History FanFic / YuGiOhTheThousandYearDoor

** The more serious one was [[spoiler:Damien, one of the original Shadow Spawn. He used SexualExtortion (maybe even a ScarpiaUltimatum) against at least one female citizen of Arcadia in the past. (Given who he was related too, he likely did it a lot.) However, he talked in his sleep, and the victim learned about the Spell of Despair that way, and had the courage to tell someone who told Artorigus. If not for Damien's horrid act, the most vital part of her plan would have been kept secret and she likely would have been victorious.)

* ViceCity: Best describes Madripoor, Raven's home. A small municipality that was originally settled by bloodthirsty pirates, it's entire government is corrupt, and unlike Arcadia, make no effort to hide how they oppress the citizens. The Queen is an unofficial ally who supplies them with magical defenses and fundings, which is the likely reason they never face comeuppance from the international community.

* UnholyMatrimony: The Queen's relationship with Lyrius seemed to be this way, at least in part. His story is told more completely in 7th Librarian's fanfic "Shadowchaser's Twice-Told Tales".

See also FanFic/YuGiOhDarkMessiah and the {{FanFic/Shadowchasers}} series.

* [[DarkIsNotEvil Dark Is Not]] ObviouslyEvil: Vladmir, the Shadow Spawn of Darkness. Among the Spawn, and most of the Queen's servants, he's the nicest of the bunch. Although he still wants to defeat our heroes and free the Queen.
* DarkerAndEdgier: Vivian, who is a card and a Duel Spirit in this fic, willingly confesses in ''Redux'' that her true past was nothing like what it was in the video game version, and that she was not nearly as innocent as the game portrayed her. She calls the game "the sugar-coated, PG-rated version".

** Merlow is at least 500 years old, possibly older. Rudwilla claims that he's been protecting her family for that long.
* RipVanWinkle: Gloomtail seems to be in this situation. He is apparently unaware of just how much time has passed since he originally fought the Three Heroes, and believes Francesca to be her ancestor. Seeing as Francesca's ancestor was the one who killed Hooktail, seeing her [[EvenEvilHasLovedOnes infuriates him]].
* RunningGag: In the original, Andy ends up facing people who utilize Dark Necrofear several times, which he lampshades and finds very annoying.
** Anyone who sees Cosmo Queen for the first time utters "[[NiceHat Neat hat.]]" (This gag is actually universal in YGO fanfics.)

* ReversePsychology: In ''Redux'', when Kyle and Drake run into Merlow while trying to escape, he gives them the directions they need although they expected him to convince them to go back, in which Merlow makes a comment regarding free will and fate. [[spoiler: Later on, when they arrive to the Door, instead of escaping Drake convinces Kyle of an idea he though up based on the advice Merlow had given them.]]

* BossRush: Andy, Stan, and Fran get to battle the Shadow Spawn again during thier treck into the Palace of Shadow. Although they get small rests betwen fights, they cannot leave their general area until all six of them have fallen.

* RhetoricalQuestionBlunder: This exchange during the FinalBattle:

* ContinuityCameo: In ''Redux'', Hyde Vayne from the Shadowcasers universe makes an appearance as Andy's final Crystal Card opponent which establishes ''Redux'' and the Shadowchaser series as being part of the same universe.

* TooDumbToLive: It's only a conjecture on Pennington's part, but apparently, [[spoiler:when the Arcadian parliament is surrounded by the resistance army with no way out, they break into Grodus' office and steal one his summoning books, and then attempt to use a spell to call for aid, despite having no experience or training whatsoever in such matters. Pennington says that what likely happened was a cross between ''Franchise/{{Hellraiser}}'' and ''Website/TheDarwinAwards'', something that General White finds difficult to picture, and it results in the Court of Pandemonium being summoned.]]

** Merlow may also qualify to some extent. In the original version, he provided assistance to the protagonists inside the Palace of Shadow. In '"Redux'' however, his role is taken by Count Bleck instead. Although he ''is'' given a new role as a leader of a resistance force that fights the Shadow Queen's forces outside the Palace of Shadow.

* UnholyMatrimony: This is hinted at, but not confirmed. The Queen's first [[TheDragon Dragon]] was an as-yet unnamed dark warrior one-thousand years ago. The true nature of their relationship has not yet been spelled out, but they were probably lovers at least. He is mentioned in an open narrative by Leopold (who tells how he was killed by a traitor in the Queen's army) and his story is told more completely in Seventh Librarian's fanfic "Shadowchaser's Twice-Told Tales".

* [[spoiler:DolledUpInstallment: This was what ''VideoGame/PaperMarioTheThousandYearDoor was, in-universe, compared to what actually happened a thousand years ago. In modern times, the would-be traitor Lan'tao tried to make money [[IShouldWriteABookAboutThis by writing a novel about the conflict]], but ironically, an agent told him it was a cliché. He tried to make it unique by combining the events of the past conflict with modern ones, adding many modern personalities to Arcadia to the story (making it an in-universe example of a PragmaticAdaptation) but it still wouldn't sell. Eventually, someone suggested taking it to Nintendo. They liked the basic storyline, but wanted to change it, making it a LighterAndSofter version for a younger audience with their [[SeriesMascot company mascot]] as the star. Being an unknown author, Lan'tao really couldn't argue. Ironically, it was a hit. (The Queen has mixed feelings about it; as she says, she found it silly, but it did keep the ruse for the tournament alive for awhile.)]]

* [[spoiler:DolledUpInstallment: This was what ''VideoGame/PaperMarioTheThousandYearDoor was, in-universe, compared to what actually happened a thousand years ago. In modern times, the would-be traitor Lan'tao tried to make money [[IShouldWriteABookAboutThis by writing a novel about the conflict, but ironically, an agent told him it was a cliché. He tried to make it unique by combining the events of the past conflict with modern ones, adding many modern personalities to Arcadia to the story (making it an in-universe example of a PragmaticAdaptation) but it still wouldn't sell. Eventually, someone suggested taking it to Nintendo. They liked the basic storyline, but wanted to change it, making it a LighterAndSofter version for a younger audience with their [[SeriesMascot company mascot]] as the star. Being an unknown author, Lan'tao really couldn't argue. Ironically, it was a hit. (The Queen has mixed feelings about it; as she says, she found it silly, but it did keep the ruse for the tournament alive for awhile.)]]

* ArrogantKungFuGuy: Ushio. He entered Battle City just to defeat Yugi Moto's Dark Magiciain to prove his cards were better.

See also the Characters/YuGiOhTheThousandYearDoor character page which really NeedsMoreLove. And for the author's own Troper Page, [[Tropers/{{Maedar}} look here.]]

* BossRush: Andy, Stan, and Fran get to battle the Shadow Spawn again during thier treck into the Palace of Shadow. Although they get small rests betwen fights, they cannot leave thier general area until all six of them have fallen.

** Ironically ''Redux'' is the one that gives her a more tragic and sympathetic backstory in the form of her [[spoiler: losing her two younger brothers in unfortunate events: One from exhaustion and one from an accident.]] Doesn't even make more her sympathetic one bit.

* ExiledFromContinuity: Quite a good number of the characters from the original version are completely absent from ''Redux'' and are replaced with new characters. The biggest case of this being important is the removal of Wanda Underwood, as she was a finalist in the original version. (See OldShame below for the reasons why.)
** Not to mention that from the looks of things, if recent spin-offs from other authors are to go by; the original version itself has been completely removed from the Shadowchaser continuity, with ''Redux'' being the new basis from now on.

** Vladimir mentions once that the EvilOverlordList is ''incredibly'' easy to look up on the internet, but for some strange reason, real evil overlords rarely read it or follow any of the advice on it.

* IWarnedYou: Raven uses The Thief in the Shadows to steal Vivian from Stan during their rematch. Stan warns her not to summon Vivian. Naturally, Raven ignores his warning and summons Vivian. During her next turn, Raven orders Vivian to attack Stan. Vivian instead attacks Raven.

** The room in which Stan duels the Prophecy Destroyer bears a resemblance to a certain infamous arena in Main/MortalKombat, and when he tries to question the Queen about it later on, she protests that it was the video game developers who copied from ''her'', as she had created the place ''way'' before video games were a thing.

** In Drake's duel with Sea Serpent Warrior of Darkness, the Duel Spirit makes a not-too-subtle reference to ''VideoGame/{{Portal}}'' and the fact that it is the TropeNamer for TheCakeIsALie, leading Drake to believe that he is ''admitting'' that the finalists are being led to their doom.