughout the series and like. Again, not blaming anyone for disliking them or seeing them solely as static villains bc they are not well written at all but I do wish people would give them a little more nuance, yk? I’ve taken the liberty of taking sole custody over them bc I could treat them so much better than the show, so I might be on of the only people who really sees this perspective just bc of how much I’ve diluted myself with my own noncanon analysis but yk.

3. I’m gonna go ahead and lump kyomado together because while I do think people don’t treat them with the nuance they deserve on their own, it is 10x worse when it comes to people shipping them specifically. And that makes me especially mad because kyomado was one of my first ships in any fandom and I still really like them together, but Jesus Christ people take them in the worst direction possible. It’s always so stereotypical with Kyoya being the cool hot closed off and aggressive one and Madoka being sweet and kind and submissive to him and it’s like. No!!! NO‼️‼️💥💥💥💥💥 They’re characters are so interesting together in my eyes because they’re relationship is built on mutual respect and ability to stand up to each other. Yes Madoka can be sweet and caring to him, but she is in no way submissive and is readily able to challenge him and call out his bullshit. Yes Kyoya can be cold and aggressive but he is not some abusive shitty YA male lead, he’s an angsty teen who genuinely recognizes Madoka’s abilities and respects her. I think you could make a similar argument for how people treat him with Hikaru as well but I personally find it far worse with Madoka, which makes me so sad bc I love this ship but hate a lot of the shippers and content for it :(

2. Gingka i dont think is as prevalent today, but I have seen the horrors and my god are they rough. The woobification of Gingka Hagane is an actual crime and should be treated as such. Im not even that big a Gingka stan or anything but I become fucking enraged whenever I see him portrayed as some soft and submissive uwu boy because there is so much more complexity and depth to his character and yaoifying him does that such a disservice. Idfk what show they were watching because in no universe is Gingka some sweet and innocent soft boy.

1. Damian. DAMIAN 100% IS THE WORST AND IT MAKES ME SO MAD. IDK WHAT IT IS ABOUT HIM THAT ATTRACTS FREAKS BUT 99% OF DAMIAN STANS ARE ABSOLUTELY VILEEEEE AND I HAVE NO RESERVATIONS IN SAYING THAT. It genuinely makes me so viscerally upset because I love Damian, he’s one of my favorite characters and I go absolutely rabid every time I think about him but OH MY GOD the way this fandom treats him is so awful. I mean it when I say it disgusts me how much people oversexualize him and mischaracterize him as some dominant and cool sex god or whatever because it is just so far from what he actually is and HES LIKE 13 ALSO????? LIKE YOU CANT EVEN KID YOURSELF INTO THINKING HE MIGHT BE ON THE OLDER END HE IS GENUINELY PINT SIZED AND ACTS LIKE A SPOILED CHILD THAT IS A FUCKING KID. Damian is an incredibly complex and interesting character with so much depth and lore. He is a deeply traumatized child with a godcomplex who screams when he gets dirty or his worldview is challenged, he is not some sexy flirtatious guy who’s got everything together. It’s one thing to focus solely on the power scaling side of him and disregard his character, but it’s a whole nother thing to sexualize him and remove him so far from the context of his story for the sake of whatever these freaks are on about.

[artichow]

questions 36, 51 and 57 for Shoyo :D

36 Do they own items that have sentimental value?

Mm I'd say it depends on the time in her life we're talking about. One item that she had all her life is her bey Actaeo, she wouldn't even qualify it as an item, more as a companion tbh, a lot of bladers do. But it still holds a lot of sentimental value since it helped her get out of a lot of danger and hang on during real bad times. After fusion, she doesn't have much if any belongings so anything she gets gifted means a lot to her. The items that have the most sentimental values come from her close friends, like hyoma, madoka, gingka, and the list gets longer as time goes on. I don't have any concrete examples though

51 How good are they with money?

Mmm I'd say pretty responsible but also overly anxious to spend too much, it's very rare if they ever get any money tbh, and most of the time she tries to do without it which sometimes means not taking the train but walking or maybe not paying for a ticket but still riding the train . If they have to gift something to someone they'll either craft it or buy something but only if another person helps her pick it out.

57 What was the most stupid or dangerous thing they have ever done?

Well... most of the dangerous things she's done have been for a good cause or to help people but one could argue that breaking into the Dark Nebula building during Battle Bladers and getting caught after spending the whole season hiding from them was a little dumb. Let's say it was done in the heat of the moment and as a cumulation of the frustration of watching battle bladers unravel without being able to do anything to help...

The other ones I can think about are less fleshed out stuff and happen during my version of fury which is a mess and not very clear as of now so idk if I can share them. But she sure gets into situations. Mainly not her fault at all though.

Other less serious stupid and arguably dangerous things she's done: tease and annoy ryuga endlessly post fury. They get into physical fights just like when they were kids yayy but also ouchie

[masterofdemise]

MFB: Solar Swap AU, What Does it Mean To Be Legendary?

I had a new idea for this AU and it completely spiraled so behold. I’m going to talk about one of the biggest events in this AU (that has no comparable event in canon Fury) and how it sparks a change in the side of good (and evil).

If you prefer to read on AO3, the link is here:

 https://archiveofourown.org/works/42298515/chapters/119563858

JOHANNES VS CYCNUS

Johannes versus Cycnus is not long after Beyster Island, when moral for the good side is quite low. Even with the good side having some legendary bladers like Pluto, Gingka, Herschel, Keyser and Rago, they also have yet to find Kyoya after the event of Atlantis Island (equivalent to Mist Mountain arc), Ryuga still shows no interest in helping them and Chris is revealed to be a legendary blader, but he’s working for Dynamis. Some are continuing to train (Gingka, Masamune, King who has just joined them), while others are moping (Tsubasa is seriously questioning his value to the team right about now). During this dead period of nothing really happening, Pluto and Johannes decide to go on a walk together to take their minds off of the unlucky string of events. In the meanwhile, Cycnus is still panicking and stressing over his recent loss to Rago during the Atlantis mission. Dynamis was not too pleased with Cycnus’s failure and insisted he catch his breath before getting any new orders. Desperate for Dynamis’s praise and wanting to prove himself, decides it is time to act on his own. Cycnus misinterprets Dynamis’s views on Pluto and thinks that if he kills Pluto on his own, Dynamis will be proud of Cycnus.

During Pluto and Johannes’s walk, Pluto worries about Johannes tagging along after he has got hurt trying to protect Pluto despite Pluto being the legendary blader. Johannes fires back and says that if anything, he is not doing a good enough job protecting Pluto. Before they can say anymore, Cycnus launches his bey directly at Pluto to take him down. Pluto is about to counter attack to protect himself but before he can, Johannes intervenes and chooses to battle Cycnus instead. Pluto is horrified and knowing how powerful Cycnus is, begs Johannes to not fight him in his stead since Cycnus is a very powerful legendary blader but Johannes doesn’t listen. Cycnus is annoyed and tries to attack Pluto again but is blocked once more by Johannes. Johannes, as Pluto’s bodyguard, refuses to allow any harm to come to Pluto.

As the battle heats up and they throw more and more insults at one another, Cycnus is so fed up, his pride so damaged, that he also threatens to harm Motti, who he has seen at Olympus Corp conversing with Yuki (she is a double agent and works on her own to eventually help out the WBBA later but Cycnus doesn’t know she is actually betraying Olympus). Cycnus hints that Motti is a traitor, but Johannes doesn't really care for that part and tells Cycnus that "No matter what, Pluto and Motti is my family, if she's being stupid then I'll set her straight. Even if she can be an idiot, she is my sister and I won't let a loser puppet like you lay a finger on her". In the end, Johannes wins as Cycnus runs away in shame.

How though? Isn’t Johannes not a legendary blader while Cycnus is? Let me explain. Legendary nladers are indeed more powerful than regular ones, but not by a lot. Regular Bladers still have the potential to defeat legendary bladers if they do not have a strong will or spirit and this is most clearly displayed in Johannes versus Cycnus. Johannes wins because his motivation to protect the people he loves (Motti, Pluto) is far stronger than Cycnus’s one-sided admiration for Dynamis, which isn’t even that strong because his pride hinders him and Rago challenging Cycnus’s beliefs has left Cycnus in a twisted and confused state. Cycnus cannot win because deep down, his blader spirit is next to nothing when compared to Johannes because Cycnus doesn’t know what he really wants for him or Cygnus. Johannes doesn't just protect Pluto because it's his job, or protect Motti because he is obligated to as her brother, but because he genuinely loves them both and wants to protect them of his own volition. Johannes knows exactly what he wants from himself and its to protect the people he loves so he can preserve the things they have.

Johannes versus Cycnus largely affects both the allies and all the villains in their approach in stopping or trying to revive Nemesis.

THE EFFECTS ON OLYMPUS CORP

Dynamis returns from successfully cursing and kidnapping Rago after a rigged battle where Dynamis cheated, and Yuki returns from Beyster Island with the good news that Chris is the final legendary blader they need. The two of them congratulate the other as they are a step closer to reviving Nemesis. All is going well until Cycnus barges in with injuries from his fight with Johannes. Cycnus tells Dynamis everything and apologizes for failure to kill Pluto. Dynamis is enraged that Cycnus acted without consulting him and even tried to kill his main rival.Dynamis calls Cycnus “useless” and an “idiot” for fighting them and still having nothing to show, especially after Atlantis where Dynamis had to bring Rago himself to make up for Cycnus’s first failure. Dynamis has never wanted to kill or purposely cheat against Pluto because as much as he fights with his rival, he also heavily respects him and wants to be the one and only one to defeat him. So when Dynamis hears that Cycnus tried to take him down in such a manner, Dynamis is furious at this act, especially since Cycnus is the legendary blader in the situation and despite trying his hardest, still lost.

Yuki, slightly concerned over Johannes since he is Motti's brother, asks how Cycnus lost to Johannes of all people. Cycnus also then reveals how he threatened Motti the same way he did to Pluto. Yuki has been friends with Motti the whole time outside of work so he feels a lot of concern since he cares for Motti a lot. While Yuki just calls Cycnus an idiot in the room, in reality, he is terrified and worried about putting Motti in danger whenever she goes into the Olympus Corporation building. Even though Yuki never really listened to Motti telling him to stop working for Olympus because he was so dead set loyal to Dynamis before, now he is feeling conflicted. He knows Dynamis would never threaten Motti because she is too much of an “insignificant flea” in his plans to change anything, now he has to worry about Cycnus going too far and hurting his “best friend”. This feeling of doubt and uncertainty lingers inside Yuki until he eventually betrays Dynamis in the end after Nemesis is revived successfully. This doubt also spreads to the Beylin Fist, who also can’t really condone such harming of innocent people (Motti) in such a manner after rumors spread of Cycnus’s failure.

THE EFFECTS ON THE ALLIES

Johannes defeating Cycnus is a huge revelation and realization for the allies because it proves to everyone that it is possible for non-legendary bladers to defeat powered up legendary bladers. Anyone can be a powerful blader, even without bonus legendary powers, because it's about spirit and passion, not just skill and some magic flying rock.

One of the two people who were most affected by their losses against the legendary bladers are Masamune and Tsubasa (Ryuga and Chris respectively). Masamune is the most obvious one and not much changes from canon since King still gives him that sunset speech (with just a tiny bit of adjustment to fit the AU). Tsubasa however, is a different story. Tsubasa was tasked with finding legendary bladers and was kept away from his friends for a period of time. When all the legendary bladers were found and he was not one, he became frustrated with others and himself. Why were people like Cycnus and Ryuga selected as legendary bladers instead of him? Was he not responsible enough, strong enough, did he not have enough spirit? Tsubasa in his disappointed state, is unable to enjoy any of his training sessions because he is starting to base his worth on the fact that he was not a legendary blader. He begins to forget about his blader spirit, until Johannes comes back victorious.

When they first met, Tsubasa did not view Johannes highly as he saw him as overly reckless and chaotic. After Johannes defeats Cycnus however, he gains a new found respect for him. Tsubasa asks Johannes how he did it and beat the impossible. Johannes bluntly responds, “I just won.” Tsubasa tries to find a reasoning for this by asking if Johannes cheated or used some sort of trick but Johannes tells Tsubasa that his reasoning is the sound of someone who is “weak and just tries to find excuses”. Tsubasa yells at him for the insult but Johannes clarifies that he’s not talking about his skill, but his willpower and confidence in himself. Tsubasa still confused, Johannes has to remind Tsubasa on what blading spirit really means. If you already admit to yourself that you can’t fight the legendary bladers, you have already lost. Johannes, not much of a motivational speaker, tells Tsubasa that the title of legendary blader doesn’t mean anything other than their role to form the barrier, and that he is still just much of a powerful blader as the likes of Gingka and Kyoya. Tsubasa realizes that his love for Beyblade does not and should not change just because of a star fragment. Tsubasa later converses with Gingka and when he realizes that Gingka still sees Tsubasa as a worthy rival despite the power difference, Tsubasa finally has his motivation returned. Tsubasa tells himself that when Nemesis is finally defeated, he is going to keep striving for his best and to continue helping out with the Beyblade scene so that others can continue to pursue their dreams too.

Other non-legendary bladers like Toby Zeo, and Benkei also have a boost in motivation, not just in their hopes of saving the world from destruction, but also in the way that it really isn’t impossible for them to eventually catch up to and rival their legendary blader friends. They don’t need to give up on their dreams of being the strongest bladers because they have just as much potential to achieve that title as other people do.

Despite all the recent losses that the protagonists have to suffer through, the group realizes that there is still hope, this hope being their blader spirit and fighting passion. With things finally starting to look up, they all prepare to head off into the end game to stop the revival of Nemesis.

[sky-of-dusk]

I'll post three times a week! I'm currently rewatching MFB so I'm having tons of ideas for posts.

My AO3 (Dusk Sky)

(I also have a SPN side blog, stanning Destiel and Dean Winchester, a little precision for anyone wondering why this single-minded anime blog follows and likes so many SPN stuff.)

Some of my tags for an easier navigation below:

💫 General stuff 💫

Character analysis | Comparison of characters | Scene analysis

The manga | Names | Beys

Astronomy | Japan | Myths | Facts | Animals | Sky

🎥 Searching by episode 🎬

There's two tagging systems for the episodes: the number of the episode in the whole series or the number of the episode according to the season.

For exemple: mfb episode 1 / mfb 1x01 ; mfb episode 52 / mfb 2x01 ; episode 103 / mfb 3x01…

🦁 Kyouya Stuff 🌪

All Kyouya posts

Character analysis | Character's growth

Rich kid Kyouya | Dramatic Kyouya Tategami | TC | Lone lion

Being carefree | Being smart | 🐴 Ginga Stuff 🌠

All Ginga posts

Character analysis |

Sense of humor

💙 All Kyouya and Ginga posts 💚

KyoGin evidences | Them being alike as bladers

⭐ Some other characters ⭐

(The characters not present here this list can be found with their whole name or #mfb [character first name] ; the team with the tag #team [team name])

Nero Konzern (I don't post as much as I'd like about him)

Kakeru Tategami | Gaou Tategami | Yuu Tendou | Nile

Madoka Amano | Hikaru Hasama

✨ Meme 🍔

🎭 Incorrect quotes 🎭

🎨 Drawing 🧩

🌌 Comic Strip ✨

MFB sum-up in two cases | MFB scenes in school AU

The Challenging Ginga Saga | Wild Fang comics | KyoGin comics

[meowstix]

had a dream where a bunch of people were doing a mix between a beyblade tournament and larping (mostly mfb characters but there were others too) except everyone got swept by some dude named troy who looked like the guy on the left in this stock photo i found (but with more cyan/yellow in the outfit)

literally only one person (an olivier cosplayer) was able to beat him. i challenged him right at the end because i got there late but then i remembered i haven't touched a beyblade for over a decade and then i just woke myself up bc it was kind of really awkward.

[qloof]

Top 5 mfb fanfics?

wait fuck this one's hard help

i don't think i can order my favorites all together cus that's a lot to think about so i'll list at least 5 that i rlly like

The Lancer by Irisviel101 has been in my mind a bit !! it's a short sweet thing, i like its sort of commentary on masamune's dynamic with gangan galaxy :]

Wounded Pride by ladylazagna !! comfort characters who have never had a day of comfort in their lives. i love laz's ongoing fic a lot and i love how she writes kyoya. kyoya stop being a bitch challenge (is being achieved through this fic)

Can You Hear Me? by laz, again !! some stuff about tithi yippee !! i love laz's sign language headcanons a lot. tsubasa being the one who teaches sign language alongside yu is so sweet <3

Better Than One by anon who i may or may not know now teehee but i'll keep it that way cus it's not off anon. i may or may not be unwell about this fic . IT'S JUST RLLY SILLYYYYYY !!!!!!!11!! I'm also putting Shekel's secret santa fic A Leaf-Colored Contemplation here :3

Gingka's Also Adopted?! by curedeity !! it's such an interesting concept ?? and the way deity carries it out ?? so neat and cool and i may or may not have teared up a little at some point when reading it