#yuma & astral > yugi & atem

[t4tieflings]

Had a conversation with a friend about the levels of Co-dependency of each Yu-Gi-Oh Partner Duos and these are the rankings we landed on. 

[eobardthawneallen]

Happy 27 years of YGO! and Me! ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ 🍰🎉

[I.D: in chibi style all the anime yu gi oh protagonist are there, looking at the camera.

from left to right Yusaku is smiling with his mouth closed, he is doing a peace sign but the back of the hand is facing the front.

next to Yusaku is Ai in his soltis form, he is smiling with mouth open, he is rising his hands wide with palms open.

in front but between Yusaku and Ai is Astral, he is holding a purple balloon. he is smiling with an upside down triangle mouth. he is looking towards Yuma who is to his side.

Yuma has a 3 mouth and is chewing something, he is holding one piece of cake and with the other a fork.

by Yuma's side is Yugi, he is holding with both hands another dish with a piece of cake, but this one has 2 light blue lighten candles forming the number 27. he is smiling with his mouth open.

Behind Yugi is Judai, he has heterochromia, he is smiling mouth closed, a hand is putting on a party hat, and the other on one of Yugi's shoulder.

then by Yugi's side is Atem with a "v" smile, he has his arms crossed. he is doing a peace sign, palm down.

in the back is Yuya, is jumping to appear, he is doing peace signs with both hands.

Yusei is in front of Yuya and next to Atem, he is smiling showing his teeth, he is holding a piece of cake in one hand and a frok in the other.

in front is Yuga, smiling.

then, by his side is Yudias holding a plastic cup with one hand and the other is on his hip.

some details, Yugi and Atem are wearing the clothes from dsod, in Atem's case the hologram's ones. Yudias is in his warrior/dueling form, everyone else is using their regular clothes. cake is dark purple bread, middle is light blue, icing is pink, the border is double color of light blue and purple with little white stars. the party hat and cup are blue with pink and blue stripes. Background is purple, there is colorful confetti and some balloons. END ID]

[atemyuu]

As Keyshipping is basically canon…and Astral also says this:

(“my other self” what we hear from Yugi and Atem) Puzzleshipping can also be considered canon, in this essay I will….

[kaiowut99]

"Hey, are... Are you okay?!"

"Urgh... Of all people, I was careless... I should have realized it the moment in which you looked up at my five Hopes."

["Man... This is even cooler than I'd ever imagine!"]

"'Than you would imagine...' In other words, you expected me to assemble my five Hopes!"

"*snickers* Figured it out, huh?"

"You even went as far as acting surprised when Hope made his entrance..."

"The time I spent making this deck was the most I ever used my head! And as I did... I kept thinking back... to the battles I've fought with you... You're the one who made me as good as I am now, Astral. All the tough spots I got through with you made me confident--in how I'd bring it to 'em, and in my power to believe in people! You and I are cut from the same sheet--so... if I have the power to believe in people, you have to have it, too! That's why I want you to think about 'em again... the power to believe in people, and how we all have the power to kick open our futures! And that's why I won't give up! You might be the best duelist in the world, but even if my odds of winning this duel are 10,000 to 1, I'm gonna make that miracle happen in this duel!"

"...*smile* That is the spirit... Let us see you try, Yuma! On behalf of the Astral World, I will battle with everything I have! Let me see everything you have!"

[unfunny-ness]

I saw an image comparing those 2 shots on twitter and then I went to watch both openings to see in what part they appeared and I think I'm going insane it doesn't help that I already was noticing quite a few similarities between zexal and duel monsters

[nancelilspace]

Reminder that my shop is still OPEN, until June 18th.

You can buy them ->HERE<-

[fanfic-lover-girl]

Yuma & Astral > Yugi & Atem. Fact

As usual, my disclaimer. Yugioh DM and Yugioh Zexal were the only two Yugioh series I watched completely. I watched DM in the dub and Zexal in the sub. If I had known about the sub as a kid, I would have watched DM in sub :'(. But I was not watching the whole series again. I have watched several sub clips though so I have a fair idea of the Yugioh DM sub.

Now that I have listed my credentials...let me start what may be a hot take.

I love both partner pairings though I like Yugi & Atem more just because I was never a huge Astral fan. But objectively, Yuma & Astral are the superior pair when I look at their story arcs.

The problem with Yugi & Atem is that Atem feels more like the main protag than Yugi. It was not until the Memory Arc during the Yugi vs Bakura duel that it hit home that Yugi was meant to be the main protag. Sure, Yugi has his moments but Atem does all the heavy lifting. Yugi and Atem had great teamwork in the Pegasus duel and it was epic to witness. But otherwise, Yugi does not really have any memorable duels until the last arc. Yugi only duels when Atem is unavailable (eg. in the Bandit Keith duel) or for emotional duels (eg. possessed Joey). Atem is the guy who ultimately defeats the main players: Bakura, Pegasus, Kaiba, Marik, and Dartz. Yugi is basically Atem's support guy and is delegated to the background. Which is why I was never a huge fan of their ceremonial duel. It felt totally unearned to me. First, Yugi has the advantage of knowing Atem's deck while Atem has little knowledge of his. Frankly, the ceremonial duel is quite forgettable and underwhelming. The main moments were Yugi defeating the Egyptian gods and that last symbolic move with the Ressurection of the Dead card. I like Yugi but he never felt like the main character of the story. Atem fought all his battles for him. When things got tough, Atem took over and Yugi took the backseat and got all the glory. Yugi deserved better and I wish his title of King of Games felt more earned in the narrative because Yugi is canonically a prodigy gamer too. In the dub, Yami's thoughts while dueling sound like Yugi so it makes it appear that Yugi is contributing. It's a nice touch but hardly enough to compensate, especially since the sub does not have anything like it as well to bolster Yugi.

Now Yuma and Astral. Thank goodness I found the sub. Dub Zexal is annoying to watch. Yuma is one of my fav Yugioh protag. Honestly, a lot of times I have Yuma as my favourite. Yuma's development was incredible and he is unlike the others who were just naturally amazing duelists. Because Yuma started off as a bad duelist, he relied a lot on Astral. However, what makes the dynamic between Yuma and Astral more interesting than Yugi & Atem is that they are separate entities during the duel so we get to see their interactions. So instead of just possessing Yuma's body, we see Astral coaching Yuma and even some amusing situations such as when Astral played reverse psychology on Yuma when the kid was being stubborn and refusing to listen to him. As Yuma became better, he became less dependent on Astral and we even see Astral congratulating Yuma on creative plays that impressed him. Then we see Yuma and Astral as equals when they fuse with the power of Zexal (cool power by the way **squeal**...although it can be too OP lol). Because of this, I always saw Yuma as the main character of the story, despite Astral's amnesia driving the plot. We see Yuma defeat the villains, sometimes without Astral. Yuma's rivals are HIS, not just Astral's. We see Yuma and Astral working together on screen. We see that Yuma and Astral's goals begin to conflict when Yuma befriends the Barians who are the enemies of Astral world. Therefore, Yuma's ceremonial duel with Astral had so much more buildup and was way more climactic. Yuma grew as a duelist to the point where he could defeat his teacher and step up to save the world from his best friend if need be. All with a smile on his face. I don't care what the Zexal haters say! Yuma is such an awesome character, despite being one of the youngest protags.

Both ceremonial duels have heartwarming endings. But I think Yuma and Astral had a better dynamic than Yugi and Atem. Yugi's only moment against a main villain was in the Duelist Kingdom arc but he never got a moment to really shine after that until literally the last minute.

[mement0m0r1]

Yugioh protagonists and their spirit partners. Send post

[chaoticcreatorgardendean]

"Naminé born from the ocean's waves yet people are drawn and mesmerized by the shimmering water surface no matter how bright or dark it is,she alone can stand in it even if the waves were to remove her alone can she withstand it,but those who came not to existence by its water's are to be drown by it,I alone can take it this is why I will always sacrifice myself so that no one ventures into it's deep abyss and fall in it forever,my family, my friends and my camarades I won't let them get dragged down by me,I maybe able to save them from it countless times but what happens when they are lost in it or is too late to save them from their fate as danger, tragedy or themselves claims them? Forevermore,I will never ever let that happen that I swear it as long as I bend whatever power I have to my will!"- Naminé

[hellohimawarihana]

Yu-Gi-Oh Transformations, ranked by me

I did say in this post that Yu-Gi-Oh is no stranger to transformation sequence, but the more you look at it, it's like that all series had this in some degree, so I decided to rank them from least appealing to the most mind-blowing. It was inspired to this post, by the way. Unlike the protagonists ending post before, I'll include Go Rush!! as well, but I'll only include those from the protagonists and their main anime, so no Capsule Monsters or special episodes like Bonds Beyond Time, or supporting characters in that matter.

We'll start with the series that stood out the least, which is...

8. ARC-V

Yes, it’s pretty unappealing even for me. The Awakened version (left) are just him surrounded with aura and his mutated Z-ARC (right) is… not on my book.

7. Original / Duel Monsters

I ranked DM version a bit higher than ARC-V for this list. Yes, it’s the first and longest Yu-Gi-Oh series and therefore it’s iconic but Yami Yugi a.k.a. Atem didn’t really change clothes outside of making a cape jacket from his host. It’s still good that he manages to split into two selves for his partner later in the story.

6. Duel Monsters GX

It’s like Yami Yugi and Awakened Yuya because he spent some time being possessed by Haou / Supreme King (right), but Judai does had a control of his powers after gaining that and Yubel’s (left) powers and abilities, after that he doesn’t actually transforms outside the eye changes so I can’t rank him higher.

5. SEVENS

From demonic look to Sentai hero... Though unlike other series (except number 4 that will be explained later) these came off as one-off forms as he only wears the costumes in one duel with the process akin to early Metal Heroes series. But his roll call of The Yugaman (right) is cool, by the way.

4. 5DS

While the usual preparation before Riding Duel is pretty cool, this part stands out among my brother's favorite Yu-Gi-Oh series. Yusei just turns gold for his ultimate Synchro Summon technique, but it’s still cool. There’s even non-Riding Duel version on his Duel Links portrait too.

3. Go Rush!!

This recently airing series has the protagonist surrounded by blue (sometimes green) aura to turn back into his real, alien form. But it’s just “casual *flash* battle form” so I can’t rank him too high. But I like how he keeps doing this before his own duel, even when he doesn’t use this stock footage anymore starting in Season 2. And he’s unique among the protagonists as he’s one of the two capable of transforming on his own without outside source.

2. ZEXAL

The concept is similar to DM and GX, only this time Yuma merges with Astral and can de-fuse anytime unlike the latter series. Dark ZEXAL (top right) isn’t in my book and just a palette swap between the first ZEXAL form (top left), which is my favorite. But the other ZEXAL forms (bottom) are awesome too, evolving through Yuma and Astral’s bond. I just wish that the other forms appeared in Duel Links as a skill and not just his first form. Normally, this will be all-time favorite for transformation fans for Yu-Gi-Oh, but he’s ranked here because...

Well, you know who will be my top pick:

1. VRAINS

While I grew up with DM series, my interest took at peak after seeing Yusaku’s transformation sequence when he logs into LINK VRAINS or any cyberworld. It’s cool and flashy, and I like the blue background, even though his Playmaker form has barely any blue on it. The pocket dimension where Yusaku transforms fits its technology theme too. I especially like the hair part, just look of his cool face! And he can transform by himself, just like Go Rush!! series!

The only downside is like Go Rush!!, he doesn’t do this stock footage anymore after Season 1 Episode 30, any login after that is just offscreen or the intro survives but he’s just do the login in blue flash of light, which is disappointing, he even lack the double henshin with Takeru! (his adventuring partner who has the same animation when he individually transforms) But I do like the fact that the world unlock scene in Duel Links has this transformation sequence, which is a nice callback for the first episode where Playmaker’s transformation was shown for the first time, especially for the players who had finished the anime since spoiler alert: Duel Links’s VRAINS World takes place after the end of the series.

See more of VRAINS' henshin here.

[gonuclear]

yugioh protagonists ranked on who i’d take to a metal concert but so far i’ve only seen dm and part of gx when i was a kid:

(i kinda wanna do another one of these with a handful of other random characters i like if this does well)

yugi muto, but specifically as atem. i think regular yugi would try to enter the pit and almost get trampled. atem on the other hand? he would kill it. both would be into the music but atem would listen to much heavier stuff than yugi

yusaku fujiki. i think he listens to black metal and he’s got some repressed shit he needs to get out. i also think he can do a really good metal growl, and somehow doesn’t demolish his throat

yusei fudo. same reasons as yusaku but i think he’d mostly listen to metalcore. i’m confident he has sempiternal seared into his brain (also collide with the sky). i think he’d also listen to a fair amount of classic metal too, especially dio, iron maiden, and black sabbath

yuya sakaki. yes but only symphonic or power metal. i think he’d respect them as performers first and come around to the music second. the more epic the metal the more he likes it. huge fan of dragonforce and is a frequent listener of through the fire and the flames (in its entirety)

judai yuki. it would take a long time for him to like it, but he’d eventually come around. you’d probably never see him at anything heavier than like….of mice & men but he’d secretly slip a few songs into his studying playlist. (god forbid chazz catches wind of this, he’ll be awakened like a goddamned sleeper agent)

yuma tsukumo. i’m sorry i genuinely believe this poor kid would cry as soon as someone tries to pull him into the pit. i don’t think he’d be a huge fan of the music either, and would probably be genuinely scared of black metal or any of the other really heavy stuff. might come around but it’s unlikely. (astral would probably be into it though)

[moonlit-orchid]

Random cross duel au headcanons that I felt like spewing:

-They're all multi-lingual in some way. I hc Jack as French and Chazz and Kaiba both know many languages due to being rich kids/business people, and so the others all end up picking up on some of the languages

-Pretty much EVERYONE knows at least basic Arabic. This is because Atem and Yugi (who I hc as half-Egyptian) speak Arabic. Atem and Yugi speak to each other in arabic a lot, and Atem likes to use Arabic nicknames for everyone (especially Yugi). Also if Atem is annoyed he'll switch to Arabic. And if Yugi speaks in Arabic when annoyed, you're screwed. Because of this the others all can speak at least the most basic Arabic, even Yuma and Joey (Joey retains his Brooklyn accent in his arabic and it drives Kaiba insane while Atem just cracks up)

-Anyone under the age of 15 is labelled a child. Astral is the only 'partner/mentor' who is one of the children, and this annoys him a little more than he likes to admit.

-Yuto is the oldest of the children, then Yugo, then Yuri and Yuya, then we get to Astral, and then Yuma and Yuga's group. The fact that he's younger than all the Yu-boys, even Yuya, also annoys Astral, especially when him being younger means he's not listened to.

-Age is power. Especially when it comes to the younger group, because in any situation a yell of 'well, i'm older than you!' immediately leads to said older person being in charge. They've ended up in so many stupid situations because Yuya, Yugo, or even Jaden has pulled the 'I'm the oldest' card, which shuts down anyone younger than them (it drives Astral insane because he's perfectly aware that he's the smartest-and he's only like 3 months younger than Yuya)

-But on the other hand, pulling the 'I'm younger' card works too, because the younger they the more babied they get. Especially if they want something. Yuma takes full advantage of this. Astral can too, he just choses not to because he doesn't like manipulation.

-Everyone has called Yugi 'mom' at least once. Either it's a slip up, sarcasm, or a friendly nickname.

-Yugi is the only person who doesn't get overruled by the "I am older than you" card. Everyone, even Kaiba and Jack, end up listening to him.

-The fact that big strong Yusei is very obedient to Yugi and Yugi orders him around exactly like a parent will never not be funny to the group, especially to the younger ones.

-Everyone has had to share a bed at least once. Even Joey and Kaiba (it was chaotic) and they all share rooms that are CROWED simply because Kaiba never built the mansion to house 15+ people!

-The only person who doesn't share is Kaito, who is even more anti social than Yusaku. He sleeps in a tiny storeroom. By choice. And somehow fit a whole computer set up in there.

-Surprisingly, Kaiba is actually kind of close to the younger group. They remind him of Mokuba. And something about how helpless Yuma is makes him feel the weird urge to protect him.

-Yusei keeps mixing Leo and Yuma up. They're exactly the same. They're also a completely chaotic, idiotic duo who encourage each other to do reckless things. They're also not allowed to be together without Astral.

-Yuya, Yuma, and Jaden are not allowed to be together without Yusei right there and Kaiba within the next few miles.

-Kaiba does a lot of the telling off.

-On mother's day the group gave Yugi gifts which touched Yugi. On father's day they gave Kaiba gifts which embarrassed him but also made him secretly happy

-Kaiba has started a duel school that all of school age attend, middle to high ("as if the last one didn't traumatise a bunch of kids"-Atem)

-Astral is the only one of the kids that doesn't attend. For obvious reasons.

-Mai and Jack have, on more than one occasion, had to pretend to be one of the younger ones' parents.

-Mai never calls herself the mom. She's the cool aunt. And she says Joey is the cousin who does drugs, while Kaiba is the aunt who talk shit about everyone. Kaiba isn't sure what he thinks of being called an 'aunt'

-Astral's closet consists of pieces of everyone's clothes more than his own, even one of Kaiba's shorter jackets (it's still huge on him) and a scarf from Declan (Declan also has a million red scarves and Yuya is starting to find that concerning). He even has a jumper of Kite's (except he stole that to tick Kite off-these two are currently beefing and will be petty with each other)

-Astral and Kite get into too many fights. Waaay too many.

-Actually Kite ends up in a lot of fights. He has a talent for irritating people. His main beef is with Bandit Keith of all people (kite mutters he's like another mutton hair he knows)

-Quite a few people have picked up on Zuzu's fan-hitting habits. Mostly the girls. And Astral, Syrus, and Yusaku

-Yusaku and Skye can transform back and forth from their Playmaker and Blue Angel personas.

-Yugi taught Yusaku how to crochet, so Yusaku can do something other than stare at a computer screen. Yusaku finds it comforting, and likes making little animals with them.

-Yugi, Yusei, Astral, and Yusaku are the 'quiet group'. Sometimes the other boys want to attend something that is waaay too crowded and loud for Astral and Yusaku's liking, and as Yugi isn't a fan of that and Yusei prefers quiet, the four of them end up doing something more calming.

-The girls hang out together in one group. It's a much more organised group than the boys. If they go to the fair, all the girls manage to get to all the places they want and all come home comfortably. As for the boys... at least 2 will go missing, 3 will need to run looking for a toilet, and Kaiba has had calls from them begging for help.

[eobardthawneallen]

Happy 26 years of Yu Gi OH! and me 🥳🎉

(click to see more detail)

[number-1-kuaidul-fanboy]

I did a tier list of all the final and penultimate duels in Yugioh

Because uh... I felt like it.

As for what qualified and what didn't, whatever I could find a picture for and qualified as either a "final boss" duel or a "ceremonial" duel and was within the last at least 10 episodes of its respective series. Yes, I am aware I put three duels for Zexal and that's because all three of those duels felt final in some way. Further explanations below:

'SHADOW REALM' Tier: The final Zarc duel.

It has some cool moments, particularly from Shay/Shun and Declan/Reiji, but it goes on for way too long, threw Riley's character completely down the drain for no good reason, and Zarc's character in this duel is so boring compared to what we got in his backstory.

'Why Did You Do... That?' Tier: Yuma vs Astral & Yusei vs Z-One

Both of these duels are interesting and fun if you're just looking at the cards that are being played. The character content though? Astral's final appearance in the show is him acting out of character and lying to Yuma to "help him have fun with duelling again." It always felt like a watered down copy of Yugi vs Atem and Judai vs Yugi to me.

Yusei vs Z-One is a little better for me since the Z-One twist is just disappointing rather than frustrating (at least for me) but both of these duels feel off because of one character decision so it felt right to put them in the same tier.

Serviceable: The Final Luke vs Yuga & Yuya vs Declan/Reiji

I don't have any huge issues with either of these duels. I'm obviously biased towards any Declan duel and while I wouldn't seek out this one in particular, it's still a fun one and an... okay choice to be the final duel of Arc V. Also, Yuya understanding Zarc is a great moment. I like that.

The final Luke vs Yuga duel (AKA: the table top duel where Yuga finally wins) was an interesting idea that's done fairly well. It's not the most standout thing on its own, it's more so the reason they're duelling and the fact that Yuga finally got to defeat Luke that I remember it.

Good: Yusei vs Jack (Round 3? I think?), Yugi Muto vs Bakura, Yuma vs Nasch

All good duels. They're not among my favourites but they hold my attention. DM's lawless overly long duels aren't my thing but Yugi vs Bakura was a great idea and short enough that it doesn't overstay its welcome.

Yusei vs Jack is... well, apart from the reason they're duelling (which is really emotionally resonant don't get me wrong) it's kind of just another Yusei vs Jack duel to me and... well, it was never dubbed and I admittedly find myself bored by Yusei and Jack's personalities in the original version. Still, the emotions behind it do hit hard and I do still like these characters so it's good overall.

It might be controversial of me to put Yuma vs Nasch as low as I did? I don't know, I always found it just... a little too long and Nasch throwing the duel to be a little weird? Still, it's a really fun duel and the emotions behind it do hit hard. This sounds weird but I feel like maybe I'd like it more if it were the final duel rather than the penultimate duel? Like, if it were the final note the series ended on it would hit a little harder?

Great: Yugi vs Atem, Yuga (and crew) vs Otes, Yuma & Nasch vs Don Thousand, Judai vs Darkness

Yugi vs Atem is my favourite DM duel, basic opinion I'm sure but the emotions hit me hard to this day and Yugi facing off against the partner and cards that helped him his entire journey was the perfect note to end DM on.

I did not give Sevens' final duel enough credit when I first saw it, this duel went hard. I love the way they involve Yuga's friends, I love the fact that it's SEVEN friends duelling the final villain, I love the silly absurdity of duelling in spaceships. The final arc had its problems with pacing but this duel still slapped.

And Zexal's final boss duel is also genius. The three main factions (Astralworld, Barianworld, humanity) who were fighting each other the entire second half of Zexal teaming up to defeat a god was just... the perfect way to do a final boss. Also, the Numeron Code and the way they beat it is some bullshit but it's the kind of silly bullshit I enjoy from Yugioh.

Not gonna lie, I was tempted to put Judai vs Darkness in top tier but if I'm being completely honest, Darkness is a boring villain without much buildup. He was built up through other characters but not on his own if that makes sense? But uh... fuck if I care, he may be cardboard for Judai to beat up but he's cardboard that lead to Judai using Super Polymerization to fuse Yubel and Neos. And also, the power of that scene where everyone is freed from the darkness forgives all perceived problems with this duel for me because of just how much that scene continues to mean to me. That part is top tier.

Peak: Soulburner vs Revolver, Ai vs Playmaker, Judai vs Yugi

I love how varied and interesting Revolver's duels are so it's no surprise I love his final duel as much as I do. It's also such good closure for Soulburner, the only character who was allowed to get proper closure in VRAINS if I'm being honest. This duel is both epic and emotional, propping it this high.

Ai vs Playmaker and Judai vs Yugi I've discussed extensively in other places (ie: my 'Favourite Duels of Each Series' post) so I'll keep this brief: Ai vs Playmaker is tragic in all the right ways, slowly unraveling and revealing Ai's motivations amazingly well before hitting us with that tragic as all hell final note. It's fantastic, and probably the 'best' final duel and one of the best duels in the franchise.

But Judai vs Yugi is my favourite because it's the most fun. It's swift, it's simple, it's fun, it's unique, it's two pros equally trading blows in ways that are easy to follow, in a good way. It's probably the duel I rewatch the most (outside of maybe Judai vs Yubel). The whack logic of the duel taking place at all aside, this was such an uplifting perfect feel-good note to end GX on and such a wonderful way to complete Judai's character arc with. I love that he hit rock bottom in season 3 but was able to crawl back up in season 4, maturing but learning not to abandon his inner child, his love of duelling, and what better way to do that than have him duel a duelling legend? He earned it.

[shitpostingkats]

8 and 18 for the YGO ask meme? P.S. Helloooooo ^.^

8. Favorite antagonist/villain

You know? Shoutouts to Brron! He doesn't get enough love. I really love his design and they way he's animated in the show, this sort of creaky dusty mummy that doesn't have any bones and joints in all the Wrong places.

18. A random headcanon

Ooh I can't narrow it down to just one so I'll do some for each series I've seen.

DM: Atem is stupid nearsighted and this is why he does the squinty squinty whenever he takes over. This is really impressive because he's the one who actually passed the drivers test for Yugi (Yugi's a fine driver, he just couldn't get through the exam without having a panic attack) and to this day no one knows how he did it because the man is coke-bottle-glasses-blind and needs help crossing the street most days. Yes, this means Yugi has technically driving illegally his entire life. No, he doesn't feel one bit bad about it.

GX: Listen to me. I am looking directly in your face. Tyranno Hassleberry would be an amazing principal/chancellor of duel academy. He's a friendly leader type who loves learning and being in charge of rowdy hooligans. He effortlessly takes command of the student body like three times in the series. He's weird and fun and would be utterly beloved by his students because yeah he talks like a retired army colonel but he also goes off on hours long tangents on the cretaceous period and lets any student who wants avoid going home over the holidays tag along on his archeology digs and/or camping trips. He seems to be friends with the entire work force of pro duelists and duel historians and duel physicists and regularly invites them to the island to give presentations. I know Shepard set the bar low but Tyranno Hassleberry is going to raise it.

5Ds: I haven't posted any art of it, but I like to draw Yusei with tattoos! He gets a new one for every person that's important to him, so he has a full sleeve on his right arm (though his tattoo for Martha is right over the scar on his stomach) and even gets the dragon head inked back on after the end of the series. Also as stated previously I fully believe in my heart of hearts that Carly Carmine is a lesbian. And I believe with certainty that she should go on a date with Stephanie (the server from blue eyes coffee). Stephanie opens up her own little queer coffee shop called "Les Bean" or smth and Carly becomes a full on investigative reporter who keeps getting in trouble with the cops because she and her six foot tall emotional support himbo investigate leads by picking fights with violent criminals and there's really nothing anyone can do about it.

Zexal: I haven't finished with the series yet but I am full to bursting with headcanons for what astral world is like and if the show wants to contradict me it is welcome to try. I think astral world is completely underwater and filled with bioluminescence and weird deep sea creatures. Everything is floaty and sways in the currents and an astral's hair is like the fronds of a sea anemone and it is customary/fashionable to have schools of fish swimming around in it. Some astrals decorate their bodies with coral and plants and are floating ecosystems. There's a good deal of Societal Value attached to how many creatures you are in symbiosis with. Astral himself doesn't know exactly why he feels so grief stricken when he sees Yuma fiddle with the beads in his hair, or feels so lonely when he looks in an aquarium, but he's working on it, and as far as he's got Yuma, then he's not alone at all :)

[waveridden]

tell me more about manipulashipping 👀 i am very very very intrigued

ok let me try to keep this calm and normal the tldr is while i was rewatching dm a while back i realized that there’s something really interesting in how both of them handle bodily autonomy and also anzu’s take-no-shit empathy would be good for marik as he recovers from the All Of That

the longer version goes like this:

anzu is a dancer, and has been trying to become a dancer for years. it’s the kind of thing that requires discipline, and she’s good at that, understanding each muscle in her body and the purpose it serves. she practices and practices until she is in control, insomuch as she can be. (she’s still subject to some pretty horrific sexism, esp if you consider s0/pre-dm manga stuff as being a similar canon to dm.)

marik does not have control over his body. this is a privilege he does not get. he is burned and branded and tattooed. he is dragged kicking and screaming into becoming his family heir, no matter how much he wants to leave and explore and be somewhere else or be someone else. the only thing he wants, even as he begins spiraling into revenge and grief, is to gain enough power that he can leave his tombkeeper duties behind.

(which btw - something incredibly fun/sad about his primary method for achieving his goals centering around literally possessing other people. marik wants autonomy sooooo bad that he will take away other people’s autonomy in order to get it.)

my original fascination with marik/anzu (my top secret is that i hate the ship name lol) stemmed from a canon divergence idea that can be summed up as: there is something super fun to me about anzu and marik ending up body sharing. like, you have this woman who is under so much social scrutiny but finds freedom through dance, and through control, and then you have this man who has never been able to control his own body, living in her head. anzu who would willingly carve out space in her mind for marik but will never forgive him for violating her; marik who does not know how to take space in a way that doesn’t hurt people, learning how to set limits. not to mention having anzu be a capable duelist with Marin’s help would be fun (imagining more of an astral-yuma setup than an atem-yugi but i digress)

all that aside, i think there’s just so much here. that’s not even getting into the fact that for both of them freedom means traveling abroad, which leads to fun postcanon opportunities. to me this relationship is about autonomy and also forgiveness. can you forgive someone who does something horrible to you? can you forgive them if you understand why, if their life was your worst nightmare? can you understand someone if their dreams are yours? can you love someone like that? can you let yourself be loved? can you meet someone in a bar in new york or a hotel in cairo or a stage door in tokyo and choose to start over?

marik and anzu: for people who have lots of thoughts about bodies and control! (do you guys think bodyshipping works as a name. it’s honestly more normal than a lot of other ship names)