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[pundulum]

OOC INFORMATION
Name: Des
Contact: AIM @ macrocosm says, deathdesu
Other Characters: None!

CHARACTER INFORMATION
Character Name: Yuya Sakaki
Age: 14
Canon: Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V
Canon Point: Around episode 49~50
Character Information: On the Yugioh Wiki!

Personality:

Yuya Sakaki is a boy of many faces. When he was small, his father and famous entertainment duelist, Yusho Sakaki, would often encourage him with a certain phrase: "When you feel like crying, laugh." This became something of a personal mantra for him, especially after Yusho mysteriously disappeared before an important duel and left nothing behind but a reputation of cowardice. Yuya was often bullied just for being Yusho's son and continuing to admire him, but to cope with this, he developed a facade for himself of a clown that would make fun of himself before anyone else could, sometimes making jokes about the situation that were downright uncomfortable for those who knew his true feelings.

When he dueled Strong Ishijima, his dad's rival, he reinvented the act so that now he would be nobody's fool, and duel as a true professional. However, it was still an act nevertheless. This 'character' is fun personified, always laughing and making jokes, and never letting anything get him down. He's a bit of a trickster, too, allowing for Yuya to make light of his opponents as well. However, despite all that, Yuya was still rather fragile beneath the bravado, so he came into them with a fail safe, a security measure that he'd developed even as a kid. If he got nervous, the goggles that he always wore on his head would be pulled over his eyes to capture and hide his tears.

This fracture of the facade shows the other face of Yuya's that we meet immediately. Outside of duels and the public eye, his personality is a lot more low key... even a little bit serious at times, and he can be closed off and shy, though he still tries pretty hard not to appear as such. When we see this personality, it's usually because he's either alone or in the company of people he thoroughly trusts - which is pretty limited to family and friends he's known for years. He shows different sides to Yuzu and Gongenzaka than he would to general people, and Yuzu in particular is someone who knows him more than anyone. She is who he would go to to whine and complain, and she'd keep him in line if he was being dumb and cheer him up if he needed it. Gongenzaka was someone he'd often rely on, whether to guard him from bullies or be his much-needed foil in dueling. He tended to be over-dependent on his support network, though he got better about it later.

Funny enough, despite the fact that he's the protagonist in a Yu-Gi-Oh series, it seems that he doesn't make friends very quickly, which can have varying effects. When he first met Sawatari, the other boy flattered him a lot and Yuya practically melted into a puddle of goo, it was clear that this was treatment was something he never gets from strangers and that meant so much to him, he went along with his incredibly questionable behavior and walked straight into a trap. Yuya seemed to be hesitant and consider the possibility, but give him the benefit of the doubt because he really wanted to believe him. Of course, when it turned out to be a trick to steal his Pendulum Cards, he was crushed into silence for a moment as Yuzu stepped in to defend him (though he was able to recover enough to defeat him and retrieve the cards.) He also doesn't quite learn his lesson from this as Dennis Macfield, apparent Academia spy, is able to earn his trust quickly by namedropping his dad, he becomes a lot more gullible when there is someone he wants to be friends with.

On the other hand, he gets uncharacteristically prickly and annoyed with Sora for trying to rush into a friendship with him (though admittedly, Sora was stalker levels of pushy and being a manipulative little shit, but it's comedic effect stuff that would easily get brushed aside in any other anime, so still worth noting.) It's only over the course of many episodes with him as a fellow ally in You Show that he starts to show warmth rather than tolerance of him. When he does finally consider someone a friend, though, he becomes incredibly loyal.

As one might guess from earlier observations, Yuya's coping mechanisms for stress are not exactly the healthiest, but they are interesting. Whenever something tries to push him back, he is determined to "swing back" from it, like the momentum of a pendulum. This is a thing with him; he always wears a crystal pendulum as a necklace, and in times of doubt, can be found staring at it and letting it swing. This is actually a form of divination, as Yusho once pointed out to him, and though it is a bit downplayed he seems to use it in that way - looking at the pendulum fondly while announcing that he is good at finding things. This is a reference to dowsing, which is often done using a pendulum. He kind of downplays it, especially since it's clear from his duel with Mieru that he doesn't believe in other methods of spiritual divination, but this is yet another quirky thing that he does for security. On a more negative side of the (pendulum) scale, though, this "swinging" can reveal itself in his personality. In times of extreme stress, he'll swing between moods at the drop of a hat.

He has some pretty major issues with identity in general. The things that crack his facade the most are anything that contradicts this image of what he is and should be: it was devastating when an asshole like Sawatari was able to use the Pendulum cards, which at the time were unique to him. His Odd Eyes Pendulum Dragon was a symbol of strength for him, so seeing it defeated caused him genuine distress and once again made him nearly crumble. He also got really cynical and pessimistic when Reiji used Pendulum cards of his own making in their duel, and he had to come to grips with the fact that it would no longer be special to him. He's still working on who he really is.

Compared to previous Yugioh protagonists, Yuya is more 'average' in terms of pretty much everything. He's neither a flawless ace nor a total underdog, instead being right down the middle in terms of skill. He's somewhat famous because he 'discovered' Pendulum Summoning, but his fans dispersed quickly after his 15 seconds of fame. He can be kind of an idiot at times (especially when it comes to trivia) but is savvy in other ways, such as dealing with information in actually productive ways (an attempt was made to track down someone who knew things that were important to Yuya, rather than just inexplicably waiting for their inevitable duel) - and he is also very skilled in athletics, frequently showing off his acrobatic prowess. What's more, he's shown that he is far more disciplined than he seems, such as turning down his automatic qualification for the Maiami Championship in favor of earning it like everyone else. He is serious about his goals and accepts guidance from his manager even when it conflicts with his nature, allowing him to make some major developments in a short amount of time.

One of these was that he managed to become more independent and better at relaxing when things went wrong in a duel - while previously he would nearly break down if someone destroyed his ace monster, after his growth as a duelist he was able to smile, feel excited for the challenge and feed off the tension to create a better show for the audience. This improved his relationship with Sawatari via their dramatic rematch, as they had a fair fight that the crowd really enjoyed, and ended the duel with mutual respect for each other's showmanship. This Yuya was more natural and relaxed.

He becomes a person who protects his few friends with as much determination as they protected him in the past. When he thought someone had stolen an important sash of Gongenzaka's, he chased them despite the fact that it could make him miss his tournament duel. He also furiously defended Sora from Yuto... despite knowing that Sora may have been with an evil group of duelists that hunt people down and seal them in cards, he was extremely worried about his injuries from a previous duel and wasn't about to let his friend get hurt any more. Later on when he actually finds Sora with that group, the Obelisk Force, he pulls him away to duel his smile back.

Now with the basics of character foundations and subsequent development out of the way, let's backtrack a little to talk about Yuya and the Plot. At first, it all happened out of his sight, somewhere where he wasn't aware that anything strange was going on - though it certainly was. His discovery of Pendulum Summoning was the first thing that was out of place. The cards appeared to him and he won the duel, and then immediately after, had no memory of it. Then, stirring in the shadows as he climbed his way to the championship, the players of an inter-dimensional war were taking the stage. One of these was Yuto, a "dark duelist" who shared a face with Yuya, an alternate version of himself from another dimension. When Yuya finally meets Yuto, he learns that there are four dimensions: his home dimension which was the center world, and three others in which only one of the special summoning styles in Duel Monsters (Synchro, XYZ and Fusion) existed. Yuto tells him about how Academia from the Fusion Dimension is waging war on the other dimensions using Duel Monsters as a weapon. Yuya is filled with righteous anger, even betrayal, because of how much it goes against his view of dueling as a form of entertainment that unites people together - the action dueling that his father pioneered and gave to the world to enjoy. It offends his identity and sense of reason. His convictions strengthen, his determination steels.

Soon after, Yugo (another Yuya lookalike from the Synchro Dimension) appeared to duel Yuto, and they were both possessed by a still-unknown force that compelled them to destroy everything. Yuya immediately acted to try to pacify the both of them, and though he managed to break Yuto from his trance, he had no such luck with Yugo, who attacked without mercy. Yuya was standing in between Yugo and Yuto to stop the fight, so Yuto pushed him out of the way, and he (apparently) died in his arms after handing over his ace monster. Somehow, this also caused Yuto's soul to be absorbed into Yuya, where he remained dormant and unknown. Ever since then, Yuya has been confused over the lookalikes and determined to fulfill Yuto's last wish, for him to "bring smiles through dueling." Another thing he has in common with Yuto is his wish to keep anyone from getting hurt. He is not the type to seek violence in revenge.

However, there's another part of him that would: Yuya's alternate personality. This personality is quite mysterious, the cause not being fully revealed in canon yet. However, when Yuya gets angry (particularly in the face of injustice and violence) the shift occurs. He experiences an agonizing pain, and then he changes into a vengeful alter ego with glowing red eyes and an aura of pure darkness. This trigger seems to have something to do with Yuto sleeping within him, such as when Academia attacked some duelists in front of Yuya - he experienced a flashback of Yuto's home being destroyed and went berserk. His alter ego attacks without mercy, and it took four duelists to pin Yuya down and get him to chill. Like when he first Pendulum Summoned, Yuya has no memory of what he does in this state, but is horrified if he sees evidence of what he's done while he's in it. Resident clairvoyant, Houchun Mieru, observed that there are two souls inside of him, as well as a terrifying darkness separate from either one.


5-10 Key Character Traits:
Clownish
Flamboyant
Guarded
Emotional
Unstable
Insecure
Peaceful
Loyal
Conviction
Active

Would you prefer a monster that FITS your character’s personality, CONFLICTS with it, or EITHER? Either is fine! Maybe something that fits in some ways but conflicts in others?
Opt-Outs: Manticore, Arachne, Werebear, Kelpie, Shade

Roleplay Sample: Any threads on this post involving pundulum!