#the spotlight yuya feels like he Has To take

[zxal]

God made yuya and yusaku not exist in the same universe because he knew they would be unstoppable as canon best friends

[paperandhis-paper]

Arc-V Month Day 11: Legacy for the Future

(Is that a motherfucking Jojo reference?)

Ok, so, I've spent most days of @arcvmonth so far gushing about the show, so warning: negativity ahead.

I'm overall mixed on the Legacy characters. I don't think they ruin the show as some people claim, but I happen to have problems with... all of them? There are also positives, ofc, so ANALYSIS TIME!

Crow: he's... fine. His screentime is fine. His role in the plot is fine. Everything about him is just fine. My only real complaint is that I wished Shun had won and gotten another duel with Yuya, but it's whatever. He's really only part of the Lancers because he's a legacy character, as I don't think he's the most interesting Synchro character.

Jack: by far the best Legacy character, Jack somewhat takes the role of rival from Reiji, down to having 3 duels with the protagonist and a 3000 ATK ace. Giving him the role of a mentor is an interesting take on the character, although it was weird going back to 5D's I don't know how people feel about him beating Sergey (I know some people hated that when the episode was first announced), but somehow it works fine? It's an interesting subversion, because you'd think Yuya would be the one to do so, but instead Yuya's role is to be the one to unite the people together. My only problem is that it's... kinda weird that Jack just lets the City remain a shithole. Like, do something my man! I also wonder if Yusei wouldn't have been more fitting for his role, but I understand they didn't want to have the protagonists so Yuya wouldn't be overshadowed.

Kaito: I never cared for Kaito in Zexal (granted, it's been a long while since I've seen it), and Arc-V Kaito has similar issues. Namely, being a bit too powerful. He never has a solo loss, and here's where being a legacy character begins to hurt. He had a reputation for being unbeatable (Tron cheating aside), so the writers know they can't have him lose easily. He even almost beats Yuya! The best thing about him is that he provides a mirror for Shun; he's basically edgy-bird Shun from the beginning, but in some ways worse. He steals spotlight a fair bit, but his most egregious case of this is to another Legacy Character, so whatever.

Speaking of...

Asuka: done dirty, and so unnecessarily. Seriously, let her duel Dennis! Him vs Kaito isn't a TERRIBLE set-up, but she needed a big win so her presence doesn't just feel like fanservice. Her getting carded also sucks, but I get the writers kinda had to (can't have a Ritual duelist face Zarc, after all), plus it gave Yuri some much-needed depth.

But at least she got a win, even if it was against mooks. Unlike...

Edo: oh boy. See, I don't actually have much issues with his arc. It works, so long as you ignore that it has basically nothing to do with Edo's character in GX. No, what I wanna talk about this is his duel with Yuya.

I'm gonna be blunt: he should've won that duel. For one, he didn't get a single win in the series (tbf, his opponents were strong, but still), but most importantly, earlier on we saw with Kaito vs Shun that even if you lose you can still reach your opponent. And Edo got development himself by accepting Entertainment Dueling and grabbing an Action Card. The fact that Yuya wins by grabbing an Action Card of his own just rubs salt on the wound. Plus, I just like the idea of Yuya never beating an arc villain (other than Zarc, sorta), his role instead being another (then again, I guess then people would use that to claim Yuya is a weak protagonist and whatnot, so maybe it was for the best).

Also, both him and Kaito interrupting Yugo and Yuri's duel is dumb. Saving that rant for later.

So yeah. Legacy Characters were a mixed bag. I think the writers struggled with giving them the prominence they deserved without outshining Arc-V's massive cast. That's a very fine line. But hey— we got Legacy Support! That's always a good thing, right?

[pendulum-sonata]

6, 12 and 18 for the choose violence ask game if you're still interested in doing so.

Yeah, sure! I'm still doing them! Sorry if I took a little too long ^^'

6. Which ship fans are the most annoying?

Mmmm, this is a tough one, not sure if there's a specific ship in Arc V where the most annoying fans are...

No wait, I just remembered, I think any configuration of the dragon boys sameface shipping are the most annoying, at least the one for Yuri and Yugo were, from what I remember, not even necessarily about how much they talked about it, like, I get it, you get a new ship and that's all you wanna talk about.

But their tendency to talk shit about either of the girls, specially Rin, for supposedly getting in the way, was incredibly annoying.

12. The unpopular character that you actually like and why more people should like them

Honestly, I know it's gonna sound like repeating myself, but despite that he's more appreciated now than her was before, Reiji is still one of my favorites and so underestimated, that people even deny that he's one of the main characters along with Yuya and Yuzu.

People should like him because despite the lack of spotlight caused by his VA's busy schedule, I'm pretty impressed with the story they managed to tell about him, the one of a boy who in appearance, has everything anyone could aspire to be: riches, status, skills, intelligence etc. and a lot of that is inherited from his family, but another thing he inherits is a sense of responsibility, guilt, anger and let's face it, his own flavor of trauma.

There's so much subtext to his story, you could even make argument about his whole deal being about restorative justice rather than the vengeance story many people in the fandom wanted him to be about.

18. It's absolutely criminal that the fandom has been sleeping on...

Because there's so many people that hate the ending, I have seldom seen any fics or artworks that take place after the finale, and there's so much people could write about from that finale, that doesn't have to do with some sort fo "fix fic" about the counterparts or whatever.

They could talk about how people adjust to living in the same dimension, they could talk about how dueling changes now that everyone has access to different types of summoning, they could talk about how the main characters feel about things, how their lives change or don't change idk.

They could talk about how Reira finally gets to grow up in a loving family, about whether or not the bonds of the lancers will endure after the finale.

It's really a shame and waste imo.

[addictedtomanga]

Shoujo manga recommendations - love triangle

1.     Ao Haru Ride

While most girls desire popularity among boys, Futaba Yoshioka wants the exact opposite. After attracting many admirers back in middle school which resulted in her being shunned by her female classmates, she decided that high school will be her chance to revamp her image. Therefore, she starts acting unfeminine and indifferent to boys, allowing her to make some “friends” along the way.

Little does Futaba know, her life will take another drastic turn when her first love, Kou Mabuchi, returns after his sudden disappearance years ago in middle school. Despite his extended absence, the fond memories they shared together still linger in her mind, and she wishes to return to those days. But she realizes that the sweet, gentle boy of the past has completely vanished, and in his place stands someone cold and pessimistic. While he admits that her feelings for him back then were mutual, he warns that they can never go back to the past, as everything, including him, has changed.

2.     Beauty Pop

Although a truly gifted hairstylist, Kiri Koshiba has no interest in using her talent to pursue fame and fortune, unlike the three popular boys in the "Scissors Project" at school. Determined to become the best makeover team in Japan, they give showy makeovers to handpicked girls. As much as Kiri tries to shy away from the Scissors Project spotlight, she finds herself responding to beauty's call...

3.      Blue Sky Playground

On a cold day, Mirita finds discovers a hidden room with a kotatsu (a table that keeps one warm) inside. The kotatsu belongs to two of the most popular and handsome twin brothers in school. Both immediately kick Mirita out. However, Mirita becomes even more determined to get back into that room. What love triangle will commence?

4.    Boku kara Kimi ga Kienai  

Hotaru managed to get in the same high school where Haruna-sensei teaches to see him again! However, on her first day there, she meets a very unpleasant guy who looks just like her beloved sensei...?

5.      Dear!

Rei, Kazuma and Banri are close childhood friends. Rei, who's better than any guy, the cool and smart Kazuma and Banri who's mischievous and bright have the perfect balance. It's normal for the three of them to be together all the time and without thinking of themselves as men and woman they're just together. But something happens after which Rei starts to think of Banri as a "man", so the relation of the three changes...?!

6.       Faster than a Kiss

After losing their parents, Fumino and her brother hop from one relative to another. Getting tired of all those moves, she finally decides to quit school and work to support her brother on her own. As they sat on a park bench, her teacher appears in front of her and agrees to her demands of marrying and supporting both her and her brother!! Is he serious or just playing around...?!

7.      Haru Matsu Bokura

The timid and reserved Mitsuki Haruno seeks her dream sociable life at high school. But despite her best efforts, her ineptitude to speak her mind impedes her from befriending anyone. Nonetheless, while working at a cafe one day, she has a fateful encounter with her school's four idolized basketball players—Towa Asakura, Rui Miyamotoi, Ryuuji Tada, and Kyousuke Wakamiya. At first glance, these four heartthrobs come off as arrogant individuals, responsible for invading her cafe's safe haven. Soon after though, as they uphold their promise of keeping her workplace a secret, Mitsuki starts to see them in a new light.

Hence begins an improbable friendship between Mitsuki and the boys, as her days of solitude finally comes to an end. However, things aren't always so simple—with her heart waning toward Asakura and the female students green with envy, is there a chance this friendship could blossom into something more?

8.      Hirunaka no Ryuusei 

Suzume Yosano has spent the entire 15 years of her life in the countryside, so when her parents decide to move overseas for work and leave her with her uncle in Tokyo, she finds herself in a whole new environment. On the way to her uncle's house, however, she gets lost and faints.

Waking up safely at her uncle's house, she learns that a strange man had carried her there and that he happens to be an acquaintance of her uncle. Moreover, when Suzume goes to her new school for the first time, she discovers that the weird man in question, named Satsuki Shishio, is actually her homeroom teacher! Now, Suzume must adapt to her new school and make friends, since her blossoming high school life in the city has just begun!

9.    Hoshi to Kuzu - Don't Worry, Be Happy   

Anzu is poor but very ambitious and aims for a bright future. Her first step is to be student council president but that chance is destroyed by the equally ambitious and egocentric Yamabuki. She just has to settle for being the vice-president.

10.  Iya da Nante Iwasenai 

Anzu currently works part-time at a beach house however when it comes to serving male customers, she can't help but be cold and shy. When she accidentally spills a drink on one of them, a male co-worker saves her who ends up being her childhood friend Rei. Anzu is happy to reconnect with Rei, however, Rei might be after a bit more...?

11.   Kaichou wa Maid-sama

Seika High School was an all-boys school, but it has since turned co-ed. Misaki Ayuzawa is the first female student council president of the school, eventually earning the nickname of the "Demon President" due to her mastery of Aikido and imposed iron rule.

However, Misaki harbors an embarrassing secret—she has to work at a maid café to support her family. If anybody from her school was to find out, her reputation would be utterly destroyed. And after Takumi Usui—the most popular boy at school—discovers her secret, that might just happen.

12.  Kaoru-kun to Hana no Mori 

Kaoru is as kind as a prince towards girls. She would love to met men stronger than her! And then, two men appeared in front of her...

13.  Katakoi no Tsuki

Kurumi likes Souta-kun, but what happens when Kurumi witnesses Souta-Kun hugging one of her friends? Could Souta-kun already have someone he likes or is Kurumi misunderstanding? What can she do if that girl is her friend, too!?

14.  Katakoi Triangle

Sekiya-san of the cultural library has an unrequited love for Yuuki-kun. The one who cares about Sekiya-san is the popular Kasai-kun, who is also Yuuki-kun's friend! And, what's this? Yuuki-kun is rooting for Kasai-kun?! It seems that everyone's feelings are one-sided...or are they?

15.  Kimi to Koi no Tochuu 

Just when I thought it'd start with you, you disappeared; I would've never thought this... Yuna has lost trust in love after her first boyfriend Takumi broke up with her. Shiina-kun from her class has already confessed to her twice and now finally she approached onto love another time. But Takumi appears in front of her!! What will the swaying Yuna do!?

16.   Kyoudai Gokko

Growing up, Takara Rio has always wanted siblings. So when her parents decide to move overseas without her and tells her she will be living with two people around her age, she's cautiously optimistic. But they turn out to be brothers who fight like cats and dogs. Is this what having siblings is like?

17.  Last Game 

Nothing is beyond Naoto Yanagi, heir to the Yanagi business conglomerate. Idolized for his athletic and intellectual competence, looks and wealth, Naoto lived like a king during his elementary school days—then entered Mikoto Kujou, a plain, gloomy-looking transfer student.

Due to her low financial status, Naoto was initially apathetic towards Mikoto. But despite having just arrived at his school, she completely eclipsed him in everything by consistently scoring top marks in exams and placing first in athletic events. After a brief confrontation with her that left him shocked, Naoto vowed to outdo her no matter the cost.

Ten years later, they are now students attending the same college. Having failed to defeat Mikoto throughout middle and high school, Naoto decides they will have one last game: if he can make Mikoto fall in love with him and then break her heart, it will be his victory. However, he finds himself falling in love with her instead...

18.  Last Notes 

Haru and Aki are the masters of the branch store - an old-looking and very unusual shop. It sells only one thing: a special kind of incense that, when burned, allows the user to see and speak with the spirit of the dead person that appears in the smoke. Every customer has a different reason for calling up the dead, and how they use this unusual opportunity is up to them...

19.  Love Berrish 

15 year-old Yuya Fukushima has always wanted to live on her own, in an inn next to her school. This new dorm of hers, the Strawberry Tree Dorm, turns out to be a place with weird people -- a girl that touches her chest out of the blue, a guy with one of the shortest tempers ever. BUT the good thing is, there's a really handsome and nice guy that she fell in love with instantly! Also, not to mention a crazy cat who adores him (looks can be deceiving...). Yuya's life has just became much more interesting...

20.   Mata Ashita

Towa's always been shy around guys, despite being a total tomboy. This has crushed her chances of ever having a boyfriend, but a perhaps fateful encounter on the first day of high school might lead to love? But will it be with the surprisingly kind "angelic" delinquent, or the popular yet secretly "devilish" prince?!

21.  Momo Raba 

Chieri (Cherry) was living an ordinary life, until her sister Ichigo (Strawberry) suddenly left her child Momo (Peach) on Chieri's doorstep. Momo is an infant; how is Chieri supposed to take care of a baby while still in high school!? To make matters even more frustrating, two guys are fighting for Chieri's love...!

22.   Monokuro Shounen Shoujo

Kureha Mimachi, a 15-year-old girl, has just transferred into Shiritsu Kenhono High School. However, there is something weird about this school, it is actually a school where the Princes and Princesses of the beast-kind go to! Even though Kureha is human, she is there as a way to help the students lead their lives peacefully with humans and has the role as the "rabbit". Will she be able survive without being eaten by the students? Only time and her hidden bodyguards will be able to answer that...

23.   Ouran High School Host Club

At Ouran High School, an academy where only the children of the rich and powerful attend, there exists a club consisting of the most elite of the student body: the legendary Host Club. Within the club's room, six beautiful, bored boys spend their time entertaining equally beautiful and bored girls.

Haruhi Fujioka, a poor scholarship student, has no interest in the Host Club—until she breaks a valuable vase in their clubroom. After being mistaken for a boy, Haruhi is forced by Kyouya Ootori to work for the Host Club to repay her debt. Tamaki Suou, the princely leader of the club, eagerly takes her under his wing to teach her the ways of the host. Things, however, are never quite so simple with the Host Club around. Even the most mundane events can turn into huge spectacles with the likes of prankster twins Hikaru and Kaoru Hitachiin, stoic Takashi Morinozuka, and sweet Mitsukuni "Hunny" Haninozuka. The crazy adventures of the Host Club are just beginning, and Haruhi must learn how to survive in the glitzy world of the hosts.

24.  Parfait Tic

Fuuko is a happy and cheerful girl. One day, two cousins, Daiya and Ichi, move into the apartment upstairs. Cold Ichi and mischievous Daiya gave a very bad first impression. All three are going to the same school as well. How will Fuuko's high school life turn out?

25.  Renren Zakari 

The day of her graduation, while she was lost and end up on the infirmary, a girl met by coincidence a good looking boy. But she was so panicked that the young man started to make fun of her...?

26.  Rockin Heaven 

Sawa applies to Heaven's Wing Academy, thinking she would look cute in the uniform. But she never expected the academy to be a previously all-boys' school! And the head honcho of the school, the class president himself doesn't seem to like her one bit and takes no pains to hide it. At first, adjusting to life at the academy is tough. Sawa is bullied and teased, and the boys in the class even throw her new shoes in the water. While attempting to retrieve her shoes, she falls into the water and is unexpectedly saved by Ran, who up until this point has made her life hell. The newfound gentleness in Ran intrigues her, and she finds herself falling for him. What will her days be like for the rest of her school life?

27. Saiouji Kyoudai ni Komarasareru no mo Warukunai  

Satou Fuuka is an orphan. Her aunt, who was her guardian, absconded in the night, leaving her with no money. Her parents wanted her to go to school, so she was looking for a job to cover her school expenses and rent (plus living expenses, though she didn't mention it). She goes to be interviewed for a part-time house helper job but is rejected before she can say anything, because the guy offering the job is the eldest for 4 brothers and it's an all-male household. She pours out her story, so he takes pity on her (even though he'd pointed out that she can't really take a part-time job if she doesn't have a guardian) and offers the job as a live-in position. However, he has one condition: she's supposed to disguise herself so his brothers don't take an interest in her. Her disguise: lots of towels around her body, so she looks fat; makeup so she looks old (39); plus her hair is all loose and she's wearing glasses.

28.   Sekirara ni Kiss

Chitose has always done well wearing her face like a mask: always smiling, always cute. She feels complete whenever she put it on because it's built to hide her unrefined self: no one hates her, and no one makes fun of her. But after meeting a cute boy who is instinctively more annoyed by her mask than her real self, can Chitose change and make people accept her for who she really is?

29.  Shiawase Kissa Sanchoume 

Uru is a very short girl and is constantly mistaken for an elementary school kid, but despite that, she is ridiculously strong and decides to live by herself after her mother gets remarried. She ends up working at a small cafe with two rather unique co-workers, Shindou, who acts gruff and intimidating, but who is really a nice guy who loves to make cakes and pies and the like, and Ichirou, who is really good-looking but who instantly falls asleep when he gets hungry and doesn't wake up again until he's force-fed something? What will the future bring to them?

30.  Stardust Wink 

I’m Anna. I’m 14 years old and I’ve just entered the ninth grade. Sou and Hinata, who live in the same apartment complex as me, are my childhood friends and we’re all the same age. I thought that from now on we’d become even closer friends, but then Sou suddenly did that to me…!!

31.  Strobe Edge 

Having no experience in romance, the vibrant Ninako curiously explores the meaning of what "love" really is, and is surprised to feel a colorful range of emotions as she grows closer to the school heartthrob, the quiet yet gentle Ren, who also happens to be involved in a longtime relationship. With every intention of keeping her head held high, Ninako prepares to face the mental pain of this one-sided love that she had allowed to take root, facing a series of trials that would either contribute to her growth as a headstrong woman, or break her as it did with other girls.

32.  Suki desu Suzuki-kun

Suzuki Hikaru, Hoshino Sayaka, Itou Chihiro and Suzuki Shinobu are all new students who have just entered the same middle school. Sayaka is a shy girl who secretly loves acting. Hikaru is an energetic boy who loves basketball. Incidentally, he shares the same last name with Shinobu, a popular rich boy who would be perfect if not for his rotten personality. Chihiro is Hikaru's childhood friend and has long had a crush on him. On the day of the opening ceremony, Hikaru happens to witness Sayaka acting out the lines of a drama on the rooftop and is instantly captivated. Upon seeing Hikaru getting along with Sayaka, Chihiro's chest begins to ache. When Shinobu sees this, he is overcome by a strange emotion and his heart starts beating faster... Unbeknownst to the four, this is the beginning of their magnificent love story; one that would last years to come.

33.  Taiyou no Ie 

After her mother abandoned her and her father remarried, high schooler Mao Motomiya is left feeling like she doesn't have a place where she belongs. One night, her childhood friend Hiro Nakamura finds her in a shrine eating cheap convenience store food and offers to take her to a restaurant. Their subsequent heart to heart leads to Hiro suggesting that Mao move in with him. To Hiro who has lived apart from his younger siblings all these years after their parents passed away, bringing his family back together in the once-lively Nakamura home begins with the first step of giving Mao a loving place to belong. When Mao reluctantly accepts his invitation, she is surprised at how easy it is to settle in with her longtime friend. Now she must deal not only with mending her relationship with her father and helping the oldest Nakamura brother attain his goal, but also her growing feelings for Hiro.

34.   The Maid at My House

Runako is studying hard to someday succeed as owner of her family's maid dispatching service company. One day, a request comes in from an entertainment production company and shockingly, it's for their super-popular star, Seirei Moroboshi! But could it be that the image he projects on the TV is far different than his true secret face...?!

35.  Tonari no Koigataki 

Hiro-kun and Icchan are both very important childhood friends to Akane. She thought they would always and forever be good friends, but...

36.  Tsubasa to Hotaru 

Tsubasa to Hotaru follows 15-year-old Tsubasa Sonokawa, a young student—and a renowned stalker? After one very romantic gesture by a popular upperclassman, she falls head over heels for who she believes to be her one true love. Unfortunately, love can be deceiving, as her feelings are soon proven to be one-sided; the upperclassman directly tells her that she's annoying and that she needs to stop bothering him. How's that for some tough love? Shortly after this horrific heartbreak, her good friend Yuri suffers from a sprained wrist, making it impossible for her to continue her position as the basketball team's manager. After some coaxing on Yuri's part, Tsubasa decides to take on the role in her place. This may be the perfect opportunity for Tsubasa to move on and forget about her unrequited love. On Tsubasa's first day as a manager, the team's shooting guard Aki Hidaka saves her from being hit by a ball. Is this another fateful encounter? Or just a random, meaningless event? One thing is for certain: Tsubasa's days will never be the same again.

37.   Uwasa no Midori-kun

Midori Yamate is a 15 year-old girl and is very much a tomboy. When she was young, Midori meets a boy called Tsukasa Hino, who came to the island she lives on for a holiday. He teaches her to play soccer and she falls in love with the sport. Midori is inspired by Tsukasa and continues to play soccer in hopes that they would meet again someday. When they do meet again Tsukasa does something unforgivable. Determined to defeat Tsukasa on the soccer field Midori enrolls in an all boy high school.

38.  Yagami-kun wa, Kyou mo Ijiwaru

 Just by talking to the famous Yagami-kun, Shizuku's high school life has become hard even from the start—!?

39.  Yumemiru Taiyou

While loitering in the park, Shimana Kameko, who intended to run away from home and skip school, meets a suspicious man in a kimono. This man, who had been locked out of his house, offers Shimana a place to stay. However, he requests she fulfill three conditions in exchange for her tenancy!?

[grandducktale]

“All Yet Seems Well” - Game of Thrones, Dexter, YGO, and the legitimately troubling trend and implication of “the problem play’s” re-emergence in pop culture

So first off, spoilers, naturally. Gonna be talking tragedy here. Also, cringe warning. I’m going to use mostly anime here. Kid cartoons, even.  But there’s a point to all this. If you were fans of Dexter or the television series “Game of Thrones”, any show that had more than anything an “unsatisfying finale” you might be able to pick up what I’m putting down.

What is a tragedy? The definitions vary, but it is a troubling or melancholic story with an unhappy ending. 

A Tragic Hero is easy enough to define. Hamlet from Hamlet, and Spike Spiegel from Cowboy Bebop. These two men are tragic because they pass away, and are unable to fully protect what they hold dear. But... I wouldn’t say they’re truly tragic. Don’t get me wrong, I wouldn’t want to be either of them, but Spike Spiegal and Hamlet do to an extent accomplish some of their goals, and go out in a blaze of glory, score a moral victory, something.

(Pictured Above: Spike saying “Bang” as he bleeds out after killing his nemesis and destroying half a criminal empire in a wild one man blaze of glory)

This post is not about those characters. This post is not even about tragedy, necessary. This post is about problems. Problem plots, problem characters, and problematic implications. The title of this post is “All Yet Seems Well”, because the shows and the characters I am about to discuss are highly reminiscient of Shakespeare’s “Problem Plays.”

To start, let me bring up the character of Shouzu Hiiragi from Yu-Gi-Oh Arc-V(a cartoon about children playing competitive card games Konami makes to sell trading cards). Arc-V is basically the “problem play” of YGO, if said play had a caged gorilla break out and steal the spotlight for the last third of the performance. “Problem Play” is a vernacular used to refer to three of Shakespeare’s plays that couldn’t quite be pegged into tragedy or comedy, that provoked discussion either about the plot’s structure, the means used to resolve the problem, or both. For those not even slightly into Shakespeare, I’ve always viewed the operetta The Yeomen of the Guard as Gilbert and Sullivan’s “Problem Play”, so to speak, though Yeomen might as well be a straight up tragedy relative to Gilbert and Sullivan’s other works. 

But what makes a “Problem Play” a “problem play”, precisely? Well, since we’re talking about YGO Arc-V, lets go to Act V of one of Shakespeare’s “Problem Plays”, All’s Well That Ends Well. Act V, scene three, to be precise. 

King: Let us from point to point this story know, To make the even truth in pleasure flow: If thou beest yet a fresh uncropped flower, Choose thou thy husband, and Ile pay thy dower. For I can guesse, that by thy honest ayde, Thou keptst a wife her selfe, thy selfe a Maide. Of that and all the progresse more and lesse, Resoluedly more leasure shall expresse: All yet seemes well, and if it end so meete, The bitter past, more welcome is the sweet.

So to understand the “problem” with the above(besides finding a more contemporary translation and supplementing that with sparknotes, tvtropes, and google), one must understand the gist of the plot of “All’s Well That Ends Well.”

Basically, the protagonist of the play, a common girl by the name of Helena, has just prevailed in her desire to marry the love of her life, the highborne Ward of France, Bertram. The audience and the reader should in theory rejoice in such a moment. Helena was given the ability to choose her husband as a reward for saving the ill King, and though she picked Bertram and stipulated that he did not have to marry her, and though Bertram did not directly reject her but instead provided her with two nigh impossible tasks that required guile, intelligence, and strength to prevail, something just seems off. (Perhaps this is why the King says “All Yet Seems Well)

What is it that is off? Is it that Helena was for whatever reason the only one in France capable of curing the King? Is it that for someone as skilled and cunning  as Helena, telling Bertram he doesn’t have to marry her is pointless? Is it Bertram’s own psychological manipulation, to the point that even if these two people married and truly did love each other, that their happiness is a righteous person’s misery? That doubt, that uncertainty, the vague feeling that runs contrary to the overt, happy plot is what makes up a “Problem Play.” 

Shozu Hiiragi is tragic not because of a vague sense of malice or villainy inherent in his character like Helena. No, in fact, he is an authentic version of the “Noble Commoner” facade that makes Helena so problematic. YGO Arc-V is about a kid named Yuya trying to make it as an entertainer after his father left him at a very young age, vanishing into thin air. Yuya was bullied severely, and his father was supportive and this larger than life figure. Naturally, his abrupt disappearance was a traumatic event for Yuya.

Yuya compensates for this disappearance and his past by playing Pagliacci, a sad clown. The Pagliacci thing aside, the show makes it quite clear in the first three episodes that Yuya holds on so tightly to his identity as an entertainer because of the absence created by his father’s disappearance

Now before I get to Shouzu Hiiragi, I have to talk about Yuzu.  Yuya’s childhood friend and sweetheart is a girl named Yuzu Hiiragi. 

Shouzou Hiiragi is a lifetime friend and operator of Yushou’s entertainer school.  To summarize without being too spoilery, the audience eventually finds out that both Yuya and Yuzu are alot more important than they seem, and that they sort of just... appeared one day as babies. This is where Shouzu starts to become tragic, since we learn that not only did he raise a child that wasn’t his, he did so as a single father

 So Shouzu was second banana to Yushou, but he was an entertainer of some renown. He gave it up so he could raise his adopted child, and later on, act as the operator of “You-Show Duel School”, a school named after Yusho but ran by Shouzu since Yushou disappeared.

Now there’s a lot of issues with Arc-V. A lot, a lot, a lot, a lot. I am focusing on Shouzu but there’s so much to talk about with how this series has a lot of problems that its tone clashes far too hard with. But I’ll show a meme image out of context for the heck of it. 

I focus on Shouzu because he is the legitimate avenue towards Yuya and the show’s main conflict of balancing entertainment with legitimate hurt, dangerous conflict, and immense suffering and pain. He is a man who does good and puts his ambition aside out of alturism to start, but more than that, he is a genuine father figure to Yuya despite all that is on his plate. 

Like his costume of flame suggests, Shouzu is hot-blooded and passionate. As the plot progresses, Yuya struggles with doing what is right, being a good entertainer, preserving his father’s legacy, and a whole bunch of things. The advice of his father, Yusho, and the advice of his mother, Yoko, is to “smile when he feels like crying” 

This advice isn’t bad, but it is a crutch and a mantra for Yuya, one the direction of the show itself portrays as unhealthy and stunted. (When Yuya cries, he tends to wear his goggles so as to not let it show). So let’s analyze a sequence near the beginning of Arc-V’s 140+ episode. Yuya had obtained a special power like any Campbell Hero, but his rival, Reiji Akaba managed to copy said power in a duel against him(Which Yuya won, anyways albeit due to Reiji having bigger things to deal with)

Being bullied and having a traumatic past, then obtaining a special power unique to him that allows him to win duels, and then LOSING that special power, gets to Yuya a lot, even if he is plenty competent as a duelist.

So he runs away in tears.

Shozou hits Yuya with some facts about how naturally, if a technique or special ability in a game was discovered that gave someone an edge, it would only be a matter of time before other competitors used it too. But Shouzou then challenges Yuya to a duel, and instead of telling him to smile instead of cry, instead re-frames Yuya’s situation of losing his unique ability in a postive and constructive manner

A lot goes on in Arc-V, but the pendulum that Yuya swings back and forth on is the legacy of his father and becoming his own person. Shozou, who is Yuya’s de facto father, provides a path towards the latter. 

But... to make a long story short, Shozou is forgotten about. Yuya keeps chasing after his father, and the lesson he learned from Shozou is forgotten. Arc-V, which if you haven’t been able to tell from my essay on the main character’s girlfriend’s dad has an amazing ensemble cast, and spends 50 episodes developing these great ensemble characters.

But in the next 50 episodes, the ensemble characters fade into the background, and Yuya takes center stage only to repeatedly just smile and want to be like his father.

And in the last 50 episodes, the show gets downright mean spirited. A likable ninja character that has the design of a generic henchmen is killed off unceremoniously, an unlikable legacy character manages to shrug off that fate with ease. 

All the while, the show keeps this upbeat tone of optimism and Yuya triumphing.

And Yuya does triumph, he does save the day, but it’s all wrong. 

I am only skimming the surface here, but the reaction I saw and was invoked in me about Arc-V’s ending was the same reaction I saw with Game of Thrones’s ending.

Something along the lines of “I don’t mind a bad ending, so long as it is tonally consistent and not a confused mess!” 

Were this sentiment unique to Arc-V that’d be it. But it is applies to the end of Game of Thrones, Dexter, Netflix’s Watchmen, damn near EVERYTHING that was popular this past decade. This trend of something having a strong beginning and then fading into tonal nonsense, to the point that the viewers either speculate on finding the “true” “hidden” meaning of a piece

, or worse yet, an active desire for a bad or evil ending, so long as that evil at least makes sense

So I have a bad feeling about all of this. Not just because a series I liked went down the toilet, but because, well, remove all these other mainstream series with promising beginnings that nosedove into the ground and crashed and burned, and what’s the most recent universally acclaimed show left?

That’s it. Breaking Bad. A nihilistic story of personal triumph at the destruction of everything else. Which has its place. But with Arc-V, with Game of Thrones, with all these shows, I see a trend of the absurd entering and ruining a show, which leaves people craving order, even if that order is horrible.

I mentioned Gilbert and Sullivan before, so I’ll end this rambling essay with a quote from a song  from the Mikado that was allegedly almost cut from it.

“ My object all sublime I shall achieve in time — To let the punishment fit the crime — The punishment fit the crime; And make each prisoner pent Unwillingly represent A source of innocent merriment! Of innocent merriment!”

The Mikado is a tale about the absurd and chaotic, the same absurdity that seems to be turning audiences to darker, more orderly, things. But the Mikado showcases both the trouble of the absurd, and the genuine opportunity and chance for grace the absurd provides. 

In my opinion, Problem Play Plots are actually tragedies more tragic than regular tragedies. Borderline horror, even. They bring up problems, and the easiest solution to those problems seems to be that of tragic selfish scheming. But perhaps that needn’t actually be the case. That a benevolent and convincing solution to these problem plots exist - one people can accept, and be inspired by, in a good way. 

And if that can’t be done, if the trauma and chaos of these shows serves no point, then the Gordian Knot of problem play plots must be cut. The damage they have done must be acknowledged, the mystery boxes resolved or done away with entirely.

[real-life-pine-tree]

Seed of Darkness: A Shocking Discovery (14/?)

All it takes it one bad seed to spoil the whole bunch. An AU collab with @violetganache42​​.

Back at the Center Duel Field, an uproar of cheers surged from the audience as the evening hours gradually dwindled into night time. Bright, opalescent confetti rained from the sky, red, light blue, and purple streaks steadily curved all across the air, pink, icy blue, yellow, and green sparks danced around in every direction, blue, green, yellow, and red spotlights waved in every corner of the stadium, and to top it all off, there were two holographic projections of Duel Monsters: one depicted a fairy who used her wand to cast out various shapes while the other was a dragon flying by and blasting a fire attack from its mouth. On the screens, the audience could see Nico standing in the center of the field underneath a spotlight and getting ready to make the big announcement that everyone has been dying to hear.

“The Battle Royale is now over!” he announced. “They’ve taken on fiery flames, icy icebergs, jungly jungles, and rockous ruins, but nothing could stop them from taking center stage on our center court! I know we had some technical difficulties and couldn’t watch the duels in their entireties. Sorry, but no refunds, folks.” He chuckled at the last remark.

Not far from him, he could see the Duelists who have made it through the Battle Royale arriving at the entrance to the Duel Field: Yuya, Julia, Moon Shadow, Sylvio, Gong, Yuto, Shay, Yuri, Sora, and Dennis. “So are you that curious to see who made it through to the next round?” Nico asked before receiving a continuous acclamation in response. “And here they are now. Give it up for these ten great dynamic Duelists!”

Nico paused and quickly did a double take to see if he counted correctly. Ten Duelists? Yep. There was indeed a total of ten Duelists. He assumed there was supposed to be eight in all based on the tournament brackets for the next round. Since when did Yuya have two lookalikes? And why were Julia and Sora part of the roster? Little did he and everyone else know was there was a major reason why there was a larger amount of finalists, which would be explained shortly.

"There's Yuya right in front!" Tate commented.

Allie frowned slightly. "But where's Zuzu?" she wondered.

"I think I lost my appetite," Yoko complained. "Reed didn't make it."

Skip was also concerned. "Allie's right," he agreed. "I can't see Zuzu."

Tate also realized something else was off with the results. "How come Sylvio's down there?" he wondered.

"I thought that guy lost to Yuya in the first round," Fredrick recalled.

"He's not the only one who lost a duel," Yoko added. "Sora and Julia lost too."

They weren't the only ones surprised with the results. With the ten Duelists in the arena, other people started to voice concern.

"Hey Sylvio, did your dad pull some strings?!"

"Why are there three Yuyas?!"

"I thought that Sora guy lost!"

"I don't know what the Akabas did, but we ain't buyin' it!"

"That Gem-Knight girl shouldn't be here!"

Luckily before things got too restless, Henrietta appeared on the monitor. "Ladies and gentlemen, I have an important announcement to make on behalf of the Leo Corporation," she said. "I ask that you remain calm, as this may come as a great shock. Effective immediately, the Arc League Championship will be suspended indefinitely."

But that only made the crowd even more restless. "There's certainly no easy way to say this," Henrietta continued. "The reason for suspending the championship is that during the Battle Royale, an enemy force from another dimension has invaded our world. We learned some extremely disturbing facts about how this group operates. As organizers of this tournament, the Leo Institute feels it's absolutely essential to reveal the truth about what's happening, no matter how ominous and unsettling that truth is. To invade the dimension we live in, the invaders sent in their army known as the Reserved. When we discovered this, we found out this alien force shut down all live broadcasts of the Battle Royale for reasons unknown."

The crowd panicked.

"Invaders?!"

"From another dimension?!"

"What's this reversed stuff?!"

"They gotta be pulling our Duel Disks!"

"No way!"

"What's with the lies?!"

"I understand the cause for doubt," Henrietta said. "But if you don't believe me, see for yourselves."

On the screens, it transitioned to the footage that was cut off throughout the Battle Royale’s duration. First off was a clip showcasing Ashley, Bram, and Carl all succumbing to the dark powers of the Reverse against their will despite the fact they didn’t duel against a Reversed Duelist, let alone the Void; fortunately, the part where it showed the Void controlling Yuya as it used its powers was cut off…even though he still couldn’t help but feel ashamed of what “he” did to those knights.

The audience, on the other hand, were less than ashamed though. A couple of girls had to turn around and shield their eyes just to not stare at the horrific sight of this catastrophe. A mother also had to cover her son’s eyes with her hand as a way to make him less traumatized.

“That’s…horrible,” a man with spiky brown hair said.

“They all got possessed!” another brown-haired man exclaimed.

The montage continued, much to the horror of those watching, but it was the only way for them to know the truth. They saw a lot of the Reverse Academy soldiers initiating their plan to defeat the participating Duelists, who would go on to defeat more in order to join them. Dennis and Sora watched on as they prayed that Celina “liberating” Zuzu wouldn’t be revealed to the public, and so far, those chances were looking pretty good. Unfortunately, the odds of a specific moment from the Battle Royale getting unveiled was undoubtedly certain for Yoko. Seeing Reed unable to beat Syrus and his Joker monsters was unbearable enough, but combining that with him using his Reversed powers to convert Trout proved to be more than she could handle. Her appetite wasn’t just lost; it was spoiled beyond compare.

Meanwhile, at Paradise City’s hospital, Kit was lying on a bed in the recovery room. Julia and Dipper weren’t kidding about how severe his injuries were after his duel with Iggy; his left leg was indeed put in a cast, two of his ribs had to be surgically implanted with plates and screws to stabilize them, and worst of all, his hands were coated in stainless steel pins inside of the bones because they had sustained terrible nerve damage from the brute force of Iggy’s attacks. However, that didn’t stop him from catching glimpses of the Arc League Championship, which he was able to catch just in time to see the true intentions of the tournament and many Duelists getting Reversed.

"The hell..." Kit muttered. "Is that why Dipper went missing?" He gritted his teeth. "Don't tell those Reverse creeps got to him!"

"It's shocking, but this is the way our enemies tried to implement their cruel plan," Henrietta continued. "Once they defeat their opponents in duels, they use supernatural possession to infect them over to their side."

"You lose a duel and become...infected?" Skip asked. "And it's all over?"

"Can all this really be real?" Tate asked.

"It can't be..." Allie whimpered.

"Ah!" Fredrick gasped. "It's horrifying!"

"But do not despair," Henrietta reassured. "We were quite fortunate. Because during the Battle Royals, our heroic Duelists were able to completely repel the inhuman invaders. We owe them our thanks."

The monitors cut to another set of footage right as she finished speaking; this time, it featured the instances of the ten Duelists giving it their all to defeat as many Reversed Duelists as possible. The first clips were the climatic battles that took place in the Volcano Zone. Yuri and Starving Venom fending off their opponents and performing a dual midair attack with Yuto and Dark Rebellion, Sylvio activating Abyss Actor - Evil Heel’s effect to help Julia free Dipper from the Reverse’s clutches, Yuya taking on Moon Shadow to obtain a beneficial ally in the Universal Joker War, you name it. Every single moment captured for the audience to see.

Those who were looking away or covering their eyes caught snippets of the duels, and with their sight begging to get a better view of it, they gradually found the courage to observe those resisting the invasion. The combined valiant efforts of the finalists, preliminary contestants, and those who didn’t take part in the tournament to purge everyone from their demonic prisons was visually like a contagious plague. One by one, which became more and more until everyone in the stadium marveled at the highlights of the Battle Royale’s last few hours, the audience members soon felt the fear and panic bubbling from within dissipate, relaxing their bodies as their initial denial turned paranoia transform into mesmerized silence. Even Yoko, Skip, Allie, Frederick, and Tate couldn’t stop gazing at the wondrous spectacle, but there was one distinct scene that took them all by surprise. They all raised their eyebrows out of bewilderment when they witnessed Rise Falcon carrying Frighhtfur Chimera to prepare a combo attack of their own. But how can that be? Not too long ago, Frightfur Chimera gave the audience a scare when battling against the Raidraptors, so why are they suddenly working together?

"These Duelists standing before you will form an elite team known as the Lancers to take on these alien threats," Henrietta explained. "Thanks to their selfless actions, our world is safe for the moment. We don't know when the Reverse will attack again, but we can be certain they will. That is why I have to ask everyone to leave the fighting to them. If anyone comes across a Duelist with similar red markings, let the Leo Institute handle it. We still don't know what their true power is, so it is best to avoid combat in case of possible infection."

Declan was next to speak up. "The world has changed," he informed. "The peaceful days of happiness we all once knew are sadly a thing of the past now. You just entered a new age, an age of fear and unknown. Because of this, Paradise City is hereby under a state of emergency. All students of the Leo Institute are reported to stay within the school at all costs for their protection. But fear not. Because I, Declan Akaba, will lead the Lancers into battle like legendary knights. And like those honorable ancient heroes, these Lancers will meet their enemies and defeat them!"

Without any further delay, everyone erupted back into cheering and applauding, with the inclusion of them chanting “Lancers rule!” over and over again. Sylvio waved his arms up and down, basking in the glory from the audience. As for Yuya, his eyebrows lowered and his mouth opened to reveal his upper and lower sets of teeth biting down on each other in a worryingly manner; basically, his face showed great concern about the Lancers ordeal and what would happen if the mission goes wrong, or worse. Julia, on the other hand, directed her head towards the audience, specifically to where Skip, Yoko, Alley, Tate, and Frederick were sitting, wondering if they knew what happened to Zuzu or not.

Dennis quickly took note on Julia's expression and leaned closer to her. "Don't worry," he whispered. "I'll tell her father about our current predicament."

"I'll come with you," Julia decided.

"No, you should go to the hospital for your friend," Dennis decided. "It was my responsibility to look after Zuzu, but I failed to protect her. I should be the one to explain what happened."

Julia look hesitant, but ultimately sighed. "Fine," she whispered. She handed over Zuzu's hair clips. "But make sure he doesn't slip any info to Yuya."

Dennis nodded in response and reassured Julia he will make sure Yuya doesn’t find out; it was for the best after all. Of course, he did take note on someone staring at his friend. In the audience was Yoko, who fixated her sight on her son with an unique form of apprehension on her face. She could tell something was wrong with him yet she wasn’t sure what needed to be done if he was going to have the confidence to defeat the Reverse. Nonetheless, Dennis knew she needed to hear the news. At least it would give her some understanding as to what’s wrong with Yuya.

Shortly after the announcement, Dennis, Sora, and Yuri all met up with Yoko, Skip, Alley, Tate, and Frederick. Julia would join with the Fusion trio since they all have the best documentation on Zuzu’s fate, but the Performage user was right; it was best for her to check on Kit in the hospital while he takes responsibility for the situation.

“Hey, where’s Zuzu?” Alley asked.

“Isn’t she coming?” Frederick questioned.

“Yeah. Where is she?” Tate chimed in.

There was no response from any of the three Duel Academy students except the movement of Dennis’ arms as he presented the periwinkle hair ties resting on his hands.

Skip immediately recognized them and asked, “Hey, aren’t those Zuzu’s? What are you doing with them?”

"I'm sorry, but Zuzu is gone," Dennis explained. "As in gone, gone."

Yoko and Skip were surprised to hear that. "Whaddya mean?" the Duel School instructor asked.

"I did everything I could to protect her, but..." Dennis started to explain, but he clenched his teeth and forced back a sob, unable to continue speaking.

"Long story short, Miss Zuzu Boyle was infected by the Reverse," Yuri spoke up. "She's now fighting alongside the enemy invaders."

A stunned Tate asked, "Enemy invaders?"

"While the Battle Royale was going on, many students at Duel Academy who had fallen victim sought to spread their 'gift' with the others, starting with the Battle Royale participants," Sora explained. "In the midst of the invasion, a girl named Celina caught Zuzu and Dennis off guard and she easily Reversed her lookalike."

"Zuzu got Reversed by someone who looks similar to her?" Skip asked.

"But why would she do that?" Frederick added.

There was no response from any of the Duel Academy students, but judging from Dennis' face, he might have a hunch. In his head, he recalled the very moment Zuzu became the Reverse's newest pawn. From the emotionless, droning tone in her face and her newly obtained facial features to her Joker Monster that sent her hair clips flying out of her pigtails and transported her to Reverse Academy. The unraveling situation left Dennis, Sylvio, and a teary-eyed Julia mortified as an evil laugh intensified from Celina's wicked grin.

"You maniac! What did you do to Zuzu?!"

"I liberated her. Now my mission is finally complete."

With a raise of her hand, the Lunar Eclipse card she took out seeped of thick, black fog, allowing her to escape in time while Julia angrily charged towards her. When the fog cleared, the trio went through an array of emotions: Dennis was in disbelief, Julia was left in anguish, and Sylvio honestly felt useless in all of this. This was where the flashback ended as Dennis collected what Celina mentioned before retreating back to the Fusion Dimension. Liberated her… He knew what she did to her and Zuzu's other counterparts, Rin and Lulu, but why did she do this? What was she hoping to gain through "liberation"?

"Are you sure Yuya can't know about this?" Yoko asked.

Sora looked worried. "With all the stuff he's gone through, he mind end up feeling worse if he finds out," he admitted. "Especially since..." His voice trailed off.

"I know what happened to him," Yoko interrupted. "Yuto told me everything." Her hands started trembling. "But...I still can't believe something like that got to him. He wasn't even smiling when he got back. What if he can't smile again?"

"You have nothing to worry about," Yuri said. "Celina was the one who started this whole thing." He raised his Duel Disk-strapped arm. "She killed someone very dear to me and I have vowed to avenge him. I have a feeling her defeat will put an end to this madness."

"You better fix it," Cat Dancer added, having already materialized next to Yuri. "And make sure my owner is back to her old self."

"Right..." Yuri muttered through gritted teeth. In all honesty, he momentarily forgot about Cat Dancer's spirit being right next to him.

"You promised!" Cat Dancer pointed out. "So don't even think about hurting Celina!"

Hurting Celina? Yuri may be sadistic, yes, and he enjoys taking pleasure in fulfilling his missions in a sociopathic and malicious manner; as far as he's concerned, the only harm he has ever done is carding the residents of the XYZ Dimension and kidnapping Lulu and Rin. Physically hurting her through dueling or any other method was not in his jurisdiction, and if his self-serving ideals and constant victories are what he'll need to return Celina to normal, then so be it.

His goal may be set in stone, but he didn't notice everyone staring at him curiously and a bit peculiarly, wondering why he suddenly muttered to himself and became lost in thought. "Why are you all staring at me like that?" he asked.

"You were talking to yourself again," Sora pointed out.

Yuri tensed up a bit. "It's...complicated," he tried to explain. "You see, I-"

Before he could even have a chance to start explaining, approaching footsteps were heard from behind him. As the three Obelisk Blue students turned to see who it was, Skip and Yoko both recognized the person from his eggplant hairstyle and his new pair of glasses. Frederick, Tate, and Allie wondered why he suddenly showed up; they hardly knew him yet he looked oddly familiar, especially given the uncanny resemblance he has to Yuya and Yuri.

"Yuto?" Yoko asked. "What are you doing here?"

"I need a private place to duel," Yuto answered. "Do you have any ideas?"

A specific location came to Yoko's mind. "I do, but-"

"Good," Yuto interrupted. "You need to take me and Yuya there right now."

"What about us?" Tate asked.

"Sorry, but it's kind of personal," Yuto apologized. He looked back at Yoko. "Now where is this private dueling spot?"

Later that night, in the outskirts of the downtown area, there stood an abandoned arcade building. The structure made it appear as if it was actually an old, vandalized warehouse, but the exterior designs would like to say otherwise. On the front entrance, a miraculously unscathed sign read "AMUSEMENT DUEL" and there was also a very familiar decal of a yellow shooting star with a green, purple, and orange tail falling from the right on the entrance's worn-out wall. The right side of the arcade, however, evidently showed signs of wear and tear. The sign that read "GAME" was cracking and the "M" was the only crooked letter, the wall had lost large chunks and was vandalized with "KPC" and "DRAW" written on the bottom left and right corners respectively, and yet for some odd reason, the image of the two Duel Monsters cards and the "BOWLING", "BATTLING", "DARTS", "RIDING", and "TENNIS" remained unharmed."

The inside was where it emphasized the current state of the arcade at its worst. The windows, ceiling, and walls were all cracked and minorly destroyed in random areas, scattered rubble and debris were littered all across the floor, a doorway was partially boarded up with only a few wooden planks, and there was even an unused ARC System hanging from the ceiling. In the room stood a confused Yuya, turning his head to virtually stare at every corner of his surroundings and trying to figure out why he was sent here. He would quickly realize that he is not alone.

"I see you got my message," Yuto said as he stepped forward.

"Yuto?" Yuya asked. "What are you doing here?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Yuto asked in response. "We're dueling right here, right now." He raised his hand. "I activate the Action Field Neo Heartland City!"

"AUGMENTED REALITY COMBAT SYSTEM ENERGIZED. GENERATING ACTION FIELD."

Light beams pierced through the Arc System and steam hissed out as it started up for the first time in years. Seeing how it was rendered unused up until now, there were a few briefs moments where it turned before stopping, but it quickly proceeded to rotate like how it normally does when it gets booted up and began generating the Action Field. All around Yuya and Yuto, their surroundings overlaid itself into a new setting as the Action Field materialized from the ceiling to the floor, replacing the wreckage of the arcade with the bright and colorful utopia known as Neo Heartland City.

"Hold on!" Yuya shouted as he raised his hands defensively. "You're challenging me to a duel?! What for?!"

"Because ever since you dueled Declan, you haven't been acting like yourself," Yuto answered. "What happened to the guy who first summoned Flame-Eyes Pendulum Dragon during the Battle Royale? The same guy who dueled with a smile and wanted to entertain others? Don't tell me he was replaced by some downer."

"Yuto..." Yuya muttered.

"Don't talk to me like that," Yuto said as he readied his Duel Disk. "I just want to see your dueling style. It's the only way I can see what's really on your mine. But before we begin, I also want to mention your mom brought me here. She never explained why, only that it served as a special place to her."

Wait, Yoko? If this place means a whole lot to her, then shouldn't she be the one dueling her own son instead of Yuto? Yuya simply stared with evident puzzlement on his face, but that didn't last long as he heard footsteps not too far away. He turned around to see where the source of the footsteps were coming from, and speak of the devil, it was none other than Yuya's mother walking down a set of stairs to witness the duel for herself.

"Mom?" Yuya asked.

"He's right," Yoko confirmed. "I never told you this, but years ago, I was the leader of a biker gang called the Sirens." She smiled fondly as she looked around. "This used to be my old hangout."

That surprised Yuya. "Really?" he asked confused.

Yoko nodded in response. "Back then I was more reckless, only caring about power and defeating everyone with brutal violence. But everything changed when I met your father. He showed me how dueling can be used to entertain people." She held up a card fondly. "Since then I have come to see the enjoyment in dueling."

Based on the teal-green color, it was clear it was a Spell card, but what was more important was the image on the card. It depicted a green planet peeking out from the bottom left corner and an assortment of smiling and winking circles, flowers, stars, and suns of purple, blue, green, and yellow. The name of this special Spell card was Smile World and it gives all face-up monsters currently on the field 100 ATK for each monster currently on the field until the end of the turn.

Based on the teal-green color, it was clear it was a Spell card, but what was more important was the image on the card. It depicted a green planet peeking out from the bottom left corner and an assortment of smiling and winking circles, flowers, stars, and suns of purple, blue, green, and yellow. The name of this special Spell card was Smile World and it gives all face-up monsters currently on the field 100 ATK for each monster currently on the field until the end of the turn.

"Smile World?" Yuya asked.

Yoko walked over to Yuya with the card in hand. "This was the card he gave me," she explained, referring to Yusho. "And now I want you to use it in your duels."

Yuya looked at the card. "But why?" he wondered.

"Try it and see for yourself," Yoko simply stated, handing out the card to her son. "You might like the results."

Yuya's eyes focused on Smile World held by Yoko's hand. He couldn't believe what he heard; these two got together all because of this card? More importantly, that is how she got into Dueltaining, even if she is more of a spectator nowadays? This felt all too surreal for him. A card that once belonged to Yusho is now being passed down to him. It almost feels like a part of his father will always be with him through his duels now more than ever, especially given the current epidemic. Small tears were welling up in Yuya's eyes from this revelation, but he quickly wiped them away before taking Smile World from Yoko's hand to his own. After a few more seconds of staring, he inserted it into his deck, which was then shuffled thoroughly by his Duel Disk. He looked up to face Yoko, forming an expression to let her know he won't let her—no, his parents—down.

"Thanks mom," Yuya said. "I'll use it well."

"I take it you're ready to duel," Yuto assumed. He proceeded to activate his Duel Disk.

"You bet!" Yuya replied as he also activated his Duel Disk. "I don't know why you challenged me to a duel, but I accept your challenge!"

Yuto smirked in response. "That's all I needed to hear," he said.

[darkzorua100]

It is more then likely because I watched the two part season 3 finale of Shadowhunters last night and I’m still getting over my high of how that season ended (on that note, I really want to reread City of Lost Souls and City of Heavenly Fire now because Sebby’s back!) so going into episode 52, I was expecting something super big since we knew we were getting Takeru’s backstory, or least some of it, during this episode but it just felt like it fell flat. Again, I just came from something that was making me super hyped for what was to come so I feel like it is unfair to be judging the two but when it comes to 52, it doesn’t feel like we got anything new per say. And even the stuff that was new somehow found a way to piss me off for petty reasons but my brain is stupid like that. You all know this at this point.

So the episode begins with the Lost Children being rescued with Takeru, and my guess the rest of them even though we don’t see it, being taken to the hospital. We learn that he was six when this happened to him (so yeah, he is sixteen) and this is one thing I did like about the episode. We got to learn more about what happened to the children after they were rescued. I wish we did get to see Takeru when he was locked away like we did with Yusaku and Spectre, that might be shown later down the line though, but this here does make you think of what would have happened to these children if Ryoken didn’t save them when he did. I’m fairly certain they would have actually died from this.

Speaking of death, Takeru’s parents died while looking for him from another accident. What said accident was we don’t know but this is the second time now where a main character’s parents are dead from an accident. It might just be a stupid cop-out why of not having to write in any parents for the show but seriously, this is getting fishy now. Spectre and Go are orphans, Takeru, Aoi, and Akira’s parents were all killed in accidents, and god knows where Yusaku’s parents are. Really makes you think if SOL Tech really just killed every adult that had some connection to the Hanoi Project that they knew about. I mean, considering what they did to Kogami to keep his mouth shut, I wouldn’t be surprised. Doesn’t make it any less messed up though. 

Then we have this crazy bitch, Hayami, who is out right trying to kill Soulburner for Akira-senpai. And I mean full out “notice me-senpai!” crazy. And after she gets caught, she starts crying like a little baby like we are supposed to feel sorry for her and doesn’t even get in trouble for it. I really hope this isn’t going to be a reoccurring thing with her now because that is just irritating on so many levels to me. I’m not kidding, if she does this again during the Playmaker vs Blood Shepherd duel, Akira better do something or I’m going to lose it. I’m sorry but I really can’t stand this kind of childish behavior. 

So after that annoying interruption, Soulburner continues to hold up to his namesake by being as over the topic as he can with his fire theme as he reincarnation link summons Heatleo but still isn’t able to beat Go since his dinosaurs are really controlling when it comes to the battle phase. 

Go takes his turn and thinks to himself how if he was still being an entertainer he would have attacked Heatleo first but since he isn’t being Yuya anymore, he is going straight for the kill but just like Soulburner, he isn’t able to do so since Soulburner’s field spell saved him and now he is down to 1100 LPs.

After trading blows, Takeru gets more backstory to why he is here today. Like we already knew from last week’s episode, after seeing Playmaker, Blue Angel, and Go fight against the Knights, they inspired him to do the same. Again, I am very much looking forward to Takeru/Soulburner and Aoi/Blue Angel having some interactions now since we already saw how much he respects Yusaku/Playmaker and Go, I want to see how he interacts with Aoi/Blue Angel. Also it seems like he wasn’t so much of a delinquent as in he got into fights or did crime or anything like that, he just didn’t care about anything in that delinquent sense such as going to school. I mean, I don’t blame him. After going through that kind of trauma and losing your parents right after, I wouldn’t feel like doing anything either. We still don’t know how he actually met Flame yet or why he changed his look (I’m now fairly certain Flame had a role to play in Takeru’s appearance change (speaking of which, does he seem so much taller in his delinquent form or is that just me?) so I hope we end up getting that backstory as well in the future. 

On a random note, I really like Takeru’s old home and the ocean feel to it. Reminds me of Gateon Port from Pokemon XD: Gale of Darkness. Also, it seems like Takeru has an admirer. Oh that’s cute. They are trying to make him straight XD However since this girl, Kiku, was in the cast list, mentioned by name, it does make me wonder if she is actually going to play a role later down the line. Watch as she turns out to be the Water Child lol.

So after using his Burning Draw skill....Soulburner activates a Ritual Spell...

Excuse me what now?

He’s not using Fusion?! 

I say this again, excuse me?!

Well okay then. Playmaker and Soulburner are both Ritual Users now. 

You know, I’m complaining about this now, since I was so convinced Soulburner was going to be using Fusion (still might, who knows) but considering that Ritual Summoning is getting the spotlight after FOREVER, I honestly should be throwing a party right now. I wanted Yu-Gi-Oh six to be Ritual based to begin with and now apparently it is.

Still wanted him to use Fusion though...

Anyway, Soulburner ritual summons Salamangreat Emerald Eagle (sounds like a Crystal Beast more then anything (again, reminding me so much of Johan, Takeru) and uses it to beat Go. Go takes his lose like a sore loser (love how Flames even calls him that) and leaves after telling Soulburner that no one can win forever and everyone will lose at some point but what you will do with that lose is what will really affect you in the long run.

Go does have a point though. Losing is what really helps you to grow more so then winning. Not that will actually happen though since as long as Playmaker and Soulburner have their Ignises, they honestly can’t lose because of plot armor. Seriously though, the day Playmaker actually does lose a duel, we are going to be throwing a five second party and then have to shut it down because we all are going to feel awful when Yusaku’s PTSD kicks in. 

And speaking of Yusaku, the episodes ends with Playmaker and Ai getting closer to Haru and Bohman’s lair only for them to get attacked by Blood Shepherd. Next week, Playmaker vs Blood Shepherd with the return of Ghost Girl and Blue Angel in action if the cast list is anything to go by. Nothing must else I have to say. Again, this episode was just meh to me for the most part.

[chromsai]

It’s their senior year and Yuya & Yuzu’s class decide that for their school’s festival they will be putting on a play. When it’s time to decide who gets the roles of the male & female lead, somehow Yuya & Yuzu end up having to take on the roles.

The class chose the female lead first and unanimously decided that Yuzu should take on the role, much to her dismay (she wanted to focus on studying more to graduate with excellent grades and wasn’t ready for the extra responsibility). Yuya teases her for it as she hides her face in embarrassment while the class argues over who should take on the role of the male lead. 

At that moment, suddenly Yuya’s laughing comes to a halt and the next thing the class hears is him sternly announcing that he’ll take on the role in a much deeper, much more intimidating voice. The entire class goes silent for a moment and the class president reluctantly agrees to this and everyone sits back down. 

Yuzu is in awe at Yuya but before she can say anything to him, he sits back down slowly, grey eyes flashing her a quick wink along with a smug smile before blinking the expression away in surprise, his eyes returning back to their usual red. When he comes to, Yuya notices that the room has gone silent suddenly and looks up to see his name written in chalk on the board next the the words “male lead” (cue one loud ass “EEEEHHHHHHH!??!??!!!” when he realizes what that means).

Cut to the day of the festival and the play is about to begin. Despite their initial reluctance, Yuya and Yuzu managed to have rehearsed properly every day for a few days and they seem ready. They memorized their cues and exact lines without a problem. Nothing about their roles in the play seem too complicated for them- a short embrace here, a hand held there- nothing that they’re too unfamiliar with doing themselves together on the regular as entertainers. They’re just looking forward to the finale where they’ll just hug tenderly for a few seconds and be done with it and go back to pretending like they don’t actually have feelings for each other.

Well of course it wouldn’t be a play without a little bit of last minute improv. Or tampering with the script, rather.

Backstage, Yuya and Yuzu are reviewing the script one last time in preparation for the show. They each read every last line to be sure they memorized their lines and cues correctly... every... last... line... wait... that last line...!

They hear their cues to enter from stage left and stage right, respectively, but the nervousness sets in and they’re both frozen backstage until their classmates damn near drag them front & center, facing each other.

Dazed for a few seconds in the spotlight in front of a crowd of millions (it wasn’t millions?! It felt like it was millions...), they mutter their lines awkwardly at first until they catch glimpse of their class president motioning two fingers across her neck at them both from beyond the curtains, snapping them back into focus and carrying on with the play as they had rehearsed, albeit with a shakier rhythm.

Every little embrace here, every little hand held there between their characters feel like they’re both one step closer to losing what little cool they have left as they approach enacting the very last line of the final act.

And so there they stand, spotlight fixated on them and ready for the grand finale. From where the audience stand, it's impossible for them to notice what they do of each other: faces glowing beet red and sweating as they approach each other slowly, remembering in disbelief the last line of the script they didn’t remember being there at all when they had rehearsed.

“Yuya...”

“Yuzu...”

...

“...I love you,” they recite in unison.

They could swear the audience’s silence was only there to amplify the sounds of their rapidly beating hearts as the characters they play pull each other’s faces in for a kiss.

Backstage after the show, their classmates won’t stop harassing them over “how many hours they must have spent rehearsing that kiss to make it seem so real”. When they ask their class president who’s idea it was to add a kiss in the finale at the very last moment, she informs them that that line had always been there.

They’re left wondering how the hell their copies of the script were the only ones with it omitted amongst a low cackle of voices seemingly at the back of their heads.

[astro-onechampionship]

What Is At Stake For 'The King' And ‘Mighty Mouse?’

On Sunday, 13 October at ONE: CENTURY PART I, fans finally get to witness the conclusion to the ONE Flyweight World Grand Prix Championship Final.

Both finalists – Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson and Danny “The King” Kingad – have each reached a pivotal point in their professional careers.

The outcome of this contest will have a lasting impact on each man’s legacy and will reverberate throughout the martial arts landscape for years to come.

Before the action heats up in the Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo, Japan, we look at how these two men arrived at the tournament final and review what is at stake for them.

To mention Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson’s name alongside some of the game’s all-time greats is not presumptuous.

His standing as the sport’s greatest flyweight is deserved, having been a 12-time Flyweight World Champion. Johnson will achieve yet another milestone in his illustrious career if he can defeat Danny “The King” Kingad.

Earlier in March at ONE: A NEW ERA, Johnson did not have an easy debut in the World Grand Prix quarterfinals against Yuya “Little Piranha” Wakamatsu.

Wakamatsu’s speed caught him off guard, and the Japanese athlete even managed to tag Johnson with a couple of heavy strikes.

“Little Piranha” also put up surprisingly stiff resistance against the flyweight legend’s takedown attempts.

Even though “Mighty Mouse” broke the deadlock with a guillotine and brought matters to a close, it served as a stern reminder for the American that the road ahead would not be easy.

History looked to repeat itself in the semifinals at ONE: DAWN OF HEROES in August.  

Against DEEP Flyweight World Champion Tatsumitsu “The Sweeper” Wada, the Japanese star took Johnson’s back and controlled the veteran grappler for much of the first round.

Their back-and-forth contest eventually wound up in the hands of the judges, and Johnson did not appear satisfied with his decision win.

Even if it was not the most satisfying of victories, Johnson always displays the tenacity and experience to overcome adversity.

However, both of his hard-earned wins could suggest a harbinger of difficult things to come in the final against a young and ascending talent like Kingad.

Matched up against an all-time great like Johnson, the Filipino will have the luxury of entering the final as the underdog.

“The King” has made this huge step into the spotlight on the back of an amazing and improbable run in the ONE Flyweight World Grand Prix.

Over the course of his last several matches, including his brilliant and spirited semifinal battle with Reece “Lightning” McLaren at ONE: DAWN OF HEROES in August, Kingad has carved out a reputation for himself as one of the sharpest flyweight strikers.

Like what Johnson had experienced against Wakamatsu, Kingad survived an early scare when McLaren took him down within the opening minute.

The Filipino responded well and found an opening to escape before he engaged the Australian in a memorable back-and-forth exchange to squeeze out a split-decision win.  

The 24-year-old proved he had the ability to bounce back and conquer difficult situations that would have crippled some contenders his age.

Even though “The King” is ready for the bright lights of the global stage, he will be vigilant when he faces an opponent of Johnson’s caliber.

Kingad will need to rely on his speed and quickness to find openings and unload his wushu strikes.

“Mighty Mouse,” on the other hand, will most certainly try to test the young Filipino sensation on the ground, just like he did to his previous two opponents.

It will be a fascinating contest, and Kingad has a mountain of a task ahead of him.

But a win for “The King” in Tokyo will catapult his name into the global mainstream in a way that would eclipse his previous successes.

For Johnson, a win would mean he gets a shot at ONE Flyweight World Title Adriano “Mikinho” Moraes and further cement his legacy as the undisputed greatest flyweight in mixed martial arts history.

Is it Danny “The King” Kingad’s time to take the crown? Or will Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson continue his reign as the best mixed martial artist of all time?

All will be answered at ONE: CENTURY Part I in Tokyo on 13 October.

Catch all the action and more at ONE: CENTURY, the biggest World Championship martial arts event in history.

The Home Of Martial Arts breaks new ground as it features 28 World Champions, four World Title bouts, three World Grand Prix Championship Finals, and four World Champion versus World Champion matches.

The action happens at the famous Ryogoku Kokugikan on 13 October in Tokyo, Japan.

ONE: CENTURY PART I begins on Toggle at 8:00am Singapore Standard Time (SGT) on Sunday, 13 October. Once the prelims are over, Toggle airs the main card at 11:00am SGT.

Also, the show will air later in the evening via special delay on CH 5 at 11:00pm SGT.

ONE: CENTURY PART II starts on Toggle at 4:00pm Singapore Standard Time (SGT). Once the prelims are over, Toggle airs the main card at 6:30pm SGT.

Also, the show will air Thursday, 17 October via special delay on CH 5 at 11:00pm SGT.

Read More From ONE Championship:

Demetrious Johnson Ready For ‘The King’ After Wada Win

Danny Kingad Admits ‘Bittersweet’ Feeling, But Ready For Demetrious Johnson

Yuya Wakamatsu Gunning For Knockout Against Dae Hwan Kim

[blueeyeswhitegarden]

Your opinion on the Synchro Arc

This turned out to be a really long answer, so I’ll put it under a cut here in a moment

I absolutely love the Synchro arc. While I honestly still have a hard time deciding my least favorite arc in Arc V, Synchro would pretty easily be my favorite. I absolutely loved the world building in that arc. Both the Standard and Synchro arcs had pretty solid world building. Being interested in the new setting helped to make me more invested in the arc right away. The whole conflict between the Commons and Tops was clearly based off of what happened in 5D’s, but they were able to do more with the concept to make it feel even more interesting. While the Tops were clearly more antagonistic, even the Commons were generally in favor of defeated duelists being tossed aside like garbage, so it wasn’t just a black/white issue exactly like what had been show before.

I really liked the character development shown within this arc. Yuya, Reira and Sora really stood out in that regard. Yuya struggled quite a bit with his dueling due to his self doubt. He wanted to end the war and stop conflict with his dueling, but he couldn’t if the audience refused to listen to him directly. His struggles felt really understandable not only because of his emotional problems, but also because he was away from his friends who would normally support him. Dealing with his problems primarily on his own would make it even harder on Yuya. I liked how they did address that he simply attempts to copy his father’s dueling and that there is an element of self-satisfaction by doing so. I loved how he became a more confident person and found his own way of dueling from his rematch with Jack. It was such a great message too. Instead of trying to disregard Yusho’s impact on his dueling, it was important for Yuya to learn how to find his own voice through Yusho’s influence. It was especially great to see Yuya still use dueling as a form of communication for the rest of the series because of his duel with Jack.

Reira surprised me so much during this arc. I wasn’t expecting much from him at first, but with his backstory and his determination to become stronger in order to help Reiji, he really became more interesting. I liked that even though he did become more confident as well, that didn’t instantly erase his trauma since that felt more realistic, especially when he’s so young. Sora’s redemption arc was handled really nice. I still kind of wish that we saw more of an internal struggle from Sora before jumping into help Tskikage, but what we did was good. Trying to simply save Yuya and Yuzu while still being loyal to Academia, apologizing to Tskikage after Yuzu talked to him and even struggling to admit that he was an alley instead of an enemy was really good. Shun’s development wasn’t handled as well in my opinion, but I liked that he finally found a friend in Crow and the connection seemed genuine enough for me to work decently.

I really liked how Jack and Crow were handled here. They were more like prominent supporting characters rather than taking up the spotlight from the Arc V cast. The story was still centered on them, but they were still important to the story too. Jack in particular was key with both Yuya and Reira’s development, Crow helped with Shun’s development and both of them becoming friends with Yuya was important in the long run. I was just worried when they first were announced to return that they’d take center stage, but that didn’t happen. I especially loved that they put in enough of their personalities to make them recognizable as Jack and Crow, while still recognizing that these are different versions of the characters in a different world from 5D’s. Crow seemed much less optimistic over the Tops and Commons situation than he was with Neo Domino City and Satellite, possibly due to how there wasn’t a Legendary D-Wheeler to inspire him in this universe. The fact that he was originally going to not keep his kids after feeding them also says a lot about how jaded this version of Crow was. Caring for kids has always been an important aspect of Crow’s character, so just considering not letting some orphans stay is a huge difference to 5D’s Crow. The contrast between the two versions of Jack is really interesting too. Arc V Jack got everything that 5D’s Jack ever wanted without abandoning his friends in the process and he was still miserable. He still craved for a challenge and without one, he was still the lonely King. That is immensely interesting to me and says a lot about what both versions of Jack really needed in the end.

There were so many good duels in this arc. Some of the standouts were Yuya vs. Tokumatsu, Yuzu vs. Tokumatsu, Yugo vs. Sawatari, Shun vs. Dennis, Yuya vs. Shinji, Crow vs. Shun, Yugo vs. Serena, Yuya vs. Crow, Jack vs. Sergey, Yuya vs. Jack and Reiji vs. Jean. There were so many good duels and they were really fun to watch. I could go on about how fantastic Yuya vs. Jack alone is, but this is already really long and I can gush about it even more for another post. The finale itself was so good not only for Reiji beating Jean, but the Fruithshipping moment to end all moments came from this arc. Seeing their reunion and both of them crying still gets me every time.

I know there were people complaining about the pacing, but I thought it was fine. It hit that sweet spot for me where it wasn’t too slow, but not too fast at the same time. Most episodes were important from a story and/or character perspective, so it didn’t feel like things could have been cut to make it significantly shorter. It was really important that we spent time in Synchro for character development, gaining some more allies that would prove key in the final arc and setting up even more for the remaining arcs of the series.

Now I know that the arc isn’t perfect. As important as it was for some of the characters to be isolated and it made sense in-universe as to why it happened, that did reduce the amount of character interactions we got for a good chuck of the arc. If people weren’t invested in the main conflict of the arc, that probably would have made it more challenging to be invested in it. As much as I love Reira and his development, I wish it didn’t happen at the expense of Serena with the whole nerve gas thing. Maybe it wouldn’t have been that bad if it didn’t last as long as it did. I didn’t mind the whole nerve gas thing as much at the time thinking that she’d show up in the next arc and it was the series recognizing that she was too powerful to be defeated in a fair duel. Knowing what I know now, I really wish that Serena was able to duel instead. She may have been captured anyway, but if she had to be captured then, I would have preferred seeing Serena go down in a blaze of glory. It would have had the side bonus of potentially establishing some kind of connection with Yuri, which would have been really nice.

Sorry for typing so much, but there’s a lot about this arc that I love and wanted to cover as much of it as possible. While it does have its fair share of flaws, it’s still a really good arc with solid character development, good duels and was really engaging for me to watch.

Thank you for asking. ^_^

[hsj-scenarios]

Part 3: TEXT Version: Jump’s Group Chat Crack Fiction

Title: Trolling Pairing/Relationship: n/a Rating: PG-13 Warnings: implied harsh language Genre: Jump’s Group Chat Crack Type: Collection

Summary: Daiki offers to help Yuya with his cellphone issues in the BEST private chat.

((This is the TEXT version of the post–if you’d like to see the simulated chat image post please CLICK HERE to go to the that version!)) 

Jump’s Group Chat Crack Index <--the other parts!

JE Comm Sys Operational ...waiting Chat connected =chat emoticon set by Kota 6.26= =chat motto set by Kota 6.26=

ヽ(ﾟ∇ﾟ(ﾟ∇ﾟo(ﾟ∇ﾟ)oﾟ∇ﾟ)ﾟ∇ﾟ)ﾉBEST! Welcome to our BEST chat--remember--always do your BEST!

=Daiki has joined the chat.=

=Yuya has joined the chat.=

=Hikaru has joined the chat.=

=Kota has joined the chat.=

Hikaru: Hey guys! 'sup?

Daiki: Yuyan—I’m going to ask you a serious question. Just...know it's because I care, not because I'm trying to make you feel stupid or something, okay?

Kota: ♡ How is everyone?

Yuya: Yah, whatever--just make it fast, I’m eating dinner

Daiki: Do you want me to teach you how to use your phone?

Yuya: Eh?

Daiki: You know, how to use the chat and emoticons and stuff, do you NEED HELP!!?

Yuya: (⊙.☉)7

Yuya: OMG ρ(￣ﾍ￣ ﾒ)

Yuya: No. Ｏ(≧▽≦)Ｏ Thank you.

Daiki: Okayyyyy く（＾_・）ゝ

Yuya: Guys, please, I know how to use my phone. ◦°˚(*❛‿❛)/˚°◦

Hikaru: Could have fooled me. ⸜(ّᶿധّᶿ)⸝

Daiki: Same.

Yuya: I do it to freak Yama-chan out. (ﾉ≧∀≦)ﾉ

Daiki: Huh?

Yuya: I just do that in the group chat to harass Yama-chan. ∋━━o(｀∀´oメ）～→

Hikaru: You’re trolling him in the group chat lol (´艸｀〃)

Yuya: He seriously has no idea…I think he believes I am sincerely incapable of matching a smiley face with a statement, question, or emotion.

Daiki: (o_ _)o I bow to you, you have surpassed my wildest expectations, Grasshopper

Yuya: <(￣︶￣)>

=Kei has joined the chat.=

ヽ(ﾟ∇ﾟ(ﾟ∇ﾟo(ﾟ∇ﾟ)oﾟ∇ﾟ)ﾟ∇ﾟ)ﾉBEST! Welcome to our BEST chat--remember--always do your BEST!

Kei: We have a BEST chat? (・・？) When did we make this?

Daiki: A few weeks ago, I sent you a message about it

Kei: Oh, I generally ignore any messages from you

Daiki: What?! ?(ο´･д･)?? Why?!

Kei: I don’t ordinarily find you have important things to say.

Daiki: (」°ロ°)」

Kei: I kid, I kid…except���I really don’t open your messages

Daiki: (；¬д¬) I’m deleting you from my phone

Kota: Ummm…Yuyan—I’ve told you about the subtle harassment of 7 haven’t I? I mean they’re still babies (‘∀’●)♡

Yuya: Are you serious? They’re 24 years old. へ‿(ツ)‿ㄏ

Kota: 7 are mentally babies. Yutti-- ᕕ(ᐛ)ᕗ Yama-chan-- ᕕ(ᐛ)ᕗ Chii-chan-- ᕕ(ᐛ)ᕗ Keito-- ᕕ(ᐛ)ᕗ ---BABIES

Yuya: （◎ ｡ ◎） WTF!?

Kota: ヽ(ー_ー )ノ They became famous so young they missed a lot of the social growth points because they were thrust into the spotlight too early and their lives were micromanaged in such an extreme way that they are stupidly naive, innocent, and gullible. We need to take care of them, and protect them, not make fun of them.

Kota: BEST―☆　*’“*:.｡. NEEDS ･♡♪+*. TO .｡.:*･゜ﾟSHINE ･♡♪+*. ON .｡.:*･゜ﾟ7! ♡♡ᕕ(ᐛ)ᕗᕕ(ᐛ)ᕗᕕ(ᐛ)ᕗᕕ(ᐛ)ᕗ♡♡

Kota: Stop harassing them, okay? (´∀｀)♡

=Yuya has taken a screenshot.=

Kota: What? 〈(゜。゜) Why did you take a screenshot?

Yuya: ρ(｀.´)ρ Nothing.

Kei: lol (ꐦ ´͈ ᗨ `͈ )

=Daiki has taken a screenshot.=

Daiki: (´艸｀〃)

=Kei has taken a screenshot.=

Kota: Guys! What is this? What are you doing with those?

Yuya: (¬‿¬) Huh...What's this do?

=chat motto set by Yuya 7.7=

One Yuya To Rule Them All

Kota: Dai-chan? Guys? Yuyan...what are you doing?

Kota: Hello!?

Hikaru: Guys?! ( ﾟｰﾟ)

=incoming whisper for Kota=

~whisper to Kota~ Hikaru: I think they're going to keep them to show to 7...

=incoming whisper for Hikaru=

~whisper to Hikaru~ Kota: What?! Why would they do that?

=incoming whisper for Kota=

~whisper to Kota~ Hikaru: Why do any of them do anything? Ever?

=incoming whisper for Hikaru=

~whisper to Hikaru~ Koda: God only knows.

=incoming whisper for Kota=

~whisper to Kota~ Hikaru: Exactly.

Hikaru: Seriously, not cool…what’s between BEST is ours, you guys!

Daiki: Whatever you say, Hikka... (ভ_ ভ) ރ ／/ ┊ ＼

=incoming whisper for Daiki=

~whisper to Daiki~ Yuya: I already have one Mom. Ψ(｀▽´)Ψ

=incoming whisper for Yuya=

~whisper to Yuya~ Daiki: Me too, watch this! (*-`ω´- )人(*-`ω´- )

Daiki: Moooommmm, why do you always have to take Dad's side?!?

=Hikaru has left the chat.=

Yuya: What's this do?

=chat emoticon set by Yuya 7.7=

ψ（｀Д´）ψ --=YUYA (′︵‵。( p′︵‵。)′︵‵。)′︵‵。) 4BEST CRYBABIES?

Kota: Dai-chan.

Daiki: I'll apologize...<(＠´＿｀＠)>

Kota: Yes, yes you will.

Kota: YUYAN. What in the world is wrong with you today!?

Yuya: (╭ರ_•́)つ

Yuya: Just found that one, gonna spring it on Yama-chan tomorrow when he says something really funny lol ・:*:・(*´艸｀*)・:*:・

Kei: I thought we weren't going to continue to harass 7? く（＾_・）ゝ

Yuya: Who said that? ｢(ﾟﾍﾟ)

Kei: Are you even actually reading the chat, Yuyan? (⊙_☉)

Yuya: ah....why would I? (｡◝‿◜｡) No one here has anything of value to say.

Daiki: You're an idiot. (ლ `Д ́)ლ

=Kota has left the chat.=

Kei: Look what you two did! Mom and Dad have left the chat!!!

Kei: ( ՞ਊ՞) bwahahaha

Daiki: Did you just troll BEST's chat Yuyan?

Yuya: “ψ(｀∇´)ψ

Yuya: My plan has been a success.

Daiki: We're not worthy, we're not worthy. ＿|￣|○))　((○|￣|＿

[seasaltmemories]

Sharing the Spotlight

Rating: PG

Summary:  Sawatari stands by his belief that there is only room for two entertainers at You Show.  With Dennis stealing away his rival, Sawatari is determined to prove that belief once and for all. For @imaginarystormz

There was a lot Sawatari had put up with to pursue a career as an entertainment duelist.  His father had almost blown a gasket when he had dropped out of LDS to enroll in You Show.  Leaving LDS meant losing out on a lot new cards, and dear lord had dealing with those B-list stars been painful at times too.  Still Yuya at least had potential.  His presence alone had made it bearable.  Getting to face and challenge his rival at any point kept his skills sharp in ways LDS had never been able to.

Still even that small advantage was slowly being taken away from him now.

When that Dennis fellow had arrived in Standard, Sawatari had found no reason for them to accept that traitor.  He had never felt completely comfortable about that Sora guy, and this one had been unstable enough to apparently card himself.  Still apparently Yusho knew him, so that was that.  He might have been able to tolerate at least having to see his face around occasionally if Yuya didn’t all of a sudden become so attached to him.

It just didn’t make sense.  Dennis was hardly flamboyant and showy anymore.  Sure sometimes he could put on a show for the younger students, but there was nothing he could do that Sawatari couldn’t.  It wasn’t like he was jealous of him for getting Yuya’s attention.  It wasn’t like his blood boiled every time Yuya brought him to a lesson with his arm hooked in the crook of Dennis’, smiling and laughing and doting on the pathetic traitor.  He wasn’t jealous of all.   He had just decided that Yuya might need some persuading on who the better entertainer really was around here.

“You want to do what?”  Yuzu shot him a wilting look once he proposed his idea.

“It can’t be that hard to pull off can it?”  He sighed in exasperation.  Neither of them were too fond of the other, but she had already managed to tolerate him for all these years as it was.

“I’m just not sure how well our decks will mesh together.”  She shrugged, but Sawatari couldn’t help but think there was more to it than that.

“If you’re worried about losing, then don’t.  I can carry the two of us perfectly fine, but I know they won’t accept unless it’s a ‘fair’ fight.”  He cupped his head in his hands with a nonchalant smile, waiting for his words to set in.  And oh, she tried so hard at first, but it was plain to see her competitive side was starting to grow heated.

“Don’t kid yourself Sawatari,”  Blue eyes hardened.  “I can handle it.”

“Then how about we challenge them before my Pendulum lesson to the kids?” “As long as it doesn’t cut into my Fusion one, then we’re good.”

“Alright,”  He walked away with a smug grin.  He couldn’t waste a second if he was to properly fine-tune the details of his deck.

The next day, Sawatari cut right to the chase.  As soon as Yuzu finished the last of her curriculum, he swung into action.

“Boys and girls, and students of all ages,  for your good behavior this week, Miss Hiragi and I will challenge Mr. Sakaki to a duel for you!”  From his position broadcasting the announcement to the entire school, Yuya appeared completely caught off-guard while Yuzu gave him that ‘I can’t believe this is really happening, but it is so you might as well go along with it,’ look.

“And that’s not all.  If I am defeated, then I pledge to take the entire class out for ice cream!”  He darted out of the room before he could observe the kids’ reactions, but when he joined the Yuya and Yuzu, their expression told enough.

“Well Yuya, are you going to disappoint your audience so?”  Sawatari couldn’t hold back the excitement in his voice.

“2 against 1 isn’t very fair, you know,”

“Oh, well you can pick a partner of your own,”  He tapped his chin as if pondering the subject.  “How about Dennis?  Or is he asleep at this hour?”

A quick yet painful glare from Yuya told him he had crossed the line with that conflict.  Thankfully before  he could start to feel real guilty about it, Yuya’s expression turned neutral.

“If he’s up for it, then I guess why not have some fun?”

The next five minutes were spent wrangling Dennis, preparing the tag duel, and making sure all the kids were there in one piece.  While they counted as students too, with the expanded Junior program, Mr. Hiragi requested them more and more to take on part-time teaching roles.  It wasn’t half bad if he was honest with himself (at least not when the kids weren’t crying).  Still Sawatari was too caught up in his dream of stardom to think about settling in a boring job like that.

Soon you’ll see up close why I’m destined for greatness, Yuya

The two teams took their sides and with a flourish of an arm, the duel began. Sawatari and Yuzu got off to a great start, bringing out their aces quickly.  Still Yuya and Dennis held their own.  It was to be expected.  Excitement took time to build, no use ending things too soon.  Sawatari kept adding more sparkles and pizazz as each turn proceeded, outshining Yuya’s and Dennis’ individually.  Frustratingly, Yuzu wouldn’t go along with the act at all.  When he complained about her not cooperating, she’d just give a tired sigh and insist she was simply doing things her way.

When she ended her turn once more, Sawatari was about to complain again when suddenly, a call came in on her duel disk.

“Hold up a second, while I take the call,”  She motioned to Yuya right as he was about to pendulum summon again.  “Yeah...Dad?!...wait a sec...alright I’ll be there,”  With that she took off her duel disk and began strolling to the exit.

“What are you doing!  We’re in the middle of a duel here!”  Sawatari couldn’t hide the panic bubbling up his throat.

“I got more important matters to handle than your jealous tiff.  I’m off.”

And like that, she was gone.

The duel didn’t last much longer after that.  As great as he was, 2 against 1 really wasn’t fair, and Sawatari’s deck wasn’t designed to handle multiple opponents.  He fought until the bitter end, but that annoyingly endearing phrase of Yuya’s sealed his fate.

“Are you ready?”  Dennis said with a smile brighter than usual.

“Mmhm, the fun has just begun!”  Yuya returned to him an equally intense one, and Sawatari tried to ignore the way his heart shriveled up.  “With that, Odd Eyes attacks you directly!”  Sawatari went flying as his life points hit zero.

So much for outshining them.

The defeat hurt more than the impact had.  All this time he had been chasing Yuya and he was still as far behind as usual.  Maybe Dennis really deserved to be his rival instead.

“Hey, you alright?”  Sawatari looked up to see Dennis approaching him, almost looking concerned.

“Considering I was just humiliated, no.”

“What for?  It was a good duel.”  He shot Sawatari a quizzical look.

In that moment, it occurred to Sawatari for the first time that maybe this competition was only one-sided.

“If you’re worried about paying for the ice cream, I can pitch in,”  Dennis offered his hand to help Sawatari up.

“Please, my father is the mayor,”  He sniffed and turned his face away.  Besides considering Dennis was still living with the Sakaki’s it was unlikely he had much cash of his own.

Still in the end he took Dennis’ hand.

“I guess you can repay me with a rematch later.”

After all, who said you could only have one rival?

[epchapman89]

Comfort In A Cup: Takamura Wine & Coffee Roasters In Osaka, Japan

Osaka is a city famous for its passion for food and drink, and it has a lot to boast about. Takoyaki (fried octopus balls), okonomiyaki (savory cabbage pancakes), udon noodles, and oshizushi (a regional style of sushi) are all claims to Osaka’s fame. But coffee hasn’t been on its list of bragging points. Still, there are whispers of a coffee revolution happening in this great town. After hearing about an emerging new wave coffee scene in Osaka, I set off for the spot on every coffee enthusiast’s list: Takamura Wine & Coffee Roasters.

In the heart of Nishi-ku, a ward in Osaka famous for being well-planned and modern, I approached a two-story warehouse with a gleaming glass front. Warm incandescent light poured out of the building onto patio seating, where couples sipped coffee at cafe tables. Inside, I was greeted by corrugated metal ceilings and exposed steel beams. Built within this industrial cocoon are shelves, staircases, pillars, and scaffoldings made of light wood—a wine cellar inside of a garage. Inside this juxtaposition of contemporary construction and old-world style: thousands of bottles of wine from every origin imaginable.

Takamura’s mission is simple: to make great wine available to the oenophiles of Japan. It boasts an inventory of 2,200 different wines with price tags ranging from the equivalent of $10 to around $10,000. The clientele is varied: well-to-do middle-age business types roam the aisles filling their carts with choice bottles, while young couples on dates grab sips of wine from pay-by-the-cup electronic dispensers.

The left wall of Takamura reveals a full-service coffee operation run by hip—but serious—young baristas. There I was met by Yuya Iwasaki, who took my order for an espresso and answered the question on my mind: why coffee and wine?

He explained that Takamura’s top brass had noticed a trend: a restaurant would serve good food paired with good wine, and after the meal would come dessert and a cup of coffee; but the coffee was usually bad. “Why does everyone take food and wine so serious, but forget about the coffee?” they wondered. They began to investigate the coffee industry. The similarities between wine and coffee culture interested them even more. Concepts like the importance of region, the care taken in raising a crop, the tasting process, and the complex flavors in each cup were all familiar. In 2013, Takamura built up a coffee team and set out to provide restaurants with not only top-shelf wine, but specialty coffee as well.

A look at the gear behind the counter shows that coffee is taken as seriously here as wine. A custom La Marzocco Strada EP sits on the counter next to a Nuova Simonelli Mythos One Clima-Pro grinder for the espresso blend, while single-origin espressos are ground on a Mazzer Kony. Pour-overs are prepared via Hario V60 and ground on a Kalita Nice Cut Mill. Off to the side, a 35-kilogram Loring Smart Roast machine gleams. At the time of my visit, the coffee menu featured six Cup of Excellence winners and two national winner options in addition to 13 other unique choices.

Yuya Iwasaki of Takamura Wine & Coffee

A lot of thought and planning clearly went into this operation. The lighting, in particular, was striking. The baristas’ work area’s soft incandescent bulbs add to the atmosphere and support the feeling of human connection to the beverage; there’s even a dim spotlight focused on the pour-over station. In stark contrast, the roasting area has bright-white LED lighting, which gives an industrial vibe to the production space. There is no wall between the two sections, but they are clearly separated. On all sides there are wood, leather, and oriental rugs—but also poured concrete, high-powered heating and cooling, and exposed electrical fixtures. Everything is warm, but wide open; classic hospitality meets modern efficiency.

I sunk into a deep, brown leather armchair by the window and took another look around. The place buzzed with young mothers on coffee dates, tourists from Western countries, businessmen stealing a few moments alone, and even old bickering couples. A group of friends chatted at a large table; a lone reader sat in a cozy chair for one. All were drawn by the love for, or curiosity toward, a drink. I sipped my Panama La Esmeralda Geisha pour-over while my friend sipped his 1980 Cabernet Sauvignon from Caymus Vineyards. They both offered a little comfort in a cup.

Takamura Wine & Coffee Roasters is located at Osaka Edobori 2-chome, 2-18 2-2-18 Edobori Nishiku, Osaka. Visit their official website and follow them on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Eric Tessier is a freelance journalist based in Tokyo. Read more Eric Tessier on Sprudge.

The post Comfort In A Cup: Takamura Wine & Coffee Roasters In Osaka, Japan appeared first on Sprudge.

seen 1st on http://sprudge.com

[real-life-pine-tree]

Seed of Darkness: A Brand New Invasion (4/?)

All it takes it one bad seed to spoil the whole bunch. An AU collab with @violetganache42​.

Elsewhere, Dipper was in an alleyway with a cloaked person. They had just finished a duel and a dark red aura was forming around him. However, a glimpse of the clocked person's face alarmed him.

"You're-" Dipper started to say.

"Shh..." the cloaked person said, putting a finger to her own lips. "Don't be afraid," she said. "Embrace the gift of the Reverse."

A horrified Dipper couldn’t find the right words to help convey his reaction on what was happening. What is this Reverse that she speaks of? Who was this cloaked person? She looked so much like her, but she wasn’t here, so…why does she strongly resemble Zuzu? Right as he was about to muster up strength to respond, he could feel the power overtake him as his vision began to blur due to his blue eyes becoming soulless. He then fell down to his knees, which satisfied the cloaked Zuzu lookalike.

"See?" the lookalike asked. "That wasn't hard, was it?"

"Of course not," Dipper answered as he stood back up. "Now to spread the will of the Void."

"Yes," the lookalike agreed. "It will be pleased with the progress I have made."

Dipper raised his head up to look directly at the cloaked Zuzu-like girl with a whole new expression on his face along with the red markings given to him from the Void. Another person had fallen victim to the gift of the Reverse, pleasing her because this will help speed up the process of her plan.

"It won't be long now," the lookalike said. "I have already Reversed everyone in Duel Academy. It won't be long until everyone in this dimension also joins us."

Meanwhile, at the optometry clinic, Yoko and Yuto had already arrived and were both sitting in the waiting room. With everyone else ahead of them, they had to wait for their turn, so they decided to watch the live broadcast of the Arc League Championship on Yuto’s Duel Disk. They saw the full duel between Yuya and Iggy, and needless to say, they were just as confused and scared as the audience about what happened.

"I don't understand," Yoko said, voicing concern. "Yuya never acted that vicious before. What got into him?"

"It must have been that virus," Yuto realized. "What if it caused something to possess him?"

"Like a demon?" Yoko asked.

"Probably," Yuto answered. "His dragon didn't look normal."

At that point, a clinic employee entered the waiting room. "Mr. Osaku?" she asked.

Yuto tensed up. "Don't worry," Yoko said. "It will only take a few minutes."

"Alright," Yuto said. He took a deep breath. "I just hope Yuya is okay."

Meanwhile, back at the Center Duel Field, Yuya was off in the sidelines and wasn’t okay at all. A few hours had passed and he couldn’t get his duel against Iggy out of his head, but could you blame him? All he wanted was to make him feel better and not use violence towards his opponents, but he ended up making things worse for him instead. According to Zuzu and Gong, he got those weird markings and his tone sounded more cynical. It also didn’t help that everyone was horrified by what they all witnessed, so he wasn’t in the mood to come out in public where they could see him, especially since Zuzu’s duel was coming up.

As Nico announced the introduction of Micky Starlett of Dueling Dynamos as Zuzu's opponent, Yuya simply looked at Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon. He let out a sob, horrified with what apparently happened to him. "Oh Odd-Eyes..." he said. "What's happening to me?"

Meanwhile, Zuzu stepped onto the dueling field, ready for her duel. Even though Micky was hogging the spotlight, she wouldn't let that bother her. "Before this duel is over, I'll win 'em over to my side!" she vowed.

Elsewhere, inside the back area of the stadium, the cloaked Zuzu lookalike, her associate, and Dipper all walked down the hallways in search for more people to give them the gift of Reverse. The more victims they can hunt down, the more vulnerable this dimension will be for a takeover. Not far away from them was a young man walking in the opposite direction of where they were heading. He was fair-skinned with lavender hair and green eyes and wore a dark violet, button-up shirt with dark yellow linings and the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, a red tie, a white short-sleeved jacket with an LID pin attached to it, dark pants, a tucked red and black checkered pattern handkerchief, and dark maroon shoes. He was known as Kev Ravenwood, a student of LID’s XYZ Summon course, winner of last year’s Junior Youth division and currently a participant of the Senior division. He had already won his duel and was taking a break before heading off to the finals when he spotted the trio.

"Hey, backstage is only for competitors still in the tournament!" Kev pointed out.

"Are you...a strong Duelist?" the lookalike asked.

Kev was surprised upon seeing the lookalike's face. "Aren't you-"

"Correct you are, Ravenwood."

Upon hearing Declan's voice, the lookalike threw off her cloak to reveal her identity to Kev. She had a ponytail consisting of indigo hair and light blue side tails that were the same length as Zuzu’s and light green eyes. Her clothes were a variant of Duel Academy’s female Slifer Red uniform: a three-quarter-sleeved red jacket with two black buckles and a yellow stripe with a green-and-yellow star on each sleeve, a black shirt with a purple-brown collar, a red skirt with a brown belt, silver buckle ring with two brown straps going over her torso, black biker shorts, and brown boots. Her accessories included an orange handkerchief used to tie her hair up, and a brown glove on her left hand. Her most defining physical traits were her facial appearance looking exactly like Zuzu’s; additionally, she also had the same terrifying features as Dipper and her associate, meaning that she was Reversed too. The combination of the two made Kev more concerned than he initially was.

"Declan?" Kev asked.

"You may leave now, Ravenwood," Declan said.

"But..." Kev started to say.

"The way you won today was quite impressive," Declan said. "I look forward to your next match."

Kev nodded in understanding. "You won't be disappointed," he said.

But as Kev turned to leave, the lookalike looked rather unhappy. "Don't move!" she exclaimed as she ran forward.

However, Declan quickly grabbed her wrist, halting her. "Lay off!" she exclaimed.

"Get going now," Declan told Kev, prompting the Senior division Duelist to run off.

The lookalike pulled away from Declan. "Get out of my way!" she exclaimed. "Just who do you think you are?!"

The lookalike's associate stepped forward. "Let me take care of him," he said.

He also removed his cloak to give Declan an idea on who he will be dueling against. He was a tall, tan-skinned man with a buff body build, grayish-teal, spiky hair swept backwards, and crimson eyes. He wore a long-sleeved, dark green jacket with four pouches and the sleeves rolled up to his elbows to reveal his wrapped bandages on his forearms, a black shirt that partially covers his X-shaped scar, gray pants with a black belt, and black shoes. He also adorned with a silver pendant around his neck and an eyepatch on his left eye, which barely conceals his huge scar.

However, the lookalike looked at Declan, causing her eyes to widen in surprise. "No," she said. "You can't duel him."

"But the Void wants us to spread its gift," the associate pointed out.

"Not him," the lookalike said. "I can sense the dueling energy of his deck. He has Pendulum cards."

Declan raised his eyebrows out of surprise by what she just stated. She was aware of him containing Pendulum cards and told her associate not to duel him. Could it be that she may have given the former an advantage to this dueling viral outbreak? He closed his eyes and adjusted his red glasses while having his mouth form a smirk. It seems that the usage of Pendulum cards may be their weakness, Declan thought to himself. By glancing at or sensing someone’s deck, they can tell if that Duelist can Pendulum Summon or not, so they must have decided to spread their disease onto the Ritual, Fusion, Synchro, and XYZ users and avoid the Pendulum users. Seems the creation of the Pendulum cards proved to be more beneficial than I thought.

With Declan currently focused on his thoughts, the Reversed trio read his body emotion differently than him. They could tell he was fine with him not dueling with the associate at the moment and he had other plans in mind. Plans to try and thwart the Void. Not that it matters anyways. Try as he might, whatever he’s got cooking up will be nothing but feeble attempts to delay the inevitable.

Declan's glance shifted to Dipper. "So that's why Dipper failed to show up for his duel with Reed," he commented, changing topics.

"Precisely," the lookalike said. "He was chosen to carry out the will of the Void. His Constellar cards will be of great use to spread its power."

"What exactly is this Void?" Declan asked. "And why would you side with it?"

The lookalike let out a dark laugh. "I know you tend to sell your soul during duels," she said, referring to the Dark Contract cards. "Surely you would understand."

"Except I know this is not you, Celina," Declan said, addressing the lookalike by name. "We met two years ago. What made you fall into darkness since then?"

A few seconds later, Celina finally spoke. "Picture it," she said. "You are a soldier-in-training in Duel Academy. You spent your whole life wanting to prove yourself to the head of the school. But no matter how many times you prove your strength, all he wants to do is keep you locked up, not being able to rank up into the class of elite soldiers.

"So one day, after an encounter with a mysterious young teen, you finally decide to snoop around and figure out what the ultimate goal of Duel Academy is. But after finally hacking into the computer system, you learn the truth. If the dimensions were all merged together successfully, the results would include your own death. Then it hits you: the person you looked up to all these years was merely using you as a tool to further his goals!

"But just as you're about to give up, just as you hear people approach the room to probably erase your memories of what you discovered, you come across a mysterious entity that strongly resembles the Devil himself. This entity promises to free you from that fate of death. It will give you the power you need to fight back in exchange for you helping it spread its power. So, realizing there's no other option, you accept this entity's offer, letting it give you a portion of its power to defy your destined death.

"With this new power, you are finally able to fight back. But for now, upon the entity's orders, you wait, not wanting anyone else to know about the change you went through. Even after two years, you still wait. It wasn't time yet. You knew the cue was the disappearance of your chains.

"Ultimately the plan to fuse all the dimensions starts to take shape. That's when you strike in the shadows, wanting to free the other ones who wear similar chains. You manage to liberate two of them, freeing them from the same fate of death. Then one day, it finally happens."

Celina lifted up her right arm to reveal her bare wrist. "The chains you wore your whole life are finally gone," she continued. "That was your cue. You know the man who held you hostage this whole time is now powerless. So you finally confront him, making sure he would never interfere with your life ever again.

"With the grand manipulator out of the way, you proceed to destroy all of his progress. You even free everyone who was imprisoned. But while you send some people back to their home dimensions, the others stay as part of your own personal army. And with this new army, you are able to take control of all of Duel Academy. Every defeated Duelist becomes part of your army, so you keep repeating this process until you finally convert everyone in the school over to your side."

Declan was rendered speechless all of the information Celina revealed and had to process what he heard. This Void entity came to her because she found out about the Professor planning to fuse all four dimensions by apparently using herself, Zuzu, and their other two counterparts to fuel the merge at the cost of all their lives. Because of that, she freed her imprisoned counterparts and the non-Duelists of Heartland City, but the XYZ Duelists and the students of Duel Academy were now part of its army right after she ended her “idol’s” life before he could end hers. But that meant… Declan’s jaw dropped out of pure shock when he realized what she had done to the Professor. He was no ordinary professor. He was the same man who abandoned his family to head off to the Fusion Dimension. The same man who brought Action Duels to the Standard Dimension alongside Yusho Sakaki. The man known as Leo Akaba. His father…was dead.

"You murdered Leo Akaba?" Declan asked.

"Correct," Celina answered. She took out a card from her deck. "But it wasn't that hard. All I did was summon my ace and ordered her to attack him."

"With your Duel Disk?" Declan asked.

"No need," Celina said, the card now producing a dark red aura. "With the power of the Reverse, I can bring her to life without Solid Vision. Care for a little demonstration, Cat Dancer - Reverse?"

The card flashed a bright white light that sent out a black beam of energy into the real world. Upon impact, it exploded on the ground before materializing into what resembled the silhouette of a female duel monster with notable feline traits. The black energy vanished to uncover Celina’s ace monster coated in dark red aura: Cat Dancer - Reverse. Much like Odd-Eyes Joker Dragon, she also had a similar appearance to her incarnation Lunalight Cat Dancer but with some alterations. Her hair was white with long, luscious strands and locks of hair, her eyes were golden yellow underneath her black and magenta mask, and the colors of her clothes consisted of a black dress with long pieces of gray silk sewn all over the dress, a magenta cloth covering her breasts, a large, light and dark blue, crescent-shaped headpiece, and black barefoot stockings and arm sleeves. Instead of gold crescent moons and gold rings on her hands and feet, she had blood red Link Joker emblems and the rings were replaced with the black halos surrounded by the red light.

Declan took a few steps back in alarm. "What kind of demon is that thing?" he demanded.

"She's not a demon," Celina explained. "Cat Dancer - Reverse is a Fusion-Joker monster, the combination of a Duel Monster and a Unit. All of her stats remain the same, but she now has the traits of a Unit, specifically a Unit's Grade and skill in combination with her new special ability."

"A Unit?" Declan repeated. "What do you mean by that?"

"Oh, that's right," Celina said. "Didn't anyone tell you that the Void is actually from another planet?"

Declan questioned her on what she meant by the Void being from another planet and she took it as a sign that no one ever bothered to explain to him about what the Void is because it was all new to him. To put it simply, it was his way of telling her “no”.

"And that's why the Void chose to target Duelists," Celina continued. "You clueless people have no idea what it actually is. What better way to invade a planet than infect itself into the unfamiliar?"

"Celina, please listen to me," Declan said. "I understand how upset you probably felt two years ago, but you must stop. Can't you see how this could backfire?"

"You should be thanking me," Celina said. "Without the Void, Leo would still be alive. Now that I killed him, I ended the Interdimensional War before it could spread to other dimensions. I even liberated two of my other selves from their destined deaths, so they're much safer in my care."

"I beg your pardon?" Declan asked.

"Relax," Celina said. "I'll return them to their home dimensions once the Void is satisfied with my work."

Declan began thinking to himself again. Her counterparts are no longer imprisoned by my father yet they’re still at Duel Academy. She ended the war to prevent the dimensions from fusing, but she’s putting them all in great danger by successfully Reversing everyone at the Academy. Does that mean she managed to Reverse her counterparts as well before setting her sights on the students?

"Then from this point forward, I will change my priorities towards stopping the Void," Declan ultimately decided.

Celina frowned. "You dare make yourself an enemy of the Reverse?" she challenged.

"You're spreading the Reverse to everyone in all of the dimensions," Declan pointed out. "You didn't end the Interdimensional War. You only changed my opposition."

"Very well," Celina said. She retreated her ace back into her card before taking out a different card; a Spell card called Lunar Eclipse. "You have made a grave mistake, Declan Akaba. There's no stopping the will of the Void. This planet will be shrouded in darkness, and there's not a thing you can do to stop us."

A thick layer of black, cloudy fog faded in and covered Celina, her associate named Barrett, and Dipper. Declan ran towards them, but he stopped before he could reach them because the fog and the Reversed trio were all gone. With nothing else left to do, he grabbed his Duel Disk and contacted his mother Henrietta to warn her about a far more dangerous threat than the Interdimensional War.

At the same time, a young teen had just finished winning his duel not long after Zuzu’s and was walking inside the stadium. He had fair skin, gingery, spike-shaped, curly hair, green eyes, and a beauty mark underneath his right eye. He wore a long-sleeved, light blue, button-up collared shirt with a fuchsia ribbon tie around his neck, an orange jacket with an orange-yellow-black pocket on the left side no right sleeve, and a shorter right hang, gray pants, reddish-brown shoes, and a black glove on his left hand. The name of this teen was Dennis McField, an LID exchange student in Performing Arts and part of the XYZ Summon course, as well as one of the 16 Junior Youth Duelists advancing to the finals. Unbeknownst to everyone, he was actually an Obelisk Blue student and double agent from Duel Academy tasked with spying on the Standard Dimension to help the Professor retrieve Zuzu and Celina. As he idled in the halls of the stadium, his Duel Disk received a notification and sounded a ringtone; when he went to grab it, he saw that it was Yuri and Sora calling him to deliver the bad news and a warning. Curious, he answered the call.

"Oh, hey guys," Dennis said. "I was just about to call you. I saw Zuzu in the stadium, so-"

"Forget about the mission, Red!" Sora interrupted. "You've gotta protect Zuzu now!"

"I'm sorry, what?" Dennis asked.

"What Sora is trying to say is that there has been a change in plans," Yuri explained. "You see, the Professor was murdered."

Dennis nearly dropped his Duel Disk in alarm. "Please tell me that's one of your silly pranks, Yuri," he said.

"This is not a joke, my second-in-command and closest ally," Yuri said. "I found his corpse covered in bloody slash marks. There's not doubt that it's the work of Celina."

"Celina?" Dennis repeated. "But I thought she escaped to this dimension."

"I'm afraid not," Sora said. "Worse, she has formed an alliance with a demonic entity, spreading its power to everyone she encounters. She's probably taken over all of Duel Academy at this point."

"Oh dear..." Dennis said.

"Now do you understand what we must do?" Yuri asked. "At the moment, it seems we're the last followers of the Professor. We have to gather as many allies as possible to warn them about this."

"Well at least the people we carded aren't going to waste," Dennis hoped.

"Except Celina had freed every single one of them," Yuri added.

"And since she already stopped Yuri from capturing Lulu and Rin, I've got a bad feeling she's after Zuzu next," Sora said.

"So that's why you want me to protect her," Dennis realized. "But how could I get her to trust me?"

"Tell her you know me," Sora said. "I already earned her trust, so using me as a reference should make things easier."

"Alright," Dennis said. "For the good of Duel Academy, the true Duel Academy, I'll keep Zuzu safe."

"Thank you," Yuri said. "We will join you some time today. Hopefully Violet Flash won't transport Sora and myself to another country this time."

Dennis couldn’t help but wonder what he meant by that and Yuri explained that Violet Flash teleported him and Sora to halfway in Paradise City. He was kind of hoping they would actually end up in LID in no time, but it never hurts to try again; worst case scenario is they end up using it over and over again until they make it to their destination right in the nick of time.

Meanwhile, at LID, Henrietta was currently speaking to the Senior Division Lancers. Declan had just told her about the change in enemy, so she had to adjust the company's plan to form the Lancers.

"I'm terribly sorry for the sudden news, but I strongly urge all of you to stay home until further notice," Henrietta explained.

"What?" Kev asked. "But why?"

"There is a terrible outbreak going on," Henrietta explained. "If our strongest allies are infected over to their side, the battle will turn in the enemy's favor. You must let the decided Lancers take care of this from this point forward."

"Don't you mean 'defected over to their side'?" a purple-haired teen dressed in pink asked.

"No, I mean infected," Henrietta clarified. "The virus spreads to whoever loses to the enemy. I cannot let any of you fall victim to them, so you must stay out of this war."

Kev and the rest of the Senior Division Lancers all stared at each other from the news of the viral outbreak taking place. A pathogen capable of turning others into servers of the enemy? This kind of sounds similar to a zombie apocalypse but with it targeting Duelists instead of the entire human population. Just then, the brown-haired teen dressed in blue realized something; his head turned to his right where he saw the room’s clock and saw that it was almost noon. The finals of the Junior Youth Division were starting any minute, meaning they will most likely be vulnerable victims ripe for the taking.

But as the finalists were lined up to begin the Battle Royale, Yuya's mind was occupied. He had used his goggles to cover his eyes, still feeling upset about how he apparently attacked Iggy. Could this be related to him having bradycardia?

While Nico was going over the Battle Royale rules, Zuzu noticed Yuya's upset expression. "Are you feeling alright?" she asked.

"Do I look alright to you?" Yuya asked in response, a coldness in his voice.

Zuzu was taken back by the blunt response. "Is this about what happened with Iggy?" she asked.

"You and Gong said I was using a card called Odd-Eyes Joker Dragon," Yuya recalled as he sobbed. "But I checked my deck multiple times and there's no sign of that card." He took out his deck, which had Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon on top. "Are you sure that's what happened?"

"I'm sure," Zuzu replied. She gave Yuya's hand a gentle squeeze. "I don't understand what's going on either, but you can't let that bother you."

Yuya put his deck back in his Duel Disk. "How can I?" he asked. "What if that...thing happens again? What if I end up losing control?"

"Yuya..." Zuzu said.

"I'm sorry Zuzu," Yuya said, his body shaking. "But I don't think I can ever duel again."

Zuzu felt saddened by Yuya’s claim of not wanting to duel anymore. It was his number one dream of being a Dueltainer just like his father, so seeing this demonic event take place crushed any hopes of having his dream become a reality. He doesn’t want to end up becoming a monster again, but the fear of the unknown kept lingering in his mind. Right as Zuzu was about to comfort her friend, a trembling Yuya bolted from the row of the Junior Youth finalists and out of the Center Duel Field. Nico spotted him running away and misinterpreted it as him getting too eager to wait any longer and gave himself a head start; coincidentally, there was less than a minute left until noon, and with the ARC System deployed all over the city and preparing to project the four Action Fields, he carried on with finishing his announcements regarding the Battle Royale.

"Well it seems Yuya Sakaki couldn't wait any longer," Nico said. "So without further ado, let the Arc League Championship finals begin!"

With a snap of his fingers, Action and Pendulum cards were scattered all over Paradise City and the gates opened up, leading to the remaining 15 Duelists to head out onto the fields to begin their Battle Royale. In Zuzu’s case, she diverted herself from the group to find Yuya since he took a different way out of the Center Duel Field. Everyone else split apart to search for the Pendulum cards in order to aide them in their duels, especially Dennis because he, Yuri, and Sora have to do whatever it takes to protect Zuzu from this new threat. He was hoping they do get here on time before it’s too late. All 16 Duelists were now all over the city, but none of them were aware of the presence of three beings because they were hiding themselves away in an alleyway shortly after teleporting and waiting for the opportunity to strike.

[real-life-pine-tree]

Arc-V Aftermath: Soulmates and Rivals (20/26)

When all is said and done, things have quickly recovered in the four dimensions. But when weird things start happening, the Yu-Salad Boys and the Bracelet Girls quickly realize they have some loose ends to fix. Co-written with @violetganache42​​​.

WARNING: Dub names will be featured in the story.

As the first round continued, Nico proceeded to commentate on Team Obelisk's duels against Team Lancer, who had won the first set against Team Force. Block D's monitor had already revealed what the lineups were going to be: Yuri vs. Celina, Dennis vs. Sylvio, and Sora vs. Aura. Surely, focusing on another arena will keep everyone's minds off of some…unfortunate moments that occurred with Team Turbo.

"My goodness," Yuri said. "It seems I am going to duel Miss Celina." He let out a chuckle. "She will fall right into my Predaplant trap." His pupils became slitted once again as he finished the last sentence, which Dennis and Sora noticed since their friend was in between them.

"Whoa, calm down, dragon boy," Sora said. "You haven't even started the duel."

"Whatever do you mean?" Yuri asked.

"Your eyes are doing that weird dragon thing again," Dennis explained. "Sora and I both know that only happens when your heartbeat increases, which is usually when you're about to win a duel."

Well, Dennis was half right. The slitted pupils do occur whenever he has a faster heartbeat, but it is not just from winning a duel, which they were going to find out soon enough.

"My apologies," Yuri said. "We have won all of our duels in the previous round. If we defeat Team Lancer, we'll be able to move on to the next round." But his pupils didn't change back to normal."

After Dennis and Sora gave their considerations about victory, all six Duelists readied their Duel Disks as Block D was divided into three sections. However, Yuri and Celina were starting to love each other a little too much…and they honestly hate that feeling. How can a couple date each other and loathe the emotion of love? And to make things worse for them, the selected Action Field was Moonlit Ball, another costume-provided field that turned their normal clothes into formal attire.

While Celina bit her lip as she tried not to blush upon seeing Yuri in a dark blue tuxedo with coat tails, he was having a harder time. His girlfriend wore a purplish-pink, floor-length, strapless dress that split on her right to expose her right leg and had a pair of dark magenta high heels on her feet to match. What she was wearing went really well with her shoulder-length bob cut hairstyle, making it more difficult for the Predaplant user to cope with.

"Sh-Shall we begin?" Yuri asked, his arm shaking as he activated his Duel Disk.

"S...Sure," Celina agreed. She also activated her Duel Disk as she wished Yuri could go back to wearing his casual wear. That tuxedo looked so much better on him than his plant-themed t-shirt, jeans, and sneakers.

The two shouted out "Let's duel!" to begin their match, hoping this unbearable feeling wouldn't severely affect them.

Yuri looked at his opening hand. "My goodness," he said, smirking. "I drew the right cards. Now I shall set the Pendulum Scale with Performapal Ballad and Performapal Barracuda!"

"When did you start using Performapals?" Celina asked.

"Oh, don't act so surprised," Yuri said, glad he was finally acting normal. "Yuya let me borrow those cards for the tournament since they are the only Performapals that are as lovely and elegant as my beloved Predaplants."

"Great," Celina replied, sounding sarcastic. "Can't wait to see those two monstrosities-"

Her sentence was cut short when she saw the two Performapals. Ballad was a man who wielded two fencing sword and had a giant rose on his head, thorny vines behind his ears and on his left leg, and wore a white cape attached to a light chartreuse, light and dark green armor underneath a grass green vest, white pants, and brown boots with green studded straps. Barracuda was similar to Ballad, but had a darker color tone with different shades of dark purple on most of his appearance and had the vine wrapped around his right leg. There was definitely something wrong with Yuri because he would never use those cards up until now. What is he trying to do with this Pendulum Summon?

"What's the matter, Miss Celina?" Yuri asked. "Are you surprised by my true self?"

It may or may not be that, but she was clearly surprised to see him use Plant-Type monsters that aren't Predaplants. She was still confused on what he meant by that question; she was sure she saw his true self on the night of their date. Is there more to him than meets the eye?

Yuri let out a deep chuckle. "I'll take your silence as a 'yes'," he said. "Now watch four of my beloved Predaplants appear on the field in all their beautiful glory!"

With Yuya's Scale 2 Ballad and Scale 5 Barracuda set on the Pendulum Zones, he sent out his four Predaplants onto the field for his Pendulum Summon. Those four Predaplants were Darlingtonia Cobra, Moray Nepenthes, Pterapenthes, and Spinodionaea.

Celina was relieved. "So you're gonna fuse them into your dragon?" she asked.

"Not quite," Yuri replied. "I summon the Tuner monster Copy Plant!"

Once Yuri said the word "Tuner", Celina instantly knew he wasn't going to Fusion Summon, but Synchro Summon instead. Despite being a Level 1 monster with 0 ATK and DEF, Copy Plant's effect allows it to target a Plant-Type monster on the field and change its Level to the target's current Level until the end of Yuri's turn. With three Synchro monsters to choose from, it would be hard to figure out which one he would choose, but he already had his plan figured out beforehand.

"I activate Copy Plant's special ability!" Yuri declared. "Become a copy of Predaplant Pterapenthes and become one with Predaplant Darlingtonia Cobra to Synchro Summon into Queen of Thorns!"

Queen of Thorns was a Level 6 LIGHT Plant-Type Synchro monster with 2200 ATK and 1800 DEF. Her effect involves both Duelists to pay 1000 LP to normal or special summon non-Plant-Type monsters. What Celina was more focused on was the monster's appearance; she looked like she can harness the powers of the rose creatures that were part of her body.

"WHAT?" Celina asked.

"Hmm?" Yuri looked at her. "What ever is the matter?"

"That looks nothing like your Predaplants!" Celina pointed out. "What's wrong with you?"

Yuri was astonished at how Celina had the capability of catching on to his not-so-subtle differences, but she failed to realize what his true intentions were, which he will reveal in due time. For now, they should focus on this duel and the tournament.

"All shall be revealed eventually," Yuri explained as he set a card on his field. "But for now, keep in mind that you cannot summon any of your Lunalights unless you wish to give up your life points."

Celina was alarmed by what Queen of Thorns can do because Yuri can summon Plant-Type monsters without costing any of his Life Points. It was bad enough that she can't get rid of this feeling, but now she has to get herself out of this mess if she and her teammates want to move on to the second round. Once her opponent played a face-down to end his turn, she drew a card from her deck and looked at what she's got. She then checked her bearings to see if there was an Action Spell that can help her out.

Luckily Celina found a nearby Action Card, but before she could get it, she was slammed by a thorny vine. "What the...?" she mused.

"Don't think you can let an Action Card save you," Yuri said.

Celina glanced back at Yuri, who was holding the vine and explained it was actually a whip. This was a big—and possibly the main—reason as to why he has one: it makes getting Action Cards a lot easier to grab. This made her plan to negate Queen of Thorn's effect more challenging, but Celina was always a persistent girl and ran throughout Moonlit Ball to find another Action Card. Yuri pursued her, but didn't bother using his whip because he can only hold one Action Card at a time.

They dashed through the Action Field until Celina could find an Action Card. With his dragon-like eyes remaining on his face, Yuri anticipated her feeble attempts to avoid not losing her Life Points from his Synchro monster's effect. She paid no attention to him and sped up until she saw an Action Card hung up on a string of lights. She jumped onto one of the empty tables and leapt into the air to grab the card before landing on the ground to see what it was.

Celina smirked. "I activate the Action Spell Loving Spotlight to cancel your monster's effects for one turn-"

Before she could finish, a spotlight suddenly flashed down on Queen of Thorns to create a sparkly visual. She wasn't expecting the light to pop as it shortly blinded her; once she regained her vision, she stared back at Yuri and discovered his slitted pupils in the bright light. How long have they been like this? She obviously didn't see them like that during the surprise opening act, so it must have been recent, but why were they slitted?

"I see," Yuri said. "So as long as Queen of Thorns' special ability is negated, you can bring out your Lunalights during this turn." He used his free hand to clutch his chest. "Go ahead. Let me see your Cat Dancer try to take down my glorious queen."

Celina has never seen Yuri's eyes look like a serpent or a dragon until now. Since he now bears Starving Venom's eye colors, it made the dragon-like appearance stand out more, but she was more fixated on why they were severed like that and why he was clutching his heart. They rarely interacted during their time at Duel Academy, but she does know about his friendship with Sora and Dennis, so they could know if this was normal or not.

"Alright," Celina said. "I'll use Polymerization to fuse my Lunalight Black Sheep and Lunalight Crimson Fox into Lunalight Cat Dancer!"

With Celina's ace monster out on the field, it made Yuri stimulated to see Cat Dancer back for him to admire. If things couldn't get any better, she prepared to activate her Skill. "I activate my Skill: Natural Energy Burst!"

Although it was daytime, the sky got brighter from the lunar energy because it was still night somewhere else on Earth, meaning the moon never leaves the atmosphere. Celina's En Moons marking glowed cyan from her forehead as a matching symbol emerged on Cat Dancer's forehead as well, making her ATK raise by 500. The combined luminescence from the sky and her marking helped make her exhibit a prettier look, something Yuri was having slight trouble to not get himself distracted by her beauty.

"Lunalight Cat Dancer, dethorn that queen!" Celina announced.

Cat Dancer, now having 2900 ATK, unleashed her trademark attack on Queen of Thorns. Yuri was supposed to play his face-down card, but Celina's beauty diverted him from the duel as he was dealt with 700 damage, lowering his LP to 3300. The indigo-haired girl was proud of herself for vanquishing a monster with a admittedly useful effect. She set two cards face down and passed the turn onto her opponent, but he looked dazed and sidetracked for some odd reason. Her Battle Phase was already over, so why can't he stop thinking about her?

Yuri let out a loving sigh. "You are quite a lovely sight, Miss Celina," he said, calmly walking over to her. "How about we forget this duel and embrace the elegance of this Action Field?" He held out his hand.

Celina stood there as she admired the tuxedo Yuri was wearing, which was completed with a pair of white gloves that she never noticed beforehand. She couldn't prevent herself from not thinking about how handsome he looked as the two dropped their Duel Disks with music filling up the middle section. In between it, the Predaplant user's friends were struggling against Sylvio and Aura respectively in the other two sections. Despite switching archetypes, Dennis' Shaddolls failed to keep up with Sylvio's Abyss Actors whereas Sora wasn't expecting Aura's Prediction Princesses to be formidable against his Fluffals, Edge Imps, and Frightfurs. At the same time, they all heard the classical ballroom music through the dividers, wondering what was going on.

"Hey Yuri!" Sora exclaimed, riding on Frightfur Wolf as the Fusion monster ran all over the field to avoid Prediction Princess Tarotrei's attacks. "What's going on back there?!"

"Oh dear," Dennis remarked after using an Action Spell to protect El Shaddoll Wendigo from harm. "That doesn't sound good at all."

The audience members watching the duels in Block D were confused and concerned by this unexpected twist. Were Yuri and Celina…both surrendering their duel…because of their contagious love for each other? Whether it was or not, this was something that wasn't seem everyday, especially in a card game.

"Are you...asking me to dance?" Celina asked, feeling weird.

"Of course," Yuri answered. "You are quite stunning, Miss Celina."

"Stunning…" That was a word Yuri never used to describe his Predaplants. Celina was flattered by the compliment as a pink hue covered her cheeks. She asked herself if this was a sign that he genuinely loved her. Her response? Yes. Definitely. Absolutely. With the two lost in the depths of their trance, they began waltzing lovingly all over Moonlit Ball, much to the bafflement and distress of some of the people and Nico.

"You've gotta be kiddin' me!" Melissa cried out. "First Yuya and Crow tried to turn the Friendship Cup into a circus, now this?! When are these Duelists gonna take tournaments seriously?!"

Nico had no idea what Melissa was talking about, so she explained to him—as well as those from the Pendulum, XYZ, and Fusion Dimensions—about what Yuya and Crow did during their match in the Friendship Cup Semifinals.

"It was mighty strange," Melissa explained. "Instead of duelin' properly, those folks thought it was a good idea to start off their duel by entertainin' the crowd with Tokens. Even I'm not sure why they decided to do that."

Fortunately, Nico knew exactly what she was talking about and mentioned that it was an example of an Entertainment Duel. He should know because he broadcasted Action Duels, which were significantly popular among Dueltainers like Yusho, Yuya, and Zuzu.

"So those Dueltainers really are that flashy?" Melissa asked.

"Precisely," Nico explained. "So what Celina and Yuri are doing is providing that kind of entertainment..." He quickly checked their bios. "...which is odd because they're not actually Dueltainers."

The two announcers pondered on what was causing Celina and Yuri's abrupt "entertainment". Although they claimed how ironic it was for two teens who grew up in Duel Academy could end up Dueltaining the people, they were wavering on how long it will last because this waltz might give both Teams Obelisk and Lancer a losing point.

"Wait a moment!" Nico realized. "What kind of an Action Field is Moonlit Ball?! I never heard about it until now!"

He browsed through a list of Action Fields that were created, applying filters to make sure they were in alphabetical order, would only find those starting with "M," and provided costume for the Duelists. No results showed up about Moonlit Ball, which made Nico contemplate on whether this card was fake, limited, or banned.

"Folks, it appears Moonlit Ball is not an official Action Field," Nico revealed. "The duel between Yuri and Celina does not count as an official tournament duel."

Discussions arose from several groups of people; at least they now know if Yuri and Celina were actually forfeiting the duel or not. It still doesn't change the fact that Dennis and Sora were on the brink of defeat and needed to find ways to win against Sylvio and Aura if they want to progress to the second round. While they glued their attentions to the two official tournament duels, Leo was more satisfied with the unforeseen outcome as he watched his former Obelisk Force soldier and former Duel Academy student dance to the rhythm of the waltz music.

"Well done Yuri," Leo said. "That Action Field I created was just the right push."

A few minutes later, the waltz ended and Yuri and Celina continues to embrace each other. "Not bad," Celina remarked, noticing Yuri's dragon eyes have changed back to normal. "You're a good dancer."

"Thank you," Yuri replied. "It was part of my etiquette lessons. However, I'm surprised on how graceful you are."

"I've been taking ballroom dance lessons," Celina said, leaning in towards her boyfriend. "Gotta keep up the pace."

"Well you certainly have improved," Yuri said, also leaning in as well so his and Celina's lips were barely touching. "You have proven to be quite a stunning lady, and I love that so much."

A gratified Celina was too adrift in her abstraction she let her face blush harder than it did earlier. She also leaned forward towards Yuri, with the latter following suit. Their mouths entwined with each other, and with their lips locked in place, they shared a kiss that was difficult to be avoided for two young teenagers with little-to-no non-dueling social skills. Unbeknownst to them, their surroundings changed back into a regular section and they were wearing their normal clothes again as Moonlit Ball and their provided costumes vanished away so that Nico could replace it with an official Action Field.

"Sorry folks, but Yuri and Celina will have to restart their duel on an official Action Field," Nico explained. "The one I have selected for them is Predaplanet War Arena."

With a click of a button, the section transformed into Predaplanet War Arena momentarily after Yuri and Celina parted their lips for air. They then picked up their Duel Disks and walked back to their positions to properly start their tournament duel. However, their faces were expressed differently than what was usually seen in their previous duels. Instead of their typical emotions of rage, they were more…respectful of one another…on a mutual level. With the few weeks spent apart from each other, their personalities matured quite significantly. Maybe some time alone was what they needed after all.

"I must say, Miss Celina, there's quite a spark in your eyes," Yuri remarked. "Such confidence..." He smiled. "I like it."

"You changed too," Celina replied. "You're not as annoying as you initially were weeks ago."

"Then how about we settle our feud once and for all?" Yuri asked as he activated his Duel Disk.

Celina smirked as she activated her Duel Disk. "Challenge accepted," she replied.

With that being said, the two officially initiated their duel as Yuri began his first turn. For the very first time, this was truly a pure Fusion fuel between him and Celina. Predaplants vs. Lunalights. Starving Venom vs. Cat Dancer. Their past duels pale in comparison to the what they were displaying in the tournament, but it was only a matter of time to determine who will move on to the second round.

Using the Action Field to his advantage, Yuri whipped at Action Cards to take them and utilize them with his Predaplants, but Celina wasn't fazed as she attempted to find Spells and Traps to help her out. In other words, their duel went smoothly and brought more joy and glee to the audience watching it than it did earlier. Eventually, they were near the end and have already summoned their strongest Fusion monsters.

"So here we are," Yuri said. "My lovely Greedy Venom Fusion Dragon against your Lunalight Leo Dancer. Shall we see who has the strongest Fusion?"

"We shall," Celina agreed. "But keep in mind that Leo Dancer is immune to your dragon's special abilities."

"True," Yuri said. "But I'll find some other way to win."

Celina replied that he wouldn't count on it as she declared an attack with Leo Dancer. She destroyed Greedy Venom and dealt 700 damage to Yuri's Life Points thanks to Natural Energy Burst; normally, according to one of her effects, all special summoned monsters the opponent controlled would be destroyed as well, but since Yuri's field was completely empty, he was vulnerable for a direct attack. Coincidentally, another effect enables her to attack a second time during each Battle Phase, which was what she did as took out the rest of his Life Points to make her owner the winner of this duel and to give Team Lancer a win for this round.

Celina was surprised. "Did I...actually defeat Yuri?" she asked, completely surprised. Then she smile wide. "Yes! Team Lancer's going straight to the top!"

Just as she was done exclaiming that statement, the dividers lowered down to reveal Sylvio and Aura were both defeated by Dennis and Sora. Block D was done with their duels and all three teams in the block must wait for the results to see who will move on. Celina, on the other hand, was speechless and confused on why her teammates lost.

"What happened?" Celina asked.

"I'm not sure," Aura admitted. "I thought I was winning, but then Sora merged his three Frightfurs into this three-headed snake creature and crushed my Prediction Princesses!"

"I have to agree with you," Sylvio replied. "I thought my Abyss Actors have become stronger. It seems those Shaddoll creatures are far more powerful than I initially thought."

Yuri saw how well his friends did, but he noticed a dismayed Celina. It was nice to know she finally beat him in Duel Monsters, yet she and her teammates may not be placed in the next round. Perhaps an affectionate moment may cheer her up.

Without warning, Yuri hugged Celina from behind and planted a kiss on her neck. "What are you doing?" she asked.

"I believe it's what a lot of people call 'affection'," Yuri answered, feeling her soft hair on his cheek.

"Sounds disgusting," Celina said. She then heard a small whimper from Yuri, who was still holding onto her and trying to cheer her up. In retrospect, in the eyes of a girl with hardly any social skills, this display of affection was actually kind of cute.

The indigo-haired girl let out a sigh in defeat. "Do it again," she said as she tilted her head to the side.

Without any hesitation, Yuri resumed giving Celina pecks on her neck. It was obvious that they may need to take some time to get the hang of being in a relationship.

"Attention all Duelists," Declan said over the microphone. "All teams are reported to come back to the Center Duel Field. The final results have been calculated."

The four teams standing outside the four mini arenas headed back to their seats, with the other eight teams exiting said arenas and trailed down to do the same thing. Once everyone was seated, Declan and Aichi walked towards the stage to reveal who will be advancing to round two.

"Before we announce the winner, I have something important to say," Declan said.

"What?" Aichi asked. "Declan, if this is about Team Turbo-"

"It's not," Declan said. "My father, Leo Akaba, was not responsible for the rise of Zarc. It was me. I am the sole reason that this whole mess happened."

Everyone in the Center Duel Field and in the audience were muddled on what Declan was talking about. …Well, most of them. The Yu-Salad didn't see the teenage CEO of Leo Corporation on the stage; instead, they saw his past incarnation Seto Kaiba, apologizing for the Original Dimension's demise several years ago.

"It was my aggressive dueling style that started the trend of violent Action Duels," Kaiba said. "I was only demonstrating the new type of Solid Vision. I honestly had no idea that the demonstration would cause the world to separate into four dimensions. It was my fault that Zarc gave in to peer pressure. It was my fault that Leo nearly killed four innocent girls. And..." He took a deep breath. "I am very sorry for everything. So if you want to hate me, go ahead. I deserve it."

"No, you don't!"

The audience gasped in shock at the sudden outburst from Yuya, who was standing up from his seat as he remarked it out loud. "You might have been the reason for the dimensions separating, but you can't feel guilty for what happened during the Interdimensional War!" the tomato-haired teen continued.

"But if it wasn't for me, you would have had a completely different life," Kaiba pointed out.

Yuto stood up. "Don't say that," he said. "You might have been the unintentional reason for Zarc's rise to power, but your actions helped shape new futures for us."

"Yeah!" Yugo agreed, also standing up. "Thanks to you, we got second chances. We're practically new people now."

Yuri stood up as well. "So don't stand there and feel bad about yourself," he said. "We were able to redeem ourselves and become better people."

"You see?" Yuya asked. "While we came to accept that we were once one person, we now know that we've become more than that. We're now individuals and your actions allowed us to be together in spirit." He glanced at Yuto. "And some of us are closer because of fate."

Yuto smiled in response to what his cousin was referring to. "Counterparts by chance," he said, looking at Yuya. "Cousins by fate."

"Exactly," Yuya replied. He looked back at Kaiba. "And if it wasn't for you..." He took out three cards from his deck. "...I wouldn't have been great at other summoning techniques."

Those three cards were Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon's special summoning counterparts: Odd-Eyes Absolute Dragon, Odd-Eyes Meteorburst Dragon, and Odd-Eyes Vortex Dragon. After Zarc and Ray split back into their reincarnations, Yuya got these cards to replace Dark Rebellion, Clear Wing, and Starving Venom to give himself an identity even though the four Dimension Dragons helped bond the Yu-Salad together. Thanks to Absolute Dragon, he also now has yet another dragon within his deck called Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon.

"These cards represent my individuality," Yuya continued. "I no longer have the other three Dimension Dragons, but these Odd-Eyes variants are a way to show that I have changed as a person. If I never met my other selves, I wouldn't have been on the proper starting path to becoming a pro. As long as these three cards are by my side, I'll be able to use my power to keep the world entertained and smiling."

Kaiba was surprised to hear that. "I appreciate the words, but-"

"Okay Declan, I think you already confused enough people," Aichi politely interrupt.

"My apologies," Declan said. "The winning teams moving on to the next round are Team Smiles, Team Noble, Team Turbo, and Team Obelisk."

The Yu-Salad and their respective teammates celebrated the new of them winning the first round of the tournament, including Lulu. "I can't believe it!" she happily exclaimed. "We made it to the second round!"

"I know," Yuto happily agreed. "First the tournament, then medical school!"

"Medical school?" Shay repeated.

Yuto hasn't told the Obsidians yet, but he has finally figured out his future a couple days ago. After seeing Lulu and Shay suffer from the severe injuries they got during the Invasion, he wanted to make sure he'll help tend to people with any terrible lacerations. His plan was to attend medical school after he graduated from Heartland Duel School to get a medical degree and open up his own health clinic.

"Why are you bringing up medical school?" Lulu asked. "What's going on?"

Yuto realized he hasn't told her his plans for the future and had an "Oh, crap" look on his face, complete with a sweat drop creeping down from his forehead to his cheek. "Well... I..." he stammered.

"The next round will begin tomorrow," Declan said, making Yuto breathe a sigh of relief. "For now, I want the winning teams to rest up. Also, will Team Turbo stay behind for a few minutes? I wish to speak to them in private."

Yugo, Rin, Crow, and Shinji followed Declan backstage to discuss about what happened earlier. Meanwhile, the remaining eleven teams and the audience departure towards the doors while friends and families met up to congratulate on the other three winning teams and telling the other eight how proud they are for taking part in this tournament. Teams Smiles, Noble, and Obelisk were all excited about winning for different reasons: Yuya and Zuzu aim to become Dueltainers, Yuto wishes to start his own hospital, Lulu dreams of being a movie actress, Shay is preparing himself to run ObsidianCorp, and Yuri wants to teach Wicked Dueltainment to those interested in it, but he also mainly wants to continue seeking redemption for his actions during the Interdimensional War. Regardless of who will win, this will certainly mark the start of a bright future for the winning team.

[real-life-pine-tree]

Arc-V Aftermath: Performance Disaster (13/26)

When all is said and done, things have quickly recovered in the four dimensions. But when weird things start happening, the Yu-Salad Boys and the Bracelet Girls quickly realize they have some loose ends to fix. Co-written with @violetganache42.

WARNING: Dub names will be featured in the story.

"I activate my Skill: Mind Merge!" Yuya exclaimed.

Team Smiles continued with their training at You Show Duel School for the Team Duel Tournament. With it inching closer and closer, it almost feels like time is flying by fast, so Yuya, Zuzu, and Gong had to practice like there's no tomorrow. So far, they were making great progress on testing out strategies and noting the ones that worked well with their archetypes to use for the tournament.

Today, the three were in another Battle Royale with each other. It was Yuya's turn and he just Pendulum Summoned Performapals Hip Hippo, Helpprincess, Elephammer, Whim Witch, and Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon. He focused his power into merging his mind with his dragon, hoping Zuzu and Gong can tell the merge was a success if he displayed his mannerisms. He then fainted with his body collapsing on the floor. Surely, it must have worked like a charm when all of a sudden…

"Uh... Zuzu?" Gong asked. "Why is Hip Hippo running around acting like a dragon?"

Zuzu wasn't sure what was up with Hip Hippo, nor did was she certain if anything went wrong. From the looks of things, Yuya's mind merge worked based on his unconscious body, but the results were far different than what anyone expected. He accidentally merged with Hip Hippo, but since he believed it was a success, he started acting like Odd-Eyes. How are they going to explain to him?

"Yuya...?" Zuzu asked, nervously looking at Hip Hippo. "You might need to look at a mirror..."

Hip Hippo stopped moving once he heard Zuzu's voice. He looked rather confused on what she was talking about. Look into a mirror? That's impossible. There aren't any mirrors around in the field. He didn't need one because it quickly saw how short he was to the ground. A thunderstruck Yuya panicked a little because he knows he fused with Odd-Eyes; he shouldn't be this low to the duel field. The panicking made Hip Hippo freak out as well, so Zuzu told him to calm down and to try again. He ended up regaining consciousness back in his own body with his Performapal returning to normal. That was a bizarre mind merge. With his eyes matching his dragon's, the Skill was supposed to work with only Odd-Eyes and no other monster.

"Did I just mind merge with Hip Hippo?!" Yuya asked.

"Looks like it," Gong answered.

"Alright then..." Yuya said, standing back on his feet. "Let's try this again. I activate my Skill: Mind Merge!"

He concentrated on merging with ace again, but once his body passed out, his mind was transferred into Elephammer. He noticed how higher he was from the floor yet he wasn't able to make to Odd Eyes. He attempted his Skill multiple times, ending up in Helpprincess, Whim Witch, and cycling between all four Performapals with only increased frustration.

Yuya was fed up with this; first, he had to get adjusted to his new eye colors, and now his Skill isn't working properly. Based on what Yugo said, he got it right on his first try…and that one was an accidental discovery. If it worked for him, then it also must work for Yuto and Yuri, so why is he the only one faced with this hiccup?

"What gives?!" Yuya shouted once he returned to his own body. "Why can't I use my Skill?!"

Suddenly, Odd-Eyes made an angry growl. "Huh?" Yuya asked, looking at his dragon.

Odd-Eyes' growl sounded like he was preventing Yuya from doing something, but what was he even doing though? The tomato-haired teen realized why he was unable to perfect his Skill. Because of his Dueltaining techniques, his monsters have treated the duels as performances with his ace dragon as the lead. The mind merge felt like Yuya was try to take away the spotlight from him. It's also worth mentioning that during Yuya's duel against Declan, he thanked the other dragons, but Odd-Eyes wanted to be praised too. As a result, he is unable to utilize his Skill because his dragon has become an attention-hogging diva.

"You diva!" Yuya exclaimed. "You've been purposely preventing me from merging minds with you!"

Odd-Eyes continued behaving like your average everyday diva as his owner kept calling it out on his actions. It was embarrassing the Performapals because of the behavior he was displaying. Even the summoned Melodius and Superheavy Samurai monsters were a bit nervous about this conflict since they were sweating bullets.

"You're not the only monster I have, mister!" Yuya exclaimed. "That behavior might have been fine when we dueled Declan, but you can't keep the spotlight to yourself!"

With a loud roar, Odd-Eyes left the field. "Don't you leave when I'm speaking to you!" Yuya exclaimed as his dragon vanished.

"What just happened?" Zuzu asked.

"That Odd-Eyes thinks he can get away with anything just because he's my ace!" Yuya ranted. "How am I supposed to use my new Skill if he refuses to corporate?!"

This was going to be quite the dilemma to resolve. Given that Yuya's an aspiring Dueltainer and Odd-Eyes has become divaish, trouble was bound to ensue, meaning Team Smiles won't be able to train for the next few weeks before the tournament. It was a big deal and the three need to figure out a way for the Pendulum Dragon to decrease his prima donna ego to enable Yuya to use his Skill.

Gong patted Yuya on the back. "Don't worry, Yuya," he said. "He'll get over it by tomorrow."

"I hope so," Yuya said.

Later that evening, Yuya had already finished his dinner and was already in his room, lying on his bed and thinking about earlier. He and Odd-Eyes have been through everything together ever since his first Pendulum Summon. Why is it now that his dragon is acting so stuck-up? He really hoped he does get over it because this is one of the most awful timing to be in a pickle like this.

As he turned his body around so that he was facing towards the wall, Sora came in and saw his adopted brother what appeared to be sulking. He wondered if anything was bothering him; never hurts to ask, right?

"Yuya?" Sora asked. "Is everything alright?"

"Not really," Yuya admitted. "Odd-Eyes won't let me use my Skill."

"So you can't mind merge with him?" Sora guessed.

"Pretty much," Yuya answered.

"Why don't you ask your other selves if they're also having problems?" Sora suggested.

"Oh yeah!" Yuya realized. "They might figure out what's going on. Thanks, Sora."

Yuya took out his Duel Disk and opened up the Webcam app. He initiated a group chat with his counterparts; so far, Yuto and Yugo haven't responded, but Yuri has, and his new haircut surprised his Pendulum counterpart. He questioned himself if he contacted the wrong Duel Disk because the guy in the chat doesn't look like Yuri. He was informed about how the latter went to the barber shop the other day because he wanted to find a way to win over Celina. Yuya was impressed with how it came out and sincerely wished him good luck, receiving a "Thank you".

Yuri asked why the group chat was set up. Yuya responded that he wanted to talk to him and their other two counterparts, but Yuto and Yugo haven't answered yet. They assumed that the two were watching a movie with Lulu and playing a tabletop duel with Rin respectively. Yuri indicated that things can get quite intimate with the Synchro duo whenever they play tabletop duels, especially with the occasional hand-touching. Yuya let out a chuckle before clearing his throat and began explaining to the Predaplant user his issue with his Skill and what's causing it.

"I see..." Yuri said. "So you appear to be having a hard time mind merging with your dragon."

"So do you know what's going on?" Yuya asked.

"Not a clue," Yuri answered. "I never have problems merging my mind with Starving Venom."

Suddenly Yugo joined the group chat. He was out of breath, his hair was tussled, and his shirt was absent. "Hey guys," he said. "Yuri, is that you? You look different."

"Of course I look different, you moron!" Yuri exclaimed. "I recently got a haircut."

"What?" Yugo asked. "That can't be it. That cliché is too overused."

Sora overheard what Yugo said and sat next to Yuya, unofficially joining the chat. He told him that Yuri did get a haircut while casually mentioned that he and Dennis were with him at the barber shop.

"So what happened to you?" Yuya asked Yugo.

"Me?" Yugo asked. "I was helping Rin with Duel Runner maintenance when we accidentally touched hands. Then these strange thoughts came into my head and...well... Things got weird."

The other three boys had a feeling that it was intimacy he experienced; much to Yuya and Yuri's luck, they briefly discussed about how the Speedroid user had moments like this with Rin. But can you blame him? Since he is one of Zarc's reincarnations, he has some moments that could be described as…perverted… It was all because of the former champion's fantasies he had about Ray, which were passed down to Yugo, leading to these moments that were being described, including the most recent one.

"Dear god, you are only 14!" Yuri assumed.

"What?" Yugo asked. "Nah, we didn't do that. We only kissed a lot. Nothing much."

"Then why is your shirt off?" Yuya asked.

"RinRin got a bit handsy," Yugo answered.

At that moment, Yuto joined the conversation. "What is it?" he muttered, half-exhausted. "I was just sleeping."

"You sure?" Yugo asked.

Yuto moved his Duel Disk to briefly show he was in bed with Lulu, but unlike Yugo, he was fully-clothed in his pajamas. "Yes, Yugo," the eggplant-haired Duelist muttered. "I was. Now can someone please explain who had the crazy idea to call me this late?"

"I did," Yuya answered. "I'm having trouble with mind merging. Odd-Eyes isn't really cooperating."

"Then you really don't need my advice," Yuto said groggily. "I only have a hard time moving because Dark Rebellion is disproportional."

"Weird..." Yugo said. "Clear Wing is alright with me using my Skill."

"As does Starving Venom," Yuri repeated.

"So I'm the only one who can't seem to mind merge properly?" Yuya asked.

"Looks like it," Yugo replied.

"Great," Yuto muttered. "Goodnight."

Yuto disconnected his webcam from his Duel Disk to get some sleep, leaving Yuya, Sora, Yugo, and Yuri the only ones left in the group chat.

"Pfft... Party pooper," Yugo said.

"Yuya, your dilemma is rather curious," Yuri remarked. "Have you done anything that lead to your dragon acting so odd?"

"Not really," Yuya answered. "But I have to ask. What's it like when you mind merge?"

"It feels rather...unusual," Yuri answered. "You're you, but you're not exactly you. There is also a voice you constantly hear, almost as if you are in perfect sync with your dragon."

"I don't get what any of that mean, but Yuri's right," Yugo replied. "Your mind is merged with your dragon's mind. Your thoughts become one."

Could that be it? Are Yuya and Odd-Eyes not perfectly in-sync because of their "clashing" personalities? Maybe what Yuri and Yugo said helped explain the Dueltainer vs Diva situation he was in. Just then, he had an idea. If he can at least reason with his dragon tomorrow, then there may be a chance of him practicing his Skill. From the sound of things, he may have found the answer to his problem.

"Thanks guys," Yuya said. "I think I managed to figure something out."

"No problem," Yugo said.

"Glad to be of service," Yuri said.

The three ended the group chat, but before Yuya got ready for bed, Sora asked how he was going to solve his conflict with Odd-Eyes and if it'll work. He was reassured that it was bound to work, no matter how stubborn he may act or how difficult the conflict may get. Besides, the worst case scenario is the rest of the Yu-Salad and their dragons getting involved…albeit Yuto since he was having trouble moving around after merging with Dark Rebellion. Sora nodded his head and reminded Yuya if everything works out tomorrow.

The next day, back at You Show, Team Smiles was about to start another day of training. Yuya informed Zuzu about his discussion with his counterparts and how he may have found a solution to his problem. She was glad to hear it; hopefully, he will start practicing his Skill in no time. However, the conflict worsened because when Yuya was starting today's Battle Royale, he looked at his hand and noticed his ace was no longer in his Pendulum form; he reverted back to Odd-Eyes Dragon. Why on earth would he do something like that? Regardless, it shocked and disappointed him.

"Odd-Eyes?!" Yuya asked. "What happened to you?!"

Zuzu laughed a bit. "Guess someone's still being stubborn," she pointed out.

"Okay, that's it!" Yuya said as he sent text messages to his counterparts through his Duel Disk. "I'm getting backup!"

Well, it looked like the worst case scenario ended up happening earlier than Yuya anticipated. Several minutes have passed and his counterparts arrived, wondering what was going on when they were shown Odd-Eyes' original form. He took things too far for his owner, and what's worse is that Yuya wanted to try out his solution he came up with last night.

"Oh dear," Yuri said. "That does look troublesome."

"So what do you want us to do?" Yugo asked.

"Bring out your dragons," Yuya explained. "They might be the only ones who can snap Odd-Eyes out of this act."

Yuto, Yugo, and Yuri took out Dark Rebellion, Clear Wing, and Starving Venom. The Yu-Salad activated their Duel Disks and drew the cards that they needed to perform their respective special summons.

"Turn up the heat, Odd-Eyes Dragon!"

"I XYZ Summon Dark Rebellion XYZ Dragon!"

"I Synchro Summon Clear Wing Synchro Dragon!"

"I Fusion Summon Starving Venom Fusion Dragon!"

All four dragons appeared on the dueling field after being summoned by their owners. Upon seeing each other, they roared and bellowed to one another—this was their way of communication. With them inheriting distinct personalities, their "conversation" reflects the Yu-Salad to an extent. Clear Wing is quick-tempered, Starving Venom is snobby, and Dark Rebellion keeps the dragons in check; usually Odd-Eyes is a cheerful performer, but since he became more of a stuck-up diva, this conversation was necessary to try and reason with him.

At one point, Clear Wing slashed at Odd-Eyes, surprising Yuya. "Yugo!" the tomato-haired teen exclaimed.

"Sorry, Yuya," Yugo said with a shrug. "That's usually how Clear Wing tries to reason with others."

Dark Rebellion growled at Clear Wing for slashing Odd-Eyes like that while Starving Venom let out a huff at it. Yuri described that it was his dragon's way of calling Yugo's a moron. "Like owner, like dragon", as his modified version of an old saying goes. Then again, Yugo didn't mind being called a moron, so he wondered if Clear Wing did the same; as it turns out, she didn’t mind that nickname. Yuri couldn't believe what he witnessed between the two dragons, and naturally Yugo played the "Like owner, like dragon" card, slightly annoying his Fusion counterpart. If that was the case, then how does Winter Bell call Clear Wing a moron?

After that little shenanigan was settled, the three Dimension Dragons continued with their intervention with Odd-Eyes as everyone else watched on.

At one point, Odd-Eyes growled a bit, causing Yuya to look surprised. "Odd-Eyes, watch your language!" he exclaimed.

Even his counterparts and the other dragons were shocked at the…colorful vocabulary they just heard. The dragons glared at Odd-Eyes, as if they were pointing out that he said some 'bad language words'.

Zuzu grew worried about this conversation; what if it grows worse, and if does, should she have to contact her counterparts and use their ace monsters to assist the Yuto, Yugo, and Yuri's dragons? She had to voice her concern to the Yu-Salad about Odd-Eyes.

But then, Dark Rebellion growled at Yuto. "You want me to activate my Skill?" the eggplant-haired teen asked.

Dark Rebellion nodded "Yes". There was another reason why this worst case scenario was made last night: Yuya's counterparts demonstrating their Skills to show Odd-Eyes that the mind merge is not bad and helps establish teamwork between the Duelist and the dragon. Yuto hasn't perfected his Skill because his dragon was disproportionate and hard to move around in. Starving Venom and Clear Wing also wanted Yuri and Yugo to activate their Skills as well to aid the XYZ Dragon-Duelist duo in convincing the reverted dragon, just in case he does stumble. Without any hesitation and further delays, the three began to concentrate their power as they chanted out their Skill activation.

"I activate my Skill: Mind Merge!" Yuto exclaimed.

"I activate my Skill: Mind Merge!" Yugo exclaimed.

"I activate my Skill: Mind Merge!" Yuri exclaimed.

With the sound of the three roars echoing throughout the duel field, the three boys' minds became one with their respective dragons, causing their bodies to fall and lie limp on the floor and Dark Rebellion, Clear Wing, and Starving Venom to gain their owners' mannerisms. As predicted, Yuto couldn't maintain his balance because of how heavy the wings were and the bent legs weren't helping. This was admittedly embarrassing, but aside from that, it caught Odd-Eyes' attention.

"You see?" Yuya asked Odd-Eyes. "I'm not taking the spotlight from you. We're sharing it, like a team. So will you let me mind merge with you?"

Odd-Eyes looked down at Yuya, whose dual-colored eyes stared calmly back at him. He soon realized how much of a jerky, attention-hogging diva he acted since yesterday and wanted to apologize for his behavior; fortunately, he knew the best way possible. Yuya's pendant started glowing out of the blue as a light blue aura surrounded the dragon, transforming him back into Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon. Yuya's eyes lit up with glee, indicating his ace that he forgives him, and to show how the two will always make an amazing team, he exhaled as he shouted out his Skill activation once again.

"I activate my Skill: Mind Merge!" Yuya exclaimed.

The power Yuya was concentrating on began surging from his body to Odd-Eyes, who let out his famous roar; everything was going well so far. His body then fell on his knees as he fell face first on the floor. Now all four boys laid without consciousness, with Zuzu and Gong watching and waiting to see if the mind merge worked this time. Before anyone knew it, Odd-Eyes slowly lifted his head, looking around to get a feel of his surroundings; he was surprised to see how high he was off the ground. He turned his body around a few quick times to see if what was happening was real. Sure enough, it was. He growled and bellowed happily upon discovering that the merge was a success. Even the other merged dragons were proud of Yuya's achievement. Below them, Zuzu was celebrating her heart out.

"Yuya, you did it!" Zuzu cheered.

"How are ya feeling?" Gong asked.

Despite the fact that the Yu-Salad can't speak when merged with their dragons, Yuya tried to respond to Gong's question regardless. All that came out of Odd-Eyes' mouth were the sounds of growls. Gong had no idea what he was saying, but Zuzu can tell their friend is really happy to finally utilize his Skill for the first time.

A few minutes later, the Yu-Salad returned to their original bodies. "That was amazing!" Yuya exclaimed, feeling so overjoyed. "It was like I actually became Odd-Eyes!"

"It is rather a delightful feeling," Yuri said. "Being able to become one with your monsters brings out the best in them."

"It is!" Yugo agreed with a thumbs up. "I even get to experience what flying feels like!"

"I just hope I can get my balance right," Yuto sheepishly admitted.

Now that the Yu-Salad have all gotten opportunities to try out their Skills, Zuzu, Lulu, and Celina haven't yet brought out their marks full potential, making them the remaining three of the eight counterparts who never tried out a Skill. Thanks to Rin, they have gotten a sense of how it works; she even came up with a name for it: Natural Energy Burst. They're hoping they don't run into any problems themselves because each concluding day brings them, their friends, and the other teams closer and closer to the big day of the Team Duel Tournament.