A/N: Hello and welcome to my fic! The idea for the world that WDF takes place in was lent to me from Evii Paladin, who retains the right to yoink me from writing at any point (which I doubt he will). Otherwise, YGO itself belongs to the people who own it and stuffs. Yeah.
... I'm bad with copywrite/legal stuff.
Anyway, the origin of this setting is, what if Duel Monsters took the place that good ole-fashion wrasslin' occupies in real life? No spirits, no ancient conspiracies, just card games and over-the-top hamtastic Duels. There will be some wrasslin' terminology as well, but as I myself don't watch any form of pro wrestling, it will probably be kept to a minimum and explained thoroughly. Besides that, I don't think there's much to say- though there will be anime-only and custom cards that appear. Why? Because archetypes I deem fun usually get the shaft when it comes to cards. Case in point: Iron Chains. Seriously, does that even count as a full archetype?! So if you have an extreme aversion to custom or anime-only cards, then turn back now.
That being said, welcome to the wonderful world of the World Dueling Federation, Taipei Branch! Enjoy.
Tanya picked at her nails, her lip drawn between her teeth as she constantly shifted back and forth in her seat. The closer the last names got to "Greyson," the more nervous she became. She wasn't cut out for this. She'd barely won local tournaments. All the Extra Deck monsters she had bought to get her this far in the selection process had killed her food budget, and now she was going to fail to impress the recruiters. She didn't have enough gas money to get home if she didn't get a signing check. What had she been thinking?!
She finally looked up at the current Duel. It was some gothy guy. "The Acolyte," they called him. That would be his stage name if he made it. "Metalface" was closer to what Tanya would have picked. His black clothes were worn in layers, necessary to keep him decent with all the tears in them. He had at least four belts on, and his D-Gazer was modified to look like his skull was exposed.
"I summon Senju of the Ten Thousand Hands," he said. Tanya shivered. He was creepy, that was for sure. Every word seemed to pound home that he was going to offer you as a sacrifice to some hokey god. Then again, Tanya realized, that was the point. He was acting. Hopefully.
"I activate Senju's special ability," The Acolyte said. "It lets me search for a Ritual Monster in my deck. I choose Swordsman of Doom Lithmus!" Tanya's ears perked up. Swordsman of Doom Lithmus wasn't a card she'd heard of before. Could… could this hokey Acolyte guy have a sponsor with the weight to throw around and get him a commissioned promotional card?
Tanya suddenly became interested in the duel, and switched her D-Gazer on. A quick scan started, and then revealed the field; the recruiter had Moulinglacia the Elemental Lord and a back-row facedown, with 3300 Life Points. The Acolyte had two facedowns in his back row, and only the enlightened being in his Monster Zone, his thousand hands always in motion. He was down to just 100 Life Points, and only had two cards in his hand- at least one of which was a Ritual Monster he couldn't possibly summon.
To top it off, he was grinning like a madman. "Time to send you to your doom," The Acolyte cackled. "I activate my Ritual of Lithmus in my hand! Thanks to Moulinglacia, my hand really took a hit last turn. Luckily, my Ritual Djinns can banish themselves from the grave to act as Ritual Tributes! Dark magics, gather the lost souls and bring forth the shadowed noble- Djinns Presider, Releaser, and Disserere of Rituals, pass on to bring forth the dark swordsman, Doom Lithmus!" Above The Acolyte, a dark vortex formed, swirling rapidly, before a lightningbolt struck a Monster Card Zone. There stood the Swordsman of Doom Lithmus, a mighty Level 8 Ritual Monster.
Tanya's D-Gazer read his stats, and she had to resist laughing. He had no ATK or DEF! Even with the added bonuses that the Ritual Djinns conferred onto him- Tanya vaguely remembered that one let you draw, another caused your opponent to discard, and one locked down Synchro monsters- there was nothing he could do to Moulinglacia, a 2800 ATK powerhouse.
"Senju, attack Moulinglacia!" The many-armed diety dashed at the god of water, brandishing his hands. "Then I activate my facedown Metalmorph, equipping it to Senju!" One of the vertical facedowns shone and transformed into mechanized armor, shooting off to equip itself to the Fairy. "Metalmorph is a trap that equips itself to a monster, raising its ATK by 300. When that monster attacks, it also gains half the ATK of its target- giving Senju a total boost of 1700!" The mechanical diety smashed the water god, sending its shattered armor back at the recruiter.
Recruiter: 3300-3000.
"I don't know if you realize this," the recruiter spat, "but this means you lose. You can't defeat me next turn, and I can finish milling your deck with what's in my hand."
"Really? Because Swordsman is at 3000 ATK- just enough to finish you off!"
"Wha- Impossible! Where did 3000 ATK come from?!"
"That is Swordsman of Doom Lithmus's hidden ability!" The Acolyte cackled. "When I have a face-up Trap, his original ATK is 3000!"
"Then I activate my facedown Compulsory Evacuation Device! Swordsman returns to your hand!"
The Acolyte grinned. "Unfortunately for you, Lithmus has a second hidden ability- he's unaffected by Trap Cards! Game over!"
Recruiter: 3000-0000. Winner: The Acolyte.
With the Duel over, the field faded, leaving just The Acolyte and the recruiter. Tanya then witnessed one of the strangest things in her life. The Acolyte began to dance and laugh and generally jump about in a very un-gothy way. "I made it, I made it!" he yelled, his voice suddenly much higher than his gloom and doom stage voice. "I'm a Pro Duelist!"
"Show up at this location tomorrow," the recruiter growled, handing The Acolyte a piece of paper. "They'll have Duels lined up. Don't be late. Here's your signing check."
The Acolyte practically skipped out of the stadium as the recruiter went to find the list of names he was dueling today. "Next up!" he said, his voice booming through the microphone in his D-Gazer. "Tanya 'Tech Genius' Greyson!"