#darkestabsol

YEEASSSS i would love to share my sheepy visions.....

basically, since I try to keep families the same type of animal, I started with Tron/Vetrix and tried to figure out what would make a good animal not just for him but for his kids AND byron originally. I thought sheep would be really fun for them, I love that sort of "prey animal but it's really intense and violent" vibe half this damn family would have in this instance lol. And since the Barians are mythical creatures in their alien forms, Vetrix being a mythical sort of sheep would be a fun tie back to that.

Anyway I found out about the Musimon (aka the Tytron,) a charge that appears in heraldry as a funky sheep/goat hybrid with four horns, and well Thats Just Perfect For Him Methinks

Musimon can also refer to the real life European mouflon sheep, so that made perfect sense as to what Byron was prior to That Fucked Up Shit That Happened to Him (and in my mind's eye Vetrix specially still looks like a mouflon lamb)

from THERE i found out about Corsican sheep, mouflon hybrids with crazyass horns that originated in America (Texas specifically, lmao???) and come in a variety of breeds. SOOOOOOOOOO I decided to make the Arclight brothers all different Corsican varieties--giving them each a distinct look while also being so closely tied to each other (kind of implies Byron had three wives too which i just always think is a really funny headcanon #divorce)

Trey/III is the aforementioned painted desert sheep (I feel like the white w/ reddish spots fits him nicely)

Quattro/IV is an American blackbelly sheep! Their primarily orange-brown + black + occasional white really invokes the tones of his hair/outfit (and fire, also </3)

And finally Quinton/V is a Texas Dahl sheep! The pure white fur of the breed definitely brings his long luscious pure locks to mind (also jesus CHRIST the HORNS??!??!?)

anyway thems Arclight sheeps :3 Also an interesting trait of Corsican sheep is that they arent really traditional "wool" sheep.... they're "hair" sheep! Which I think is just really funny for yugioh characters especially ehehehehe 🐑🐑🐏🐏🐑🐏🐑

also the boys' horns look like their crests too <3

-Both use Dragon themed decks (Kaiba's Blue Eyes, Ryo's Cyber Dragons and then Cyberdarks)

-Both have younger brothers (Mokuba, Sho)

-Both were rivals to the main protagonist

-Both are incredibly strong duelists. Kaiba is one of the best at Duel Monsters, while Ryo was the best duelist at Duel Academia, up until he graduated and entered the pro circuit.

But then their stories diverge. Kaiba got Mind Crushed in an attempt to make him get his character development, while Ryo went through a slump in the pro circuits until he discovered underground dueling and became the Hell Kaiser. Kaiba would do anything for his Blue Eyes, even sacrificing Obelisk for Blue Eyes. Ryo, on the other hand, willingly sacrifices his Cyber Dragons, his iconic monster, to beat the headmaster and get the forbidden Cyberdark cards, which are draconic parasite that parasitize other dragons.

you're right! they parallel each other in such interesting ways!!

another difference between them is how they treat their brothers: Kaiba risked his life to get his brother's soul back from Pegasus while Ryo was more more than willing to put a shock collar on his brother as a condition for dueling with him

the way they treat their (former)ace monsters shows another important distinction between the two as well. i'm of the opinion that the way the duelists treat their monsters sets the tone for how they treat their attachments to other people, and these two are no different

Kaiba's attachment to Blue Eyes and how he is willing to do anything for her, speaks of how one he has attachments to people he will not stop at anything for them. Kaiba got his soul sealed by Pegasus beacuse of his love for Mokuba. his love for Kisara has presisted through his reincarnation from Priest Seto, his obession with Atem led him to invent a way to the afterlife. Kaiba is defined by his attachments to people, for better or for worse, and it is these attchments that inspire him to improve and become better then the person he was before

Kaiba made Kaiba Land to be a plays where all children can enjoy, no matter who they are; and Mokuba was definetly a big inspiration for this

bewd inspired Kaiba to make plays he would have not done otherwise (sacrificing Obelisk for Blue Eyes contradicting Ishizu's vision and conquering destiny)

Kaiba made the first duel disk prototype so that he can duel Atem without the need of a duel arena and he discovered interdimentional travel so that he can duel Atem again

on the other hand Ryo is a person who is willing to let go of his attachments to improve himself as a person, because he realizes that in the real world idealism is a one way ticket to failiure in system that demands you to be at your worst to become the best

Cyber Dragon represents the idealitic perfection that he has followed since he graduated at the age of 9, and he knows that to acheive victory by the rules of the pro-duelist ring he has to abandon that idealistic perfection and become someone that feeds on idealitic perfection to survive.

i see Cyberdark parasitizing Cyber End as Ryo parasitizing parts of himself to climb more rungs on the ladder of victory. he hacks off parts of himself to make more rungs for the infinite ladder that is the ideal of victory

but in spite of all of that Ryo still cares for the people he has an attachment to. we see that with how he removed Darkness from Fubuki with no hesitation. but i'm not sure why he hates Bluie so much tho

seeing a teenager work for the organization would be enough for kir to be reminded of what could happened to eisuke if he ever got involved with the organization. so she was thankful (assuming) that akai and the fbi are there protecting him even if eisuke declined the witness protection program.

BUT when she found out that bourbon was actually akai's sister, i could see kir's trust on akai waver. bc if he couldn't even protect his own sister, how could she ask him to protect her brother?

(Also he ends up becoming the Slifer Red head halfway through just so that I could justify giving him a red coat for Thematic Reasons.)

i love aus so much so if they're not spoilery do send them over i love checking them out!!

Ryou after the events of the dm anime and dsod is a very interesting avenue to explore especially since Ryou's emotions, mentality and feelings on the matter were never truly addressed ever in the show, and i can see him signing up to be a teacher of History, especially since he would have gotten his love of history from his dad as well as his interest for ttrpgs, which do make you do a lot of research about the most random things for maximum accuracy

so when does he start seeing duel spirits? does it happen after Atem leaves to the afterlife or does it happen after the events of dsod where Aigami made him remember Yami Bakura taking over his body to kill Shadi? because i feel depending on the situation he would initially either be very confused or terrified that he can see spirits out of nowhere

his duel spirit buddy is Diabound Kernel, which means that even in death tkb/yami bakura is still with him, Ryou will never not be haunted but i feel that in time Ryou manages to develop an amicable relationship with Daibound Kernel, tho i think that would only happen during the plot of gx

idk why but i imagine Diabound Kernel usually whispers in Ryou's ear to kill people and by the time he became a teacher in Duel Academia he is completly deynthesised to it and tunes it out.

Diabound Kernel: you should kill that guy

Ryou making Earl Gray at 3am, not listening at all: uh huh

Ryou being a teacher at Duel Academia is so funny because on one hand, the horrors never cease for Ryou but on the other hand, gx finally has someone who actually knows whats going on and will not be keeping it to themself (looking at you principal/daitokuji). he sees Titan's duel with everyone else in ep 41 and immediately calls Yuugi because what the fuck

Yuugi: i only thought that millennium items could create shadow games!?

Ryou: i thought so too!!

Yuugi: i'll ask Professor Hopkins and you inform this to Kaiba

Kaiba: so?

Ryou: what do you mean 'so'!? your students could die?!?

Kaiba: but we survived it

Ryou: just because we did doesnt mean that everyone else will???

Kaiba: it builds character. and besides, if they dont overcome this measly issue by themselves they're not proper duelists anyway

Ryou:

Ryou: what the fuck

i like to think that Ryou and Judai form a really sweet bond during s1. Judai is so happy to meet someone else who can see duel spirits like him and while initially Ryou is like "who is this lost child???" he grows to care about Judai as the season goes along. Judai also reminds Ryou of Yuugi and Jonouchi in the best ways (my dandelionshipping heart couldnt resist here xD),

Judai: your partner is a snake!!! thats so cool!!! :D

Ryou: ...i suppose he is cool if you look at it that way

Judai: i have a partner too!! here is Winged Kuriboh!! :DD

Diabound Kernel atempts to eat Winged Kuriboh and since then Winged Kuriboh is atleast 6 feet away at all times

by the end of s1 Ryou is absolutely done with everything and ready to quit but then s2 happens and he cannot leave his students behind. he is the only faculty who outwordly opposes the sol tries to contact the principal but to no avail. and i also think that as someone who has been possessed himself, he would have suspicions that Tarot Reader is possessed as well

Ryou: Kaiba i think one of your students is possessed and they might have taken over the school

Kaiba: it builds character

he also gets a heart attack when Judai goes missing because Judai is nowhere to be found on the island and none of the other teachers seem to care and he helps everyone else comb through the island for Judai and is just about ready to call unicef because the island is under international law and not under any government when Judai shows up for the rematch with Edo

Ryou: where were you!? we looked for you everywhere!

Judai: i was in space :D

Ryou:

Ryou: what

and during the Domino field trip arc, Ryou gets to hang out with his friends, after being assured by Judai and gang that they will take care of themselves and has a great time while Judai, Edo and Sugoroku are struggling for their lives

i think during Genex while Edo and Judai were squaring off against Cult Leader/ LoD, Ryou cannot find Bluie, Benkei and Judai and goes to tell the principal who waves off his concerns

Diabound Kernel: you should kill that guy

Ryou: i actually just might

Diabound Kernel: you shou- wait what

Ryou: this place is horrible. Safety laws are a suggestion, rights do not exist here. it is like i'm reliving the state of nature

Jonouchi: well then why dont you leave

Ryou: absolutely not why would you even say that

Ryou becomes the next dorm head!!! yay!!! the only sound descision that the principal makes in season 2 and Pharaoh is pleased to have a new assistant. the only person not happy about this is Winged Kuriboh and thats because Diabound Kernel is in the dorm as well

now about the desgin itself!

the glasses!! they look adorable on him!! is there a particular reason why he's wearing them or is it just for the aesthetic of it? because either way they look very cute on him, a+ design right here!!!

the red coat!! reminiscent of tkb!! Ryou reclaming the symbol for himself!! red is super cool colour in general so yay for that too!! i do feel that the red woul emphasize Ryou's tiredness and dark circles a lot, which ends up making Ryou look like the worlds most cutest zombie

his scarred hand reminds a bit stiff!!! i love this detail so much!! it definetly aches when the temperature drops and when it rains. even in death yami bakura will make sure that Ryou never forgets him for as long as he lives. the angst potential here is so good i love it

a funny interation between Ryou and Judai that popped up in my mind, it takes place in s1:

Judai: if it makes you feel better sensei, i also dont remember much from my childhood as well

Ryou: what

Judai: yeah, i dont my remember my 5th birthday or my 6th birthday or my 7th birthday or—

Ryou thinking: is this kid possessed as well????

Meet the new full art cards 'Favorite HERO Shining Flare Wingman', 'Cyber End Dragon the Decisive Strike Dragon', and 'Blue-Eyes White Dragon, the White Phantom Beast'! They look so cool!

THEY LOOK SO GOOD IM IN ABSOLUTE AWE

Shining Flare Wimgman's pose is so dynamic and i love hiw his wings go beyond the page!!!

i know i said this before but Cyber End Dragon is so regal and cool and very intimidating!!

A golden jackal!!

Scud and his gang were other dimensioned by Aigami in the movie and never seen again, and considering what happened to Jounouchi when he got other dimensioned, I really don't think Scud survived it. As a result, the Scud in the game is an AI, and is an odd AI in the DSOD group.

That's a really good point! It's been a While since I saw DSOD so I actually. erm. Forgot. That Scud and his pals just got nuked out of existence and we never see them again. 🥴 well!! Mark him down as another AI copy of a dead person then I suppose!!!!