Cool Sword: All Shadowchasers carry a sword that they use for non-dueling situations, with some exceptions.
Distinguishing Mark: All Shadowchasers have a small mark on their face (that's only visible by Awares and Shadowkind) that indicates to others that they are a Shadowchaser.
Hero of Another Story: A lot of the Shadowchaser spin-offs tend to happen simultaneously with one another. So most of the time, one adventure is happening the same time as another due to them being a world-wide organization.
Men In Black: They focus on fighting supernatural forces that ordinary people don't even know exist.
Oddly Small Organization: While they are a world-wide organization, there are only about 500 members total. Which compared to other international peace-keeping organizations, is pretty small.
Signature Card: All Shadowchasers are required to always carry a card called Jalal the Dragonborn with them. Later replaced with Dragonprince Jalal as of Torment (though fics whose settings take place beforehand still use the original version). The only exception is Jalal himself, who does not seem to have it.
Neo Domino branch
Introduced in the original fic, the Neo Domino Shadowchasers serve as the main protagonists of the original fic and Power Primordial. Due to where they reside, they are also the ones who are affected the most when it comes to the main plotline of Yu-Gi-Oh! 5Ds.
Ember (real name Eiko Michiko)
The main protagonist of the original fic and Power Primordial. Ember was originally a secretary who worked for Anthony Draco until she was almost killed by an ophidia assassin named Hebi-Na due to her Aware powers awakening. Fortunately for her, Shichiro intervenes in time and defeats Hebi-Na. Afterwards Shichiro tells her about the world behind the veil and about the Shadowchasers. After learning that she can see Shadowkind for what they are and that her life can never be the same as it was before, Ember joins the Shadowchasers with Jinx as her mentor. Later on, she is given the task to stop the Deluge from being casted on the Earth and confront the mastermind behind it, which she eventually succeeds in.In Power Primordial, Ember has already accommodated herself fully in her new life as a Shadowchaser. Later on she agrees to be Jetta's sponsor and helps her find the real culprit for the crime that she was accused of.She later returns as one of the main characters in Tournament of Shadows as one of the Shadowchasers currently participating in the 2nd Duelist Kingdom tournament wherein she enters with the hopes of supporting a group called the "Hands of Sadako".
Always Someone Better: Is possibly this towards some Shadowchasers due to her saving the world on her first official day. One Shadowchaser in particular who feels this way is Ace from Risen Nemesis.
Badass in Distress: Gets kidnapped at least twice over the course of the original fic and Power Primordial. (First time by Anthony Draco and the second time by Hebi-Na)
Be Careful What You Wish For: A positive example. When she was still Draco's secretary, she light-heartedly wishes that her life could be a lot more interesting, moments before she is almost killed by Hebi-Na. Then after Shichiro tells her about the Shdaowchasers and about the world behind the veil, she feels nervous at first until it turns into feelings of excitement.
Beginner's Luck: Manages to save the world from the Deluge on her first day as an official Shadowchaser. Spin-off stories by other authors shows that some characters are envious of her or try to emulate her because of it.
Beware the Nice Ones: While generally a nice person, she claims to have an "inner bitch" in her that she occasionally channels. Some opponents have actually been at the receiving end of this.
Brainy Redhead: Is known to be quite well-read and was a straight A student when she was in high school.
Did You Just Punch Out Cthulhu?: Twice. The first time was in the original fic wherein she defeated Venomminaga, Deity of Poisonous Snakes (which in this universe is the avatar of the ophidia goddess Seghulerak) by dropping its ATK points all the way to 0 with her Samsara Dogma trap, enough for Flamvell Urquizas to destroy it without it being able to revive itself, and the second time was in Power Primordial wherein she defeats the aboleth's recently resurrected Ccapac Apu with Jetta assisted by the other Primordial Titans (and Flamvell Urquizas) through her Synchro Baton trap.
Fiery Redhead: Has her moments although she's more subdued than most examples of this trope.
Girl Next Door: Jinx describes her as this when she and Shichiro were researching for information about her.
Glass Cannon: Most of her monsters tend to have high ATK scores and offensive capabilities such as swarming, burn and beatdown but have little to no DEF.
Green Eyes: Said to be her most remarkable feature.
I Owe Them My Life: When Minerva tries to persuade her not to confront Iggwiliv after the other Paragons defeat and capture the rest of her teammates in Power Primordial. Ember refuses, remembering how far her teammates went to save her when she was Draco's hostage in the original fic.
Identical Stranger: Her appearance is frequently compared to be exactly similar to the card Rose, Warrior of Revenge.
Like a Badass out of Hell: Played with. After she draws with the aboleth-possessed Iggwiliv in a Shadow duel, shes gets transported to some place that is reminiscent of Hell. Ember even starts thinking she really is in Hell and after fending off some demons, declares that she plans to fight as hard as she can no matter what. Gabriel then reassures her that she's not really in Hell but someplace else.
An earlier situation in the same fic might qualify better, when she escapes from the Venomous Tarns, with her cousin's help. Although, as horrible as this place is, it's only Hell for some people. As he tells her, it might actually be considered Heaven to ophidia who were loyal worshippers of Seghulerak.
Made of Iron: Her ability to repeatedly take punishment in Shadow Duels surprises everyone, including herself.
Reluctant Heroine: In the original fic, not so much in Power Primordial onwards.
Save the Villain: After she defeats the aboleth, she rescues Iggwiliv from her cage before escaping the pocket dimension that they were in. Later when Iggwiliv scoffs at her heroic act, contributing it to the flaw of human morality, Ember says to her that the reason she rescued her was so that she could answer for her crimes and also because if she left her there, she might have found a way to escape herself eventually.
Ember (after negating the aboleth's Barrel Behind the Door trap): I'll see you in Hell, you egotistical idiot...
Series Mascot: Second to Jalal, she's probably the most iconic character in the series due to her being the original protagonist. She and her achievements also gets mentioned a lot in other Shadowchaser spin-offs.
Sexy Secretary: During her time as Draco's secretary depending on who you ask. Although she qualifies more as "pretty" rather than "sexy".
Signature Card: Flamvell Urquizas and Jetta the Bronze-Hearted.
Solo Sequence: In Tournament of Shadows wherein she is the only one in her team to partake in the 2nd Duelist Kingdom tournament.
The Sponsor: For Jetta in Power Primordial, although she had to prove herself in four consecutive duels first without rest (she succeeds).
Stone Wall: During her Broken Bamboo Sword test wherein she had to win without attacking at all (and she couldn't use any cards that were good in a deck that doesn't involve attacking such as Gravity Bind and Marshmallon)
Taking You with Me: Does this during her duel with an aboleth-possessed Iggwiliv when she negates its "Barrel Behind the Door" trap which would have caused all of the damage done by the effect of Diabolic Star Dragon to be dealt to her. Fortunately, they both survive.
Took a Level in Badass: Compare her in the original fic and in Power Primordial onwards.
Unlikely Heroine: In her narration at the start of the original fic, she states that there is nothing about her that can be considered "special" compared to other heroes. She says that the only thing she had was the "potential" to be one (this is actually true for several other Shadowchasers when their awareness kicks in).
Zerg Rush: During her Heavy Slump test, wherein she focuses on swarming the field with monsters in order to thin out her deck quicker (which she got the idea from after her duel with Crow in her dreams) due to the test requiring her to have a 60-card deck. Of course, most of these monsters (save for a few) are weak in terms of ATK power.
Osaka Shichiro
One of the main characters of the original fic and Power Primordial. Shichiro is regarded by most parts of Shadowkind to be the best Shadowchaser in Neo Domino. He is the one who saves Ember from almost being killed by Hebi-Na and the one to explain to her everything about the Shadowchasers and Shadowkind. Throughout the fic, there have been several hints about something that he had regretted doing two years prior to the events of the story.
The Ace: Is said to be the best Shadowchaser in Neo Domino.
Always Someone Better: For most of the original fic and in the first half of Power Primordial, he always feels like he's riding on Yusei's coattails. This could be why he ran a deck that was similar to Yusei's until Power Primordial wherein he finally makes a deck with his own identity in it.
Bad Dreams: In the original fic, he frequently gets dreams of seeing Junk Warrior, Exploder Dragonwing, Blackwing Armor Master and Archfiend General blocking his path, all of them angry at him. This reflects the guilt he feels for supposedly causing the disasters that befell Team Satisfaction. It is also this reason that he was initially reluctant in using Junk Synchron and Junk Warrior in his deck. After his duel with DaPen, the dream changes to Junk Warrior reasoning with the other three and ends with them no longer angry at him and finally letting him through.
Big Eater: Temporarily becomes one when Edmund hits him with his Enervation spell after their duel.
The Chooser of The One: His Rose, Warrior of Revenge card, which he is allowed to keep until he finds someone who realizes his/her potential and understands the card's meaning. He later gives the card to Ember before she goes off to stop the Deluge after she finally understands its significance.
Decoy Protagonist: Mostly in the original fic. He has the traits and characteristics of a standard hero (and is the one to duel and defeat two of the main conspirators of the plot), but later on it's obvious that the focus is actually on Ember.
Demoted to Extra: Only makes a cameo appearance in Tournament of Shadows.
Did You Just Punch Out Cthulhu?: At some point, he managed to defeat a duelist that was using a F.G.D. - a monster whose ATK power surpasses even the Egyptian God cards and is speculated to be the avatar of the Dragon Queen Tiamat. Which seems to be a story that he never gets tired of sharing. He later repeats this feat during his duel with Trueman wherein he not only defeats one F.G.D., but two.
Magical Seventh Son: Has six older brothers and his father also has six older brothers. Shichiro thinks this is the reason for him being an Aware.
The Mentor: Was this for Yusei Fudo, when he pursued his un-authorized project that would try to make a Sensitive into an Aware. It backfired and the two went their separate ways, only making up in the end of the original fic.
Mid-Season Upgrade: Shichiro upgrades his deck during Power Primordial going from Toolbox Warrior to a Six Samurai/Warrior hybrid of sorts.
Old Shame: Two years prior to the original fic, he pursued an un-authorized project that would try to make a Sensitive into an Aware. Unfortunately it didn't work out and he had a fallout with his apprentice. As a result, he blames himself for the bad things that happened to said apprentice and his friends. Eventually Jinx helps him realize that it wasn't his fault at all and makes peace with his old apprentice Yusei Fudo by the end of the fic.
Samurai: Uses a Six Samurai deck from the middle of Power Primordial onwards.
Signature Card: Colossal Fighter and Trymus the Conqueror.
One of the main characters of the original fic and Power Primordial. Jinx is a Shadowchaser that serves as Ember's mentor during her apprenticeship. It is known that during her apprenticeship, she took on a redcap Shadowkind as her final test. After defeating it, the redcap incinerated himself leaving nothing but a tooth behind. After learning more about them, she keeps the tooth as proof that she rid the world of a corruption of nature. It is for this reason that she runs a Gamble/X-Saber deck during the course of the original fic.
Badass in Distress: After losing to DaPen in the original fic and to Menzoberra in Power Primordial.
Barbarian Heroes/Nature Heroes: Her X-Sabers, which are said to be barbaric warriors whose powers are influenced by nature.
Bargain With Heaven: After her luck starts to wear out during her final duel against her boggart, she makes a silent prayer to the higher forces to let her luck hold out enough for her to survive the duel, with the promise that she would no longer rely on luck in duels, which was fortunately answered. In which she would then keep the promise she made by the time Power Primordial occurs.
Battle Trophy: She keeps a redcap's tooth that she wears around her neck that she got from a redcap that she defeated during her Rite of Passage. She learned that one must keep the tooth as a sign that they have rid the world of a corruption of nature, and as a result will receive nature's blessings. It is this reason why she uses the X-Saber monsters, as their strengths are also derived from the forces of nature.
Big Sister Mentor: To Ember in the original fic, although they are still like this in later fics. Jinx even says that Ember is like the younger sister that she never had.
Demoted to Extra: Only makes a cameo appearance in Tournament of Shadows.
Dishing Out Dirt: Runs mostly Earth monsters and supports them more extensively in Power Primordial.
The Gambler: Half off her deck in the original fic uses Gamble cards. She stops using them completely after her final duel with her boggart, wherein her bad luck almost costs her the duel.
Meaningful Nickname: Jinx, considering her good luck often means bad luck for her opponents. The name soon becomes The Artifact in Power Primordial considering she no longer uses her Gamble cards.
Petting Zoo People: A few of her X-Sabers are Beast-Warriors. She also puts more focus on them in Power Primordial after removing her Gamble cards.
Signature Card: X-Saber Urbellum and Shanalla the Fierce.
What the Hell, Hero?: A rather tame example: When she gets angry because Ember is careless and went on an unauthorized mission without her permission, Jalal mentions that he "seems to remember" another Shadowchaser who did that a lot when she was an apprentice. (He's talking about Jinx.) Jinx is not able to deny it.
One of the main characters in the original fic and Power Primordial. As the Shadowchaser with the most seniority and experience in his group, Gears serves as the de-facto leader of the Neo Domino Shadowchasers as well as their go-to guy when it comes to technology. It is said that years prior to Shichiro and Jinx joining, he came across an evil wizard that used Worm monsters, monster of Light and servants of the Light of Ruin that were far more cruel than the darkest of Fiends. Even after winning the duel, he still receives nightmares about them. It is for this reason that he uses the Allies of Justice - monsters that were blessed with the Healing Darkness in order to combat the Worm monsters should they ever return.
Badass in Distress: After losing to DaPen in the original fic and to Rary in Power Primordial.
Crippling Overspecialization: True to his deck's theme, most of the time he relies extensively on changing the attributes of his opponent's monsters. As a result, he tends to have problems with some non-Light using opponents.
Gadgeteer Genius: Is the one who built the D-Wheels that he and his teammates use.
I Let Gwen Stacy Die: Before he met Mistle, he was in love with another woman so much that they were both even close to marriage. However she was killed by the first worm-that-walks (later revealed to be Edmund's mentor) and was revived as a zombie. It is this reason that Gears hates Edmund so much.
Mechanical Lifeforms: Aside from his Allies of Justice monsters, he also runs a few standard Machines in his deck.
Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: In his duel with Jill, when he destroys Jill's "Golden Castle of Stromberg", it only triggers the second curse that Edmund placed which possesses Jill. When it happens, he actually says to himself that he should've just finished Jill off then and there so that the curse wouldn't have been triggered. He still wins in the end though.
Signature Card: Ally of Justice Catastor and Il Mathman the Artificier.
Why Did It Have To Be Alien Monsters: Has a fear of Alien monsters which Edmund tries to capitalize during their last duel. Fortunately this only helps him get over it.
Las Vegas branch
Introduced in Risen Nemesis, The Las Vegas Shadowchasers serve as the main protagonists of Risen Nemesis. As off this writing, their branch currently has the most number of members that are seen onscreen.
General Tropes for this Branch
Bunnyears Lawyer: They and the New York branch are competing to see which is the most eccentric Shadowchasers branch.
Cloudcuckoolander: They all are rather eccentric to a certain degree, even Faye has her moments.
Hyde Ivan Vayne
The main protagonist of Risen Nemesis and Dark City Chronicles. Hyde was originally an ordinary detective until an incident occurred involving his former mentor Davidson changed everything followed by his Awareness powers activating. By the end of Risen Nemesis, he officially leaves his team to do some soul-searching of his own, which leads him to his hometown New York City in Dark City Chronicles.He also makes an appearance in the remake version of the fanfic Yu Gi Oh The Thousand Year Door, a fic that takes place in the Shadowchaser universe 5 years before the events of Yu-Gi-Oh! 5Ds. For tropes about him that only apply in that fic, please look at that fic's corresponding character page.
Youkai: Uses a Youkai deck which originally belonged to his former mentor now arch-enemy Davidson.
Ace (real name Alice Drei)
One of the main characters of Risen Nemesis. Ace serves as the newest and youngest member of the Las Vegas Shadowchasers that is until Jack and Mira join in by the end of the fic. Young, brash and energetic, Ace usually has a tendency to get reckless as well as slack off during her shifts. Despite that, she is known to be quite passionate with what she does.She later appears as one of the main characters of Tournament of Shadows as one of the Shadowchasers currently participating in the 2nd Duelist Kingdom tournament wherein she enters with the hopes of dueling Ember (who Ace considers to be her rival).
The Ace: Claims that this is why it's her nickname calling herself "the ace hidden in the Shadowchasers' sleeve". Hyde responds by saying it's just because she hates her name.
Berserk Button: Unless you're really close to her, do not call her Alice.
Bringing up Ember or her accomplishments is also another way to get her all riled up.
She also does not like being mistaken for a boy (which happens to her a lot).
Character Development: Later on in Risen Nemesis, Ace shows to be a lot more emotionally mature than she lets on, as her 2nd duels with Jack and Elrod show.
Do Not Call Me Alice: Does not like it when people call her Alice. The only exceptions seem to be those who are close to her.
He Is Not My Boyfriend: Says this about Kyon whenever others start getting the wrong idea about them. Although it is hinted that she may possibly reciprocate his feelings, but does not want to admit it.
Killer Rabbit: A lot of her monsters tend to be on the cute side (such as Rescue Cat and Sea Koala), but have very deadly effects that allow Ace to trump stronger ones.
The Slacker: A female example. Despite being a good Shadowchaser, Ace has a tendency to cut her shifts in order to enjoy herself and/or get into trouble that ends up being more than she can chew. As a result, Hyde and Faye mostly end up punishing her by doing mundane chores such as scrubbing the floors of their HQ.
Solo Sequence: In Tournament of Shadows wherein she is the only one in her team to partake in the 2nd Duelist Kingdom tournament.
Tomboy: As her nickname, personality and choice of clothing would suggest.
Training from Hell: During her apprenticeship days, though fortunately for her not to the extent of Barron's level.
Tsundere: Type A towards Kyon. It's even lampshaded by Kyon himself.
Unknown Rival: She considers herself to be Ember's rival, even though Ember doesn't know it (and the two have never met). Ace is jealous of the fact that, while they both entered the Shadowchasers at around the same time, Ember has accomplished a great deal more than she has. (One of her biggest goals in Tournament of Shadows is to duel Ember.)
Barron Diego
Bunny-Ears Lawyer: He's actually a very competent Shadowchaser. Now if only he would stop spending most of his time flirting with women...
Chivalrous Pervert: Despite that he hits on almost every women he sees (and keeps their numbers on a little black book), he reveals in one of his narrations that he truly cares and respects each and everyone of them.
Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: Despite his off-goings and humorous quirks, you cannot deny that he is skilled at what he does.
Dark Is Not Evil: Despite his monsters of choice, he is a really nice and friendly person (if not a bit perverted).
Strangely, it also applies to his monsters, who seem to have picked up his personality and antics judging from how they act while on the field.
Hidden Depths: It is later revealed that he has a grudge towards the Envie Shadowkind due to an incident that involved one of them harming his older sister.
Knife Nut: A heroic example. He is known to carry a pair of knives with him at times.
Running Gag: He is frequently called a "ganguro" by several characters much to his dismay, to the point he gets curious on what it means. No one ever answers that question.
Training from Hell: It's heavily implied that his apprenticeship days were like this. (His mentor later appears in Shadowchasers: Dark City Chronicles, and his other students can vouch for this.)
Wild Card: Has several decks at his disposal, each with a different strategy. So far he has used: Dark Worlds, Fiend Beatdown, Kuribohs and Steelswarm.
Not So Different: It is revealed that she used to be a smoker like Hyde but dropped the habit a long time ago. When she finally reunites with Hyde and catches him smoking again towards the end of Risen Nemesis, she doesn't scold him for it and actually asks for a stick herself in order to relieve herself with what she went through.
Pintsized Powerhouse: Despite her rather petite stature, she is quite capable of tossing and doing huge physical harm to characters who are a lot bigger than her.
Qipao: Wears one as her standard attire (but with a jacket over it and bike shorts underneath).
Face Heel Turn: Technically speaking, as he is bound to serve his master Xue Yin, who works for the antagonists.
Fallen Angels: Uses a Darklord deck during his second and final duel with Faye. According to him, it represents his status as a former Shadowchaser who died in the line of duty.
Rescue Romance: How he and Faye first met. When she was still in her studies, he rescued her from being attacked by a Shadow that tried to take her by force.
Token Good Teammate: Even after he's revived as a kyonshi and serves Xue Yin, he still retains the virtues and characteristics he had when he was still alive.
Jack Harken
For more information on Jack, please look at the "Other Important Characters" folder below
Mira Lonbell
For more information on Mira, please look at the "Other Important Characters" folder below
Chicago branch
Introduced in Torment, the Chicago Shadowchasers serve as some of the main characters of that fic.
Jacob Dugan
A former member of the United States Marines who serves at one of the main characters of Torment and the narrator of Ascension.
Cool Gun: Carries an enchanted blunderbuss around.
Cool Old Guy: Is said to be in his 50s but is still more than capable of holding his own against the toughest of Shadowkind, whether on the duel field or in combat.
Deal with the Devil: He enters something similar in the climax, and what makes it an unusual case is that it is his idea. When Karl is injured and possibly dying from a powerful attack during the three-on-three duel with the Doomdreamers, Dugan makes an offer to the Triad, saying that if they heal Karl now enough for him to finish the duel, he'll wager his own soul on the outcome of the duel and promise it to Tharizdun if his side loses. They accept the offer; fortunately, Dugan and his two partners win.
The original wager he made with the Flying Dutchman before he became a Shadowchaser might qualify (possibly better defined as Chess with Death) although this had a twist; the Dutchman actually won, but Dugan's true intent had been to stall until the sun came up, sinking his ship and rendering the Dutchman and his crew powerless.
Demoted to Extra: Only makes a cameo appearance in Tournament of Shadows.
Mechanical Lifeforms: Uses a Scrap deck. But this trope is subverted in that only a few of them are actually Machine-Types.
The Mentor: Was Nichole and Karl's mentor during their apprenticeship and is currently Francis' mentor as of Tournament of Shadows.
Oh Crap: Happens twice in Torment when Tiberius summons Evil HERO Dark Gaia against him in both of their duels (although the second time was in a 3-on-3 duel.
Dugan stepped back in fear. Sweat poured down his brow.
Tiberius: Well… Judging by the look on your face, it seems I've finally managed to make the great Major Jacob Dugan loose his nerve…
Then a few chapters later...
Dugan: No! Not that!
Tiberius: Seems I've made you lose your nerve again!
Sergeant Rock: He's officially retired from the United States Marines, but he was clearly like this when on active duty.
You Owe Me: Or rather, he promises that he will owe Taka Kyodai in exchange for his help.
Nichole Belvins
One of the main characters of Torment. Nicole is unique in that not only is she a member of the Shadowchasers, but also a follower of the St. Cuthbert and a member of his House, a charity group that acts as a soup kitchen and homeless shelter. Prior to Torment, her older brother Mark was part of a gang called the Blue Serpents until an incident occurred that led to him being framed for murder.She later appears as one of the main characters in Tournament of Shadows as one of the Shadowchasers currently participating in the 2nd Duelist Kingdom tournament wherein she enters with the hopes of supporting St. Cuthbert's House.
Amazonian Beauty: She plays an Amazoness Deck, so most of her monsters qualify. Nichole herself might too, depending on who you ask.
Amazon Brigade: Her monsters of choice tend to be the Amazoness archetype along with individual female monsters (with the lone exception being Dragonprince Jalal).
The Apprentice: Was Dugan's apprentice during her apprenticeship.
Clear My Name: Not her own name, but a big reason for joining both the Shadowchasers and St. Cuthbert's House was to clear her brother, who used as a fall-guy for the Shadowkind crimelord Madison Vance and framed for murder. After she and the other Shadowchasers of Chicago apprehended Vance, she was sucessful.
Secret Weapon: Crescent Moon Queen, a very rare and powerful card given to her by her brother. She had dreamed of using this card against Sven, the leader of the Blue Serpents, whom she blamed for Mark going to prison; however, Dugan forbade her from confronting Sven in the raid against the Serpents, as doing so would have jeopardized the plan. Still, she was able to fulfill her dream at least symbolically; in the Temple of All Consumption, she was able to duel a replica of Sven when she was forced to reenact a fight that represented a major turning point in her life.
Signature Card: Nichole has no signature card in particular but she does use Amazoness Queen a lot.
Solo Sequence: In Tournament of Shadows wherein she is the only one in her team to partake in the 2nd Duelist Kingdom tournament.
Karl Hudson
An Ice Person: Karl's deck is an Ice Barrier deck, as a way for him to cope with his fear of fire.
The Apprentice: Was Dugan's apprentice during his apprenticeship.
Child Prodigy: Has known to be doing work beyond his age level since he was seven.
Making a Splash: Only technically considering his monsters are all Water-attributed but have more of an Ice-theme instead. He does run general Water support however.
Put on a Bus: At the end of Torment he leaves his team in order to continue his studies at a university, putting him on reserve status. He hasn't been seen since then, and by Tournament of Shadows, the Chicago Shadowchasers have found a new member in his absence.
The Smart Guy: Was the one who created SAL, the portable computer he carries around.
Why Did It Have To Be Fire: He has a fear of fire due to an unfortunate incident that he had when he was younger. It doesn't help that some of his opponents capitalize his fear by using Fire monsters against him.
SAL
Audio Erotica: An in-universe example. SAL is described as having a "very sexy female voice". Nichole once asked Karl why that was the case, in which Karl replies that it's natural for AI voices to have that kind of voice. (which Nichole doesn't get due to not being that much of a fan of science fiction.)
Lie Detector: She has a function that allows her to detect the percentage of how truthful someone's statement is. This allows Lareth to realize that the Triad have no plans at all to include him in their diabolical scheme.
Chekhov's Gunman: Sort of. He was first alluded to (though not by name) during the epilogue of Torment, but doesn't appear in person until Tournament of Shadows.
Los Angeles branch
Introduced in City of Angels, written by MichaelDJ54. They form the protagonists of that fic.
Damian Ogitaka
The most agreed upon leader of the team, a hero with a dark past a loose cannon among the organization.
The Atoner: He is a former member of the Sons of Tyranny.
Crazy-Prepared: He shows signs of this. For example, when he duels Angua in a Turbo Duel, he anticipates facing a Special Pursuit Deck, and includes a copy of Remove Brainwashing in his deck.
Dark Is Not Evil: Uses a Dark Counterpart Deck, along with a few fanmade cards he obtains midway through the fic, such as Dark Gear Golem and Dark Battle Ox. He does not use Dark Armed Dragon, however, for personal reasons.
Drunk with Power: The reason he found Underground Dueling, the Sons of Tyranny, and being friends with Vlad, exciting at first. He eventually regretted all of it.
Interspecies Romance: He once dated an ophidia named Sandra, who introduced him to Underground Dueling, which led to his association with the Sons of Tyranny. The relationship ended badly, but he very supportive towards the ophidia as a result.
A member of the team and also a duelist in the Pro League, he is a skilled duelist and a deadly martail artist.
Disability Superpower: Blindness has honed his other senses to near-supernatural levels.
Handicapped Badass: He’s blind. What makes this even more remarkable is, he can actually pilot a D-Wheel despite it.
Hometown Hero: This tends to be rare for Shadowchasers, because usually most Mundanes don't even know who they are. Jerian is a rare exception. Being in the Pro Leage seems to make him somewhat of a celebrity in LA, even among some Mundanes.
I Gave My Word: He promises to abide by Ankoku’s terms until the duel between them is complete. When she deliberately breaks the law by summoning a demon and he threatens to arrest her, she calls him out on this. He grudgingly agrees to it.
Good Is Not Nice: He really has no patience for people who try to test it, and often uses muscle on crooks who do so.
Stuff Blowing Up: His deck has a theme that focuses on explosions and bombs, and he uses a lot of real ones in non-dueling situations.
Scraps
A junk homunculus, and an honorary member of the Los Angeles team. Apparently, he and Damien met when Damien found him in a junkyard.
Amnesiac Hero: Apparently, he doesn’t remember anything up to the time Damien found him in that junkyard. Where he came from or who built him, he doesn’t know.
Badass Longcoat: Justified in his case, because the veil that conceals Shadowkind cannot hide him from Mundanes, he wears one along with a large hat when he goes out in public.
Deadpan Snarker: Well, at least he tries to be one. Oftentimes his non-human nature makes his attempt at humor somewhat lame.
Mechanical Lifeform: Along with being one himself, he uses Junk Monsters, including ones used by Kuzuyama in the anime. (The author has said that he does not have Yusei’s Synchros.)
Undying Loyalty: To Damien. He feels very bad after he’s injured in his first duel with Vlad.
Angua
Another unofficial member of the team and an officer in the LAPD, she met Damien after her abilities as a lycanthrope manifested at puberty causing a mad rampage. Her alliance with the Shadowchasers keeps the bestial side of her in check… Most of the time.
Dishing Out Dirt: Uses a Naturia Deck, at least for Ground Duels.
Easily Forgiven: Her initial rampage nearly caused a mass-outbreak of lycanthropy in Los Angeles, and Damien had to convince Jalal not to hold her legally accountable. Of course, the condition for this is, he agreed to take responsibility if it happens again, one of the biggest reasons they are so close.
Our Werebeasts Are Different: Well, more or less. (Werewolf, specifically. She’s more or less like the typical one when in beast form, but rather decent any other time.)
What the Hell, Hero?: She chews off Jessica after hearing about her attempts to investigate her old house without notifying anyone in the team, which almost got her killed by Lazarus if it weren't for Humphrey's intrusion.
Introduced in Ascension. The Boston Shadowchasers serve as the main protagonists of that fic. Since the American Revolution, Jalal has always ensured that the Boston branch was always a full team and formed out of some of the best members of the organization. This is because Boston is the location where the key that would open Tharizdun's prison is located.
Dante Connors
Big Fancy House: Which he inherited from his parents when they retired. It also serves as the base of operations of his team.
Divine Intervention: The Aesir give him a deck with their cards for his duel with Jalie. But it was only a one-time deal and the deck leaves him afterwards.
Beat Them at Their Own Game: Emphasized in his duel with Xon, in which he does something that devils have specialized in for eons: Loophole Abuse. Specifically, he sacrifices his Number 39: Utopia and another monster to Tribute Summon the Tyrant Neptune. Due to Neptune's effect, it gains Utopia's name, meaning that it technically is a Number, and is able to defeat Xon's Number 17: Leviathan Dragon in battle.
Confusion Fu: Likes to fool his opponents into thinking he runs a Toolbox Warrior deck until he springs out his ace monster, which varies from duel to duel.
Monkeys on a Typewriter: While writing, he refrences this parable to describe demon society and explain why they have failed to win the Blood War, despite the fact that they vastly outnumber the devils.
Rapid Aging: Happens to him whenever he loses Life Points during his duel with Xon. Fortunately for him, it was only temporary.
Running Gag: Duels devils who use the term "mortal" to him as an insult at least three times in Ascension. He is not amused by this.
Signature Card: Has one that changes every duel. But if you had to pick one, "The Grand Jupiter" is the most likely candidate, as it is the ace monster that's featured the most during his duels.
The Smart Guy: Is known to be very well-read as well as being a writer himself.
Wild Card: His deck looks like a Toolbox Warrior Deck at first, but always has a surprise in it, using a different ace monster each time (and occasionally more than one). He has been known to use most of the Legendary Planets, as well as several powerful - if unorthodox - Warriors, like Ogroth the Relentless.
Ophelia Fyne
Berserk Button: Do not call her derogatory terms such as: "princess" or "cupcake" or "doll-face".
Big "NO!": Does a really big one when it was presumed Dante was dead from the explosion caused by the Hellfire Sentinel's destruction.
Dark Is Not Evil: Despite her overall dark appearance, she's a good person at heart. She even uses a Dark Ritual deck focusing on monsters like Demise and Zorc.
Glowing Eyes of Doom: Can conjure this due to her shadar-kai heritage, but only when she's really angry.
Goth: She tends to fit the description, with her black clothing and overall gloomy appearance, not to mention her knack for the occult as shown in her decks.
Heroic Bastard: Subverted in that her parents actually married but she still keeps her mother's maiden name (which she doesn't like.)
Heroic Sacrifice: A non-fatal example. Towards the end of the triangle duel between her, Jeb, and Jalie, she uses a card to transfer her Comrade Sword of Landstar (that Jeb gave her due to his Final Offering card) back to Jeb in order for him to use it to finish the duel, at the cost of her remaining Life Points. The reason she survives is due to a small rule she insisted that Jalie brushed aside (see Loophole Abuse below).
Humanoid Abomination: The Remnant of Caiphon, a Synchro Monster that Brother Tion gives her, fits the description. (An incredibly rare case of a heroic character using this Trope.)
Loophole Abuse: She un-intentionally pulls one when she insists on the rule that there can only be a winner of the Shadow Game that Jalie puts her and Jeb through when both opponents are defeated. By the end, she loses the Triangle Duel but is spared from the consequences of the Shadow Game as a result.
Oh, No... Not Again!: She has this reaction when Malanus uses Investment of Cania on her during their duel. (She had been a victim of it previously during the duel with Jalie, and it was hard to blame her. Fortunatly she escapes the full effect this time.)
Old Shame: Her mother is in prison for pulling a reckless and dangerous stunt in an attempt to make herself known. (Something that many shadar-kai do, unfortunately. Their society is a meritocracy where the leaders are the ones who have achieved the greatest accomplishments.)
Olympus Mons: Her Light Ritual deck contains Ma'at, which was given to her by her father shortly after her mother was arrested in the hopes that it reminds her no to end up like her mother (Where he got it, she has no idea.)
Secret Weapon: Evigishki Psychlone and Evigishki Zealgigas. Ophelia always keeps them in her Side Deck and is always reluctant to use them because of her fear of them. Not on what they can do, but because of their background in that they supposedly led the Gishki tribe to their doom. She later gets over this and uses them in order for her and Jeb to defeat Jalie.
The Smart Girl: She proves to be quite knowledgeable about various things as well as being a competent sorceress herself.
Summoning Ritual: Her decks focus extensively on Ritual monsters.
Team Chef: She's the one who cooks for her team and is extremely good at it as well.
Backwater branch
The town of Backwater, Nebraska is a place where every citizen is either a Shadowkind or an Aware human. As you might expect, the Shadowchasers who keep the peace here are a special and diverse group. First appearing in the Twice Told Tales anthology fic by 7th Librarian, they will appear later in the “Shadowchasers: Backwater” fic.
Tsukihime
One of the unlikeliest of heroes, she was once a foul demon from the Abyss who later sought the path of Good after over a century of cruelty by a mortal far more evil than anything she had ever seen, followed by decades of kindness from a stranger who offered help out of charity.
Ambiguously Gay: She’s currently in a romantic relationship with her teammate Fayte. Still, succubi can and do tempt mortals of both genders, so Tsukihime likely wouldn’t see herself as a lesbian now.
Always Chaotic Evil: In a unique twist on the theme, Tsukihime insisted to Teresa that this was true for demons, and that she was beyond redemption because she was born evil. While Teresa did not deny that part, she asked Tsukihime if she could understand the meaning of Good. When she realized she could, she realized she was able to choose.
Heel Face Turn: Tsukihime takes this Trope Up to Eleven. It all happened previous to the present day, but she may well be the only fiend who has embraced Good and reformed. But it took a total of two-hundred years.
Horny Devils: She was one, and still is by default.
Immortality: Like all fiends, she does not age and cannot die naturally.
Naughty Nuns: Well, far more than “naughty”, and not played for laughs. When she was true to her demonic temptress nature, her MO was to wear a skimpy version of a nun’s habit, in order to tempt men with the suggestion of a woman that was usually forbidden fare. How often it worked, she has never said.
No Name Given: Eventually, she forgot the name she used as demon, and started using the name “Tsukihime”, a moniker suggested by Teresa which means “Moon Princess”. (Whether she still knows her True Name, or has remembered it since, is uncertain. Clearly, it would be very' dangerous for any'' fiend to have forgotten that, given what someone who knows a fiend’s True Name could do to the owner.)
Rape Portrayed as Redemption: To summarize: She was summoned using the standard methods, but tricked, held as a Sex Slave (as part of a failed breeding project) for 138 years, by an evil wizard whom she refers to as “Mister Monster”. She never learned any other name. Even this would likely be nothing to most succubi… But her captor was so unbelievably cruel that it drove her nearly to a Despair Event Horizon, and after a freak accident helped her escape, the kindness and charity of a stranger helped her mind heal.
Really 700 Years Old: Demons can theoretically live forever. It is not known how old she is.
Redemption Quest: She views her life as a Shadowchaser as this, which she started after Teresa’s death (from old age, presumably).
The Sponsor: A woman named Teresa, an artist and an apparent priestess of a goddess named Erestrial took her in after she escaped Mister Monster, and played a big role in her Heel Face Turn.
Streetwalker: She made money doing this briefly in an attempt to pay back Teresa. (It was the Great Depression in the United States at the time, and she needed it. Teresa refused it, leading to a turning point in their relationship.)
Tsubasa Springweather
A young member of the Shadowchasers, a Shadow-touched with an odd bloodline who has strange sight.
Boisterous Bruiser: One of his biggest reasons for wanting to be in the Shadowchasers (other than the fact that it was a family tradition) was so that he could find and duel some of the most interesting duelists in the world. And he loves his job.
Drinking Contest: He wakes up with a horrible hangover after his 21st birthday party after accepting a challenge like this from a dwarf (which, as anyone who knows anything about dwarves would tell you, is a pretty dumb idea).
The Fool: He seems this way. He’s the most lighthearted member of the Backwater team, and the one who enjoys the job the most. And clearly, Fate does seem to smile on him the way it does people like this.
Half-Human Hybrid: More like “Mixed-Breed Human”. He’s technically fully human, as far as his actual parents go, but his family has lived in Backwater so long that he has the blood of dozens of Shadowkind races in him, possibly every species that is human-compatible. Quite possibly, this is one of the biggest reasons for his eccentric behavior.
I See Them Too: He can not only see Shadows, but Duel Spirits as well.
In the Blood: His family has all been Shadowchasers (and all of them tend to be just as eccentric as he is, for the same reason).
Spirit Advisor: Neo the Magic Swordsman, a Duel Spirit he is particularly close to. (Unfortunately, not only does he have the annoying habit of calling Tsubasa his "squire", he tends to tell bad jokes and drinks too much.)
Wild Card: He never focuses on one deck, using whatever one he feels like at the time. He always includes Neo’s card in it, however, along with two upgraded forms that he keeps in his Extra Deck (even if the current deck lacks the cards needed to summon them).
Maria Temorline
A rookie Shadowchaser possessing great power that is both a blessing and a curse.
The Apprentice: To Rayearth (an important character who will appear later).
Best Served Cold: This is her not-unjustified attitude towards Thaddeus, who as fate would have it, is the villain in her story in Twice Told Tales. She does get revenge in the end, due to a fatal mistake on his part.
Blessed with Suck: Her power is sometimes uncontrollable. As a young child, she used it to rescue an amusement park full of people from Thaddeus, but her parents were trapped in a Lotus-Eater Machine that they had yet to recover from at the time of her introduction, twenty years later.
Go Mad from the Revelation: It doesn’t happen to her, but it does happen to Thaddeus when he tries to read her mind. Apparently, her thoughts are very dangerous…
Master of Illusion: Describes her powers pretty well. (Although she isn’t as much a “master” of it as she’d like.)
OurYokaiAreDifferent: Maria is a rare Shadowkind called a Kubai, which resembles a kitsune, but is not related to the Yokai except in the broadest terms. (Grouping a Kubai with them is like confusing demons and devils, a common misconception that both races do not like.)
Parasol of Pain: Rather than the standard sword used by most Shadowchasers, the weapon she uses is a parasol that is multifunctional; the top is used like a shield, and a rapier-blade is stored in the handle. There’s also one scene where she seems to retrieve it from some sort of Hammerspace pocket. (The author has stated that the weapon was made by request by the same clan of dwarves that forge the swords for the whole organization.)
Training from Hell: Given what she says about Rayearth, it’s possible her apprenticeship is like this. (We haven’t seen Rayearth yet, so it may or may not be an exaggeration.)
Other Shadowchasers
These are Shadowchasers who either have a more important role in the organization as a whole (like Jalal), ones who're the only featured member of their teams (or ones whose branch is unknown), or those who aren't associated with a specific branch and either operate solo or travel around supporting other teams.
Jalal Stormbringer
The immortal founder and leader of the Shadowchasers. About 1000 years ago, Jalal was the son of a powerful dragon called Jamor Stormbringer. But one day, Jamor's rival Malys sent an assassin to kill Jamor in his sleep, which resulted in him suffering endlessly and couldn't die due to his immortatility. In order to stop his father's suffering, he convinced his father to transfer his immortality to him. Afterwards he goes off to avenge his father. While he slays Malys, the assassin escapes after an attempt on his life. With his father's and Malys' fortune as well as a very long life ahead of him, Jalal creates the Shadowchasers, an organization that establishes the peace between humans and Shadowkind in order to have a purpose. He is the only character in the Shadowchaser series to make an appearance in all stories.
Ascended Extra: Despite how important he is, he played a relatively minor role in each story, until Soulscape, where he was the star.
Assassin Outclassin: Although he is the only Shadowchaser not under the protection of the Knights of Domiel, he doesn't need it. Attempts on his life happen rather frequently, and almost none ever come close to succeeding. As he tells Taramanda, with a sarcastic tone, if a week goes by without it happening at least once, he thinks something is wrong.
Ironically, Tarmanda almost succeeded in "Power Primordial", lacing her cards with a venom that, while incapable of actually killing him, could have reduced him to a vegetive state. The chapter in question pointed out that Jalal is somehat prepared for the rare things that are lethal to him, having compiled a list of them after a close call many years ago.
Authority Equals Asskicking: The leader of the Shadowchasers and more than fully capable of kicking ass when it comes to dueling or in combat.
Benevolent Boss: He is described by his men to be someone who'd "give you the shirt of his back". And considering where he shops, that's saying something.
Berserk Button: One of the things he does not take kindly to is people who insult his mother with terms like "bitch".
Big Fancy House: His manor, which serves as a front whenever he interacts with Mundanes. (His real house is at Shadowchaser Headquarters; it's also big, but far more practical.)
Big Good: He fills the role in every Shadowchasers story.
BFG: Jalal's last resort is a magical M16A2 assault rifle, which is known for being capable of killing the lord of the Nightmare Court.
Break the Haughty: This happened once in the past, appearently. He was once considered himself nearly untouchable due to his immortality (something referred to as Baldur’s Complex among Shadowkind, after the Norse God who was nearly immortal, but perished due to the one thing that his mother overlooked when making him such) and a close call with a Sphere of Annihilation quickly made him realize otherwise. He learned from this, however, and spent a good deal of time researching any potential weaknesses an enemy could use.
Celibate Hero: As mentioned in one Shadowchaser File, Jalal has never married or ever been close to a woman. His reason is simple: if he let himself fall in love with someone, he would not only outlive her, but any offspring as well, likely causing him heartbreak. Thus, he has avoided relationships his entire life. The closest thing he's ever had to a family is his surrogate daughter Judy, the first exception he's ever made.
Complete Immortality: Not only can he not die, but any form of injury doesn't seem to faze him one bit.
Cultured Badass: He has lived a very long life and is incredibly knowledgeable with things such as etiquette and art.
Deadpan Snarker: He's usually very serious, but he can be very sarcastic to people who annoy him.
Xvartnar: Are you calling my job pointless?
Jalal: No. The Battle of New Orleans was pointless, but it still made Andrew Jackson a hero. You’re just annoying.
Drunk with Power: This is the reason he avoids using his powerful magical assault rifle all the time, so that he can avoid being this. When Shichiro asks him why he still bothers with his sword, Jalal replies that whenever someone possesses a powerful weapon and becomes too dependent on it, they eventually start thinking they're invincible. He admits that everytime he's had no choice but to use his magical assault rifle, he feels a huge rush of power inside him, even thinking that he might as well put a huge "J" in front of his armor. As a result, he always makes sure to lock it away in order to avoid its temptation.
Eccentric Millionaire: Mundane humans who know about him regard him this way, and by the technically definition of "eccentric", they really aren't far off.
Fantastic Racism: He (and his organization) get accused of this every so often.
Fiction500: Possibly fits the bill. After all, his wealth started with two dragon hordes, the one he inherted from his father and the one he took from Malys, and he's been profoting from investments for the past millennia. One source mentions that the bulk of hi fortune is kept in a bank that only poweful magic users have access too where many actual gods store their funds.
First Name Basis: He's like this with almost everyone, whether they work for him or not, and it works both ways in most cases. Only the most formal people call him "Mr. Stormbringer" or any other title (other than "boss", on occasion). He doesn't call Dugan by his first name, but then, no-one does. Maybe he simply refrains from doing so in cases when he knows it offends someone like with Gears who hates his first name "Maurice".
From a Single Cell: It is not known if his regeneration abilities are truly this powerful, but some have commented that he could recover from a small piece of flesh, or from burnt ashes. There are a few things that could truly kill him, like a Sphere of Annihilation.
Knighting: This is how he officially inducts an apprentice as an official Shadowchaser. Complete with vows and finally ending it with a (non-painful) cut to their face with his sword, which creates the Shadowchaser mark that identifies them.
Made of Explodium: An odd variation of the Trope occurs in "Twice Told Tales" during a very violent fight with a homunculus in which his blood his spilled. He ignites the spilled blood, showing it to be as volatile as Greek fire, which incinerates the creature. (He later claims that this "talent" came from his draconic helitage; apparently, dragon blood is a highly-flammable liquid if exposed to air for a certain amount of time.)
Magic Knight: Describes him pretty well, as far as his own abilities go. His plate armor fits the trope even more as it's made from the hide of Malys, the red dragon responsible for his father's death.
Old School Chivalry: He staunchly maintains this, even though he admits that it is becoming out of style. He seems to be one of the only Shadowchasers that cares about Hebi-Na after she is inflicted by the Bells of Baphomet, and volunteers to undertake the mission that could cure her on his own.
Old Shame: The incident with Vladimir Bloodletter for him and the organization as a whole.
Omniglot: Having lived so long, he's learned many languages, both of human and Shadowkind origin, and as a result, often acts as a mediator in disputes among Shadowkind races. (In modern times, however, the Shadowchasers have invented a universal translator that makes linguistic skills unneeded. Still, it's a useful skill to have.
Papa Wolf: It's strongly hinted that he acts this way towards Judy. Or would, if she were threatened.
Power at a Price: It has been established that any mortal who achieves immortality will eventually be driven insane from his mind gaining more information than it was ever meant to hold. This was the biggest reason for Jalal's founding of the Shadowchasers, to give his life a purpose that would stave off madness for as long as possible. Considering the scope of his job, he's succeeded admirably thus far, but knows he cannot last forever, and hopes to retire soon, giving his immortality to an heir who is willing to take it. (His ward Judy is the most likely candidate.)
Really 700 Years Old: He's slightly more than a thousand years old, and does not age.
Series Mascot: Probably the most iconic character in the series considering how prevalent he is in every fic, including spin-offs.
Son of a Whore: What some of his detractors think of him as, or claim he is. This is a subversion, however; in truth, she was simply a farmer, and Happily Married to his father.
Supreme Chef: As stated in "Soulscape", this is one of many skills he's picked up over centuries of travel. He doesn't use it often (usually only cooking when Judy visits).
Tabloid Melodrama: He claims he has been a victim of this (usually from newspapers that only Shadowkind have access to) "since the printed periodical replaced the town crier". Claims that his mother was his father's love slave or part or a harem of them are common. It barely bothers him anymore.
The Team Benefactor: He funds the entire organization and the needs of his men with his personal fortune, which is believed to be incredibly vast. It started out by inheriting his father's horde and taking that of Malys, but it has grown over the millennia due to careful investing.
You Wouldn't Like Me When I'm Angry: According to Shichiro, it's very hard to make Jalal angry... But if someone does manage to do so... Watch out.
A Shadowchaser from Scotland whose name has become quite legendary among the Shadowchasers as well as the caber toss champion at the Scottish Highland Games for five years running. Also makes an appearance as one of the contestants of the 2nd Duelist Kingdom tournament in Tournament of Shadows.
Living Legend: He has a stellar reputation among the Shadowchasers, and he's earned it. One of his biggest accomplishments on the team was defeating the demonic Master of the Wild Hunt.
Mighty Glacier: To give you an idea of how strong he is, he's been the caber toss champion at the Scottish Highland Games for five years running. Not an event for wimps. His deck also qualifies, as it focuses on summoning strong high-leveled monsters but take time to prepare before they can strike.
Edgar McDonald
Cool Old Guy: He's at least sixty-years old but is still quite fit and muscular for a man his age.
Living Legend: He has played important roles in several major conflicts in the past that his achievements in the organization would take a book to write about.
The Mentor: To Maddie and five other former apprentices.
Trojan Prisoner: His plan for infiltrating Scath's temple. (Scath is on to him, unfortunately, but he does have a plan-B.)
Maddie Fulson
Edgar's sixth apprentice and (later) full-fledged partner. Also makes an appearance as one of the contestants in the 2nd Duelist Kingdom tournament in Tournament of Shadows.
The Apprentice: To Edgar in Torment. By Ascension, she becomes his full-fledged partner.
Beginner's Luck: It sure seems this way, seeing that she was able to defeat Scath (a lizard king and clearly no pushover) in a duel. (Scath likely demanded that she duel him rather than Edgar because she'd be easier to defeat and would be worth more as a sacrifice, a decision he later regretted.)
Mook Maker/Zerg Rush: Her deck's strategy focuses on her swarming the field with Token monsters for either her personal use or to her opponent's disadvantage.
Ascended Extra: Only had a minor role and appeared only in one chapter in Torment, then later has a slightly larger role in Ascension.
Amazon Brigade: Her deck contains mainly female monsters, except for Quickdraw Synchron whom she seems to be fond off and Dragonprince Jalal, who is a mandatory card for all Shadowchasers (though she's never been seen using it).
Meaningful Rename: She used to go by "White Feather", which was a symbol of purity she desired to restore nature to. After her naivete caused her to recruit members to her environmentalist group that later caused an act of eco-terrorism and being punished for it, she started calling herself "Red Feather" after joining the Shadowchasers, because the color white could no longer fit her, and to remind her of the pain that she went through in order to lose her naivete.
Nature Heroine: Cherishes nature and uses a Nature-themed Elemental HERO deck.
No Name Given: Whatever her real name is, she doesn't use it anymore.
Reformed Criminal: Not really a criminal, but when she first arrived on Earth, she naively allowed a group of extremists to join her environmentalist group which led to her taking the blame for an act of eco-terrorism that they caused in her group's name. During her sentence, she learned about the Shadowchasers and after being released, asked Jalal if she could join the organization so that she could protect nature under their guidance, an offer that Jalal accepts.
Signature Card: Elemental HERO Terra Firma and Elemental HERO Absolute Zero.
Leslie Garret
An organization that the Shadowchasers are closely allied with is Morgana’s Kin, who are devoted to planar and dimensional exploration. Leslie is the current Shadowchaser representative, so she belongs to both organizations at once.
Ambadassador: She usually fulfills the role of mediator between the two organizations, but she’s more likely able to fight if she has to.
Dark Is Not Evil/Mechanical Lifeforms: It is mentioned that she runs an Allies of Justice deck. Although the only instance wherein she dueled was in author Ruin, Queen of Oblivion's Shadowchasers: Dragon Lords.
Teleport Spam: Not as much as some well-known examples of this trope, but apparently, all members of Morgana’s Kin have the ability to teleport themselves to some degree, mostly for dimensional travel. Exactly how skilled Leslie herself is at it is unknown.
Wrench Wench: She seems to be no slouch around machines, as she’s able to repair the engine of the Steampunk dirigible she uses to transport the Boston Shadowchasers through the Outlands.
Bruno von Klein
A Shadowchaser from Munich, Germany currently participating in the 2nd Duelist Kingdom tournament. He first appeared in a story in the anthology series Shadowchasers: Miscellaneous Files and is now a main character in Tournament of Shadows.
Alice Allusion: The theme of his deck. Almost all the cards are Limited Edition cards inspired by characters and situations from Lewis Carroll's works. The card art on his Spell and Trap Cards are actual black-and-white reproductions of John Tenniel's illustrations. Serious Artistic License is taken with a few of the Monsters (such as the Queen of Hearts, who appears as a evil beauty rather than the frumpy old woman in Carroll's work. Also, see Shout Out below.)
Bad Dreams: He seems to be suffering from these in Tournament of Shadows. To elaborate, he frequently dreams of seeing his teammates, Jalal and everyone else around him turned into stone. The same almost happens to him, if not for a strange girl (actually the girl featured in the "Alice in Despairland" card) that appears to him and stops the process. It is because of these dreams that cause him to seek his "Alice in Despairland" card. But even though he already has it, the dreams have yet to stop appearing...
Clingy MacGuffin: A new addition to his deck in Tournament of Shadows is the "Alice in Despairland" card. The card's effect is rather mediocre - possibly even weak - but he seems to be a little too attached to it, and his personality has changed since he got it...
The Corruption: This appears to be what his "Alice in Despairland" card is doing to him in Tournament of Shadows but to what extent is currently unknown. In duels, while it's in his Graveyard, any of his monsters than benefit from its effect seem to become more sinister than they normally are.
Friend to All Children: He does charity work at a children's hospital, performing as a clown (the charity he is playing for in the tournament).
Shout Out: Alice, the Warden of Wonderland's current appearance is based on how Alice appeared in American Mc Gees Alice. (This has been confirmed by the author.)
Solo Sequence: In Tournament of Shadows wherein he is the only one in his team to partake in the 2nd Duelist Kingdom tournament.
Took a Level in Jerkass: Mild example. While he still maintains his general nice personality, his teammates have noticed that he seems to be a different person in Tournament of Shadows compared to how he acts in Miscellaneous Files. Even other characters note that there is something about him that seems off.
Masaharu Gomi
A Shadowchaser from Seoul, South Korea who is currently participating in the 2nd Duelist Kingdom tournament. First appears as one of the main characters in Tournament of Shadows and is also currently Ember's traveling companion for the 2nd Duelist Kingdom tournament.
Friend to All Children: He frequently gives out treats to children in an orphanage. Said children absolutely adore him.
Hero Worshipper: Towards Ember to some extent. He says that he had studied her career since he joined the organization and was honored to meet her when they first meet in the boat leading to the island where the tournament would take place.
Humble Hero: He regards an incident in which he saved Seoul from a horde of gibberlings as "no big deal", even though it likely would have been a catastrophe if he hadn't prevented it.
A Shadowchaser from Berlin, Germany who is part of the roaming division and the R&D and is currently participating in the 2nd Duelist Kingdom tournament. First appears as one of the main characters in Tournament of Shadows.
Non-Action Guy: Compared to most Shadowchasers, he focuses primarily on research and development. Jill Chambers basically describes him as a Shadowchaser equivalent of a "desk-jockey".
Skunk Stripe: Has a single white streak on the right side of his hair.
Stuff Blowing Up: Has a tendency to make things in the basement he's staying in blow up, much to his landlady's dismay.
Baba Yaga
A mysterious old woman currently participating in the 2nd Duelist Kingdom tournament. Other than the fact that she is a Shadowchaser who appears to be from Russia, not much is known about her. First appears in Tournament of Shadows.
Berserk Button: Very easy to press, apparently. She seems to get angry at everything.
Curb-Stomp Battle: Is at the receiving end of this during her duel with Serket.
An Incantifier who is the co-signer of the Great Treaty along with Jalal and is Shadowkind's representative regarding the Treaty.
The Ghost: Maskent has thusfar made only one brief appearance in the fic, when he speaks to Jalal during an interlude scene. Other than that, he is only referred to.
Living Legend: Along with being Jalal's most powerful ally, many believe him to be the most powerful wizard on Earth (one of the biggest reasons he was chosen to be the Shadowkind representative regarding the Treaty), although many other wizards might argue.
Mistle
Brainwashed: Was brainwashed by DaPen into dueling Gears at one point. Fortunately for her it was only temporary.
Demoted to Extra: From being a recurring character in the original fic to appearing only in one chapter in Power Primordial.
Distressed Damsel: Happened to her at least twice in the original fic and Power Primordial.
Green Thumb: Uses a Plant Deck as well as takes care of a greenhouse.
Out-of-Character Alert: She would never call Gears, "Maurice" even in their worst arguments. When a brainwashed Mistle calls him that, it only confirms to Gears that she really is brainwashed.
Signature Card: Queen of Thorns, which was given to her by Gears as a gift.
Introduced in ''Risen Nemesis
Kyon Rokudai
A were-ermine who is a former pro duelist turned business man and the owner of the Mirage Oasis cafe. Kyon serves a one of the closest allies of the Las Vegas Shadowchasers during Risen Nemesis. He is also known for being in love with one of its members: Ace (whom he affectionately calls by her real name "Alice"), but was also the first friend Ace made in Las Vegas long before joining the Shadowchasers.He later re-appears in Tournament of Shadows wherein he helps Ace in preparing for the 2nd Duelist Kingdom tournament. But later on, reveals himself to be entering the tournament as well as a part of the Blue Knights Legion.
Berserk Button: He does not take kindly to people who harm or insult Ace.
Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: It later revealed that he used to be a pro duelist who retired when he found a different calling. Despite that, his skills have not rusted at all as seen in his duel with Jin wherein he has the advantage for most of the dueling and even wins.
Drop-In Character: Frequently drops by the Las Vegas Shadowchasers' base, much to their chargin at times.
Friendly Enemy: With Ace of sorts in Tornament of Shadows considering she's a Shadowchaser and he's a Blue Knight.
Geo Effects: His deck focuses extensively on using the effects of his Kabuki Stage field spells that affect both him and his opponent in various way that could be beneficial or disastrous.
Our Werebeasts Are Different: He is a were-ermine, not only a very unlikely type of lycanthrope, but he's very different from the stereotype. He's not violent in the least.
Out-of-Character Alert: When Taros possesses his body in Risen Nemesis, he calls Ace by her nickname instead of her real name "Alice". This tips Ace off that Kyon is not himself. (Despite her numerous protests, it is hinted that she has no problem with Kyon calling her "Alice".)
Retired Badass: As a former pro duelist these days, he prefers running his cafe instead. He seems to have gone out of retirement in Tournament of Shadows however, considering he enters the 2nd Duelist Kingdom tournament as a member of the Blue Knights Legion.
Single-Target Sexuality: Is completely head over heels in love with Ace. Ace may or may not feel the same way.
Unusual Euphemism: His exchange with Ace on why he won't duel her when the tournament has just started.
Kyon: Oh, no, my beloved Alice, we will have our duel—just not today. It's setting up to be such a wonderful tournament, and I'd hate to ruin it for you by ending it too quickly. I'd rather take it slow, allowing us both to enjoy the feel of every precious moment. If we're especially lucky, we may even finish at the same time.
Ace (slightly embarrassed): You are still talking about the tournament, right?
Worthy Opponent: He sees Ace as this in Tournament of Shadows which is why he refuses to duel her at the start of the tournament when she challenges him. He says that it would better if they both enjoy every moment in the tournament while they can, and will only duel her when they're in a better setting.
Muggle: Only partially. He's a Sensitive so he knows about the existence of Shadowkind but can't see them.
Introduced in ''Power Primordial
Baron Wilhelm von Gottschalk
A Hellfire Warlock from Germany, he is a close ally of Jalal who specializes in the study of natives of the Lower Planes. He acts as a guide for the Neo Domino Shadowchasers as they hunt down and destroy the Elemental Nodes.
All Witches Have Cats: Inverted. While his familiar Sorsha has indeed taken the form of a cat, Sorsha herself tells Ember that this is not true for all familiars, although cats are a popular choice.
Beat Them at Their Own Game: He says more than once that this is an excellent strategy to use against natives of the Lower Planes, emphasized by the fact that he uses a Fiend Deck.
Chekhov's Gunman: Was first mentioned (though not named) in the original fic, where the Neo Domino Shadowchasers are looking after his cat familiar Sorsha while he's away. He first appears in an early chapter of Power Primordial, where he returns and comes to pick up Sorsha (leaving behind Gabriel as a gift) and later returns towards the end of Power Primordial to help the Neo Domino Shadowchasers in destroying the Elemental Nodes.
Dark Is Not Evil: He seems rather dark himself. His deck qualifies too.
Hellfire: A Hellfire Warlock, he is a wizard skilled at using this destructive form of energy. Most Hellfire Warlocks are evil wizards, but Wilhelm is the rare exception. (In Ascension, Lorelei tells Jalal that only devils can truly master Hellfire and that any mortal is at best an amateur.)
Take a Third Option: Let Hebi-Na suffer from the Bells of Baphomet? That would be beyond cruel. Kill her to end her suffering? Better, but it would still give the bastard who did it satisfaction. Put her into an eternal sleep to protect her from the curse? When he weighed all his options, that was the best choice.
Gabriel
A baby phoenix that Wilhelm gave to the Neo Domino Shadowchasers as a gift. Frequently accompanies them in their missions.
Healing Factor: Due to being a phoenix, his tears have the ability to heal wounds, but can only do it once a day. Quite handy against Shadow Games.
Non-Human Sidekick: To Ember in Power Primordial, seeing as he likes her the most among the Neo Domino Shadowchasers and as a result, tags along with her in a lot of her assignments.
What Happened to the Mouse?: He doesn't appear in Tournament of Shadows even for a cameo appearance nor is he mentioned.
Minerva
A member of an enigmatic group called "The Knights of Domiel", an organization that are followers to the celestial being Domiel, who are dedicated to opposing assassins and other occupations who kill for profit. Due to an alliance that they made with Jalal, no hired gun has ever succeeded in targeting a Shadowchaser, and they are done away with without the intended target ever knowing that they're in danger. For some strange reason, Jalal himself seems to be exempted from this.
Good Is Not Nice: Some view her and the other Knights of Domiel as Knights Templar, but that's an exaggeration. The goal of the group is to oppose murderers who kill for profit, and she will show no mercy to them, and she is not above using muscle to interrogate someone.
Green Thumb: A lot of her Naturia monsters are Plant types.
I Was Never Here: She and the rest of the Knights are non-entities, as described above. It is even implied that they purposely try to recruit orphans so that the process of deleting their identities is easier.
It May Help You on Your Quest: When she tries to persuade Ember not to confront Iggwiliv after the other Paragons have defeated the rest of her team. After Ember refuses to stop, Minerva gives her a card that can help her for her duel with Iggwiliv And it does, as it allows her to rescue Il Mathman from Iggwiliv's control.
Laser-Guided Amnesia: She is able to do this to anyone she encounters, making him forget the encounter ever happened. Exactly how is not known.
The Men in Black: The way she and the rest of the Knights of Domiel operate are like this, as they make sure to avoid interacting with the Shadowchasers at all costs.
Mysterious Protector: She and the rest of the Knights of Domiel are this for the Shadowchasers.
No Name Given: It is said that she has not used her real name for a long time. Joning the Knights of Domiel apparently means giving up your previous life entirely, revoking any citizenship a country, and severing all ties to any social, political, or mainstream religious groups.
Obstructive Code of Conduct: As previously said, they oppose assassins, but they are forbidden by ancient celestial doctrine from fighting someone if it's unrealted to their mission. (Her superior was able to find a small loophole that let her help Ember after the rest of the Neo Domino Shadowchasers were taken prisoner, but even then, she was not able to confront the Paragons directly.
The main protagonist of Torment. An Amnesiac Hero, he is a green elf-like Shadowkind who has no idea whom he is. He takes the name 'Ben' for most of the story, and his motivation is to find out who he is. In reality he is Leorin, a disgraced commander of St. Cuthbert's armies who ran away from a battle with Sertrous which resulted in his soldiers dying, the town they were protecting destroyed and him losing St. Cuthbert's favor. Believing one life was not enough time to repent, he challenged the hag Ravel Nightquill in order to gain immortality. In doing so, his mortality was stripped away, and every time he died, he would be reborn elsewhere in the universe with no memory of his previous lives.
Action Survivor: If you compare him to the Chicago Shadowchasers, he is pretty much this. Until the end of Torment that is.
Ambiguous Ending: At the end of Torment wherein he confronts the Dread Emperor. The readers are allowed to make their judgment on whether he succeeds in killing him or dies in the process. Regardless of the outcome, it is still a win-win situation for him. (either get rid of a dangerous criminal if he won, or finally be reunited with his lover and end his life-long journey if he lost) It is unknown if there will ever be a canon result to this event.
Arrogant Kung-Fu Guy: Ben has shades of his throughout the story, but it bites him in the ass during his duel with Roxy. His arrogance causes him to lose.
The Atoner: He is this for the whole of Torment. He eventually succeeds.
Battle Couple: With Rowen, seeing as they were both a part of St. Cuthbert's army.
Break the Haughty: Gets hit on the receiving end of this hard when he loses to Roxy because of his arrogance. Madame Xane tells him that his arrogance was something he always retained during his past lives.
But Now I Must Go: At the end of Torment wherein he leaves the Chicago Shadowchasers to do some thinking of his own considering with his mortality back, the life he's currently living will be his last.
Church Militant: Leorin was a commander in St. Cuthbert's army. He however ran away and lost that position.
Explaining Your Powers To The Enemy: While this is a standard for Yu-Gi-Oh!, this bites Ben in the ass hard when he explains Vylon Omega's effectnote Once a turn, Vylon Omega can send one of it's Equips to the graveyard to negate a monster's effect and destroy it. to Roxy, she responds with Giant Trunade to blow all of it's equips away, allowing her to win.
Friend or Idol Decision: In the Temple of All-Consumption, Leorin duels Madame Xane for two medallions: the Key Amulet (which can find anyone or anyplace in the Temple) and the Star Amulet (to take him to the Crypt). However, Leorin could only take one at a time, and by the time he would return to Madame Zane's room, she would leave. Leorin chooses the Key Amulet to save his friends.
Heroes Prefer Swords: Averted. While in Ravel's base, Ben finds a armory. He first picks up a sword, but feels uncomfortable with it. He then finds a mace and takes that instead.
Holy Hand Grenade: The mace of St. Cuthbert. Not only is it a powerful weapon on it's own, it took the form of Ben's Duel Disk and D-Wheel.
Jerkass Realization: During his duel with Yami Marik, he soon realizes how rude and arrogant he's been acting all this time in the quest to restore his memories and decides to change from then on.
Light 'em Up: Used an Ojama deck and a Poker Knight deck at different points in Torment. After he regains his memories and unlocks his true deck, he is known to focus extensively on Light monsters.
The Lost Lenore: A very essential part of his past. In his first life, he had a lover named Rowen who also worshipped St. Cuthbert. When he left to find Ravel in hopes of gaining a longer life to repent, she prayed daily to St. Cuthbert for his return, and when he didn't, she prayed for his soul every day for the rest of her life. St. Cuthbert took notice, and spent centuries trying to find him, eventually succeeding in the present time, and giving him the Mace of St. Cutherbert (disguised as a Duel Disk) as a test of redemption. When Leorin's true deck appears in it, it contains several cards in Rowen's likeness, and his memory of her is the final step towards truly breaking the curse.
Morph Weapon: Ben's deck changes each time he duels. He has used Psychics, Vision Heroes, Ojamas, Poker Knights, Plants, Blackwings, and the Vylon. After he regains his memories and unlocks his true deck, this trope no longer applies.
Eventually, he is able to use his true deck, a power deck mostly focusing on summoning powerful high level monsters quickly, either through tribute or Special Summoning from the grave, most of them Dragons.
Really 700 Years Old: Due to his immortality, he is about several centuries old. It's been mentioned that he has lived through several lifetimes with several different roles throughout time.
Secret Test of Character: Madame Zane does this to Leorin by making him choose between the Key Amulet and Star Amulet. When Leorin is on this way to the Crypt, he runs into Madame Xane, telling him that their duel and the choice between the amulets was a test to see if Leorin was worthy of redemption.
Signature Card: While he has used several decks, most of them are only a one time thing. Then when his true deck awakens, he is known to rely on "The Creator" a lot. He also has the cards that are based on his lover Rowen's image.
Together in Death: With Rowen if you believe that he died during his battle with the Dread Emperor at the end of Torment.
Wild Card: His enchanted Duel Disk which changes decks every duel. Later on when he starts remembering who he is, his deck changes into a High-Leveled Monster deck permanently.
Ben: "It does seem like I've been gotten pretty full of myself hasn't it? It's funny, but hearing you talk about how everything in the universe hinges on the balance between Light and Darkness, Chaos and Order, it made me realize something. I've... I've been way too inwardly focused, ever since I woke up in that morgue. At first, all I cared about was getting my memories back… With every clue to my past I chomped at the bit rushing from one lead to another… Everyone I met, friends, foes, they seemed so small...so unimportant. The Dread Emperor, Willy, Kesto, even poor Ravel. I started treating everyone I fought as beneath me, thinking it would all be worth it once I regained my memories, and discovered my true self. It seems that whoever I was before I met Ravel the first time… He was an arrogant son of a bitch… Maybe that's how I got into this whole mess… But now… Now I know that getting my memories back, that finding my true self… it all doesn't mean shit if I only end up looking back with shame at what I was willing to become to get there! I'm not the only one with a stake in this fight… The people who took me in and treated me like family are risking their lives for something bigger then who's right or wrong, or who's more powerful. We're fighting to protect all of creation… Every human, every Shadow... Every resident of Heaven, Hell, and every realm in-between… If Tharizdun returns nobody will be spared, so I can't keep on acting like some petty little child and act like I'm above it all! So I'll use the strength all of my opponents have given me, good or evil, strong or weak, and the lessons taught to me by everyone who's helped me when I needed them the most, and I'll take down you, Tiberius, and everyone else involved in this mad plan!"
Taka Kyodai
An exiled general of the House of the Howling Gale Yokai Clan, and the biggest player in the Chicago underworld as far as Shadowkind is concerned; Dugan convinces him to help in their goal of finding out who Ben is, promising that in exchange for doing so, they'll owe him in the future.
Cool and Unusual Punishment: After he defeats Lorelei, he covers his escape by throwing a chemical powder on her that contains pheromones. Which causes her to attract several male pigeons. Cue an Oh Crap from her and getting covered in pigeon dirt. A lot of pigeon dirt.
The Don: One allied to the Chicago Shadowchasers at that.
The Exile: As previously stated, he was once a general of the House of the Howling Gale, but was exiled for a crime committed against them. Exactly what he did (and just what a Yokai could have done to make him unfit for their company) is unknown.
Rage Against the Heavens: Calling it "rage" for him would be very much an exaggeration, but he is a member of the Athar, a sect that promotes the idea that gods are frauds and do not have the right to impose their wills on mortals. (Kesto is said to be one of the more approachable members of this group.)
Smart Guy: He is a wizard, and one who runs a book store at that.
Took a Level in Badass: He specializes in LV monsters, which do this whenever they evolve.
Introduced in City of Angels
Jessica Alphonse
The daughter of an alchemist, her father is murdered by a skin-walker summoned by Bloodletter’s Gang, but he gives her what it wants (a card that looks like the Trap Card, Metalmorph) before that happens.
Alchemy Is Magic: Uses a deck much like the one Amnael used. (No explanation is given as to where she got such rare cards.)
Badass Damsel: She wasn’t afraid to stand up to Lazarus, had enough nerve to insult him to his face, and while she couldn’t defeat him, came very close. (He was down to a mere 25 Life Points at the end of the duel.)
Beginner's Luck: She got lucky with Edgar the Ruin Roach as she learns when she duels Larzarus.
Plucky Girl: Deconstructed when she duels Lazarus.
She Knows Too Much: Well, she doesn’t know anything, really, but it’s obvious that the Metalmorph card is the reason the villains are after her.
A gremlin who hangs around the bad part of LA. He really doesn’t care who he works for and he’d probably turn in his own mother if someone offered him enough, but the Shadowchasers tolerate him because he gives them information.
Cute Machines: Uses a Vehicroid Deck. (He does use a few of them that aren’t very cute, however, like the Fusions from the manga.)
Every Man Has His Price: When Damien offers him Overload Fusion and Chimeratech Overdragon in exchange for other powerful cards, it’s like giving candy to a baby.
Saying Too Much: When Damien is injured in a duel with Vlad, he mentions Vlad’s name to Jerian, not knowing that neither he nor anyone else even knows who Vlad is at that point. Cue Jerian demanding to know what happened and an Oh Crap from Glitch.
Introduced in ''Soulscape
Dr. Jonathan Gelinas
The inventor of the Bridge, the miraculous device that allows a human to enter another being’s Soulscape, which is an important plot element of Soulscape.
Deal with the Devil: His true motive is a variation on this. His daughter’s soul is being held hostage by a dark force (later revealed in Ascension to be Jalie Squarefoot) who demands that he use the Bridge to obtain a sample of Pale Night’s essence in exchange for her return. Fortunately, Jalie keeps his word: In the epilogue, he receives a phone call from a doctor who says that his daughter is recovering, and he speaks to a mysterious visitor (possibly Baron Dybbuk) who gives him the contract he signed in exchange for the sample.
Hero Worshipper: He makes constant references to Sigmund Freud, and clearly has a lot of admiration for the father of psychoanalysis.
Insufferable Genius: Unfortunately. Even Jalal admits that his invention could well win him the Nobel Prize.
Open Secret: Jalal tries to keep her existence hidden from everyone (including his men) in fear that his enemies might use her against him. Apparently this secret is one that some Shadowchasers already know about (as well as Jalie, who brings her up when he threatens Jalal towards the end of Ascension).
Introduced in ''Ascension
Karen Taft
Distressed Damsel: Is held hostage at one point in Ascension due to her recklessness, requiring the Boston Shadowchasers to save her.
Drop-In Character: Frequently comes over Dante's house without permission. The reason Dante allows her to visit is because his parents have owed hers several favors.
Fangirl: Is a huge fan of Sarah Blaze until she finds out who Sarah really is.
Hero Worshipper: She looks upon all Shadowchasers this way, and dreams of joining them; at the end of Ascension, she seems well on her way to making that goal a reality.
Little Miss Badass: Only 14 years old yet is more than capable of going toe-to-toe with Shadowkind in a duel and win. (Including Baron Dybbuk, a rather powerful member of Jalie's army.)
Plucky Girl: Despite the number of times the Boston Shadowchasers tell her not to involve herself in dangerous situations. This does nothing to dissuade her from doing so.
Snooping Little Kid: She overhears Sarah Blaze's conversation with Dybbuk about the kidnapped Red Feather and Penelope, but decides to pursue her alone instead of telling Dante, Jeb, and Ophelia about it. It doesn't work out for her.
Tag Along Kid: Tends to involve herself in various dangerous situations much to the Boston Shadowchasers' (especially Ophelia's) dismay.
Unity-of-Rings
An angel tasked with guarding the Key, the artifact that can open Tharizdun's prison. He is the embodiment of the universal axiom that states that a circle is the most perfect shape, and that things in the universe tend to move in circular motion.
Divine Intervention: During Jeb's duel with Xon, he temporarily "pauses" the duel in order to inform Jeb about the dangers of the Number 17: Leviathan Dragon that Xon summoned as well as lend to him Number 39: Utopia so that Jeb could use it to defeat Number 17.
Light 'em Up: Being an angel himself. He also uses a Light Fairy deck.
Symbolic Character: Like Rule-of-Three, he is the embodiment of an axiom of an orderly universe. In his case, he represents the rule that states that a circle is the most perfect shape, and that things tend to move in circular motion.
Undying Loyalty: His job is to defend the Key, and if he he has to destroy Tabjari to keep it from falling into the wrong hands, he's more than willing to do so. Even when a mistake on his part causes it to be stolen, he does everything he can to aid in its recovery.
The Primordial Titans
Although they could have been considered Duel Spirits for most of Power Primodial, their unique personalities and backgrounds qualify them as characters.
Tropes shared by all of them
Adam and Eve Plot: This was the original plan of their respective species when they knew their world was doomed, and they had hoped that with two females and two males, the chances for success were higher. Sadly, the plan was a failure, because gaining the Power Primordial made them sterile. They later learn, after confronting the aboleth, that this was not an accident. The creature had ordered a minion to sabotage the experiment in order to kill them. But the minion couldn't bring himself to do it, and to keep his master from discovering his betrayal, sabotaged the wrong part, resulting in them being rendered sterile instead of killed.
But Now We Must Go: All four of them leave the Neo Domino Shadowchasers at the end of Power Primordial in order to become negotiators and peacekeepers for the entire galaxy. Fortunately they convince I2 to give them copies of their cards to remember them by.
Cosmic Entity: They each possess a fraction of the Power Primordial, the energy source released at the creation of the universe, giving them vast cosmic powers.
Last of Their Kind: Each one is the sole survivor of his or her species, a plague having killed all other life on their planet. The plague was intentionally caused by the organization headed by the aboleth.
No Sell: They’re practically indestructible, even in card form. The aboleth comments that you couldn’t destroy their cards even if you threw them into a star. It does seem to know one way that might be able to destroy them, but it requires all four of them together at once.
Anti-Magic: As a card, she has an effect that prevents opponents from activating Spell and Trap cards when she attacks, similar to the Ancient Gear monsters.
Clear My Name: This was a big part of the plot of “Power Primordial” she was framed for murder, and incarcerated until the other Titans could find someone who could sponsor her, at which point the judge would grant her probation. After Ember accepts this duty, Jetta says that she could have freed herself at any time, but doing so would practically be admitting guilt, and her goal was to expose the ones who framed her.
Cool Big Sis: To Ember to some extent. In Tournament of Shadows, it is clear that Ember thinks of her as such and still misses her.
A group of half-human, half-snake Shadowkind who are known for their bad relations with humans, due to them thinking of them as meerly prey. As a result, they did not take well to the Great Treaty. Eventually, an ophidia leader named Saramanda tried to openly rebel against the Treaty by leading a rebellion but was quickly overwhelmed. And when punished, she turned informant by becoming a Submitted in order to avoid the death penalty. Since then, she had been branded a traitor and relations between the humans and ophidia have taken a major strain. They serve as main antagonists in Power Primordial until the aboleth's introduction.
Tropes shared for all ophidia:
Only One Name: As mentioned in "Soulscape", ophidia do not use surnames.
Non-Mammal Mammaries: Female ophidia have them, although a narrative says that they're always completely non-functional. (On another note, some also have hair, another trait reptiles aren't supposed to have; combined with the fact that ophidia some ophidia have definite human features and can breed with them, their origins may be more closely linked than both races would like to admit...)
To Serve Man: Their species traditionally regards humans as prey, although only evil ones actually do it.
Hebi-Na
Arch-Enemy: Ember considered her this although Hebi-Na currently does not think the same way.
Ascended Extra: Originally just a minor criminal in the original storyline, she played a much bigger role in Power Primordial.
The Atoner: Soulscape shows how much she feels sorry for what she's done and the pain she had inflicted to her victims, especially Ember. One of the things she wants to do if she ever wakes up is to find Ember and apologize. Although she has been cured of her curse, it is unknown if she had ever made amends with Ember.
Bare Your Midriff: For most of her appearances, she only wears a bustier. (Originally, she also wore sunglasses and a floor-length skirt to disguise her identity as an ophidia from Awares, but got rid of them later).
Battle in the Center of the Soul: The whole plot of Soulscape revolves around this, with Jalal entering her soul to battle the demons who have invaded it.
Butt Monkey: And not played for laughs either. Towards the end of Power Primordial, a lot has happened to her that she thinks she's merely a divine being's chew toy. Fortunately she gets better in Soulscape
Hebi-Na: Is there some higher force at work? Was I doomed since the day I was hatched? Did someone wager my soul on some celestial game of craps and lose?
Note that the Shadowchasers ally Wilhelm denies that this is true, quoting Einstein by saying that "God does not roll dice". It doesn't do much to convince her.
Despair Event Horizon: Crosses this after Taramanda's death and when her life was practically in ruins.
Driven to Suicide: Clearly, she wanted to kill herself after Taramanda's death, thinking she truly had nothing left to live for. This was made even more obvious in Soulscape, when one of the demons that Jalal encountered in her mind was an embodiment of the sin of self-murder. Fortunately, she did not succeed.
Fate Worse Than Death: Towards the end of Power Primordial, the aboleth casts the Bells of Baphomet on her which would have caused to suffer this eventually. Fortunately for her, Wilhelm puts her in an eternal sleep in order to prevent her from hearing the bells, but causes her to stay that way until Soulscape wherein she gets cured of the curse, thankfully avoiding this trope in the process.
God Is Evil: She makes this controversial claim at her trial when asked to make a statement, after explaining that humananity's fear and distrust of snakes has dated back to the story of Creation. She suggests that God let the Serpent into Eden on purpose to tempt Eve, and when it's clear that the spectators are upset at this statement, she mentions the Book of Job as further "proof" that it's true. (It's very likely, of course, that she was simply trying to get a reaction. After all, she really thought she had nothing to lose.)
Have You Come to Gloat?: Says this to Ember when she (Ember) approaches Hebi-Na after she loses to Wilhelm while in her weakened state. Ember doesn't.
Heel Face Turn: At the end of Soulscape, she becomes the ophidia negotiator for the Shadowchasers, promising to help improve the relations between her people and humans.
Hot Witches: Used a Fortune Lady deck during her and Msskim's tag duel against Shichiro and Jinx in Power Primordial.
Ironic Echo: During her second and third duels with Ember, she uses a deck similar to Sonja's as an attempt to psyche Ember out.
Mark of Shame: Taramanda gives her one after rescuing her from jail due to her failures in the original fic, she later removes it after Hebi-Na is given authority over the Dark Synchro cards.
Olympus Mons: In the original fic, she uses a Venom deck containing Venomminaga the Deity of Poisonous Snakes (which is actually an avatar of the ophidia goddess Seghulerak) during her first duel with Ember and towards the end of Power Primordial, a deck containing Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder that the aboleth forces her to use. Due to the card being too powerful for her, she almost dies out of exhaustion while it's in her control.
Professional Killer: Part of her job in the conspiracy in the original fic, although she also acted as a go-between between two groups of conspirators.
Rage Against the Heavens: In her case, this is justified. During her first duel against Ember, an omen from her goddess gave her advice, and it turned out to be very bad advice.
"The Reason You Suck" Speech: Well maybe not "why you suck", but in Power Primordial, she tells Taramanda off after winning the Dark Synchro cards from the Demonic Guardian about the deceptive nature of their goddess when Taramanda demands her to hand over the Dark Synchro cards to her.
Reptiles Are Abhorrent: Besides from being one herself (at first), she has used Reptile Decks that focus on some well-known sinister Reptiles on two separate occasions (Evil Dragon Ananta and Venomminaga the Deity of Poisonous Snakes.)
The Scapegoat: She is treated like this by the rest of her clan for much of Power Primordial, who blame her for much of the failure in the original fic. She regains a little respect, at least from some of them.
Signature Card: Evil Dragon Ananta in her original deck. In Soulscape, the card is a representation of what Hebi-Na used to do: the cruelty that she used to inflict towards others. By the end of Soulscape Hebi-Na officially forsakes the card in favor of her Serpent Knights.
Starter Villain: She was the first major antagonistic Shadowkind to appear in the series, and was responsible for Ember's Awareness to kick in, which in turn, began the plot.
Suicide by Cop: Tries to pull this off when Ember refuses to kill her herself. Fortunately Wilhelm has a better alternative.
Sympathy for the Devil: At the end of Power Primordial, after she is inflicted with the cruel curse the Bells of Baphomet and forced into an eternal slumber to protect her from it, Jalal issues her a pardon for her crimes on sympathtic grounds.
Too Dumb to Live: What was likely the biggest the mistake of her life was confronting the aboleth. Granted, she wanted to die when she did so, but what it did to her was far more cruel.
Took a Level in Badass: Compare her from the original fic to Power Primordial and Soulscape.
Wild Card: Has gone through the most number of deck changes in the series until Ben and Dante are introduced. By the end of Soulscape, she has her Serpent Knights as her permament deck.
Taramanda
The ophidia empress, who rules the race mostly by default, given the fact that she has been given a blessing and the form of an anathema by their dark goddess, Seghulerak.
Big Bad Wannabe: During Power Primordial she is manipulated by the true Big Bad into fighting the Shadowchasers for much of the fic, and then disposed of when it is clear she is about to be apprehended.
Disc One Final Boss: The Shadowchasers thought that she was the Big Bad for the first half of "Power Primordial"
Half the Woman She Used To Be: She meets her end this way when the Demonic Guardian attacks her with his weapon, cutting her in half in the process.
High Priestess: Of Seghulerak, naturally. Secretly, Seghulerak is a goddess whose power is in a steep and steady decline; one of the biggest duties of anathemas like Taramanda is to keep other ophidia from knowing that, and to make them thing that their goddess is still powerful. Taramanda goes so far as to forgive Hebi-Na when there is risk that the secret will be revealed.
Hunter of Her Own Kind: She doesn't truly hunt other ophidia, but her usual method of executing an underling who has failed her is to devour him. (The ophidia believe that an ophidia killed this was is condemed to eternal slavery by their dark goddess, a Fate Worse Than Death most likely.)
Irony: After her death, the Demonic Guardian says to Jinx that it is possible that she is doomed to be Seghulerak's slave forever, saying that she was a ruler in life but a slave in death. Jinx doesn't find it funny one bit.
Killed Off for Real: The Demonic Guardian kills her after her second duel with Jalal.
One-Winged Angel: Her usual form looks much like Hebi-Na. Her true form (which she assumes only when she is about to feed on a victim or is infuriated) is so horrific that it frightens even other ophidia.
Pragmatic Villainy: She shows this in one very important scene. After Ember escapes from their Neo Domino base, and Hebi-Na fails to recapture her, which requires their clan to abandon the whole base, her advisor Hssim tries to pin all the blame on Hebi-Na (as he has done for most of the fic). However, Taramanda sees it differently: the entire crisis could have been avoided if Hssim had not, numerous times, come up with stupid ideas and given bad advice. Hssim is lucky to escape with his life after this, but he does lose his job as her advisor.
Signature Card: Hundred Eyes Dragon in her first duel with Jalal. Sun Dragon Inti and Moon Dragon Quilla in her second one.
Something Only They Would Say: Calls Jalal "wyrm-waste" during their first duel, which only confirms to Jalal that the ophidia were in charge of the Dark Synchros on the loose.
Hssmim
Break the Haughty: Later on in Power Primoridal, Taramanda starts realizing that their plans have been failing because of his prioritizing of getting Hebi-Na blamed, and as a result loses his position as her advisor. And in his last appearance, he loses the last of pride and dignity when he is defeated and arrested by Gears.
Treacherous Advisor: Not to Taramanda, but sometimes he tends to do things that could ruin their plans just so that he could get Hebi-Na in trouble.
Why Don't You Just Shoot Them?: He asks Taramanda at one point on why should they bother dueling the Neo Domino Shadowchasers when they can just hire a professional gun instead. Taramanda then tells him that due to an alliance Jalal made with a group called the Knights of Domiel (whose name she avoids saying out loud), any assassination attempt on any Shadowchaser (except Jalal himself) is thwarted and the would be assassins disappear without a trace. (In other words, many people have tried to "just shoot them", but they have never succeeded.)
Hot Chick in a Badass Suit: Well, probably "hot" to other ophidia rather than to humans, but she does have a pretty badass suit.
Not Evil, Just Misunderstood: Being declared insane by a monitor reduces an ophidia to a status that is barely better than a slave in their community, and while Taramanda technically can override this decision, she never does. As a result, the ophidia are more afraid of Magdalene than they are of Taramanda. However, among the ophidia of Neo Domino, she seems the least malignant, and acts pretty much like any psychologist does. (On the other hand, she seems to have no objections to Taramanda's plans.)
The Shrink: She's something called a "monitor", an ophidia who is trained to determine if an ophidia is mentally ill (more of a problem for them than it is for humans) and control the ones that are. (It is implied that in the past, a monitor's job involved focusing the rage of insane ophidia so that it was unleashed upon enemies. In modern times, however, monitors tend to take actual training in psychology.)
Big Bad: Of the original fic until Sonja has him killed.
Brain Food: This is a common trait of all illithids, and is one of the reasons for their infamy among Shadowkind. He never does so on-camera, but Draco claims that he has witnessed him doing it.
Cheaters Never Prosper: During Jinx's duel with Shira when she infiltrates his headquarters, DaPen starts controlling Shira when Jinx is gaining the upper hand. He then starts using his powers in order to turn the duel in Shira's favor. (such as altering his Imperial Iron Wall card into Swords of Revealing Light and manipulating the coin toss of Jinx's Twin-Barrel Dragon) Jinx would've easily won if she could summon Jalal's card but can't because as far as she knew, Shira was only hired help meaning using Jalal's card wouldn't be justified. She later finds out that Dapen was controlling Shira this whole time, meaning winning with Jalal was fair game.
Cursed Card: His Underworld Circle card that he uses against Shichiro. According to him, whoever used it even once was so frightened by its power and believed it was cursed that he/she always returned it to the store where they found it. It is implied that this is the same Underworld Circle card that Yugi Muto used in the original series against Raphael meaning Yugi was one of its previous owners.
Dangerously Genre Savvy: After losing a duel with Shichiro, he decides to scrap tradition and pull a sub-machine from his desk. Shichiro only survives because someone else feels that DaPen is no longer needed and kills him.
A better example is how he gets his Mooks. He treats the people in Satellite well, offers them better living conditions, and gives them good Duel Monster cards in a world where Duels Decide Everything if they serve him well. Sadly, he treats Satellite denizens better than Godwin does, if only for pragmatic reasons.
The Don: Despite operating in Japan but is far from being a Yakuza.
Eldritch Abomination: Being an illithid, he fits the description, although he doesn't act like one.
Even Evil Has Standards: Not him but according to one of Dugan's narrations in Ascension; many of the criminals working for him wouldn't be working for him if they found out he was an illithid. There are many reasons for this, including the race's history, their views towards other races, their diet; basically, most other races are afraid of them at best.
Mind Control: He's very fond of this, and can be very subtle about it. In Mistle's case, it took Gears a while to realize that she was, indeed, under his control. He can also make the effect last much longer than Edmund, and in the case of creating thralls (which combines this with Mind Rape) makes it permanent and irreversible.
Mind Rape: What he did to both Jinx and Gears, and intended to do to Shichiro (and probably Ember). Fortunately, it wore off after Sonja had him killed.
Insult Backfire: Happens when it becomes clear to Shichiro that he has not only Mind Raped Gears and Jinx, he has taken some of their cards:
Shichiro: "DaPen, you're nothing but a thief!"
DaPen: "I beg to differ, Mr. Osaka. I'm a great thief!"
Legion of Doom: Averted. His goal was to unite all the Shadowkind criminal leaders in the Neo Domino area under his leadership, hoping to oppose the Shadowchasers as a united force. (Despite being part of the conspiracy led by Sonja he didn't seem to be fully clear about the true plan. They all declined, citing the bad history they had with him, which led him to try to impress them by defeating the Neo Domino group on his own.
Combining Mecha: Uses a V-to-Z deck in his first duel with Gears.
Crazy-Prepared: In his second duel with Gears, he switches to a Anti-Machine Slime/Jam deck instead of his Worm deck because he fully expects Gears to duel, thinking he would be using his Worm deck.
The Dragon: To Louis DaPen, although he isn't completely loyal.
Eldritch Abomination: His Worm deck, monsters who serve the Light of Ruin. He also used an Alien deck during his final duel with Gears.
Fate Worse Than Death: Ember believes this is what might have happened to him, due to him being an ur-priest and all. Although being an ur-priest, Edmund fully understands that this will happen to him in the end. As an ur-priest, he knows that he can never get away with what he's done and must accept his eventual fate of eternal damnation.
Grand Theft Me: Attempts this on Ember when he is reduced to a mere soul when she tries to stop the Deluge. Unfortunately for him, Flamvell Urquizas destroys his Magic Jar killing him permanently.
Ironic Echo: Not only does he lose to Ember twice in a row, but she also defeats him with the same monster both times.
Irony: Despite that he and Gears are arch-enemies due to Gear's past with another worm-that-walks and their decks being arch-enemies to each other. He has never dueled Gears at all with his Worm deck. Although this could be more of a case of Pragmatic Villainy considering Gears' Allies of Justice were made specifically to counter Light monsters and Flip effects (which Edmund specializes in.). Gears does get to duel against the Worm monsters in Power Primordial (although it was used by someone else instead of him.)
Jerkass: It is said that at some point, he stopped bothering to try to get people to like him.
Loophole Abuse: At one point in the middle of the original fic, he attacks Shichiro with a flash grenade that temporarily blinds him and then challenges him to a duel. Since Shichiro couldn't see, Edmund could easily deny that the flash grenade wasn't his and says that if Shichiro lays even one finger on him, it would be assumed that Shichiro broke the treaty. Unfortunately for him he doesn't take Ember into consideration and loses to her. Later when Shichiro recovers, he accidentally slips that the grenade was his (not too mention he tried to attack Ember with dark magic), meaning that he was fair game to be assaulted with force.
Mind Control: Like his boss, he's good at this, but less subtle than DaPen, and the effect is always temporary.
Necromancer: This is the case for most wizards that become Worms that Walk.
Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: During his last duel with Gears, he uses Alien monster in hopes of capitalizing on Gears' neilasparophobia. It only serves to help Gears get over it and he even thanks Edmund about it.
Odd Couple: As Shichiro points out, DaPen and Edmund working together is a very strange pairing. Edmund is a necromancer, and undead are one of the only things that illithid are truly afraid of, because Psychic Powers are worthless against them. The arrangement starts to make more sense as the truth behind the conspiracy starts to be revealed. More than likely, Edmund had more loyalty to Sonja, and had made promises to DaPen that he never intended to keep.
Omnicidal Maniac: His goal is to destroy the world, and he does not care about his own life. He knows that he cannot strike against the gods that he despises, but feels that the next best thing he can do is destroy what they have created.
Power at a Price: Jalal even gives a brief lecture as to why evil wizards willingly turn themselves into things like this.
Rage Against the Heavens: He is an ur-priest, a type of divine spellcaster who hates gods and gains divine power by stealing it. Endmund's reason for this is because the woman he loved was killed when a plummeting meteorite struck her; given the incredible unlikelyhood of such a thing happening, he refused to believe it had happened by chance, and was certain that the gods had killed her on purpose.
Signature Card: Worm Queen, Worm King and Worm Victory. He also has Worm Zero, the strongest of the Worms but it is said that even he was frightened by it that he never used it.
Soul Jar: His Magic Jar which he uses as a last resort tactic to keep himself alive when all the worms that formed his body were destroyed during his final duel with Gears.
The true Big Bad of the original fic. Sonja is the daughter of Athentia, the sphinx that originally gave Jamor Stormbringer his immmortality. What Jamor didn't know however (and what Athentia never admitted to) was that Athentia could only give immortality once, which was meant to be for her daughter. In order to take revenge on Jalal for taking what was supposed to be hers, Sonja spent several years studying sorcery and casting several planets to their doom with the Deluge in order to siphon enough energy for her to harness the Power Primordial. So far she has targeted about five planets with the planet Earth set to be her sixth one.
Asshole Victims: She admits to Ember during their duel that among the worlds that she flooded with the Deluge were those whose inhabitants that were less than pleasant and she knew others wouldn't miss if they perished.
Fate Worse Than Death: Her final fate. (Although what actually happens to her when the Light of Ruin takes her away to punish her is unknown.)
Light Is Not Good: Her deck includes Sphinx Teleia and Andro Sphinx, which represent her parents, and Theinen the Great Sphinx (which she claims is their parent).
Making a Splash: Is a water elemental sorceress who plans to cast the Deluge on Earth. Subverted in the way that she does not use a Water Deck.
Signature Card: Endymion the Master Magician and his Citadel field spell as well as the Sphinxs
Walking Spoiler: Definitely qualifies seeing as her identity and motives are only revealed by the end of the original fic and knowing who she is would spoil the identity of the mastermind behind the conspiracy in the original fic.
You're Insane!: Ember says this to her after she finds out who Sonja is and why she wants to cast the Deluge on Earth.
Ember: Lady… You're nuts! If you had any sense, you would have blamed the Light of Ruin for forcing your mom to accept that contest. But I'm guessing that would be biting the hand that feeds you. And it wasn't the only one to blame. Your mom's enormous ego was at fault too. She couldn't admit to a weakness, and made Jamor think that immortality was something she could give out freely.
Introduced in ''Risen Nemesis
Marcus Childsman
Abusive Parents: His biological father abandoned him on some random beach in California.
Affably Evil: He's so witty, charming, and charismatic that you sometimes forget that he's evil.
Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking: His crimes include assault, battery, extortion, attempted assassinations, using dark magic without a permit...and littering.
An Ice Person: Uses an Ice deck as his third deck during his duels against the Las Vegas Shadowchasers.
Benevolent Boss: Compared to every other major villain in the series he's a joy to work for, he buys his employess drinks, pays for the Chinese take out, and never threatens to kill his goons.
Beware the Silly Ones: Despite his over-the-top antics, he shows his credibility as a threat when he almost defeats the entire Las Vegas Shadowchaser branch.
Cloudcuckoolander: Let's face it, Childsman is weird. He considers the best fifty bucks he's ever spent was paying a guy to get his monkey to give him a high-five.
The Charmer: Best shown after his arrest when he uses his natural charisma to convince the guards to increase the standards of living in his prison.
Disc One Final Boss: Is the final opponent for the first half of Risen Nemesis.
Even Evil Has Loved Ones: He seems to truly love his adopted family, who return the favor, best shown when his adopted sister becomes hellbent on finding out what happened to him in the sequel.
Happily Adopted: He was adopted by a rich family after he became friends with their daughter, who was a fan of sharks, and no, he isn't a Gold Digger. It was all by accident, he didn't know that they were rich.
Amoral Attorney: As an attorney, sure. Downright immoral any other time.
Fusion Dance: Her deck uses Fusion Monsters, with a unique twist. Her cards can transfer them from her Extra Deck to that of her opponent, while her Kyonshi Monsters gain benefits depending on the Monsters in her opponent's Extra Deck.
Hoist By Her Own Petard: After losing a Shadow Duel to Faye, she is cursed with the exact fate she intended for Faye, transformed into a doll. What happens to her after that is unknown.
Loophole Abuse: As an attorney, she specializes in finding these in anything. One example is when she uses her cards to put more than 15 cards in Faye's extra deck, saying that a duelist only needs to have 15 cards when the duel starts but can have more if effects during the duel do so.
Necromancer: She seems to be very skilled at this, seeing as she was able to revive Sieg as a kyonshi.
Volk Lloyd
Combining Mecha: His Black Phantom and Black Armament cards.
Go-Go Enslavement: Bounds Mira to a genie's lamp at one point which causes her to wear a revealing harem girl's outfit. (It is implied that this is the same kind of device that Anthony Draco used on Ember in the original fic. He claims that he bought it on the internet, which may or may not have been a joke. Unlike Draco, however, he clearly was not ignorant of its full effect.)
Shout Out: Quite possibly, the Black Phantom and Black Armament cards are based on the anime version of the Meklord Emperors found in Yu-Gi-Oh! 5Ds, which work in a similar fashion.
You Killed My Father: He was the one who killed Jack's father years prior to Risen Nemesis and hid that fact from Jack for several years until the climax of Risen Nemesis, Jack does not like this at all.
Blow You Away: He is the avatar of Susanoo, the Japanese god of storms, and thus has incredible power over wind and weather in general.
Broken Pedestal: He was Hyde's mentor who taught him everything he knows on being a detective, after his plans killed several people, including Hyde's little sister, he is definitely this.
Never Found the Body: After he loses his second duel with Hyde. Which is a clue that he's still around. By the end of Risen Nemesis, he is still at large.
Weather of War: Has the ability to manipulate the weather whenever he pleases.
Youkai: Uses the Mountain-Dwelling archetype during his first duel with Hyde, which are based on them. He was also the original owner of Hyde's Youkai deck.
Niles Grayarts
Corrupt Politician: He's the mayor of Las Vegas. (A revelation that disgusts both Barron and Faye when he's revealed as the mastermind; they both supported his campaign and voted for him.)
Half-Human Hybrid: He's a dhampire - a half-man, half-vampire. His plan is also to turn every citizen in Las Vegas into these by putting Residue on their water supply.
Villainous Breakdown: He has a big one when Kamen defeats him, foils his plans, and reveals himself to be Vergil, his secretary.
Introduced in ''Power Primordial
The Aboleth
The true Big Bad of Power Primordial, it is an nonhumanoid Shadowkind belonging to an ancient race. Its ultimate goal is to gain power by harnessing the Power Primordial, an energy source unleashed at the very moment the universe was created.
Bad Boss: It is clear that the Paragons really dislike it. (Of course, given its general attitude towards humanoid beings, its hard to blame them.)
Corrupt Corporate Executive: On a far bigger scale than most examples of this trope. It is the leader of an interplanetary organization headed by a race called the psurlons, and all of them are very corrupt.
Demonic Possession: Does this to Iggwiliv during her final duel with Ember.
Evil Cripple: An aquatic being, it cannot breath or even move about easily on land without technological aid. According to Jalal, an aboleth who suffocates out of water won't die, but enter a comotose state called "Long Dreaming" in which they suffer nightmares about the Eldritch Abominations that populated Hell before the fall of Lucifer (a Fate Worse Than Death to them.)
Fate Worse Than Death: Inflicts this on Hebi-Na in ''Power Primordial. The "Long Dreaming" state is considered this for it and other aboleth.
Genetic Memory: An aboleth is born with the memories of its parent. Because the whole race had this trait, it means that every aboleth has the memories of the whole race, and because their race is incredibly ancient, they know things that even some gods don't.
Grand Theft Me: Does this to its Dark Highlander card during its first duel with Ember. Apparently he never intended to defeat her at that time (as seen when it ignores a play that would've defeated her) because it was more interested in gaining a powerful body that had no limitations.
Hates Everyone Equally: Maybe "hate" is too strong a word, but this creature (and its whole species, it is suggested) has a superiority complex like that few others can match, holding any creature younger than itself (which is almost anything) with nothing but contempt. It even referred to the sentient races it murdered as "vermin". Jalal claims that these creatures (or at least most of them) consider themselves superior to most gods, seeing as they are old enough to remember the origins of almost all divine beings.
Moral Event Horizon: It crossed this line a long time ago. It is willing to murder the populations of entire planets for no reason other than greed. It did so at least once, with the homeworld of the Primordial Titans, and tried to do so on at least one other occassion.
Obviously Evil: Just looking at it is enough to convince you.
Olympus Mons: Uses Earthbound God Ccapac Apu (the actual one and not a vestige) during his final duel with Ember.
Power of the Void: Uses Void monsters during his final duel with Ember.
Smug Snake: This creature has a huge ego, a common trait of its species, and tends to look down on humanoid beings. It even goes so far to tell the Titans to their faces that their people (who it murdered) were "vermin". A lot of this has to do with its advanced age, but eventually, its overconfidence blows up in its face.
Time Abyss: The exact age of this aboleth is unknown, but Jalal has yet to meet a member of this species who cannot prove it at least ten-thousand years old, and many are far older than that. In theory, they are immortal unless killed by violence. As one expert says, aboleth culture has no myths regarding an afterlife, because they expect to live forever and consider death a failure.
The Unpronouncable: It says it has a name but claims that its name is unpronounceable by "lesser beings".
You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: Does this to Trueman in the middle of Power Primordial. Although it was actually just a ruse set up by the both of them so that Trueman can continue his operations without the Neo Domino Shadowchasers looking for him.
Introduced in Ascension
Jalie Squarefoot
An undead pit find and viceroy of Mephistopheles, he is one of deadliest enemies the Shadowchasers have faced in their history.
A God I Am: His whole plan in Ascension, the backbone of which involves killing Tharizdun and absorbing his divine power. Tharizdun was chosen as a target because Jalie was certain that no other gods would try to stop him.
Always Someone Better: According to Jalie, a devil learns a specific lesson every time it is promoted, and this is the lesson associated with becoming a pit fiend. It is a very hard lesson for them to accept, because at that point, a devil has literally worked for thousands of years to become one of the ruling class of Hell, and is now very likely at the limit of its ability to advance. For Jalie, this is one of the biggest reasons for his goal to become a god.
An Ice Person: Is capable of casting the Investment of Cania, a spell that freezes the target in a seal of ice. He does this to Ophelia and Jeb after he defeats the both of them and was going to do the same to Dante. Unfortunately for him, he loses to Dante and the Aesir rescue Ophelia and Jeb from his spell afterwards.
Bad Boss: It's doubtful that you would find anyone among the nobility of Hell who did not fit this trope, and there are obviously ones worse than he is. Still, examples of the cruelty he shows towards his servants, mortals and devils alike, is shown many times throughout Ascension.
Cassandra Truth: Is warned several times that his plan will not work as he had hoped. He never listens.
Chekhov's Gunman:: Was first mentioned in a Shadowchaser file before making a full-fledged appearance in Ascension.
Crazy-Prepared: In order to protect his Hellfire Sentinel's emergency off switch, he placed a brimstone golem with the soul of rival devil Belphagon in it. However, Belphagon's deck is rigged: Once it detects what deck his opponent is using, he magically changes his deck into the perfect counter deck.
Deal with the Devil: After he defeats Ophelia and Jeb, he offers Dante a Faustian Pact, which would release his partners if he signs it. Dante refuses.
Enemy Mine: With the Shadowchasers to stop the Hellfire Sentinel. Of course it was only short lived and he did it for his own benefits (See Manipulative Bastard)
The Exile: His Outcast Devil deck is filled with these.
Fate Worse Than Death: We never truly learn exactly how Mephistopheles punishes him, but given the Lord of the Eighth's notorious foul temper, it likely won't be pleasant.
Hellfire: Is incredibly skilled in casting this, which is typical for powerful devils in the employ of Mephistopheles.
Hypocrite: Claims that his master Mephistopheles is foolish for trying to usurp Lucifer as the ruler of hell yet is planning to do the same himself once he becomes a god.
He is also called out for using the Temporal Machine Gods during his Triangle Duel with Jeb and Ophelia due to the fact that he is using them only to fuel his crazy ambition. Jalal says that at least Z-one (the original user of those cards) had a good motive and actually thought he was stopping a disaster.
Immortality: As a lich, Jalie cannot truly be killed unless his phylactery is destroyed. (This is even better than those who can be revived From a Single Cell; Jalie can return if absolutely nothing remains of his body. However, if his body is destroyed, it takes about three days, give or take, for him to reform.)
It Amused Me: When he confronts Jeb after he defeats Ophelia and imprisons her in a seal of ice, he lies to Jeb that he "tortured her, killed her, dismembered her carcass and fed the pieces to the hellhounds," in such a casual tone. Once he sees Jeb's distraught reaction, he starts laughing and admits he lied about it just to see Jeb's reaction.
The Legions of Hell: As a viceroy of Mephistopheles, Jalie has armies of devils at his command. Fortunately for the Shadowchasers, because his plan is being conducted without the permission of his master, he can only call upon a limited number of them.
Manipulative Bastard: He gives Dante instructions on how to destroy the Hellfire Sentinel that went out of his control, but omits the fact that Dante will have no ways to escape and will probably die when the Sentinel explodes, thereby clearing two problems at once. Unfortunately for him, Dante survives the blast.
Meaningful Name: His nickname comes from his left foot. Undeath has turned what was once a fiendish hoof into a shriveled, knobbed club. According to the Shadowchaser Files, he was first called "Squarefoot" by his master, Mephistopheles, and the name stuck.
Names to Run Away From Really Fast: The monsters in his Outcast Devil Deck are all named after powerful (and currently exiled) devils, some of which are well known and notorious, including Geryon and Moloch. In fact, it is implied that the monsters truly are these beings, and that using the deck lets him call on them for aid. (Naturally, one cannot use the deck without side effects...)
Jalie himself might qualify, actually. He has been an enemy of the Shadowchasers almost since the organization was founded, and his name is dreaded and feared among most Shadowkind races on Earth. Dybukk at first tells Lorelei and Tiberius that he does not know his employer's identity - a lie, because he believes they would refuse his offer if they knew. His hunch is correct; Lorelei is terrified when she realizes who she has been working for. (Seeing as she's a Doomdreamer, that's saying a lot.)
Obviously Evil: The unholy aura he radiates is so intense that when Tiberius and Lorelei speak to him the first time, even they (depite being Doomdreamers, who deal with nightmarish things on a regular basis) are terrified, despite the fact that he has hidden himself in shadow and they can't see any part of him except his eyes. That's saying a lot.
Oh Crap: His reaction when he discovers what Unity-of-Rings actually is. Suffice to say, he wasn't expecting it.
This is also his reaction when his master Mephistopheles confronts him regarding his plans.
Olympus Mons: During his Triangle duel with Jeb and Ophelia, he uses a deck containing Z-one's Temporal Machine Gods. Subverted in that Jalal and Unity-of-Rings don't think of them as Archangels at all and that he is simply deluded (which he is).
One-Winged Angel: During his Triangle Duel with Ophelia and Jeb, he turns into a card of his own image: "Jalie, God of the Devil Realm" - a monster that not only has very high attack and defense points, but is practically indestructible and can attack directly. He returns back into his normal appearance after his card is defeated.
Our Liches Are Different: Jalie is unusual even for a lich, seeing as he's both a lich and a devil.
Pragmatic Villainy: During his Triangle Duel with Ophelia and Jeb, he focuses on taking out Ophelia first due to her finding ways to defeat his Time Lord monsters by either getting around their abilities or removing them from the field without destroying them.
Rule of Three: His Outcast Devil deck, which can only be used trice in a week without any serious repercussions.
Signature Card: While not a very powerful card, Jalie seems to be fond of the "Just Desserts" card and considers it to be his favorite card as well as "Jalie, God of the Devil Realm", a card based on his own image.
Stupid Evil: He has many bouts of this, mostly stemming from the fact that he is challenging beings who possess power that he cannot comprehend. This is a recurring theme in Ascension and a lesson that he never seems to learn.
There is also the incident wherein he used the soul of his rival Duke Belphagon as the guardian of the Hellfire Sentinel. Then when Belphagon gains control over it, he turns it on him. Jeb and Ophelia lampshade this stupid line of thought, even causing the latter to think he was probably drunk when he thought about it.
You Have Failed Me: Strangles Dybbuk to death after he fails to get help from the Center-Of-All.
He also incinerates Victor with Hellfire after he loses to Jeb when the Boston Shadowchasers are infiltrating his fortress.
This also seems to be the reason why he transforms Panik into Nitemare, but in the long run, it doesn't seem like much of a punishment - he becomes far stronger as Nitemare than he ever was when he was human.
Recurring Villains
Introduced in the original fic
Matron Drizerra
Ascended Extra: Only makes a cameo in the original fic but has a more active role in Power Primordial.
Enemy Mine: With the ophidia against the Neo Domino Shadowchasers.
Fate Worse Than Death/Killed Off for Real: Disappears to unknown parts after she loses to Shichiro. It is assumed she was sacrificed in the ritual duel she and Shichiro partook in so it's unknown if she really is dead.
Signature Card: Ancient Gear Golem and later Underground Arachne
The Starscream: When she was about fourteen, she assassinated the previous leader of the dark elves - her own mother - in a very public act of betrayal and took over leadership afterwards. It's been noted that, while this is common for dark elves, this was considered unusual for one so young as herself at that time.
Australian Wildlife: Albert uses a Koala deck during his duel with Shichiro, which was almost an exact copy of Hayato Maeda's deck. During the duel, he says that he wanted to see whether or not Hayato was a bad duelist or a bad deckbuilder. Shichiro believes it to be the former after Albert makes a misplay which costs him the advantage he had at that point.
Beast of Battle: Vincent uses a Beast deck during his duel with Mistle.
Big Eater: Albert, anyway. He talks about food a lot, and when he says that being around fish makes him hungry, Vincent remarks that "Breathing makes you hungry...".
Mechanical Lifeforms: Vincent uses Machine monsters during the tag duel against Ember and Jinx.
Mugging the Monster: According to their backstory, this is how they met DaPen. Unlike most examples of this Trope, it worked out to their benefit, because he not only spared their lives, he offered them jobs.
Petting Zoopeople: Albert uses Beast Warrior monsters during the tag duel against Ember and Jinx.
Signature Card: Beast Machine King Barbaros Ur during the tag duel. Master of Oz for Albert during his duel with Shichiro and Behemoth the King of All Animals for Vincent during his duel with Mistle.
Ambiguous Gender: Despite taking the appearance of the female Jinx.
Imposter Forgot One Detail: While running from Jinx, it disguises itself as a statue of Darth Vader in a wax museum. Jinx is quick to notice something wrong when she notices the Vader statue wielding a green lightsaber.
Unperson: In both of its duels with Jinx, it aims on removing the original from existence so that it can take her place.
It does tell her it has no ability to alter the past, and that her history will not be forgotten if that happens. Ironically, this is why she refuses to surrender in the second duel; she doesn't want to be remembered as someone who gave up.
Introduced in ''Risen Nemesis
Jin Alphonse
Genius Bruiser: Even moreso when you consider that he's an ogre; compared to most of them, he's Einstein.
Never Gets Drunk: Well, yes, he can get drunk, but in one scene where he is in a bar, it is implied that ogres can hold their liquor far better than most creatures. (Being the size they are helps.)
Undying Loyalty: Towards his master due to him saving his life when he was in the brink of death in the past.
Wouldn't Hit a Girl: Seems to be the case, which makes him surprised and shocked after he attacks Ace (which he apologizes for the next time they meet, though to be fair due to Ace's clothing and brashness, he had no idea that she was a girl in the first place).
Elrod Purvis
Half-Human Hybrid: Is half-ophidia. Which is something he is not happy about one bit.
Rowen Price
Always Someone Better: He sees his younger sister as this, as she succeeded better than him in his respective fields.
Heel Face Turn: After he loses to Jack during the climax of Risen Nemesis, he decides to assist him in rescuing Mira.
Summoning Ritual: Is a summoner and has summoned beings from another world at least thrice in Risen Nemesis. By the end of the fic, it is shown that his summoning license seemed to have expired.
Arch-Enemy: She and Envies are general are this to Barron, due to an unfortunate incident that involved his older sister in the past because of another Envie.
Big "WHAT?!": Her reaction when Barron declares that he's going to steal her Dark God deck after he defeats her during the Traingle Duel.
No Name Given: She never has a name given to her throughout Risen Nemesis and is always referred to by everyone else as Envie.
Signature Card: The Allure Queen monsters in her duel with Hyde and Dark God during the Triangle Duel between her, Barron and a brainwashed Naoto.
Soul Jar: The necklace that she seems to wear. After Naoto breaks free from her control and defeats her, Barron destroys her necklace, killing her.
Vain Sorceress: She even uses the Allure Queen monsters, who are also this.
Introduced in ''Torment
Ravel Darkquill
A night hag who was the one who originally took Leorin's mortality away from him which made him immortal when he wanted more time to repent for running away when he was the general of St. Cuthbert's army
Hot Witches: While her Fortune Lady deck qualifies, she certainly doesn't.
Killed Off for Real: Is shot by Hape before she can tell Ben more about himself.
Taking You with Me: After her attempts to convince and force Ben to join her both fail, this is her final attempt; she threatens to activate the Bringer of Doom, killing everyone present, herself included, unless he submits. Fortunately, she is shot by Hape before she can do so.
The Bride of the Howling Gale, and one of its two rulers. (Their queen, more or less.)
An Offer You Can't Refuse: She offers to duel Jerian in order for him to prove his worth to her, promising to divulge information if he does. (The alternative is fighting her and her servants, which would likely be suicidal.)
Authority Equals Asskicking: It is suggested that this is quite common among the leadership of the Yokai Clans.
Big Badass Bird of Prey: She is one (as is all of the Howling Gale) and uses a bigger one as a mount, functioning like a D-Wheel.
Cryptic Conversation: Upon losing to Jerian, the information she gives is a very obscure hint to Vladimir's motivation:
Ankoku: What Vladimir desires above all else, is to restore the ancient law of this world, the creed by which all living things have lived and died by since the dawn of time.
In retrospect, that’s a pretty accurate description of Social Darwinism, which is indeed Vlad’s goal.
God Save Us from the Queen: Subverted, sort of. She’s well-liked by her own subjects, but very much feared by other races. (Also subverted in that she’s subordinate to the Lord of the Howling Gale, but still commands a great deal of authority.)
It May Help You on Your Quest: Possibly. She gives Jerian her copy of Another Road at the end of the chapter; exactly why or whether it will have any use to him is not yet known.
Screw the Rules, I Have Connections!: She doesn’t actually break any rules during the duel, but her status does give her access to some of the most powerful cards in the game (with effects that let her use two Field Spells at once and ignore the summoning conditions of NOMI Monsters) and she flaunts the fact that she has them.
Would Hurt a Child: During his duel with Karen wherein he does things not only to win but to make her suffer and it's clear that he enjoys it. (Karen gets the last laugh in the end though).
It Amused Me: He claims that this is the reason why neither he nor Mephistopheles bothered to stop the triangle duel between Jalie, Jeb, and Ophelia, and why no steps were taken against Jalie until it was over. (He does not say this until he's sure there is nothing between him and his portal back to Cania, which proves to be a wise decision.)
The Starscream: When it becomes clear that Jalie's plan is going to fail, he tells Mephistopheles about Jalie's plans which gets himself a promotion to pit-fiend in the process. (Given how the politics of Hell works, it seems that every devil with a degree of intelligence is a potential Starscream, and is willing to double-cross its superior in order to move a step up on the infernal ladder of the hierarchy.)
Put on a Bus: Due to his promotion to pit-fiend, he has to spend several years bathing in the Pit of Flame in order for his transformation. As a result, it is unlikely that the Shadowchasers will be seeing him anytime soon.
Villainous Rescue: He rescues Dante from the interior of the Hellfire Sentinel before it explodes. His reasoning is that Dante was a big part of him being granted a promotion, and he then tells Jalal that he'll consider it "even" between them.
Rule-Of-Three
A cambion working for the Demon Lord Graz'zt and the embodiment of the universal axiom that states that things in the universe usually come in groups of three.
Affably Evil: Acts polite towards Red Feather and Penelope while acting as their jailer and doesn't use threats when he asks Ophelia to leave; rather he asks her politely.
I Lied: Clearly, he never intended to honor his side of the bargain and let Red Feather and Penelope go if he lost the duel; however, it was hardly unexpected (as Ophelia put it, "it couldn't have been more obvious if his pants were on fire".) Fortunately for them, Ophelia wasn't being truthful either: Dueling him was her idea of stalling until Dante and Jeb could arrive.
One-Winged Angel: His usual form is that of a slightly fiendish-looking old man; however, his true form is a hulking, monstrous, demonic brute. (Possibly making him a Genius Bruiser, given his reputation as an advisor.)
Rule of Three: True to his namesake, he always asks for three things in exchange for his services. He also uses a Gate Guardian deck that focus on a trio of monsters.
Shapeshifter: He seems to be able to assume various humanoid forms, like the hunchbacked human that he appeared as while acting as a jailer. It doesn't fool Lorelei however; being a cambion herself, it's easy for her to recognize another.
Signature Card: Gate Guardian and Grand Majin Guardian, a retrained Xyz version of Gate Guardian.
Symbolic Character: He is the embodiment of the universal axiom that he is named after, that in a perfect universe, things tend to come in threes, and that three is the most ideal number.
Telepathy: An ability common to demons that he is able to use. He uses it to try to convince Lorelei to help him cheat in his duel with Ophelia, as she is able to answer him using her own talent at it. She refuses.
Franct the Sheep Eater (real name Frantisek Ironfoot)
Bad Boss: The owner of a large ranching operation in Australia, he has been suspected to arrange for "accidents" that have killed not only rival ranchers, but his own employees as well.
Corrupt Corporate Executive: According to Jalal, some people describe him as the "type of guy who would employ a gang of leg-breakers and open a store that sold crutches in the same city". He sees nothing wrong with selling his wares to the armies of Hell in order to make a profit.
Irritation Is the Sincerest Form of Flattery: In his duel against Ophelia, he uses several cards used by Vladimir Bloodletter (the notorious main antagonist in City of Angels, who supposedly outdueled Jalal), thinking they make him intimidating. They do not. The Shadowchasers see him as nothing but a poser.
Olympus Mons: The ace cards of his deck (given to him by Jalie) are special Dragon-Type Synchro Monsters that are the liknesses of five incredibly powerful male dragons that serve Tiamat as consorts. Not truly gods, but close.
Sore Loser: Emphasis on "loser". After he loses to Ophelia, he draws a knife from his belt and makes a rush at her. Ophelia responds by flooring him with one punch.
Victor
Killed Off for Real: Is incinerated with Hellfire by Jalie for his failure to defeat Jeb.
Marionette Master: Uses a Carionette deck when he duels Jeb in Jalie's fortress.
Mechanical Lifeforms: Used a Wind-Up deck in his first (on-screen) duel with Jeb.
Unknown Rival: To Jeb. It is clear that Victor wants to get even with him and that they have met before, but it's also clear that Jeb dislikes dealing with him.
Malanus, Xon, and Novolar
Jalie's co-advisors and his most trusted minions.
An Ice Person: Like Jalie, Malanus is capable of casting the Investment of Cania spell which he does during his duel with Ophelia. Unlike the time Jalie casted it however, he makes it so that it freezes Ophelia the more she loses Life Points.
Co-Dragons: Although it is hinted that Jalie favors Novolar the most due to her being his oldest living servant and his consort before he became a lich.
Early-Bird Cameo: In-universe example. During his duel with Jeb, Xon summons Number 17: Leviathan Dragon that he pulled from an alternate future timeline. Which is incredibly dangerous because he is bringing it out before its intended time. Because only a Number can defeat another Number, (the one exception Cyber Commander makes in his fics regarding the official rules) Unity-of-Rings lends to Jeb Number 39: Utopia only for the duel.
Eldritch Abomination: Xon. In fact, abomination is a catch-all term for the type of creature he is, an ill-conceived mistake created by a god or similar entity, possessing divine spark and a malignant nature.
Evil Is Not a Toy: Unity-of-Rings has this sort of reaction when Xon summons Number 17: Leviathan Dragon after pulling it from an alternate future timeline, claiming that using it before it was truly time for the Numbers to appear on Earth could cause a disaster. He is able to do the same with Number 39: Utopia and gives it to Jeb hoping to avert such a disaster, as he was able to briefly glipse the future duel where the two Numbers clashed, and hopes that it is capable of defeating Leviathan. (Hopes because he did not see the complete duel, and didn't see how it ended.)
Evil Versus Evil: It is no secret that all three of them detest each other, and Jalie is just fine with that. In fact, it is implied that in the politics of Hell, powerful devils prefer to have their top enforcers hating each other, because it lessens the chances that they will cooperate long enough to be a serious risk to your position.
Faux Affably Evil: Malanus initially acts polite and well-mannered during his duel with Ophelia, but it is only an act and he later drops it when Ophelia gets the upper hand.
Fusion Dance: Novolar uses "The Wicked Calamity" - a fusion of the three Wicked Gods during her duel with Dante.
Horny Devils: Novolar. She initially attempts to seduce Dante before dealing with him the natural way.
Hot Mom: If you're into that kind of thing, Novolar qualifies as this considering she's actually the mother of Castalla, another temptress devil that confronted Dante earlier on in Ascension. (Of course, technically, if a brachina or erinyes has a daughter, she qualifies for this Trope by default. As seducers, there are no members of these subspecies of devils who are unattractive.)
Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: Malanus does this, but it's subtle. His ace card is Blood Mefist, which acts as an aspect of Mephistopheles, the archdevil that Jalie ultimately answers to, who clearly would not have approved of Jalie's plan. When Ophelia wins the duel by destroying Blood Mefist, it causes Mephisopheles to have a nagging feeling for the first time that something is amiss...
Olympus Mons: Xon has an alternate version of Orichalcos Shunuros (which is actually the real-life version of the card that he pulled from an alternate past wherein Yugi's duel with Dartz turned out differently) and Novolar's deck which contains all three Wicked Gods as well as a fusion of the three.
Rapid Aging: During his duel with Jeb, Xon makes the Shadow Game they're in in a way that each time they lose Life Points, they get older. Jeb points out the unfairness of this, seeing as Xon won't even feel the effects of this trope while he will.
Signature Card: Blood Mefist for Malanus, Number 17: Leviathan Dragon for Xon, and The Wicked Calamity for Novolar.
Stripperific: Novolar's attire is nothing but lingerie. (Of course, given that she's a temptress devil, it's probably standard attire for her.)
What If?: Xon has the ability to see the different and alternate timelines that can and might've happened. Being affiliated with the forces of Hell, he specializes in studying ones with bad outcomes.
Duke Belphagon
Chekhov M.I.A.: Is mentioned earlier on in Ascension as Jalie's rival and doesn't make an appearance until the end of the fic. (Pretty much everyone who had heard of him assumed that he was dead. This was only partially true, it seemed.
Hopeless Boss Fight: Due to the defense mechanism Jalie implanted on the Hellfire Sentinel, any chance of stopping him turns into this. As when confronted he will give the intruder two choices: combat or Duel Monsters, both options are impossible to do as he possesses high strength and durability and his deck will always change in order to perfectly counter the opponent's.
Power Of Hate: He and his Photon monsters feed on this, and his Neo Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon is practially the embodiment of the hate he feels towards Jalie (which is truly ironic, because when Kaito creates it in Yu Gi Oh Zexal - which happens at a later date - he does so due to the bond between him and his brother, pretty much the opposite.
Signature Card: Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon and Neo Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon.
Wild Card: Due to the defense mechanism that Jalie implanted on the Hellfire Sentinel, Belphagon can have practically use any deck in existence. What he uses is always dependent on the opponent's and it is always something that can perfectly counter it. (Jalie manages to fool this mechanism by choosing one of Dante's six decks completely at random, telling Dante not to look at it until the duel actually starts. Cyber Commander actually held a poll prior to this event in order to determine which of Dante's decks would be the one selected, in which the Armor deck won.
Paragons
Tropes shared by all four of them:
Evil Counterpart: To the Primordial Titans. The experiment that created them was an attempt to copy the one that gave the Titans their powers, but the scientists who did so were sloppy and took shortcuts, giving them powers that were, at best, a dark perversion of what they intended.
They also use Evil Counterparts of the Signer Dragons during their last stand against the Neo Domino Shadowchasers.
Last of Their Kind: Like the Titans, they are the sole survivors of their species, but for a very different reason: They themselves killed every other member of their race after gaining their powers. To make things worse, each of them plans to eventually murder the other three in order to consume their energy, and they don't even keep it secret from each other. Their alliance with each other will only last until one of them becomes more powerful than the others.
Life Drinker: All four of them. They are parasites who feed on the Life Energy of living beings to sustain their power and immortality.
Names to Run Away From Really Fast: Each of them purposely named themself after a villain well-known to Shadowkind for his or her notoriety.
Omnicidal Maniac: All four of them are known to be some of the worst sociopaths in the galaxy.
Rage Against the Heavens: They are the sole survivors of the Vashar, a race known for their hatred of all divine beings.
Villains Out Shopping: In one scene, they pass the time playing poker; Menzoberra wins, causing Rary to comment that wearing veils shouldn't be allowed in games where bluffs are used.
Evil Counterpart: His Dark Fairy Dragon (which was the vestige of Earthbound God Cussilu) to Ancient Fairy Dragon, which he uses in his final duel with Jinx.
Genius Bruiser: Says that Shanalla never gave him the acknowledgment he desired because she thought he was all muscle no brain. Jinx believes that Shanalla didn't acknowledge him not because he didn't have any brains but because of what he used it for.
Evil Counterpart: His Dark Dragon Archfiend (which was the vestige of Earthbound God Aslla Piscu) to Red Dragon Archfiend, which he uses in his final duel with Shichiro.
Expy: Bares a resemblance to Sephiroth. Shichiro even notices this when they first meet.
Cruel and Unusual Death: Her intended fate for Jinx, after taking her prisoner, something she is implied to have done before. She stuffs Jinx inside a Carcerean oyster, which will eventually transform her into a dark pearl. To make this even worse, she sells dark pearls that she creates this way to demons and other evil beings who collect such things. (After Ember defeats Iggwiliv, learning about this makes her decide to attempt to rescue Jinx first, and fortunately, she succeeds.)
Evil Counterpart: Her Dark Rose Dragon (which was the vestige of Earthbound God Ccarayhua) to Black Rose Dragon, which she uses in her final duel with Gears.
Frogs and Toads: Uses a Frog deck in her first duel with Gears. (Which Gears insults during their duel, he later apologizes about it though.)
Evil Counterpart: Her Dark Stardust Dragon (which was the vestige of Earthbound God Ccapac Apu) and Diabolic Star Dragon (which was the vestige of Earthbound God Wiraqocha Rasca to Stardust Dragon and Majestic/Savior Star Dragon respectively, which she uses in her final duel with Ember.
Stripperific: Dressed like a harlot when she first meets Ember. She even tells Ember that she has actually gotten close and killed some of her victims because of this.
Stupid Evil: In her second duel with Ember, she brings Il Mathman's card and summons him to her side of the field using the Cursed Prison Trap Card. Not only is she practically inviting Ember to rescue him (which she does), she is disobeying a direct order from the aboleth.
Bloodletter's Gang
The villains in City of Angels, they are a splinter group of an infamous “One-Percenter” motorcycle gang called the Sons of Tyranny that was started by Hextor, the god of tyranny. However, it is unclear how much loyalty, if any, they have to Hextor. Their goal seems to oppose the Shadowchasers and the structure they use to enforce the law in order to bring about their own very demented system.
Tropes that apply to all of them:
Card-Carrying Villain: There are a few exceptions, but most of them. (Ironically, one who seems to even have a small amount of decency is is half-demon.)
Cheaters Never Prosper: A big part of the plot of “City of Angels” is that the villains are allied with a counterfeit ring that makes and distributes copies of incredibly powerful and illegal cards, many of which are unique to certain duelists. Except in rare cases, they do not prosper.
The Dreaded: The Sons of Tyranny as a whole are like this, due to the near-mythic nature of their origins.
Knight of Cerebus: Unlike most of the other villains here, they can actually back up thir boasts and successfully accomplish their evil deeds.
Vladimir Bloodletter
The leader of the gang, a notorious, feared, and mentally unstable outlaw. Apparently, he left the Sons of Tyranny to form his own splinter group after he realized he would never move any further up the ladder in it and that their methods were too morally restrictive, and holding him back. (The Sons of Tyranny is an organization that is notorious for the mass murder of over a hundred police officers on the day they were founded.)
Axe Crazy: Definitely. In Ascension, the following critique is given on his mental status:
Narration: A noted criminal psychologist who had studied the case said that, in his professional opinion, Bloodletter was a sociopath whose penchant for violence was unusual, even when compared to other members of the Sons of Tyranny. Then he gave his personal opinion, saying that the man was a lunatic that at times would have made Charles Manson seem lucid.
Badass Biker: Yeah, that's kind of required for joining a biker gang...
Bad Boss: He killed a few members of his gang when it looked like they were about to be arrested and might talk.
Evil Mentor: He was this to Damien during Damien’s brief membership in the Sons of Tyranny. When Damien challenged him to a duel, Vlad turned it into a Shadow Duel as a demented idea of fun, and it was a Curb-Stomp Battle, whith Damien on the recieving end.
Hero Killer: He's a Knight of Cerebus, kicks the main character of his stories' ass, is the first villain to kill a Shadowchaser on-screen, and in the future, will apparently beat Jalal in a duel. ...Yeah, every other villain seems like C-List Fodder compared to him.
Knight of Cerebus: Although his entire gang is one he stands out the most. He is a dangerous sociopath that has no humorous quirks, kills heroic characters, a genuinely scary antagonist, and is by far the most competent Big Bad to ever grace a Shadowchasers story.
Loophole Abuse: Horribly subverted. He actually believes that the Fair Fight Clause of the Great Treaty makes murder justified (or at least he claims it does). It is doubtful that such a defense would hold up in any court of law.
In fact, many members of his gang do not play fair at all in duels. A big part of the plot involves villains using counterfeit versions of cards which are illegal, a blatant example of cheating.
Mechanical Lifeforms: In his first duel with Damien in the fic, he uses a deck with Machine-Types and Monsters that use motorcycles. Flashback scenes show him using this deck in the past too.
Motor Mouth: He does seem to love hearing himself talk. Even when no-one else is listening.
Our Demons Are Different: He was initially described as a cambion, which might suggest he is half-human-half-demon. However, it has been suggested that his non-demon parent may well have been… Something else. (Just what is not known right now.)
The Worf Effect: Stories that take place after “City of Angels”, chronologically, mention that he defeated Jalal in a duel, and the situation is regarded this way because of it. (The exact details have yet to be outlined.)
Minamochi
A kappa and a member of the House of the Surging Tempest (probably an exiled member) he’s one of Vlad’s chief enforcers.
Ax Crazy: Hands down the most insane character to ever grace a Shadowchasers story.
Beware the Silly Ones: His over the top antics just enhance how screwed up in the head he is.
Evil Virtues: Seriously inverted. Most kappa are known for being incredibly polite. Minamochi does not have this trait.
Faux Affably Evil: Acts like a happy little kid but is freaking insane at the same time.
For Massive Damage: His deck strategy seems to focus on using Junk Warrior’s effect to make its Attack Score as high as possible using Submarine Frogs.
Jerkass: He doesn't pretend to be anything he's not.
Our Liches Are Different: But not much different than the ones that are typical in this continuity.
Lethal Joke Item: His deck contains many Monsters that are considered utterly worthless by duelists in today’s meta. (Including Pumpking, Castle of Dark Illusions, and the three Normal Zombies used by Ghost Kotsuzuka in Duelist Kingdom. However, he also uses Kotsuzuka’s Spell version of Call of the Haunted along with very powerful Spell and Trap Cards that make these Monsters quite potent.
Names to Run Away From Really Fast: Not only does his actual name qualify, but according to him, his titles while he was alive have included “Son of Kyuss”, “Bringer of Plagues”, and “the Ageless Blight”
Pulling Themselves Together: This happens to him a lot. As a lich, he has prolonged his live using dark magic, and is a living corpse as a result… But he tends to lose body parts easily. (Often when Vlad gets angry at him and hits him.) Fortunately, reattaching them is easy.
Straight Man: Appears this way, seeing as he complains when Vlad does wasteful things (like blowing up a warehouse they were using as a headquarters when it was hardly necessary).
Toguro
A henchman of both Vlad and Sowrex, his appearance is brief (thusfar), but memorable.
Affably Evil: Compared to the rest of Vlad’s gang, at least.
Badass: When you can match Fourteen, you know you badass.
Evil Counterparts: He uses an Evil Hero Deck, some of which weren’t even used by Haiou Judai. (Given who he works for, the cards are obviously counterfeits.)
The Starscream: Possibly. It is hinted that he is the one who planted the self-destruct mechanism in Sowrex’s desk, and he definately stole his blueprints.
Special Guest: Apparently, he is the same Toguro that appears in the anime Yu Yu Hakusho. (The author of the fic claims this.)
The mind behind the counterfeiting operation, he is an ally of Vladimir, due to a deal they made in the past. Not that he cares for Vladimir – or anyone other than himself.
Artifact of Doom: Well, fake artifacts of doom. As you might expect, he uses counterfeit cards himself, copies of Paradox’s SIN cards.
Crippling Overspecialization: His species has an odd ability. Their strength and endurance is directly proportionate to the amount of their material wealth in the immediate area, potentially giving them Super Strength and invulnerability if they’re in a place where there’s a lot of it. He confronts Fourteen in an office where there’s likely several million dollars’ worth of goods, but it is situational.
Fat Bastard: In every possible way. He doesn’t even pretend that he cares about anything but money, which he seems to have too much of already.
Greed: He’s a porcurian, a type of demon that embodies this concept. He resembles a morbidly obese humanoid with pig-like features.
Killed Off for Real: He was killed by some divine force that was angry at him for “touching [its] children”, and “corrupting their essence and making them mere monsters”. It would not give its name to Fourteen, even though it thanked him.
Stupid Evil: First of all, when Fourteen confronts him, he is in the process of completing what he hopes will be his “hottest seller”, counterfeit copies of the Egyptian God Cards. Rashid can probably tell you how stupid using that sort of thing is.
And if that weren’t enough, it seemed he was stirring up a hornet’s nest already. After losing the duel to Fourteen, he is apparently struck by a Bolt of Divine Retribution by an entity that was angry at him for what he did.
Doomdreamers
Tropes shared by all Doomdreamers
Chekhov's Gunman: They were first mentioned by the Demonic Guardian towards the end of Power Primordial and were featured in the final Shadowchaser file until they made full-fledge appearances as the main antagonists of Torment.
Cool Helmet: True Doomdreamers wear a horned helmet that covers the entire head, but only for ceremonies. (It is explained that they used to wear them all the time in the past to impress the lesser members of the cult; however, seeing as the helmets are heavy and tend to give the wearers headaches, that is no longer practical in the modern era.)
Even Evil Has Standards: Not them, but other Shadowkind criminals. It is said that even some of the most cruel Shadowkind criminals would not want to assiciate themselves with the Doomdreamers.
Terrible Trio: Tiberius, Lorelei and Lareth. The Triad can also qualify.
Ulysses Maxwell Tiberius
Affably Evil: During his duel with Penelope in Ascension.
Penelope: "Why are you being so polite, anyway?"
Tiberius: "Why not?" "What, do you want me to start acting like the run-o-the-mill maniacal villain? The type who goads and dares his foes, and usually makes a fool out of himself in the process? I never liked such people… That behavior is so… undignified…"
Beard of Evil: He has a goatee in Torment. (He shaves it off sometime before the events of Ascension.)
Corrupt Corporate Executive: In Torment, he's the regional manager of the Chicago branch of Technology Research Unlimited Enterprises, using the Chicago branch as a front for the Cult of Tharizdun. (However, at the end of that fic, it's clear that the actual CEO of TRUE is an Honest Corporate Executive, as fires he fires Tiberius, and starts a fund to help anyone the cult has hurt.)
Dying as Yourself: He briefly regains his sanity and sees an image of Yolanda in Red Feather one last time before he dies.
Even Evil Has Standards: Apparently, there are things so vile that they disgust even Doomdreamers. While in prison, another inmate says something to him that implies that he burned books, and Tiberius angrily replies that he has never done that, saying that he is "no Nazi".
Hates Everyone Equally: It says so in the last entry of his journal, and Lorlei confirms it. He hates everything, and is likely why he ever considered becoming a Doomdreamer. The one person he possibly doesn't hate is Yolanda, the Air Force medic he had feelings for long ago, which may have been another thing that drove him over the edge.
Killed Off for Real: After losing to Red Feather in a Shadow game in Ascension.
Manipulative Bastard: And quite good at it; his plan to escape from Jalie's stronghold and sneak into Shadowchaser Headquarters involved fooling three of Jalie's men by making tempting offers to them. Seeing as devils pretty much invented this kind of trick, that's not easy to do. (Of course, all three were rather low in the infernal hierarchy, but still...)
My Hero Zero: Uses an Infernity deck in Ascension.
Sinister Minister: He was previously an Air Force Chaplain; Dugan's theory as that he was driven mad by the contradictory nature of his job.
Stupid Evil: After the Chigago Shadowchasers learn about their plan to replace Chicago with Dark Chicago, Dugan immediately expresses the stupidity and possible failure of their plan, even comparing it to famous historical failures such The Little Bighorn and Charge of the Light Brigade.
Baleful Polymorph: Her prefered method of dealing with victims; her first such victim was her own father, another Doomdreamer, when she took over his position. (He was actually proud of her for showing such initiative on her own, and helps her distract Nichole in a chapter of Torment.)
Bi the Way: Has had both male and female lovers in the past.
Cool and Unusual Punishment: In a rare case of this trope inflicted upon a villain, at the end of Torment, Lorlei accepts a plea bargain to avoid the death penalty, and is inflicted with the same fate as her victims, transformed into a cat, and then resigned to a private cage-sized cell in the Shadowchaser prison. The spell is supposedly irreversable... But no-one can prepare for every contingency...
Foe Yay: Lorelei is a little too obsessed with getting revenge on Nichole, to the point of having the desire to torture an illusion of her using whips and shackles. (There are some hints that not all of her former lovers were men.)
Half-Human Hybrid: Her mother was a succubus, who his father "hired" to carry his child. (The correct terminology for someone like her is a "cambion".)
Mighty Glacier: Used a High-Leveled Monster Beatdown deck during her first duel with Nichole.
The Starscream: She was a successful one, and it was bizarre in more than one way. Her father was a Doomdreamer who was warned in one of the nightmarish omens that all Doomdreamers get that an apprentice he took would likely betray him. To try to avoid this, he decided to raise his daughter with the intent of being his successor, going so far as to make a bargain with a succubus to carry his child. Lorelei became only too good a Doomdreamer - she was the one who betrayed him. What makes it truly bizarre is the fact that, even though she turned him into a cat and kept him like a pet, he never had any regrets, and was actually proud of her, feeling he had succeeded as a father. (Doomdreamers are insane, of course...)
Undying Loyalty: She shows this in spades, especially when Jalie's true plan which involves killing Tharizdun is revealed. She refuses to help Rule-of-Three win the duel against Ophelia, because doing so would help Jalie. Then she tells the Shadowchasers every detail she learned about Jalie's plan in hopes that they stop him, even though the best offer that Jalal gives her is to reinstate her original sentence, which would mean being turned back into a cat and spending the rest of her life in a cage.
Axe Crazy: And how. Even other Doomdreamers are afraid of him.
Battle Trophy: After he defeats and kills a large number of duelists during a training session, he starts digging through their decks to take cards that he could use. (This actually has a very practical purpose, because a very lethal strategy he uses later involves summoning Synchro Monsters with Ghoul Summoner to strengthen his Demon King Dragon Beelze card.)
Chekhov M.I.A.: His name and current status was first mentioned near the start of Torment, but he doesn't make a full appearance until the middle of Torment.
Cool Mask: He wears a half-mask to cover his scars.
Dark Messiah: What he supposedly is; whether he is or not is left ambiguous. (The Triad does not seem to think so.)
Eldritch Abomination: His Brotherhood deck after becoming Tharizdun's avatar. Lareth himself also qualifies when in that state.
Fate Worse Than Death: It is possible this is what happened to him by the end of Torment. (Possibly Dragged Off to Hell if Lorelei's description of what the Talisman of Pure Good does is accurate.)
Ironic Name: Despite his name, he has scars on his face because of some battles in the past. Even more so after he becomes Tharizdun's avatar.
Meaningful Name: Inverted. When Lareth becomes Tharzidun's Avatar. He mutates into something that is as far away as beautiful as you can be.
Minor Injury Overreaction: Lareth practically flips when Karl banishes his Demon King Dragon Beelze and inflicts a mere 200 damage to him during the 3-on-3 duel near the end of Torment
Lareth: Hudson… This wound you have inflicted upon me… I will cauterize it with the blood from your dying corpse!
Karl: Man… That ranked about a nine on the corny villain banter meter.
No Honor Among Thieves: When it looks like all three of the Doomdreamers are about to be apprehended, Lareth pulls a gun and shoots both Tiberius and Lorelei in an attempt to distract the Shadowchasers long enough to cover his escape. (Tiberius and Lorelei survived, and they can take comfort in knowing that Lareth may have suffered a worse fate than they ultimately did.)
One-Winged Angel: Towards the end of Torment, he consumes an Abyssal Fruit that turns him into Tharizdun's avatar, changing his appearance drastically until he hardly looks human.
Signature Card: Demon King Dragon Beelze in his Sealed Beast deck.
Vader Breath: Sort of. Due to spending years in a place where the air is unsuitable for breathing, Lareth tends to breathe heavily as a result.
The Dread Emperor
Whether he's a Doomdreamer or not is unclear, but he's at least an ally of them, and he deserves special mention.
Ambiguous Ending: Like Leorin, his fate by the end of Torment is left unknown. It is up to the reader to determine whether or not he was killed or was victorious in his battle with Leorin.
Authority In Name Only: He doesn't seem to be the emperor of anything. In fact, he not only answers to the Triad, he's very much afraid of them.
Berserk Button: And very easy to press. He's been known to level a whole city block if even one resident of it makes him angry.
Brainwashing for the Greater Good: The Dread Emperor's stragety in duels. He summons Lava Golem and Grinder Golem to his opponents side of the field and then uses Owner's Seal and Remove Brainwashing effects to return them to his side.
Epic Fail: By blowing up the bar he was in, the Dread Emperor accidentaly created a dead magic zone, rendering magic useless. Being stuck in it is why he duels Ben. Or so he and everyone else believes. In truth, the Triad created the zone and let him sweat it out until the last minute as punishment for disobeying them at some point in the past.
Hidden Agenda Villain: Exactly what he's up to isn't known, and he seems to be working independently from the Triad, even though he ultimately answers to them. He seems to be looking for something, and is willing to kill anyone who gets in his way while he looks for it, but no-one knows exactly what.
Insane Equals Violent: Wanted posters with his description say that he's a "sociopath and extremely dangerous", and they aren't kidding.
Magic Knight: He is capable of magic, and very powerful magic at that.
Meaningful Name: Inverted. He does not appear to be an emperor at all.
Obviously Evil: If his scary, black armor isn't enough of a clue, the four children that are bound to his belt by Slave Collars and clearly under some form of mind control clinches it. (Exactly what purpose the children serve isn't clear, but can't be pleasant.)
Stupid Evil: Not exactly Stupid Evil, but more like "Obvious lapse in judgement" evil. The Dread Emperor runs across Ben while trying to escape the dead magic zone he created, and despite knowing the authorites are around looking for him, he duels Ben. The only reason why the duel continues when the Shadowchasers do find him is Ben's chance to get information about his past.
Would Hurt a Child: It's almost a certainty. The four children chained to his belt under Mind Control don't look like they've been treated well, and after the spell holding them is broken, all they can do is scream hysterically until a medic can force them to sleep using sedatives.
You Exclamation: His reaction when Leorin confronts him in the final scene of Torment.
Marcus Hape
A mysterious man who alllies himself with the Doomdreamers and provided the Dark Forge cards used in Torment. In truth, he is Leorin's Mortality, cast off from Leorin when Ravel made him immortal. However, he likes being immortal, and will do what is nessecary to make sure Leorin remains cursed.
Cloning Blues: Averted and lampshaded. Despite looking like Leorin, Hape says that he isn't a clone.
Eldritch Abomination: His deck is made up of Heretic monsters, monsters whom once served Sertorius. The real reason of his choice in deck is to scare Leorin into running away again.
Evil Twin: His real appearance is that he looks exactly like Leorin, due to being his discarded morality. Although this trope is not the case, as Hape himself says.
Hape: Calm down, Leorin, I'm not your clone, or your evil twin, or your future self. I know that all of those three possibilities have been done to death in bad soap operas and science fiction movies.
Pragmatic Villainy: He can create Dark Cards, and unlike most people who can do this, he seems to be careful about who he gives them to. He at first refuses to create the Hellgears for Panik, telling him that trusting him with such things would be "like trusting a match with dynamite". (He eventually gives him four, just to get rid of him; Panik doesn't get the full set until Jalie gives him them in Ascension)
Split Personality Merge: After he loses to Leorin, the two of them become one person again which restores Leorin's mortality.
Madame Xane
A mysterious old woman who is an enigma even to other Doomdreamers. It is later revealed that she is actually a follower of St. Cuthbert and was waiting to see if Leorin was worthy of redemption.
Rule of Symbolism: The positions that her Arcana monsters take and how they were used during her duel with Leorin reflect what Leorin has been through and what he has to do.
Shut Up, Hannibal!: In a rare case of a villain doing this to another villain, she tells Panik to clam up in the middle of his villainous rant at the end of Torment as they are both taken into custody.
Battle Butler: While not really a butler, he does seem to act like this for Tiberius.
Heel Face Turn: After Nichole promises him that the Shadowchasers would help him clear things out with his wife and daughter. By the end of Torment, he is willing to testify about the activities of the Doomdreamers.
Noble Demon: Despite working for the Doomdreamers, he still maintains a sense of honor and righteousness. It is revealed that he only helps because he feels indebted to Tiberius for curing his daughter Sandra of a major illness. Later on though, he realizes that Tiberius probably had a hand in causing the illness in the first place and is ashamed with himself for serving a man who was clearly a monster.
Only Sane Man: He is quite likely the only truly lucid person working for the Doomdreamers who isn't plotting against them.
Brainwashed and Crazy: A runaway, scared and confused, taken in by a doomsday cult and subjected to a horrifying proceedure that tore off her left arm and replaced it with a demon's arm... Compared to most examples of this trope, she lucked out.
Escape Artist: After getting her demonic graft, her behavior was erratic even by the cult's standards, so Tiberius had her locked up in a cell in room with a magical item that had a calming effect on such members. However, Shelly kept breaking out and leaving the Temple of All-Consumption for "fun", apparently doing so three times in one month. After being brought back after the third time, after the Shadowchasers learned too much, Tiberus threatened her with the usual punishment for failures if it happened again. (Which was being offered as Human Sacrifice.) That apparently convinced her to stay put.
I Just Want to Be Normal: After the fall of the Temple of All Consumption and becoming far more lucid, all she - and her parents - want is to put the whole thing behind her. However, doing that means first getting rid of the demonic graft that has replaced her left arm. At the end of Ascension, this is successfully done.
Naughty Nurse Outfit: In "Ascension", Huszi gives her a Fusion Monster called Death Injector Reficule that combines this Trope with Evil Is Sexy. (Sort of. The Monster's outfit makes her look more like a slut than anything this sort of costume typically suggests.)
The Mad God himself. Imprisoned long ago by the other gods, he is unable to do little more than communicate with her followers whom try to release him. If where to ever be released from his prision, bad things would happen.
Ax Crazy: Along with most of his worshippers. It's a requirement for being a Doomdreamer, pretty much.
Cry for the Devil: According to an obsucre myth, Tharizdun was once a celestial being of goodness and light, but was corrupted and driven mad by the Great Old Ones. The gods who opposed him could not kill him, despite the danger he caused, because doing so would cause even greater evil to regain the power they invested in him.
The Dreaded: His name is almost universally feared and reviled by most sentient races, and even by most divine beings old enough to remember the original conflict. He has very few worshippers because of his reputation, and has often had to fool mortals into worshipping him by using pseudonyms to hide his identity (like the Elder Elemental Eye) and using cults of more respectable evil gods as fronts for his. Only the most insane and nihilistic of mortals who worship him truly know who they are devoting themselves too.
Eldritch Abomination: Before he was imprisoned, Tharizdun's most powerful servants were demons called the Brotherhood, monsters that were created by Doomdreamers from captive humans in foul rituals. They were hideous even comapared to other demons, and incredibly clever. Fortunately, when Tharizdun was imprisoned, the ritual used to create them was lost, and all but the most powerful Doomdreamers became unable to control the ones that remained. The creatures appear in the final chapter of Torment, when Lareth uses Monster Cards that depict them.
Even Evil Has Standards: Tharzidun is not happy about the Triad's plan to leave Tiberius, Lorelei, and Lareth behind after Chicago switches with Dark Chicago. He tells the Triad he will provide enough energy to transport the Temple of All-Consumption as well but Dugan, Nichole, and Karl must be defeated in battle to be used as sacrifices.
Although the real reason is that he wanted Lareth to become his Avatar.
Omnicidal Maniac: Describes him in a nutshell, along with anyone who worships him.
The Triad
The leaders of the Doomdreamers (aside from Tharzidun), the Triad's goal is to break the seal imprisoning their master, the Mad God Tharzidun. If you see them, it usually is a bad thing. Talking to them makes even other Doomdreamers nervous, while humans who aren't Doomdreamers are often too frightened to move in their presence. The members of the Triad are the First, an old man with vast magical power, the Second, an aboleth, and the Third, a young woman.
Blow You Away: The Third is a genasi, a rare type of Shadow-Touched whose Shadowkind parent was an elemental spirt; in her case, a Wind Spirit. Her mastery over this element is supposedly so great, that she was able to defeat the Lord and the Bride of the Yokai House of the Howling Gale (who were opposing her as a team) in a wizard's battle by herself.
Deadpan Snarker: The First seems to be one at times. Although the Second can be one as well.
Second: "Now this is entertianing."
First: "You said that about the War of 1812."
And two chapters later:
First:"I hope we never go through that again,"
"'Our god appointing an avatar, and then him being soundly defeated?'" asked the Second.
Orcus on His Throne: At least this is the case in Torment, where there is no conflict between them and the protagonists at all. However, there are hints that they occasionally take a more hands-on role in running the cult (such as the above-mentioned battle beteen The Third and the two leaders of the Howling Gale).
The Smart Guy: While all three of them are rather intelligent, the Second would probably be the most intelligent, due to it's extremely long lifespan.
Stupid Evil: Not exactly stupid, but one of their ideas was something that probably seemed like a good idea at the time, but went very wrong. They stole a Talisman of Pure Good (an incredibly powerful artifact which, in the hands of a powerful divine spellcaster serving a Good deity, can condemn an evil divine spellcaster to Hell forever) and thought that if they soaked it long enough in a liquid that basically distilled Evil, it would turn into a Talisman of Ultimate Evil, something that did the opposite. To say such a thing was dangerous for the Doomdreamers to have around was an understatement, and after finding true redemption, Leorin was eventually able to use it to send Lareth to his doom.
You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: The Triad's plan in Torment was to switch Chicago with it's Evil Counterpart. However, they never planned on transporting the Temple of All-Consumption in the process, thus leaving Tiberius, Lorelei, and Lareth at the mercy of the Shadowchasers and the U.S. Army. Tharzidun does not approve.
The former head of Draco Industries and Ember's former boss when she was his secretary who appears only in the original fic. Is actually a githyanki and one of Sonja's co-conspirators in the Deluge plot although not of his free will.
Affably Evil: Even when working as one of Sonja's co-conspirators, he still acts polite and well-mannered to Jalal and the Neo Domino Shadowchasers when they confront him.
An Ice Person: Uses an Ice Barrier deck in his duel with Shichiro.
Anti-Villain: Feels sorry for using Ember as a hostage and is only working for Sonja due to her blackmailing him.
Easily Forgiven: Ember is willing to fogive everthing he did at the conclusion, and in "Power Primordial", quickly defends him when he is included among possible suspects. (And he is quickly ruled out as one.)
Fallen Hero: At least to his own people, he was a hero, possibly even a Knight in Shining Armor. And in the end, he still shows signs of the chivalry that comes with such a role.
Go-Go Enslavement: Puts Ember through this when he binds her to a lamp so that she wouldn't disobey him although he did not know it would happen.
He Knows Too Much: After discovering that his queen was a lich who consumed the life forces of their most powerful warriors to survive, she couldn't let him live, giving him no choice but to flee. He ended up on Earth purely by accident, and apparently, it was one place where she couldn't find him.
Never Gets Drunk: He's capable of drinking about four Long Island Iced Teas and still remain functional. The fact that he's able to do this makes Ember suspicious that he isn't human at all and that he might have a connection with DaPen's death.
Noble Fugitive: Why Sonja was able to blackmail him. Despite the fact that he fled from his queen centuries ago, she was apparently still looking for him, because Sonja threatened to turn him over to her unless he complied.
Redemption Equals Death: His last actions before he disappears is to help Ember escape from suffering the same fate that Sonja had.
Eiko Akira
A ground pro duelist and Ember's older cousin. In Power Primordial, he was sent by Jetta in order to help Ember escape the Venomous Tarns.
Ascended Extra: During the original fic, his only appearances were limited to Ember's flashbacks and a brief cameo in the epilogue. In Power Primordial however, he actually appears in the flesh in a minor role.
Big Brother Mentor: He seemd to be one to Ember for a time, as shown by many flashbacks. He even introduced her to Duel Monsters, giving her Flamvell Urquizas as a present, which was her first card.
Muggle: Is a Mundane and thus unaware of what his cousin is really doing. In Power Primordial however, Jetta temporarily gives him the knowledge about Shadowkind in order for him to help in rescuing Ember.
A young-man who is under the service and care of Volk Lloyd. When he was younger, his father was killed by a were-wolf. The Shadowchaser team that questioned tried to look for the killer, but to no avail. Because nothing had progressed and he had waited for years, Jack develops a hatred for the Shadowchasers due to their inaction. It is later revealed that Volk was the one responsible for his father's death due to the latter refusing to hand over his research on Residue.
Heel Face Turn: He starts mellowing out on his hatred for the Shadowchasers after Ace shows him some compassion and as a result, sides with them towards the end of Risen Nemesis (although it's only because that he could rescue Mira). And at the of the fic, he is currently part of the Shadowchasers and Barron's apprentice.
Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Despite his rather rude personality, it is clear that he really cares about Mira. Later on after his Heel Face Turn, he starts mellowing out a bit towards the Shadowchasers (although with his normal personality still intact).
No Kill Like Overkill: Towards the end of his duel with Volk, he summons Chimeratech Overdragon which destroys all of Volk's Black Phantom and Black Armament monsters and the rest of his Life Points. Even Jack had no idea on how much damage he even inflicted.
She Is Not My Girlfriend: Says this about Mira, although there is some obvious chemistry between them.
Signature Card: Ancient Gear Golem, which he has three of.
You Killed My Father: To Volk after, he reveals to Jack that he was the one who killed his father.
Battle Aura: Is able to conjure a blue, green and/or purple aura whenever he activates any of his powers.
Cool and Unusual Punishment: In his final duel with Hyde (which is a Shadow Game), he says that Hyde's penalty should he lose is to wear a costume similar to his everytime he goes on his Shadowchaser duties. Hyde is appalled by this.
Mysterious Protector: Has aided the Las Vegas Shadowchasers several times in the story for unknown reasons. It is revealed that all of his actions throughout the fic were for the sake of reviving the remaining survivors of the Garulu, Bassha and Dogga clan.
Demonic Possession: Does this to Kyon and later Hyde in Risen Nemesis. As a Dream Traveler, he can do this. Unlike most cases of possession, Dream Travelers are known to care for their hosts so calling it "demonic" might not be accurate.
She Knows Too Much: Volk has Jin kidnap her because she was about to reveal important information to Hyde and Ace. But he later lies to Jack that it was the Shadowchasers who kidnapped her.
Butt Monkey: Whether it's dealing with his crazy co-workers and his boss, being forced to pay for the bill while he and Jin were in Kyon's cafe, or getting assaulted by Ace, the poor guy can never seem to catch a break.
The Dog Bites Back: He admits that this was partly the reason why he dueled Grayarts even though he didn't need to.
Muggle: Is just an ordinary employee compared to the rest of the organization he works for, although some of his comments regarding his co-employers makes Jin suspicious on whether he is actually an Aware. Turns out he was right.
Only Sane Man: Can be considered this compared to the rest of his co-workers and his boss.
Punch Clock Villain: Is more interested in working for the organization simply to meet end's meet rather than engaging in whatever evil plans they come up with.
Sexy Secretary: Male example. Although more like "handsome" rather than "sexy". He even acknowledges the implications of his occupation.
Walking Spoiler: Definitely qualifies. Knowing more about him would spoil that he and Kamen are the same character and what his background and motivations are throughout the whole fic. For more information about him, see Kamen.
Introduced in ''Power Primordial
Joaquin
A young man who originally lost his parents when some attackers attacked the farming colony he lived in. The Primordial Titans found him and took care of him until he came across the Paragons who promised him that they would restore his parents in exchange for his services. He serves mainly as the Paragon's gopher, doing everything and anything they ask him to do.
Rule of Symbolism: The Neo Domino Shadowchasers and the Primordial Titans note the importance of the monsters he used during his duel with Jinx (Alien Dog, Alien Kid, Alien Overlord and Alien Mother) which allows the Titans to discover his identity.
Schmuck Bait: During his duel with Ember, she realizes that his Steelswarm monsters were merely a distraction so that he could capture Jetta with his Tuner's Sceme in an attempt to score some brownie points with the rest of the Paragons. Fortunately, Ember sees through his plan and thwarts it.
Signature Card: Alien Collective during his first duel and Steelswarm Hercules during his second one.
Throwing Down the Gauntlet: Both of his encounters with the Neo Domino Shadowchasers are to inform them of the Paragon's challenge to stop them. Although he also intended to capture Jetta during his second visit.
Introduced in ''Ascension
Sister Shaylene, Brother Meque and Brother Tion
A trio of mysterious individuals who appear to be assisting the Boston Shadowchasers for some reason. They are later revealed to be followers of Tharizdun who worship his previous incarnation of a benevolent god, and assist the Boston Shadowchasers to ensure that the key to his prison is never stolen.
Cassandra Truth: The reason they don't reveal their entire background, as the Boston Shadowchasers would refuse their help the moment they found out. Simply put, it's very hard for anyone to trust an admitted worshipper of Tharizdun. (Maybe a Subverted Trope, as the know no-one would believe them. Apparently, Tion wanted to simply do that, but he was voted down.)
Chekhov's Gunman: Shaylene first appears around the beginning of Ascension along with her sister Debbie having a night-out in a bar that Dante just so happened to be observing (well, technically, they were helping Dante pull a sting operation) before revealing her true origins.
Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: Meque and Tion at first confuse Jeb and Ophelia during their duels wherein they use mostly outdated cards but surprise them when they put them to good use and defeat them. Shaylene also qualifies, as Dante has commented that with her skill, she could've defeated Alphonse, who was trying to sell Gughalaki (which is poisonous for tieflings) to her and her sister, herself.
Crying Wolf: This is how Shaylene gets Dante's attention, by faking a distress call in order to lure him to a secluded house.
Dark Is Not Evil: All three of them are members of Shadowkind races that were created due to other races being tainted by dark magic or fiendish blood, making their races outcasts that are looked down upon. Shaylene claims that this is the point; her order tends to attract such people, because the view Tharizdun the same way.
Genius Bruiser: Tion. He's a banderhobb, a hulking, huge, reptilian creature. He seems highly intelligent, speaking much like a philosopher does.
It May Help You on Your Quest: Each of them does this, leaving behind a card that each of them used during the duel for Dante, Jeb, and Ophelia to take. They do prove useful later.
Pyrrhic Victory: Any victory for them is a Pyrrhic Victory, and they know it. Nothing they do is ever going to restore Tharizdun to the state he once was, or even get him to notice them. Their purpose seems to simply be to make sure that the truth is never forgotten or lost forever.
Signature Card: Sunset Dragon for Shaylene, Master Blaster for Meque, and Remnant of Caiphon for Tion. After their duels, they give these cards to Dante, Jeb and Ophelia respectively in order to assist them.
Summoning Ritual: Tion's deck motif. Unlike Ophelia's Gishki monsters who are more recent and have powerful effects, Tion's are completely outdated and lack any effects of their own.
Sarah Blaze
Broken Pedestal: To Karen, after she discovers what her intentions are.
Chekhov's Gunman: Her voice is heard on radio and is mentioned a few times near the beginning of Ascension before revealing that she's in cahoots with Dybbuk
Light Is Not Good: Is actually an aasimar, a human with an angel or other celestial being somewhere in her ancestry. According to Dante, aasimar charlatans and con artists are more common than one may think, because people tend to very willing to trust an aasimar.
Something Only They Would Say: Or rather, wouldn't say. When she insults the Red Sox, there's no doubt in Karen's mind that her claims of being a native to Boston are lies. (That is one thing that no resident of Boston would ever forgive).
Shock Jock: And one that drives the Boston Shadowchasers nuts.
Wounded Gazelle Gambit: Intentionally loses to Alyosha so that she can gain the Boston Shadowchasers' trust and get Alyosha out of the way as he was one of the few people to know her secret.
Jemorille the Exile
The rilmani who is assigned to Earth, and who has been so for many centuries. As such, Center-of-All tasks him with testing the Shadowchasers before granting them an audience.
Chekhov's Gunman: Again, was first mentioned in a Shadowchaser file before appearing in Ascension.
Epic Fail: Does not happen on-camera, but according to Center-of-All, this is the reason for his dubious title. In several assignments on numerous worlds, he has caused mistakes that have led to cataclysms. He was assigned to Earth because the rilmani considered that an “easy assignment”, and he hasn’t been able to screw that up yet.
Master of Disguise: According to Leslie, Jemorille can assume any form, and has assumed many in his mission to preserve the Balance on Earth. At any given time, he could quite literally be anyone. However, when confronting the Shadowchasers, he appears in his true form.
Stone Wall: His deck focuses on defending with monsters that have overwhelming Defense Scores and forcing his opponent to attack them, which is, incidentally, a strategy he used when posing as a Shadowchaser many years ago.
Center-Of-All
The greatest of the rilmani, and the personification of the universal axiom that states that, because the universe is infinite in size, you are always at the center, no matter where you stand.
Above Good and Evil: And he is clearly familiar with every strategy that both philosophies use. He recognizes Dybbuk’s attempts to bargain with him for what they are, and they don’t impress him, nor is he swayed by Dante’s protests that the duel is not a fair match-up, despite the fact that Karen eventually wins.
Chessmaster: As he himself says, he has studied the conflict between Good and Evil for eons (not just to see which side is more powerful, although that is one part of it). The duel between Karen and Dybbuk that he insists on before agreeing to help either side acts as an experiment towards his research.
No Sense of Humor: Very much so. Leslie tells Dante (almost to the point of beating a dead horse) that making him angry is a bad idea.
He also zaps Karen and Dybbuk on the behind when the two start trash-talking one another; according to him he finds the act "undignified".
Physical God: According to Unity-of-Rings, Center-of-All has more power than any being in the cosmos that isn’t an actual god.
Symbolic Character: Like his Good and Evil counterparts, he represents one of the axioms of an orderly universe. In his case, he is the embodiment of the law that states that, because the universe is infinite in size, you are always standing in its center, no matter what your actual location.
True Neutral: Does not favor either Good or Evil, nor does he favor Law or Chaos. As a rilmani, he only acts when he feels that one side is gaining the upper hand to the other and balances them out until both sides are even once again.
You Cannot Grasp the True Form: He doesn’t even seem to have a physical body at all, having merged with the Spire to become a being of pure thought.
Introduced in Tournament of Shadows
Jean-Claude Martin
The CEO of Lessuix Media Unlimited, a large media conglomerate headquartered in France that owns many outlets that are only available to Shadowkind. He's the one who convinces Jalal to hold the 2nd Duelist Kingdom with the Shadowchasers and pro-duelists his company sponsors (dubbed the Blue Knights Legion) competing against one another saying that it would be a good way for the Shadowchasers to win back some good PR.
Hebi-Na's Soulscape
The characters who appear here are inhabitants of a world that exists inside Hebi-Na's mind called her Soulscape, where her soul actually lives. Normally, the soul is supposed to be the ruler of the Soulscape, but in the plot Shadowchasers: Soulscape, she has been stricken with a cruel curse that has caused things there to go horribly wrong. Jalal's mission in the story is to enter and set things right. (Note that the soul herself is not included here; for all intents and purposes, she is the same as Hebi-Na herself.)
Tropes shared by all of them
Symbolic Character: Each of them represent a certain aspect of Hebi-Na's soul.
Your Mind Makes It Real: In the Soulscape, its residents are allowed to search through Hebi-Na's memories in order to access cards that are normally unique in the Yu-gi-oh universe (such as Destiny HERO Defendguy or Earthbound God Ccarayhua). The only real requirement is that Hebi-Na has seen the card and knows how its effect works.
Alzoozel
Boisterous Bruiser: Seems to enjoy herself quite a bit when she's fighting bulezai.
Fiery Redhead: While in Ember's appearance, possibly even more than Ember herself.
Heroic Sacrifice: She purposely lets herself be captured by Norg's guards so that Jalal can get past them and make it into the cathedral where Hebi-Na's soul is being held hostage. (She figures that she'll escape from Norg's dungeon just like she always does; unfortunately, Norg has another punishment in mind this time...)
Symbolic Character: She represents Hebi-Na's conscience, and her power has steadily grown recently. In recent times, her appearance has changed to look like Ember, the person who Hebi-Na most wants to make amends with.
Malore
Good Guy Bar: His tavern, the Fang and Flagon, is the only true safe place in Hebi-Na's Soulscape when Jalal arrives. The demons are unable to enter it due to some sort of magical ward. (They can still burn the place down if they want to reach someone inside badly enough, but the building always rebuilds itself.
Mysterious Backer: He wears a mask, and not even he knows what he looks like under it, due to the fact that Hebi-Na's memories of her father are so vague. (Hebi-Na was born on the Homeworld of Shadow, and like most Shadowkind who are grabbed from there and sent to Earth, her memories of her previous life are distant at best.)
Symbolic Character: He represents Hebi-Na's vague and fleeting memories of her father.
Brittlebeak
Big Badass Bird of Prey: Is a vrock, a type of demon that combines the worst aspects of a human and a vulture.
Symbolic Character: He represents Hebi-Na's violent surges that she tries to supress.
Norg
Cold-Blooded Torture: The punishment he sentences Alzoozel to clearly qualifies. He orders her to be flogged either one-hundred times, or until she begs him to stop, whichever comes first. He also intends the whole population of the Soulscape to watch. Clearly the intent is cement his hold on the place. Fortunately, Vucarik is defeated, causing all the demons to turn to dust, before the sentence can be carried out.
Fat Bastard: Is a hezrou, who are known for their greed and selfishness.
Greed: Being a hezrou and all. His deck also plays with the concept of greed, as it focuses on the card "Greed" by punishing his opponent the more they draw cards outside the Draw Phase.
Symbolic Character: He represents what Hebi-Na once was, the cruelty that she once showed towards others and is the cast-off evil that Hebi-Na has been trying to purge from herself.
Villainous Glutton: And how. He at first ignores Jalal completely in favor of his meal, only deciding to confront him when Jalal knocks the table over
Guiseppe
Symbolic Character: He represents Hebi-Na's "inner-child", the blissful, innocent state that many people long to return to.
Wastrilith
Stone Wall: His deck focuses on limiting the actions of his opponents and using their actions against them. Otherwise, he hardly does any attacking himself.
Olympus Mons: Has three copies of Earthbound God Ccarayhua in her deck.
Symbolic Character: Represents all of Hebi-Na's fears. She thus resembles Taramanda, someone who Hebi-Na was terrified of. To take this further, her deck uses Earthbound God Ccarayhua, a creature that Hebi-Na feared among all others. (According to Maramanda, ophidia are split on their opinions of this being. Some regard it as an eccentric celebrity that one can't help but watch, while others think of it as a harbringer of the apocalypse. Clearly, Hebi-Na was of the second group.)
Professional Killer: Basically, that's what he is, a glorified hired gun. (Probably a Psycho for Hire too.) If a demon lord hires him to inflict the Bells of Baphomet on someone, he does it, and gains part of their power in exchange. His ultimate goal is to gain enough to wrest back rulership of his home layer of the Abyss from an usurper.
Signature Card: Evil Dragon Ananta due to his deck being Hebi-Na's old one.
Introduced in Tournament of Shadows, these are fifty professional duelists sponsored by Lessiux Media Unlimited, and make up half of the contestants in the second Duelist Kingdom Tournament. They seem to come from all walks of life, and other than their profession and affiliation with Lessiux, have very little in common. Note that Kyon Rokudai is a member of this group, but he is included in the "Non-Shadowchaser protagonists and allies" folder above.
Insector Hakata
Ascended Extra: Sort of. He was first mentioned in the first episode of Yu-Gi-Oh! 5Ds as one of Mukuro Enjo's former opponents, and never made an actual appearance in the series.
OC Stand In: Considering the only canon information about him is just a name and that he lost to Mukuro Enjo.
Rule of Symbolism: Ember's duel with him takes place in the same area where Yugi first defeated Insector Haga back in the original Duelist Kingdom tournament. Ember is even quick to notice the symbolism of the place. Like Haga before him, Hakata uses Insects (though a great deal stronger than Haga's) and loses in an all-or-nothing duel against Ember in the first duel of the tournament.
Smug Snake: He scoffs at Ember's victory over Mukuro Enjo when they first meet, thinking that Enjo must have let himself go. He later eats those words when the tournament starts.
Take That: In many ways, he is intended to be a strike against the Inzektor archetype, a broken strategy that dominated the game during the March 2012 format (which is what is used in the fic). In Hakata's defense, his deck, while somewhat broken, is not as much so as most real players who used such a deck, and he shows much more creativity.
Gomi (after Hakata's Inzektors gain the upper hand on Ember with their effects): A loop-destruction combo combined with a swarming combo… It seems sportsmanship in this game died when Pegasus did…
Unknown Rival: To Ember, Yusei Fudo, Jack Atlas, and anyone else who has beaten Mukuro Enjo, if there is any. He feels that in order to be successful he has to defeat everyone who defeated the duelist who defeated him.
Straight Man: To Hakata. (In fact, while Hakata has a lot in common with his counterpart in the original anime, Hakozaki has very little in common with his.)
Serket
Arrogant Pro League Duelist: Oh so very much. She's more interested in boosting her career by defeating Jalal than winning the money for charity.
Berserk Button: Being compared to Cleopatra (who, contrary to media portrayals, was not beautiful at all, but ugly, not to mention being a gold digger. Gomi sarcastically calls her out on this, pointing out that her skimpy costume isn't very historically accurate either. She doesn't seem to care.)
The Fighting Narcissist: Very much so. Bruno calls her a "sore winner" after the way she gloats after defeating Baba Yaga. She also acts this way after she defeats Douglas, not to mention mocking his kilt.
One-Hit Kill: Her deck has this sort of strategy (and is described as "brutal") that involves her using 2 Endless Decays with 4000 or more ATK in order to eliminate all of her opponent's Life Points in one blow.
Red Baron: "Serket" is a stage name, and she certainly has that sort of reputation in the Pro League.
Streisand Effect: After Gomi chastises her for swearing in live television (see below), she replies by asking him if he really thinks that putting a TY-MA rating on a show would actually prevent kids from watching it when it actually does the opposite instead (which Gomi reluctantly agrees with).
Squash Match: Her duel with Baba Yaga was like this, sort of. Baba Yaga didn't exactly seem helpless, but the point was to prove that reports of how lethal Serket's strategy was were clearly not lies or exaggerations.
Stripperific: Her costume. Very revealing, with an Egyptian theme.
This Is for Emphasis, Bitch!: She does this after Gomi gets her mad enough during their duel and after she summons The Minion of Set.
Serket: You make me angry... then I show what a real bitch I am!
Time for Plan B: Her back-up plan, in case her OTK strategy fails, is to summon a Fusion Monster called The Minion of Set, summoned by Fusing two Endless Decays. Its scores are both equal to her starting LP of 8,000 minus the amount she has when it is summoned.
Jill Chambers
Biker Babe: Her clothing suggests that she probably specializes in Riding Duels.
Headless Horseman/Losing Your Head: She's a dullahan. Her helmet conceals the fact that she has no head, and she uses a cellular phone to speak. (Note that she seemed a little offended when actually compared to the Headless Horseman.)
The Hedonist: Again, something his species is known for, unfortunately.
Irritation Is the Sincerest Form of Flattery: His ace card is Harpie Empress, an Xyz Monster that depicts Kujaku Mai as a Harpie. He thinks she would be flattered by this, but everyone else disagrees.
Lolicon: If his amused reaction to his Harpie Hatching Season card is to be believed (as the card summons nude Harpie hatchlings covered in some kind of fluid) much to Bruno, Ace and Kyon's disgust.
Loophole Abuse: The tournament is supposed to be charity event. However, McGuinness cleverly chooses his fraternity program as the charity so that his fraternity can keep the money and do whatever they want with it. (He doesn't get away with it, however, seeing as his fraternity likely won't be around much longer; he admits during the duel that its members have been using illegal drugs for months, completely forgeting that the duel is being televised.
Lust: Very much so, being a satyr and all. He even uses the original, uncensored Harpie Lady cards in his duels just so that he could enjoy staring at them whenever he duels.
Really Gets Around: Starting to see a trend here? He's even starred in a few X-rated movies, apparently.
Wacky Fratboy Hijinx: Inverted. In this case, he learns that such actions tend to have consequences.
Zanth
A dark elf who seems to be interested in Ember (and Jetta the Bronze-Hearted) for some plan. Quite likely, he is up to no-good.
Hidden Agenda Villain: All we know about his plan (which is a "contingency plan" in case another one fails) is that it involves a "device" which he needs Jetta for. Using Ember as a hostage to lure Jetta into a trap has been suggested as a means to do it. He also mentions that he is working for someone, but just who is not known.
Sarah
An associate of Zanth who seems to be his secretary (at least that's what Xander calls her).
An Ice Person: Seems to be one herself. She even complains about the the warm temperature of the South Pacific.
Sexy Secretary: Whether she truly qualifies as a "secretary" isn't clear. (At very least, she's an assistant of some sort.) Sexy, most definitely.
Xander Garren
An associate of Zanth. He appears to be human, and works for the same employer as Zanth.
Affably Evil: While it's still too early to call him "evil", he is nonetheless polite to Maddie when they first meet and even after he defeats her in a duel.
Straight Man: To Zanth. He believes that the "contigency plan" is an obsession, and that the chances of capturing Jetta alive are slim, insisting that they focus on the actual plan. (Which remains unknown, but apparently involves competing in the Tournament).
Canon Yu-gi-oh! characters
Time by time, characters from the actual Yu-gi-oh series make appearances in the story by interacting with the characters and at times the plot. Most of these appearances are usually limited to a brief scene, a one-time dueling cameo or sometimes even play a part in the actual story.
Tropes shared for all of them (Please only put tropes that apply to them in the Shadowchaser series)
Ascended Extra: Some of them have larger roles than the ones they had in their respective series.
And of course any tropes that they have from their respective series.
Yusei Fudo
The Apprentice: He was this to Shichiro at one time, when Shichiro pursued an unauthorized project believing that a Sensitive person could become Aware. It ended in failure, and Shichiro believed that his meddling was a big part of what caused the infighting that led to the break-up of Team Satisfaction.
Crow Hogan
Battle in the Center of the Mind: His meeting with Ember is a strange version of this. Both of them are dreaming at the time (courtesy of a psychic ability used by DaPen and neither is clear on who is in the other's dream. Crow suggests the duel because he can't think of anything better to do before one of them wakes up.
Jeager
The Commissioner Gordon: For the Neo Domino Shadowchasers, although Shichiro clearly dislikes working with him.
I Just Want to Be Normal: He's an Aware, but makes it clear that he couldn't care less about anything Shadow-related.
Divine
Evil Versus Evil: Divine and Louis DaPen despise each other, but Divine has more of a reason too; apparently, DaPen is both a more powerful psychic than he is, and a better duelist than he is using a Psychic Deck.
Gut Feeling: He's an unofficial ally of the Neo Domino Shadowchasers to start, but both Shichiro and Gears clearly do not trust him. When his true colors are revealed halfway through the story (at the time Carly becomes a Dark Signer) they realize they were right, and condemn his actions.
Takasu
Brainwashed: Courtesy of Edumnd, and it seems to have something to do with the new copy of Iron Chain Dragon that he gives him. Fortunately, it's temporary.
Villain Decay: More plot-wise, he has certainly suffered from this after Godwin fired him. When first seen, he is down on this luck, and no longer gets respect from anyone. As Shiricho puts it, he likely never did in the first place, saying that the only reason anyone was ever afraid of him was because he was Godwin's tool. (And oddly enough, Takasu does not seem to have a problem with that, saying that "If I was a tool, call me Black and Decker!") Even Edmund, who uses him as a pawn, sees him as little more than expendable.
Mukuro Enjo
Brainwashed: Similar to the deal with Takasu. Again, it's temporary.
Mirror Match: He was Ember's opponent during her Rivalry of Warlords test. Though her strategy is completely different from his.
Professor Frank
Freudian Trio: The general theme of his deck, using monsters based on the Id, Superego, and Ego, an expanded version of the one in the anime.
Psycho Psychologist: Clearly he has changed little since his confrontation with Ruka. He does show some compentance in the science, as shown in this exchange between him and Shichiro:
Shichiro: You're either very brave, or very foolhardy, Frank. I really don't know what to make of you… What are you, a psychiatrist, or a nut?
Frank: Why can't I be both? Maybe you could call me a psychiatry nut, or a nutty psychiatrist. In the grand scheme of things, Shichiro, not everything is always viewed in terms of black and white. The great Sigmund Freud knew that well… That's why he suggested that there were three aspects that defined the human mind rather than two: one good, one evil, and one that was a mediator between the two.
Shichiro: You realize that most psychoanalysts these days regard Freud's theories as obsolete?
Frank: True, but like I said before, wrong theories are often as beneficial as correct ones. When a theory is debunked, good theorists form new ones. Freud is to be commended for getting the ball rolling, so to speak.
Too Dumb to Live: As Shichiro points out, any human who would knowingly and willingly work for an illithid is pretty dumb. Frank made it even worse by calling DaPen a "tentacled mutant with weird powers and an eating disorder". He probably should have had sense enough to know that DaPen was listening.
Shira
Punch Clock Villain: As Jinx finds out, his sinister and evil reputation among duelists is a ruse. He does it for money and nothing else.
The Unfought: Averted. While he never got to duel in the actual series, he does so here.
Jill de Lancebeaux
Black Knight: His Mordred the Black Knight card which contains a curse that Edmund implanted that would trigger upon the Golden Castle of Stromberg's destruction.
Failure Hero: Even more so than in the anime, and he has no-one but himself to blame this time. He uses the Golden Castle of Stromberg Field Spell, despite the fact that Gears tells him it's an illegal card. The end of the duel leaves him less heroic than he ever was.
Ye Olde Butcherede Englishe: An interesting case since he only speaks like this in the English version of 5Ds but does so in the series (which use the original versions of the anime for reference)
Trueman
Ambiguous Ending: At the end of Power Primordial, he is seen living as an ordinary civillian but wonders if the world has seen the last of the Messenger of Darkness. Not even he knows what will happen to him in the future.
Killed Off for Real: Is dispatched by the aboleth about midway through Power Primordial for his several failures. This was actually a subversion. It was a ruse set up by the two of them in order to get the Neo Domino Shadowchasers off Trueman's trail.
Pragmatic Villainy: When he uses the Destruction Insurance card, which his employer got from Kodo Kinomiya, he is quick to point out the biggest reason why Kinomiya lost his duel with Aki:
Trueman: I mean really, his opponent was a woman with uncontrollable psychic powers, and he spends the whole duel insulting her?
Wild Card: Changes his deck in each of his encounters with the Neo Domino Shadowchasers.
Bad Liar: Emphasized by Hape when he tries to tell Hape that he isn't afraid of Lareth. (Of course, Yugi could probably have told you that too...)
Crippling Overspecialization: Like the Allies of Justice, the Hellgears have some problems when fighting non-Water opponents. Unlike them however, they have a another tactic that doesn't involve Water opponents at all (See Zerg Rush below)
Evil Counterpart: His Hellgear monsters, who are transformed versions of the Allies of Justice.
Jerkass: Even other members of the Cult of Tharizdun seem to despise him. Hape tells him to his face that he hates him.
The Legions of Hell: Used an Archfiend deck during his first duel with Karl in Torment.
Meaningful Name: His Hellgear monsters. The anti-Water ones are named after powerful devils, while the ones that focus on swarming are named after diabolic infantry.
Painful Transformation: Jalie makes him go through one after he loses in his first duel to Dante, turning him to Nitemare in the process.
Playing with Fire: His Hellgear monsters, which specialize in battling Water monsters.
Zerg Rush: During his second duel with Dante, he focuces on low-leveled Hellgears that focus on swarming the field by summoning extra copies of themselves or fellow Hellgears.
Giese Hunt
Fight Clubbing: His duel with Nichole is like this, in an underground dueling arena, with Shock Collars. He cheats halfway through, telling the owner of the club to switch the collars to maximum power, which the owner does out of fear of going to jail. He still loses.
Also, he keeps a copy of Giant Trunade in his deck, which Nichole is able to use with her Double Spell. (If you know anything about how Giese's deck works, you know that Giant Trunade would be a very potent weapon against it). As for why he has it in his deck at all, Nichole gives an explanation that makes perfect sense: Giese fancies himself an expert on Traps, so he knows how lethal they can be, and would naturally have a card that could be used to foil them.
Giese: Go to Hell? Oh, I’ve been there. It’s not as bad as people say, actually...
He may have meant it as a joke, but it's impossible to say...
Shock Collar: He and Nichole wear these during their duel.
Took a Level in Badass: His Garnecia Earthshaker card, which is a more powerful and retrained version of the card Garnecia Elefantis (a completely weak and outdated card by today's standards).
Took a Level in Jerkass: Coming back from the dead only seems to have made him worse. He uses the same Hunting Deck that he used against Johan in the anime; however, using these cards against Nichole's Amazoness Monsters, which are more or less human, is... disturbing. He doesn't seem at all bothered by it; in fact, it seems to amuse him.
Yami Marik
Evil Counterpart: Aside from being the evil counterpart of the original Marik Ishtar, he uses a deck that is filled with these.
Pot Calling The Kettle Black: Ben says this about him when Marik starts boasting about his monster's effect shortly after lambasting Ben about doing the same thing during his duel with Roxy (which cost him the duel) moments earlier.
Villains Never Lie: What he tells Ben when they first meet is not technically a lie, but it is a gross exaggeration of the truth. He tells Ben that every time he is reborn, someone else has to die. This is true, but the way it actually works isn't as bad a thing as Marik suggests.
Dr. Faker
Early-Bird Cameo: In the epilogue of Ascension, a much younger Faker sends his men to investigate the ruins of the Hellfire Sentinel; they find something that appears to be a "black box" which may have recorded the duel within. It is implied that this is how Faker learned of the existence of the Photon Monsters that his son Kaito would eventually use (and possibly even of the existence of the Barian World where much of his technology originated).
