Alright, Let Me Tell You My Story, Which Might Seem Simple But Carries A Struggle I Have Lived For 404

Rainy day - aka more background practice

Cooked here, ngl. Looking forward to see any more ideas you have of this AU, if you feel like sharing them. Either way, this is amazing! 🔥

I finished season 1 of Vrains and it was cool but I thought it needed about 2 billion more secret identity shenanigans

extended thoughts below

So I went into a deep dive in my last two posts (1, 2) about all the problems I had with Vrains, and you'd think I didn't enjoy it, but in fact as I was watching, there was a separate, parallel version of Vrains that was playing in my head, a Yugioh I think we were robbed of and which fixes every problem I had with the first season, and that is Secret Identities AU.

Yusaku needs FRIENDS

This is YUGIOH.

This dynamic is everything I wanted from Vrains. Yusaku developing unexpected fondness for these bozos who think he needs a defense squad. I want Miraculous Ladybug levels of secret identity shenanigans. I want Yusaku slapping his duel disk every time Ai tries to blow their cover.

This AU sprung forth from the scene in the duel club where he shows Naoki his decoy deck. Having Yusaku passing as a bad duelist is 1) so funny, but 2) Yusaku needing to maintain his low profile is a useful contrivance for other characters to get more duels, and 3) I think it would be a really fun one-off episode where Yusaku has to duel using his bad deck. When he wins, Naoki is so proud he cries.

Having Yusaku actually have to interact with the other characters in the real world opens up Greek play levels of dramatic irony. The crux of a secret identity story is that every single interaction builds up anticipation, because you the viewer know that the other party is being deceived, and that the tension will snap when the secret is revealed.

I have zero anticipation about Playmaker's identity being revealed, because Aoi would be like "oh.... I guess he goes to my school" and Go would be like "have I seen that guy before?" But SIAU Playmaker? My guy is making friends just so he can betray them. Insane.

Go needs A ROLE IN THE STORY.

I said in my first post that Go isn't a rival or a best friend character. SIAU fixes this by making him both simultaneously.

Having him be the ace of the duel club is a natural replacement for his whole hero of the orphans schtick, while placing him directly the circle of relevance with the other characters. Instead of being disgruntled that the orphans suddenly like Playmaker more than him, he'd disgruntled that Naoki and the duel club mooks are fawning over Playmaker -- which is actually just Naoki's character anyway.

I would kill for a big dramatic moment where Go learns that Playmaker and Yusaku are the same person, and even though Go feels betrayed that Yusaku has been deceiving him, he stands by Yusaku anyway because they're friends.

With a secret identity story, every conversation is working on multiple levels because each character is working with asymmetric information. You get these fascinating, layered scenes of two characters talking past each other because they cannot give up their secret.

Which would go especially hard with Go and Yusaku, because Go has legitimate criticisms of Playmaker in canon and Yusaku has legitimate reasoning behind the things he does, and as Go Onizuka and Playmaker they could never come to an understanding on them, but as Go and Yusaku, two friends in duel club, that door becomes open to them.

Aoi needs WRITING THAT ISN'T A TRAINWRECK

I made a whole post on this. Basically every problem would be solved if Akira doesn't know that she's Blue Angel. There's no reason for her to lose grotesquely against Yusaku, or have her basic autonomy called into question constantly. 

Having her actively deceive her brother is delicious. Like I said in my last post, it's so obvious how Akira's overprotectiveness has taken its toll on Aoi, and pushed her into developing this other persona, Blue Angel. I want this absolutely dysfunctional sibling relationship so badly. The Blue Angel vs. Zaizen duel would make me lose my mind.

And a secret identities setting works so well with the potential themes of VRAINS as a stand-in for the internet and Blue Angel as an idol. Give me that Perfect Blue Satoshi Kon good stuff. Give me those themes about identity, and the different lives we live, outward and inward, online and offline.

This also helps Akira's character, because I think he would be much more interesting and relevantly positioned in the story if he stayed a SOL Technologies baddie. SOL Technologies has very little presence in season 1 despite being critical to the story. After Zaizen is replaced by an irrelevant clown, they don't do anything but send out mook AIs to get destroyed. By having a three-way standoff between Yusaku's squad, the Knights of Hanoi, and SOL Technologies, both Hanoi and SOL Technologies become more compelling. They've both got all the reason in the world to want to take down the other. Zaizen vs. Revolver or Spectre? That's good shit.

And don't get me started on how I would turn Revolver into a Secret Identities character.

Hello 👋

Please take a moment to read my story.

I am Heba Al-Dahdouh. I currently live in the completely destroyed city of Gaza. Since the war on Gaza began on 7/1/2024, my family- my father Nasif, my mother Asmaa, and my siblings Khaled, Ahmad, Muhammad, and Malak-have been living in constant fear, crying, and suffering due to shrapnel, shells, and bullets.

We have no food, no electricity, no cooking gas, no schools, no homes, no cleaning supplies, and no clothes. Our house was completely destroyed. My school has been bombed, and my brother Khaled's university is now rubble, depriving us all of education. The war has forced us to live in displacement centers, which are just tents unsuitable for living, especially in winter.

Every day we live death, terror, and panic a thousand times because of the ongoing bombardment of my city. The war has killed more than 50 of my relatives and neighbors. At the start of the war, we sought refuge at my aunt's house, but it too became rubble. Imagine: we have survived imminent death more than 20 times and have been displaced among shelters more than 13 times. My siblings and I have suffered from many illnesses due to malnutrition, and we need medication continuously.

gofundme.com

Donate to Helping Heba Family : Escaping War to a New Life, organized by Heba Nasef

Dear friends around the world, Greetings to you from Gaza, the land of pe… Heba Nasef needs your support for Helping Heba Family : Escaping

If we stay in Gaza, we might lose our lives. Recently, we have been seriously considering leaving Gaza for a safe place. However, travel costs are extremely high. We need over $50,000 to leave Gaza. Due to exorbitant prices, rampant unemployment, lack of security, the ongoing siege, and relentless bombardment, we have lost all our money. How can we live in such insecurity, with constant shelling and shrapnel flying above us? Dear compassionate friends around the world,

With your generous donations, even if small, you can save 7 people from imminent death, allowing us to start a life outside Gaza filled with love, peace, and hope.

With my warmest regards from the city of Gaza,

Heba Al-Dahdouh.

Hello, I'm hamdi 🇵🇸 After 100 days of displacement, my family and I found ourself forced to leave our home and land in Gaza. 🏡💔 The journey to Egypt was not a choice, but a necessity imposed by the harsh conditions. we crossed the border, carrying with us scattered dreams and hopes for a better life, but we quickly realized that displacement was not the end of the suffering, but the beginning of a new chapter.

In Egypt, we are stuck between a bitter alienation and a painful reality. 😔🚧 We do not have residency, which makes every step difficult and every day full of challenges. Prices in Egypt resources are unforgiving, and the ones we brought with us are quickly melting away. 💸 While we try to endure and survive, our hearts remain attached to Gaza; The homeland that never leaves our minds or leaves us for a moment. 🇵🇸💔 Our loved ones there live under siege, and we live under the burden of alienation and worry for them. Every day in Egypt feels like an endless wait, and every contact with Gaza opens a door to pain. 📞💔 Returning to Gaza did not alleviate the anxiety, but rather confirmed to me that the suffering continues, whether we are inside or outside.

We may still have 300 days to reach the “goal” that we do not yet know, but until then, we will continue to face the challenges of life with patience and strength, waiting for the day when safety and stability return to us and our loved ones. 🍉🌈🤲 Donate now: In these difficult times, every donation makes a difference. Your support can help alleviate the suffering of families living under siege in Gaza and facing the challenges of daily life. 🇵🇸❤️🍉🤚 Please put your hands in mine and support my children🙏🙏

https://gofund.me/504921a8

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Arc V season 2 also known as Bad Times in Motorcycle Land

sick tricks

YO THIS LOOKS SO COOL!!!

New line of Arc V merch coming soon!

I don’t even have anything witty to say for a caption this time, just take this fjskshkssjskjs

Swing far pendulum carve the arc of vict- ohhhh I get it now

I think one of my favorite things about Yugioh is how unafraid it is to go all in on a card game being the driving force of this series.

The world is ending and you know what we're going to use to save it? Card games.

What is the villain's method of taking over the world? Card games but evil.

How do characters choose to resolve literally any conflict? Through a card game.

We need a way to resurrect people. Good thing there's a card that can do that.