Ryou Bakura (manga) (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
onethirdthesoul) wrote2014-08-11 06:59 pm
onethirdthesoul) wrote2014-08-11 06:59 pm
Entry tags:
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tushanshu App
Player Information:
Name: Valerie
Age: 23
Contact:![[plurk.com profile]](https://plurk.com/favicon.ico)
danderly
Other Characters Played: n/a
Character Information:
Name: Ryou Bakura
Canon: Yu-Gi-Oh! (mangaverse)
Canon Point: Duelist Kingdom (YGO! Duelist vol. 5; ch. 41)
Age: 16
Reference Links: Yu-Gi-Oh! Wikia
Setting: Domino city is your average Japanese city, being simultaneously stuck in the 90s and having advance sci-fi levels of technology at the same time. Glass boxes called "duel boxes" that produce 3D holograms, spinning yoyo-esque discs that also produce 3D holograms, all in the name of enhancing the wildly renowned game Duel Monsters strategic card game. There's plenty of other games in the world though, Ryou's favourite being Monster World which is a tabletop RPG in the vein of Dungeons and Dragons.
Duel Monsters was created by an American named Pegasus J. Crawford. It became ridiculously popular around the world, and soon a tournament was held on the island dubbed Duelist Kingdom. The tournament had an ulterior motive of course, and that was to gain control of Kaiba Corporation. Before meeting Ryou, Yami Yugi had beaten the Kaiba in an extremely publicized duel, which had caused the company's stocks to drop. Through the use of the Yami Yugi's dark magic, Kaiba was sent into a coma. Yugi was then coerced to come to Duelist Kingdom after Pegasus had dueled him and trapped Yugi's grandfather's soul inside a videotape. Pegasus needed to beat Yugi in order to complete his plans in order to elevate his image so Kaiba Corp's current standing management would hand the company over. Ryou came along as moral support, but also in hopes of learning more about the Millennium Items, since he was sure Pegasus knew something.
The tournament constituted of characters dueling each other in duel boxes and betting their star chips of which they start with two. The players who gathered all ten advanced to Pegasus' castle, but things weren't that simple. "Player Killers" were hidden on the island; advanced duelists meant to pick off extra players and take their star chips so those chips would be out of the game. By the time the group had made it back to the castle, Ryou had been coerced by the spirit to put the Ring back on in order to save them from being trapped underground and suffering an early burial.
The Items themselves were forged roughly 3,000 years ago in Ancient Egypt by slaughtering and sacrificing the people of Kul Elna to melt into the gold mixture. Their hatred awoke the great evil Zorc Necrophades. These items were extremely powerful, but tainted by hatred and evil. The Ring itself is primarily used to locate other Items, and during Duelist Kingdom Ryou often uses it to help the others navigate towards Pegasus' castle; it's reacting to the Millennium Eye.
Within the Ring is Yami Bakura, who was a thief at one point in the past and trapped within this Ring, and Ryou is the first person to be able to wear it. This is because of the Egyptian belief of reincarnation. It takes 3,000 years for the soul to travel through everything on Earth before it can finally reach reincarnation. Ryou is that reincarnation, but he doesn't realize it yet.
Personality: Ryou is a genuinely kind-hearted person, who wants the best for others. He tries his best to be polite, but he's a little air-headed as well as playful, and tends to be a little more loose-lipped around close friends. He's rude on occasion, but never out of any sort of ill will, but more out of his habit of being easily excitable/distracted. At least once he's been thirty minutes late to a meet up because he over slept after staying up all night. Around strangers he abides by much stricter and typical etiquette standards, but his usual personality traits still prevail. He tries to help others to the best of his abilities, and he can tend to be forgiving to a fault, as well as easily peer pressured, threatened, and gullible. His good nature makes him a bit of a doormat at times, but he does try to leave situations he doesn't like or that are clearly abusive, and he will stick up for himself if enough pressure is applied.
Ryou often try to keep his problems to himself, and won't open up to others without some sort of push. Part of this is due to problems within his home life; his mother and sister Amane were killed in a car accident when he was younger, his father is never around, and for a period of time he was unwittingly possessed by Yami Bakura who kept putting his friends into comas. Still, he gets attached to people very easily even despite his reservations, and the mere mention of games or hanging out makes him light up. So long as he feels somebody is his friend, or at least a kind enough person to know the truth so they don't get hurt by Ryou's actions, he's willing to be more open. Generally he only does this if whatever is bothering him is causing him to treat them in a way different from the norm. He feels guilty, and telling the truth is a way to alleviate that guilt, even if it can sometimes be hard to admit. There are still certain subjects he's more resistant to share (such as his family and possession issues); it just depends on who he's talking to and what it is, but more personal matters that are less about guilt and more about sadness are on that list. On the flip-side, he's always willing to listen to and try to comfort the problems of others, and he doesn't expect anything in return for it. The fact he's so empathetic and sympathetic does make him a bit too emotional and sensitive at times. There really is nothing worse to Ryou than hurting or being rejected by his friends, or feeling like he can't help.
His social and hobby life is pretty much all about games. Ryou enjoys playing any sort of game, but his favourite is Monster World. He'll write campaigns where he is the "Dark Master" seeking to destroy the "Adventurers" he's playing against. Basically, his gaming shows a more clever and tricky side to his personality, that Ryou is plenty capable of lying and acting, but it's not something he'll usually employ outside of games. If anything, he can be surprisingly good at reading others moves in a game, and predicting what they're going to do. The same can't really be said for his social interactions. For example, during the Battle City arc he had a deck themed around the occult, which he was pretty cheery about. Basically, as long as something is safe and not hurting anybody, he takes a pretty big interest in weird things like monsters and demons and etc, all with an oblivious smile on his face. He never really seems to realize how weird he can be, yet he'll point out the weirdness of some of Jounouchi's cards!
While he's very friendly, Ryou also values personal space and down time to work on his own hobbies (that facilitate his more social ones). He's social, but he takes it in spurts and he likes to stick to small groups of friends at a time. Because of this, he doesn't like people that are extremely pushy or rude, or constantly nag him. They make him uncomfortable. He likes hanging out, but not go to parties, basically!
In his first appearance, he's actually quite demur and generally tries to avoid getting close to others. He's been suffering from amnesia, his friends falling into comas during sessions of Monster World (tabletop game) for unexplained reasons. Eventually he decided he was cursed and as hurtful rumors started to circulate, changed schools. Yugi-tachi want to come over to play but Ryou turns them down and explains why. Long story short they end up coming over to "surprise" him, Yami Bakura takes over, and plays a game in which if Yugi-tachi lose their souls get locked into miniatures. Ryou had been put to sleep by the spirit but wakes up in time to sabotage the spirit. During this he proves that he will put himself in danger, even the possibility of death, if it means helping or saving his friends--the sacrifice will generally match the threat presented. He went so far as breaking his soul apart--which had been transferred into a set of dice--just in order to destroy the dice so Yami Bakura wouldn't be able to win. Afterward he was able to regain his soul, and he became close friends with Yugi-tachi. The Ring was finally off, with Yami Bakura defeated all the comas were reversed, and Ryou was able to return to his more carefree ways. He still kept the Millennium Ring in his bag after that though, having a sort of attachment to it.
Not long after that in Duelist Kingdom when he and Yugi-tachi were trapped underground, they had to beat the Paradox Twins game in order to leave or end up stuck down there. The twins were playing dirty and while searching the room Ryou was convinced by the spirit--despite his own obvious fear of what will happen--to put the Ring back own and ultimately jeopardize his own autonomy just to ensure his friends escaped. The spirit ensured him he had "turned over a new leaf" while simultaneously using fear mongering tactics to get Ryou to do it.
Later on, after Battle City (his canon app point is way before this), Ryou is more than happy to put the Ring back on without hesitation for a second time, even pouting and calling Yugi "mean" for not telling him he had it. As far as Ryou knew, the spirit hadn't done anything bad lately, and he didn't think to double check. Of course he had, namely the entirety of the arc, but more specifically he stabbed Ryou's arm and helped Malik Ishtar. This careless and carefree nature of Ryou's even has him poking that grave knife wound, teasing others to poke it, and claiming he didn't need to go to the hospital because he's been unknowingly brainwashed out of feeling pain. Ryou doesn't even think twice about the injury. It doesn't hurt, so it must be okay!
In summation, he's a good kid but too trusting for his own good. He also doesn't have the most pleasant of pasts and he doesn't deal well with emotional stress or coercion.
Appearance: A lanky, 5'7" teenage boy. He has fair skin, teal eyes, and long, white unruly hair. Image reference, although the colors are slightly off.
Abilities: He's pretty good when it comes to building strategies and stories, while he's always applied this to games in the past, it could easily be used for something more military-based if he's needed. He can also cook pretty well, he knows how to keep a place tidy, and he sculpts/paints miniatures and builds dioramas in his spare time.
Inventory: A small backpack, a spare set of clothing, some basic supplies.
Suitability: Ryou's a good fit because he has a lot of ways he can grow as a character. As far as adaption goes, he'd be fairly useless at first, but in time he'd be more than willing to try and help in whatever ways he can. It'll definitely take a lot of practice and pushing though, but if he has friends who needs his help he'll hardly turn them down.
Suite: Wood sector! Ryou likes to keep himself in busy and in motion, whether its making crafts or hanging out with his friends. He tends to get a little caught up in what he does at times though, being absent-minded and losing track of time. He would never take an initiative in a fight, but if he's pushed he'll stubbornly defend himself or his friends.
In-Character Samples:
Third Person (Prose):
Ryou sat in the shade of a tree as night fell on Duelist Kingdom. Jounouchi, Honda, and Yugi had already fallen asleep while Mai and Anzu were presumably asleep as well in their tent...but Ryou was having trouble sleeping. There were so many questions left unanswered, that he felt anxious just sitting here waiting for tomorrow.
“Heyy, Yugi-kun?” Ryou nudges the sleeping boy’s shoulder. “Yugi-kun…”
No response. Sighing Ryou flops back against the tree. He shouldn’t be waking Yugi up anyway; he had a lot of duels to win tomorrow. Ryou wishes he could do more than just tag along and cheer everybody on, but there’s not much he can do to change that right now.
It’s not like he doesn’t know how to play the game. He understands the rules and the strategies and everything just fine. He knows how to read the people playing, sometimes he can even tell what they’re planning with their current moves… But he wasn’t a member of this tournament. Honestly, he didn't really want to be. Yugi and Jounouchi had far more at stake than he did, and Ryou played more for fun than for prizes.
Just being able to go on this “field trip” of sorts with his friends was more than enough to make him happy; Ryou appreciated his friends more than anything, but it’s not as if he’s lost sight of what’s important here. Yugi had his Grandpa to rescue, Jounouchi needed the money for his sister, and he wanted to find out the truth behind the Millennium Items. It wasn’t just curiosity; there had to be a reason they were coming together like this. He just hasn’t found that reason out yet, but there's no way he can settle for it all being a mere coincidence.
The words said by the spirit of the Ring had burned themselves into the forefront of his mind. Three thousand years ago, this and that, and he'd been looking for the Puzzle. What were the chances of Ryou moving to this city? Of going to Domino High and being in Yugi's class? Why was it he could only hear the spirit when he touched the Puzzle?
There weren't many places to look, and this was the best place he had to start. It wasn't an ulterior motive if he's already come clean with it, right?
Network:
[Ryou sits at the console in his room, A few natural holes in the tree behind him already filled with decorative nicknacks.]
Mmm... I was thinking. Does anybody wants to go out to the edge of the shell with me? I know it's a bit of a ways away, but I've always wanted to go there. It'd be like a road trip! Hehe.
[What a bold requests. Ryou leans back and blinks a few times, seeming to realize this.] I'll chip in on any expenses...!
Revisions: Before meeting Ryou, Yugi/Yami Yugi (the spirit of the Millennium Puzzle, but in control of Yugi's body) had defeated Kaiba in "Death-T", which was a massively publicized game tournament in which Yugi and his friends played through various deadly games to reach the top, where Yami Yugi took over and dueled Kaiba in Duel Monsters. He won, and using his victory used the powers of the Millennium Puzzle to shatter Kaiba's heart, sending him into a coma while he had to piece it back together.
Pegasus is the own of Industrial Illusions, he invented the Duel Monsters card game after getting inspiration from some ancient drawings of monsters on his trip to Egypt, which is also when he was given the Millennium Eye. Industrial Illusions had a partnership with Kaiba's company, Kaiba Corp, in which KC build peripherals to enhance the Duel Monsters card game (such as the previously mentioned duel box). With Kaiba in a comma and no longer the best gamer in Japan, the stocks dropped drastically and the partnership suffered, so Pegasus had a lot to gain by taking over the company in Kaiba's illness-induced absence. He needed to defeat Yami Yugi, because Yami Yugi defeated Kaiba. It was part of the deal Pegasus had made the Big 5 who were controlling Kaiba Corp in Kaiba's absence. Defeating Yami Yugi would essentially make Pegasus the new best gamer in Japan, which was to boost company image.
Ryou met Yugi, Jounouchi, Anzu, and Honda when he moved to Domino City and transferred to Domino High. It was in Yami Bakura's game of Monster World that Yami Yugi came out to help Ryou and the Yugi-tachi beat the game. He essentially rolled the dice and tried to outsmart Yami Bakura while the rest of the group was trapped within the game. Ryou had initially been "asleep", but managed to circumvent Yami Bakura's power and get his character in the game to help. After winning and ever since then they'd been friends. That's why when Duelist Kingdom rolls around they all headed to the island together. Anzu and Honda aren't particularly important to mention more about, but Jounouchi has a sister who will lose her eyesight soon and he's participating in Duelist Kingdom to win the prize money for her surgery. Ryou also only knew about Kaiba's public image, as well as Pegasus's, before Duelist Kingdom. The underhanded way Pegasus drew Yugi to the island as well as information leaked about the Big 5's plan from Mokuba (Kaiba's younger brother, whom also participated in Death-T and antagonized Yugi-tachi before Ryou met them).
The significance of the Duel Monsters card game is as such: it's the most popular game in the world, but unknown to most (as well as Ryou,) it is actually based off real battles with real monsters back in Ancient Egypt. The Millennium Puzzle and Ring, as well as the other items, herald from this time. The early Duel Monsters game seen in Duelist Kingdom is a lot less refined than it is in Battle City Tournament which was seen with very stringent rules and guidelines set in place by Seto Kaiba. Back in its initial form, both before and during Duelist Kingdom, the game involved a lot of RPG elements. Like using Catapult Turtle to throw a monster at castle's flotation ring so it would come crashing down on the opponent's monsters--these aren't elements seen explicitly written on the cards, but instead improvised by the players and made canon by the duel box actually playing out the scenario.
As far as how Ryou feels for the game, well... He loves RPGs, and he loves games, but he isn't actually seen playing the card game in the main canon (in the peripheral videogames, it's another story). Later in Battle City he declares he built a deck, and it's the same solid deck that Yami Bakura uses, so it can be assumed that he's fairly apt at the game when he does play it, if off screen. Ryou can also be seen watching duels during Duelist Kingdom, and while Anzu, Honda, and sometimes even Jounouchi oftentimes appear confused at what's happening, he's usually pipping up with an explanation, proving that not only does he know the rules and the inner workings of the game, but how to read ahead.
Name: Valerie
Age: 23
Contact:
Other Characters Played: n/a
Character Information:
Name: Ryou Bakura
Canon: Yu-Gi-Oh! (mangaverse)
Canon Point: Duelist Kingdom (YGO! Duelist vol. 5; ch. 41)
Age: 16
Reference Links: Yu-Gi-Oh! Wikia
Setting: Domino city is your average Japanese city, being simultaneously stuck in the 90s and having advance sci-fi levels of technology at the same time. Glass boxes called "duel boxes" that produce 3D holograms, spinning yoyo-esque discs that also produce 3D holograms, all in the name of enhancing the wildly renowned game Duel Monsters strategic card game. There's plenty of other games in the world though, Ryou's favourite being Monster World which is a tabletop RPG in the vein of Dungeons and Dragons.
Duel Monsters was created by an American named Pegasus J. Crawford. It became ridiculously popular around the world, and soon a tournament was held on the island dubbed Duelist Kingdom. The tournament had an ulterior motive of course, and that was to gain control of Kaiba Corporation. Before meeting Ryou, Yami Yugi had beaten the Kaiba in an extremely publicized duel, which had caused the company's stocks to drop. Through the use of the Yami Yugi's dark magic, Kaiba was sent into a coma. Yugi was then coerced to come to Duelist Kingdom after Pegasus had dueled him and trapped Yugi's grandfather's soul inside a videotape. Pegasus needed to beat Yugi in order to complete his plans in order to elevate his image so Kaiba Corp's current standing management would hand the company over. Ryou came along as moral support, but also in hopes of learning more about the Millennium Items, since he was sure Pegasus knew something.
The tournament constituted of characters dueling each other in duel boxes and betting their star chips of which they start with two. The players who gathered all ten advanced to Pegasus' castle, but things weren't that simple. "Player Killers" were hidden on the island; advanced duelists meant to pick off extra players and take their star chips so those chips would be out of the game. By the time the group had made it back to the castle, Ryou had been coerced by the spirit to put the Ring back on in order to save them from being trapped underground and suffering an early burial.
The Items themselves were forged roughly 3,000 years ago in Ancient Egypt by slaughtering and sacrificing the people of Kul Elna to melt into the gold mixture. Their hatred awoke the great evil Zorc Necrophades. These items were extremely powerful, but tainted by hatred and evil. The Ring itself is primarily used to locate other Items, and during Duelist Kingdom Ryou often uses it to help the others navigate towards Pegasus' castle; it's reacting to the Millennium Eye.
Within the Ring is Yami Bakura, who was a thief at one point in the past and trapped within this Ring, and Ryou is the first person to be able to wear it. This is because of the Egyptian belief of reincarnation. It takes 3,000 years for the soul to travel through everything on Earth before it can finally reach reincarnation. Ryou is that reincarnation, but he doesn't realize it yet.
Personality: Ryou is a genuinely kind-hearted person, who wants the best for others. He tries his best to be polite, but he's a little air-headed as well as playful, and tends to be a little more loose-lipped around close friends. He's rude on occasion, but never out of any sort of ill will, but more out of his habit of being easily excitable/distracted. At least once he's been thirty minutes late to a meet up because he over slept after staying up all night. Around strangers he abides by much stricter and typical etiquette standards, but his usual personality traits still prevail. He tries to help others to the best of his abilities, and he can tend to be forgiving to a fault, as well as easily peer pressured, threatened, and gullible. His good nature makes him a bit of a doormat at times, but he does try to leave situations he doesn't like or that are clearly abusive, and he will stick up for himself if enough pressure is applied.
Ryou often try to keep his problems to himself, and won't open up to others without some sort of push. Part of this is due to problems within his home life; his mother and sister Amane were killed in a car accident when he was younger, his father is never around, and for a period of time he was unwittingly possessed by Yami Bakura who kept putting his friends into comas. Still, he gets attached to people very easily even despite his reservations, and the mere mention of games or hanging out makes him light up. So long as he feels somebody is his friend, or at least a kind enough person to know the truth so they don't get hurt by Ryou's actions, he's willing to be more open. Generally he only does this if whatever is bothering him is causing him to treat them in a way different from the norm. He feels guilty, and telling the truth is a way to alleviate that guilt, even if it can sometimes be hard to admit. There are still certain subjects he's more resistant to share (such as his family and possession issues); it just depends on who he's talking to and what it is, but more personal matters that are less about guilt and more about sadness are on that list. On the flip-side, he's always willing to listen to and try to comfort the problems of others, and he doesn't expect anything in return for it. The fact he's so empathetic and sympathetic does make him a bit too emotional and sensitive at times. There really is nothing worse to Ryou than hurting or being rejected by his friends, or feeling like he can't help.
His social and hobby life is pretty much all about games. Ryou enjoys playing any sort of game, but his favourite is Monster World. He'll write campaigns where he is the "Dark Master" seeking to destroy the "Adventurers" he's playing against. Basically, his gaming shows a more clever and tricky side to his personality, that Ryou is plenty capable of lying and acting, but it's not something he'll usually employ outside of games. If anything, he can be surprisingly good at reading others moves in a game, and predicting what they're going to do. The same can't really be said for his social interactions. For example, during the Battle City arc he had a deck themed around the occult, which he was pretty cheery about. Basically, as long as something is safe and not hurting anybody, he takes a pretty big interest in weird things like monsters and demons and etc, all with an oblivious smile on his face. He never really seems to realize how weird he can be, yet he'll point out the weirdness of some of Jounouchi's cards!
While he's very friendly, Ryou also values personal space and down time to work on his own hobbies (that facilitate his more social ones). He's social, but he takes it in spurts and he likes to stick to small groups of friends at a time. Because of this, he doesn't like people that are extremely pushy or rude, or constantly nag him. They make him uncomfortable. He likes hanging out, but not go to parties, basically!
In his first appearance, he's actually quite demur and generally tries to avoid getting close to others. He's been suffering from amnesia, his friends falling into comas during sessions of Monster World (tabletop game) for unexplained reasons. Eventually he decided he was cursed and as hurtful rumors started to circulate, changed schools. Yugi-tachi want to come over to play but Ryou turns them down and explains why. Long story short they end up coming over to "surprise" him, Yami Bakura takes over, and plays a game in which if Yugi-tachi lose their souls get locked into miniatures. Ryou had been put to sleep by the spirit but wakes up in time to sabotage the spirit. During this he proves that he will put himself in danger, even the possibility of death, if it means helping or saving his friends--the sacrifice will generally match the threat presented. He went so far as breaking his soul apart--which had been transferred into a set of dice--just in order to destroy the dice so Yami Bakura wouldn't be able to win. Afterward he was able to regain his soul, and he became close friends with Yugi-tachi. The Ring was finally off, with Yami Bakura defeated all the comas were reversed, and Ryou was able to return to his more carefree ways. He still kept the Millennium Ring in his bag after that though, having a sort of attachment to it.
Not long after that in Duelist Kingdom when he and Yugi-tachi were trapped underground, they had to beat the Paradox Twins game in order to leave or end up stuck down there. The twins were playing dirty and while searching the room Ryou was convinced by the spirit--despite his own obvious fear of what will happen--to put the Ring back own and ultimately jeopardize his own autonomy just to ensure his friends escaped. The spirit ensured him he had "turned over a new leaf" while simultaneously using fear mongering tactics to get Ryou to do it.
Later on, after Battle City (his canon app point is way before this), Ryou is more than happy to put the Ring back on without hesitation for a second time, even pouting and calling Yugi "mean" for not telling him he had it. As far as Ryou knew, the spirit hadn't done anything bad lately, and he didn't think to double check. Of course he had, namely the entirety of the arc, but more specifically he stabbed Ryou's arm and helped Malik Ishtar. This careless and carefree nature of Ryou's even has him poking that grave knife wound, teasing others to poke it, and claiming he didn't need to go to the hospital because he's been unknowingly brainwashed out of feeling pain. Ryou doesn't even think twice about the injury. It doesn't hurt, so it must be okay!
In summation, he's a good kid but too trusting for his own good. He also doesn't have the most pleasant of pasts and he doesn't deal well with emotional stress or coercion.
Appearance: A lanky, 5'7" teenage boy. He has fair skin, teal eyes, and long, white unruly hair. Image reference, although the colors are slightly off.
Abilities: He's pretty good when it comes to building strategies and stories, while he's always applied this to games in the past, it could easily be used for something more military-based if he's needed. He can also cook pretty well, he knows how to keep a place tidy, and he sculpts/paints miniatures and builds dioramas in his spare time.
Inventory: A small backpack, a spare set of clothing, some basic supplies.
Suitability: Ryou's a good fit because he has a lot of ways he can grow as a character. As far as adaption goes, he'd be fairly useless at first, but in time he'd be more than willing to try and help in whatever ways he can. It'll definitely take a lot of practice and pushing though, but if he has friends who needs his help he'll hardly turn them down.
Suite: Wood sector! Ryou likes to keep himself in busy and in motion, whether its making crafts or hanging out with his friends. He tends to get a little caught up in what he does at times though, being absent-minded and losing track of time. He would never take an initiative in a fight, but if he's pushed he'll stubbornly defend himself or his friends.
In-Character Samples:
Third Person (Prose):
Ryou sat in the shade of a tree as night fell on Duelist Kingdom. Jounouchi, Honda, and Yugi had already fallen asleep while Mai and Anzu were presumably asleep as well in their tent...but Ryou was having trouble sleeping. There were so many questions left unanswered, that he felt anxious just sitting here waiting for tomorrow.
“Heyy, Yugi-kun?” Ryou nudges the sleeping boy’s shoulder. “Yugi-kun…”
No response. Sighing Ryou flops back against the tree. He shouldn’t be waking Yugi up anyway; he had a lot of duels to win tomorrow. Ryou wishes he could do more than just tag along and cheer everybody on, but there’s not much he can do to change that right now.
It’s not like he doesn’t know how to play the game. He understands the rules and the strategies and everything just fine. He knows how to read the people playing, sometimes he can even tell what they’re planning with their current moves… But he wasn’t a member of this tournament. Honestly, he didn't really want to be. Yugi and Jounouchi had far more at stake than he did, and Ryou played more for fun than for prizes.
Just being able to go on this “field trip” of sorts with his friends was more than enough to make him happy; Ryou appreciated his friends more than anything, but it’s not as if he’s lost sight of what’s important here. Yugi had his Grandpa to rescue, Jounouchi needed the money for his sister, and he wanted to find out the truth behind the Millennium Items. It wasn’t just curiosity; there had to be a reason they were coming together like this. He just hasn’t found that reason out yet, but there's no way he can settle for it all being a mere coincidence.
The words said by the spirit of the Ring had burned themselves into the forefront of his mind. Three thousand years ago, this and that, and he'd been looking for the Puzzle. What were the chances of Ryou moving to this city? Of going to Domino High and being in Yugi's class? Why was it he could only hear the spirit when he touched the Puzzle?
There weren't many places to look, and this was the best place he had to start. It wasn't an ulterior motive if he's already come clean with it, right?
Network:
[Ryou sits at the console in his room, A few natural holes in the tree behind him already filled with decorative nicknacks.]
Mmm... I was thinking. Does anybody wants to go out to the edge of the shell with me? I know it's a bit of a ways away, but I've always wanted to go there. It'd be like a road trip! Hehe.
[What a bold requests. Ryou leans back and blinks a few times, seeming to realize this.] I'll chip in on any expenses...!
Revisions: Before meeting Ryou, Yugi/Yami Yugi (the spirit of the Millennium Puzzle, but in control of Yugi's body) had defeated Kaiba in "Death-T", which was a massively publicized game tournament in which Yugi and his friends played through various deadly games to reach the top, where Yami Yugi took over and dueled Kaiba in Duel Monsters. He won, and using his victory used the powers of the Millennium Puzzle to shatter Kaiba's heart, sending him into a coma while he had to piece it back together.
Pegasus is the own of Industrial Illusions, he invented the Duel Monsters card game after getting inspiration from some ancient drawings of monsters on his trip to Egypt, which is also when he was given the Millennium Eye. Industrial Illusions had a partnership with Kaiba's company, Kaiba Corp, in which KC build peripherals to enhance the Duel Monsters card game (such as the previously mentioned duel box). With Kaiba in a comma and no longer the best gamer in Japan, the stocks dropped drastically and the partnership suffered, so Pegasus had a lot to gain by taking over the company in Kaiba's illness-induced absence. He needed to defeat Yami Yugi, because Yami Yugi defeated Kaiba. It was part of the deal Pegasus had made the Big 5 who were controlling Kaiba Corp in Kaiba's absence. Defeating Yami Yugi would essentially make Pegasus the new best gamer in Japan, which was to boost company image.
Ryou met Yugi, Jounouchi, Anzu, and Honda when he moved to Domino City and transferred to Domino High. It was in Yami Bakura's game of Monster World that Yami Yugi came out to help Ryou and the Yugi-tachi beat the game. He essentially rolled the dice and tried to outsmart Yami Bakura while the rest of the group was trapped within the game. Ryou had initially been "asleep", but managed to circumvent Yami Bakura's power and get his character in the game to help. After winning and ever since then they'd been friends. That's why when Duelist Kingdom rolls around they all headed to the island together. Anzu and Honda aren't particularly important to mention more about, but Jounouchi has a sister who will lose her eyesight soon and he's participating in Duelist Kingdom to win the prize money for her surgery. Ryou also only knew about Kaiba's public image, as well as Pegasus's, before Duelist Kingdom. The underhanded way Pegasus drew Yugi to the island as well as information leaked about the Big 5's plan from Mokuba (Kaiba's younger brother, whom also participated in Death-T and antagonized Yugi-tachi before Ryou met them).
The significance of the Duel Monsters card game is as such: it's the most popular game in the world, but unknown to most (as well as Ryou,) it is actually based off real battles with real monsters back in Ancient Egypt. The Millennium Puzzle and Ring, as well as the other items, herald from this time. The early Duel Monsters game seen in Duelist Kingdom is a lot less refined than it is in Battle City Tournament which was seen with very stringent rules and guidelines set in place by Seto Kaiba. Back in its initial form, both before and during Duelist Kingdom, the game involved a lot of RPG elements. Like using Catapult Turtle to throw a monster at castle's flotation ring so it would come crashing down on the opponent's monsters--these aren't elements seen explicitly written on the cards, but instead improvised by the players and made canon by the duel box actually playing out the scenario.
As far as how Ryou feels for the game, well... He loves RPGs, and he loves games, but he isn't actually seen playing the card game in the main canon (in the peripheral videogames, it's another story). Later in Battle City he declares he built a deck, and it's the same solid deck that Yami Bakura uses, so it can be assumed that he's fairly apt at the game when he does play it, if off screen. Ryou can also be seen watching duels during Duelist Kingdom, and while Anzu, Honda, and sometimes even Jounouchi oftentimes appear confused at what's happening, he's usually pipping up with an explanation, proving that not only does he know the rules and the inner workings of the game, but how to read ahead.