(☆) i said, if destiny's kind, i've got the rest of my mind
Body and Appearance
1. Describe the character's height and build. Is he heavyset, thin, short, rangy?
He's moderately short, for a guy. He's a healthy young man with decent muscle mass for someone who plays card games, a bit skinny in the arms but surprisingly strong in his core and shoulders (he's a prominent tree-climber, which is probably why).
2. How old is he?
Eighteen, as of the completion of his senior year at Duel Academy.
3. Describe his posture. Does he carry himself well or does he slouch?
He's very loose and relaxed, almost never tense - it might lull one into thinking he's easily caught off-guard, which he isn't. His posture isn't ramrod-straight, but it isn't slouchy, either. Juudai manages to always look physically comfortable and yet ready to spring into action at any moment.
4. How is his health? Is he fit or out of shape? Any illnesses or conditions? Any physical disabilities?
Juudai is quite healthy; he's fit, well, and able. He could probably run a marathon (okay, half a marathon and he'd be covered in sweat and dying for breath by the end, he's not a professional athlete).
5. How does he move? Is he clumsy, graceful, tense, fluid?
Juudai just - moves. When he was younger, there was a lot of impulsivity in it, the breakneck pace of an adolescent with not a thought as to where his next footstep would land. That has changed. He moves with a great deal more of purpose, now, but it still always seems like a natural extension of himself.
6. How attractive is this character physically? How does he perceive himself in the mirror?
Juudai's physical features themselves are more average than beautiful. When he was younger, his face was more rounded, his eyes more open and trusting - "cute" would have been an excellent word. Now he's a little more guarded, a little more shaped. Whether this makes him more attractive is largely YMMV, although he's certainly regarded as moderately good-looking in canon by at least one girl. As for the way he regards himself, Juudai has never bothered to worry about his physical appearance with regards to how attractive he is. Other than the interest the average person takes in how one's body is doing for its practical purposes, I don't think he agonizes much over his face. In fact, he doesn't make a lot of eye contact with himself in the mirror anymore.
7. Describe his complexion. Dark, light, clear, scarred?
His skin is light in tone, though not fair. We're never given geographically where in Japan he's actually from, but I headcanon it's a little to the south on the coast, since he seems to tan well and he knows his way around boats. His skin is clear; no scars on his face, but I headcanon one or two on his body that are very new (Dark World), that he's not used to seeing just yet.
8. Describe his hair: color, texture, style.
His hair is brown, thick, and medium-length for the average guy. It looks like it wanted to be a bowl-cut but developed sentience and consumed Juudai's ears and the back of his neck. It spikes up at the back on its own (I say on its own because I doubt Juudai would spend money on hair products that could have been used for trading cards).
9. What color are his eyes?
Their normal shade is a warm brown. When Juudai is tapping into his vaguely-defined darkness powers, they glow a very bright, unnatural shade of yellow-orange. When Juudai is borrowing Yubel's powers which he gained from their soulfusion, his eyes turn dichromatic, the left green and the right red. The boy with the kaleidoscope eyes...
10. Does the character have any other noteworthy features?
Not physically, no. He's a remarkably average-looking person when his eyes aren't acting up.
11. What are his chief tension centers?
His shoulders, definitely. Juudai carries himself in his shoulders.
12. What is the character's wardrobe like? Casual, dressy, utilitarian? Bright colors, pastels, neutrals? Is it varied, or does he have six of the same suit?
Jeans and shirts with jackets. The outfit he usually is seen wearing the most is his Duel Academy uniform: jeans, black undershirt, red jacket. But he's been seen wearing other jackets (twice in canon, but still), and his outfit changes slightly from seasons 1-3 to season 4.
13. Do his clothes fit well? Does he seem comfortable in them?
Yeah. :V
14. Does he dress the same on the job as he does in his free time? If not, what are the differences?
He's always in his Osiris Red jacket. I like to think its a point of pride that he got into Duel Academy; it's certainly a large factor in his identity.
15. You knew it was coming: Boxers, briefs or commando?
Boxers. Kuriboh-print.
Speech
1. What does this character's voice sound like? High-pitched, deep, hoarse?
Not high-pitched, but not deep. Your average guy. There's a lot of warmth in his voice, I guess I'd describe it.
2. How does he normally speak? Loud, soft, fast, evenly? Does he talk easily, or does he hesitate?
Juudai talks moderately fast, and moderately loudly. He used to speak faster and louder, but that was pre-season four. He's still got a lot of HOT-BLOODED-NESS in him, but it comes out a little less often.
3. Does the character have a distinct accent or dialect? Any individual quirks of pronunciation? Any, like, you know, verbal tics?
SURE IS A LOT OF "DA ZE" IN HERE. Other than that, no.
4. What language/s does he speak, and with how much fluency?
Japanese is his native tongue. He speaks some of English he's probably gleaned from school/Duel Monsters (as the game was made in America and most of the card names are in English, even in the source material), and seems somewhat competent with the little he knows (in the sub, anyway).
5. Does he switch languages or dialects in certain situations?
No, not usually.
6. Is he a good impromptu speaker, or does he have to think about his words?
Juudai can speak off the cuff with a great deal of sincerity, but not with a lot of articulacy. He's good for making quick emotional motivation speeches in a tight situation, but he's not much of someone to prepare what he says beforehand, ever.
7. Is he eloquent or inarticulate? Under what circumstances might this change?
Juudai doesn't use a large vocabulary in his everyday speech, but he's sitting on a surprisingly sophisticated understanding of language (in the sub, he uses more grammatical English phrases than Jim!). Due to his "brilliant but lazy" schtick, Juudai doesn't really bother to pepper his speech with unnecessarily complex language - what's the point? However, his secret ability to be frighteningly eloquent really came out when he became Ha-ou - he managed to unite and mobilize an entire army, in a world to which he was a complete stranger, in under two months. Of course, part of that could have been attributable to the surfacing of memories from his past life, but it's something.
Mental and Emotional
1. How intelligent is this character? Is he book-smart or street-smart?
Juudai could be very book-smart if he really tried. He doesn't often act extremely intelligent, or study very hard, but his vast adaptability betrays his natural precocity. His talents, however, lean much farther towards street-smarts. Juudai is, again, quick to adapt to a new situation, and fast on his mental feet in high-pressure situations. He is not often one to freeze up. He's become a lot better at reading people and communicating diplomatically.
2. Does he think on his feet, or does he need time to deliberate?
Again, he thinks on his feet. If Juudai tries to pause and deliberate, he begins second-guessing everything he does, and he eventually shuts down.
3. Describe the character's thought process. Is he more logical, or more intuitive? Idealistic or practical?
Juudai thinks with his gut and his heart, not his head. Of course, a lot of his character development came from learning when to trust his instincts, and when to stop, take a breath, and reevaluate the directions he's going in. Juudai's idealism is now tempered in a lot more practicality, but at his core, he is very much an optimist.
4. What kind of education has the character had?
Duel Academy. Don't ask me what the heck they learn there that isn't card games.
5. What are his areas of expertise? What, if anything, is he interested in learning more about?
Card games....card games... spirits, other worlds, card games...
6. Is he an introvert or an extrovert?
Very extroverted. However, that doesn't mean that Juudai is always 100% transparent in the way he interacts with people; if anything, sometimes the more social he is, the less it is possible to figure out what's really going on underneath.
7. Describe the character's temperament. Is he even-tempered or does he have mood swings? Cheerful or melancholy? Laid-back or driven?
Juudai's natural state of being is sanguine. He's adaptable to nearly any situation you can throw at him, and this makes him very difficult to make frustrated or angry in most circumstances. This is because Juudai doesn't like the person he becomes when he's truly angry. He tends to hide any awkward or bad feelings and cover them up with extra cheerfulness. Sometimes this helps make them go away; sometimes this makes them worse for being bottled up.
8. How does he respond to new people or situations? Is he suspicious, relaxed, timid, enthusiastic?
Juudai loves new people and things! He will be quite curious and want to know more, and if the new thing is a person, he will try to befriend it.
9. Is he more likely to act, or to react?
Juudai reacts more often than he acts, usually; he used to be much more of an acting kind of person, but his natural impulsiveness got him into trouble more often than it didn't. He's more of an adapter to than a controller of his surroundings.
10. Which is his default: fight or flight?
Fight. Juudai rarely flees from anything - in fact, I don't think I can think of an instance. Maybe when he was running from the multiple Truemans in Domino City in Season Four, but he tried fighting first before realizing that it was a poor choice due to sheer numbers.
11. Describe the character's sense of humor. Does he appreciate jokes? Puns? Gallows humor? Bathroom humor? Pranks?
Juudai's got a great sense of humor. He is surprisingly capable of subtle sarcasm, though he rarely utilizes it - most of his sense of humor revolves around general facetiousness and secret trollery. He especially likes to aggravate Manjoume, because really, who doesn't like to aggravate Manjoume?
12. Does the character have any diagnosable mental disorders? If yes, how does he deal with them?
I play Juudai as recovering from a bout of post-traumatic stress disorder following the events of season three. A surprising amount of his behavior in late season three and most of season four corresponds to the symptoms described in the link.
13. What moments in this character's life have defined him as a person?
There are many, of course; like any other person, Juudai is defined by a lifetime of moments. But in particular, these moments:
1. The moment Juudai watched Harpie's Brother die in Dark World. It wasn't the first or even the most graphic death he'd witnessed until that point - Cobra'd had his face torn off by Yubel several days prior - but it was the first death that he'd caused with his own hands, intentionally or not, using the very cards he loved. It was the moment Juudai realized that, on multiple levels, it wasn't a game anymore - that life wasn't a game anymore.
2. The moment Juudai watched his friends die. It didn't matter that it was Brron who held them captive, Brron's spell that sealed their souls into his book; what mattered was that they had been counting on Juudai to save them, and it was his unknowing actions that took their lives. That was the first moment in which Juudai felt pure, unadulterated hate for anyone else in his life, and the first time when he allowed himself to act on it.
3. The moment Juudai forgave Yubel, because it was only in forgiving Yubel for what ze'd done that Juudai found the courage to forgive himself for what he'd done. It was also the moment that the two of them ensured they'd never have to be entirely lonely again. ;; brb, something in my eye -
4. When Juudai dueled his idol Yugi in the final episodes, and in so doing, regained his love of dueling and sense of fun, which he had lost in the previous season due to trauma and a case of pretty serious depression.
14. What does he fear?
Juudai fears loneliness above all things. He is afraid of losing his friends - not only of losing them to death or distance, but also simply of losing their friendship. Juudai also, in great measures, fears himself - fears the things he has found himself capable of doing.
15. What are his hopes or aspirations?
Juudai sincerely hopes to one day help people and spirits understand and become closer to one another. What exactly that will entail, he's not sure just yet, but he's out there looking. Sort of a "the journey is more important than the destination" thing.
16. What is something he doesn't want anyone to find out about him?
oh god, does "everything" count? Juudai doesn't like people to see him at his low points, doesn't like being seen when he's weak or afraid or angered, because then they might leave him. (Loneliness/mild abandonment issues get? THANKS, ABSENT MOM AND DAD!) He'd also be pretty okay with people not knowing certain horrendous things about his past, since it's... an involved and complicated story that he hasn't really forgiven himself for just yet.
Relationships
1. Describe this character's relationship with his parents.
What relationship? His parents are a pair of workaholics who, despite perhaps having genuinely good intentions, have little to no idea of how to nurture a child. (It's likely they hadn't even intended to have one, at least in my headcanon.) They certainly aren't abusive, because that would involve paying attention. Essentially, they're vaguely well-meaning but emotionally negligent, and all but left Juudai to raise himself as a kid.
2. Does the character have any siblings? What is/was their relationship like?
Juudai's an only child.
3. Are there other blood relatives to whom he is close? Are there ones he can't stand?
Not that we see, so nope!
4. Are there other, unrelated people whom he considers part of his family? What are his relationships with them?
There's Yubel, who is literally attached to his soul. 8| They used to be sort-of-lovers back in Juudai's previous life, and then Yubel had to wait around a couple eons for him to get reincarnated, and then ze didn't understand proper levels of guardianship in the modern age, so Juudai ended up shooting hir into space, and then ze went insane from exposure to the Light of Ruin... Long story short, this was the best solution for everyone involved.
5. Who is/was the character's best friend? How did they meet?
A little contentious here, but I'm going to go with Johan Andersen, Juudai's brotha-from-anotha-motha hot Norwegian dreamboat suspiciously similar European counterpart. They met in Juudai's senior year, when Duel Academy was hosting representatives from its four sister academies (Johan was the North Academy representative), completely at random on a rooftop, and immediately got along because the both of them could see spirits. Juudai would do anything for Johan, up to and including: run off to a different dimension to save him, risk life and limb at the slightest chance of pulling off a rescue, and avenge his death with indiscriminate slaughter. (He doesn't do that last one anymore :|)
6. Does he have other close friends?
Yes, several. Most notable are:
Marufuji Sho - His closest friend aside from Johan. Sho's been with Juudai since their first day at Duel Academy. He's seen Juudai at his best and worst, tag-dueled with him to save their enrollment in DA, saved and been saved by Juudai, and grown on his own from a tiny skittish kid who never thought he'd get out from beneath his brother's shadow, to a powerful and courageous duelist in his own right.
Tenjoin Asuka - Juudai's best friend-who-is-a-girl, Asuka is driven and strong. She's had a crush on him for a long time. Juudai's been at least half-aware since the beginning, and definitely knew about it by Season Four, but he acts like he doesn't, because he prefers their relationship the way it is. By graduation, Asuka had dropped it on her own terms.
Manjoume Jun - Half-time rival and sometime friend, Manjoume is a former rich snot turned self-made man (but still a douchebag). He, too, can see spirits, but unlike Juudai, Manjoume doesn't exactly relish this ability, as he is some sort of misfit magnet. He'd never admit to liking Juudai, but he certainly respects him, and is just waiting for the day he can actually beat him in a duel. (Not in this continuity, sorry!)
7. Does he make friends easily, or does he have trouble getting along with people?
Juudai is a friend-making machine. It's a plot point half the time.
8. Which does he consider more important: family or friends?
Absolutely friends, because friends are people who stand by each other because they choose to, and for no other reason.
9. Is the character single, married, divorced, widowed? Has he been married more than once?
Does soul-married count? :/a
10. Is he currently in a romantic relationship with someone other than a spouse?
That's a very good question...
11. Who was his first crush? Who is his latest?
His first crush was probably... well, it was probably Yubel, to be honest with you. |D His latest: I'd say Johan, personally, but there's no real right answer. JUUDAI LOVES EVERYONE ;;
12. What does he look for in a romantic partner?
Trust, kindness, empathy, spiritual sensitivity, and just a touch of kinkiness. :3c
13. Does the character have children? Grandchildren? If yes, how does he relate to them? If no, does he want any?
No, and I'm not sure he wants any.
14. Does he have any rivals or enemies?
Of course, he's the main character! Manjoume would love to think of himself as Juudai's primary rival, even though Juudai just sees him as a tsun-buddy. As for enemies, whoever's trying to take over the world this season is his enemy. Juudai's also probably got a bajillion other self-styled rivals and enemies purely based on the number of people he's beaten in duels.
15. What is the character's sexual orientation? Where does he fall on the Kinsey scale?
Pansexual. Kinsey scale, he'd be a 3 (in the version listed on Wikipedia.)
16. How does he feel about sex? How important is it to him?
While sex as a thing isn't a major focus of Juudai's life, he certainly enjoys it when he can get it. (Never mind that many pieces of dialogue might suggest that Juudai apparently slept with every member of Duel Academy at least once.) As with all things, he approaches sex the way he does dueling: it should be fun rather than competitive, foster meaningful communication between people, and in the end, both parties should walk away happy.
17. What are his turn-ons? Turn-offs? Weird bedroom habits?
Turn-ons: Aggressiveness/playfulness, biting, maybe a little pain (don't look at me, just watch the final Yubel duel in season 3)...
Turn-offs: Passiveness. Juudai likes to compete for dominance.
Weird habits: I'm just going to glance at the aforementioned Yubel duel and then sidle out of the room. (for the uninitiated: it's not Yu-Gi-Oh! without bondage kink.)
Beliefs
1. Do you know your character's astrological (zodiac of choice) sign? How well does he fit type?
Sadly, Juudai has no given canon birthday, and I haven't bothered to make one up yet. Fandom is divided as well, so there's no reliably common fanon to go on.
2. Is this character religious, spiritual, both, or neither? How important are these elements in his life?
I wouldn't call Juudai religious, but he certainly is somewhat spiritual, albeit... in a more literal sense? He actively communicates with all kinds of spirits, so I suppose you could make the argument that this requires no faith, because he has proof. However, Juudai is also very much an optimist and puts his faith in people who arguably wouldn't deserve it, so I'd still characterize him as sort of spiritual in his own idiosyncratic way. Of course, it's difficult to say how this question might be different when applied to the reincarnation of the primal creative force in the YGO universe... (yeah. GX is like that.)
3. Does this character have a personal code of morals or ethics? If so, how did that begin? What would it take to compromise it?
I don't think it's something quite so rigorously defined? Juudai certainly has things he would never do, but I don't think it's conceptually anything like a "code" to him. As for compromising this, killing his friends will definitely erase any ethical barriers that might be separating Juudai from absolutely destroying you, so it's not recommended.
4. How does he regard beliefs that differ from his? Is he tolerant, intolerant, curious, indifferent?
Juudai is pretty laid-back about such things. The important thing is that people are excellent to each other, right? His natural curiosity would probably lead him to ask about other beliefs if he found out someone had them.
5. What prejudices does he hold? Are they irrational or does he have a good reason for them?
I'm about 98% certain that Juudai has utterly no prejudices. He treats his female friends the same as his male friends (to Asuka's great dismay |D); he treats his foreign friends the same as his Japanese friends; he treats his duel monster friends the same as his human friends... You get the idea.
Daily Life
1. What is the character's financial situation? Is he rich, poor, comfortable, in debt?
Being that he:
a.) has workaholic parents who are never in the house
b.) is quite proficient with motorboats, suggesting he must have his license and at least some practice
c.) is shown with a laptop in the Bonds Beyond Time movie
and d.) various other small details that would be pointless to enumerate here, it is not that far of a stretch to assume he (or at least his family) must be moderately affluent, thought likely not wealthy (because Manjoume has that locked up).
2. What is his social status? Has this changed over time, and if so, how has the change affected him?
Juudai went from the best-known and most notorious of the bottom-rung Osiris Red duelists in his first year, to the three/four-time hero, top duelist, and most well-known and well-loved student in the school in his senior year - hilariously, by his senior year, he was the last student left in the Red dorms, due to a combination of stubbornness and weird circumstances in season 3 and 4.
As for whether this change affected him, I'm pretty certain Juudai could not give less attention/importance to his social status in any given situation, although it's likely that by season four, he refused to move up out of a mix of pride and desire to not be around people, which are still factors completely unrelated to social status, so :V
3. Where does he live? House, apartment, trailer? Is his home his castle or just a place to crash? What condition is it in? Does he share it with others?
At the end of GX, Juudai runs off into the distance, presumably to go on an adventure, and by the time of the movie (what date in his timeline he's taken from relative to GX is unknown) he's seen in Venice for no given reason. So basically Juudai's a hobo.
In Kannagara (details subject to change), he's currently renting a small house at the outskirts of Mizusato, near a bluff overlooking the beach. He's very used to sharing rooms with others (ask him about dorm life in Osiris Red sometime); to Juudai, home is where his friends are, so he's a lot more likely to become attached to a place if there are actually people there to tie him to it.
4. Besides the basic necessities, what does he spend his money on?
CHILDREN'S TRADING CARDS.
5. What does he do for a living? Is he good at it? Does he enjoy it, or would he rather be doing something else?
Juudai professionally wanders around for a living, apparently. NO ONE KNOWS.
6. What are his interests or hobbies? How does he spend his free time?
Dueling. Dueling. Did we mention dueling? No, but really, he actually is shown doing many things other than dueling: he's pretty good at baseball, he climbs a lot of trees, he plays video games, he watches pro duels on pay-per-view, and he fishes a lot (this is probably his primary non-dueling hobby).
7. What are his eating habits? Does he skip meals, eat out, drink alcohol, avoid certain foods?
Juudai will eat anything you put in front of him, and lots of it. He eats like a machine. I'm pretty certain there is not a single food that he dislikes. I have no idea what his stance is on alcohol (although he is good friends with a guy whose family is in the sake business :/a).
Associations
Which of the following do you associate with the character, or which is his favorite:
1. Color? Red
2. Smell? ...uh.
3. Time of day? ...Noon?
4. Season? Summer
5. Book? Atlas Shrugged Fight Club? 8/a
6. Music? The Killers
7. Place? The beach
8. Substance? What an ambiguous question.
9. Plant? Trees in general? Is this valid?
10. Animal? Dolphins, the adorable, playful, cold-blooded killers of the sea.
END
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