Having grown up as an orphan in the harsh conditions of Satellite, Yusei has a tendency to keep a serious and somewhat stoic expression most of the time. Solemn to a fault, he comes across as someone who says little and voices blunt opinions when he does speak. He rarely displays his emotions, instead wearing a "poker face" as his default expression, though due to his angular eyes and brows, what’s a "neutral" expression for him seems to others as hostile or angry. Yusei’s rarely ever seen laughing or even grinning, though he does give short, small smiles when he’s with his friends or around people he’s comfortable with; the occasional smirk shows up during combat or duels when he feels it’s warranted.

His brusque nature doesn’t help much, as he’s brief and to the point when he talks. Yusei says what he wants to share and that’s about it. The rest of the time, he tends to keep to himself, quiet and listening without interjecting or interrupting the conversation. However, he’s very focused when he pays attention, so it’s almost impossible for people to accuse him of ignoring them (even if he is…) when they’re talking. Because of his focused expression and his quiet demeanor, Yusei tends to make a bad first impression when people meet him, coming off as an intimidating, glaring badass with a strong case of RBF.

This isn’t to say Yusei is emotionless. He’s quite capable of showing his emotions, though these tend to be in ways that are small and hard to discern to those who don’t know him, and it’s rare he ever displays emotions in a largely-expressive way (more on that later). Because he has a good hold on his emotions, he rarely acts on impulse and usually thinks things through before he acts rather than going at something blindly. This is made obvious during his Duels, as he regularly visualizes card flowcharts in his mind in order to devise his strategies and always tries to stay one step ahead of his opponent(s) before he plays any cards.

Thanks to his stoic demeanor, it can be hard for others to get a good read on Yusei’s thoughts and feelings, while also making it easy to misread him. However, it’s not the same in reverse, as he’s surprisingly empathetic and good at reading other people, even if he hasn’t known them for very long. With enough time to observe and opportunity to interact with someone, Yusei’s able to figure out the other person’s state of mind. This veers more on the emotional side than psychological side, but he can definitely make good educated guesses on both. It’s this aspect of his character that allows him to understand and empathize with others, earning him friendship and respect from many people, including those who otherwise would have been his enemies.

Despite his outward appearance, Yusei is someone who deeply values the bonds of friendship, seeing friends as the most valuable thing a person can have. He believes no one should ever have to be alone, and tries to convince others who reject friendship that it is something to be embraced. Because of this, even though he can be standoffish at first appearance, Yusei isn’t opposed to making friends with others, particularly those who would otherwise be left alone by the majority. He isn’t fast to make friends on his own volition—more often than not, others tend to claim him their friend first, either verbally or by actions—but once a friendship is struck, Yusei holds whomever he befriends close to his heart. It’s with these friends that his inner warmth shows through, revealing a caring and protective young man, whose small nuances and mannerisms make him easy to read by people who know him well. When Yusei’s comfortable, he’s more open to expressing emotions and casual actions, such as shrugging, sighing, even smiling when it's called for.

This friendship resonates with his selfless nature, as Yusei is very hesitant to put anyone he cares for in any sort of danger. He’s even reluctant to endanger strangers he doesn’t know, as he did whatever he could during his Duels to avoid damage being thrown onto the audience. It also causes him to become very self-sacrificing, as he’s willing to do anything, even giving up almost everything he has, to protect the people he cares for. From his possessions, to his health, to even his life, nothing’s worth more to Yusei than his friends’ safety. Because of these noble and heroic traits, he is seen by most other characters in the show as a dependable person they can always trust, a selfless, protective, brotherly, kind-hearted, albeit overall a mostly serious person, who deeply values the safety of humanity and his friends.

While it’s true that Yusei mostly keeps his calm and focus, staying clear minded even in the worst situations, even he has certain key trigger points that accelerate his emotions to the surface. His two main triggers being threats towards the safety of his friends and calling someone or something useless. Either of these, particularly the former, can cause Yusei to lose his composure and act out of anger. This sometimes leads him to make irrational decisions, likely resulting in him challenging the offender to a Duel or accepting stacked odds even in situations that would call for another more logical course of action.

Friends, as stated before, are extremely important to Yusei. As an orphan in the slum city of Satellite, he grew up in a rough environment, and banding together with people you trusted was a way to survive. His friends created an adoptive family and through this, they were all able to keep hoping for a better future and stay strong against the depressing environment. Losing these bonds is extremely hard on Yusei and he refuses to abandon or betray his friends no matter what. This is fueled by his belief that what awaits someone after leaving their friends behind would not be true freedom, just hollow guilt, and that nobody has the right to take away another person's future.

Both of these feelings came to a head when Yusei faced the Dark Signers. When the Duel with Roman caused Rally to commit suicide and took Martha’s life as collateral damage, Yusei openly raged towards the Dark Signer, and his first Duel with Kiryu after his friend was revived as a Dark Signer left him visibly shaken with fear and clouded in self-doubt and guilt. It’s been noted that Yusei is unable to leave out his feelings towards a former friend, and that is both his greatest strength and his greatest weakness.

Satellite is the low-class twin city of Neo Domino, the place where criminals, trash, and other pieces of society that the Neo Domino citizens reject as useless garbage is sent to and dumped. The people in Satellite make their living from the scraps left behind by the Neo Domino populace and are thus also considered useless garbage by the higher society. Yusei firmly believes that no one and nothing is ever useless, and takes offense at being referred to as such, or witnessing someone else receiving the same treatment. Tetsu Ushio and other members of Security, who frequently refer to Yusei and others from Satellite as "trash", eventually angered him enough to lash back at Ushio for his being unable to utter anything else.

This ideal is reflected in Yusei’s treatment of Duel Monster cards, as he considers every card in a deck to be important and serve a purpose for the whole. Those who reject cards, call them trash, or say the cards are useless, rile Yusei so much so that he doesn't consider these people deserving of calling themselves Duelists, or even consider them a Duelist. After Himuro stepped on Yanagi’s cards and denounced the old man’s deck as useless, Yusei physically knocked the larger duelist down in anger and proceeded to defeat him with Yanagi’s supposedly "useless" cards. However, his opinion on people can change if they reform, such as with Himuro, whom he considered a "True Duelist" after the man changed his own opinion and attitude, and even Ushio, who eventually became Yusei’s friend.

Yusei does have a number of vices to his character. While he usually tries to keep his head down and not cause undue trouble in Satellite, he ultimately has a tendency to disregard authority, even when said authority is full of people he's come to respect. He requires little pressure to break the rules if necessary, and even his first reaction to crime committed against him is to seek justice by his own hands rather than to contact Security for help. Similarly, despite his foster family and friends repeatedly offering him care, advice, and help, in general, Yusei seems to rely on himself more than he does others, preferring to place more burden on his own shoulders if he can. He blames himself for things that are outside his own control, something Jack and his other friends have called him out on before.

When battling the Dark Signers, it was revealed that Yusei’s father had been involved in the Zero Reverse incident, which had split Neo Domino City into City and Satellite. Yusei had silently wallowed in guilt over the revelation all his life and blamed himself for it as well as all the disastrous consequences that it caused the following years. He often wonders why no one hates him for any of that, despite the illogical reality that he, as a baby, could not possibly have been to blame for the incident. Even after Crow assured him that no one ever blamed him for Satellite’s predicament and that Yusei didn't need to take responsibility for it, Yusei and Roman Goodwin still commented on this guilt being "the darkness in Yusei's heart" that would never truly leave.

This leads to a complex relationship between his guilt and actions, as his background clashes between the importance of his sacrifice versus the idea that he would never be missed at all, and his self-sacrificial leanings occasionally veer into making presuming and arrogant conclusions regarding his personal ability, even as he hypocritically continues to act on such martyrlike behaviors. He continues to shoulder the heavy culpability for his father's actions in the tragedy of Zero Reverse, and feels he carries a burden to the city that he can never make up for, often creating an outlet for his attempts of self-sacrifice.

Even after he no longer blames himself for the Zero Reverse, Yusei’s guilt remains, agonizing over the idea of a second Zero Reverse or similar danger for the city, which haunts and horrifies him, something some of his opponents are able to exploit to break his Clear Mind. Yusei occasionally has nightmares about the Zero Reverse, after which he goes to reflect about it, something Jack and Crow find predictable. He cares very much for New Domino City's safety, and has even said he will never allow a tragedy like Zero Reverse to ever happen again in the city, even if it means his death.

Forever, so long as we’re both invested and keep a steady pace.

Send a PM first; if it’s fine with all players, sure.

Never, unless players really clash or there are many long breaks.

Nah, thanks, unless the meme specifically calls for it.

None really? Just be tactful.

K-list is here.

Comfortable with both and will match your preference.

Comfortable with both tenses and will match your preference.

Nope!

Yusei isn’t a physical guy, very hands-off, unless he’s with friends. Friends can usually hug him or jump on him, though he’ll be a little stiff about it. Strangers hugging him will make him freeze up or shove them away if they get too far into his personal bubble. He’s easier with platonic touches like a hand on the shoulder, a fist bump, or a pat on the back. Might give one of those out himself if he’s comfortable around someone and senses they need the support.

Similar to the above, Yusei’s even less into the romantic side of things. You’ll have to be in a Relationship (capital ‘R’ for a Reason) with him to be able to do this. Even then, he’s pretty private about it, so kissing him in public is going to get a miffed reaction. If a stranger tries to get close enough to do this, it’ll result in a sharp reprimand, a jerk away, a shove backwards, or perhaps even a punch if there’s bad blood. This includes kisses on the cheek and forehead and such.

Feel free to go for it, but honestly, Yusei’s going to be pretty blank about it. It won’t go over his head, but he’s really not interested. Unless you’re in that Relationship with him, which then might get a flirt back or a casual acceptance. He’s not really one for displaying his emotions, and flirting comes across as pretty silly. Plus he’s got plenty of self-esteem issues, and doesn’t think highly of himself AT ALL, so flirting doesn’t get far with him.

Yusei’s down for a scrap, but he’s far more responder than aggressor. He won’t start a fight, but he’ll definitely finish it! And by start, that doesn’t mean attacking him either. Pick on his friends and he’ll get involved. Due to growing up in the slums, he’s no slouch in the fighting department and easily took down two trained corporation guards without missing a beat. He’s also strong enough to kick the legs out from under a man much larger than him.

He’s gotten into plenty of scrapes in his life and has dealt with both trivial and serious injury. But Yusei’s only human and he was down and out for a number of days thanks to an abdomen puncture. That said, if you want to rough him up, the minor injuries don’t need any messaging. Cuts, scrapes, burns, bruises, go for it. The major injuries would need a PM first. Breaking bones, impalements, heavy burns, that kind of stuff.

Yusei’s seen death. But he’s not at all comfortable with it. Really have no intention of doing into this here? But if we want to do something with a “false” death, such as a temporary death, medically induced flatline, dying in a dream, soul getting sucked out, that’s fine for the sake of drama and emotion. Other than that, he’s doggedly determined to stay alive, despite being a self-sacrificing idiot all the time.

It’s a thing in Yu-Gi-Oh! land? But it’s more of a vision and trading or showing memories than actually talking to someone in their mind. This needs a PM first for permission, unless the setting establishes it as happening. Yusei doesn’t have the most light-hearted memories in there and there are elements of trauma, mass destruction, monsters, and other things in his head. In character wise, he won’t be happy to have someone rooting around in his head.

WE DON’T KNOW?! There is magic in Yu-Gi-Oh! land, but there’s also a very strange blurring between phenomena caused by magic, by technology, by psychic powers, and by supernatural (godly) beings. Generally, magic isn’t considered a thing by the general populace, but it does exist to select few, usually done via gods / monsters and their respective Duel Monster cards.

Externally, Yusei’s pretty cool and collected, and internally he’s surprisingly passionate for someone so level-headed. Reserved and focused on his own agenda, he doesn’t give the implication of having many "issues" inside. But despite being physically healthy and mentally sound, Yusei has some severe self-esteem issues and doesn’t think highly of himself at all, leading to a very pronounced self-sacrificing streak to protect the people important to him. Thus his biggest triggers are:
     1) having his friends threatened or having to watch them suffer
     2) witnessing someone or something being derided as "useless"
     3) being taunted over his uselessness and "trash" status as a Satellite civilian
     4) being confronted over his father’s involvement in the Zero Reverse incident.

Nope!