starshippingweek

[starshippingweek]

They are on a date guys trust

[starshippingweek]

Drew Starshipping as mdzs paro :D

Below for close ups!

[starshippingweek]

2025 Event Plans

Hello Starshippers!

First of all, thank you so much for everyone who participated in 💝 12 Days of Starshipping 💝 - we hope those 12 days brought you a little bit of joy during the holiday season. Now that we're nearing the end of 2024 (or perhaps it is already '25 where you are!), the team would like to express our appreciation for everyone who drew, wrote, talked, breathed, thought of Starshipping this past year - whether or not it was in contribution to one of our events. We've had a wonderful time getting Starshippers together this year as well, and we're really excited to bring you another year of fun happenings.

So, without further ado, here is the tentative event schedule that we'll be hosting on this blog for the year of 2025:

February 7 - 14: 💘 Valentine's Day Celebration [Collaborative Drawing (Magma) Board]

July 31 - August 7: Starshipping Week 2025 [🌟BONDS BEYOND TIME 15TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL EDITION🌟]

October: Halloween Trick and Treat [Mini Gift Exchange]

December: Holiday event [TBD]

That's right, we're planning two new events - just because we think about Starshipping all year round and we're sure you do, too 💭 So why miss any opportunity to celebrate our beloved protagonists (who are also in love)? (Details are subject to change, pending interest and our availability, but we will keep trying our best as we have for the past 3 years.)

That's all for this announcement! For now:

🎆 Happy New Year! 🎆

We hope you'll have a wonderful 2025 - full of light and hope and adventure just like this fandom has been for us 🌠

[starshippingweek]

On the twelfth day of Starshipping,

SpaceBun gives to us a beautiful art of the boys cuddling on a quiet Christmas night 🎄✨

*↟🌟🎄* 𝙼𝚎𝚛𝚛𝚢 𝙲𝚑𝚛𝚒𝚜𝚝𝚖𝚊𝚜 *🎄🌟*↟

[starshippingweek]

On the eleventh day of Starshipping,

Mod B gives to you a very short version of my fic rec list - because we all know the best way to spend the holidays is to curl up in a cozy blanket with a mug of hot chocolate and binge on tales of our OTP until dawn ૮꒰ྀི∩´ ᵕ `∩꒱ྀིა. Stories are listed in order of whenever I manage to find them (should've utilised the bookmarks more :c) and mostly feature non-English languages and older publications.

风与旅行者 by 薛量子 (QuantumSchro) (translation: The Wind and the Traveler).

Summary (translation): Judai has a story about dreams, adventure, and saving the world. And in their journey with the years, he also created another story: a story about love, life and vows. He saw fine lines forming at the corners of Yusei's eyes, and his skin was gradually becoming rougher. They grew up together, laughed together, grew old together, and watched each other grow gray.

Why I recommend this fic:

The premise of this story is that Judai is immortal, and after years and years of travel post-Duel Academia, he runs into Yusei in Neo Domino (in this timeline, Zero Reverse didn't happen). They fall in love and build a life together. But Judai keeps his secret hidden - until he no longer can.

This is, without exaggeration, one of the best executions I have ever seen of the "immortal Judai" idea, and the author also ties this storyline into canon very nicely. I had to use Google Translate to read this but I'm sure it's even more beautiful in the original language - as even with the choppy translation, my heart was sobbing with the vivid description of the scenes, the joys and sorrows of their journey, and especially Judai's character growth thanks to Yusei. I couldn't stop thinking about it for DAYS afterwards. Highly recommend if you want a big ol' hit of angst with a happy ending that'll leave you gushing.

2. The Constellation of Our Hearts by EntameWitchLulu

Summary: "We've drawn this constellation between us, hoping that one day, it will let us remember all the times we've been together." - a collection of oneshots for Starshipping Week

Why I recommend this fic:

The outro of one of the chapters best describes the premise of this body of work:

They say when a dragon falls in love, its soul becomes mortal, and it joins the cycle of rebirth. We were both dragons, and we both fell in love. Over and over we find ourselves spinning like this. But a dragon's soul can never rest once it's fallen in love—not until both souls learn to remember. Not until both souls meet, and resonate, with the memory of their times together.

Even though it's a Fantasy AU at first glance, this collection has everything - adventure, action, suspense, angst, fluff, PIRATE YUSEI, and of course sweet, sweet romance. Judai and Yusei met as dragons and the stories document their meetings across reincarnations. Sometimes they meet only briefly, sometimes they form long-lasting relationships, sometimes neither remembers and sometimes one remembers while the other does not - until too late. A deeply bittersweet but gorgeous tale of longing and hope and wonder and honestly if I keep thinking about it any more, I'm gonna start crying, so. *puts this collection on a marble plinth for permanent display in the Museum of Starshipping*

3. 周末小事 by FinnaC (translation: Things to do at weekends)

Summary: Yuki Judai caught a cold. *Journal of daily life of cohabitation.

Why I recommend this fic:

It makes my heart go like √v^√v^√♥💥 with cuteness! A cozy, fluffy fic featuring Judai, who cannot stand being stuck inside all day because he's sick. Thankfully he's got a wonderful boyfriend to take care of him! So sweet it makes me melt~

4. good earth & good bones by en passant (corinthian)

Summary: The world ended, the ocean swallowed many of the coastal cities and left behind a changed landscape. Judai's coming home, Yuusei's finding his way. Along the way, they discover a little more than just their destination. -- Starshipping, post-apocalypstic au.

Why I recommend this fic:

Delightfully inventive. This story paints a vivid picture of a world that's very different from the ones in GX and 5Ds, and you can see how its brutal circumstances have shaped the characters, but deep down they still have the traits we know (and love) from canon. Judai and Yusei have got chemistry like crazy from the moment they first meet, and I also love the idea of them going on an adventure together! It was also really cool to see how other characters from both series found their places in this world - definitely a very unique reading experience.

5. Starships Were Meant to Fly by iatethecookie

Summary Random Starshipping oneshots.

Why I recommend this fic:

As of today, there are two one-shots at this link, and both are utterly charming, especially the first one. I am smitten with this depiction of Yusei - confident, kind, caring, and with a sense of humor that can best Jaden at times. I'd just like to present my favorite excerpt:

"Didwehankypankylastnight?" he suddenly blurted out, pink dusting his cheeks. Waaaaay to go Jade. Smooth. Hanky panky, really? He probably thinks you're a total idiot. At least he no longer felt the compelling need to stare into the other boy's eyes anymore. Oh God. To Jaden's surpise, the guy gave out a short laugh. He had a nice laugh, it was smooth and made his eyes light up. Drunk Jaden seemed to have really good taste.

Also, get-together fics are my weakness. Aren't we glad that they didn't get together in canon so that us fans get to imagine that part however we want?

I'll wrap it up here even though there are more and moreeeee awesome fics I wish I could shove into everybody's face. If you have a lesser-known fic that you think should be required reading for all Starshippers, please let us know down below!

[starshippingweek]

On the ninth day of Starshipping,

we go retro and revisit one of our favorite mediums of Stashipping fanworks: AMVs! If you've been a Starshipper for 10+ years (like me teehee) you might remember the days when you'd comb through video hosting sites, looking for Starshipping AMVs to fuel your obsession. Sometimes, one became a Starshipper because they happened upon that one video that delivered them to enlightenment: "Yeah, Judai and Yusei should be together!" (Maybe you were one of those talented souls wrestling with a video editing software to bring about said enlightenment?)

Unsurprisingly, a lot of them use clips from Bonds Beyond Time, and this one here pairs the gorgeous action scenes and effects from the duels with the music so well:

This next one is my absolute favorite, because the combined clips from both GX and 5Ds walk us through the parallels between Judai and Yusei's stories, and show us why they're so perfect for each other. "Because you live, my world has twice as many stars in the sky." Yessss 1000% for ever and everrrrr (˚ ˃̣̣̥⌓˂̣̣̥ ) ‧°⊹₊⟡⋆

This one's such a banger that it even escaped the intended demographic based on the comment section. But ahh, the transitions and clip selection are impeccable; a classic shipping song and so perfect for the spicier side of thing between them ദ്ദി ˉ͈̀꒳ˉ͈́ )✧

And we cannot neglect to mention the tunes that echo the zeitgeist of the early 2010s:

ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ "Hey, I just met you / And this is crazy / But here's my Neos / So fuse me maybe." ᕕ( ᐕ )ᕗ

Killer cover of this classic tune, and the edit (⊙ _ ⊙ )★ ˎˊ˗

And by no means is this a thing of the past - here's a very recent gem that's so heartbreaking but so, SO gorgeous!!!

This was by nowhere near an exhaustive list, but hopefully if you're an old school Starshipper, this has taken you back to the glory days - and if you've only recently joined us, here's an entire wonderful side of this ship for you to explore!

[starshippingweek]

On the eighth day of Starshipping...

Neeko gives to us a delicious cup of hot chocolate featuring our lovely boys!!

On the eighth day of Starshipping, I drink a very elaborate hot chocolate out of my Starshipping cup <3333

If you were around in 2022 you'll probably recognise these arts. While I was crippled away from fandom on the internet, I decided that this year, I'd finally take the plunge to bring things to rl! Now they can always be together on this cute little mug and I can stare at them all day while at work 💖💗🥰💞

(aka an excuse to discreetly smooch his Yusei's face whenever I take a sip ( ˘ ³˘) 💕)

For @starshippingweek's 12 Days of Starshipping event! Hope everyone's sipping on hot chocolate this weekend.

[starshippingweek]

On the seventh day of Starshipping,

the amazing Taruchinator finally let Yusei and Judai reveal their gifts to each other!!

“When We're Together” A Starshipping Fanfic 🎄

🎄 General Audiences

🎄 1k Words

🎄 Written for @starshippingweek!

Spending Christmas in a different time period was interesting to say the least.

Yusei sat on the soft carpet flooring of his boyfriend's home, with a mug of hot cocoa in one hand as he took in the sights of the small apartment. It was the first time he'd visited Jaden's home—not because he didn't want him to, but rather school didn't allow him to leave the dorms until the holidays started.

And so here they were, ready to do their Christmas gift exchange.

On the seventh day of Starshipping... 🎄

I'm not late in posting for once! Huzzah!

Enjoy the wrap up to this little story I built up over the last few days—it was truly an experience to get to come up with little prompts to go off of for each day.

Happy 12 Days of Starshipping and a Happy New Year! ^^

🎄 AO3 LINK 🎄

[starshippingweek]

On the sixth day of Starshipping,

Yusei and Judai takes you on a little adventure!

Hitching a ride on a sleigh~~ 🦌🛷

But it's better to feel the wind up front, right? ࿐ ࿔*:･ﾟ

"Come on up Yusei, the view's great here!" "Please be careful!"

"You're right, it is beautiful..."

...And somehow, the perfect moment just came along... ⋆꙳·̩̩͙❅̩̩͙‧͙ ‧͙̩̩͙❆ ͙͛ ˚₊⋆⋆ ˚｡⋆୨♡୧⋆ ˚｡⋆꙳·̩̩͙❅̩̩͙‧͙ ‧͙̩̩͙❆ ͙͛ ˚₊⋆

But then - an unexpected guest shows up:

"I see you guys have been keeping each other busy." "Yugi-san!?" 0/////0 "Wow, it's the legendary Yugi Muto in the flesh! Again!"

*15 minutes later* "...And that's how grandpa's soul got trapped in a machine similar to this. Quite unbelievable, huh? Your generation probably doesn't have this anymore - oh wait, should I say "generations," because you guys came from different times? Haha~ By the way, does that kind of thing still happen where you came from? Trapping people's souls in TVs and such?"

"That was so much fun! But I guess it's time for us to go home." "Hold on tight, Judai-san!" "Yeah, onwards to 2025!"

[starshippingweek]

On the fifth day of Starshipping,

Junmo gives to us a very soft and cozy art! Love the pattern in the background and their expressions - especially Judai, he looks so content being wrapped up with Yusei ( ⸝⸝´꒳`⸝⸝)

A little drawing of our favorite star boys🌟 🦀🍤 for @starshippingweek event (⁠＾⁠∇⁠＾⁠)⁠ﾉ⁠♪

[starshippingweek]

On the fourth day of Starshipping,

Taruchinator does it again!

I couldn't help giggling at your vivid depiction of the carnage in the kitchen. The interactions between the characters are so lovely - everybody's rooting for our bois in their own way ♡⸜(˶˃ ᵕ ˂˶)⸝♡

“Bread Winner” A Starshipping Fanfic 🍪

🍪 General Audiences

🍪 Jaden POV

🍪 Written for @starshippingweek!

Jesse Anderson wasn't sure what he was expecting to see once he entered the Slifer Red dorms’ kitchen after hearing loud commotion and yelling coming from within. But it was most certainly not this.

All counters were piled to the brim with an assortment of used kitchen appliances ranging from bowls, to trays, to spatulas. Cookie sheets were lined with what appeared to be gingerbread cookies, charred beyond recognition as far as the eye could see.

And in the midst of the chaos stood two individuals he knew very well.

“Jay?”

On the fourth day of Starshipping... 🍪

I bring you the next chapter of my Christmas saga, feat. Jaden trying to bake (and failing miserably)! I apologize for my tardiness in this one but I hope you'll enjoy! ^^

🍪 AO3 LINK 🍪

[starshippingweek]

they weren't expecting you here🤫

[starshippingweek]

On the third day of Starshipping,

Mod B gives to you a little silly analysis essay on the topic of: the boys’ “favorite” foods.

It’s a widely accepted and/or portrayed idea that Judai’s favorite dish is エビフライ (fried shrimp) and a less prevalent idea that’s nevertheless also found in fics and arts that Yusei loves milk. Some parts of the Asian fandoms even use the 🍤 emoji as a shorthand for Judai (thus making Starshipping 🦀🍤)! But where did these ideas come from - and how much of it is actually based on canon? 

(Note: This analysis is sourced from the subbed version of both shows. I have not watched the dub of either and cannot account for how the dialogue may influence the conclusions drawn here.)

The fried shrimp dish first appeared in GX in Episode 66 (Judai’s First Dream Duel!). It is said to be a special, once-in-a-month treat at Slifer Red Dorm.

Earlier, in Episode 63 (Kenzan VS The Curry Fiend! A Spicy Duel), Manjoume complained that the food at Red Dorm was the same everyday. We can see that it basically consists of fish, pickles, rice, tofu, and miso soup. However, Kenzan remarks that no matter what the meal is, Judai just digs right in, and without his enthusiasm it is hard for the others to have the appetite. So, even though Sho calls this meal Judai’s favorite in Ep 66, it’s not hard to imagine that if you have to eat the same things every single day, you’d come to appreciate something rare and more indulgent like this fried shrimp meal in comparison, right?

I personally think that Judai is the kind of guy who loves to eat, who enjoys the experience of tasting food of all kinds, and he’s prone to excitement towards things that are hard to come by (another example being the Golden Egg Draw Bread - an very nice detail to reinforce the worldbuilding). Perhaps, outside of the context of Duel Academia, fried shrimp wouldn’t particularly stand out as Judai’s absolute favorite amongst all the other food options he may have at his disposal.

However, Judai must’ve developed a sentimental connection of some sort to fried shrimp. It’s entirely reasonable to imagine that after the show ends, as he travels the world, he will come to crave this dish as it reminds him of the memories he’s made at Duel Academia.

Yusei’s connection with milk, on the other hand, is considered as more of a meme that originated from Episode 11 (The Special Pursuit Deck Returns, Regain the Bonds with a Friend), where he walked into a bar at the direction of Himuro to meet Saiga. The bartender got pissy when Yusei ordered milk, but upon seeing the card that Himuro’d given him, complied and gave him a glass on the house.

Now, there’s practically no information to deduce why Yusei made this order in particular. The beverage never came up again in the series (unlike fried shrimp, which made another appearance at the very beginning of GX’s Season 4). Some on the interwebs have speculated that he was not of legal age to drink, so he ordered something non-alcoholic in order not to attract attention, but why not order something else less outrageous in the setting of a bar - such as juice or soda?

Here's my speculation: Since right after he’d been born, Yusei’d never been outside of Satellite. And Satellite, as it’s portrayed, is basically a colony, kept under blockade and sanctions by Neo Domino City. Food is hard to come by, and there is probably not enough agricultural land to keep cattle at a scale where dairy products would be widely available (given that the “island” was a part of the City not long ago). Based on living conditions during wartime and sanctions irl, and based on the fact that there is a black market in Satellite where goods are illegally transported in from Neo Domino, it is likely that dairy products were only available in processed, non-perishable, and lightweight forms such as milk powder or condensed milk. 

Perhaps Yusei's always wondered, at the back of his mind, what fresh milk tasted like ever since he was a small child - the stuff they give the babies at the orphanage having all been formula/powder, and was also hard to come by. Perhaps the very first stop (aside from jail) he makes in Neo Domino presented him with an opportunity to quench his curiosity - and he took it. And, perhaps there might not be any meaning to infer at all - it was just an inside joke that the script writers and animators were making amongst themselves. 

Whatever it is, he quickly downs the glass and leaves, the letting the plot move on to more serious beats - but this for sure became one of Yusei's most iconic moments because it seems to give us a glance into something about his character that we don’t often get to see. I, for one, would love to know all about the things he likes to eat/drink, as well as any emotional connections he might have to them because of his upbringing - similar to Judai’s attachment to fried shrimps, and I think it's great fun to keep thinking that he really is into fresh, whole milk.

These little details get me imagining so many ways they would show love and affection to each other. In Episode 152 of 5Ds’, Yusei is seen taking charge of shopping and cooking up a feast for Team 5Ds - an expression of the love and care he has for his friends. When they're together, he will learn how to prepare a perfect meal of fried shrimps for any time Judai’s cravings arise. On the other hand, Judai’s enthusiasm for food will definitely open up new avenues and culinary adventures for Yusei, who probably does not put as much care into this aspect of his life due to his origin. I especially love it when people touch on this kind of complementing differences between them in their arts and fics.

What do you think? What would a perfect Starshipping meal consist of? What will become their new favorite foods once they get together and get to know each other’s eating habits? Hopefully if you've read all the way to the end (woah!) your head is now filling up with ideas regarding this topic - feel free to share, I'd love to hear 'em!

[starshippingweek]

On the second day of Starshipping,

the awesome Taruchinator brought us an adorable, holiday flavored fic!!

“Wrap Your Heart (in mine)” A Starshipping Fanfic 🎁

🎁 General Audiences

🎁 Yusei POV

🎁 Written for @starshippingweek!

Yusei brought forth a small box wrapped in snowflake patterned wrapping paper, and even though the material itself was nice to look at, the way it was arranged was… well, interesting.

Bent corners, wrinkly sides that appeared torn, and a messy crooked bow on top that looked like it was tied by a toddler. The teen raised a questioning eyebrow while presenting the gift to his fellow Signer. “Does this look okay to you?”

“Yikes.”

On the second day of Starshipping... 🎁

Yusei Fudo is trying to wrap a present without it looking like forgotten trash.

How will that go?

🎁 AO3 LINK 🎁

[starshippingweek]

On the first day of Starshipping,

Yusei and Judai (along with the Starshipping Week team) give to you the warmest greetings! 💝

We know that this year has come with challenges and difficult times for many, but we hope that it has also given you plenty of wonderful experiences and memories to cherish. As🎀12 Days of Starshipping 2024🎀 officially kick off, we'd like to wish you a jolly, merry, happy, and 🌟starry🌟 holiday season. Enjoy the ride! 🦌🛷⛄🎄🎁🎉☕

[starshippingweek]

12 Days of Starshipping - Posting Schedule

Thank you for your patience - here is the official posting schedule for this year. Make sure to tag @starshippingweek and #12 Days of Starshipping on your posts. We can't wait to see what you have in store for us! 💝🌟

[starshippingweek]

We're having quite a busy week, so the posting schedule will go live on December 7th!