#genre:myhearthurts

[puzzleshipping-library]

Haunted House Sweet Home

By InkFlavored (@ink-flavored)

Rated T • Published 2019 • Completed 2020 • Word count: 185k

Yugi doesn't believe in ghosts. He never has and, up until now, he thought he never would. But when he moves into his new apartment, things start disappearing, doors start slamming, and an ancient crown has it out for him. He's forced to face reality: he's living in a haunted house. But will he be "living," there for long?

Read on AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19331713

Admin's notes: This was the first fic that gobbled my brain whole when I came back to yugioh after a very long break. It is such a fun, wild ride with the best mix of modern life dashed with historical fiction, supernatural shenanigans, and domestic fluff.

[puzzleshipping-library]

Colors

Author: nana_banana (@floreswrites)

Rated G • Published 2015 • Complete • Word count 2k

Card games and danger, but Yuugi Mutou only wants to know who his soulmate is. Based on this prompt on tumblr: "The one where you only see color once you meet your soulmate (so you don’t know them until you touch them), and it goes away when they die."

Read on AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3894574

Admin's notes: "god why would you do this to me" i say as I kudos and bookmark and lie down on the floor.

[puzzleshipping-library]

Reconfiguration

Author: Phoebeus (@ygospamproduction)

Rated T • Published 2017 • Completed 2019 • Word count 230k

A few minutes' delay is all it takes to change the course of lives, and Atem is uncertain if he should thank the gods or curse them for this shift in his destiny. For what did it mean for his fate, this chance to know the world again in his own flesh? What good can come from lingering so solidly in a world he is meant to leave?

Read on AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10498908

Admin's notes: this is astoundingly popular for a reason. god it's so good this story scooped out all my insides and filled it with *feelings*. I never even noticed the length of it, I just devoured it all. the most incredible post-canon exploration of Atem coming into his own. all the friends in the squad had meaningful presences and words and insight (hello Honda is here to save the day), and it's one of those precious rare few fics that literally left me sobbing (in a good way). the whole thing is so emotional and comforting.

[puzzleshipping-library]

O P I A

Author: hakaibunshi (@hakaibunshi)

Rated G • Published 2020 • Complete • Word count 11k

Love cheats Death— Atem gets a second chance. But it's not as easy as they had hoped. Coming back to this world, not as a spirit inside the comfort of his host but as a separate person, proves to be a challenge. And he is about to lose it. But Yugi had reeled him in once before when he was lost in darkness, and he is going to do it again.

Read on AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27638618

Admin's notes: I think this is one of those under-appreciated gems. It's a take on a common theme; Atem stays and in the days/weeks after he and Yugi go from partners to ~partners~, but the way it's done is so incredibly soft and gentle. All the little touches and sparks and the growing intimacy of it makes my heart flutter. It's not overdone in anyway, but I especially love how they write Atem adjusting to having a corporeal body, and to a time/world so different from his own. It's one of my go-to quick comfort reads.

[puzzleshipping-library]

Post Feelings

Author: ItFlare

Rated G • Published 2018 • Complete • Word count 2k

Atems gaze is soft towards his partner. All sharp edges and monarchical need to keep face are gone. He’s worried. Concerned. This isn’t a bully or threat he can scare off with his anger and dark punishments. But he'll be there. No. Matter. What. Forever. And even after that. -- Yugi deals with anxiety after coming home from Egypt.

Read on AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15867627

Admin's notes: a little one shot that packs a punch. i love exploring how they cope with the fear and anxiety of losing one another, even after everything works out okay. It's made all the more satisfying when they navigate it together with Atem's endless supportiveness.