History Fanfic / DragonsAndSwarm

* TheAtoner: Beelze once got power-mad and turned against the other Signer Dragons before being sealed. Becoming Taylor's partner is his chance to make up for his past misdeeds, and he outright tells her he is on probation. When Synchro Summoning him, Taylor calls him the Atoner of Darkness.

* HalfHumanHybrid: Rather than just being a Spirit Duelist, Luna is outright half-Spirit, to everyone's bafflement. According to Stardust, the only way for Monster Spirits to have children, as immaterial entities, is to [[DemonicPossession possess]] [[SymbioticPossession someone]] during the deed. Leo is fully human though despite them being HalfIdenticalTwins. Honest later explains the reason and mechanisms behind it.

-->The Simurgh attacked Minneapolis.

** An early discussion between Beelze and Archfiend imply Cassandra of Troy was this, especially since she was the Crimson Eye Signer [[spoiler: predecing Dinah]]. He later expends on the matter: besides being a {{Seer}}, Apollo had given his lover CombatClairvoyance as an apology for temporarily losing her gift. Cassandra made full use of it when she avenged Hector and shot Achilles, then defended Troy's temple of Athena against the Achaeans. It allowed her to match [[MasterArcher Odysseus]] in an archery duel, with Apollo and Athena empowering her and her opponent respectively. After the fall of Troy, she joined the Crimson Signers in their adventures during the Bronze Age Collapse.

** An early discussion between Beelze and Archfiend imply Cassandra of Troy was this, especially since she was the Crimson Eye Signer [[spoiler: predecing Dinah]]. He later expends on the matter: besides being a {{Seer}}, Apollo had given his lover CombatClairvoyance as an apology for temporarily losing her gift. Cassandra made full use of it when she avenged Hector and shot Achilles, then defended Troy's temple of Athena against the Achaeans. It allowed her to match [[ArcherArchetype Odysseus]] in an archery duel, with Apollo and Athena empowering her and her opponent respectively. After the fall of Troy, she joined the Crimson Signers in their adventures during the Bronze Age Collapse.

** Judging by the discussion between Beelze and Red Dragon Archfiend, Earth Yota's Cassandra was much stronger than she's depicted in mythology. Notably, while one of the versions of the Iliad has Paris kill Achilles, Beelze retorts Paris couldn't have made the shot and ''she'' did it instead. She also had a duel with [[TheStrategist Odysseus]] of all people. And, of course, she was the Crimson Eye Signer, [[spoiler: preceding Dinah]].

* HijackingCthulhu: Weaver's reason for dueling Roman Goodwin was so she could use Queen Administrator to take contrul of Earthbound Immortal Uru. While it didn't quite go as planned, [[spoiler:the Crimson Dragon was able to act through it to purify the Earthbound Immortal into his original form, Skybound Immortal Anansi.]]

** During the duel with Dinah, Chacu Challhua uses her Field Spell to manifest, so when she destroys it later they're forcibly kicked off the field and sealed, with their unwilling duelist losing as a result.

-->'''Dinah:''' "Hey, big whale?" "'''''Yes?'''''" "You know, that Field Spell you need to stay with us..." "'''''...Yes?'''''" "It's actually mine." *plays a Spell that destroys it and a Trap, sealing Chacu Challhua*

* PreAsskickingOneLiner: Jack gives one to Kalin.

* CartesianKarma: Discussed after some of the Earthbound Immortals are made Skybound once more, but have to life with their actions when corrupted, one mentioning how on Taylor's old world Master victims are not considered at fault for what they were made to do.

* StockGods: Anansi calls himself the [[TheSmartGuy God of Knowledge]], History and Lore when introducing himself. His epithet is the Tale-Spinner.

* EnemyMine: When Sector Security butts in the fight between Weaver, Yusei and the Arcadians, the two Signers quickly agree to a truce while they deal with the psychic duelists, and respect it after they're done giving them their testimony.

* BadBoss: Goodwin and Lazar are openly disdainful of Mina and shoot her down when she voices her concerns about their plans. Goodwin actually slaps her for it once they are alone, causing Mina to wonder why she's still working for them. Then she remembers that it's because she's crushing on Jack.

** NewLifeInAnotherWorldBonus: And a rather literal one at that. Taylor's ability to give Monster Spirits the ability to physically manifest is an added bonus from the Crimson Dragon to the Queen Administrator.

* CurbStompBattle: Even when it comes to card Dueling, Taylor retains her cannon ruthlessness. Lenny the Bully was trounced by Beelze and her duel against Bruce the Bouncer saw her make his attacks backfire twice and ending with more Life Points than she started with! And, of course, there was her RoaringRampageOfRescue after Armstrong beat Yusei to an inch of his life.

* EvenEvilHasStandards: Roman and Uru tell Kalin that he can kill Yusei so long as he keeps his planned "satisfaction" outside of the public eye, saying that they still have standards.

* ForgivenButNotForgotten: Yusei is willing to acknowledge Roman's HeelFaceTurn as a Skybound Signer. He isn't, however, going to forget he caused his father's death and Zero Reverse. Roman accepts it and adds that anyone who suffered from the incident has a right to hate him.

* GodzillaThreshold: "'''Let impure blood water the black rose once more.'''" The TriggerPhrase was devised by Violet Witch as a way to erase every phrase Sayer put on Akiza's mind... including those restraining her powers. She instructs Weaver and Yusei to use it only if they really have no other choice, as the process with be brutal both to Akiza's mind and the surroundings as her powers come unbound. Upon finding herself face to face with Sayer and Misty, Carly uses it as a distraction, running for her life while Akiza's powers come unbound and catch them in the blast radius.

* HoistByHisOwnPetard: Armstrong's strategy of burning away Weaver's Life Points with his Iron Chain Repairman / Blaster combo is usually not a bad idea if the opponent is playing defensive and you don't have monsters with enough ATK. It is less so when you are fighting Beelze, whose ATK grows higher through damage-dealing card effect. [[DeliberateInjuryGambit Weaver pointedly avoids telling Armstrong about it and lets him dig his own grave]].

* INeedAFreakingDrink: After Goodwin lets Weaver, Yusei, Tanner, Yanagi and Alex go, he and Lazar hit the bottle, and Mina similarly needs something to drink after witnessing the swarm.

* ItsPersonal: When Stardust Dragon tells Yusei, Weaver and Greiger about Zero Reverse, he also tells them the role Roman Goodwin played in it. Yusei is livid that the Dark Signer caused his father's death and swears retribution.

* LogicalWeakness: Besides the aforementioned need to have a working Duel Disk as a conduit to use their powers, psychic duelists are limited to the number of cards that they can ''fit'' on said Duel Disks, so they can only have up to five Monsters and five Spell/Trap cards active at once.

* MythologyGag: Taylor uses an abandoned [[Anime/YuGiOh Kame Game Shop]] for her weaving projects.

* OhCrap: Faultline reacts thusly upon realizing the Fortune Ladies' power to get stronger every turn is akin to Lung getting stronger the longer a fight goes on. Her reaction is justified: Capes with that kind of trait are priority targets during fights - or, if possible, ''before'' they start.

* PrecisionFStrike: When Yusei learns what kind of place Earth Bet is, he outright calls it a shithole.

* RelatedInTheAdaptation: In this universe Sly is Sayer's estranged son.

* RelativeButton: After the fall of Brockton Bay, Cauldron got their hands on Dinah. Triumph, her cousin, refused to let her go and was shot by Contessa. Dinah is making Cauldron pay by lying about her predictions, with help from the Crimson Dragon.

* RoaringRampageOfRescue: Taylor's original plan was to sneak Yusei out of the Facility. After Armstrong brutalizes him to get Weaver's identity, Taylor decides to drop the kids' gloves and tears the Facility apart with bugs and Monster Spirits.

* TranquilFury: During their RoaringRampageOfRescue, Weaver keeps her swarm on a tight leash. No one is killed in spite of their anger, although Security as a whole was left with a massive dose of entemophobia.

* UnderestimatingBadassery: Mina actually manages to uncover Dragon's alterations to the hospital security footage and track down Jack after Carly and Taylor bust him out. Both Jack and Taylor are impressed, with Jack even reevaluating his mental assessment of her as a doormat.

* WeNeedADistraction: when Security goes looking for Weaver and Yusei after his final duel with Jack, Weaver - now back as Taylor - distracts them by acting as a high school flutist and [[StreetMusician playing a gig for them]] while the group sneaks by. She ends up with a cupful of coins.

** Judging by the discussion between Beelze and Red Dragon Archfiend, Earth Yota's Cassandra was much stronger than she's depicted in the myth. Notably, while one of the versions of the Iliad has Paris kill Achilles, Beelze retorts Paris couldn't have made the shot and ''she'' did it instead. She also had a duel with [[TheStrategist Odysseus]] of all people. And, of couse, she was the Crimson Eye Signer, [[spoiler: preceding Dinah]].

* SleepModeSize: Since his true form is the size of a skyscrapper, Huitzilopochtli transforms into a little Mexican violetear when he doesn't have to fight.

* NamedByTheAdaptation: though they have first names in the Japanese anime, Akiza's parents have NoFullNameGiven in the dub. In the fic, however, they are called Henry and Selena Izinski. Similarly, Yusei's father's full name is given by Stardust Dragon as Ryushi Fudo.