#corrupting diabound

[bakawitch]

In (what I'm calling) Zork magician girl au, would Gx's spirit world exist at this point? Cus I doubt the signer dragons, crimson dragon, the true Egyptian gods, nor mahad would allow Zork Magician Girl to revive it's original form & destroy their (now old) home.

Plus would mana's soul get scarred from wearing the millennium ring, causing her to have less control of DMG in the spirit world?

(the god cards are servants of the Egyptian gods, so that's why I specified them)

For the scaring, definitely, her soul would be scared and tainted with shadow magic. So in canon, the more TKB wears the Ring, the more corrupted Diabound (his ka) gets. I don't think this would mean Mana would have any less control over DMG, DMG would just kind of be a more visual representation of how her corruption progresses. (This would be the part where in the card game Zork Magician Girl would become an Lv archetype like Silent Swordsman, where each level of ZMG/DMG looks more corrupted than the last, until we reach Mana's final demon form.)

I have a personal headcanon on souls and kas affected by Shadow Magic/Darkness, specifically ending up in the Shadow Realm/Darkness. So yes, DMG- now ZMG would still exist (even after Mana's death) but it would instead be sealed in the Shadow Realm/Darkness and not the Spirit World, meaning the signer dragons, crimson dragon and the Egyptian Gods wouldn't even have access to her because she's technically already locked away where she shouldn't be able to escape from unless properly revived/summoned.

[liberationwasboundtohappen]

B, N and T for the meme?

B - A pairing -- Platonic, romantic, or sexual -- that you initially didn't consider, but someone changed your mind? I have two: Carryshipping (which...that was you. You did that.) and Euroshipping ( @iamallyetnotatall did that and now I'm in Euroship Hell). Of course these two would be Ryou ships, and of course they are slowly climbing into my brain and taking over my life alongside my other fave ships. N - Name 3 things you wish you saw more in your main fandom. Ahahahaha, uh... 1: Final Fantasy Tactics AUs (because don't @ me FFT was my favorite game for YEARS until Hollow Knight happened) 2: Gothic Vampire AUs (D e a t h s h i p p i n g) 3: Merch of my favorite characters (Yuugi. Ryou. Marik. ;w;) T - Do you have any hard and fast headcanons you will die defending? Ryou as a pagan. Zorc not being a Real God (that will take me hours but I AM GOING TO DISCUSS THIS SOMEDAY). Diabound being proof that TKB is at his core a good person that ended up getting corrupted by revenge and Zorc.

[nb-lesbian-tkb]

(continued from here)

Bakura looked around one last time before they opened the door of the basement. It should be fine. No one was home and there wasn't any security in the house, but better safe than sorry. Even if in the worst scenario the thief could use Diabound to hide or flee, they would like to just avoid getting caught. 

Right now Bakura was breaking into a house. They weren't interested in robbery however, but rather getting back something. It was kind of a long and very stupid story… The landlord of their apartment was an A-grade asshole. While the guy being shady as fuck was the only reason Bakura got to rent a place to live without any paper, it didn't mean the thief appreciated him. Quite the opposite, and the only reason Bakura didn't break his knees yet was because they really needed the place.

However on the previous day Bakura heard him yell at their neighbor. A single mother living with her two young kids. She didn't have enough money for this month's rent and the landlord decided to take any valuables she had instead. It wasn’t Bakura's business… but it honestly pissed them off to see the guy taking advantage of the most vulnerable ones.

So here was Bakura. In the guy's house, getting back what he took for their neighbor. From what Bakura understood it was some jewelry but also one of the kids’ toy (it was what pissed them the most honestly). After a quick search in the house, without leaving any trace of course, all that was left was the basement.

Bakura walked down the stairs with caution, using the flashlight of their phone until they found the switch for the light.

They felt a weird chill as they got off the last step of the stairs. Something wasn't quite right, their guts were telling them to get out, but Bakura wasn't seeing anything particular. They got their switchblade out and started looking around.

The stolen goods had been easy enough to find. The guy had a whole shelf of it, things he got from various tenants. Bakura got their backpack open and put some items inside. It was better to take more, it would be too suspicious if only their neighbor's items were missing. 

Once Bakura was done they walked back to the stair. Time to get out of here. However the bad feeling they had was still here. It was like something cold going under their skin. A feeling they knew too well as it reminded them of a certain dark entity. Bakura didn't like this one bit.

Bakura glanced on their side, and suddenly they knew the source of that bad feeling was coming from that corner, the one still in the dark. Bakura didn't think. They reacted on instinct and threw their knife.

( @shoot-of-corruption)

[hopefulstarfire]

Can we just

Alright so you have the Egyptian God Cards. In YuGiOh R, they get dark counterparts and we really don't talk about those and they didn't get official cards but it would have been a cool like route to go down to get a parallel to the Egyptian Gods; maybe Bakura could have summoned them to fuse into Zorc.

Which is exactly what the Sacred Beasts could have been.

They're sealed away bc they're too powerful and are drawn like dark, corrupted versions of the Egyptian Gods.

The Egyptian God cards must be sacrificed to special summon Horakhty The Creator of Light to beat the evil away.

The Sacred Beasts fuse to summon Armityle The Chaos Phantasm.

WHICH FITS IN PERFECTLY TO THE SNAKE THEME WITH BAKURA AND WITH DIABOUND.

I get that it wasn't like something that they came up with until after the original series ended but Y'ALL IT WOULD HAVE BEEN COOL.

[iarethedj]

Realms 𓆗𓆃

AE storyline:

Pretty typical Ancient Egypt scenario where there's the Thief King and all that. Before the Ring, he's relatively normal and 'easier' to get along with. After stealing the Ring, however, he slowly becomes corrupted and gains a blatant disregard for anyone he considers in his way. He's by no means a 'nice' person either way, and is not above murder, but with the Ring he is so much worse.

Modern:

He doesn't know why he's been given a second life, and he's not entirely sure what to do with it. He will still commit thievery since that's just natural to him. Bakura also still has Diabound, but it appears for the most part as a white cobra with small, white feathery wings.

As for what he does for 'work,' it's thread depending. Sometimes he works at a bar, sometimes he may rely on his skills alone.

He quickly adapts to technology, and even uses it. Likewise, he finds with all the tech distractions, people are easier to rob. So for him it's really a bonus either way.

[nb-lesbian-tkb]

Bakura laughed softly, “Of course. Anything for my queen.”

They closed their eyes, keeping Kat close, and drifted into sleep.

A new morning arrived. And another one. And a lot more. The duo continued their little life (second life?) together. Searching for souls, going on dates, setting one or two guys on fire. The usual.

Time flew without any of them noticing it, and soon enough summer was here. Bakura had managed to get a total of sixteen souls. Not bad, but it was going too slow. Sometimes they would feel guilty about enjoying themselves with Kat while there were still so many of Kul Elna still trapped in the limbo. But it wasn't like Bakura could make those corrupted souls appear out of nowhere. Should they like it or not, it was going to take time.

Not to mention that they were also searching for something else now. A spell, a ritual… Anything that could free Kat of the restraints  had on her demi-god form. They didn't tell her to not make her hope in vain, but sometimes Bakura would visit the museum at night, hidden with Diabound, to search for some clues.

(continued from here)

Kat quietly groaned.

“Okay…”

She already knew this, but still always felt disappointed having to go back to their original task.

She closed her eyes in an attempt to rest for the night

“...but I want lemon cake for breakfast.”

((@nb-lesbian-tkb))

[diabounds-den]

Fall From Grace

-

'Diabound was Thief King Bakura's ka, created by the spirits of the slaughtered town of Kul Elna desiring revenge.' Diabound carries the burden and lives of Kul Elna.

[prayerith]

y’all i just got to the point in the duel against dartz where dartz shows yami yugi visions of his past in egypt and like. there was WAY more memory world foreshadowing than i expected

[ringcicatrix]

MUSE AS A DEITY

RULES: think carefully about your character and their development through their journey (canon or oc) within their story. fill out the chart and tag whoever you want! multi-muses, feel free to pick any of your characters—just a few, or all of them. please repost, so the dash isn’t clogged with reblogs.

BAKURA, KING OF THIEVES

GOD OF:  Death, Justice, and Thievery

ASSOCIATED WITH:  Challenging the systems of society, and defiance to those in power. Fighting against injustices, and bringing death to the corrupt and powerful. Protection for the lost and destitute, and revenge for those cast aside to die by society. Orphaned children and lost innocence. Finding the strength to do whatever necessary to survive, even in a world that rejects and treads upon you. Bringing chaos to the regime, and disrupting order and law.

SACRED PLANTS:  Poppy

SACRED STONES/GEM(S):  garnet, bloodstone, gold

SACRED ANIMAL(S):  snakes, cats

COLORS: red, gold

FOOD:  Bread, fish, pomegranate.

SCENTS: Blood and iron, shadows at night, the air of a tomb, scorching desert heat

ACCEPTED OFFERINGS / WAYS TO HONOR:  Stolen finery from the rich and powerful. Funerary offerings for kings worn by mortal man. Seeking true justice, and refusing to bend a knee to structures of power when they are wrong. Disrupting order when those in power turn a blind eye to suffering. Facing those who suffer head on and righting what has been made wrong. Carrying the will of the unjustly killed, and ensuring remembrance and revenge for those who can no longer seek it themselves. Living in spite of a world that wishes you dead.

WAYS TO OFFEND / EARN THEIR WRATH:  Bowing to kings. Ignoring injustices. Covering up the truth. Treating those sacrificed by the rich and powerful as worthless. Treading on the lands of the dead without paying tribute. Saying that ends justify the means. Disrespect to the poor and orphaned. Snitching on your fellow thieves. Blind loyalty to power and refusing to question their authority. 

[stealtharchaeologist]

Okay, I'm sure that was a rhetorical question, but I'm gonna answer it anyway.

The first reason why that scene didn't make it into the anime was because, honestly, I think it was too gruesome. The anime makes a couple different choices that "tone down" the manga; for example, Yami Yugi isn't a pyro chaos gremlin and instead starts this anime already a "good guy". Yami Malik doesn't literally skin his father and put the tattoos on Rishid. Yami Bakura... actually... doesn't kill anyone on screen. He doesn't even cut himself in the anime, that's just left up to imagination. Frankly, the wound doesn't even bleed as much, lol.

So a scene where Bakura (and Diabound) slaughter 11+ people instantly, blood everywhere, just doesn't really fit in.

The other thing to consider is that scene's purpose in the manga. It had several. The first is to show that Mahad did not successfully kill Bakura; Bakura is, in fact, alive and stronger than ever with the Ring. And he's not going to take any shit.

The second purpose is to show that Yami Bakura has made it into "ancient Egypt" via the Puzzle and is here to commentate and, potentially, soon, mess with events.

However, YB's role in the anime is totally different. He's actually there, actively possessing TKB, seeing things again from his own eyes instead of literally floating upside-down above events. Yeah, Puzzle-YB is there in the anime, too, but he's fucked off to possess Honda, idk.

So, considering these things, no longer needing to show that YB is there and just needing to show that TKB somehow survived, it made more sense to replace that scene from the manga with a much tamer one in the anime. And add a little more fanservice, too.

I will change topic a little here and dive into a bit of interpretation/headcanon territory, but I think that scene in the manga has a third purpose. There's a point to just how violent that scene is.

When Bakura first attacks the palace, when Diabound was a god ka, he literally tells the guards to step aside and only attacks/kills the ones who directly challenge him. (When he gets to the throne room, he's carrying a guard as a human shield and snaps the guard's neck.) When he goes after Mahad, he, again, just attacks the guards outside of the tomb. (I feel it's relevant to note that he seems to do so with his bare hands again.) At this point, Mahad notices that Diabound has transformed, feeding off the rage from Bakura's defeat at the palace, but Diabound is still "in progress".

Then Bakura gets the Ring. Which Mahad had said repeatedly was full of evil and would corrupt his heart.

Bakura markedly changes after this point. There's the manga scene in question - Bakura absolutely could have just bailed. He can turn invisible, he can move through walls, he was by no means trapped there. But with a metaphorical snap of his fingers, about a dozen people lay "torn to shreds" and he just laughs.

Then he attacks the palace for the second time, targeting Akhenaden (as he should). He announces that he's there to take another Item, and comments how easy it would be to tear down the temple, to rip Akhenaden limb from limb. "But that wouldn't be enough..." he decides. He changes his mind, there, and instead infuses a part of himself into the Eye and leaves Akhenaden injured but alive.

I think, had timing been different, Bakura would have outright killed Akhenaden. But via the corruption of the Ring, the influence of Zorc, he chooses to leave alive the one who destroyed Kul Elna, the one who most deserved to die. But Zorc needed Akhenaden alive, to sow even more chaos and ultimately corrupt Seto...

Back to Bakura. Then there's the chase through the city, where Bakura actively commands Diabound (now dramatically more demonic) to attack civilians to distract Atem, causing Atem to throw himself (Osiris) in harm's way to protect them. This is the first (and only) time Bakura purposefully drags people into the fight who had nothing to do with it, or who didn't insert themselves.

The final fight in Kul Elna is different because there is no collateral damage to be had. Bakura lures Atem and the Priests into the village because he has an advantage there with the ghosts. But he and the ghosts do have fun torturing some soldiers to death.

That scene in the inn is a turning point for Bakura. The Ring affects him, amplifying his anger and making him suddenly much more vicious and violent. This is not to say he wouldn't have gotten there on his own - Diabound was already changing, and Bakura needed to adjust his strategy - but the Ring did do exactly what Mahad said it would.

Anyway. All this to say that everything is handled completely different in the anime. Anime!Bakura has his flunkies, he attacks the city immediately, there's no clear progression of the increasing darkness in his heart. And he says he doesn't give a damn about Kul Elna.

This is why the manga is better.

“Add something, if you’d like.”

Okay. JENSIBFIWOAIABANuahgagabdjiJSJBDJSKANSJSBJEIWBDJRBJEFUCKINGHEARTEYESJFJJEIWNEKWKWBWIIWBILOVEHIMJEOWJBEKSB

Onna real note. Why did they completely remove the scene where Bakura slayed those guys at the tavern (in the manga)? Wtf it was such a good scene and he was so cute the way he stuffed his face. 😭

But I don’t think people are mad about a 5 second wet Bakura scene either (灬♥ω♥灬)

[shakyypen]

Ya’ll ever think abt how diabound is a holy ka... and how the items corrupt it with darkness throughout memory world. Cause i do and i cant help but wonder if that’s symbolic of what happened to Bakura. 

[dmbakura]

I'm frustrated there is no canon explanation on why/how TKB developed a holy Ka in the first place. Any ideas?

actually, diabound was created by the kul elna spirits and their desire for justice and revenge. since bakura has such a strong and pure (before his soul becomes corrupted by the power of the ring and diabound begins to change) motivation, diabounds power is basically on the level of the god and why it’s considered a holy ka. so basically since bakuras conviction is so powerful, so is diabounds. what's unknown is how he first summoned/came into contact with it but i headcanon that he did it out of self defense while living alone in the desert

[zorcskhakis]

OK, so admittedly I need to reread the manga (and the wiki is missing citations aa). But is that hc or canon that Diabound was created by the Kul Elna ghosts?? I always thought it was just that TKB's ka had gotten superhuman strength through his Righteous Fury and intrinsic badassery.

I need to fact check myself on this one but I am faaaairly certain Diabound is canonically a manifestation of the Kul Elna ghosts yes! According to the manga it starts off "pure" and as Bakura's rage and need for revenge grows stronger, it gets "corrupted" and fucked up.

[justbakura]

So, how about you talk about the Thief King?

Why I like them/why I don’t

I like him because he’s very free spirited and determined to take revenge for his fallen comrades. He’s rather philosophical for a thief and isn’t afraid to talk about the injustice in his country. Plus it’s cool that he can survive living in the desert all by himself since young. This doesn’t make his deeds any less bad, but it makes him an interesting character with complex sense of morality.

What I like about their appearance

He’s a thief who dressed up like a royalty despite hating the royal family itself. I’m curious about his scar too, it’s weird to have it look like that.

Do I prefer their dub names or original names?

His name is basically the same in both dub and sub, but I always 100% prefer the original no matter what.

OTP

Citronshipping or gemshipping, can’t choose. See OT3.

NOTP

I guess if it involves Priest Seto? I technically have none at the moment.

OT3

Gravityshipping. I like the idea that Ryou and Marik help him figuring himself out post-canon and that he can be a normal human instead of a timeless piece of an evil god.

Favourite card they use

He’s technically not a duelist, but Diabound is his signature monster and it suits him very well; a noble beast with a hideous snake attached to it that represents his corruption. It’s very interesting to note that TKB would end up more like Ryou if the Kul Elna massacre never happened; kind, altruistic and dedicated to his own cause. I think Diabound also represents this fact pretty well.

Favourite moment they were in

When he talked about how twisted the definition of good is according to the people who upholded justice in his country. Too bad he got shafted really hard after that and reduced to the evil thief who kills and robs indiscriminately.

Least favourite moment

Every moment of Bakura is precious and I feel like much of his characterization (see above) was scrapped in favor of skipping to Atem vs Zorc. He’s his own person and not just a pawn of Zorc dammit.

Would I fuck, marry or kill them

Marry because damn I’d love to have a strong husband like him who loves his family and can crack bad puns.

[sitabethel]

i love how you write bakura because, really, he's such a great character and YGO does him so dirty. He has a super sympathetic backstory and motivation, like, how could anyone see the pharaoh as a good guy in that conflict. but that disparity is never addressed in the plot and he's never painted with any depth by the universe he's in and it drives me crazy when they just make him act like a needlessly evil asshole like they did in DSOD, it makes 0 sense with what we know of his motivations.

It’s infuriating! I re-read some of the TKB manga-fight scenes to research for the end of Beautiful, and seriously the BIG MAIN REASON that everyone in the royal court feels completely justified in fighting Bakura is because of one, little label

Thief

TKB flat out tells them that Diabound isn’t evil. It is clear for everyone to see that Diabound isn’t evil.

But repeatedly they say that a thief can’t have a good ka

They never think that a thief is also a *person* and if a *person* is screaming about justice with a god-like soul floating beside him … then maybe (just maybe) they should hear his story before attacking him.

But they can’t see the person under the label. 

And this is why I’ll always believe that Atem, and not the Thief King, is the one that needs a redemption arc. He never truly understands how his biases, his pride, and his willful ignorance of his own kingdom caused his own problems. 

Duel Monsters were originally souls of criminals. We see an example of the priests collecting such a soul right before we meet TKB. Think of how many Duel Monsters there are, and each one was someone’s pain and suffering. It’s amazing that Atem never questions that perhaps, if there were so many criminals whose souls became corrupted, then perhaps something was wrong with the way he was governing his kingdom. 

[millenniumstarlight-a]

Take the opportunity to write a short ramble/drabble about something you want to write about.

Easy Meme for a Burnt Out Mun

After waiting for hours, the sun finally slipped below the horizon. It wouldn’t be long until orange and pink skies faded into a single shade of black. Luck be willing, the moon would light his way across the desert, with the stars as his guide. With the fading sunlight came the end of the workday. Nobody would be caught dead wandering around at this hour.

Nobody with something to lose.

The King of Thieves had lost everything that fateful night many years ago. The night was the peak time to move about and build a reputation. He wanted, needed, all the kingdom to know who he was and what he stood for. And nothing would stand in his way.

But this day, he boldly made a move in broad daylight. And it did not go well for him. It wasn’t planned in the slightest, no. He saw someone in trouble, and he acted. His efforts to rescue that person were successful, but he wound up surrounded by the soldiers that patrol those streets. He can take one or two; but not such a large number.

He was a child, after all. No older than twelve. Boy King of Thieves would be a more fitting title for him, he supposed. When his people fell at the hands of royal corruption and sin; he had to turn to the criminal underground to bide his time and make himself unforgettable until he was old enough to be taken seriously. A child storming in demanding revenge would be laughed at, no doubt.

The thief king may as well have died in that horde had his savior not come to his rescue. Her large wings and towering form struck fear into those that dared oppose her master. Clawed hands would tear the unfortunate to shreds, staining porcelain skin with their blood. But this was fine, as long as her little master was safe.

Diabound.

This was many hours ago, and the boy was still licking his wounds. He was in no shape to continue his journey tonight. But he owed a certain someone a ‘thank-you’. As soon as twilight became unquestionably night, a quiet voice spoke up, which became louder with each passing sentence.

“Hey. Hey, I need you. Please come, I need you! I need you!”

His calls were answered hastily. A grey form quickly appeared in the black of night. Something long and scaly circled him before stopping, its face inches from his own. If moonlight hadn’t illuminated her face, he could have easily assumed it was a monster.

“I want to say thank you.” The thief king began, small hands cupping the snake’s cheeks. “You saved me.” A pause. “Again.”

Silence.

“You do so much for me. You’re there when I’m mad, I’m sad, I’m happy, everything. You’ll be with me forever, won’t you?”

Silence.

“I appreciate everything you do for me. I love you.”

The snake slowly approached, easily able to swallow him whole. But she only pressed her snout on his face, which elicited a giggle from the boy.

“Hey! That tickles!” He snickered as he tried to playfully push her away. But she would not budge. It was obvious her master did not want her to stop or go away. Her tongue gently flicked across his face and neck, which only encouraged his laughter. It was then that her humanoid portion leaned down to pat his head.

He loved nights like this. He could be himself without fear of retribution or betrayal. Anything he felt like saying could be said. Anything he felt like doing could be done. All with his most loyal and beloved companion at his side.

“Diabound?” Both halves turned their attention to him. “Will you be here forever?”

Silence.

Both parties knew that the answer was no, but neither wanted to outright admit it. As if to change the subject, the snake half of Diabound quietly started nudging his hand. The King of Thieves didn’t have to ask to know what she wanted. Tanned hands gently swept across the parts that he could reach. She bowed her head low enough for him to be able to press a kiss to the top and rest his head against hers.

“Also,” He murmured, finally feeling the exhaustion creep up on him. This time it was only the humanoid part that turned her gaze to him. “Will you stay with me until I fall asleep?”

Both parties withdrew so he could lay down with her hovering at his side. He opened his mouth to speak, but shut it when the head of the snake gently rested on his chest. She knew what he wanted by now.

“Thank you.” He spoke softly, gently placing a hand on her head. Knowing she was around to watch over him always made it easier to sleep. Settling down was quite easy, and as he shut his eyes he spoke one last sentence for the night. “I love you, Diabound.”

A soft hiss was finally given in response. When she knew he was asleep she parted ways. They would meet again in the morning, like they always did. She was his guardian, and would always watch over her master.