ARC-V

Finding A Smile

Age 19
Timeline ARC-V
Occupation You Show Duel School student/Duel Academy defecter
DECK Charmers, formerly Ancient Gear while an Academia student



You Show Duel School's newest face, Aoi wants nothing more than to see people happy and smiling, and seeks to bring smiles to others through learning Entertainment Dueling under Yuya's tutelage. She makes it little secret she all but lives in one of the school's back rooms and goes out of her way to make every class she attends fun, and does all she can to see her friend and teacher happy; from all the kindness they've shown her, it's the least she can do!

Yet things are rarely as they seem, and Aoi hates hiding her origins from Yuya - That she is a native of the Fusion Dimenson, disillusioned enough by the Professor's message enough to defect from Academia and flee from the dimension as a whole, leaving behind her childhood friend - Though not without a fight that nearly cost her her life. Hunted and braneded 'card on sight' for her escape, she's constantly keeping an eye out for trouble, wanting to protect her new dimensional home no matter how much guilt it gives her to keep the truth hidden.

But when the Interdimensional War reaches Yuya and his friends and threatens his home, even bringing her hunter in the form of Yuri to Maiami, Aoi knows keeping her secret is easier said than done and once more picks up her Academia disk - This time to follow the ones she's come to love as her own family and keep them safe. Academia's caused enough pain...

It's time to make them stop.

Dogs of War

Age 19
Timeline ARC-V
Occupation Duel Academy defecter
DECK Charmers, formerly Ancient Gear while an Academia student
Alternate Canon heavily tied to Cyberstyled



Defecting had been the easy part, Aoi assumed. Escaping the island intact, she could do - Bt actually shaking Academia and their determination to see her sealed into a card was something else entirely. Thanks to them, her new life in the Standard Dimension alongside friend Yuya was in jeopardy almost as fast as she'd gotten it, doubly so when the Interdimensional War found its way to Maiami and dragged Yuya and his friends into it for the sake of others. Determined to protect him, Aoi tags along at a distance...

But it's their varying ways of arriving in the XYZ dimesion later on that see them split, and Aoi facing down not Academia nor Yuya, but a fellow defector in a very angry and unwilling to listen Ryo Marufuji. A duel for her life against Ryo results in her win and subsequent rescue of him from Academia soldiers in ther area, and Aoi finds herself tangled up in the Resistance's fight to reclaim their home - A fight she hopes will bring her back to her friends, as well.

But Heartland is nothing like the other dimensions, and the longer she spends with Ryo, the more her guilt for even being a Fusion native at all runs strong; isn't there anything they can do...?

Stage Magic

Age 19
Timeline ARC-V
Occupation Magician's Asisstant/Dueltainer
DECK Charmers
Alternate Canon heavily tied to Animatrophy



With the Interdimensional War came new friends, new family... And a tight new bond in local dueltainer Dennis Mackfield. Under the impression he was simply an entertainer and duelist, Aoi hid her status as a defector from Academia from him... Though little did she know, Dennis was spy for the very same place, hiding both his work and his friendship from her in turn. Despite holding secrets capable of getting them both carded, they managed to make it work, strengthening and deepening their friendship as he worked and she followed behind at a distance.

But as all entertainers see the curtain close, so did Aoi and Dennis see the end of their friendship; brought about with Shun exposing Dennis as a traitor, Aoi let her anger cloud her judgement and showed herself to him as a defector. Confronted with a roadblock and finding no way past it, the pair turned their backs on each other, seeing out the end of the war in two very different ways.

Some time after the end of the war, Aoi came to realize she truly missed her old friend... And there was something deeper at play, prompting her to travel to Heartland and locate the dueltainer. Their reunion slowly eased hurts and mended wounded hearts, bringing the pair back together - And soon after, saw them acting on mutual feelings, deepening their friendship into a romance and Aoi moving in with Dennis.

New lives have brought new changes; finally finding happiness, they've turned to helping Heartland as much as they possibly can, be it by rebuilding or taking up the roles of a magician and his assisstant, caring for and entertaining both adult and child alike. Their lives are a whole new adventure - But where will this one take them? As long as it's together, the curtain will never close on their magic show!

AU

The World Starts With You

Age 16
Timeline The World Ends With You
Occupation Towa Records Employee, aspiring fashion designer



For a girl in love with music and fashion, Shibuya had been the best place to grow up. Constantly on top of trends and starting its own, it was the place to keep an eye on things and learn what people liked and hated, from food to fashion and music, and everything in between. Every day brought a new adventure - And for a time, it was one Aoi shared with a dear friend and brief romantic partner, Neku.

Though their romance - and friendship as a whole - traveled a rocky path, it was nothing compared to the rockier turn life as a whole had taken: With a new job in her father's grasp, moving away from Shibuya and Neku was a fate Aoi couldn't avoid. Worse, it was a move they'd have to make quickly if he intended to take his new job for real, and in the course of just a couple weeks, Shibuya and Neku were distant memories, made worse without a chance to really get to talk before she'd been forced to leave.

Now old enough to go out and gain work on her own, Aoi's made her way back to Shibuya, seeking out a piece of herself she lost a year prior: That of her love of fashion of music, a desire that could only be fed by the Trend Capital itself. Settling in as an employee at Towa is just the first step...

She just has no idea Shibuya fully intends to take her down the rabbit hole of no return, this time - An adventure she'll be all too willing to take on.

Gambling Apocalypse

AGE 19
TIMELINE Post ARC-V
OCCUPATION Ungerground Dueling Contender
DECK Ice Barrier
Exclusive to Cyberstyled



The Underground Dueling Ring was no more than a rumor after the war's end. Spoke of in hushed whispers and shrouded in mystery, it was a promised good time - provided, of course, you had money to spend and a good invite, the later of which was always hard to find. There were no rules and no ties, through from how the whispers began to sound... There was no way out, either.

Unfortunately, that's a lesson Aoi soon learns when she's tricked, kidnapped, and forced into participating in the Underground ring, discovering the shady tactics used to staff their 'circuit' firsthand as they hold the lives of those she holds dear in their hands. With her Charmers stolen from her and an Ice Barrier deck forced into her hands in their place, she finds herself both at their mercy and that of her new roommate: Ryo 'Hell Kaiser' Marufuji, an angry, lethal man ordered to break her of her will to fight back and show her how to be a 'good combatant'.

But Aoi isn't about to let Ryo and the arena win, and continues to hold her head high and look for a means of escape... But what does do when escape is blocked bu the most terrifying Cyber duelist she's ever met? Simple:

Fight harder.

Shine Like A Diamond

AGE 14-18
TIMELINE Any point in the GX manga; crossover with ARC-V's manga
OCCUPATION Student at Duel Academy
DECK Charmers, Amazed Charm (Charmers and Amazement)
Heavily tied to to Duelrisen



One of many displaced by the power of G.O.D during the World Illusion, Aoi is the only one among her family that's aware the world they reside in is not their own. She holds memories of a different town, and different world, a different time than the one she suddenly woke in - But insisting on it simply results in getting her dismissed as a daydreamer by her family, friends, and medical proessionals alike. She was either losing her mind or simply bored enough to apply her daydreams to reality, and with nobody willing to take her seriously, she began to hold her memories to herself out of fear.

Instead, she decided to make the best of this new life, quickly growing to love two things: Fashion and dueling. The tournaments on tv soon became her favorite things to watch, and it wasn't long before she came to idolize the world champion Koyo Hibiki and the junior champion, Jun Manjoume, studying their decks and seeking out ways to build and improve upon her own, a simple build she'd had since her childhood. Studying fashion magazines and attending tournaments to see her dueling heroes in the person became her 'normal', and with her memories of home kept under tight lock and key, she allowed their influence to drive her into adding a rare dragon to her deck - Alexandrite Dragon, a symbol of her desire to become a better duelist, and someday stand on the same stage as her heroes.

Learning of Duel Academy was the next step in her plan, and with deck in hand and a combination of low test score and poor grades, she found herself settling into the school's Red dorm for the next school year, barely squeaking her way in. It wasn't all bad, of course; the new school brought new friends in Judai Yuki, and even put her in the same place as Jun himself - A boy who quickly would put himself in her way as an obstacle, and merely fueled her desires to be the best she could.

After all, if she can stand tall on her own and duel with the greats... Then everyone would have to believe her, right...?

Appearance

▮ Standing in at 5'3", Aoi is of a thin, somewhat fit build, bearing a faint layer of muscle from leading an active lifestyle. Her skintone is a bit on the paler side, despite frequently running around out in the sun.

Her hair is raven black in shade, falling to about mid back when loos, though she usually keeps it tied up into pigatils, the bottoms of which brush the tops of her shoulders. Her bangs half sweep out to the side above her right eye in two defined sections, while the other side hangs loose along the left side of her face and fall to her chin, with a small section curling down just slightly in the middle. Two smaller sections frame her face, falling just a tad shorter than her pigtails themselves. Her eyes are a bright shade of green-blue.

She often has her nails done and painted and carries a tube of lip gloss somewhere on her person at all times, the flavor and shade of which changes almost daily. On the other hand, Aoi very much enjoys jewelry and keeps a few pieces of her own, including ribbon chokers to match the ribbons tying up her pigtails, with the ribbons changing on a daily basis.

Aoi's fashion sense is unconventional at best, often store bought and further edited by herself. This results in outfits with layering and occasionally clashing colors, regardless of her skills in the area of fashion. Commonly, it's easy to find her in comfortable clothing of her own design, and as a student in GX verses leans heavily on a long sleeved violet shirt with the left sleeve rolled up to her elbow, and a pair of navy blue capris alongside a Slifer red blazer edited into a vest by her own hand. Topping off the look are black calf-high boots with the tongues colored red with magic marker, and occasionally a bangle bracelet.

In her ARC-V verses, Aoi's fashion 'statement' isn't much different, usually seeing her in a fitted dark green t-shirt and black jeans, with calf-high white boots with the tops folded over to expose a red cuff with darker red trim. She still wears her Academia uniform jacket, but the length has been shorted into a more croped look and the design changed slightly to allow her to blend in better. Finishing the outfit is a round, golden locket necklace, holding a picture of her parents.

In anything regarding TWEWY, Aoi tends to wear clothing from cheaper brands - Mus Rattus and Natural Puppy, usually - she's tweaked herself, but her favorite outfit to fall back on is a dark burgundy crop top layered with an open blue button up shirt, dark blue jeans, and white sneaker colored on in various spots with markers. Aside from her usual ribbons, she accessorizes with various pins and a thin chain belt draped over her hips.

Regardless of verse, Aoi keeps her deck box on the back of her beltline, and commonly can be found with a duel disk strapped to her left arm.

Hobies & Jobs

▮ Aoi is very much interested in fashion,and has been for as long as she can remember. Starting with editing the clothing picked out for her by her mother as a child using fabric markers, she quickly took to applying her 'unique' taste in personal style to everything she owned, and would own. To this end, she has multiple boxes of fashion magazines, both new and years old, and references them for ideas when trying to work out something new, be it for her or for someone else.

She also holds a fair bit of a love for collecting things, and has collections of lip gloss, Duel Monsters cards, and various pig-themed items, her favorite animal. While her love of collecting lip gloss was born from her love of fashion, it was her father that sparked her interest in pigs by making her a wooden toy of one as a toddler to test his own woodworking hobby. If there's nothing going on and she's left alone around a shop for more than a few minutes, it's safe to assume she'll be leaving with a new tube of lip gloss and a pig-themed something.

By the time of graduation in her GX verses, Aoi holds a fascination with traveling, born from one of her dear friends deciding to do exactly that. Though she doesn't have much of a chance to do so herself (and is actually afraid of the concept of traveling alone like he is), she rather enjoys keeping a map pinned to the wall of her bedroom and tracking out his path with each update he gives, as well as that of their other friends. She even adds pictures and postcards - Anything to make it look like a wall-mounted travel log-scrapbook, of sorts.

In her GX verses, Aoi becomes a seamstress after graduation, launching her own fashion line aimed towards those in the pro leagues. She also works as Chazz's unofficial seamstress, often mending his clothes and designing new ones for more formal occasions between taking on other clients.

In her ARC-V canon, she tends to take up a mentor sort of position for those leaving Academia and the victims of the Interdimensional War post-canon, but ultimately sees herself as a 'professional wanderer', settling in Maiami to help out at You Show Duel School.

Background

▮ Blessed with parents who loved and did all the could for her and the family as a whole, Aoi has never known anything but a happy and comfortable life. Though she'd been raised to be wary around strangers and takes that perhaps a bit too literally, disliking the frequent requests to play tour guide by people visiting Domino City after Yugi's tournament wins, the biggest dark spot she can remember as a child is witnessing an accident while out with her parents - An accident that would have her mother slowly teach her the life lesson of make the most of every day you have. It was a lesson she'd never forget, and take to heart as she grew.

It was her father who bought her her first card and introduced her to the world of Duel Monsters after a business trip, bringing home a card that would come to mean the world to her: Eria, the Water Charmer. Adoiring her art prompted Aoi to collect the rest of the archetype and put at least Eria into ever deck she built - But despite being raised in Domino and following the various tournaments put on by Kaiba Corp, as well as Yugi's dueling carrer, building a functioning deck was something difficult to her and resulted in more losses than she knew what to do with.

Though her outlook of 'be happy and live life to the fullest' had resulted in poor grades, the moment she learned of Duel Academy, Aoi knew it was somewhere she needed to attend. Dueling had become just as important to her as her family and love of fashion, and learning to be better, if not the best in Domino, was an ultimate goal. With that in mind, she took her best dek and challenged the entrance exams, fighting as hard as she could with Eria... All to earn a place in the school's Slifer Red rank for the academy's first year of co-ed dorms at the age of 15.

As much as she dislikes the need to leave home for a boarding school, she's since found being a Slifer isn't such a bad thing, especially with how easy it is to ignore the 'Slifer Slacker' views of the rest of the school. There's good food, a comfortable bed, even better friends... She can't for the life of her understand what makes being a red student such a bad thing!

Of course, the school is never what it seems...

Misc

▮ Aoi suffrs from PTSD, though the cause for it is different between ARC-V and GX. In GX, it's caused by sacrificing herself to give Jaden a way out during the attempt to rescue Johan, and results in her having a fear of pitch-black darkness. In ARC-V, it's a result of being a soldier of Fusion's Academia and the following attempts to card her when being disillusioned prompts her to attempt escape, narrowly managing to do so with her life. In both cases, she doesn't do well with being alone and will seek out someone close to her to sleep near for a sense of comfort, or simply to just be around.

▮ She sees her PTSD as something 'silly' and 'ridiculous' for how it manifests and doesn't like to talk about it, even with a close friend who undestands. She can be prompted to do so, but not often.

▮ In her ARC-V verses, triggering her anger by attempting to hurt one of her loved ones in front of her unlocks a side of her personality she hates with a burning passion: That of the ruthless soldier trained by Academia. This side of her personality cares nothing for her opponent and will do everything in her power to protect her loved ones, even going so far as to attempt carding an enemy to remove the threat - A practice Aoi hates even more than her training still having control over her in any form. Snapping her out of this mindset takes quite a bit of work, and results in Aoi having a mental breakdown once she realizes what she's done.

▮ The way Aoi talks isn't an accent, but a means of being lazy and condensing words picked up as a kid that's become a force of habit. She can and will speak normally if requested, and slowly drops this way of talking the older she gets until dropping it completely in her mid-20's, but if left to her own devices otherwise will shorten her words. (EX. For > F', My > m', your and you > y'...)

▮ Aoi's uniform in both canons is edited by her, using her own fashion skills. In GX, it's an attempt to avoid wearing the short skirt of the girls' uniform, and in ARC-V it's to blend in with regular people, all while keeping the red jacket as a reminder to herself of why she fights.

▮ As much of a slacker as she is, she leads an active lifestyle and very much loves keeping herself busy from morning to night! Like a hyperactive puppy, she's always seeking out something to do - And unfortunately, that usually results in harmless pranks on friends...~

▮ Aoi has the ability to sense Duel Spirits in her GX verses. She can't see them herself, but when within a classroom's size range of one, can sense their presence with an odd kind of tingle in her back akin to an itch she can't scratch. The closer the spirit, the stronger the sensation until it's impossible to ignore. It's something she's gotten used to, but occasionally can still be found fidgeting and trying to scratch her invsible itch among friends.

▮ She has multiple sets of ribbons for her hair and choker, and changes them out daily. It's a little thing, but anyone noticing and commenting on them puts her in a brighter mood for the remainder of the day!

▮ Regardless of verse, Aoi runs a deck focusing on the Elemental Charmer archetype. It's a build basing itself around taking her opponent's monsters and using them to power up her own before adding in various support cards to protect and strengthen them further, usually seeing her defaulting to Eria above the other charmers.

▮ While she isn't aware of her existence, Aoi has her own spirit partner in Eria, who watches over both Aoi and her friends.