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Yu-Gi-Oh GX - Joker's Wild

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When one think of Yu-Gi-Oh GX, you think of Jaden, Syrus, Alexis, the other main characters. But what happens when someone wakes up as the Dimitri, the copycat duelist! The year has just started and with a determination to have as much fun as possible, Dimitri is going to change the script! Jaden may be the ace, but Dimitri will be the Joker! Ladies and Gentlemen! It's SHOW TIME!
- Summary on FanFiction

Yu-Gi-Oh GX - Joker's Wild is a Yu-Gi-Oh! GX Self-Insert Fic written by VoidRebirth.

Dimitri Kagurazaka is just one of many Duel Academy students who serve as a Villain of the Week for The Hero to duel and win to serve an important Aesop. But not in this story. After another brutal defeat upon using his copy-style dueling, a random Yu-Gi-Oh! Fanboy is reincarnated in Dimitri's body with no memories of his past life aside from the franchise's media and games. After pondering his future, Dimitri decides to pave the way in the history of Dueling by becoming the world's first Dueltainer and the pioneer of Entertainment Dueling! Ladies and Gentlemen! It's SHOW TIME!

All SPOILERS are unmarked!


Yu-Gi-Oh GX - Joker's Wild provides the following tropes:

  • The Ace: Dimitri likens Jaden to the "ace" in a deck of cards to contrast himself as the "joker".
  • Adaptational Badass: Played with. While Dimitri's dueling skills do get better thanks to his otherworldly knowledge of the Yu-Gi-Oh! card game, he focuses solely on building decks that have gimmicks to bring entertainment but also have enough synergy to win a duel through strategy and luck.
  • Adaptational Context Change: Blair in canon was forced to leave the academy for being too young and only hid her gender/identity to get closer to Zane. In the fic she instead did this because Crowler made her fail because she thought he was a woman and wanted a second chance to get in. This made Zane telling her to leave the academy completely unfair, as Blair actually was supposed to be in the school, and meant that she was able to stay thanks to Crowler being too fired to kick her out again.
  • Adaptational Job Change: Unlike in the Yu-Gi-Oh! anime where Valon is last seen riding off in the horizon, he's revealed in chapter 4 to be a Duel Academy Professor in Duel Advancement Technology and Repair.
  • Adaptational Karma: Unlike canon, Professor Crowler ends up being punished for his illegal attempts to expel Jaden such as the Titan incident.
  • Adaptational Nice Guy:
    • In the canon anime and video games, Taiyou Torimaki was simply a one-note Obelisk Blue snob who stopped being loyal to Chazz after the latter's losing streak. In the fic, he's revealed to have a softer side regarding Baby Dragon and shows actual kindness and respect after his Duel with Dimitri.
    • Downplayed with Chazz. In the canon anime he started as an arrogant and elitist student before getting better through Character Development. In the fic, he's already capable of showing respect to Duelists who can prove their skills and publicly acknowledged Jaden as his rival, much like his canon manga counterpart.
  • Adaptational Protagonist:
    • In the canon anime series, Dimitri was just a Villain of the Week who Jaden usually defeats and reforms. Here, he's the main protagonist with the fic showcasing his journey of becoming the world's first Dueltainer, and a Supporting Protagonist to Jaden's status as the Hero of Another Story.
    • Spirit of the Breeze was simply a Living Prop in the anime, where Chazz is using her only appearance in his Duel against his older brother. In the fic, she's the Deuteragonist and Spirit Advisor to the SI Dimitri along with having an important role of being the messenger for the abandoned cards of the Reject Well.
    • Also, invokedWord of God states that Dimitri will have his own group of friends made up of supported but minor characters and Recurring Extras to contrast with Jaden's group. The first one is Sadie (Seiko in the original dub) in chapter 2. The second one is Belowski (Motegi Mokeo in the original dub) in chapter 3.
  • Adaptation Personality Change: Played with. Due to the themes of being yourself, several Flat Characters reveal that they in fact have Hidden Depths that they were hiding to fit in.
  • Adaptation Relationship Overhaul:
    • Unlike the canon anime, Chazz and Ojama Yellow have no familiarity with each other.
    • Thanks to the SI Dimitri's presence, he slowly gains his own friend group with the other minor characters of the GX series.
  • A Degree in Useless: A variation. Valon is a Professor who teaches Duel Advancement Technology and Repair, but since the students in Duel Academy are mainly interested in either Dueling or other useful academics (along with the class being a new subject), Dimitri is the only one present in his class.
  • Ambiguous Situation: Despite his Reincarnate in Another World status, Dimitri briefly ponders whether or not he's still himself but with memories of a different life or a new person altogether.
  • All of the Other Reindeer: Downplayed, since Dimitri is far from the only one in Duel Academy given this treatment since most Obelisk Blue students looked down on every student who is not in their Dorm, his In-Universe Enforced Method Acting gets him singled out.
  • All or Nothing: As Dimitri tells Spirit of the Breeze as he commands her to attack Taiyou's Luster Dragon #2, it's either "go big or go home" in regards to his declaration of proving everyone wrong of their worth. Also, the "Zero Hesitation/Attack" Deck that Dimitri put together is built on this trope.
  • Ascended Extra: One of the main draws of this fic is how it makes characters who have next to no presence in canon and makes them the main characters. Dimitri went from a one episode villain to the protagonist, Taiyou went from a one-note Obelisk Student elitist to a recurring rival character, Sadie went from a “cute friendly mascot girl” to the first of Dimitri’s group, Belowski went from a random kid with powers to The Lancer, etc.
  • Ascended Fanboy: Upon deciding his new goal in life, the SI Dimitri cites Yuya Sasaki and Joey Wheeler as his main sources of inspiration through the use of entertainment and unorthodox Decks. Obviously, Dimitri would eventually succeed in his new dream of creating Entertainment Dueling. In addition, he shares Yusei Fudo's belief that "no card is useless" and demonstrates his ability to win Duels with his first Deck filled with Monster Cards containing only a base of 0 ATK.
  • Beneath the Mask:
    • While interacting with Sadie during her off-time, Dimtri learns that she has a more sassy side to her "friendly cute mascot girl".
    • As Dimitri notes when interacting with Belowski, the latter is much more aware of what little time in youth he has left to enjoy before growing up to become a functioning adult in society than what his Mellow Fellow personality would suggest.
  • Berserk Button: Played for Laughs. One of the things that can anger Dimitri is seeing how Duelists threw away Monster Cards with useful effects simply for having weak ATK and DEF stats. This is lampshaded by many characters who know Dimitri.
  • Borrowed Catchphrase: Dimitri invokes Yuya Sasaki's catchphrase, "Ladies and gentlemen!" and "It's SHOW TIME!", as part of his Entertainment Dueling. He also uses Yusei's catchphrase of how "no card is useless".
  • Bystander Syndrome: Justified. While Dimitri isn't one to avoid helping others, he explicitly states in narration to avoid Jaden and his group regarding the more life-and-death canon events heading their way.
  • Card Cycling: A variation. Aside from having the usual Draw Extra Cards like Pot of Greed and Graceful Charity, one of Dimtiri's favorite tactics with the "Zero Hesitation/Attack" Deck is using Last Will to summon any monster from his Deck with 1500 or less ATK after sending a monster he controls to the graveyard via tributing or card effect.
  • Character-Driven Strategy:
    • Similar to the Yu-tagonists, the SI Dimitri builds and plays multiple Decks, but they fall under two categories, "Gimmick" and "Survival".
      • For the "Gimmick" Decks, all of them revolve around using Monster Cards of various colorful appearances that follow a theme, yet are capable of pulling a win through careful strategy, synergy, and luck. This not only befits his Wild Card status but also showcases his desire to stand out by demonstrating his own brand of dueling, all while giving his all to entertain the crowd. The fact that all of the cards originally belonged to students who view them as worthless and discard them in the Reject Well reflects Dimitri's status as a rising star after hitting rock bottom and proclaiming his philosophy that "no card is useless." For example, Dimitri's first deck is called the "Zero Hesitation/Attack" Deck. It consists entirely of random Monster Cards with a base ATK of 0. However, these cards can still overcome the opponent by switching their ATK and DEF through card effects, or by having their own useful effects that boost their ATK. The deck operates as an all-or-nothing gamble, and whether Dimitri wins or loses depends on how he plays. This deck demonstrates Dimitri's fresh start and highlights the value of seemingly weak cards when played correctly. While challenging to make it work, it can be a fun and rewarding strategy. The fact that his "anti-synergy" cards are Fiend and Spellcaster-types with notably creepy designs (such as Chaos Necromancer, Jester Lord, Relinquished, and Thousand-Eyes Restrict) not only shows just how "out of place" they are in his deck but shows that he isn't a one-trick pony.
      • For the "Survival" Decks, they're focused more on using strategies and tactics that would minimize the luck factor in drawing cards and help Dimitri end the duel as quickly as possible. Befitting their name, it represents Dimitri intending to "survive" life-or-death encounters with the upcoming villains of the GX series.
    • In Chapter 1, Taiyou uses a Dragon Beatdown Deck to demonstrate his status as an Obelisk Blue student and his elitist mindset. Later, in Chapter 3, he changes his Deck into a Dragon Strategy Deck by incorporating Mirage Dragon and various Trap Cards like Dragon's Bind to counter Dimitri's stall and swarm tactics, limiting his options to set up his main strategy of switching ATK and DEF. He also focuses less on using strong ATK Dragon monsters for a Finishing Move and would use weaker monsters like Baby Dragon to defeat his opponents. This development highlights his character growth after being humbled and inspired by Dimitri in Chapter 1.
  • Coming of Age Story: The fic focuses on SI Dimitri's journey to become the world's first Dueltainer and invent Entertainment Dueling.
  • Commonality Connection: While the two of them are quite different in temperament, both Dimitri and Belowski quickly became friends due to their perchance for a fun Duel and having the ability to perceive Duel Spirits.
  • Composite Character: All of the GX characters' personalities and Decks are a blend of their canon anime and manga characterization. As seen with Chazz in chapter 3, he still has his arrogant personality from the anime but also the more reasonable and respectful traits from the manga. In addition, Chazz doesn't own or play Ojama Yellow and has Light and Darkness Dragon as his ace, just like in the manga.
  • Confusion Fu: Before the unnamed SI reincarnates into Dimitri, the latter was playing a copy of Joey's luck-based deck but lost because he did not have the same luck as the original. After reincarnating as Dimitri, he decides to base his strategies on being bizarre to break away from competitive Pro-Dueling. He invents Entertainment Dueling to bring back the "fun" in dueling. His opponents will assume he will be using the same strategy and tactics. However, they will be surprised when he pulls off something much different.
    Unnamed Obelisk Blue student: (After Dimitri destroys Millenium Shield and summons Chaos Necromancer) "W-Wait a minute. Weren't you going to u-use a defence swap strategy?"
    [Dimitri would tilt his head an innocent smile on his face.]
    Dimitri: "Hmmm? What do you mean? This isn't a Defence attack deck." [He would gain a grin as he pointed forward.] "It's a Zero Attack Deck! Chaos Necromancer! Finish this with Marionette Burial!"
    [The necromancer would laugh loudly as he nodded and pointed forward. The puppets of all his other monsters would rush forward and dog pile the Obelisk Blue as he screamed.]
    Unnamed Obelisk Blue student: "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
  • Cute Monster Girl: Spirit of the Breeze is Dimitri's current Duel Spirit partner, and is a beautiful young female fairy with green skin.
  • Decomposite Character: Like his canon manga counterpart, Chazz doesn't own or use the Ojama archetype in his Deck. Nor did he ever own or use Ojama Yellow. Instead, the Ojamas is played by the SI Dimitri.
  • Defeat Means Friendship: After their Duel and leaving a few words of encouragement, both Dimitri and Taiyou developed a Friendly Rivalry.
  • Demoted to Extra: Justified. Since the fic follows Dimitri's POV and his journey to become the world's first Dueltainer, Jaden and his friends are rarely in the spotlight.
  • Difficult, but Awesome: The basis of Dimitri's Dueltainer philosophy, where he would create Decks containing the most random of cards that follow a theme and are nonetheless capable of pulling a win through careful thinking and being unpredictable to the opponent.
    • Dimitri's "Zero Hesitation/Attack" Deck has no archetype and 0 ATK monsters, but if played correctly, will allow him to win against his opponent. During the discussion about his current Deck with Sadie in Chapter 2, he tells her of at least two of his cards, Chaos Necromancer and Relinquished have effects that don't synergize with his main ATK / DEF switch strategy, with one such example being if they attack an opponent's monster while Lindbloom is on field. However, the "anti-synergy" cards are necessary to prevent him from becoming a one-trick pony if his main strategy fails.
  • Downer Beginning: The story starts with Dimitri suffering yet another brutal defeat by an Obelisk Blue student. But in the short period where he lay unconscious, the unnamed SI reincarnates in Dimitri's body.
  • Everyone Has Standards:
    • At Duel Academy, many students often discard weak and common cards in the Reject Well without any issue. However, even they were surprised to learn from Dimitri that someone had thrown away a rare and useful card like "Relinquished".
      Taiyou: "…You know, I'm starting to understand your dislike for people throwing away cards."
      Dimitri: "I know! I mean, I get the whole 'get the strong cards' but any card has use. And the well shows not the cards issue but the duelist's issue with he cards! Someone looked at Relinquished, a staple monster of Maximillion Pegasus, and said 'It's bad'."
    • While the SI Dimitri views any card, no matter how weak, as worth using in a Deck, he does find Thousand-Eyes Restrict's effect to equip monsters to be rather creepy after seeing how it assimilates the monster.
    • While Sadie already doesn't like Professor Crowler due to his elitist mindset and pettiness to begin with, she gets incredibly mad when learning from Dimitri that he went so far as to hire an S-ranked criminal to scare Jaden, and intends to expose his crime. Hell, her outburst is enough to make Hiita the Fire Charmer to be spooked.
      Sadie: (Death Glare) "Crowler. I never liked him but now? He's on my shit list. To hire a fucking criminal over his bruised ego!? Why I should wring his scrawny clown neck!"
      Hiita: "…And I thought I got angry at times…"
    • After Crowler got canned for hiring Titan, even the people who agreed with his mindset about the “Slifer Slackers” were appalled by his actions.
  • Eyes Always Shut: As seen in her artwork, Spirit of the Breeze always keeps her eyes closed.
  • Family of Choice: According to Aussa, none of the Charmers are biologically related to each other besides Dharc and Lyna, but do see each other as a found family due to sharing the same magic teacher.
  • Fan of the Underdog: Invoked by the SI Dimitri in chapter 3. He cites Joey Wheeler as his favorite Duelist for being able to rise to the greats of Yugi Muto and Seto Kaiba using luck-based cards, unpredictable strategies, and coming from a more humble background.
    Dimitri: "What? He's quite literally the best definition of the underdog story. I still am a big fan of Yugi Moto. He's the king of games for a reason! And Seto Kaiba was the one to redefine Duel Monsters! But unlike all of the other duelists, Joey never had the same status yet would constantly rise to the top! Runner up of Duelist Kingdom! Semi-finalist of Battle City! He started off as an ordinary guy but now lives in history as one of the best duelists ever! So if I had to pick a favourite, definitely Joey Wheeler."
    Midori: "The fact that he's also an unpredictable duelist also appeals to you as well, right?"
    Dimitri: "Heh. You got me. The man is uses luck as a tool and makes it work! And truly… everyone underestimates him too much. I see him as an inspiration."
  • Fair-Weather Friend: After Taiyou's defeat by Dimitri in chapter 1, Chazz's other lackey, Raizou no longer wants to hang with him after "losing to a Ra Reject".
  • Fighting Clown: Dimitri's style of dueling as a Dueltainer revolves around making the audience feel entertained while also using unorthodox strategies with big risks. To some of his opponents, it's more of an annoyance.
  • Foil:
    • The SI Dimitri is an obvious one to Jaden.
      • Dimitri is a Supporting Protagonist while Jaden is The Hero.
      • Whereas Dimitri is aiming to become the world's first Entertainment Duelist, Jaden intends to be the next King of Games.
      • While both of them are reincarnations of a past life, Jaden was the Supreme King whereas Dimitri is an unnamed Fanboy of the Yu-Gi-Oh! series.
      • Dimitri plays a Deck with random cards that synergize with each other and follow a theme while Jaden's deck is an archetype based on the American comic book Superheroes.
      • Whereas Jaden is Born Lucky, Dimitri makes his own luck.
      • They both have spirit partners in the form of weak Fairy-type monsters with useful effects. Whereas Winged Kuriboh was gifted to Jaden from Yugi Muto, Dimitri simply got Spirit of the Breeze from the Reject Well after she was tossed away by an unnamed student.
    • For Spirit of the Breeze, she serves as a contrast to both Winged Kuriboh and Yubel.
      • While both she and Winged Kuriboh are weak Fairy-type monsters with useful effects, her effect allows Dimitri to Heal Thyself for every Standby Phase in attack mode while Winged Kuriboh's effect prevents any battle damage inflicted on Jaden for the rest of the turn after he gets destroyed. Spirit of the Breeze is a Cute Monster Girl while Winged Kuriboh is a Ridiculously Cute Critter. Winged Kuriboh is part of the Series Mascot of Yu-Gi-Oh! while Spirit of the Breeze is simply a random Monster Card. Lastly, while Winged Kuriboh originally belonged to the King of Games before being gifted to Jaden, Spirit of the Breeze originally belonged to a random Duel Academy student before being abandoned by them in the Reject Well and later founded by Dimitri.
      • Regarding Yubel, both of them are Winged Humanoids with 0 ATK and having effects that involve Life Point manipulation. While Yubel's effect allows her to act as an Attack Reflector for any battle damage inflicted on Jaden through her in battle, Spirit of the Breeze's effect allows her to heal Dimitri while in a stationary attack mode for every of his Standby Phase. While Spirit of the Breeze looks like an attractive Green-Skinned Space Babe, Yubel has a much more androgynous and fearsome design that gets more grotesque in their evolutionary cards. Spirit of the Breeze is a Nice Girl while Yubel is a manipulative, sadistic Jerkass. They both have Dark and Troubled Past with abandonment issues, but as Spirit of the Breeze moves on from her previous owner and is happy with her new companion Dimitri and enjoys performing along with him in Duels, Yubel only loves Jaden and is hurt by his abandonment, which gets twisted after being painfully exposed to the Light of Destruction, leading to them intending to cause Jaden as much pain as possible in return as a demented form of love. While Spirit of the Breeze is a common Monster Card available to everyone, Yubel is a one-of-a-kind Monster Card who refuses to be used by anyone other than Jaden. Finally, Spirit of the Breeze originally had an owner before being abandoned whereas Yubel had always belonged to Jaden.
    • As a whole, Dimitri's group of friends is a contrast to Jaden's group, being comprised of entirely Recurring Extras or One-Shot Characters.
  • Friendly Rivalry: Dimitri gains a friendly rivalry with Taiyou after Chapter 1, with the two enjoying the back and forth of their Duels and wishing to see the other bringing more surprises in future ones.
  • Freudian Trio: invokedWord of God describes Dimitri (Id), Sadie (Superego), and Belowski (Ego) as this in the author's notes of chapter 3.
  • Generation Xerox: Before learning his name, Dimtri notes that Valon looks and acts like a grown-up Jaden Yuki.
  • Graceful Loser: As part of his new philosophy in Entertainment Dueling, Dimitri will take a loss with grace so long as he and his opponent have a good time in their Duel.
    Sadie: "…What about when you do lose? You were on a losing streak before. Wouldn't you get upset if you lose again?"
    [Sadie had seen it multiple times. The confidence and cockiness of Obelisk Blues before breaking down in frustration. Dimitri would pause before he chuckled sheepishly.]
    Dimitri: "No. Because I'm finally being myself. I was copying person after person to duel beforehand. Not a bad idea if I want to put on a show. Only… I did it to try to win. If anything, I'm more thankful I lost because I may have gone down a path where I would never be myself. Now? I just want to have fun. Even if I face the biggest defeat, at least I gave it my all and put on the best show I could."
  • Grail in the Garbage: Downplayed. When taking all of the cards out of the Reject Well, Dimitri is exasperated by how many of them are valuable in a Duel if used correctly. By chapter 3, Dimitri, Belowski, and Sadie eventually found an entire set of the Charmer archetype.
    Like, who the hell threw out these cards!? With the right combo, they're a danger! There was Relinquished down there! FUCKING RELINQUISHED! One of the aces of Pegasus for Ra's sake!
  • Hero of Another Story: Jaden and his group of friends are the heroes of another story while the fic focuses on Dimitri and his journey to become the world's first Dueltainer. In addition, while he isn’t opposed to helping them, Dimitri has no interest in befriending Jaden and his group due to not wanting to get involved in the life-threatening events of the canon events coming their way.
    Dimitri: "Here’s the plan. We’ll work on our decks, improve our dueling, and then we can help out. But truthfully? We aren’t exactly needed for their problems."
  • Homeless Hero: Downplayed. While Dimitri isn't homeless, he starts off the fic with little DP upon checking his account when planning to get new cards. Instead, basing his knowledge on the anime, Dimitri heads off to the Reject Well to gather cards for his brand-new start. By chapter 2, it's subverted as Dimitri managed to raise enough DP after dueling and winning for three days without a break.
  • Inspirational Insult: Instead of feeling hurt by being called a "reject", the SI Dimitri wears it with pride to validate his new status as a Dueltainer.
    Dimitri: (to Spirit of the Breeze) "I know more than anyone how it feels to be a reject… and I accept that title with honour! Because reject doesn't mean failure! It means following your own path different from the rest!"
  • Invisible to Normals: Like in the canon series, Muggles can't perceive Duel Spirits unless it's through some ritual. From Sadie's point-of-view until she gains the ability to see the Duel Spirits herself, she's weirded out by how Dimitri and Belowski are "talking to themselves" when it's really to the Duel Spirits around them.
  • Let No Crisis Go to Waste: After successfully ousting Professor Crowler for hiring Titan to expel Jaden, it's revealed that the now-fired professor has already called in the Paradox Brothers for the planned expulsion tag-battle duel. Seeing a potential business opportunity here, Sadie takes full advantage of this by having Duel Academy host an official tournament in the future.
  • Logical Weakness: Despite Dimitri's "Zero Hesitation/Attack" Deck being unpredictable, they're still a mash-up of random (but effective) cards that rely on draw power, stalling, and luck. This means if the opponent were to pick apart at any critical point of Dimitri's key strategies or just outlast his tactics, then it would be an instant loss on his end. Taiyou manages to beat Dimitri in chapter 3 simply by using Mirage Dragon to shut down Scrap-Iron Scarecrow, using plenty of removal destruction effects, and simply being lucky that his opponent isn't able to use the attack and defense swap strategy. Also, since all of Dimitri's Monster Cards have 0 ATK, none of them would be able to take down any of the opposing monsters or damage the opposing Duelist's Life Points on their own if their effects, or Dimitri's other card effects, don't work.
  • Lovely Assistant: The Spirit of the Breeze serves as this for Dimitri's Dueltainer routine, which they both lampshaded.
    Dimitri: "That was fun, wasn't it? Well, time to wrap up this turn with a lovely assistant, shall we? I summon in attack mode… Spirit of the Breeze!"
    [As he said that, the green skinned fairy appeared as she extended out her angel like wings. Her eyes were still closed as she smiled.]
    Spirit of the Breeze: "My. What a treat it is to be summoned in attack mode." [She then turned to Dimitri with a coy smile.] "And… lovely assistant?"
    Dimitri: (winking) "Hey. I say it as it is."
  • Named In The Adaptation: Downplayed. All of the Only One Name characters have their original Japanese names served as their surnames.
  • "Not Making This Up" Disclaimer: In-Universe. When Taiyou asked Dimitri where he got Relinquished, he responded as follows:
    Dimitri: (Deadpan) "The reject well. And no, I’m not kidding."
  • O.C. Stand-in: Basically, the entire fic focuses on minor and obscure characters of the Yu-Gi-Oh! GX series and give them more nuance and depth.
  • Only Sane Woman: Downplayed with Sadie, who is this when she isn’t acting just as crazy as Dimitri and Belowski.
  • Past-Life Memories: Downplayed. Aside from his knowledge of the Yu-Gi-Oh! franchise, Dimitri can't remember any other detail of his past life.
  • Patchwork Fic: The setting of the fic generally starts in the Yu-Gi-Oh! GX anime series, but it combines elements of its manga adaptation such as Chazz's more respectful personality and the existence of the Hibiki siblings. In addition, characters of the non-canon spinoff manga, Yu-Gi-Oh! R, and the videogames also exist and, to Dimitri's surprise, cards that were not yet available in the GX era. Repeatedly Lampshaded by Dimitri due to his meta knowledge.
  • Playing with Fire: While Sadie hasn't played Duel Monsters yet, her current Deck is filled with FIRE Attribute monsters with effects that inflict Effect Damage to the opponent.
  • Protagonist Without a Past: The SI couldn't remember anything of his past life or what his world was like other than anything related to Yu-Gi-Oh!.
  • Recursive Fic: invokedWord of God stated that the fic was inspired by several other GX fanfics they read; mainly CaioCoia's Why am I Syrus? but also 0 Jordinio 0's Stacking The Deck and LeafyLeaf's A Frog Out Of Water – Yu-Gi-Oh GX. The author notes in Chapter 5 cites Crobbo's The Greatest Showman and Emblemfan1's Staying in the Background as sources of inspiration.
  • Related in the Adaptation:
    • Ms. Dorothy is Sadie's grandmother in the fic.
    • Justified with Dharc and Lyna of the Charmers Archetype being depicted as siblings in the fic as it's the Duel Spirits that take on the form of them rather than the archetype's in-game lore.
    • Ghost Kotsuzuka (Bonz) is Mindy's older brother.
    • Dimtri's parents are none other than Arkana and Catherine.
  • Rousing Speech: Dimitri gives one to the cards of the Reject Well.
    Dimitri: "Don't call [Reject Well] that. I know more than anyone how it feels to be a reject… and I accept that title with honour! Because reject doesn't mean failure! It means following your own path different from the rest! Every card has it's use… it's just finding the right combination! My name is Dimitri Kagurazaka! And my dream is to become the world's first real Dueltainer! An entertainer who duels for pure enjoyment and spectacle! With the craziest decks anyone has ever seen! And I am asking if you are willing to join me!"
  • Running Gag: Every time Dimitri finds incredibly good cards being thrown away and goes on a tirade.
    Aussa: (about Dimitri) "…Is he always like this?"
    Belowski: "Pretty much."
  • Ship Tease: Between Dimitri and Sadie.
  • Smug Snake: While barring a few exceptions, the Obelisk Blue students have a reputation of arrogance for being the top students in Duel Academy, both for their wealthy backgrounds and owning rare and strong Monster Cards. However, whenever they encounter a Duelist who successfully counters their usual beatdown strategy and is on the brink of defeat, they promptly display their cowardice and fear. This is lampshaded by Sadie in her thoughts in chapter 2.
  • Spirit Advisor: Spirit of the Breeze serves as this to Dimitri regarding Duel Spirits and informs him of any new cards being thrown away in the Reject Well.
  • Start My Own: Dimitri's new goal in life is to create a new type of Dueling style that focuses on entertainment rather than battle competition.
  • Stealth Pun: Even after the SI Dimitri decides on his new life goal, he still copies other Yu-Gi-Oh! characters' goals, catchphrases, and philosophy but puts his own spin on it to truly be his own person. In effect, the SI Dimitri is the embodiment of "Good artists copy, great artists steal".
  • Stone Wall: Dimitri's "Zero Hesitation/Attack" and "Charms of Change" Decks involve stalling his opponent's attacks until he manages to get all the cards needed to mount a counterattack and win.
  • Teacher's Unfavorite Student: While the Slifer Red students serve as this to Professor Crowler (especially Jaden), the SI Dimitri also finds himself in the man's ire for actually winning against the Obelisk Blue students while using a "gimmick-based" Deck, which he sees as a mockery. Luckily, the other faculty such as Midori Hibiki, Professor Sartyr, and Chancellor Sheppard is often there to prevent Crowler from having his way of either expelling or obstructing Dimitri in a meaningful way.
  • Throw the Dog a Bone: Arkana, of all people. Following the events of Battle City, Yugi was able to save him from the Shadow Realm and he was able to reconnect with Catherine, who revealed she was pregnant when they separated. He now has a happy family.
  • To Be a Master: In a different way than every other Duel Academy student. Instead of aiming to be the King of Games, Dimitri announces his ambition to be the world's first Dueltainer.
  • Touched by Vorlons: After picking up Fox Fire, Sadie gains the ability to perceive Duel Spirits, much to her shock at the end of chapter 3.
  • Trauma Button: Arkana had developed one for Duel Monsters following his time in the Shadow Realm.
  • Villain Respect: While Chazz isn't a villain, he does belong in the Obelisk Blue Dorm where they have a reputation of being spoiled Smug Snakes with a low tolerance for those who merely see Duel Monsters as simply fun game. However, he does show respect to Duelists who can back up their words and beliefs with skill, such as Jaden and later Dimitri.
  • Weak, but Skilled: All the Monster Cards in Dimitri's "Zero Hesitation/Attack" Deck have 0 ATK. But he can beat the opposition thanks to a combination of synergy, unorthodox strategies, useful Card Effects, and The Magic Poker Equation.
  • Wild Card: It's in the title of the fic, with Dimitri aiming to be the "Joker" to Jaden's "Ace" with his bizarre strategies and gimmick-based decks.
    Why couldn't he do that? If he didn't have a specific deck, why not make the most bizarre and crazy decks around? If Jaden was going to be the ace in the hole for Duel Academy, then Dimitri was going to be the Joker! The wild card who no one can predict!

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