Rino Tsuji

full description still wip. he's my favorite but also the only one with a sketchy ref lmaooo

rival and eventual love interest (because i said so. lmao)

Name: Rino Tsuji

Gender: Male

Personality: Rino is someone who comes off as cynical and sarcastic. He acts openly sadistic throughout most duels he participates in, and won't apologize for it. He also has a tendency to act independently, without filling others in on the details of what he's doing. He has no faith in the world around him, and trusts very few people. Still, despite his loner nature, Rino is very witty and can typically come up with a retort of comeback in any situation, absolutely loving to mercilessly taunt other people. He can also be pretty empathetic, and will apologize for how his actions might have affected someone (even though he doesn't apologize for what he did, just what it caused). Rino is also very loyal to the people he trusts, and can speak to them openly about his thoughts. And despite being somewhat prideful, Rino knows when he has to ask for help when he really needs it (but not a second before it's necessary).

Deck: Soul Spectre (ace: Soul Spectre Sakin (design still wip), archetype I made up)

Gate: Gate III (Earth)/Dark Gate

Story: w.i.p. but in general it's something like this. Rino's earliest memories are of an orphanage where he spent a significant portion of his childhood, notably with Neru and Seikyu. He knew that he was different from the others, but Seikyu helped him hide it, until one day a series of unfortuante events led to his status as half Dark Gate being revealed to Subrosa, forcing him to flee the Subrosa-owned orphanage, believing that he was betrayed by both Neru and Seikyu, his two friends. After that, he lived on the streets, trying desperately to avoid the detection of Subrosa. By the time he began attending Lazuli Academy, he was already quite used to this life, and really had no issue with it. But his friends from the Paranormal Investigation Club caught on, and chose to offer him shelter in the warehouse their club used as its base of operations. Since then, he has been living there, already considering it a paradise compared to the conditions he'd dealt with before. One day, a girl named Yutsura comes to their club with the desire for them to invesitgate a strange occurence near some local ruins, only for Rino to realize that he was the culprit she was searching for. He has no issue revealing this to Yutsura, who then begins to believe that he's a terrible person. Currently, Rino is still attempting to avoid the detection of Subrosa and just live his life.

Partner(romntically): Yutsura Anzai (not initially, but later in the plot)

Friends: Ratsu (not initially but later), Jiyuu (not initially but later)

Enemies: Subrosa, specifically Neru Doi (initially, but eventually resolved)

Other:

-He only transforms into his Dark Gate form when he feels extreme negative emotion, and the transformation isn't typically instant, it'll start with the appearance of the horn or his eyes changing color

-He technically CAN transform into his Dark Gate form when he's not in such a state, he just doesn't ususally do that

-In his Dark Gate form he's not opposed to just hurting people outright instead of destroying them in card games like normal

-Very dangerous in his Dark Gate form, many sharp claws and stuff

-He really doesn't like Neru, and doesn't trust her whatsoever. Neru wants to capture Rino and bring him to Subrosa, but she always loses against him in duels

-His dueling philosophy is "have fun while winning," which places a greater emphasis on winning than having fun. After all, for him in the past, duels were a matter of survival

-Several factions have reason to foster the darkness inside Rino, and as a result, it seems like the world is doing everything in its power to destroy his mental state. And to be fair, it kind of is

-Rino knows that something is off about Yutsura, having sensed a nonhuman presence around her when they dueled. But it isn't until later that Rino realizes the exact truth about Yutsura's situation

Design Notes:

-No he's not wearing clothes in his Dark Gate form, just think of it like Astral from Zexal or something

-His hair doesn't change from human form to Dark Gate form

-IMPORTANT: I make minor changes to his hair semi-often so please only take the reference sheet as how his hair is, not any previous drawings(including ones by me). Currently, you can take the image that is the avatar image as accurate as well

-The straps on his upper arms are not connected to his gloves