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real-life-pine-tree · 6 years

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Rehabilitation: Brand New Cards (10/?)

Side effects may include a loss of self-identity and individuality, frequent nightmares, questioning your own existence, severe mental trauma, constant panic attacks, spontaneous crying at random moments, and a strong desire to stay with loved ones at all cost. Co-written with @violetganache42. Takes place between Chapters 6 and 7 of Arc-V Aftermath.

With the bus now leaving, Sora led the way with Yuya and Zuzu following him as they all walked down to Card Craze. Yuya scanned the buildings on his left and right, checking to see if any of them rang a bell to him; so far, nothing seemed that memorable to him because of how they’re constructed. The only things that were familiar to him were the bus driver and the Rare Hunters…and he still couldn’t shake the feeling off of him, especially this Arkana guy. What was it about him that made him stand out above the rest? Yuya doesn’t even own a Dark Magician yet there was something about his sadism that made kept on edge.

Sora approached the shop's counter. "Hiya Kenshin," he told the shopkeeper. "Got anything good today?"

The shopkeeper, Kenshin, looked up from his computer and recognized the Frightfur user. "Sora Perse," he acknowledged. "It's good to see you again. And now that you mention it, I got a new shipment of cards..." He reached into a desk. "...especially this super special Fluffal card."

"Wow, really?" Sora asked.

"Indeed," Kenshin replied. He took out the card and showed it to Sora. "I just know she'll be a perfect fit for you."

Sora marveled at the card in front of him; the image depicted a fluffy, purple cat with angel wings and a pink bow. According to the card, it was Fluffal Cat, a Level 1 EARTH Fairy-Type monster with 700 ATK and 300 DEF. If she was sent to the Graveyard as Fusion Material, a Polymerization card that is in the Graveyard can be added to the Duelist’s hand, but this effect can only be done once per turn. What made her super special is because she's a hard-to-find card, making it another reason for her to be a perfect fit for Sora’s deck.

"Whoa!" Sora exclaimed. "That's one of the rarest Fluffal cards ever made! How did you get it?!"

"Oh, never mind my reasons," Kenshin answered. "Think of this little cutie as a gift from me to you for being such an amazing cust-"

"YUYA!" Zuzu cried out.

Sora and Kenshin both turned their heads to see Zuzu restraining a livid Yuya, who was attempting to go after a fair-skinned man with dark indigo hair tied into a ponytail, dark blue eyes, and wearing a white suit with a red undershirt. Despite his appearance, Yuya could tell from how his face was genetically structured that the former was indeed Arkana and he wanted to show him a thing or two about utilizing magicians, but more importantly, treating his cards with respect and understanding to never betray them.

"You don't deserve to be a Duelist!" Yuya snarled. "You're nothing but a cheat who uses cards as a tool!"

Alarmed, Sora rushed over to the Pendulum counterparts. "What's going on?!" he asked.

"I'm not sure!" Zuzu exclaimed. "Yuya saw this person and he started freaking out!"

"How dare you cut up your cards!" Yuya continued shouting. "A person like you should-"

"Yuya, calm down!" Sora said upon realizing who Yuya was talking to. "That's Arkana! He's one of the store employees!"

"Correct I am," Arkana confirmed as he took out some playing cards. "It's my job to serve as entertainment for the customers." He started to shuffle the playing cards. "I would never tamper with these cards."

As he spoke to Yuya, he split the cards into four even piles by dropping them onto a nearby table covered in a red tablecloth. He took the top three cards from the first pile and placed it on the bottom before taking the first three from the last pile and placing one on top of the remaining three. He then proceeded to repeat the procedure three more times until all four piles were randomly shuffled and neatly organized. He flipped the four top cards to reveal all four aces, surprising Yuya and Zuzu, who let go of her friend. Watching Arkana perform a card trick like that had manage to calm the latter down; maybe he may not be as bad as he initially thought.

"You're...just a showman..." Yuya noted.

"But of course," Arkana confirmed. "I can also assist customers with the best cards for their deck, something you clearly need."

That alarmed Yuya. "How-"

"Do I know you need cards?" Arkana asked. "I learned how to detect a Duelist's aura from my loving wife, who is a talented empath. And if your aura is any indication, I have just the cards for you." He proceeded to fill over the four aces.

The backs of the aces faced up towards the ceiling, except they weren’t exactly the backs; instead, they were four Duel Monsters cards from the Odd-Eyes archetype. Yuya gasped at what each of them were: a Ritual monster named Odd-Eyes Gravity Dragon, an XYZ monster called Odd-Eyes Absolute Dragon, a Synchro monster referred to as Odd-Eyes Meteorburst Dragon, and a Fusion monster identified as Odd-Eyes Vortex Dragon.

Yuya was absolutely amazed. "This is... This is exactly what my deck was missing! Thank you!"

"You're quite welcome," Arkana replied as he gave Yuya the four Odd-Eyes cards. "Now what would the young lady like?"

"Me?" Zuzu asked. She looked a bit nervous. "It's kind of a surprise..."

"I understand," Arkana said. He gave Zuzu a large white rose bud. "Then perhaps this will help you with your surprise."

With the bud in the palms of her hands, Zuzu glanced closely at the closed petals which were showing signs of blooming yet they were still wrapped shut for a reason. She noticed small yet noticeable portions of two cards and her intrigue was beginning to show; those two cards were perfect for her to demonstrate her surprise she has been working on, and if that was the case, will they be compatible with her Melodious monsters? When she takes the bud home, she was going to find out for sure because she wanted to make sure Yuya will enjoy her surprise.

"It does," Zuzu said. "Thanks."

"Glad to be of service," Arkana said with a bow. "And feel free to look around the shop. You might find even more cards to each of your likings."

For the duration of their morning, Sora gave Yuya and Zuzu a little tour around Card Craze, explaining about how it was an ideal store for Duelists to trade their cards for new ones to help improve their decks or create unique strategies. The two Pendulum Duelists got to see a variety of cards from a broad range of archetypes, including those that were used by their previous owners and vintage prints. Zuzu did remember they were recently gaining attention and popularity and she recalled the time she bought an older Polymerization card for Rin to use. At the same time, she wondered if there will be even more archetypes available in stores now that the four dimensions were fused into one again.

As for Yuya, he soon found his eyes metaphorically glued to a display case. "Whoa..." he said.

Sora walked over to Yuya, realizing what he was looking at. "Yeah, they started printing out more Performapals," he explained. "Pretty impressive, huh?"

"No kidding..." Yuya slurred, a glazed look in his eyes.

He couldn’t keep his eyes away from these two cards; the images contained two horned ladies, one with green eyes, a blonde ponytail with pink streaks on the bangs while dressed in light yellow and purple circus clothes and one with light blue pigtails, red eyes, and a white and purple circus suit. The cards stated their names were Performapals Uni and Corn and Yuya was falling head over heels for them. Unbeknownst to him, Sora had caught a glimpse of his fingers twitching, almost as if he wanted to touch something. After putting two and two together, it became to clear to the Fluffal user that his friend was not as innocent as he thought.

"I have to get those cards," Yuya decided, wiping drool from the corner of his mouth. "They're twice as cute!"

"I didn't know you have a type," Sora noted.

At that moment, Yuya remembered his adopted brother was standing next to him. "What?!" he blurted out, embarrassed. "Who said I have a type?"

"Whatever you say, lusty," Sora said, playing along. "So do you see any other cards you like?"

Snapping out of his trance, Yuya looked at the other cards on display. "Hmm... I don't have any of these Performapals," he decided, referring to the Performapal cards Handsome Liger, Ballad, and Barracuda.

"You're not interested in those new Odd-Eyes Pendulum cards?" Sora asked.

"Wait, what?!" Yuya asked in response.

"Yeah, Leo made them as a way of saying thanks for getting rid of Zarc once and for all," Sora explained. "It's an exclusive three-card pack featuring Odd-Eyes Mirage Dragon, Odd-Eyes Persona Dragon, and Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon."

Yuya dropped his jaw out of disbelief. Three more Odd-Eyes dragons?! He was really hitting the jackpot at this place. Whatever these three monsters are, he knew they would all be great additions to his deck, mainly because of Absolute Dragon’s abilities to special summon an Odd-Eyes monster from the Extra Deck, hand, or Graveyard. He also knew he was going to spend some time strategizing and experimenting with his new dragons and Performapals, but it was going to be worth it.

"Man, I can't wait to add these new cards to my deck," Yuya happily said. "And maybe afterwards we can test them out at You Show."

That caught Zuzu's attention. "Did you say 'You Show'?" she asked, approaching the Sakaki-Perse brothers.

"Well yeah," Yuya answered. "For testing out our new decks-"

"I'm in!" Zuzu blurted out, thrilled.

"How about that?" Sora innocently asked. "All it took was one trip to this card store and you're already pumped for a duel."

"I...have my reasons," Zuzu explained.

Of course, she needed to be make sure her reasons were done perfectly because she, Yuya, and Sora returned to their homes later that day to reconstruct their decks with the new cards they purchased. She had the rose bud held carefully in the palm of her hands for the entire ride back to her house and has been waiting patiently for the petals to open up a bit more. Even as she sat on her bed, she was still left wondering if those two hidden cards were what she had in mind. Suddenly, as if it was coated with some kind of magic, the bud began to glow and ascended into the air, shocking Zuzu and grabbing Ray’s attention.

"Okay, what's going on?!" Zuzu asked.

"I honestly don't know. I get that Arkana guy is a magician, but this is ridiculous."

The glowing petals then proceeded to spread themselves wide and bloom into a fully grown rose before flashing its luminescent light and shortly blinding Zuzu. When she removed her arm away from her eyes, she gasped at what took the rose’s place: two glowing cards which slowly descended until she got a hold of them on each hand. The glowing quickly stopped and Zuzu was left breathless at the sight of the two Duel Monsters cards. These were exactly what she hoped she would get to show off her surprise.

"I... I can't believe it..." Zuzu said, looking at the two cards. "These cards are perfect..."

"I guess Arkana is more magical than we thought."

"Yeah..." Zuzu agreed. A smile slowly appeared on her face. "I can't wait to show my new skills to Yuya."

Meanwhile, Yuya was back in his bedroom giving his deck a major overhaul; he was obviously keeping his current Performapals and Odd-Eyes monsters, but he wanted to give his new cards a chance. Seven additional Odd-Eyes dragons, five more Performapals, and an added bonus: Magicians. Now you’re probably guessing that he must have bought those cards after getting the ones he wanted, but in actuality, Zarc was the one who gave them to him. They consisted of Pendulum Magicians named Dharma-Eye, Nobledragon, Oafdragon, Wisdom-Eye, Dragonpit, and Dragonpulse Magicians, an XYZ monster named Timestar Magician, and the Four Dimension Dragons’ Magician forms: Double Iris, Black Fang, White Wing, and Purple Poison Magicians. With all of these new monsters, it was pretty clear that Yuya was going to be busy with his deck reconstruction for a little while.

"Looks like someone is in deep thought. Still trying to figure out your new strategies?"

"More like trying to figure out which cards I should use," Yuya corrected, having already separated his cards into three separate stacks for each archetype. "Performapals, Magicians, Odd-Eyes... Which ones would be best for who I am now?" Zarc groaned in response.

"This again? I already told you you're nothing like me."

"But I just realized the archetypes represent who I am," Yuya explained. "Dad gave me my starting Performapals, the Magicians originated from your deck, and Odd-Eyes..." He picked up his ace's card. "Is he also a part of you?"

"Nah, you've got that wrong. Odd-Eyes Dragon was my star ace, not Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon. And look at all the new Odd-Eyes cards you got. Heck, we haven't even seen what was in the envelope that Kenshin guy gave you."

Before leaving Card Craze, Kenshin had handed an envelope to Yuya, which was now resting on his bed next to his cards. He picked it up and inspected the front and back, wondering who it was from or what was in it; it didn’t say the name of the person, but hopefully a message in there would shed some light. He opened up the sealed flap and saw there was indeed something inside, so he took them out to realize it was another Duel Monsters card and a folded sheet of paper, which contained a message for Yuya.

Hey Yuya! I'm not sure if I ever told you, but I originally joined Duel Academy to be a card designer. So, like, I made this card as a way of thanking you for helping everyone at the school.

I hope we can duel for funsies in the future!

-Grace Tyler

A light blush dusted onto Yuya's face. "Grace...?" he muttered.

"So what's the card she made for you?"

Yuya looked at the card Grace made for him; the image showed a dark-colored dragon with the same red and green eyes from Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon and has features from Yuya’s pendant, including an arc on each side of his body. This monster was known as Odd-Eyes Arc Pendulum Dragon, a Scale 8 Level 7 DARK Dragon-Type normal Pendulum monster with 2700 ATK and 2000 DEF. Because he is a normal monster, he doesn’t have a monster effect, but his Pendulum effect allows Yuya to special summon an Odd-Eyes monster from hand, deck, or Graveyard if one or more Odd-Eyes monsters he controls are destroyed by battle or card effect, but it can only be done once per turn.

Yuya noticed the description text printed on the card. "Made from miracles, this valiant and beautiful dragon has gleaming eyes that reflect an arc drawn in the sky," he read. A small smile slowly appeared on his face. "I can't believe Grace actually designed this card. It looks beautiful."

"No kidding. Kinda hard to believe this is the same girl who tried to hunt you down with a tiger."

"She even used my pendant as part of the design," Yuya said. "Could this card represent how she sees me?"

"I guess. You do have a way of attracting ladies despite Yuto having all of my natural charm."

"Not like that," Yuya said. He carefully lifted up his right hand and touched his left arm. "I never noticed it before, but I feel...different."

"Good different or bad different?"

"I'm not sure," Yuya admitted. He walked over to a mirror and lifted up his maroon t-shirt, surprising him. "What the...?"

Staring at the reflection in the mirror, he could see scars all over the front torso and all around his upper arms. He has never noticed them before, even after the four dimensions were split back, so why was he seeing the differences in his body now? Was this why he didn’t feel like himself all of a sudden?

"Yeah, sorry about that. I might have made some...modifications to your body while I took over. There are also scars on your ankles and back, so what you see isn't a big deal."

"Not a big deal?!" Yuya asked as he lowered his t-shirt. "This is my body!" He gripped his arm. "Did you also stretch my arms and legs?!"

"Nah, that wasn't me."

That took Yuya by surprise. "Wait, what?" he asked. "Then why-"

"Geez, you haven't figured it out? You're growing."

Growing? Yuya looked back into the mirror to see what Zarc meant by it and saw his face was losing some baby fat, but the biggest change he went through were seen in his eyes…literally. His eye color was no longer his usual crimson hue, but they have now transformed into something more heterochromatic; his left iris was now green while the right became red, which were coincidentally the exact same eye colors as Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon. Yuya’s face showed some mild concern as the changed he underwent, but the bigger problem was on whether or not he should like his new eye colors.

Briefly shrugging out of his concern, Yuya instead focused on how much his body has matured. "Did I go through puberty during the Interdimensional War?" he wondered aloud.

"Looks like it. You're getting older, no longer the cheerful child you were before this whole ordeal happened. Maybe your new deck should reflect that."

Yuya looked back at his cards. "Of course," he said, walking back to his bed. "I shouldn't use mostly Performapals as much anymore." He put Hip Hippo aside from his other Performapals. "I should be running an Odd-Eyes mix deck, using mostly Odd-Eyes cards mixed with Magicians and Performapals."

"But you'll still keep in Hip Hippo?"

"Of course," Yuya answered as he was about to rearrange his cards into a single deck. "He's Odd-Eyes' second-in-command. Can't run the show without him."

All of a sudden, his deck began to glow light blue in reaction to what he just said. Yuya was left breathless as the light grew brighter and brighter until it diminished around a single card lying on top of his deck. He sat on his bed, staring at his cards and wondering what happened before drawing the top card. He examined it and let out an audible gasp because he had acquired yet another Odd-Eyes card; this time, it was Odd-Eyes Revolution Dragon, a Scale 12 Level 12 LIGHT Dragon-Type Pendulum monster with an unknown number of ATK and DEF as designated by the question marks. His Pendulum effects prohibits Pendulum Summoning monsters unless they’re Dragon-Type monsters—with it not being negated—and can target and special summon a Dragon-Type Fusion, Synchro, or XYZ monster from the Graveyard by destroying this card. If he was going to be summoned onto the field, then he has to either be Pendulum Summoned from the hand or special summoned by tributing three Dragon-Type monsters: one Fusion, one Synchro, and one XYZ. His monster effect allows Yuya to discard him and pay 500 LP in order to add a Level 8 or lower Dragon-Type Pendulum monster from the deck to his hand, gaining ATK and DEF equal to half of the opponent’s LP. Also, once per turn, Yuya can pay half of his Life Points to shuffle all other cards on the field and in the Graveyards into the deck.

"Whoa..." Yuya said. "This is like the polar opposite of Supreme King Z-Arc!"

"I would agree with you, but this is a pure Odd-Eyes card, not a combination of the four dragons."

That made Yuya have a sudden realization. He took out Odd-Eyes Absolute, Meteorburst, and Vortex Dragons from his deck. "This requires tributing an XYZ dragon, and Synchro dragon, and a Fusion dragon," he said. "Like maybe my new Extra Deck cards." His eyes lit up in inspiration as he suddenly imagined brand new combos and strategies.

"I take it you're finally figuring out your new deck."

"You bet," Yuya confirmed. He proceeded to begin rebuilding his deck. "Time to get to work on this new Odd-Eyes mix deck!"

Some time later, during the afternoon hours, Yuya met up with Zuzu and Sora at You Show Duel School. Unlike academic schools, duel schools are open for all seven days of the week so that future Duelists will get as much time on their lessons and practice sessions as they needed. In their case, they chose to meet up there because they finished reconstructing their decks and wanted to test out their new strategies, so what better way to experiment with them than a Battle Royale. So with Tate, Ally, and Fredrick, and Gong watching, three-way duel began.

"Time to let the show begin!" Yuya exclaimed, beginning the opening chant.

"This performance is bound to be a wonderful delight!" Zuzu added.

"With a show you certainly won't forget!" Sora chimed in.

"So let's...begin!" the three exclaimed in unison.

Gong pressed on a button on a keyboard to activate the Action Field. This one was called Dragon Fountain Spring, which looks similar to Plain Plain but has been upgraded to have an Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon fountain in the center.

Augmented Reality Combat System energized. Generating Action Field.

Below the floor, light beams were released from the ARC System, causing them to generate the selected Action Field in the duel room. Yuya gazed at the implemented upgrades to Dragon Fountain Spring, including the Odd-Eyes fountain standing on the pedestal. He then proceed to activate his Duel Disk along with Zuzu and Sora. The text saying “Duel Mode” before switching to “Standby” appeared on their screens as the compartments housing their Main and Extra Decks popped out and their blades materialized in front of their Duel Disks. With a snap from Yuya’s fingers, Action Cards scattered all over the field and the trio exclaimed, “Let’s duel!” Starting off with 4000 Life Points each, Sora went first.

"I'll start things off with the Spell card Instant Fusion!" Sora began. "Sure it costs me a huge chunk of my life points, but it's worth it. Come on out, Frightfur Sheep!"

As his Life Points decreased to 3000, two copper buzz saw-like appendages emerged from a stuffed sheep body and the chains wrapped around him started coming loose a little. His mechanical jaws unleashed sparks from rubbing against each other before landing on the monster zone. Normally, according to Battle Royale rules, Duelists aren’t allowed to attack on their first turns, but since Instant Fusion also has an effect where Fusion Summoned monsters can’t attack, it didn’t bother Sora at all because of his other effect and what Frightfur Sheep can do.

"Then I end my turn," Sora concluded.

"What?" Yuya asked. "That's it?"

"Well yeah," Sora answered. "Which means Frightfur Sheep goes to my Graveyard, yet due to his ability, he comes back even stronger!"

The Graveyard portal opened up below Frightfur Sheep and he fell right into it, but right as he was destroyed, the particles condensed themselves into a single yellow light before unveiling the Fusion monster back onto the monster zone. His ATK rose up to 2800, leaving Yuya confused. He thought Frightfur Sheep only increases his ATK if he was destroyed by battle or by an opponent’s card effect once per turn, but Sora explained that he got a rare variant of his monster at Card Craze in which he gains ATK if he was destroyed by battle or by anyone’s card effect once per turn. They recently upgraded chain sheep's effects some time after the Interdimensional War ended, so he wanted to take full advantage of it.

The information concerned Yuya a little because he knew it was a bit of a clever strategy Sora pulled. He was going to have to be a bit more careful in this duel yet he wanted to give his new Performapals and Odd-Eyes cards a chance at the spotlight.

"My turn!" Yuya happily declared as he drew a card. "Ladies and gentlemen, today's a very special day! My new assistant is gonna make her debut!"

"Wait... Assistant?" Zuzu questioned.

"And now, kicking off her introduction in today's duel, please give a warm welcome to Performapal Uni!" Yuya continued.

Uni jumped out from the holographic light and into the air before landing onto the field. Based on her stats, she is a Level 4 LIGHT Beast-Warrior-Type monster with 800 ATK and 1500 DEF. Once per turn, a Level 3 or lower Performapal can be special summoned from Yuya’s hand in attack position during the Main Phase of the turn she was normal or special summoned. During the opponent’s turn, if battle damage was going to be dealt, her quick effect can be activated by banishing one other Performapal and herself from the Graveyard to negate said damage. While her effects were impressive, her appearance was more…how to put it mildly, suggestive. Gong panicked at what Uni was wearing and prompted Frederick, Tate, and Allie to shield their eyes.

"Yuya, what is that card?!" Gong horrifying asked.

"Just my lovely new assistant," Yuya answered. "But I'm not just summoning her during my turn. Thanks to her special ability, I can special summon a companion Performapal. So say hello to Performapal Corn!"

Placing her two fingers on her lips, a heart escape from Uni’s smooch and floated next to her before popping to reveal Performapal Corn, a Level 3 LIGHT Beast-Warrior-Type monster with 600 ATK and 1000 DEF. Once per turn, during the Main Phase of the turn she was normal or special summoned, she can target one other Performapal that Yuya controls with 1000 ATK or less and switch that target and herself from face-up attack position to defense position, resulting in an Odd-Eyes monster getting from his deck to his hand. She also has a similar quick effect in which she can banish one other Performapal and herself from the Graveyard to gain 500 Life Points during the opponent’s turn.

"And as you can see, these two girls are twice as cute!" Yuya happily said.

"Unicorn!" Performapals Uni and Corn exclaimed as they posed.

Zuzu was having difficulty processing on what happened, as shown by her shocked face and dropped jaw. She never knew those cards existed in the first place; should she be jealous by this or not?

"Now to truly begin my entertainment!" Yuya continued. "I activate Performapal Corn's special ability! By switching her and Uni to defense mode, she lets me retrieve an Odd-Eyes monster from my deck and add it to my hand."

Corn covered her mouth with her fingers and kissed out a heart that floated towards Yuya. Once it hovered over his right hand, it popped in order to let a card fall right in his grasp. This selected card was Performapal Odd-Eyes Synchron; he hasn’t used this monster since his duels against Jack and Declan, so no doubt it will be useful again. And since it is a member of three archetypes, it was a great maneuver of him to specifically choose him.

"Now to finally let this duel swing my way!" Yuya declared. "For starters, I'll use Odd-Eyes Persona Dragon and Performapal Odd-Eyes Unicorn to set the Pendulum Scale! I'm taking control of this duel starting now!"

Yuya placed his Scale 1 Odd-Eyes Persona Dragon and Scale 8 Performapal Odd-Eyes Unicorn on the Pendulum Zones, located on the opposite ends of his Duel Disk blade. His monsters then ascended into the air with the numbers 1 and 8 appearing below them and a larger version of his pendant dangling in between them. With everything set, he can now Pendulum Summon his monsters from Level 2 to Level 7.

"I'm allowed to summon monsters from Levels 2 and 7 all at the same time!" Yuya continued. "Swing far, Pendulum! Carve the arc of victory! My monsters are ready...to SWING INTO ACTIOOOOOON!"

The Pendulum portal opened up and two trails of colored aura soared out of it before landing on two monster zones to reveal themselves as Performapal Odd-Eyes Light Phoenix and Synchron. With his monsters having a Level of 5 and 2 respectively, Yuya had the necessary monsters he needed to bring out one of his newest dragons.

"Now it's time to bring out one of my newest stars!" Yuya announced. "I tune Level 2 Performapal Odd-Eyes Synchron with Level 5 Performapal Odd-Eyes Light Phoenix! Take off into the night sky and bring down a meteor shower that sparkles so bright! I Synchro Summon Odd-Eyes Meteorburst Dragon!"

The sky suddenly turned dark for a brief moment as meteors rained down and pelted the ground. One of them stood out from the rest because it looked more like a red-colored shooting star, and upon impact, chunks of dirt and soil were kicked up into the air before falling back down. As the dust settled and the sky returned to normal, a red dragon stood in the middle of Yuya’s side of the field: Odd-Eyes Meteorburst Dragon, a Level 7 FIRE Dragon-Type Synchro monster with 2500 ATK and 2000 DEF. When special summoned, a monster in the Pendulum Zone can be special summoned onto the field at the expense of Meteorburst Dragon not attacking for the rest of the turn; naturally, this effect can be done once per turn. Also, any and all monsters that the opponent controls cannot activate their effects during the Battle Phase.

"I activate Odd-Eyes Meteorburst Dragon's special ability!" Yuya continued. "Call over Odd-Eyes Persona Dragon and have him join this party!"

Meteorburst Dragon turned around to face Persona Dragon and unleashed a roar into the sky. He then sharply rotated his body to have his tail wrap the latter and drag him from the Pendulum Zone and onto one of the available monster zones; one can describe this as a similar manner to a cowboy lassoing up cattle.

"Now to make sure my dragons are protected," Yuya added. "I activate the Field Spell Sky Iris! Now Performapal Odd-Eyes Unicorn can't be targeted by any card effects!"

Right as the Spell was activated, Yuya’s pendant glowed in front of him, catching him off guard. He couldn’t find the right words to express his reaction, but his eyes slightly shifted upwards and he saw his pendant materialized above his monsters. It was slowly circling around as if someone had just picked it up by the string; as the seconds passed, however, it was picking up in speed, leaving behind a trail of light from the icy blue crystal. Just then, a portal reminiscent to the Pendulum Portal opened up and streaks of blue, green, yellow, and red light surrounded Performapal Odd-Eyes Unicorn while a thick, rainbow beam of light shot upwards from the same trail. As fast as it occurred, the portal closed, the light diminished, and the pendant vanished from the field, causing it to stop glowing. A speechless Yuya couldn’t believe the visual effects this Field Spell packed, especially the aftermath it left behind because his dragon was now coated in a surrounding rainbow aura.

"Usually I would attack at this point," Yuya said. "But since this is a Battle Royale, I have to end my turn."

"Alright," Zuzu said. "It's my turn! I draw!" As she drew a card, a trail of music notes appeared from her hand. "I set my Pendulum Scale with Beetho the Melodious Songstress and Opheli the Melodious Operetta!"

That declaration surprised Yuya. "You got Pendulum cards?" he asked.

"Well of course," Zuzu answered. "Did you think I was going to sit back and become a spectator while you continued to evolve your deck?"

"No, of course not," Yuya sheepishly admitted. "You just didn't seem like dueling these days and-"

"It's called acting," Zuzu interrupted. "I wanted to surprise you with my new cards. And now it's time to show you my brand new skills!"

She placed her Scale 1 Beetho and Scale 9 Opheli set on the Pendulum Zones, causing the word “PENDULUM” to appear on her Duel Disk blade. Her two monsters ascended into the air, and upon stopping, the numbers 1 and 9 faded in below them. Yuya and Sora marveled at what her two new Melodious monsters’ appearances; not only were they based on Pendulumstatues White Butterfly and White Flower respectively, Beetho was also a green-skinned girl who donned a piano dress while Opheli had blonde hair and dressed in black while wearing a white mask. Keeping the tradition of being based on anything music-related, Beetho’s name derives from the famous composer and pianist Ludwig van Beethoven and Opheli’s clothing paralleled to the Phantom’s appearance from Phantom of the Opera.

"Fairies of song, lend me your voices!" Zuzu chanted. "Take flight onto the stage in a beautiful harmony! I enact the Pendulum Summon of floral glory!"

The Pendulum portal reopened but on Zuzu’s side of the field as three trails of light swooped down onto the middle three monster zones. The monsters she chose were Mozarta the Melodious Maestra and two copies of Sonata the Melodious Diva. Suddenly, a bright pink glow blinded Zuzu from her right cheek, leaving her baffled by this strange reaction. What exactly triggered this glow? Was it normal or something out of the ordinary? As for Yuya and Sora, they saw the pink glow too, but because of the surrounding light pillars, they assumed it was Beetho and Opheli glowing pink whenever they’re used for a Pendulum Summon.

"But I'm not done!" Zuzu continued. "I haven't done my normal summon for this turn." She revealed the last card in her hand. "So say hello to my newest card: the Tuner monster Buten!"

A blue-eyed pig with wings flew onto the field and next to Mozarta. Like Zuzu said, that monster was Buten, a Level 1 LIGHT Fairy-Type Tuner monster with 200 ATK and 300 DEF. During her Main Phase, she can banish this card from the Graveyard in order to target a Level 4 or lower LIGHT Fairy-Type monster and treat it as a Tuner monster. Yuya and Sora faced each other and turned their attentions back to Zuzu; did they actually hear her say “Tuner?” If so, then is she going to do what they think she is going to do?

"Now watch as I tune Buten with my two Sonatas!" Zuzu declared. "Fairies of wonder, sing with delight! The queen of all fairies has arrived! I Synchro Summon Ancient Sacred Wyvern!"

In a bright flash of light, a monster sailed through the air from where the tuned materials were and landed next to Mozarta. Sure enough, that was Ancient Sacred Wyvern, a Level 7 LIGHT Fairy-Type Synchro monster with 2100 ATK and 2000 DEF who requires 1 LIGHT Tuner and 1 or more non-Tuner monsters. One of her main effects revolves around Life Points and her ATK: if Zuzu’s is greater than her opponent’s, then she gains ATK equal to the difference between the two; if it was less than the other, however, she loses ATK equal to the difference. Additionally, if she were to be destroyed by battle and sent to the Graveyard, Zuzu can pay 1000 LP to special summon her.

Since this is a Battle Royale, that meant Zuzu had two opponents to face off against, making it Wyvern’s usage of her effect more complex. She and Yuya both have 4000 Life Points while Sora has 3000, so that would make the total difference 1000 ATK. Because Sora has less Life Points than Zuzu, 1000 ATK is added to Wyvern, making it 3100 ATK.

"Wait, since when did you learn how to Synchro Summon?!" Yuya asked.

"Gong's been giving me private lessons," Zuzu answered. "Oh, and I forgot to mention one detail: because I Pendulum Summoned my two Sonatas, Mozarta gained an additional 1000 attack points."

"Oh boy..." Sora remarked.

"That's right," Zuzu cheerfully said. "My fun's just getting started!"

#Arc V Aftermath #Rehabilitation #yugioh arc v #Yuya Sakaki #Zuzu Boyle #Yuzu Hiragi #FruitShipping #Sora Perse #Sora Shiunin

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promin-blog · 7 years

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Tolkien's Ungoliant and Stephen King's It – some interesting parallels

Scene from It (1990) - the Losers confront Its ‘true’ from.

While watching the recent adaptation of Stephen King's It (2017) and reacquainting myself with King’s work in general throughout the past year (including watching some older adaptations of his books, among which was also the 1990 miniseries It), my mind was constantly going back to Ungoliant, Morgoth and the Silmarillion.

Why? Well, some of it undoubtedly has to do with my ongoing interest in Tolkien, but I also managed to find some parallels between Ungoliant and It, and Morgoth and the arch villain of the Kingverse, the Crimson King.

Long story short, enjoy me shamelessly hopping on the It bandwagon!

Warning for the arachnophobic.

So, what do Ungoliant and It have in common?

They both:

1) assume a form of a (female) spider

2) have hunger as one of their defining traits

3) use Deadlights/Darkness, a fear inducing form of 'unlight' which traps their victims (connected to the spider form), also used by the Crimson King/Morgoth

4) are ancient and have a somewhat unclear origin

5) have a loose allegiance with the Big Bad's of their universes (Morgoth/the Crimson King)

What do Morgoth and the Crimson King have in common?

They:

1) use Darkness (Unlight)/Deadlights to achieve their ‘goals’ - Melkor uses it to steal the Silmarils and kill the Trees, and the Crimson King uses it as a weapon (according to The Dark Tower Wiki)

2) have a loose allegiance with a hungry spider-like being who also uses Darkness (Unlight) /Deadlights)

3) both are Big Bads of their respective fictional universes

4) both are trying to rewrite reality in their own image

NOTE: Others have already found some references to the Crimson King being similar to Sauron (The Dark Tower Wiki page on the Crimson King, under ‘Inspiration’). I haven’t yet come across any articles comparing him to Morgoth which I believe to be a better position (to me Randall Flagg seems like a more credible reference to Sauron, even though, of course, overlaps are possible, both because Sauron imitated Morgoth in-universe and because King could have fused them on purpose).

So, let’s first break down the similarities between It and Ungoliant.

While Ungoliant takes the form of a giant spider and is referred to as female, It's ‘final’ form is also a giant spider.

In the novel It the Losers call It the Spider (i.e. "The Spider stopped laughing", It p 4153). It also seems to be considered by the Losers as femal(ish) as they refer to It as a 'bitch' several times ("You k-k-killed my brother, you fuh-fuh-fucking BITCH" (…) p 4099, including the somewhat paradoxical "We killed It" (…) "We killed the bitch.", It, p 4289) after discovering It's eggs (It, p 4212).

It’s spider-form was also shown overtly in the finale of the 1990 miniseries It, as a kind of a 'boss-form' for the Losers to fight:

In the new It adaptation the spider imagery is covert, but still pervasive in the way Pennywise (definitely less ambiguously masculine, in my opinion, than in the 1990 adaptation) behaves and operates. This makes ‘the spider’ more than just another of It’s many forms designed to induce fear.

For example, It lives in the sewers, which are a kind of a web. The new film puts great emphasis on this, giving us both Bill’s model of the sewers and a map of them, both of which serve as visualizations of a ‘spider-web’. The ‘sewer web’ is also in a sense ‘invisible’ (like a real spider web) because it is underground. Thus it is both a hiding place for It and a trap for It’s prey.

Furthermore, as we can see in the Losers first individual encounters with It, the prey Pennywise finds by using the sewers are paralyzed by their own fears - the fears not produced directly by It, but by the ‘mundane’ (as opposed to the ‘supernatural’) part of the plot - mostly bullies and abusive parents. Arguably, It first finds the Losers because they are afraid. Pennywise uses fear (in the new movie It smells fear) to locate its victims and moves through the sewers accordingly, like a spider traverses its own web when its prey becomes entangled in it and it feels the vibrations the prey produces. Fear, in a sense, produces ‘vibrations’ in Pennywise’s spiderweb.

Pennywise's likeness to a spider in the new adaptation is also shown in the scene where the kidnapped children are suspended in air, as if trapped in some invisible spider web, stashed in a spider’s pantry.

As we can see when Pennywise suspends Beverly Marsh in the same way, all the children there are paralyzed by fear, the aftereffect of looking directly into It's deadlights. Fear is the spider venom which keeps It’s victims paralyzed and helpless. Deadlights are like a high-concentrate fear-venom that leaves you senseless.

No matter what form It assumes, It always acts like a spider.

Stephen King Wiki says the following on this issue:

"Throughout the book It is generally referred to as male; however, late in the book, the protagonists come to believe that It may be female (due to Its manifestation as a monstrous female spider). This is, however, not Its true form, it is simply the closest the human mind can come to approximating it (…) Its natural form exists in a realm beyond the physical, which It calls the ‘deadlights‘. (…) Coming face to face with the deadlights drives any living being instantly insane."

This can be compared with the description of the darkening of Valinor and the Elves and Valar’s experience of ‘the Darkness' that Ungoliant has 'woven':

"So the great darkness fell upon Valinor. Of the deeds of that day much is told in the Aldudénië, that Elemmírë of the Vanyar made and is known to all the Eldar. Yet no song or tale could contain all the grief and terror that then befell.The Light failed; but the Darkness that followed was more than loss of light. In that hour was made a Darkness that seemed not lack but a thing with a being of its own: for it was indeed made by malice out of Light, and it had power to pierce the eye, and to enter heart and mind, and strangle the very will." (Silmarillion)

The Darkness that Morgoth unleashed on Valinor with Ungoliant’s help paralyzed the Elves and the Valar to such a degree than they couldn’t immediately pursue them.

It also interesting that, similarly to the paradoxically sounding name 'Deadlights', Ungoliant’s darkness also gets a paradoxical negative prefix - ‘un’, ('Unlight of Ungoliant' (Silmarillion p34)). Both present fear, in a sense, but in Tolkien’s case I would argue that the Darkness/Unlight presents above all fixation on the experienced loss, and not moving on creatively, still aptly shown by the spider imagery.

What also comes to mind here is Frodo’s and Sam’s confrontation with Shelob in Shelob’s Lair in The Two Towers.

The new movie’s whole 'Neibolt house hunt' sequence reminds me very much of that, mainly because Beverly gives It a really good stab in the head after which It retreats like a wounded Shelob when stabbed by Sam. Also, the tunnels of Shelob’s lair are like a 3D spider web, much like King’s town of Derry sewer system is It’s spider web, with the emphasized spacial quality - you are not on the web, you are in the web.

And, yeah, Frodo almost gets stashed in the spider’s pantry, like Beverly.

Furthermore, Tolkien describes Sam’s fear like something akin to an invisible spider web of Shelob:

"But nothing of this evil which they had stirred up against them did poor Sam know, except that a fear was growing on him, a menace which he could not see; and such a weight did it become that it was a burden to him to run, and his feet seemed leaden." (TTT, Shelob's Lair)

Sam literally has difficulty moving because of his fear. Then a little bit later he has a moment of ultimate ‘fixation’, a moment of paralyzing fear - he believes Frodo to be dead:

"‘He’s dead!’ he said. ‘Not asleep, dead!’ And as he said it, as if the words had set the venom to its work again, it seemed to him that the hue of the face grew livid green. And then black despair came down on him, and Sam bowed to the ground, and drew his grey hood over his head, and night came into his heart, and he knew no more. When at last the blackness passed, Sam looked up and shadows were about him; but for how many minutes or hours the world had gone dragging on he could not tell. He was still in the same place, and still his master lay beside him dead." (TTT, The Choices of Master Samwise)

It's like Sam took a glance at the Deadlights. Notice also how this despair is first described as 'black', which is a fairly common construction ('black despair'), but then 'blackness' is described as an entity on it's own, like it is described in The Darkening of Valinor - "a thing with a being of its own".

However, Sam manages to disentangle himself from this web – there is a moment of fixation on the experienced loss, but then he goes to the ‘underground’ (externalized by him literally being underground, in Shelob’s lair) of his own thoughts and feelings (this chapter is not named for nothing 'The Choices of Master Samwise') and manages to move on with the objective of the Fellowship's mission on his mind:

"‘But what can I do? (...) Or go on? Go on?’ he repeated, and for a moment doubt and fear shook him. ‘Go on? Is that what I’ve got to do? And leave him?’ (…)"‘What? Me, alone, go to the Crack of Doom and all?’ He quailed still, but the resolve grew. ‘What? Me take the Ring from him? The Council gave it to him.’ But the answer came at once: ‘And the Council gave him companions, so that the errand should not fail. And you are the last of all the Company. The errand must not fail.’" (TTT)

At this moment Sam passes Tolkien’s ethical test - he is able to ‘go on’, even after a crippling loss.

So, that would be points 1) and 3).

2) hunger as a defining trait

Hunger is also a big parallel here. Pennywise practically only sleeps (hibernates) and eats, and Ungoliant (just like her offspring Shelob) is always hungry. She ate the Trees’s sap. She tried to eat Morgoth and the Silmarils:

'Blackheart!' she said. 'I have done thy bidding. But I hunger still.' (Silm)

She even ate her sex partners:

“(...) other foul creatures of spider form had dwelt there since the days of the delving of Angband, and she mated with them, and devoured them”

And, in the end, probably herself:

“Of the fate of Ungoliant no tale tells. Yet some have said that she ended long ago, when in her uttermost famine she devoured herself at last.”

In the novel, Pennywise describes itself in terms of it’s hunger:

“(…) I am the eater of worlds, and of children. And you are next!”

I didn’t address everything I listed in this post, in particular, those last two parallels between Ungoliant and It:

4) they are ancient and have a somewhat unclear origin

5) they have a loose allegiance with the Big Bad's of their universes (Morgoth/the Crimson King).

These are tightly connected with the second list that explains the parallels between Morgoth and the Crimson King so I will elaborate on them together in my next post.

Thank you for reading this.

#it #stephen king #silmarillion #lotr #melkor #meta #analysis

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