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torterracotta · 5 months

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Is yugioh a good game? I've only seen the anime.

oh god no.

listen, the thing you need to understand is that it was never meant to be a real game. Yu-Gi-Oh started out as a game-of-the-week horror manga with a premise that can best be described as "what if Billy Batson transformed into the killer from Saw." The card game (at that point called Magic and Wizards, changed for fairly obvious copyright reasons), didn't show up until the ninth chapter, and then they kept doing other shit for like the next twenty-five. It only got brought back because there was such a large fan response to that chapter (largely because of everyone's favorite Batman, Seto Kaiba), and then they went back to doing other shit until the mid-fifties, when the focus shifted almost entirely. The reason the rules were so different in the Duelist Kingdom arc of the show was that the rules weren't even finalized until the second season. There were two (well, one and a half) entirely different versions of the game before Konami got the license, and crafted the version we have know. Even looking at the early video games, there are two or three entirely different formats before we finally got something based on the rules of the physical card game. I can't stress this enough — it wasn't a real game, it was a plot device that became wildly popular out of nowhere.

Once it *was* a game, they had to contend with the fact that it wasn't very well balanced or thought out, and shit got messier when you looked at the show. All of the big flashy monsters the main characters used were hot garbage in any situation that didn't involve telling a story, and the things that weren't garbage were outright broken and quickly had to be limited or banned outright (for example, the Spell card Pot of Greed, which allows a player to draw two cards from their deck, and add them to their hand. Great when a goth ghost needs to show his faith in the Heart of the Cards, less great when nerds like me start throwing around shit like "a free plus one."). It didn't help that real life games took between twice and four times as much time to play.

So, early YGO was slow as hell, which was its own pain in the ass, but these days? After two full decades of power creep and needing to sell the newest set to an increasingly older player base?

Now the game is a coinflip. You either go second or you lose, unless your deck has an option for a Zero Turn Kill instead of a First Turn Kill. Effects have gotten so intertwined and convoluted and, frankly, incestuous that they've gone from "draw 2 cards" to legal contracts. There's no grace, there's no elegance, there's just a nonstop autistic deck-measuring contest.

Zero out of ten, I'll play it until the day I die.

#Yu-Gi-Oh

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likeabxrdinflight · 2 years

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you know why season 0/the early manga of yugioh is interesting, because it was so clearly written before it was clear that atem was like...actually atem

the early version of the character was pretty transparently meant to be the other yugi, and only the other yugi, really until somewhere between bakura's first arc and the end of duelist kingdom. but they definitely weren't treated as especially separate characters at first, rather as two halves of a whole, until that point. it was first presented like magical DID more so than ghostly possession.

what's interesting about this is also kind of what's unfortunate about it- it's that yugi's character development also becomes atem's character development. as yugi becomes stronger and grows closer to his friends, so does his other self. yugi's friendships fuel all of atem's actions- atem isn't driven by anything that isn't also driving yugi. he acts like an extension of yugi's will, taking over only when yugi's soul isn't strong enough or physically able to continue.

earlier in this first arc, that tends to happen earlier in the conflicts. as the arc progresses, however, and yugi gets stronger and more confident, atem waits longer and longer to show himself. hell, in bakura's shadow game, it's not until yugi's soul is literally sealed away that atem even appears. as it was written, this arc seems to be the culmination of yugi's first arc- he is now strong enough and confident enough to believe in his friends wholeheartedly, and that faith allows his other self to believe just as much, and ultimately win the game. the two of them are treated like a whole person, like one duelist.

but what you can read into all this, once you know that atem is in fact an entirely separate person, is that this first arc is really about atem first becoming like yugi- about the healing effect yugi inadvertently had on him. when atem first appears, he's this demonic entity with a gambling addiction, meting out sadistic punishments on anyone who hurts yugi or his friends. I think we're first meant to believe this is an alternate personality that the dark powers of the millennium puzzle draw out, but actually no it's this amnesiac ghost in possession of ancient egyptian shadow magic who just got slammed with all the memories of the person whose body he can now possess.

so with hindsight, and you do kinda have to read this into it because atem's character is not explored as his own person until later, but this arc really becomes about how atem finds his chill. over the course of the season he doesn't stop doling out vigilante justice exactly, but he does calm the fuck down. the more he adopts yugi's identity as his own, the more he becomes like yugi- and it softens him. about mid way through season 0 the penalty games become a lot less sadistic and violent- atem goes from burning men alive and torturing them to insanity to making them think their make up is constantly flaking or getting doused in water on stage. there are several opponents he just lets go free, and by the end of the death-t arc he's not only saving mokuba's life, but he's shattering only the corrupted part of kaiba's soul, leaving the good parts of him totally intact. he gives kaiba the chance to heal, something he never did for his earlier opponents. he goes from morally ambiguous to outright good guy. and during the very last arc of this series, he's actively incorporated into the friend group in his own right, even if he is still being treated mostly as the other yugi.

and I think you can and should also infer that this is how he thinks of himself- he has no identity at this point so he totally and completely takes on yugi's and doesn't think twice about it. that would seem to contradict the later reveal that actually no he's a whole other person, but it kinda inadvertently works in its own way. because if the final arc is about atem and yugi separating, this first arc is how they come together.

#considering season 0/the early manga as part of duel monsters canon also improves the story line of season 4 but we'll get to that later #anyways this is my thesis on why you can and should consider season 0 part of the anime canon even though there's times they contradict #........and repeat plot points #I love this dead gay pharaoh with my whole chest #...nobody following me signed up for this I am so sorry you're just gonna have to sit through the yugioh rewatch and suffer with me #yugioh

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millenniumdueled · 12 days

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Their Duel begins, and Raphael starts off strong, with powerful monsters to guard him against everything the Other Yugi tries to throw at him. Even the attack that had defeated the god Obelisk is useless against Raphael. And like before, Raphael seems to be willing to do anything to keep his Guardians from the Graveyard, even at the cost of his own Lifepoints.

Would a man like that really play the Seal?

Other Yugi tries to remind Raphael of his bond with his Guardians, to make him look at himself and the respect he shows his monsters.

But it's no use. His words never seem to get through to the man.

"I'm willing to accept the darkness in my heart. That's what makes us different, Nameless Pharaoh," he says flatly, staring down at the cards in his hand with a neutral, tight-lipped expression. "Unlike you, I'm willing to make it a part of myself, to fulfil my destiny until the time of my own sacrifice."

On the street far below, Yugi's friends stop in their tracks outside the Paradias headquarters. Téa gasps, her heart sinks as a pillar of teal light illuminates the rooftop that towers over their group.

Are they too late?

They all race into the building, across the lobby to fill the elvator. It ascends achingly slow, every second filled with trepidation. Tristan shifts the unconscious Joey on his back. Kaiba taps his foot.

When the doors finally opens and they all spill out onto the roof, it's to a dismal scene. Their friend standing at only 500 Lifepoints, facing a powerful Guardian Eatos with black feathered wings and 7000 Attack.

"That's the monster that beat him last time--" Tristan gasps.

But this time, Other Yugi has a plan. He's able to force Raphael's turn to end, to buy himself some time.

But is that all he can do? Stall?

He glances at the group of his friends cheering for him now.

Another turn comes and goes, before Other Yugi finally pulls the Eye of Timaeus. Yes!! It fuses with Yugi's beloved Dark Magician to create a dragon with an effect to make it powerful enough to destroy Raphael's Guardian.

Will this finally make him see?

Watching his beloved Guardian fall?

A storm of black feathers swirls across the field. When they settle, Raphael has steeled himself once again. He stands with his fists clenched, his jaw set, his shoulders tight. As he shakes with rage, he sets a cutting, red-eyed glare at the Other Yugi.

The Seal pulsates. Throbbing like the pulse in Raphael's ears.

Other Yugi feels his blood run cold.

"You sent my Guardian Eatos to the grave...." Raphael's voice shakes with resentment.

The rooftop seems to crack open, a black mist errupting from the crevice. A rotting hand, bound in dirty bandages reaches up from the depths of hell.

"But you can never kill it. Their corpse will take revenge."

The monster that climbs to the field stinks of decay, red eyes glowing behind a white mask and a mess of long, matted hair. It reaches out one of those rotting hands, and a massive, black scythe appears.

In order for the zombie to attack, Raphael has to sacrifice all of his other monsters on the field. He sends them all to the grave without a hint of hesitation.

"How could you," Other Yugi gasps. "After all you did to keep them alive--"

There's nothing he can do as the undead Guardian Dreadscythe destroys his Amulet Dragon. Other Yugi's Lifepoints drop to 300.

He can't give up now. Even without his powerful dragon, the Pharaoh swears to see this through.

But his heart aches for his enemy.

And all he can seem to do is stall.

Even after returning the Eye of Timaeus to his hand to play again, he can't destroy Dreadscythe. He lets out a frustrated scream as his dragon is destroyed again, leaving him with a measly 10 Lifepoints.

"Why are you just drawing out the inevitable? What makes you think you can escape your destiny?"

Other Yugi is quiet as he draws for his next turn. He looks at the card he's just pulled for a moment, and his expression softens. "Why are you so sure you can't?"

"It hurt, didn't it? When you sent all of your precious Guardians to the Graveyard, your heart was screaming. Wasn't it?"

Raphael falls silent, narrowing his red eyes at his opponent.

"My Partner helped me see how important it is to understand the burdens of my enemies. To feel their pain.... You've accepted the darkness inside yourself, but that Seal is keeping you from accepting the sorrow you feel too. So, I'll remind you."

The card he plays next lets him take Monster Reborn from his opponent's Graveyard. But this time, it isn't his own monster he revives.

White feathers rain from the sky as Eatos rises again, on Other Yugi's side of the field now.

But Other Yugi isn't done.

He still has one card in his hand, and as he looks at it now, a little smile crosses his lips. He glances behind him, to the unconscious form of his best friend, still held on Tristan's back, and plays the Claw of Hermos. The Goddess Bow that it creates raises Eatos's Attack, matching that of the Dreadscythe.

The zombie's effect prevents it from being destroyed, at the cost of one card in Raphael's hand. But the Bow's effect allows Eatos to attack again whenever that effect activates, over and over, until Raphael has nothing left to discard, and the two Guardians go down together.

Raphael falls to his knees as he calls Eatos's name.

A hush settles over the battlefield.

"I knew you'd call for Eatos. And not that thing," Other Yugi says, after a moment. "You called out for the light, you changed your heart. You can change your destiny--"

"I said it's too late for that." Raphael takes a deep breath. He doesn't bother to stand again. When he looks up from the card he's just drawn, that pointed malice in his eyes has once again turned to sorrow. "The Seal of Orichalcos will take the loser's soul. You still can't change that."

He plays Soul Charge, instantly bringing back every monster in his Graveyard... except for Dreadscythe. The resurrected monsters can't attack this turn, but it doesn't matter. Every one that takes the field drains 500 Lifepoints from Raphael.

They hit 0 as Eatos takes their place on his field, and the Seal closes in around him.

But as the Other Yugi swallows down the bittersweet taste of this victory, his eyes go wide.

Though the light of the Seal fades, Raphael doesn't. The man blinks in confusion, reaches for the turquoise stone around his neck, only for it to crack and shatter in his hand.

There's little time to assess what just happened, however, as the building begins to shake.

"Run," Raphael orders. "This building is set to collapse when our Duel ended."

Though the others immediately turn to run for Kaiba's waiting helicopter, the Other Yugi hangs back, trying to pull a man twice his size to his feet. "I'm not leaving you, Raphael. Get up," he urges, but the Duel had taken its toll on him. Though the Seal had left his soul, it had seemed to sap all of Raphael's energy as it faded.

He tries to stumble along, to support himself and follow, and the Other Yugi does his best to support him. But as pieces of the rooftop crumble around them, it's clear they can't both make it in time.

Raphael slips something into the Other Yugi's hand as he makes up his mind. Takes a deep breath and summons every trace of strength he has left to scoop up the much smaller man and toss him onto the open ramp of the helicopter that hovers at the building's edge. But there isn't time for him.

As the others help pull him safely inside, the Other Yugi screams for Raphael as the facade of Doma's corporate empire crumbles to dust.

#ooc #plot #arc: what the doma?!#okay #I really didn't want this one to be 3 parts long and all card games #but even after cutting out a lot and moving some potatoes around #it's still pretty meaty #but we're getting close to the End Game so there won't be *too* much more to have to read after this #hopefully #jfc this took me all day to write

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abellaheart-blog · 1 year

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PLATONIC REQUEST. Yu-Gi-Oh DM, few years after it finishes. Scenario, or one-shot fic, your choice! Female reader and Kaiba have become great friends after working together for 1-2 years. (Mokuba secretly helped this happen.) Reader calls him Kaiba. Don't make Kaiba too "nice," he's a bit difficult even with his friends. Reader and Kaiba have a bunch of same interests and dramatic personalities, trust each other. But now they're in way over their heads in a dangerous situation, and they know it!

Author Note: Sorry this is so late! Had a bit going on. I hope I fulfilled this request.

Seto Kaiba x Reader Platonic Scenario

Many years would pass for Kaiba since his teens and in his early twenties he found himself working with his best friends. There was his younger brother and then you. You didn’t always start off as Kaiba’s bestie. In the beginning you were nothing more than his employee. It was your friendship with Mokuba that cemented your own relationship with Kaiba. Though platonic it still came with perks. The Kaiba boys would bring you foods and drinks when arriving to Kaiba Corp. For holidays and birthdays you received the most expensive gifts. In turn you were the true friend they always needed in their lives.

You’ve been friends with Kaiba due to your similar interests and hobbies. Today you brought your deck to show off to Kaiba. You’re hoping to duel him after work if he wasn’t too busy. You’re sure his schedule would allow him seeing as he adores dueling.

Upon entering his office you’re faced with his grouchy expression and dark circles underneath his blue eyes. Your mouth is agap knowing why he would have such an expression. He most likely had a double and hasn’t had his morning coffee.

“I know that look. Missing your coffee Kaiba boy?”

Kaiba huffs at the nickname, knowing how much he loathes Pegasus. He also knows you’re trying to get a reaction out of him. He yawns before standing from his desk.

“You have coffee or what?” He finally asked.

“Yeah black like your heart.”

He laughs before grabbing the white mug from your hand. He gives you a rare grin before sipping his steamy beverage. You know it was out of gratitude.

“You being in here means one thing.”

“That’s right, Kaiba! I’m here to challenge you to a duel! I’m sure I can beat your blue eyes this time!”

“Ha! Guess we’ll see. I accept your challenge. After lunch, got it?”

You nod, eager to duel your friend. Many liked witnessing your duels since Kaiba actually respected you. It would be a friendly duel with jokes and joy. A scene not many saw from the infamous duelist. He still takes his dueling career as seriously as he did in his teens. Now he isn’t as much of a hard ass or sore loser about it. Another defining detail of such a duel is your dramatic side.

For you dueling Kaiba is always fun. He’s always amused during duels and genuinely enjoys them. Your jokes always get him chuckling. Many times he’s commending you when the duel ends in a draw. You have yet to beat him but you do hope to one day. Kaiba always mentions how he wouldn’t allow it since you’d receive bragging rights. Something you make fun of him half heartedly for.

You’re sure he wants to duel after lunch since he’s tired and wants a bit of a break from work. He must be busy with his construction for a school he hopes to open. All he has mentioned is it would be a school for dueling. You’re not sure if he’s serious or not since he’s always sounding sarcastic. He said it would be many years before the school would be open. You're unsure what to think of it.

Later on while you both dueled each other, you both ended up at the front of Kaiba corp. While the sun was going down you two got done with your duel. You lost but it was a close duel having even Kaiba on his toes. Afterwards you both noticed a stranger nearby. Behind you to be more precise.

"Who the hell are you?" Kaiba questioned with annoyance.

The stranger said not a word as he brought out a knife from their pocket. The tip was pointed at you. You gasp wondering what the intentions of this person could be. Kaiba ran over to you but the stranger commanded him to stop. He made his intentions clear to Kaiba by demanding his wallet. Kaiba scoffed at such a thought since he carries many of his cards on him. His blue eyes look over to you in worry.

"Fine." He grunts with anger radiating from him.

As Kaiba walks over to the stranger while you're frozen with fear. The knife pointed directly toward your neck keeping you in place. Kaiba was already plotting what he would do to the scum threatening his friends life. He held out his leather wallet while you step towards your friend to safety. When you're far away enough Kaiba puts his plan to motion.

Hi long leg extends tripping the stranger off their feet. While they land on their back Seto takes it upon himself to grab his wallet and throw you over his shoulder to run off. He was very quick and sudden you're sure you'd be screaming if you weren't so surprised.

When back inside Kaiba corp he ordered security to get rid of the hooded stranger. It did look comical with him barking orders while you're over his shoulder with a confused expression. He set you down but rolled his eyes.

"Dork, did you really think I'd let him get away with it?"

"No Kaiba sir!" You jokingly said.

"Pft." He raised his brow in amusement. "Where would you be without your boss?" Kaiba made a smug expression.

"Thanks for saving me back there but don’t get too cocky.” You huffed.

“Amusing, you damsel in distress.”

You cuss under your breath before jumping on his back to put him in a headlock. You know he was joking but it was time for one of your iconic Kaiba headlocks.

“You dweeb!!” He tried getting you off his back to no avail.

#female reader #platonic suggestions #platonic relationships #friendship stuff #seto kaiba x reader #seto kaiba #mokuba kaiba #requested #scenario

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steve0discusses · 10 months

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Ep 45 Part 1: Wife Gone, Miss Wife

Hey y’all, been a while! I fully blame this last unexpected haitus on Tears of the Kingdom. Also a billion other life things I won’t go into because 👏 I 👏 Want 👏 To 👏 Talk 👏 About 👏 Dead 👏 Wife 👏 !

Like damn, we’re coming back for just...a wild episode. Remember how a few episodes ago we finally united Seto with his long lost wife card? (and I had to check my notes and um...it was actually last episode if you count Kaiba, and only Ep 39 if you count Egyptian Seto. So uh...6 episodes.)

Remember that moment? Anyway, she dies this episode.

Yeah. Like. Damn. That quick huh? Knowing Yugioh’s track record with wifeys we’re pretty lucky she’s been on screen even that long before she went the Valon route and just full on died from one brush of cards with Joey.

Speaking of Joey, we last left the gang fumbling through a series of puzzles to unlock the pharaoh’s name. Bakura, disguised as Tristan, ran head first in there and threw off any semblance of a disguise and y’all, lets see how long it takes the guys to realize this isn’t Tristan.

Inside of this glowing door is a room with absolutely no light in it, which, don’t worry about it. That’s just a thing we do in art when we don’t want to draw a background--blow it out with light.

(Read more under the cut)

MAN I have questions about the support bricks on the wall, but for now we’ll ignore that and look at the even more confounding giant bricks on the ground.

faced with a wall of Egyptian text on this pair of ancient Egyptian sunglasses they drew on the floor, it is lucky that Bakura cursed Tristan’s bean or else they would have never gotten past this room.

They’re zooming right by the fact that their friend is reading ancient Egyptian. A friend who is best known for 1.) Being a student janitor because he failed to become class president, 2.) being head of a “melons” club, and 3.) punching god-strengthed villains in the face when he should know better. A god which definitely didn’t get pissed as hell and immediately possess his bean earlier today.

So he levels with Yugi, using the biggest most simple baby words that Bakura knows, and they still talk right completely round each other.

Hey remember in Season Zero when that effed up thing happened and we all assumed it would never show up in this remake? (and by we I mean me)

It freakin showed up. My audible gasp when this show remembered that Yugi cursed um ALL of his friends. Like and he just straight up told them? Just like this?

Like at the start of this arc he and Pharaoh did have a chat about how Yugi didn’t have friends before he came along, but I thought they were gonna glaze over it! But nah, he just laid it out there that the past few years were all because Yugi got bored between class and wanted a buddy.

The implications of “hey we would not be friends if I didn’t curse your ass” is already pretty deep. But doing it within a brain puzzle that you followed your friend into, despite the fact you could literally die doing this, and realizing...the only reason you’re in this puzzle to begin with is because you were cursed 2-3 years ago...

...this is the Yugioh I never thought would come back. This season, man! This season goes so freakin fast and so freakin hard through things that like...this could be a whole episode in another show.

But, this is Yugioh, so we’re gonna put a pin in that.

Because it’s time to go back to Seto Kaiba’s past life and his nearly dead stranger friend that we have collectively decided is his wife, and by “we” I mean literally everyone on this show but Aknadin.

Aknadin sure doesn’t know what a “wife” is, but he sure as hell knows what it ain’t.

Kissara runs towards Seto in this huge, empty boss arena that I would avoid like the plague in any video game.

And speaking of based, Seto Kaiba shows up. Because this episode wasn’t unhinged enough yet. Seto Kaiba is here to be the greek chorus of his own wife’s death.

He’s noticed. He’s noticed this is weird.

It’s a different storyboarder this season, but this storyboarder is still dropping some great frames. Look at this Seto they gave us, just snooping behind a pillar. New PFP just dropped (that is if anyone was even still using twitter which like, my life has been extremely blessed ever since I left it, we should all leave it together.)

So anyway she farts out a Blue Eyes on turn one, and Seto just kind of seethes from behind a pillar while trying to parse just anything that is going on.

Aknadin decides to shove her (well, her dragon...spirit...thing) into the rock tablet during the card shenanigans that followed. I, at first thought it was with an Orichalcos, and I got very excited about how complicated this season was going to get before I realized it wasn’t lime green.

I do not fully understand the card shenanigans at play here, it was not covered in my education playing through Yugioh Duel Masters (Master Duel) but it doesn’t matter because of the power of...love? or whatever the hell vibes are going on between these two goobers. They, with their vague as hell energy, will stand together against whatever life throws at them.

And by that, I mean literally dying 5 seconds afterwards

Seto Kaiba behind a pillar watched this go down, confused by whether he should feel anything at all by this random series of events between a girl he had half a conversation with, and a guy who looks like him except with guns the size of barrels.

Seto, filled with the pure anger of his wifey’s revenge, also immediately biffed it in solidarity.

Seto still remained behind the pillar, because why interrupt this? I mean yeah he looks like yourself and that girl absolutely died but eh...he’s gonna stay behind the pillar. Maybe if he had a duel disk he’d have thrown a couple cards and done some property damage. but as you can see, there are not helicopters or cranes to do property damage with.

So instead he remains behind the pillar, which they didn’t draw here in this next frame.

And on the back of a horse, in gallops Pharaoh.

I live for these popcorn moments in TV, where we’re like “hey, what if we just threw these characters in a weird blender and see how they reacted?” and this episode is just--everyone ends up in this one random spot and they all collectively are like like “what? The hell is happening?”

And we will see more of that next update.

As usual, here is the link to read these in chrono order:

https://steve0discusses.tumblr.com/tagged/yugioh/chrono

Next post will go up like tomorrow probably, but, may my post after that not take 2 months to make, lmao, I swear guys we are going to finish Season 5!

#YGO #Yugioh #Yu-Gi-Oh #recap #episode recap #long post #yami muto #seto kaiba #preist seto #?Was that the name?#yugi muto #bakura #Theif King Bakura #Season 5 #Episode 42 #Kissara #BEWD #SHE DEAD

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chaoscheebs · 3 months

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Joking about Seto Kaiba absolutely sucking at the humanities in school makes me realize one more fun thing that could be used in the Big Brother Mokuba-Little Brother Seto AU.

Just Mokuba rolling up like "Oh, Yu~gi~, Seto is having trouble in this class, maybe you helping him will help him focus better and improve his grade~?"

Yugi is sus as hell but the moment he actually sees how Seto reacts to having to deal with something that is not math/science, he knows it is not just some sort of scheme, the kid absolutely needs help.

(It is absolutely a bit of a scheme to make them spend time together, especially post-time skip and this is 17-ish Seto, but also plz Seto the humanities are important stop drawing blueprints in class instead of paying attention the teachers are complaining to Mokuba fairly regularly.)

#yugioh #big brokuba and setoto au #chibi rambles #seto where did you even find an outlet for a soldering gun in class that is not even your seat this is not the time for making prototypes

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borreloadsavagedragon · 1 year

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Give Kaito essay (for the character meme)

Oh god, I’ll read more this because it’s gonna be a journey and that's also why it took so long gjdaslgk-

And the standard zexal and arc v spoilers warning message-

1. how long have i known about them A LONG time though it didn’t get to like he’s my whole world status until pandemic era-- MalindaChan did her cosplay for him back when I was still a certified Yugiboomer who entertained GX and 5DS because "lol abridged series jokes" and that’s when I first remember seeing his design? I tried watching Zexal briefly when it was actively airing but just couldn’t get far bc Boomer Brain ™, but I remember him being cool but the "Kaiba-likeness but not being Kaiba" Yugiboomer wall couldn't be overcome right away, I had to train my skills Then 2020 happened, I watched Vrains to understand Link Summoning, got SUCKED into it, and was like wow past me was dumb, ALL of the spinoffs are GREAT Zexal reached a hand back out to me when I was kinda struggling with the Vrains community and I'd decided to start writing more spinoff muses with some mutual friends and that's also when I realized I’d be subconsciously collecting Galaxy and Photon monsters since they’re pretty + space themed but also because they were inside of ALL of the Kaiba support sets(because DUH) so it was like,,, well, let’s try that again

Now I’m In Hell And It’s All His Fault Do you think I ENJOY playing Photon competitively? Well yes, but also NO. It means learning new decks is HARD because I can't look at dragons and knights in SPACE.

2. whether or not they’ve ever made me cry Moon duel? W,, what Moon duel,,, I don’t,,, remember any space dueling, ahaha, isn’t that another yugioh, the rush of the go,,,,,,, In all serious though, yes lmao The duel against Zexal when he tells you his reasoning for why he’s the Number Hunter and he looks so broken, that got a solid few tears The flashback of him trying to break Haruto out of the city got some tears The duel with Chris is also really good show of his character at the root, the thing that gets him back to his feet is the moment Chris even considers Haruto as part of his suffering, g o d The moon duel of course. That’s. That one was brutal. Yeah.

3. whether or not i have any merchandise/objects with them uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

There’s a wall scroll behind my work desk that sneaks into my Zoom calls, there’s a canvas print he’s on that sits at my work desk, my ita bag has a handful of charms, pins, and buttons for him(still hunting for artists who draw him with merch wink wink)

I guess my Photon tcg deck counts? The tcg is just one big merch machine if you squint enough-

My Book of Moon themed binder is literally just all of my collector Photon and Galaxy/references to Kaito cards + a small page for Miza since Tachyon is a Galaxy Eyes

Do cosplays count? Because I’ve got all but his space suit basically done + his duel disk

4. what about their personality i like How seriously he takes himself despite literally everything else about his character

He’s often off to the side with his arms crossed, pouting or frowning, having the cool guy edge lord behavior But also he’s screaming in the rain, jumping through a window on a kite glider he made himself that also doubles as his robo-butler, flying to the whole ass moon because a rock told him to, and beefing 14 yr olds, he’s just a legend

I also love that he's like... very clear about himself and on how you should treat him. He straight up says he's going to hell for what he's done and just continues to be there because that's how he'll atone because atonement isn't forgiveness, like he's not ours to forgive. Love him so much.

5. what about their backstory makes me emotional Honestly, most of it

Watching Kaito slowly lose his autonomy (his brother whose been his responsibility for what could be read as since birth, his father just becoming a figure head in his life versus an actual parent, Chris walking out on him with no closure until they duel, being watched by and trained under brutal conditions by the government, failed escape attempts, getting lied to and used, etc) and then knowing one of the people who he attributes half of that loss and suffering to is someone he never gets closure against is very hard to watch

Even in Arc V, he loses his entire family in a way that makes him cut ties with every single person left in a desolate city and hunt his enemies down one by one to pay them back for his suffering, and it happened before we finally actually get to see him or hear of him for the first time so god knows the details

He really just gets put through it time and time again, yugioh be nice to that onion challenge

6. the moment of theirs that made me the saddest there was no duel on the moon in yugioh zexal

But actually, Kaito dying is tragic for a few reasons

THEY JUST LET HIS BROTHER WATCH IT HAPPEN? FAKER??? HELLO?

He was... ok with it happening-

He was killed off before the final duel and before he could reunite with Yuma and Ryouga again, and even though he came back as a spirit, it felt like a such a cop out

7. the moment of theirs that made me the happiest The pure look of joy on his face reuniting with his brother after they defeat Vector the first time, it’s so good The first time Prime Photon is summoned, goated, perfect, all boss monsters should be willed into existence like that But also Arc V, Kaito watching Dennis duel Yuya after everything with Zarc and clapping for him is so sweet omg

8. something about them that made me laugh HIS ONE LINERS, yugioh really gives the rivals the best solo lines I swear to god

Ok listen, dub and sun debate aside, I watched both because I’m a mess and need as much Kaito as I can get, but the dub has some heaters and Kaito’s got a few good ones, ESPECIALLY when he's talking to Mizael

The one to Shark, “You’re quite the romanticist”, who the fuck says that out loud to another person Kaito talking to Dennis is also a fever dream, the dub especially is so jarring, I love them

9. my favorite canon outfit of theirs White coat with the gazer tattoo, you can never go wrong with the Photon coat Numeral Hunter is also based, I know that's not like HIS look in any show, but... I HC that would be his Vrains Avatar, he could go to Vrains very easily, Solflare is an exploitable card in his deck

10. my favorite moment with them in canon UUUUGGHHHH CHOOSING ONE IS HARD

Uhhh, episode wise Shark Hunter is prooobably my favorite(for obvious reason but besides those LOL) because it’s such a tone setter for who Kaito is and also I could listen to these two bicker all day long, we really didn’t get nearly enough of their side rivalry as opposed to like Kaiba and Joey or Takeru and Ryoken

And then the Moon Duel is like my second favorite duel in the whole franchise, only outclassed by Soba and Revo in Vrains, you really get to see just how strong he is because he's half blind, still actively dying by dueling, and gets his helmet cracked in the vacuum of space, and he's still able to win

Character moment, the duel against Chris comes to mind again because it shows a lot of Kaito to his core, but also Kaito hauling ASS to get Yuma to Astral world to reunite with Astral is iconic, Kaito's always ready to take the plunge when everyone else says not to because he just KNOWS he's right

11. my favorite relationship they have with another character sweats profusely, I said it above somewhere I think- removing shipping from the equation entirely, I REALLY like all of the bff / rival dynamics across all of the shows, I love how well done they are and I fully find them more interesting than the standard protag/rival ones, even with KaiRyo having like the least amount of time dedicated to theirs comparatively. Ryouga and Kaito being treated so similarly by the hands dealt to them to where they'd understand the other one like looking in a mirror and yet they cannot stand each other, I eat that shit up. But also knowing the other person so well that they don't even have to talk and also realizing that person is their one of their only option to success? Give me MORE of that I also really love the foil between Mizael and Kaito a lot, I REALLY wish it got the time it was rumored to get, guess I gotta do everything myself In Arc V, Kaito and Shun's dynamic is really good for the little bit we're allowed the time to see it, Shun being one of the only characters who actually goes back for him after leaving so abruptly between Arc V and Zexal... tugs on the heart strings I also love that Kaito took ONE look at Edo in the safe house and decided to speed run the enemies part of the enemies to lovers arc they were going to have, I wish they could have spoken in canon more, hell GX Edo and Zexal Kaito would also be such an interesting dymamic

12. what i like about the way the fandom portrays them Everyone drawing him like >:D all of the time, keep doing that The white lab coat look too? Like not the Photon one, like a standard white lab coat? Perfect, DO NOT change that

nsfw next but also just how everyone knows he's a bottom no matter which ship it is lmao

13. what i dont like about the way the fandom portrays them that no one talks about him except in “WHO IS YOUR FAVORITE RIVAL” polls fndhxjshxbs

I’m going insane in my thoughts alone over here, I need to convert everyone to watch Zexal

14. what i liked about the way canon portrayed them Ok here we can get heated for a bit because I’ve seen an argument somewhere that Kaito didn’t develop at all from season 1 to 2 of Zexal but he 100000% did and I honestly like how it's done

Season 1 Kaito was purposefully talking to the air Astral could be in to avoid even looking at Yuma because he thought so little of him despite how much clawing to get on the same level as him Yuma did

Season 2 Kaito is jumping in to keep Mizael from killing Yuma without a second thought, he's going to the arctic despite ALL of the protests to build the bridge to Astral

His development is subtle, but it's very there, not to mention he can now stomach being in the same room as Faker, gave Chris a second chance, his dying words to Yuma are all the more apparent how important Yuma became to him Like the ONLY person we should have seen an actual conversation touching on Kaito's actions with WAS Ryouga but... be honest, Ryouga's not accepting that from Kaito, they're both very much people of action and they established their bond through the snark and bickering, that's how they communicate Plus Kaito's also outward about not being a good person, telling Yuma he sold his soul to the devil, telling the gang in the first episodes of Zexal II he's already going to hell because that's what his guilty soul deserves Ryoken and Kaito would be SUCH an interesting duo, I'm just saying

15. what i dont like about the way canon portrayed them Oh boy now here we go LOL

The duel against Mr Heartland. - This one's unbelievably bad for so many reasons, mostly because there’s no universe where Kaito struggles against Heartland of all people in a duel, but also this is the person who’s been THE symbol for most of his trauma and trials up until that point. There is no chance in hell he struggles, gets crippled by him, and has to have Yuma take over. That was and always should have been his duel to win, but Yugioh has the unfortunate "this is a story through the protag's eyes" shonen protag bug at its core (Yuma sweetie you’re lovely and wonderful, it’s literally not your fault)

Arc V giving him literally no time for their version of Kaito to have a more satisfactory character arc because of how long and bad the Synchro Dimension/Friendship Cup arc was. Just another victim of the Synchro Arc, sighs. The dub also puts this weird and bad attempted joking line about how Kaito doesn't do family and like have you literally watched any of Zexal, you're the whole ass studio Kaito just doesn't feel very Kaito the same way in Arc V, it's very sad, lots of shit you know og Kaito wouldn't let fly that just goes by in Arc V, but different versions, dimensions, stories, etc etc, it's just such a whiplash coming from Zexal where he's just so much more

OCG Structures was a coward and didn’t want to play with dimensional physics because Kaito 110% could find a way into that timeline I haven't read the Zexal manga in full just yet because I wanna collect them all physically so that'll be later- And a little bit for the games since Konami wanted at least one of those to be canon thanks to Vrains world-

Cross Duel literally had you consider killing kids for him but honestly this one is more funny than infuriating, everyone's a worst version of themselves in Cross Duel agjdaslkgj Duel Links is usually pretty good, but since Kaito’s first launch event where he's hunting you down, he’s been very much more like an NPC for the Zexal world events, just seems weird to me, I'm sure that'll get thrown out once Chris' unlock event actually happens coming up here and when Miza gets added... then that digital world won't know WHAT to do

#THIS WAS FUN THOUGH #kaito really is the character of all time in this house #kaito and takeru fight for favorite spot in my head all the time #asks #answered #kaito #kaito tenjo

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duelistkingdom · 2 years

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the reason i don’t believe folks who say the problem with characters like anzu mazaki, shizuka kawai, luka, and kotori mizuka is their lack of dueling is because like. i know you’re full of shit? if you wanted female characters who duel, mai kujaku, isis ishtar, asuka tenjoin, and aki izayoi are all right there! and yet these characters might have dedicated fanartists, dedicated folks to writing meta and fic about them, and even iike them, they’re still deeply unpopular characters.

hell, i know folks who fuckin LOATHE these girls for literally No Reason given. that’s not to sa that like. you can’t hate characters for no reason but it’s just about a massive pattern in fandom spaces where folks are like “this girl sucks because x” but hating a girl who IS x because well now the goal post is shifted and she doesn’t do x GOOD ENOUGH.

like mai, isis, asuka, and aki all have such RICH backstories on kaiba’s level but are shoved aside and ignored. isis has the same motivations as malik with HALF the meta content and HALF the art. and half of y’all will reblog this and go “yeah such a shame :(” and then do nothing about the massive disparity in treatment for female characters. do your fuckin part. commission art of them, draw art of them, write fic about them, reblog the existing meta & art, kudos and comment on fics about them, my god fuckin ENGAGE with the female part of the cast.

#wah wah the writers did them dirty :( and then being as bad as the writers by ignoring them #gonna do my part and write asuka meta #doing my part by reblogging kotori fanart #writing the massive aki character introspection as we speak #like if the writers did them dirty fuckin be a fandom and do something about it #my friends are free from sin however <3 y'all are lovely and i love ur content for the gals <3 #also shout out to tumblr millenniumlesbian for radically altering how i view mai #and making me realize how much she's just a Fascinating Character <3 she's a con artist with a heart of gold <3

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queeriboh · 1 year

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pretty sure last I left off with Darkest musings was right after Kaiba got Marik's counterfeit operation shut down and connected him to both the museum bombing and Kame arson, using his connections to quickly elevate Marik to one of Japan's most wanted criminals.

so naturally, Marik's next target is going to be that bastard.

( cw for violence, general descriptions of torture though nothing detailed, and major and minor character death on this one )

he's not just going to storm in and attack though, Kaiba's too smart for that. he's going to spend a few weeks making mind puppets of as many Kaiba Corp employees as possible, including one of their beloved body guards. during this time he learns about Kaiba's surveillance network keeping real-time data on nearly every resident of the city, as well as gaining access to the private paramilitary squad he keeps on call and oh, he thinks that's going to be fun.

he has to catch them both off guard. Kaiba is a crafty son of a bitch, and through his reconnaissance at Kaiba Corp he's well aware of the policy regarding executive handgun training. it's entirely possible that, even at the presumed safety of home, the CEO could be armed. he was able to mind control one of their body guards, but Roland would be a concern as well.

Marik knows damn well how slippery the kid is, Mokuba's already escaped from his capture once (yeah thats anime only but shh), so he has to be careful. It's hard to catch him at the right moment. He has to be alone, unaware and off guard. Fuguta has to be the only guard in the mansion that night, with Seto working late at the office, long after their live in maid has gone to bed. it takes weeks of patience, but finally the stars align as the possessed Fuguta finds Mokuba sneaking a late night snack from the massive kitchen.

Mokuba puts up a hell of a fight when he's grabbed from behind, kicking and throwing elbows and fists wildly at the massive man holding him. Fuguta's hand covers his mouth to keep him from waking the maid, and Mokuba's teeth dig in, grinding and baring down until his mouth fills with blood. but his fighting is useless, the pain blocked by the Millennium Rod and Marik's control, and eventually Fuguta gets the kid in a sleeper hold. From there it's only a few seconds before Mokuba goes limp and Marik makes his way to the mansion for phase 2.

when Seto Kaiba finally returns home it's well after midnight, yet the massive mansion feels unusually quiet. Mokuba isn't one to usually go to bed early, but he's tired and sore and Seto decides not to think too much of it. He takes the bottle of his usual liquor, pours himself a nightcap, and heads to his own chambers with the glass in hand. for a little bit he'll try to relax in bed, reading a book as he sips, winding down to pull a few hours sleep before his early morning workout. but the sound of the handle turning on his bedroom door draws his attention, putting him on alert as his eyes snap up from the pages and words.

"I didn't hear you get home," Mokuba says as he slips into the massive bedroom. It isn't the master, though. Even long after Gouzaburou's death, Seto can't stand to be in that room. "whatcha reading??" he flops onto the bed--and Seto's legs-- with all his weight, the way he always does. but as the two chat idly, it quickly becomes clear that there's something off about the way Mokuba is speaking and acting. Seto looks down at the book in his hands again, and the letters swim around the pages, swirling, illegible. He glances at the glass on his nightstand just before his vision goes black.

When he comes to, he's on the floor, propped against the footboard of his oversized bed. Slowly the details start to come to focus. Like the handcuffs restraining both of his hands to the solid wood posts. His bodyguard Fuguta standing over him, his little brother sat cross legged on the floor beside him, elbows propped on his knees, chin in both hands with a sweet smile on his lips and a far away look in his stormy purple eyes.

"wakey wakey, big brother~"

there's definitely something wrong with Mokuba's voice, but Seto's head is still swimming too much to understand the situation.

"you know, it took me a while to decide what to do with you. you really ruined my plans, you know. so I had to think, how can I ruin Seto Kaiba? you took away something important to me, but what's important to a megalomaniac like you? and how can I even get close to you? and then it hit me when I saw your cute little brother here."

Mokuba's big, toothy grin is sickening.

"Marik--" Kaiba hisses, the details finally connecting. He jerks suddenly, lashing and pulling at the handcuffs with all of his strength like a wild animal, but the chains hold strong.

"Relax, relax, big brother~"

"Don't! You dare call me that! Leave my little brother alone and face me yourself, you coward." Seto spits

"No thanks. This will be much more satisfying, I think." As he speaks, the possessed Mokuba reaches into the pocket of his hoodie, producing a large black stun gun. The room crackles with the sound of electricity as he presses the button, showing off the impressive sparks for a moment before driving the end into Seto's stomach.

Seto writhes and grunts in agony, but shock after shock and the man still never screams. Disappointing, but Marik had expected as much. Still, the look of betrayal in his deep blue eyes, the agony of being tortured by his own beloved brother is exciting. And it's only the opening act anyway.

Seto curses and spits insults at Marik between shocks, but his body twitches and convulses even after they stop. "Snap out of it, Mokuba," he urges, towing the line of pleading but never quite crossing into that level of desperation. "You're stronger than this!!" Another shock and Seto spazzes and grunts in pain, and Marik feels his control of the boy start to waver. That's fine. He's ready for the main event anyway.

The moment that he relinquishes Mokuba, Marik turns his focus to his other puppet. Before the boy can register what's going on, why he's holding the stun gun, why his brother is twitching on the floor and bound, Fuguta grabs him by a fistful of his long hair, dragging him to his feet to wrap large hands around his tiny throat and lift him from his feet.

"You know that was only the start of your punishment, Seto Kaiba," Marik speaks through their bodyguard now. "Sit back and get comfortable, you might as well enjoy the show. Since there's nothing you can do now to stop it." Fuguta's grin is wicked as Mokuba claws and chokes and kicks. Just as his fighting starts to slow, his eyes start to roll back, he's slammed back into the ground.

now. as much as I love angst and violence and misery, actually trying to muse on the torture while at work only made me. very very sad. and I think trying to write that out would be too much even for me. but Marik is a wicked, truly deranged person, and his sadism has only gotten worse since wearing the Millennium Ring. so I'll leave details up to the reader's own discretion and comfort levels (short of sexual violence because Mokuba is just a poor kid wrapped up in something he never should have been and I can't possibly put my son through that even as a hypothetical).

but Marik will be cruel. and unlike his brother, Mokuba screams. Mokuba cries. Mokuba begs and pleads for it to stop. and it crushes Seto, it makes his blood boil and bile rise up in his stomach. at some point, he swears that Marik's killed him, as Mokuba's cries and fighting stop and Fuguta leaves him in an unmoving puddle on the floor. But then a heavy kick to his gut has the boy coughing and spitting up blood.

at some point, Marik will walk in, still wiping blood from the dagger of the Millennium Rod after dealing with the sleeping maid. Wouldn't want her waking up to her employers' screaming. For a while, he leans in the doorway of the bedroom, watching the puppet show he commands.

"You know, Kaiba," he purrs during the moment of calm as Mokuba sobs on the floor. Seto turns quickly, glaring daggers at the puppeteer. "I've been lurking around your office for a while. I'm no good with computers you know, but your little brother here was oh so helpful, accessing the Duelist Databse for me. But there is one access code even he doesn't know, isn't there? The one for that satellite defense system, that asset of the old company you never actually shut down, did you?"

Fuguta steps aside as Marik approaches to kneel beside Mokuba, lifting his head by his hair again.

"Tell me how to access it, and maybe I'll let your poor little brother here go."

"D-don't... Seto, please he-- he'll kill so many p--"

Mokuba's pleading is cut short as his face is smashed back into the floor. Marik will take over the torture himself, only for Kaiba to shout a string of letters and numbers after only moments.

Marik's lips curl back in a viscious grin. Sends Fuguta to go test it and report back. but he doesn't keep his word. well, he did say maybe. he doesn't stop. not until Mokuba is too utterly broken to respond anymore, lost somewhere between consciousness and death.

and that's about when he feels a tug on his puppets' strings, looks through Fuguta's eyes to see the results of the code he was given.

Marik curses, quickly turning his attention to Seto, who laughs a single, cold laugh. "I'd rather destroy everything I've ever worked for, ever created, ever done, than ever hand you a weapon like that."

Scorched Earth Protocol Initiated: All Files Deleted - Satellite Self Destruct in 5 Minutes.

And just like that, Marik snaps. He turns his wrath on Seto, relentlessly beating him with the bulbous end of the Millennium Rod, completely overcome with wild, reckless rage. He doesn't stop when Seto's head splits with a sickening crack. When his blood paints the carpet and footboard. When his face is no longer recognizable.

Marik stands shakily, breath heavy, bloodied Rod in hand. Curses when he realizes he's gone too far this time. His blood boils in his veins and he storms off to try and salvage something from this operation.

But in his haste, blinded by anger, he'd forgotten the other brother.

It takes all of his strength, but Mokuba manages to drag himself across the bedroom floor. The sight of his brother in such a state is almost overwhelming, the only thing keeping him from wretching is the lack of energy to even vomit now. He wants to wail, to cry and scream, but there's nothing left inside him anymore. Mokuba simply curls up, his head on his brother's chest, desperately listening for a heartbeat, finding only the burbling and hissing of a death rattle. He sobs quietly and pathetically until his little body can't stay conscious any longer.

----

When Mokuba wakes, he's still wrapped in his brother's corpse, now cold and stiff beside him. He wants to beg him to wake up, to shake him, but it's too obviously too late. He wants to curl up again, to stay by Seto's side until he dies too. Just to be with his big brother again. To never leave him.

But another realization creeps in, and he knows he can't waste any time. When Marik left, he did nothing to restrain the living brother. How long will it be until he realizes and returns? Mokuba knows that every second matters.

He presses his forehead to Seto's chest, apologizing over and over and over for not saving him somehow. Tears leak down his cheeks as he clings to Seto's bloody pajama shirt. As he says goodbye to his brother.

#darkest tl #darkest timeline #dtl #ask to tag ??#drabbles #jup art

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