OOC INFORMATION Player: Elisabet Age: 21 Personal Journal:nacreousdream Contact Info: plurk: nacreous dream aim: please ask Other Characters: N/A
IC INFORMATION Character’s Name: Michael Arclight (aka “III”) Age: 15 Canon: Yu-gi-oh! ZeXal Canon Point: Episode 122 Species: Human Gender: Male/Male Orientation: Unknown? He has yet to display romantic or sexual interest in anyone, and the bulk of his meaningful relationships are familial. The only person with whom he is close outside of his family is a younger boy. Given his age and sheltered life, he’s probably not given the subject much thought in the first place, either, so honestly he’d likely be willing to give anyone a shot if he truly had feelings for them.
Michael Arclight (III) | Yu-gi-oh! ZeXal | Reserved
History: (I apologise if these links cause any confusion—the wikia prioritises dub names over original names.) ~ here & here ~
Appearance: Slightly petite for his age, Michael is roughly 160cm. He's somewhat shorter than his eldest brother was at the same age. Though, to be fair, his brother is ridiculously tall. Michael also takes after his father less than his brothers. He's slight and more on the lithe side, so an educated guess at his weight would put him at around 45kg. He has short, two-toned pink hair, with a lighter rose on top and a burnished maroon beneath. Three sections of whorled bangs frame his rather large, rather expressive green eyes. In general, Michael tends towards brighter tones and colours in his choice of clothing. In a word, he's cute.
Personality: Michael is a well-natured, well-mannered, and well-meaning young man. He's the youngest brother of the Arclight siblings and, as could be expected, he exhibits several symptoms of being the last-born. It is fairly obvious that he is the favourite child. Even when he and his brothers were much younger, he would be given gifts when his brothers were not. (Incidentally, these gifts would be cards related to things that their father was researching. These cards would become Michael's favourites, and so he is greatly influenced what by his father devoted his life to.) This favouritism caused some tension with his older brother Thomas—the middle child—but it's easy to see that any strife this may have caused, did not cause serious physical altercations or engender ill-feelings between the brothers. If anything Thomas' jealousy has subliminated over the years into part of his nuanced inferiority complex but, as for Michael, he does not naturally hold grudges for things done against him. (For things done against his family, however—that is a more complicated matter.) He is also nothing but loyal, loving, and protective of his brothers. In fact he cherishes time spent with them and derives pleasure from doing things for them. Though that isn't to say that he isn't above manipulating them from time to time. He knows that he can, and that they will let him. As such, he's not used to being told no. This of course causes problems.
Other tell-tale signs of being the baby of the family he displays include being slightly spoilt, being sensitive to others in the extreme, being slightly touchy-feeling (tactile), being eager to please, being a bit of a show-off, being used to being afforded some respect, and being more highly favoured. Michael is afforded more respect than Thomas by both their older brother, Chris, and their father, Tron. He does not gloat about being considered more reliable than Thomas, but that does not mean that being treated in such a way does not go to his head. He takes his role in the family's mission very seriously, but then this is also due to his dutiful nature.
The thing is, Michael is extremely easy to manipulate in the right circumstances. Tron takes advantage of this when he needs to have Yuuma removed from the field to ensure that his plans are secure. At this time Tron is no longer the father figure Michael recalls from his memories—Tron used to be Byron Arclight, a highly intelligent, highly respected, and highly successful scientist who worked with physics and different dimension theories. Byron was partners with a man named Dr Faker, for whom Michael's brother Christopher was also working as an assistant. Eventually Dr Faker sacrificed the lives of Byron and Yuuma's father in order to gain access to an alternate dimension known as the Barian realm, from whence he acquired the power to save the life of his youngest son, Haruto. This act orphaned Michael and his brothers. Chris attempted to find his father while Michael and Thomas were sent to stay in an orphanage. When Chris was unable to find their father, he left Heartland with his brothers.
That was until their father miraculously reappeared—or at least someone like him did. What they got back in their lives was not their father Byron, but a child-like man named Tron. Because Byron had fallen into the cracks between the dimensions, he had roamed there and been transformed into a diminutive figure with no sense of compunction. The only thing Tron says he can feel is the need for revenge, though he cannot feel hate or rage, not in anyway that matters. He needs his sons to feel these emotions for him.
So this is where Michael's sensitivity comes into play. Michael is fiercely loyal and protective of his family, and when Tron declares that their mission is revenge against Dr Faker, Michael really takes that message to heart. At one point he declares that he has no capacity for anything other than revenge, that all he can feel is hate. He says this even as he is in the midst of crying after breaking down and realising that his family is no longer what it once was, and it isn't how he wants it to be. He is convinced that the only way to save his family and make them happy again is to defeat Yuuma and sacrifice Dr Faker's son, Haruto. And though he is firmly convicted about doing anything necessary for the family's cause, at times he seems hesitant or to be having moral qualms. After witnessing Yuuma's duelling first hand, Michael grows interested in Yuuma. Unlike his brothers, he senses that something is different between what drives Yuuma, and what drives them. And what is different is, is their motivation—they are all fighting to protect something dear, but their methods are very much different. That is, Yuuma would not hurt someone for the sake of his mission. Michael is able to realise this, and he accepts that Yuuma would never fight for revenge, and he admires Yuuma, but in the end he remains loyal to his family and his goal to save them, and so challenges Yuuma to a duel. He is touched by Yuuma, but he is also willing to sacrifice him on the alter of his family's (and his own) ambition, if that is what it comes to. This also reflects Michael's more internalised, sensing, and holistic nature. When confronted with something that is making him anxious or doubtful, Michael will observe, engage, reflect, and then draw conclusions. However, that does not mean that he will always take things to their logical conclusion in a meaningful, insightful, and honest way. He may admit consequences, but he may not face them. This is a sign of his immaturity (and, let's be fair, his age!)
Michael is also the only one in the Arclight family who shows concern for Haruto when Haruto is being harmed by Tron (though he does not stop Tron from hurting the boy, again giving a greater weight to what his family needs, versus what his conscious needs.) All the while Michael feels isolated, lonely, and lost despite having regained his family but he does not vocalise this. All of this only comes out when he breaks down later on. But for now it's worth noting how far down the hole Michael will drive himself for the sake of his family, of his own volition. It's remarkable how far he will go in order to obtain what he wants, which is to have back his happy, normal family that's proud of him.
In order to bring about the conditions to defeat Yuuma, Michael willingly undergoes an excruciating procedure to obtain a new power. His father also gives him two cards which will help him obtain victory, though victory with them would most likely come at the cost of his very own soul. At first Michael does not hesitate to use such dangerous tools for the sake of his family. In fact he becomes downright cruel and callous and almost capricious—becoming much like his brother Thomas—when it comes down to defeating Yuuma. He tears down him bit by bit. He alters his memories, literally steals his self-confidence, apparently kills Yuuma's partner Astral, and separates Yuuma from his group of friends. Michael also abuses beloved cards he received from his father before his father changed. All the while Michael laughs manically; the deconstruction he's engaging in could be said to be giving him a sense of sadistic satisfaction.
But this is not quite the case. What happens is that Michael is overwhelmed by his loneliness and sorrow and, under the influence of the powers he has been given, he becomes not submerged, but he snaps. Though he's usually collected, conscientious, and a sweetheart, between the pressure from his family, the pressure he puts on himself, and Yuuma's insisting on being able “to understand” him, the darkness, bitterness, resentment, and jealousy in him break out.
It's interesting that much of what Michael takes away from Yuuma are things that Michael himself lacks: friends, unwavering self-confidence and a sense of security, his support system, etc. He's also willing to sacrifice things he used to value to get what he wants. What he's doing, is engaging in essentially a mighty, violent catharsis because he's a spoilt child who's—among other things jealous—of Yuuma, for having what he regards as an “easy life” compared to his own. This jealousy is tied up with a discomfort with himself that Michael doesn't actually admit to having, but it's fairly evident in an earlier episode. He begins crying when seated at Yuuma's family's table because he's so touched by the familial atmosphere. His own family is not like this—and yet this is exactly how he wishes that they could be once more. This is what cements Michael's conviction to take Yuuma on in a duel even though Michael knows that duelling for revenge and hurting Haruto are not good. He makes his decision, he will do what needs to be done to get what he wants. Then during their duel, Yuuma rubs Michael raw by insisting that he can understand him through duelling. This kind of attitude must strike Michael as flippant, dismissive, and enraging. For someone who's spoilt and not happy with himself because he can't have something, it's just too much.
It sets him over the edge.
And so over the course of their duel Michael works through his rage. At the end, Michael is severely worn down by using the powers given to him, and he reverts back to his default self. He's unwilling to hurt Yuuma and his friends any longer. Michael loses the duel and, before falling into a coma, he declares that Yuuma is his first real friend and beseeches Yuuma to save his family. During their duel it seems that Michael is displaying confidence but, what it really is, is that's he's carried away by a hideous abandon that he's finally allowed himself. It's not until after the duel, and his family is returned to something like normalcy, that Michael is able to finally cultivate a healthy sense of self-confidence. It's also clear from this experience with Yuuma that Michael thinks of himself as a protector.
This marks a major turning point for Michael as a character: for the first time he's looking outside of his family for help. And, not only is he trusting someone outside of his family for the first time, he's also allowing responsibility to fall elsewhere, at least for a while. Otherwise Michael is prone to taking a wealth of responsibility onto himself. When his brothers Thomas and Chris get into a squabble, he tries to keep the peace between them. Later on, when he appears again to help Yuuma, he feels a strong sense of duty towards his friend. He also feels responsible for what he did to Astral, and wishes to repay that debt. Though he smiles often and easily, he can become quite serious!
Edited 2013-10-01 05:11 (UTC)
Michael Arclight (III) | Yu-gi-oh! ZeXal | Reserved
But then again, Michael can also be rather passive aggressive and snarky and even pissy at times. His mood is often apparent in the cadence of his voice. He's good at bottling things up and internalising them, but at times his tolerance level isn't all that high. When people insult his cards in a duel, he will reply with something along the lines of, “do you really think so?” He's always polite about his insults though, so at least he retains a patina of calmness most of the time. Though, when faced with a ridiculous situation, he will comment on it. He's also likely to comment, in some capacity, on something that he finds comic. He's really quite bad at masking his emotional state. At times he can become chipper and may seem like a full-blown Stepford smiler (employing some showmanship learnt from his older brother), but this mask easily breaks down when his confidence dissolves and he becomes frustrated. He'll also starts to curse and drops a lot of his polite mannerisms. Tough and scrappy he may be, but suave and savvy he is not. Though there are some elements of a Stepford smiler in him, he's actually genuinely a happy (and spoilt) kid. Once the pall has lifted after his duel with Yuuma, he's become more jovial than ever.
On a similar note, he's the kind of person who likes sharing his joy and mirth with other people—and this is what has caused some of his scuffles with Thomas. Effusive as he can be, when it comes to showing enthusiasm, Michael is rather bad at restraining himself and is, like many other family babies, better at expressing his emotions than his siblings. As with his moral transgressions, of which he always at the very least has inklings of, he will usually be able to sense if someone thinks he's being a pest. Whether or not he cares depends upon who that someone is.
If his politeness ever makes it seem as though he's aloof or superficial, most likely he hasn't engaged himself in the conversation for one reason or another. (It is easier for him to engage himself in things he finds interesting. In most cases he should at least display a nominal level of initial interest in something someone is saying, though in reality he may be more interested in the person than the topic, and is simply listening for their sake.) He may come across as very loquacious other times.
In general, though, Michael is very considerate and displays good manners. Most of the the time Michael speaks at a respectable register, thanks people for the meals he receives, addresses people using proper titles, generally uses appropriate and controlled body language, and excuses himself for being rude when suddenly leaving. When staying over with Yuuma's family, he very clearly expresses his gratitude at being able to eat good food prepared by Yuuma's grandmother (though he gets so excited he does talk with food in his mouth!). When he explains that he has had to borrow clothes from Yuuma because he forgot to bring an extra set, he blushes. He makes a very good guest and is pleasant to have around.
It's not apparent whether or not Michael is as intellectually gifted as his brother Chris, though in some ways their dispositions are very similar. If he is not as mechanically smart as Chris, he is at least as driven and motivated. He's also warmer and more friendly than his brother Chris, though less extroverted and prideful than Thomas. Michael is also less logical than Chris, and it's obvious that he's driven more by compassion, than by calculation. This also means that he is much more likely than Chris to act on his emotions and feelings.
The one thing to look out for with Michael is that while he may be acutely empathetic, he's not prone to being pitying. He will not tolerate someone feeling excessively sorry for him- or herself. (IE, he has no time for someone like Osamu Dazai.) If someone has a good reason for grief, sure, he will probably understand that—he'd probably be the first to offer solace! It's pity parties that he won't stand for. On the same note, however, he has shown that he can be what someone might consider insensitive towards someone feeling depression. At first he is patient and even nurturing, but if someone is depressed and denying it, Michael will be direct enough to tell the person that no, they aren't over their grief, if he believes that this is what the person needs to hear. It's not that he's being confrontational. He's simply a forward, outspoken person when he honestly believes that something he's saying will help someone, though he knows that he might also be hurting that person. (Which is why he doesn't outright say whatever he is thinking in the first place.) It wouldn't be surprising to see him working as an activist someday.
Another quick aside is that while normally extremely devoted, Michael can waver. He does experience doubts of the conscious type, but also he flounders at times because his own competitive drive can become too strong. During a mission for his father, he's instructed to just throw a duel after completing his objective. Despite this, he tries his best to win for himself because he's so caught up in the moment. As already stated, at some point he does express some doubt in Tron and the family's drive for revenge, which marks him as less laser-guided and meticulous than his older brother Chris. In general, though, his competitive urges are under control and subordinate to more important aims (aka things that he wants more). Otherwise he can be so dutiful that he does a few things which seem kind of sketchy in pursuit of his objectives, including not trusting his brother Thomas with the details of what he was told to do, sneaking into someone's house, and accepting and using powers he was explicitly told could destroy his soul and, possibly, reality.
It's all for the family. Really.
Additional minutiae include: Michael's adoption of the pseudonym III (pronounced “three”); his brothers Thomas and Chris adopt IV and V respectively. What's interesting is that while Michael doesn't seem to mind taking on this new name, he seems more neutral towards it than his brother Thomas does. Thomas feels as though he owns the number four—it becomes his thing. Thomas will even defend the number against uncool associations. Michael becomes piqued when the number three is associated with something unpleasant—flies in this particular case—but he does not actively defend it like Thomas would, because he does not put as much into this “new” identity as Thomas does. In short, the ideas of III and Michael are closer than the ideas of IV and Thomas, reflecting the fact that Michael does not have the same need as Thomas does to distance himself from his identity within his family's structure. Michael's more secure in his identity.
Michael oscillates between ethical utilitarianism and ethical altruism. It's clear that he has more confidence in groups than in individuals (he values groups he belongs to above himself!), and that he has a sense of whether something is normatively sound, but he is too protective of his friend Yuuma to be completely utilitarian, and he does not display enough magnanimity to be an altruist. At the same time, he very clearly derives purpose and pleasure from helping others. However, he also knows when he is acting in an immoral way and still does so anyway, so he shows flavours of ethical egoism. This is especially true when it comes matters of the family.
Finally, as someone studying this, I would say that Michael is a non-linear thinker. He's more intuitive than one might assume, he is highly attenuated to other people and their needs, he's attentive to details, he functions well in a role that is given to him but is still flexible enough to explore his own ideas, and he is able to accept alternate methods to reach specific outcomes. He functions well within a system and is more likely than others to become irritated or anxious if something is not working as efficiently as it should, though he is by no means going to be the most organised in the group. He'd get very annoyed with someone who put their own agenda ahead of the group's. On the other hand, he might have standards that are unrealistic for the group and have an issue with control. His native learning style is holistic and he would learn best in a situation that is at least partially dynamic; routine without interest would bore him.
All in all, it would be a mistake to assume that Michael is squishy.
Edited 2013-10-01 05:12 (UTC)
Michael Arclight (III) | Yu-gi-oh! ZeXal | Reserved
Abilities: Michael is in the possession of a “crest” given to him by his father; each of the Arclight brothers received one. Michael’s is in the shape of a green, highly-stylised five-point flower centered within a concave-edged pentagon. The crest is initially on his left hand.
After recent developments, however, the crest is now “located” in a bracelet invented by his older brother, Christopher. This bracelet allows him to access the crest’s powers which include, but are not limited to: access to Overlay Networks which allow for quick transportation by materialising in new locations, producing a quick burst of light to allow for escape, resistance to “Numbers” cards which would otherwise influence the user’s mind and personality, producing electrical shocks, and memory manipulation. The super nice thing about this bracelet is that it has removed the cost of using the crest’s power. Otherwise, employing the crest would cause damage to the user’s soul. The bracelets are also outfitted with a communication system the brothers use to contact one another in their family's version of a smart phone, and the bracelets have altered the appearances of the boys’ crests so that they all resemble the same pattern when activated.
However, these bracelets seem to have truncated their powers. The only powers the new!crests have been shown to have in Michael's case are protection from another person's powers, and to activate some awesome biotechnology I'm going to cover next.
When he duels, a series of orange markings on the left side of his face “activate” and allow him to interface with the augmented reality technology used to duel. Additionally, the markings change the appearance of his left iris’s colour from green to pink. These markings are based on some kind of super cool and advanced biotech. How it works, the world may never know.
Michael is a skilled duellist, and is good at observation and investigation. He's extremely good at concentrating and focusing on a task that's given to him, becoming quite meticulous at times. He's suited to activities like fencing, flower arrangement, and tea ceremony. At the very least he has enough skill at swordplay to be confident enough to be throwing swords around as warning signals.
Other: Because he used the powers given to him by his father, his soul has sustained some amount of damage. What this means is unclear as of now but, if it's ever touched upon in canon, it would be something he might be afflicted by.
SAMPLES First Person:
( It might not seem like it, but this letter has taken him nearly no time to compose. The first draft was handwritten; that seemed more appropriate, more ironically wholesome in the same vein as everything else in this artificially saccharine place. Then he realised, no. It wasn't better.
This way, too, it's an open letter. And if the Landlord doesn't get it, or doesn't care, maybe the letter will alert someone who can do something for him, or at the very least give him some good information to go on so he may start his quest for recovery/revenge.
So he's changed the wording a bit—a little bit—because the audience is now wider. He also uses the default font found on his phone for the sake of legibility. )
Re: Our position in Holly Heights To: The Landlord
Mr Landlord,
It has come to my attention—thanks in part to your heartfelt well-wishes and in part to initial conversations with my new neighbours—that you are in the habit of spiriting us here to our new lives without including our personal affects on this exciting journey.
But then you have other whimsical habits, all of which dovetail with the one described above for a very artificial situation. Bereft of our possessions, you give us consolatory tokens in their place. These tokens are including but not limited to: a modest, sensible home, a bespoke wardrobe, staples, a selection of choice commodities, and so on.
I have also learnt that you are in the habit of not returning to us our possessions. Or, at the very least, in the habit of not being exactly obliging in returning these objects to us.
Learning about these habits of yours has caused me some acute distress, and so I am writing to you on behalf of everyone from my world to ask you, please be so kind as to return our decks. Here in this alien world their monetary value is not that great, and they do not pose any risk to the harmony of such a place, so I fail to see the point in keeping them in custody.
Perhaps you could elucidate your reasons for me? As best I know I can only draw a clutch of certain conclusions: Certainly they have not offended you. Certainly you do not place the same sentimental value upon them. Certainly our decks are not contraband, conceits, or curses from Pandora's box.
Certainly they would be but baubles to you.
I am also not asking for Duel Disks, a re-establishment of the Augmented Reality technology which would surely pose a proliferation of inconveniences and vexations, nor for the restoration of we Arclights' crests.
So, please, Mr Landlord, I ask that you bestow our decks back upon us. Please be so kind as to not disabuse me of the illusion that this truly is a home away from home, in which we duellists are quite welcome.
Warmest regards,
III Michael Arclight
P.S. This request is also for your benefit. I cannot guarantee that my more venal brother will not become bored unless decks are duly restored to him and the other duellists, against whom he may duel. The new clothes he may enjoy, but there is only so much time that can be occupied by vanities.
Third Person: On and on it stretches, but where it goes, Michael doesn't know. The sea is gone past over the horizon of his sight—or down under it, he thinks, the curve of the earth is such that what's beyond the horizon on a good, clear day is technically a little bit below him. It's related to how satellites are always, always falling and are essentially trapped in orbit because they just can't land.
He looks at his feet, and it feels like he's rushing falling towards the ground.
But today is a good, clear day. The weather is nice. It's not quite autumn-balmy yet so he can't bring out the more fancy and tailoured clothes he has a particular taste for, but nor is it so warm that it's too warm. He's spent most of the day smiling and the sun has warmed the skin of his neck and face and the backs of his uncalloused hands.
He continues walking, and he wonders vaguely in how many minutes he can expect to see the friend he's arranged to meet up with. Arriving early has given him enough time for a walk and a chance to better familiarise himself with this district of his new home, but he has to admit to himself that it just doesn't seem as fun without someone to show him what's what. He's also been distracted by things that aren't here—figments of memories that have been long buried, snatches of ideas, and half-formed plans he's making, there are so many things he can now do it can set his mind reeling if he just doesn't hold for that one second and—and because now there's no-one to direct his attention to what's actually around him, focussing externally isn't as easy as it could be.
In general, it's just better to have someone walk you through these kinds of things like new places.
So he smiles, and tries not to get too lost waiting.
OTHER Housing Request?: In 1499, please! Did you read the rules and FAQ?: First thing I did. Would you like your application to be unscreened?: Sure, go ahead!
ACCEPTED Congrats, your application has been accepted! Your character is now living at 1499 in Holly Heights, with a child slot. In order to get the ball rolling, here's what you need to do:
Comment back with the journal you'll be using for your character so that they can be accepted into the communities.
Create an IC Mailbox post on your characters journal that is not friends only. You are also free to treat this as an information holding post with your character's family and address listed if you wish.
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Michael Arclight (III) | Yu-gi-oh! ZeXal | Reserved
Player: Elisabet
Age: 21
Personal Journal:
Contact Info: plurk: nacreous dream
aim: please ask
Other Characters: N/A
IC INFORMATION
Character’s Name: Michael Arclight (aka “III”)
Age: 15
Canon: Yu-gi-oh! ZeXal
Canon Point: Episode 122
Species: Human
Gender: Male/Male
Orientation: Unknown? He has yet to display romantic or sexual interest in anyone, and the bulk of his meaningful relationships are familial. The only person with whom he is close outside of his family is a younger boy. Given his age and sheltered life, he’s probably not given the subject much thought in the first place, either, so honestly he’d likely be willing to give anyone a shot if he truly had feelings for them.
Michael Arclight (III) | Yu-gi-oh! ZeXal | Reserved
~ here & here ~
Appearance: Slightly petite for his age, Michael is roughly 160cm. He's somewhat shorter than his eldest brother was at the same age. Though, to be fair, his brother is ridiculously tall. Michael also takes after his father less than his brothers. He's slight and more on the lithe side, so an educated guess at his weight would put him at around 45kg. He has short, two-toned pink hair, with a lighter rose on top and a burnished maroon beneath. Three sections of whorled bangs frame his rather large, rather expressive green eyes. In general, Michael tends towards brighter tones and colours in his choice of clothing. In a word, he's cute.
Personality: Michael is a well-natured, well-mannered, and well-meaning young man. He's the youngest brother of the Arclight siblings and, as could be expected, he exhibits several symptoms of being the last-born. It is fairly obvious that he is the favourite child. Even when he and his brothers were much younger, he would be given gifts when his brothers were not. (Incidentally, these gifts would be cards related to things that their father was researching. These cards would become Michael's favourites, and so he is greatly influenced what by his father devoted his life to.) This favouritism caused some tension with his older brother Thomas—the middle child—but it's easy to see that any strife this may have caused, did not cause serious physical altercations or engender ill-feelings between the brothers. If anything Thomas' jealousy has subliminated over the years into part of his nuanced inferiority complex but, as for Michael, he does not naturally hold grudges for things done against him. (For things done against his family, however—that is a more complicated matter.) He is also nothing but loyal, loving, and protective of his brothers. In fact he cherishes time spent with them and derives pleasure from doing things for them. Though that isn't to say that he isn't above manipulating them from time to time. He knows that he can, and that they will let him. As such, he's not used to being told no. This of course causes problems.
Other tell-tale signs of being the baby of the family he displays include being slightly spoilt, being sensitive to others in the extreme, being slightly touchy-feeling (tactile), being eager to please, being a bit of a show-off, being used to being afforded some respect, and being more highly favoured. Michael is afforded more respect than Thomas by both their older brother, Chris, and their father, Tron. He does not gloat about being considered more reliable than Thomas, but that does not mean that being treated in such a way does not go to his head. He takes his role in the family's mission very seriously, but then this is also due to his dutiful nature.
The thing is, Michael is extremely easy to manipulate in the right circumstances. Tron takes advantage of this when he needs to have Yuuma removed from the field to ensure that his plans are secure. At this time Tron is no longer the father figure Michael recalls from his memories—Tron used to be Byron Arclight, a highly intelligent, highly respected, and highly successful scientist who worked with physics and different dimension theories. Byron was partners with a man named Dr Faker, for whom Michael's brother Christopher was also working as an assistant. Eventually Dr Faker sacrificed the lives of Byron and Yuuma's father in order to gain access to an alternate dimension known as the Barian realm, from whence he acquired the power to save the life of his youngest son, Haruto. This act orphaned Michael and his brothers. Chris attempted to find his father while Michael and Thomas were sent to stay in an orphanage. When Chris was unable to find their father, he left Heartland with his brothers.
That was until their father miraculously reappeared—or at least someone like him did. What they got back in their lives was not their father Byron, but a child-like man named Tron. Because Byron had fallen into the cracks between the dimensions, he had roamed there and been transformed into a diminutive figure with no sense of compunction. The only thing Tron says he can feel is the need for revenge, though he cannot feel hate or rage, not in anyway that matters. He needs his sons to feel these emotions for him.
So this is where Michael's sensitivity comes into play. Michael is fiercely loyal and protective of his family, and when Tron declares that their mission is revenge against Dr Faker, Michael really takes that message to heart. At one point he declares that he has no capacity for anything other than revenge, that all he can feel is hate. He says this even as he is in the midst of crying after breaking down and realising that his family is no longer what it once was, and it isn't how he wants it to be. He is convinced that the only way to save his family and make them happy again is to defeat Yuuma and sacrifice Dr Faker's son, Haruto. And though he is firmly convicted about doing anything necessary for the family's cause, at times he seems hesitant or to be having moral qualms. After witnessing Yuuma's duelling first hand, Michael grows interested in Yuuma. Unlike his brothers, he senses that something is different between what drives Yuuma, and what drives them. And what is different is, is their motivation—they are all fighting to protect something dear, but their methods are very much different. That is, Yuuma would not hurt someone for the sake of his mission. Michael is able to realise this, and he accepts that Yuuma would never fight for revenge, and he admires Yuuma, but in the end he remains loyal to his family and his goal to save them, and so challenges Yuuma to a duel. He is touched by Yuuma, but he is also willing to sacrifice him on the alter of his family's (and his own) ambition, if that is what it comes to. This also reflects Michael's more internalised, sensing, and holistic nature. When confronted with something that is making him anxious or doubtful, Michael will observe, engage, reflect, and then draw conclusions. However, that does not mean that he will always take things to their logical conclusion in a meaningful, insightful, and honest way. He may admit consequences, but he may not face them. This is a sign of his immaturity (and, let's be fair, his age!)
Michael is also the only one in the Arclight family who shows concern for Haruto when Haruto is being harmed by Tron (though he does not stop Tron from hurting the boy, again giving a greater weight to what his family needs, versus what his conscious needs.) All the while Michael feels isolated, lonely, and lost despite having regained his family but he does not vocalise this. All of this only comes out when he breaks down later on. But for now it's worth noting how far down the hole Michael will drive himself for the sake of his family, of his own volition. It's remarkable how far he will go in order to obtain what he wants, which is to have back his happy, normal family that's proud of him.
In order to bring about the conditions to defeat Yuuma, Michael willingly undergoes an excruciating procedure to obtain a new power. His father also gives him two cards which will help him obtain victory, though victory with them would most likely come at the cost of his very own soul. At first Michael does not hesitate to use such dangerous tools for the sake of his family. In fact he becomes downright cruel and callous and almost capricious—becoming much like his brother Thomas—when it comes down to defeating Yuuma. He tears down him bit by bit. He alters his memories, literally steals his self-confidence, apparently kills Yuuma's partner Astral, and separates Yuuma from his group of friends. Michael also abuses beloved cards he received from his father before his father changed. All the while Michael laughs manically; the deconstruction he's engaging in could be said to be giving him a sense of sadistic satisfaction.
But this is not quite the case. What happens is that Michael is overwhelmed by his loneliness and sorrow and, under the influence of the powers he has been given, he becomes not submerged, but he snaps. Though he's usually collected, conscientious, and a sweetheart, between the pressure from his family, the pressure he puts on himself, and Yuuma's insisting on being able “to understand” him, the darkness, bitterness, resentment, and jealousy in him break out.
It's interesting that much of what Michael takes away from Yuuma are things that Michael himself lacks: friends, unwavering self-confidence and a sense of security, his support system, etc. He's also willing to sacrifice things he used to value to get what he wants. What he's doing, is engaging in essentially a mighty, violent catharsis because he's a spoilt child who's—among other things jealous—of Yuuma, for having what he regards as an “easy life” compared to his own. This jealousy is tied up with a discomfort with himself that Michael doesn't actually admit to having, but it's fairly evident in an earlier episode. He begins crying when seated at Yuuma's family's table because he's so touched by the familial atmosphere. His own family is not like this—and yet this is exactly how he wishes that they could be once more. This is what cements Michael's conviction to take Yuuma on in a duel even though Michael knows that duelling for revenge and hurting Haruto are not good. He makes his decision, he will do what needs to be done to get what he wants. Then during their duel, Yuuma rubs Michael raw by insisting that he can understand him through duelling. This kind of attitude must strike Michael as flippant, dismissive, and enraging. For someone who's spoilt and not happy with himself because he can't have something, it's just too much.
It sets him over the edge.
And so over the course of their duel Michael works through his rage. At the end, Michael is severely worn down by using the powers given to him, and he reverts back to his default self. He's unwilling to hurt Yuuma and his friends any longer. Michael loses the duel and, before falling into a coma, he declares that Yuuma is his first real friend and beseeches Yuuma to save his family. During their duel it seems that Michael is displaying confidence but, what it really is, is that's he's carried away by a hideous abandon that he's finally allowed himself. It's not until after the duel, and his family is returned to something like normalcy, that Michael is able to finally cultivate a healthy sense of self-confidence. It's also clear from this experience with Yuuma that Michael thinks of himself as a protector.
This marks a major turning point for Michael as a character: for the first time he's looking outside of his family for help. And, not only is he trusting someone outside of his family for the first time, he's also allowing responsibility to fall elsewhere, at least for a while. Otherwise Michael is prone to taking a wealth of responsibility onto himself. When his brothers Thomas and Chris get into a squabble, he tries to keep the peace between them. Later on, when he appears again to help Yuuma, he feels a strong sense of duty towards his friend. He also feels responsible for what he did to Astral, and wishes to repay that debt. Though he smiles often and easily, he can become quite serious!
Michael Arclight (III) | Yu-gi-oh! ZeXal | Reserved
On a similar note, he's the kind of person who likes sharing his joy and mirth with other people—and this is what has caused some of his scuffles with Thomas. Effusive as he can be, when it comes to showing enthusiasm, Michael is rather bad at restraining himself and is, like many other family babies, better at expressing his emotions than his siblings. As with his moral transgressions, of which he always at the very least has inklings of, he will usually be able to sense if someone thinks he's being a pest. Whether or not he cares depends upon who that someone is.
If his politeness ever makes it seem as though he's aloof or superficial, most likely he hasn't engaged himself in the conversation for one reason or another. (It is easier for him to engage himself in things he finds interesting. In most cases he should at least display a nominal level of initial interest in something someone is saying, though in reality he may be more interested in the person than the topic, and is simply listening for their sake.) He may come across as very loquacious other times.
In general, though, Michael is very considerate and displays good manners. Most of the the time Michael speaks at a respectable register, thanks people for the meals he receives, addresses people using proper titles, generally uses appropriate and controlled body language, and excuses himself for being rude when suddenly leaving. When staying over with Yuuma's family, he very clearly expresses his gratitude at being able to eat good food prepared by Yuuma's grandmother (though he gets so excited he does talk with food in his mouth!). When he explains that he has had to borrow clothes from Yuuma because he forgot to bring an extra set, he blushes. He makes a very good guest and is pleasant to have around.
It's not apparent whether or not Michael is as intellectually gifted as his brother Chris, though in some ways their dispositions are very similar. If he is not as mechanically smart as Chris, he is at least as driven and motivated. He's also warmer and more friendly than his brother Chris, though less extroverted and prideful than Thomas. Michael is also less logical than Chris, and it's obvious that he's driven more by compassion, than by calculation. This also means that he is much more likely than Chris to act on his emotions and feelings.
The one thing to look out for with Michael is that while he may be acutely empathetic, he's not prone to being pitying. He will not tolerate someone feeling excessively sorry for him- or herself. (IE, he has no time for someone like Osamu Dazai.) If someone has a good reason for grief, sure, he will probably understand that—he'd probably be the first to offer solace! It's pity parties that he won't stand for. On the same note, however, he has shown that he can be what someone might consider insensitive towards someone feeling depression. At first he is patient and even nurturing, but if someone is depressed and denying it, Michael will be direct enough to tell the person that no, they aren't over their grief, if he believes that this is what the person needs to hear. It's not that he's being confrontational. He's simply a forward, outspoken person when he honestly believes that something he's saying will help someone, though he knows that he might also be hurting that person. (Which is why he doesn't outright say whatever he is thinking in the first place.) It wouldn't be surprising to see him working as an activist someday.
Another quick aside is that while normally extremely devoted, Michael can waver. He does experience doubts of the conscious type, but also he flounders at times because his own competitive drive can become too strong. During a mission for his father, he's instructed to just throw a duel after completing his objective. Despite this, he tries his best to win for himself because he's so caught up in the moment. As already stated, at some point he does express some doubt in Tron and the family's drive for revenge, which marks him as less laser-guided and meticulous than his older brother Chris. In general, though, his competitive urges are under control and subordinate to more important aims (aka things that he wants more). Otherwise he can be so dutiful that he does a few things which seem kind of sketchy in pursuit of his objectives, including not trusting his brother Thomas with the details of what he was told to do, sneaking into someone's house, and accepting and using powers he was explicitly told could destroy his soul and, possibly, reality.
It's all for the family. Really.
Additional minutiae include: Michael's adoption of the pseudonym III (pronounced “three”); his brothers Thomas and Chris adopt IV and V respectively. What's interesting is that while Michael doesn't seem to mind taking on this new name, he seems more neutral towards it than his brother Thomas does. Thomas feels as though he owns the number four—it becomes his thing. Thomas will even defend the number against uncool associations. Michael becomes piqued when the number three is associated with something unpleasant—flies in this particular case—but he does not actively defend it like Thomas would, because he does not put as much into this “new” identity as Thomas does. In short, the ideas of III and Michael are closer than the ideas of IV and Thomas, reflecting the fact that Michael does not have the same need as Thomas does to distance himself from his identity within his family's structure. Michael's more secure in his identity.
Michael oscillates between ethical utilitarianism and ethical altruism. It's clear that he has more confidence in groups than in individuals (he values groups he belongs to above himself!), and that he has a sense of whether something is normatively sound, but he is too protective of his friend Yuuma to be completely utilitarian, and he does not display enough magnanimity to be an altruist. At the same time, he very clearly derives purpose and pleasure from helping others. However, he also knows when he is acting in an immoral way and still does so anyway, so he shows flavours of ethical egoism. This is especially true when it comes matters of the family.
Finally, as someone studying this, I would say that Michael is a non-linear thinker. He's more intuitive than one might assume, he is highly attenuated to other people and their needs, he's attentive to details, he functions well in a role that is given to him but is still flexible enough to explore his own ideas, and he is able to accept alternate methods to reach specific outcomes. He functions well within a system and is more likely than others to become irritated or anxious if something is not working as efficiently as it should, though he is by no means going to be the most organised in the group. He'd get very annoyed with someone who put their own agenda ahead of the group's. On the other hand, he might have standards that are unrealistic for the group and have an issue with control. His native learning style is holistic and he would learn best in a situation that is at least partially dynamic; routine without interest would bore him.
All in all, it would be a mistake to assume that Michael is squishy.
Michael Arclight (III) | Yu-gi-oh! ZeXal | Reserved
After recent developments, however, the crest is now “located” in a bracelet invented by his older brother, Christopher. This bracelet allows him to access the crest’s powers which include, but are not limited to: access to Overlay Networks which allow for quick transportation by materialising in new locations, producing a quick burst of light to allow for escape, resistance to “Numbers” cards which would otherwise influence the user’s mind and personality, producing electrical shocks, and memory manipulation. The super nice thing about this bracelet is that it has removed the cost of using the crest’s power. Otherwise, employing the crest would cause damage to the user’s soul. The bracelets are also outfitted with a communication system the brothers use to contact one another in their family's version of a smart phone, and the bracelets have altered the appearances of the boys’ crests so that they all resemble the same pattern when activated.
However, these bracelets seem to have truncated their powers. The only powers the new!crests have been shown to have in Michael's case are protection from another person's powers, and to activate some awesome biotechnology I'm going to cover next.
When he duels, a series of orange markings on the left side of his face “activate” and allow him to interface with the augmented reality technology used to duel. Additionally, the markings change the appearance of his left iris’s colour from green to pink. These markings are based on some kind of super cool and advanced biotech. How it works, the world may never know.
Michael is a skilled duellist, and is good at observation and investigation. He's extremely good at concentrating and focusing on a task that's given to him, becoming quite meticulous at times. He's suited to activities like fencing, flower arrangement, and tea ceremony. At the very least he has enough skill at swordplay to be confident enough to be throwing swords around as warning signals.
Other: Because he used the powers given to him by his father, his soul has sustained some amount of damage. What this means is unclear as of now but, if it's ever touched upon in canon, it would be something he might be afflicted by.
SAMPLES
First Person:
( It might not seem like it, but this letter has taken him nearly no time to compose. The first draft was handwritten; that seemed more appropriate, more ironically wholesome in the same vein as everything else in this artificially saccharine place. Then he realised, no. It wasn't better.
This way, too, it's an open letter. And if the Landlord doesn't get it, or doesn't care, maybe the letter will alert someone who can do something for him, or at the very least give him some good information to go on so he may start his quest for recovery/revenge.
So he's changed the wording a bit—a little bit—because the audience is now wider. He also uses the default font found on his phone for the sake of legibility. )
Re: Our position in Holly Heights
To: The Landlord
Mr Landlord,
It has come to my attention—thanks in part to your heartfelt well-wishes and in part to initial conversations with my new neighbours—that you are in the habit of spiriting us here to our new lives without including our personal affects on this exciting journey.
But then you have other whimsical habits, all of which dovetail with the one described above for a very artificial situation. Bereft of our possessions, you give us consolatory tokens in their place. These tokens are including but not limited to: a modest, sensible home, a bespoke wardrobe, staples, a selection of choice commodities, and so on.
I have also learnt that you are in the habit of not returning to us our possessions. Or, at the very least, in the habit of not being exactly obliging in returning these objects to us.
Learning about these habits of yours has caused me some acute distress, and so I am writing to you on behalf of everyone from my world to ask you, please be so kind as to return our decks. Here in this alien world their monetary value is not that great, and they do not pose any risk to the harmony of such a place, so I fail to see the point in keeping them in custody.
Perhaps you could elucidate your reasons for me? As best I know I can only draw a clutch of certain conclusions: Certainly they have not offended you. Certainly you do not place the same sentimental value upon them. Certainly our decks are not contraband, conceits, or curses from Pandora's box.
Certainly they would be but baubles to you.
I am also not asking for Duel Disks, a re-establishment of the Augmented Reality technology which would surely pose a proliferation of inconveniences and vexations, nor for the restoration of we Arclights' crests.
So, please, Mr Landlord, I ask that you bestow our decks back upon us. Please be so kind as to not disabuse me of the illusion that this truly is a home away from home, in which we duellists are quite welcome.
Warmest regards,
III Michael Arclight
P.S. This request is also for your benefit. I cannot guarantee that my more venal brother will not become bored unless decks are duly restored to him and the other duellists, against whom he may duel. The new clothes he may enjoy, but there is only so much time that can be occupied by vanities.
Third Person: On and on it stretches, but where it goes, Michael doesn't know. The sea is gone past over the horizon of his sight—or down under it, he thinks, the curve of the earth is such that what's beyond the horizon on a good, clear day is technically a little bit below him. It's related to how satellites are always, always falling and are essentially trapped in orbit because they just can't land.
He looks at his feet, and it feels like he's rushing falling towards the ground.
But today is a good, clear day. The weather is nice. It's not quite autumn-balmy yet so he can't bring out the more fancy and tailoured clothes he has a particular taste for, but nor is it so warm that it's too warm. He's spent most of the day smiling and the sun has warmed the skin of his neck and face and the backs of his uncalloused hands.
He continues walking, and he wonders vaguely in how many minutes he can expect to see the friend he's arranged to meet up with. Arriving early has given him enough time for a walk and a chance to better familiarise himself with this district of his new home, but he has to admit to himself that it just doesn't seem as fun without someone to show him what's what. He's also been distracted by things that aren't here—figments of memories that have been long buried, snatches of ideas, and half-formed plans he's making, there are so many things he can now do it can set his mind reeling if he just doesn't hold for that one second and—and because now there's no-one to direct his attention to what's actually around him, focussing externally isn't as easy as it could be.
In general, it's just better to have someone walk you through these kinds of things like new places.
So he smiles, and tries not to get too lost waiting.
OTHER
Housing Request?: In 1499, please!
Did you read the rules and FAQ?: First thing I did.
Would you like your application to be unscreened?: Sure, go ahead!
Accepted
Congrats, your application has been accepted! Your character is now living at 1499 in Holly Heights, with a child slot. In order to get the ball rolling, here's what you need to do:
I hope you enjoy your stay here!