#Why did dark Bakura do that

[respectfullytrash]

rereading early manga. Remember when Bakura’s hand got super mega messed up because Dark Bakura apparently doesn’t feel pain or just totally forgot that that was still His hand he was piercing a castle tower through.

Or how Ryou just straight up dies and doesn’t come back

Just kidding he totally survived and somehow his hand is just completely fine not even a week later. I’m not a doctor, but being stabbed all the way through your hand and then dying and coming back to life 4 seconds later isn’t good for your overall health and wellbeing.

[x-atlas-x]

The bedroom is quiet as Yugi shuffles around, finishing up his night routine before settling down. Atem is already laying in the bed they now shared—the same bed that Yugi used to sleep in alone. It’s small, but it’s big enough for the two of them.

Yugi is taking off his jewelry when Atem speaks up, “Do you mind telling me the story of how you met Baku—I mean, Ryou?”

The question surprises Yugi. He freezes in the middle of removing his cuffs. He continues after a moment, not bothering to look at Atem. He couldn’t see him in the dark room, anyways. He clears his throat and replies, “Well, he transferred to our school in the middle of the semester during tenth grade. It wasn’t long after I solved the puzzle.”

He hears Atem hum in recognition, “Right…”

Slowly, Yugi turns and looks at the corner where he knows Atem resides. He folds his arms and frowns, “Atem, you were there. Don’t you remember?”

“I do,” Atem quickly assures him, “I just wanted to hear the story from you. I suppose I was wondering if there were any details I missed. Everything happened so quickly with him and Bakura.”

Crossing the room, Yugi sighs, “No, nothing else happened. We’ve talked about this before. You haven’t missed anything.”

“There’s no harm in double-checking, now is there?”

Yugi eyes narrow at the slight waver in Atem’s voice, He sits on his side of the bed and stares at the lump next to him, “Atem, what’s going on?”

“Nothing,” Atem blurts a little too quickly.

“Atem,” Yugi repeats more sternly.

“Don’t use that tone of voice with me…” Atem grumbles, somehow sinking deeper into the shadows that cast over Yugi’s bed.

Yugi gently pulls at Atem’s shoulder until he turns. Even in the darkness, their eyes meet, and Yugi whispers, “Talk to me…”

“I…” Atem trails off, his teeth gnawing at his bottom lip with uncertainty. He sits up and hugs his knees to his chest, mumbling, “My memory… I’m having a harder time remembering things from the past.”

“What do you mean?” Yugi tilts his head in confusion. “Your past or…” He glances away, “…our past?”

Atem’s words are uneven when he admits, “Our past.”

“How so?” Yugi forces out as he does his best to ignore the ache in his heart.

“I can remember everything about who I was back in Egypt thousands of years ago. It’s all there. My memories about what happened during my time within the puzzle—our memories—is becoming foreign to me. It’s blurry,” Atem admits, “and I don’t understand why. It used to be so vivid to me.”

“I want to say that’s normal,” Yugi shrugs, but his body feels paralyzed. He blinks away tears, “especially since memories can get foggy after a few years. You’ve been living here for a while, Atem. It’s just something everyone experiences—“

“Not this!” Atem interrupts him. Yugi’s head whirls around to meet Atem’s face, his eyes widening at the tears streaming down his partner’s cheeks. Atem sniffles and shakes his head in frustration, “This is… Yugi, something’s wrong. I don’t know how to explain it, but this—it doesn’t feel right.”

“Atem…” Yugi breathes out. He isn’t sure what to say to comfort him. He doesn’t know how to figure out what he’s thinking without their mental connection. Reading Atem was so easy, but in this moment, Yugi didn’t have a clue what chaos was brewing in his head—well, he had that much to work with. Chaos. It was always typical of Atem…

Atem slumps, “I’m being irrational, aren’t I?”

“No, you’re not,” Yugi reaches for Atem’s hand and laces their fingers together. “It makes sense. You’ve been pretty distant lately and asking a lot of weird things…”

“I have?”

“You asked me where I was when the whole situation with Dartz was going on a few days ago,” Yugi points out, recalling his discussion with Atem one morning while making breakfast. “You playing the Seal of Orichalcos traumatized you. That’s not something you’ve been able to forget.”

“I didn’t ask that—“ Atem pauses, then stares at Yugi in horror, “—did I?”

Yugi’s heart plummets, and he chokes on a sob, “We need to call Ishizu.”

“Oh, Gods…” Atem murmurs in disbelief.

He clumsily stumbles after Yugi as he leaps out of bed. He continues to hold his hand securely while they rush downstairs to the home phone. His chest is tight, and he feels like he can’t breathe.

Once they reach the phone, Yugi dials Ishizu’s number that he’s memorized from calling her many times after the Ceremonial Duel. It’d been a while since the last time, and both of them assumed it’d be the end of those random phone calls with ridiculous questions that sounded absurd, but only made sense to the three of them.

Atem stops listening and tunes Yugi out as he talks into the receiver. He leans into Yugi’s embrace and rests his head on his shoulder. The tears never stop, and it makes him curl in on himself. He buries his face in the crook of Yugi’s neck and pretends he doesn’t exist.

Atem fears that he’d cease to for much longer.

[bestygogirl]

BEST YGO GIRL: ROUND 4, GROUP C

Match 2

please use this as an opportunity to say why you like a character, not why you don't.

Propaganda under the cut!

Mana

mana is the apprentice to mahad and her ka is dark magician girl. she is the basis for apprentice illusion magician. she is the first one to inherit the millennium ring after mahad, while it allegedly has yami bakura in it. her fate is left up to the viewer. another fun fact is she teases atem like he's her big brother and hides in vases. she makes fun of set's stupid hat and turns it in magical hats. she's a fun loving child who is put in a position where she needs to fight a war. and like. she's my daughter please vote for her.

Isis Ishtar

gorgeous, very caring sister, strong duelist, and the only woman to ever make Seto Kaiba squirm

anyways. not only as mentioned above is she the first woman to make kaiba squirm, but she was by all means going to beat him if not for the millennium rod's millennium interference. yami marik admits that she's a strong duelist with a strategy that's been working for literal years-- and given that she's not like, a professional duelist, thats pretty impressive

she also recently got some really cool meta bumps and let me point out that an "ishizu deck" now includes obelisk the tormentor-- which we knew she had prior to giving it to kaiba, but i think it only solidifies my opinion that she very much could wield an Egyptian God Card, an exclusive little club for top tier duelists

as a character she presents herself with an amazing amount of poise and grace, shes compassionate and kind and stays with mai and serenity even though she only just met them. shes struggling through living the past 5 years of her life drowning in guilt for her family's tragedy just because she wanted to make her little brother happy and shadi is a fucking liar. shes foretold her own death and marches towards it grimly but with so much love in her heart. and even then shes 20 years old and holds an important position in the egyptian government that typically requires a doctorate degree AND has been dealing with mariks off-and-on bullshit entirely by her lonesome. she also likes to flex her fortunetelling a little which is awesome i think she should do that more that scene where she tells the guy exactly how the stele is being transported was so everything

speaking of shes got such an attitude. "is it your destiny to waste my time?" iconic. never seen before will never be seen again. watch the duel between her va and joeys its so fucking funny

shes excult. shes doesnt flinch in the face of god nor death. seto kaiba and yami marik respect her. shes so sad and so sweet and battle city couldnt have happened without her.

also her parallels with kaiba are what motivate kaiba to give yugi the card he needed to beat marik.

kaiba, in duelist kingdom, was ready to jump off a ledge if yugi didnt let him through to face pegasus while trying to save mokuba out of sheer desperation to save his little brother. he KNOWS what that dedication feels like and the iron kind of will you need to have to make that kind of gamble. isis is being so fucking legit with what shes saying and he respects that and her judgement enough to change his mind and not only watch the duel, but give yugi a card that eventually helps him win, even if he has no real confidence in the odds. but theres a CHANCE, which is the same thing he taught her when he beat her in a duel. the layers its her faith that moves him to act. which is so crazy

anyway vote isis shes my best friend forever and a real rep for all the 20 year olds who honest to god did not sign up for this bullshit

[ultraericthered]

Another piece of the Yami Marik conundrum I'd not considered.

This article really does make a strong case for why Yami Marik worked so well as a villain ("villain" as in "antagonistic force of evil that acts as an obstacle and foil for the good guys") even in the original manga: he was a darker reflection of the entity Atem had become by the start of the manga's narrative, what Atem could have gone on to be like had it not been for the influence of Yugi and his friends. Which fits with the arc's theme of Atem having the face and conquer his near-term past in the present time before he can be ready to face his ancient past going forward. Heck, Yami Marik's look is even meant to evoke a dark reflection of Atem with the hairstyle and the Millennium Eye on his forehead like Atem used to do a lot.

But the problem was in the execution. 'Cause remember, this was Atem when we were introduced to him:

Whereas this was Yami Marik when we're introduced to him:

Rather than really lean in to the ghoulishly grinning sadism and taking it to more deranged extremes than Atem ever did, Yami Marik ended up feeling too often like a return to the follies of Shadi - this grim, sneering, charmless Egyptian antagonist terrorizing the good guys for no particularly solid reason. So he was a trade down from regular Marik and Yami Bakura, and couldn't even snatch "Best Villain" mantle from Pegasus. He existed as a textbook Plot Device.

At least until the Battle City Finals at Alcatraz Tower. At that point, particularly when finally dueling against Atem, Takahashi started to take cues from his anime portrayal and made him a bit more fun.

The anime, meanwhile, had a different issue facing it. It opted to portray Yami Marik as a psychotic smirking, cackling, vein bulging, face contorting, feral and demonic presence from the get-go, and he was much better off for that in addition to scaling back his OPness. He was the extra sadistic darker counterpart to Atem fully realized.

Except....Atem had never been characterized in any way remotely comparable to Yami Marik at any point of this anime, ever. From Episode 1, Yugi's alter ego is cast in a heroic light and portrayed as a noble, honorable figure. The only Penalty Game he ever deals out is the Mind Crush, which is shown to be an act of mercy on Kaiba. Even in a flashback when he comes out to rescue Tea from a pervy gym teacher wanting to strip her down and film her, he's depicted as a clear cut good guy. The worst he ever did was be a dick to Shadi, and given his experiences with Pegasus and Yami Bakura, he was entirely well within his right to be distrustful of anyone else with a Millennium Item, especially if that person was a literal heart-jacker. So while Yami Marik now soared to greater heights in his villainy, the angle of him being a foil to Atem was completely lost in translation.

So I'm not sure I'd call him the "Best Villain": Yami Bakura, Pegasus, and even Kaiba have quite the head start over him. But both he and the regular Marik score a strong fourth place overall in my heart.

[moonogre]

WIP game of birds!

🐦‍⬛ 🦚

@alectoperdita remember when this story was a short PWP and they were banging in the earlies? Yeah me neither lmao pulling from the cutting room floor for this 😂

(It was so good in my head Mr. Frodo 😭)

🦚

Kaiba’s face was red, backed up to the dashboard console of one of the servers. Jou leered at him, pushing closer, stepping between Kaiba’s long legs and pushing him back so that he had no choice but to hop up on the command centre. He had the presence of mind to lock controls of the station, effectively shutting off the computer. The screen faded off, plunging the lab into darkness. Still, in the low light, he could make out Jou’s face, and his wolfish smile that made his heart lurch into his throat.

Kaiba wondered if he had some kind of tell: Jou leaned in close and pressed his lips to his throat; Kaiba swore that the other boy could feel his heartbeat pounding even his neck. Jou inhaled deeply and then laughed into Seto’s neck, placing a palm on his upper tigh and pushing slightly so Kaiba’s legs opened wider. Kaiba moaned, feeling knobs and dials from the computer dig into his backside. Jou pressed closer in and Kaiba smelt the sugary smell waft off Jou’s skin, his hair— was it vanilla?— and before he could help himself, put his hands under Jou’s shirt to grip at his waist, registering how warm Jou’s bare skin was above the waistband of his jeans. Jou’s kisses went up from his neck to his ear, and Kaiba panted, drawing shallow breaths through his open mouth. His head fell back, all sensation rushing towards his hardening cock.

Just in time, Jou palmed the crotch of Kaiba’s pants, and he squirmed, hips already rolling into the pressure from Jou groping his dick.

“Not gonna moan for it like you did yesterday?” Jou teased. Kaiba grit his teeth and buried his face in Jou’s neck, hiding while he humped, more and more needy, against Jou’s hands. Jou gripped his hip hard with one hand, staying him from pushing against the friction for his release.

“Did you think about it again today?” Jou whispered, and Kaiba’s hands roamed up Jou’s back, trying to pull him in closer, but Jou didn’t budge. “Is that why you made me come back here?”

Jou drew back, fixing Kaiba with his intense, dark, stare, and Kaiba looked back defiantly.

🐦‍⬛

“Wake up. I gotta talk to you.”

Kaiba’s body responded before he could even come to, arousal stirring as he cracked an eye open to see Jonouchi staring at him strangely.

“Is this not something that can wait until morning?”

Jonouchi smiled sadly. “I probably won’t have the balls to say this then.”

“Oh good, late-night half-baked revelations. I’m convinced this is urgent.”

“Do you… feel weird around me?”

“Yes,” Kaiba answered. “Sometimes, I feel myself getting stupider by the second. Like now, for instance.”

Jonouchi sighed and glared at Kaiba.

“Stop being an asshole for once in your life and just… answer the question,” Jou said.

“No, I don’t feel particularly ‘weird’ around you, Jonouchi,” Kaiba responded, irritated. “I’m prone to bouts of annoyance in your presence, but who isn’t. Apparently I’ve decided your company is worth the near constant irritation.”

“That’s exactly what I mean,” Jonouchi said. “I— This is weird.”

“I thought you wanted to be friends?” Kaiba asked testily, arching an eyebrow. “If there’s something more I’m meant to do to abide your insufferability, it can surely wait until after we’ve slept—“

“Kaiba, I hate to break it to you, but this—“ Jou gestured to them, their state of undress, the tousled sheets from their afternoon of marathon sex, “isn’t how friendships normally go. I’m not out here blowing Yugi and Honda and Bakura within an inch of my fucking life every night.”

Kaiba ran a hand through his hair.

“What are you getting at, Jonouchi? What do you want from me?”

“Everything!” Jou burst out. He deflated but a moment after, his head hung low. “That’s… that’s what’s weird. Don’t you feel it? I— Dude, I feel fucking insane around you. Like, absolutely batshit. I cannot stop thinking about you. I can’t stop touching you!” Jou was grinding the heels of his palm into his temples as though he meant to crush his own head. “I think about fucking you all day, or what you sound like when you laugh or just… dumb shit! Shit I’m not trying to think about!”

Eventually, silence descended upon the room. Kaiba was gazing at Jonouchi thoughtfully.

Jonouchi felt like every nerve ending in his body was thrumming. “Okay so are you… going to say something?”

Kaiba gave him a look of incredulity. “What on earth do I sound like when I laugh that you’ve been compelled to think about it?”

Jou looked at Kaiba blankly for a few moments.

“How is that the only thing you managed to take away form that?”

[kitsunefaux]

All Ships Week - Day 6

Fandoms: Yu-Gi-Oh, A:TLA

Prompt: Weddings (and funerals)

Shipping: ✔

Parts: 1, 2

Enjoy!

----------

A torrent of rain collapsed upon Ryou’s huddled form, like the sky had upended a bucket on his head. The trees would have sheltered him if he’d tucked himself away, but that would defeat the purpose of his journey. The moon was full, though its pure light remained concealed behind the dark clouds, and the fire ghost’s pond lay before him.

“Ryou? What are you doing here?” A figure rested against a trunk, green branches extending overhead. Ryou recognised white hair and a distinctive scar. He uncurled from his little ball of soaked clothing and self.

“Bakura?”

“The one and only.” He offered his hand, his palm facing up. “Why don’t you come here? Less rain under the trees.”

Ryou glanced back at the pond. Drops of water splashed, one after the other, like a hundred beads falling in rhythm. He nodded, a subtle dip of his head.

Bakura’s hand warmed Ryou’s when he took it, fire simmering beneath the skin. A squeak escaped his throat as Bakura pulled him closer, an arm winding around his back, holding him in a heated embrace. 

“You must be so cold,” Bakura said, his voice soft, soothing. Fingers cleared soggy white locks from Ryou’s face. “What kind of waterbender loses to the rain?”

“A regular one, I think,” Ryou said as he traced the pattern of Bakura’s tunic with damp fingers. “Rain is a lot of little pieces. Like sand instead of rocks.”

A warm hand cupped his cheek, and he stared into bright golden eyes. “Did you come here only to be soaked?”

“No, I…” Ryou chewed at his lip as he looked away. “I’m to be married.” Liquid gathered in stinging eyes, more rivulets joining the ones already wetting his cheeks. “Father won’t listen anymore. It’s meant to be in a year’s time, and…” He dragged his finger, following a dark green line down the middle of the cloth. A realisation sparked, turning all the warmth in his gut to ice. “A-And I don’t want it.” 

“What makes this betrothed so unsuitable?” A finger traced along the line of Ryou’s cheek, and he buried a small shiver. “Or is it a simple matter of incompatibility?”

Ryou tightened his hands, bracing himself with a breath. “Your clothes are the wrong cut. They’re too modern. The ghost who dwells here… his are out of date.” His soft-spoken voice sounded odd, like an echo in his ears. “And I’m getting you wet. That… that doesn’t make sense.”

Bakura smiled, and the glint in his eyes was just a bit too sharp. “If you have something to say, little Ryou…” The arm around Ryou’s back wound tighter, drawing him in, and now they were very close, exchanging the same air. “Don’t hold back on my account.”

“You’re not Bakura.”

The creature chuckled, a low, harsh sound. “Oh, but I am. Though perhaps not the one your little broken heart was hoping to find.” 

Bakura’s form twisted and changed, rearranging itself into something new, or rather, something the same: Ryou’s face, his long white hair, everything except his blue eyes, replaced with a ruby red hue. 

A spirit, a shapeshifter, and it didn’t exactly seem keen on letting Ryou go.

[To be continued]

[kujakumai]

So uh... This is might just be my shallow understanding but i did confused what Zorc Necrophades is.

I thought that Zorc is actually Priest Akhnaden that is turned evil due to his own corrupted heart. But i think i am wrong since almost every tv-troupes that i read that Zorc is Yami Bakura.

Maybe you could give me some insight to this

He's neither. Zork is this guy.

He's the ultimate embodiment of the darkness in all human hearts.

Zork likes to put pieces of his soul into things to corrupt them into being extensions of him, which is what happens to both Akenhadin and Yami Bakura. They are both part-Zork and ultimately subservient to his ends, to the degree that they do both claim to be Zork.

but the degree to which they really are him is...complicated. It's clear that both Akenhadin and Yami Bakura maintain portions of their individuality. Akenhadin, even to the very end, is insistent that Set become king, for example--why would Zork care for Akenhadin's son, especially when he intends to destroy the world anyway? They're still sort of themselves, I'd maintain, only Zork'd. Zorkened. Zorkified. To the degree that they can no longer tell the difference between Zork and themselves, even when there definitely is one.

The motif of putting pieces of your soul into things to create extensions of yourself is everywhere in YGO. It's how YB is in Memory World in the first place, because he sealed part of himself into the puzzle. It's all but stated to be how Marik's mind control works. Less literally, too. White Mage Bakura. It's basically what Heart of the Cards means, sort of--put your soul into your deck! Trust it as you trust yourself, and it will do what you need it to!

So if the question is "Who is Zork Necrophades?" That's easy. The guy with the dragon [CENSORED] up there is the only guy who is 100% undiluted Zork concentrate. He's Zork. That's him. The one and only.

If the question is "To what degree are Yami Bakura and/or Shadow Priest Akenahadin literally Zork Necrophades?" then that's not a question YGO answers clearly for us, besides "definitely at least a little yes, and probably at least a little no."

I dunno, to what degree "is" the dungeonmaster his NPCs? I mean, he made them. Gave them wants and needs and goals, put them where he wanted them, railroaded them into a particular role in the story he wants to tell, and ultimately controls them--but they're still their own characters, with individual statblocks, and sometimes the heroes interactions with them combines with their preset personalities in a way that frustrates his aims or produces a result he didn't expect. There's an attenuation that exists there.

That's probably not a good metaphor. But with these particular characters it's one I think about a lot.

[bakawitch]

This gets a little dark (only about the usual amount), so I'm gonna put in a warning for sort of mind control and forced bodily modifications.

Casteshipping dystopia au where humanoid mutants are at the top of the food chain while regular humans are third class citizens at best. Mutant noble Atem gets kidnapped by human tkb who kind of rants at him about the injustices his people are facing, and Atem just kind of proceeds to ignore the whole monologue because he's too transfixed about Bakura's looks. He basically ends up concluding that the human is unhappy with his current status, so Atem decides to help change that for him. Isn't that nice.

After he ends up getting rescued, he asks to be able to keep Bakura with himself, which he is allowed because he's rich and stuff. He keeps Bakura in a room and visits him a lot to talk, but Bakura still seems to be unhappy and even more upset than he already was. Atem ends up thinking that his human's dispositions must be because he feels out of place. He looks so different from everyone else, which must be frustrating for the human. So he signs Bakura up for a definitely illegal procedure where they inject him with a mutant agent or something that makes him a demi mutant. But Bakura seems even more agitated after that for some reason, and Atem just can't grasp why the human won't reciprocate his interest. He fixed his status problem, and he made sure that Bakura wouldn't feel alienated because of his looks. Maybe he just wasn't obvious enough with his advances, and what's more obvious than a marriage proposal?

So Atem proposes to Bakura, who's still clearly struggling with his transition. Bakura violently rejects him, and that makes Atem extremely dejected. He complains to a friend of his who manages a mining agency who tells him how they get their humans to behave. Behaviour altering chips. He offers to get one for Atem under the table, and Atem is just extatic because he's convinced that this will finally get Bakura to reciprocate his affections. Bakura tries to run away once Atem tells him what he's planning, but he gets caught, and the chip gets installed anyway. Bakura is finally behaving how Atem wants him to, and if he makes a mistake, the chip instantly corrects him through an electric shock. But Atem's still not happy. Bakura's touches are cold and emotionless despite the serene, loving expression on his face. His eyes are empty and no longer full of firey passion when Atem first met him. Atem can't understand what he did wrong, that he broke Bakura, and at this point, all he can do is take care of Bakura since he can't let him go back to the humans anymore. He's basically a defanged and declawed animal at this point, he could not fend for himself. Atem leaves the behaviour altering chip operating because he thinks this would make things a little easier for Bakura, but he turns it off every now and then to really talk to Bakura, even though most of the time they just sit together in silence with Bakura too tired to resist Atem's tight inhumane hugs anymore.

[gaaralover55]

Yu-Gi-Oh: Seal of Orichalcos AU

I wanna thank you all for your likes and aupport! I am really happy that you all liked my idea^°^ and if you want to use it to write a fanfic! You are allowed you beautiful souls! Here is more of this AU. Hope you all like it.

All I can say is. It's all Raphael's fault!

If he hadn't given Yami the seal and the Orichalcos gem. Just to show how his agenda "that Yami is truly evil" is true. Then things wouldn't have turned out this bad.

Because the corruptive magic of Orichalcos was able to reach Yami's soul room. Weakning a seal of a forgotten room not even Yugi knows about.

This very room was the place he sealed away his darkness, His violent thoughts and lust for vengance. This room was were he sealed away his darkness from his past self aka his season 0 self.

The reason why Yami had sealed away this part of him. Is because he saw how terrified Yugi was of him. And he was also scared that maybe one day he would lose control and become like Yami Bakura.

So he sealed that darkness and the full power of the shadow game into this room. In the deepest and darkest part of his soul room. So no one could ever reach it. But after sealing it away. Yami lost his memories about this room and his former self.

And when Yami lost and seeing Yugi, his partner and light sacrifice himself for him. It broke the spirit and the weakened seal of the room broke into pieces. Unleashing the darkness, the full power of the shadow games into the millennium puzzle once again.

It started out small. With Yami drawing himself back, being less social and rarley smile. He looks like he is spaced out and this making his and Yugi's friends starting to worry about him.

But when they entered the train to Florida . They "realised" the reason he acts like this is because he lost the duel against Raphael (and Yugi's soul)

But in reality is much MUCH worse.

Yami was going through hell. He regretted he ever used that seal and wished it was he who had been taken by the seal! Not Yugi! Not his precious light! And this lost battle against Raphael has somehow awoken the shadows again! He starts to regain his memories from season 0 and the shadows becomes stronger. He can hear their whispering for vengance against Dartz! For taking the souls of so many innocent to sacrifice them to a monster. Raphael said that he. The nameless pharaoh! that sacrificed everything to save the world was a evil monster!? That bastard had ruined everything! That hypocrite destroyed everything he had done to protect Yugi!

Then the train jacking happened. Yami and Anzu got splitted from Jonuichi and Honda. So Yami tried to stop the train but was meet by none other then Haga on the top of the train.

The whispers got worse during the duel. And Haga's constant mocking made Yami nearly lose the very grip of the last rays of hope's he had.

Hopes from embracing and slowly becoming the shadow of his former self.

It took all of his will. And that will broke when Haga did his "prank"!

Seeing the card that "held" Yugi's soul being torn apart broke Yami's last will. The power of that shadow game embraced him with opened arms. Anzu and Haga could only see in terror as darkness sprouting out fron the millennium puzzle while Yami screaming in pain! The darkness wrapped itself around the body, changing him and on his forehead opens the third eye as his eyes are glowing gold! Blinding Anzu and the idiot Haga (who is not do arrogant anymore. He is now recounting all of his life choices)

Then the light and shadows dissapears. And now Anzu and Haga could see what had happened. Yami had now changed! His hair was now much wilder with hint of magneta, he had golden ankhs on his arms and his eyes! Dear lor his eyes. They were not the eyes of a human. They were eyes of a god? Monster? Looking into the deepest part the purple flames of underworld. Which danced dangerously in his eyes. As he smiled. Smiled as if he was a monster who finally got his pray at Haga as a dark aura danced around his body. This horrified Anzu! Because she reconized this man! This was the very man who saved her from the Gun wielding maniac (who was killed by fire) two years ago! And it had been Yami! And now she was scared! She started to beg Haga to stop this duel! Or else he would not come out of this alive

Haga on the other hand didn't understand why Anzu was so terrified of "Yugi" changing? He feelt his instinct shouting to him to get out of there. But he didn't care." He had the seal of orichalcos and he will win this duel. After all. "Yugi" wasn't able to summon Timaeus! So this duel was all his to win.

And that was Haga's greatest mistake! Because Yami smiled like a psycopath and whispered with a dissorted voice "It's game time".

[coolshadowtwins]

Sometimes I think about the fact that, in the Yugioh anime, Marik was close enough to the Dulist Kingdom Island to pick up Bandit Keith when he got thrown into the ocean. I assume he was there for the god cards or something, or maybe just to threaten Pegasus, or maybe he heard about Yugi being there. Who knows.

But that does leave the door open to a fun (to me at least lol) au. What if Marik chose to sneak into that tournament instead? He gets the island mid tournament, steals a glove, and just goes for it. Of course, Pegasus probably knows this, but either he’s just fine with letting it happen, or he’s actually just too busy stalking Yugi and co.

I would imagine that Marik wasn’t actually meaning to meet Yugi there. He, in this au, was coming to threaten Pegasus for info on the god cards, and felt this was the best way to get inside the castle freely. But of course, he gets drawn into the protagonist ring, and runs into the gang at the worst time- right before Bakura joins them.

It’s late in the day, Yugi and co just got done with their last duel (Rex I think? I honestly don’t remember what was right before Bakura lol) and then they run into this weird guy. But it’s ok! He seems really nice, and a pretty strong duelist. He’s just shy!

Marik, for his part, panicked and gave a fake name. He didn’t want to meet the Pharaoh yet! Did he know about Yami specifically at this point, or did he just think the pharaoh had gotten reincarnated? I’m going to go with the last one for now. He just thinks Yugi is the pharaoh reincarnation. Anyway, his stomach growls at the worst time, which means that Yugi and co invite him to camp with them tonight! The bigger the group, the less likely anyone would ambush them for a midnight duel!

Marik has no choice but to say yes, because he’s now even more undercover and has decided to use this to his advantage. He gets close to Yugi and steals the puzzle, that’s what he will do!

So they go and camp, and everything is normal, and then Bakura shows up.

Joey: Bakura?! What are you doing here?

Bakura: I snuck on board the ship, just like you!

Yugi: Nomu (that was Marik’s fake name right?) this is our school friend, Roy Bakura!

Marik:…. He just followed you guys to the island, without talking to anyone? Is he apart of your friend group? He’s not in the tournament- he has no glove! Isn’t this weird to anyone else?

Bakura: I don’t know, I think this is fine.

Triston: Yeah man! Bakura is our friend! It sure is glad to see him!

Bakura: Hey, here’s a fun idea! Let’s play a game of Duel monsters, but first let’s each pick our favorite cards to put in the deck, for no reason! Me vs Yugi!

Marik, suddenly sensing shadow magic:…. Oh my god. This is such a bad idea.

Marik, later, in the body of a fiend type monster: Why did no one listen to me?!

Joey: Oh like you knew that our old pal here would get possessed by a dark spirit and try to kill us!

Marik: …. I will admit, this was not how I thought my night would go.

Of course, this would be where he would realize that Yami existed. He probably glared really hatefully at him once he was summoned, confusing everyone. Marik was then forced to put a very confused act to make it look like he actually had no idea what was happening.

Bakura would also be able to tell Marik had magic, probably. But he would also probably focus on Yugi first, since he definitely didn’t know about Yami before that duel. Bakura probably thought that Yugi would be an easier mark, and then he could deal with this new guy in the corner.

Marik would probably leave the next morning, after the duel with Panik, but before Ryo and Yugi have the conversation about the Ring. Mostly because, otherwise, the Ring would immediately point to the Rod that Marik definitely did not leave with Odion on the boat, and we can’t have that!

Marik goes off and gets the rest of his star chips- he probably takes the place of Bandit Keith somehow? He can’t take Mai or Joey’s place, because they now know Marik and he couldn’t just take his. But he could take Keith’s! And he’s not afraid to stab someone to get what he wants, when Keith threats him with a gun afterwards, probably.

Keith might be dead in this au. Sorry to all the Bandit Keith friends.

Marik would meet back up the the group up on the top of the stairs, right before the duel with Kaiba.

I don’t think he would honestly change more of the DK plot. He would be on the sidelines for the major duels, and then duel Joey in the semi-finals. He would sneak out alone that first night in the castle o go and threaten Pegasus, only to one) be caught by Tea, Triston, and Joey, two) be confronted by Bakura, where Marik has to act dumb to not be caught with magic, and C) get sucked into that weird ritual thing Pegasus was doing that the gang find that is never mentioned again.

Marik, afterwards: ….what in the name of Ra was that????

I don’t know if he would forfit to Joey, or just fake lose, but he would throw the match. He isn’t there to win, and he honestly doesn’t want Pegasus’s attention on him more than he needs too, outside of Marik’s own choosing.

He gets suckered into “Friendship is the real power, guys! That’s how we save Yugi!” And he is shocked that it works. Like, this is something that he rants about for days to Odion once he’s back on the boat. (Odion just wants Marik to make friends.)

I like to think Marik also gets involved with the whole Triston and Bakura side plot with Mokuba’s body, because he would just be making snarky comments the whole time.

Bakura: Go, Maneater bug!

Triston: What is that?!

Marik: Maneater bug, Triston. Keep up.

And

Bakura: I want a host with no soul, so it won’t fight against me.

Marik: Are you two compatible??

Bakura: …huh?

Marik: Every soul can go into every body? Probably not.

Bakura: Well-

Marik: Also, what happens when Yugi gets Mokuba’s soul back?

Bakura: We don’t know that yet!

Marik, giving him a look: Don’t we? Really? And anyway, you want to be running around as a ten year old? A child? Do you think anyone will take you seriously? Really?

Bakura, sputtering: Well, you- more seriously than you and your lavender crop top!

Marik: I’m hurt. Really. Triston, I have given you so many chances to punch him and you have taken none of them.

Triston: Oh. Right. (And then he punches him) you know, you are taking this magic thing really well.

Marik:…. I’m just an easy going kind of guy.

Triston: Yeah, it’s amazing how nothing really bothers you.

Marik: Yep. Nothing.

And then the rest of DK would probably be normal. Marik is too late to threaten Pegasus after the dueling, because Bakura gets to him first. So Marik just has to leave empty handed.

But now he has an in with the pharaoh! Maybe if he keeps being friends with him, he could learn his dueling strategies and defeat him that much more easily!

So he enrolls himself at Domino High. Odion really hopes that he makes some friends.

There will probably be a part two of this later lol

[universestreasures]

Inferiority Complexes

As far as my YGO DM muses go, Yugi & Mokuba are not only the youngest of my current line up, but are also the two who possess heavy feelings of inferiority regarding themselves and someone they care about a lot / look up to. With that comes shaky self-confidence and high self-doubt. However, how their feelings manifested, the intensity of those feelings, and how they are eventually overcome are different, and I want to go into that in this post (prepare yourself it's gonna be a lengthy one)

So, let's begin with Yugi, whose feelings are pretty blatant in the text (both anime and manga wise) and are a big part of his character growth / central arc. Yugi, unsurprising to anyone, feels a sense of inferiority to Atem, someone he looks up to and sees like an elder brother. So, when did this all start?

Well, pretty much as soon as Yugi figured out there was 'someone or something else' who shared his body and was the one doing the majority of the big feats in terms of the plot (Manga wise that's Death-T and Anime Wise that's in Duelist Kingdom). Atem always appears as a source of strength for Yugi when something is too tough for him to handle emotionally or physically. Even when he was unaware that Atem wasn't just an alternate personality of his but in fact his own person, he still was very much aware of the strong presence taking him over in times of adversity. And that fact...made him feel so weak and pathetic in comparison, that he Yugi Muto, wasn't strong enough to handle whatever he had to face.

This fact of him feeling like the 'lesser Yugi' damages Yugi's own low amount of self-confidence that he had even before completing the puzzle. He's never seen himself as anything special, partially due to his own humble nature. Even after the main story is done, he still feels that way. That low self-confidence leads to self-doubt and needlessly beating himself up for being so 'weak' to the point there are moments he gives into what others, such as Marik, have said about him only being Atem's 'vessel' and nothing else. As if that is the only thing he is good for, that he is the 'weaker' Yugi.

Sometimes he even questions if he should just 'vanish', that everyone would be better off if he wasn't there or that people would prefer Atem being around over him. We see this in the anime when Anzu is dueling in the Noa Arc, Yugi thinking that she is calling out for Atem and not him.

But it is Atem, along with the rest of Yugi's friends, who help him through these complex feelings, Atem especially. He teaches Yugi about strength and courage, a trait Yugi has had all along inside of him that he was unable to truly see. For example, he stood up to Ushio to defend Jonouchi and Honda even before Atem appeared, to stand up to a bully and protect people he called 'friends'. That kind of strength, the strength of kindness, is Yugi's strength, and it is through seeing Atem and teaching that fact to him, along with the encouragement of his friends, that allows him to really see it for himself.

This is why Yugi takes steps, such as during Battle City, to prove his own strength to himself. He wants to prove he isn't as weak as he thinks he is, to use what he's learned from his partner and stand on his own because he knows one day he will have to. This is done mainly through his battles with Otogi in the manga, possessed Jonouchi in both versions, and Yami Bakura in the Dark RPG. They were battles Yugi had to primarily or entirely fight on his own. And those battles showcased Yugi's own unique strength that wasn't just 'an inferior version of Atem's' or even a 'copy', which is shown well through Yugi's own unique deck he used against Yami Bakura.

This all cumulates in the ceremonial duel, where Yugi proves his strength and truly is able to overcome his insecurities to fulfill his last mission as Atem's vessel / partner. And he takes as much pride in that victory as he does sadness, for it was the last step in his journey. After that fight, he no longer sees himself as inferior to Atem, but rather his equal. For he knows that duel was evenly matched, and if he didn't predict Atem's final plan to win, he would have lost.

Lastly, he gets to prove to everyone who did believe those negative thoughts he had about himself to be true in DSOD, such as with Kaiba. Kaiba at the end acknowledges him as a true duelist, and that meant the world to Yugi. It really helped cement that new found self-confidence of his, especially because Kaiba has always been someone Yugi's respected and was Atem's rival.

Overall, Yugi's inferiority complex is a key part of his character arc. It is something he overcame with time and the support of his loved ones, and I for one as a Yugi mun cannot be more proud of my boy. I'm sure Atem is proud of him too, as we can no doubt see by the end of their duel and I suspect he felt when seeing Yugi again in DSOD.

As for everyone's favorite little bro, Mokuba feels a sense of inferiority to Seto, which isn't probably that surprising considering how he views his big brother and just what his brother has accomplished. Unlike Yugi who developed his feelings in the midst of the story, Mokuba's feelings have been pretty much a part of him since he could remember. Though, they are just as deep-rooted and potent as Yugi's, if not more so.

Mokuba's feelings began when he first developed his admiration for his brother. Seto was a genius, a capable young boy most would consider a prodigy. From Mokuba's POV, everything his brother was able to do was impressive, be it from grades, to ideas, to his talent for gaming. This feeling was probably shared by their parents and many other adults, to the point I am 100% certain Seto was a prime adoption candidate who probably refused if they did not want to take Mokuba too (which I imagine most if not all did not). And while he felt no feelings of jealousy to his brother for all that praise or attention he got (jealousy is a feeling Mokuba's never felt towards Seto ever), he did sorta start to see himself as...lesser in comparison.

Though, this is Mokuba 100% being unfair to himself. You must keep in mind Mokuba and Seto are 5 years apart in age, and Mokuba was only 5 and Seto was 10 when they were dropped off at the orphanage. That's a huge gap in terms of development, and Mokuba had not gotten as much life experience as his brother or time to learn and hone any really major skills (because I do think Mokuba is a fast learner when he puts his mind to something and is very motivated, similar to his brother).

But this reality goes over Mokuba's young mind (and it still does, even after knowing the logic). After all, if his brother can do all those things, surely he can too, right? So it must be an issue with HIM. It's part of why, more often than not, Mokuba sees himself as a burden to his brother, that his own lack of 'competence' or 'specialness' holds him back. He blames himself for them not being adopted by potential nice families who wanted Seto and not Mokuba, because if he was just 'better' than they surely would want both (even though that's not at all how that works, but again, little kid logic).

This is why, even at a young age, Mokuba tries to prove himself and can often be reckless. We see this in Death-T primarily in canon with him wanting to challenge Yugi (which was also motivated by getting his brother's approval), but I imagine he did this with just about anything he tried to do. He wanted to sorta 'catch up' to his brother, even though there was never a 'race' between the two of them to begin with.

These feelings of inferiority intensify after they are both adopted by Gozaboru. I imagine Gozaboaru, much like other parents, only really was after Seto. He had no interest at all in Mokuba. Why would he when Seto was the one to be the heir?

I imagine Mokuba didn't get the same harsh treatment his brother did from Gozaboru, because it was almost like he wasn't 'there' to begin with. Mokuba was isolated from his brother I imagine through a lot of their childhood, so he wouldn't be a 'distraction'. Sure he got educated too (I imagine he was just sent to regular school much like we see him in the manga going to), but it was not anything special. It was more like 'good enough' as opposed to anything extraordinary. And he was no doubt compared to his brother constantly, whether it was by staff or by people at school. That only made what he was feeling worse and led to both beating himself up needlessly (like Yugi does) and contributing to his nightmares at times.

On top of all of that, as Seto and him (manga wise anyway) got further and further apart, he sorta got the vibe from his brother that Mokuba was no longer 'worth his time'. He wasn't anything attention-grabbing anymore, hence leading to Mokuba's early manga actions (because I 100% think everything from the first Capsule Monsters game to his match with Yugi in Death-T was all to get Seto's attention and not his true nature. Why else would he just suddenly change personality traits upon Seto's loss, when he didn't get mind crushed?).

Even after repairing his relationship with his brother post Manga Duelist Kingdom, his feelings of inferiority were not addressed (he hasn't brought them up to Seto directly before cause he doesn't like to burden his brother and it's hard to talk about for him) and only grew as his brother accomplished more and more. He almost like saw himself at the bottom of the hill with his brother at the top, with the distance being too great between them. That distance was indeed one of his motivators for him to start working harder, to start taking a more active role in Kaiba Corp, and to start honing his gaming skills without the use of cheating.

So, with all that said, how does Mokuba overcome these feelings? Well, aside from working hard as I mentioned, I imagine it will be a slow process that is helped by both his friend squad and his brother. Mokuba's Buddyfight friend group (AKA my Gao, Tasuku, Suzuha, and Akatsuki) are the first real friends (outside of Yugi's gang) he's made that see him as NOT Seto Kaiba's brother but rather his own individual. They constantly lift him up, support his efforts, and are there for him. They've done a lot for him personally to feel like he's worthwhile and that he's not as 'weak' as he thinks.

As for Seto, any kind of praise or showcase of being 'proud' of him helps. This can be done in many forms, including being given important tasks at Kaiba Corporation, such as running things in his absence post-DSOD until he returns. I do imagine if Mokuba ever told his brother about his feelings, that Seto would tell him something along the lines of that he doesnt' need to feel that way or that he should not compare himself. Being seen in such a way by his brother would help greatly, along with I imagine if Mokuba is able to beat him in any sort of game and his brother expresses that he did 'good'.

In conclusion, I do not think it will be till Mokuba is an adult that those feelings he has will completely go away (I imagine they pop up every now and again too, like any deep-rooted feeling). It is only after having stood on his own two feet, having proved himself, having gotten that approval from those around him, and having probably bested his brother in a game that his view shifts from being 'lesser' to that of an equal, a true Kaiba in his own right (something he didn't have to 'earn' btw but he thought he had to). And I hope to get to explore that journey of growth through all my threads!

[steve0discusses]

Ep 46 Pt 1: Zorc’s Massive Low Hanging Fruit

We are getting very close! I don’t actually...remember how many episodes there were in this season but listen, It can’t possibly be more than 50 right?

Right?

Anyway, we’re starting off in the battle basement in Yami’s tomb. Who, of course has a battle basement installed right outside of his final resting place, just like how he would have wanted.

And it’s here that the form of Bakura that the dub is telling me is Ryou wants to kill his own classmate. Which, I’ll just point it out since a couple people mentioned it, apparently the manga did not do this nor did the original Japanese version. The dub just made this Ryou for giggles. We already know Bakura can split into evil pieces, this was not necessary. We also know that Ryou is sleeping on those painful steppies, so this doesn’t make much logical sense.

But like we’re watching the dub right now, so sorry, everybody, this is Ryou. Ryou on a bad day, I guess. Dark Ryou. Not to be confused with Shadow Ryou, who is...that other freaking guy.

Yugi just upset that he forgot to bring his dueling disk to a dream universe in the past or whatever. Must feel naked without that thing stinking up his left arm and making that school blazer all wrinkly. Bro is telling me that Yugi should have one really big arm, kind of like trogdor.

(read more under the cut)

the one thing that does make sense with making this Ryou is a little bit of symbolic imagery. Ryou talks about how he doesn’t have friends anymore in the beginning of this arc, and we can assume it’s because he’s decided to step away from other people because of the ghost in his bean. In contrast, Yugi has all these friends he cursed to like him (woops), and for whom he just risked his whole life for, and for whom he didn’t learn the Pharaoh’s name that he needed in order to save all of mankind.

Which, for reals, Tea and Joey are such good buds, that he really did just end the world to save their ass, and that is pretty anime of him.

But Tea gets very nervous over whether or not Yugi was going to perma-die. It would be very awkward if he died, since he’s also the host of this puzzle which is she is currently stuck inside of. Though I’m not 100% on if it’s even possible for him to die here. Little bit of a chicken or the egg situation, which I may have brought up before.

But still, she’s worried about it.

Which is when Joey does a quick head count and go “WAIT WAIT"

(the show does not show us where Tristan is)

Back at Kul Elna, everything is very quickly falling apart. Rocks are falling from the sky, Pharaoh is back at the capital with Seto and the other Seto, and Karim helllllllllllllla died last episode (or 2 episodes ago? I have such bad memory nowadays) so we’re just gonna leave his corpse in the barn and go.

sorry I just took in the incredible abs on this oversized chess piece that is Hassad. 

Why bother? Like for reals why bother?

I have so many questions about this random guy and his character design and they will not get answered. Apparently Dark Side of Dimensions dives into it as well as other unresolved issues from this season but like, that’s for another time. We will be watching that later, and at my rate it’ll be like 5 years from now but I swear...unless I caught covid a second (third?) time we will eventually get there and find out the deal of this...this freakin guy.

Meanwhile, our story boarders are not finished flexing. I think they really enjoyed this particular episode, with this really fun composition around Bakura here. They LOVE to shred scenery with Bakura on this carving, and there are so many good shots where it’s like a comic cover. I mean, look at this:

Damn that’s a good idea. This composition is fun. You got the curves from this...pokemon that I forgot the name of... you got him dead center all strong and rigid to contrast the curves. You got purple and green clouds. It’s fun. If y’all ever want to do the “draw this anime still but in your style” this is a good still. Good stuff.

And then Bakura peaces off--no idea where, and it doesn’t really matter since we have like so many Bakura’s at this point. Lets just assume he’s everywhere.

And with that, the ground gives way to the ZORC within.

This ultimate being, Zorc, who we’ve been talking up for so many episodes.

And that’s when we find out Isis also left out another crucial detail about Zorc:

So listen. We can say that the...neck...of the snake is coming out of his lower stomach. But also, they left it in shadow for a reason. 

The reason is, this episode is getting me flagged.

It occurred to me I don’t have to go for the low hanging fruit. I don’t have to. I can find a way around this. And I struggled. And I did whatever I, a full grown adult, could think to do. I thought to myself, I am a creative person, and I am inventive and I can write comedy well enough so it’s not just about poops and butts and dicks.

And then I gave up because of the number of times this thing is dead center on screen. And really, truly, I make a lot of low hanging jokes on this blog anyway so we’re just going to embrace Zorc for who he really is, both inside and outside.

And he is a slowly growing talking dragon shaped penis with legs.

Covered up by my joke towel in this scene I want you to know the snake just had it’s maws wide open to shout them down. It literally does only talk out of the dragon head on the bottom part of him.

Anyway, then Hassan jumps in front of the missiles zorc shoots from his crotch and well...he dies that way.

Death by firecrotch. This is like an immortal God meant to be the protector of the Pharaohs but you can kill him and the way how is disgusting.

There they go, back to the palace, which like, I guess is VERY close to Kul Elna, since Yami and Seto are currently vibing there right now.

Back at fight club, these two are still at it.

and then back at the funeral of the most romantic anime death of all time, Seto is still at it.

Seto, despite probably having to throw just SO MANY funerals for his tragic backstory is not very good at them. So right now he’s just distancing himself emotionally from literally everything going on around him by convincing himself this is all a very vivid hallucination.

Which it is. For once he is correct, this entire arc is a hallucination, but a hallucination with consequences. Which he is not used to. Hell he doesn’t see consequences when he’s not in a hallucination half the time. He’s like super rich.

Yami decides he did what he can, but he’s done with this freakin guy. I guess trying to reach through to Seto is a skill that only Yugi possesses, cuz Yami is just clear out of patience for this sociopath. Which is a shame, he usually loves this sociopath.

I laughed out loud at this cut to this horse’s ass and Seto’s reaction to being left behind from getting a ride the one time he was the one who needed a ride.

LMAO at the dub for adding that suspicious soil clump where a dead girlfriend probably was laying before.

but being real, this is another very nice shot, I didn’t cap it for vibes, and I really should have. Again, if you’re looking for a “draw this in your style” anime still challenge, this is another fun one. You got a juxtaposition of old and new. You got the storytelling of the dead girlfriend and trying to understand feelings you don’t understand because you were taught to never love. You got lovely ancient pillars. You got a clump of dirt that used to be a girl...

Like we may have dragged Seto’s ass back here, just to make him look cool and out of place in that coat as the wind sweeps by him. And that’s fine, I’ll accept that Seto this season may only be here for some vibes.

As he admires her slowly breathing (yes, breathing, thanks dub) he flashes back to that only time he every had a single conversation with this woman (a conversation they had, only because she thought he was someone else)

And off he goes, to look cool and probably do little else.

And as always, here is the link to read these from the beginning in chrono order.

https://steve0discusses.tumblr.com/tagged/yugioh/chrono

[number-1-kuaidul-fanboy]

I did a tier list of all the final and penultimate duels in Yugioh

Because uh... I felt like it.

As for what qualified and what didn't, whatever I could find a picture for and qualified as either a "final boss" duel or a "ceremonial" duel and was within the last at least 10 episodes of its respective series. Yes, I am aware I put three duels for Zexal and that's because all three of those duels felt final in some way. Further explanations below:

'SHADOW REALM' Tier: The final Zarc duel.

It has some cool moments, particularly from Shay/Shun and Declan/Reiji, but it goes on for way too long, threw Riley's character completely down the drain for no good reason, and Zarc's character in this duel is so boring compared to what we got in his backstory.

'Why Did You Do... That?' Tier: Yuma vs Astral & Yusei vs Z-One

Both of these duels are interesting and fun if you're just looking at the cards that are being played. The character content though? Astral's final appearance in the show is him acting out of character and lying to Yuma to "help him have fun with duelling again." It always felt like a watered down copy of Yugi vs Atem and Judai vs Yugi to me.

Yusei vs Z-One is a little better for me since the Z-One twist is just disappointing rather than frustrating (at least for me) but both of these duels feel off because of one character decision so it felt right to put them in the same tier.

Serviceable: The Final Luke vs Yuga & Yuya vs Declan/Reiji

I don't have any huge issues with either of these duels. I'm obviously biased towards any Declan duel and while I wouldn't seek out this one in particular, it's still a fun one and an... okay choice to be the final duel of Arc V. Also, Yuya understanding Zarc is a great moment. I like that.

The final Luke vs Yuga duel (AKA: the table top duel where Yuga finally wins) was an interesting idea that's done fairly well. It's not the most standout thing on its own, it's more so the reason they're duelling and the fact that Yuga finally got to defeat Luke that I remember it.

Good: Yusei vs Jack (Round 3? I think?), Yugi Muto vs Bakura, Yuma vs Nasch

All good duels. They're not among my favourites but they hold my attention. DM's lawless overly long duels aren't my thing but Yugi vs Bakura was a great idea and short enough that it doesn't overstay its welcome.

Yusei vs Jack is... well, apart from the reason they're duelling (which is really emotionally resonant don't get me wrong) it's kind of just another Yusei vs Jack duel to me and... well, it was never dubbed and I admittedly find myself bored by Yusei and Jack's personalities in the original version. Still, the emotions behind it do hit hard and I do still like these characters so it's good overall.

It might be controversial of me to put Yuma vs Nasch as low as I did? I don't know, I always found it just... a little too long and Nasch throwing the duel to be a little weird? Still, it's a really fun duel and the emotions behind it do hit hard. This sounds weird but I feel like maybe I'd like it more if it were the final duel rather than the penultimate duel? Like, if it were the final note the series ended on it would hit a little harder?

Great: Yugi vs Atem, Yuga (and crew) vs Otes, Yuma & Nasch vs Don Thousand, Judai vs Darkness

Yugi vs Atem is my favourite DM duel, basic opinion I'm sure but the emotions hit me hard to this day and Yugi facing off against the partner and cards that helped him his entire journey was the perfect note to end DM on.

I did not give Sevens' final duel enough credit when I first saw it, this duel went hard. I love the way they involve Yuga's friends, I love the fact that it's SEVEN friends duelling the final villain, I love the silly absurdity of duelling in spaceships. The final arc had its problems with pacing but this duel still slapped.

And Zexal's final boss duel is also genius. The three main factions (Astralworld, Barianworld, humanity) who were fighting each other the entire second half of Zexal teaming up to defeat a god was just... the perfect way to do a final boss. Also, the Numeron Code and the way they beat it is some bullshit but it's the kind of silly bullshit I enjoy from Yugioh.

Not gonna lie, I was tempted to put Judai vs Darkness in top tier but if I'm being completely honest, Darkness is a boring villain without much buildup. He was built up through other characters but not on his own if that makes sense? But uh... fuck if I care, he may be cardboard for Judai to beat up but he's cardboard that lead to Judai using Super Polymerization to fuse Yubel and Neos. And also, the power of that scene where everyone is freed from the darkness forgives all perceived problems with this duel for me because of just how much that scene continues to mean to me. That part is top tier.

Peak: Soulburner vs Revolver, Ai vs Playmaker, Judai vs Yugi

I love how varied and interesting Revolver's duels are so it's no surprise I love his final duel as much as I do. It's also such good closure for Soulburner, the only character who was allowed to get proper closure in VRAINS if I'm being honest. This duel is both epic and emotional, propping it this high.

Ai vs Playmaker and Judai vs Yugi I've discussed extensively in other places (ie: my 'Favourite Duels of Each Series' post) so I'll keep this brief: Ai vs Playmaker is tragic in all the right ways, slowly unraveling and revealing Ai's motivations amazingly well before hitting us with that tragic as all hell final note. It's fantastic, and probably the 'best' final duel and one of the best duels in the franchise.

But Judai vs Yugi is my favourite because it's the most fun. It's swift, it's simple, it's fun, it's unique, it's two pros equally trading blows in ways that are easy to follow, in a good way. It's probably the duel I rewatch the most (outside of maybe Judai vs Yubel). The whack logic of the duel taking place at all aside, this was such an uplifting perfect feel-good note to end GX on and such a wonderful way to complete Judai's character arc with. I love that he hit rock bottom in season 3 but was able to crawl back up in season 4, maturing but learning not to abandon his inner child, his love of duelling, and what better way to do that than have him duel a duelling legend? He earned it.

[ultraericthered]

I posted before about how more extreme and cartoonishly deranged artwork like what Takahashi got around to giving him in the Battle City Finals would've aesthetically improved Yami Marik's original depiction in the manga of Yu-Gi-Oh!. But then I got to thinking: was there anything Takahashi could've done to improve it textually too?

I don't think any changes would need to carry over to anime!Yami Marik. Studio Gallop could do whatever they wanted with him: if they'd rather he be an evil shadow entity born of the Ishtar family's generational trauma and suffering and conjured up into existence by Marik's psyche in his childhood after his back got branded, he could be. He's perfect like that. But for Takahashi's version of the story, I always found that explanation to be a little too out there and full of holes (Yami Yugi and Yami Bakura are ancient souls inhabiting their respective Millennium Items, so how does Marik's split personality happen? Why don't all Millennium Item holders have dark alter egos in this case, especially Pegasus who literally replaced one of his own eyes with the Millennium Eye?), so he needed to rework the idea.

The editted panel up there reflects what I'd have done: Yami Marik's not talking about his other half and his trauma as though they're separate from him, as for all intents and purposes, he's Marik Isthar as well. I think that rather than be a split personality that Marik gained through his childhood trauma, Yami Marik should've been the original personality of Marik. That Marik as a child endured so much abuse and trauma that the psychological and emotional damage kept building up inside him until his father's punishment of Odion right in front of him just made him finally crack. He attacked his father not just to save Odion, but to then take everything out on him, stabbing him and flaying him alive and enjoying every second of the thrill it'd give him. But the weight of what he'd done would then hit so hard that it'd make him mentally black out and reconstruct an innocent, "sane" personality so as to avoid dealing with the consequences of that act, and in this state of mind, blaming the Pharaoh for it all becomes much easier for Marik. So Odion would then be trying to keep the darker nature of Marik 1 repressed, but that darker nature would always be beneath the surface subtly influencing Marik 2. Much like the character of Shinobu Sensui from Yu Yu Hakusho, Marik's DID is a defense mechanism to protect his daily mental state and self image, but his original personality is the one that went mad and committed murder, and he ultimately cannot erase that fact.

So then when Marik is split into two characters in the Battle City arc's back half, the struggle between the two would be one where they both share the exact same memories and carry with them the exact same trauma, but one personality responds to that past trauma by embracing the mental instability it created in him and using it as an excuse to lash out at the entire world for funsies and gratification while taking no responsibility for his actions while the other one comes around to taking accountability for everything and accepting that while he'll always carry the trauma, it's better to manage it with loved ones who care for him, let go of the hatred, and focus on who you want to be and the life you want to live in the future rather than keeping yourself stuck on the past. 'Cause that's basically what all the finalists share in common with their character arcs: burying their pasts and looking to the future (though in Atem's case, his future is intrinsically linked to his ancient past). So when Marik 2 forfeits the final duel and rejects Marik 1, it'd be Marik saying "This is the person I want to be now. I don't want to be you anymore! I rennounce you and everything you wanted to do with your life!", leading to Marik's old insane persona vanishing into the shadows, ceasing to exist. Yami Marik being a wholly natural personality who's supernaturally enhanced rather than a supernatural entity gives Marik's personal triumph that much more weight and make it even more rewarding.

Had Takashi gone that direction, Marik would've really been the Matt Engarde of the series narrative - not as strong as the main villains to directly precede him and directly followed him, but he'd still work. As it is, he does still work....just not as much when it's his alter ego.

[sesshy380-rp]

(continued from here)

Kat saw the absolute fear Marik currently had at simply hearing Kek’s voice. He was truly terrified of his unintended creation.

Marik took a shaky step towards the door. He obviously had no intention of facing Kek right now…or possibly ever.

Kat removed herself from Bakura’s lap and stood, crossing the room quickly so that she reached the door before Marik could get to it and stood in front of it.

Marik quickly retracted the step he’d taken, then realized he was literally trapped between two beings he wanted nothing to do with.

“Get out of my way,” he said with a scowl, trying to harden his voice so that it wasn’t so obvious that he was shaking inside.

Kat looked over at him, her expression sad.

“If you are too afraid to face your own fear, then you will end up like every other Tomb Keeper before you,” she said calmly.

“What are you talking about?” Marik hissed, still trying to sound not-afraid.

“Three-thousand years. That is how long I have lived in the Duat. Do you know how many of your predecessors I have encountered? Do you know how many I have watched either get eaten by the abominations or become one? Do you know how many made it past the First Gate?”

She held up two fingers.

“They never made it to the Second.”

The scowl on Marik’s face began to fade, his fear returning, except it wasn’t the same fear from before.

“You’re just saying that to scare me.”

Kat looked over at Bakura.

“Ask Kura. I don’t need to make up anything about the Duat to scare you. The truth is unpleasant enough.”

She turned her gaze back to Marik.

“Will you talk to Kek if I tell you what became of the last Tomb Keeper I saw? The one whose brand was torn from his flesh?”

Marik’s eyes went wide.

“He told you about that, didn’t he? Did he also tell you that he was the one who did it?!” Marik said in a raised voice, obviously seething at the memory.

Kat closed her eyes and shook her head.

“No. He’s never spoken about it, and I’ve never asked.”

She opened her eyes, looking back at Marik.

“I just know the Ishtar name, seeing as every single one that has come through the Duat thought that their service to the Pharaoh granted them not only passage onto the barque, but into Aaru as well. Sadly the name and brand mean nothing in the Afterlife. Ra will look at you and thank you as he passes by, but he will not stop the barque for you. The last Ishtar that passed through begged and pleaded with Ra to stop, claiming that a demon had possessed his son and torn his brand from him. It was Set that informed him that even if his brand were still intact, that it did not grant him any special treatment.”

Marik’s expression became blank as he slowly made his way to the nearest wall and slid down it.

“You’re lying. My clan…it didn’t suffer in darkness for three millennia for nothing. We were promised…”

“By whom? Do you even know the name of the one who made the promise?”

Kek must have gotten tired of hearing all of this, because he came out of hiding and pinned Kat to the door by her neck.

“That’s enough! He didn’t suffer through that torture just to be denied what was promised! I don’t care who the fuck did or didn’t promise things! Your father is fucking Anubis, so pull some strings and make it where when the next generation of Ishtar’s pass through, they skip the whole Duat and Scales bullshit, and go straight to Aaru!”

Kat remained calm and composed throughout all of it.

“Don’t you think if I had that kind of leverage, I’d have helped Kura get there? Why do you think I did the only thing I was capable of to save them from Ammit? Why do you think I was exiled?”

Kek growled while roughly releasing his hold on her.

“What the fuck good are you then?” he said while turning away and storming across the room, where he folded his arms across his chest while leaning against the wall and looking away. It was obvious he was angry.

Kat’s head and gaze fell. While she knew Kek’s anger wasn’t really meant to be directed at her, his words still hurt.

((@nb-lesbian-tkb))

[bakawitch]

Since my last one already got answered, I wanna know about close&open instead, if you let me :p

No worries, this is the one I'm actually focusing on writing the most at the moment

So this is a very gemshippy fic, sprinkled with some puzzle and fadeshipping on the side. (Surprise, surprise, I ship that, too.)

So the plot for this is basically Yugi asks Ryou for help to commune with Atem, but the spell gets interrupted and does something completely else. Namely, opening a gateway to the darkness and dumping a bunch of evil spirits tainted by the millennium ring on Domino, including our favourite thief, our favourite relapsed murder gremlin and our favourite body hijacker. Only problem is that they're all basically yokai now and are all given way too much power for unstable spirits.

The fic mostly follows Ryou and Bakura after they end up living in the same apartment again. Bakura somehow actually ends up finding an honest job at a convenience store at a train station (hence the title) and starts paying actual rent. They work through their issues, have fun little ghost adventures, and fight the spirits of random historical figures that all owned the Ring at some point. And yeah, they also end up in the same bed.

Also, Bakura ends up kind of getting adopted by a father figure into a familiar community.

I started drawing this thing from a scene in the fic, but I ended up hating because of many reasons (mainly that I made Bakura look to neat, thanks brain autopilot)

(Fun fact, Miho is the only one who speaks like that in the whole fic, she's the only one who uses honorific for some reason, I decided would be funny when I was sleep deprived)

Now behold! The only thing I have saved on my phone for this fic! An unedited dialogue between Ryou and Bakura:

"What's this?"

"Money."

"I- I see that. I meant what it is for."

"Rent. Didn't you read the envelope?"

"I did, but," "Why?"

"You said you'd prefer money over the souls of the innocent."

"Where did you get it from?"

"From work? I got paid yesterday."

"You did."

"Yes."

"Is that it, or did you want something else?"

"I'm not taking this."

"Why not?"

"You stole it, right? Payday just means an exceptionally good day for thieves, doesn't it?"

"I did not steal anything."

"Well, I don't -"

"Don't believe me?"

"You told me to find work, so I did."

"You told me to pay rent with money, so I did."

"What else do you want from me?"